Kuwait Times

Published Date: June 16, 2009
By Alonso Soto

Ecuador is threatening to close a television station critical of President Rafael Correa in a move to tighten media regulations that critics say could be used to limit press freedoms and target the left-wing leader's opponents. National broadcaster Teleamazonas could be suspended for 90 days or closed down if a government-assigned media regulator finds the station guilty of violations of a law drafted by a military dictatorship nearly 35 years ago.

Correa says some private news media conspire against his government and his regulations could trace the steps of Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez, who refused to renew the license of one broadcaster two years ago and has threatened to close another anti-government TV channel. Other leftist allies in Bolivia and Nicaragua have also clashed with media they accuse of protecting the interests of conservative elites and blocking their reforms for the poor.

Correa's offensive is part of his drive to weaken Ecuador's traditional political elites and an opposition widely blamed for the country's chronic instability, but experts say he could end up undermining press freedoms. A former economy minister who has boosted state control over key sectors of the economy, Correa says his government is not attacking press freedoms, but fighting powerful media groups that for years have gone unregulated. "We will not bow to these powers that have dominated our country for
so long and manipulated freedom of speech," Correa said. "While I'm president nobody - even the powerful - will be above the law.

Correa is widely seen as Ecuador's most powerful leader since its return to democracy in 1979, but the threat to close Teleamazonas could hurt his popularity and his reputation abroad. "If the channel is closed down, Correa will have gone too far and face negative public reaction," said Carlos Espinosa, a professor at San Francisco University in Quito. In a phone conversation this week, US President Barack Obama congratulated Correa for his April re-election and voiced support for a "free and independent p
ress" in Ecuador.

Correa has vowed to radicalize his "citizens revolution" to speed up socialist reforms in the OPEC nation. Since he took office in 2007, he has increased the government hold of media outlets by launching a state television station and seizing two broadcasters over debts with the state. The government-run media watchdog, Conartel, has charged Teleamazonas with violating the media law twice by broadcasting false reports about an illegal vote-counting center and the dangers of gas drilling in an island.

A previous sanction against the station for showing images of a bullfight could lead to a suspension or even its closure. A telecommunications regulator appointed by Correa has to decide later this month if the station is guilty. The television and radio law drafted in 1975 gives regulators broad powers to sanction media for the content of their programs and reports. The media watchdog recently ordered Teleamazonas to remove the cartoon series "The Simpsons" from prime-time to protect children viewers.

Teleamazonas, owned by a top banker critical of Correa's reforms, says the government is trying to censure it. Supporters of the television station have organized small marches this week in Quito and the port city of Guayaquil, brandishing signs that read "Freedom" and "No to censorship." "We have all the arguments to win, but this is definitely persecution against the channel," said Pablo Ortiz, a lawyer representing Teleamazonas.

The government threats could prompt other channels to self-censor their reports and programming, experts and media executives said. "The media should offer a mea-culpa and improve quality. But that should be up to journalists and citizens, not the political powers," said Cesar Ricaurte, a media expert with Quito-based Fundamedios. "This has turned into a political matter where the government is trying to remove the concession of an opposition channel," he said. - Reuters