Ecuador Accuses the Washington Post of Being Ignorant of Latin America’s Reality
Published in Andes
(Ecuador) on 14 January 2012
by (link to original)
(Ecuador) on 14 January 2012
by (link to original)
Translated from
by Talisa Anderson.
Edited by Katya Abazajian.
Quito, Jan. 14 – The Ecuadorean government broadcast an announcement this Saturday that refutes point by point what, according to their opinion, the North America newspaper the Washington Post omitted in an article published the day before during the visit of the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The newspaper used strong epithets against President Rafael Correa in the article, branding him as a “pariah” and referring to the country as a “banana republic.” Furthermore, the article expressed its preoccupation with the sentence against the executives of El Universo newspaper and other judicial processes against journalists accused of defamation.
Ecuador’s response was published this Saturday in the official newspaper, El Ciudadano.
[Stating] things [such as] “North America is probably surprised that in Ecuador and many other countries, there are prison sentences for defamation. For us this is a surprise as well, and it frightens us that the United States has the death penalty, which we reject. Nevertheless, we respect the sovereign decisions of other states without the crudeness of calling them a banana republic for having these anachronisms.”
And they add, “The editorial of the Washington Post only demonstrates, once more, the total ignorance of certain North American segments regarding the reality of Latin America and that the abuse of the media, with political goals and as a function of [presenting] hatred and prejudices, is not only the patrimony of Ecuador and Latin America.”
The Andes Agency reproduces a follow-up of the integrated content of the report of the government:
What the Washington Post does not say
"Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa, an autocratic acolyte of Hugo Chavez who is usually and deservedly ignored outside of his own country, will get a little attention Thursday when he hosts Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As he basks in the aura of a more notorious international pariah, allow us to recount what Mr. Correa really ought to be known for: the most comprehensive and ruthless assault on free media underway in the Western Hemisphere."
What the Washington Post does not say is that recently, the Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa was named by the Mexican firm Consulta Mitofski as the best evaluated leader of Latin America in 2011, being the only head of state whose management achieves an outstanding assessment. Not to mention that it is the most popular democratic government in the history of Ecuador and the longest lasting in the last 100 years.
"On Friday, after the Iranian’s departure, the National Court of Justice in Quito is due to hear a final appeal by three directors of one of Latin America’s most venerable newspapers, El Universo, which Mr. Correa is on the verge of destroying."
What the Washington Post does not say about the “venerable newspaper” is that up until recently it was the property of three phantom companies in the Cayman Islands – a fiscal paradise – and during the early 1990s, it was involved in many businesses dealings beyond an informative capacity, such as negotiation of mobile telephone contracts, where one of the national associates of the foreign cellular phone companies was Diario El Universo. They [publishers of the Washington Post] can review the newspapers and find that [El Universo] never published anything in relation to this terrible negotiation that hurt the Ecuadorean nation to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
"In July, the paper’s three directors — brothers Carlos, Cesar and Nicolas Perez — and editorial editor Emilio Palacio were sentenced to three years in prison as a result of a defamation lawsuit brought by Mr. Correa. The editors and their newspaper were also fined a total of $40 million — enough to force its shutdown."
What the Washington Post does not say is that it [Ecuadorean government] always said that the newspaper need only rectify its lies in order to stop the entire judicial process. This, moreover, is what the Constitution of the Republic orders in article 14 of the Inter-American Convention of Human Rights and the most elemental journalistic ethical code.
"The “crime” that prompted the president’s lawsuit was a column by Mr. Palacio, titled “No to the Lies,” that harshly criticized Mr. Correa’s provocative behavior during a police uprising."
What the Washington Post does not say is that in reality, it is referring to an attempt at a coup d’état, where the President of the Republic was attacked. He had to be hospitalized at the Police Hospital. He was detained by insubordinate forces and had to be rescued by National Security. What did the Diario El Universo and its columnist Emilio Palacio reduce this attempt at a coup d’état that was condemned by all of Latin America to? That the criminal of the offense to humanity was President Correa, affirming that [the newspaper] disregarded discretion and without fair warning; [this is] an uncouth slander that they never proved and they never rectified as is ordered by the Constitution of the Republic, article 14 of the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights and the most elemental journalistic ethical code.
"The handling of the case by the judiciary was, alas, worthy of a banana republic. After four changes of judge, a 'temporary' magistrate took over the case, held one hearing, and — 33 hours after his appointment — issued the 156-page ruling."
What the Washington Post does not say, contemptuously referring to our country as a banana republic, is that the four changes of judges were at the request of the daily El Universo for successive impeachments, tampering with and abusing the judicial process, and seemingly looking for a judge for their convenience. They omit that Judge Paredes had already tried the case and that of the 156 pages mentioned, 146 are scanned entirely from the presented dispute by President Correa, from the disputes of the defendants and from some presented evidence; which is to say that the ruling of the judge was hardly 10 pages.
"A subsequent independent investigation determined that he did not write it, and that the author was probably Mr. Correa’s attorney."
What the Washington Post does not say is that the “independent” investigation that they refer to is under contract by the accused, with supposed experts paid for by the same accused The “investigation” that does not have any legal validity, and it does not stand up to the slightest analysis. Moreover, the Washington Post does not say that the sentence has been entirely ratified by the Superior Tribunal.
"Though Mr. Chavez, Venezuela’s president, has taken over most of the television and radio media in his country, even he has not dared to attack historic newspapers like El Universo, which was founded in 1921 in Ecuador’s coastal business capital, Guayaquil, and is widely respected across the region. Mr. Correa’s attempt to control the media has been comprehensive: The government has gone from owning one radio station when he took office in 2007 to managing five television channels, four radio stations, two newspapers and four magazines."
What the Washington Post does not say is that the national government did what no other government before it had dared to do: seized around 300 businesses from corrupt banks that caused the country to go bankrupt in 1999; among these were some media companies. Today, these assets are for sale and the information is available for public access through the webpage http://www.stf.gob.ec/. Furthermore, for the first time in history, the country has a public television channel that is well-renowned nationally for having the best programs in Ecuador.
"Journalists who dare to be critical are targeted with defamation suits filed by the president, who attends hearings and sometimes tweets rulings before they are announced. Last month, the editor of another newspaper, Hoy, was sentenced to three months in jail after he refused to name the author of unsigned articles reporting on influence-peddling by a central bank director who is Mr. Correa’s second cousin."
What the Washington Post does not say is that the demand was posted in December 2009 by Mr. Pedro Delgado, who currently is the President of the Board of Banco Central but was previously Presidential Advisor, which the newspaper, Hoy, defamed by affirming that he had engaged in influence peddling, which they were never able to prove. They omit that Mr. Delgado desisted in his demand when he won the first case and demonstrated that the newspaper lied.
"Two other journalists face a presidential demand for $10 million in damages for a book documenting hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts given to Mr. Correa’s brother."
What the Washington Post does not say is that he is bringing a suit against the authors of the book El Gran Hermano (The Big Brother), who are coincidentally journalists, not for investigating the illegal contracts, but for stating that the President of the Republic knew about the contracts. The Washington Post omits that the President scarcely knew the contracts ordered his suspension, as well as the execution of the guarantees. To be sure that the President knew about the contracts, it would be necessary that he be prosecuted and discharged. In this hearing, it has been stated that recognizing the error and apologizing for the dishonor that they could not prove, would end the whole process, but they do not want to do this, [demonstrating they are] failing to observe the order of the Constitution of the Republic, article 14 of the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights and the most elemental journalistic ethical code.
"Not surprisingly, Mr. Correa has been criticized by the Organization of American States’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. His response has been an attempt to strip funding and powers from the office. OAS ambassadors should reject this insidious measure when it comes up for consideration this month. A more appropriate OAS action would be a review of Ecuador under the Inter-American Democratic Charter."
What the Washington Post does not say is that Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression – financed by the United States and with approval from Washington - is not recognized by the United States, since it is not a signatory of the Inter-American Charter on Human Rights. That is to say, the United States finances a rapporteur for everyone else, but not for themselves, because it does not recognize the charter. How can it accept contradictions of this nature? That is precisely what the Ecuadorean government is looking to change.
Final Commentary
North America is probably surprised that in Ecuador and many other countries, there are prison sentences for defamation. For us this is a surprise as well, and it frightens us that the United States has the death penalty, which we reject. Nevertheless, we respect the sovereign decisions of other States, without the crudeness of calling them a banana republic for having these anachronisms.
The editorial of the Washington Post only demonstrates, once more, the total ignorance of certain North American segments regarding the reality of Latin America and that the abuse of the media, with political goals and as a function of [presenting] hatred and prejudices, is not only the patrimony of Ecuador and Latin America.
They have to occupy more than just Wall Street.
The newspaper used strong epithets against President Rafael Correa in the article, branding him as a “pariah” and referring to the country as a “banana republic.” Furthermore, the article expressed its preoccupation with the sentence against the executives of El Universo newspaper and other judicial processes against journalists accused of defamation.
Ecuador’s response was published this Saturday in the official newspaper, El Ciudadano.
[Stating] things [such as] “North America is probably surprised that in Ecuador and many other countries, there are prison sentences for defamation. For us this is a surprise as well, and it frightens us that the United States has the death penalty, which we reject. Nevertheless, we respect the sovereign decisions of other states without the crudeness of calling them a banana republic for having these anachronisms.”
And they add, “The editorial of the Washington Post only demonstrates, once more, the total ignorance of certain North American segments regarding the reality of Latin America and that the abuse of the media, with political goals and as a function of [presenting] hatred and prejudices, is not only the patrimony of Ecuador and Latin America.”
The Andes Agency reproduces a follow-up of the integrated content of the report of the government:
What the Washington Post does not say
"Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa, an autocratic acolyte of Hugo Chavez who is usually and deservedly ignored outside of his own country, will get a little attention Thursday when he hosts Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As he basks in the aura of a more notorious international pariah, allow us to recount what Mr. Correa really ought to be known for: the most comprehensive and ruthless assault on free media underway in the Western Hemisphere."
What the Washington Post does not say is that recently, the Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa was named by the Mexican firm Consulta Mitofski as the best evaluated leader of Latin America in 2011, being the only head of state whose management achieves an outstanding assessment. Not to mention that it is the most popular democratic government in the history of Ecuador and the longest lasting in the last 100 years.
"On Friday, after the Iranian’s departure, the National Court of Justice in Quito is due to hear a final appeal by three directors of one of Latin America’s most venerable newspapers, El Universo, which Mr. Correa is on the verge of destroying."
What the Washington Post does not say about the “venerable newspaper” is that up until recently it was the property of three phantom companies in the Cayman Islands – a fiscal paradise – and during the early 1990s, it was involved in many businesses dealings beyond an informative capacity, such as negotiation of mobile telephone contracts, where one of the national associates of the foreign cellular phone companies was Diario El Universo. They [publishers of the Washington Post] can review the newspapers and find that [El Universo] never published anything in relation to this terrible negotiation that hurt the Ecuadorean nation to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
"In July, the paper’s three directors — brothers Carlos, Cesar and Nicolas Perez — and editorial editor Emilio Palacio were sentenced to three years in prison as a result of a defamation lawsuit brought by Mr. Correa. The editors and their newspaper were also fined a total of $40 million — enough to force its shutdown."
What the Washington Post does not say is that it [Ecuadorean government] always said that the newspaper need only rectify its lies in order to stop the entire judicial process. This, moreover, is what the Constitution of the Republic orders in article 14 of the Inter-American Convention of Human Rights and the most elemental journalistic ethical code.
"The “crime” that prompted the president’s lawsuit was a column by Mr. Palacio, titled “No to the Lies,” that harshly criticized Mr. Correa’s provocative behavior during a police uprising."
What the Washington Post does not say is that in reality, it is referring to an attempt at a coup d’état, where the President of the Republic was attacked. He had to be hospitalized at the Police Hospital. He was detained by insubordinate forces and had to be rescued by National Security. What did the Diario El Universo and its columnist Emilio Palacio reduce this attempt at a coup d’état that was condemned by all of Latin America to? That the criminal of the offense to humanity was President Correa, affirming that [the newspaper] disregarded discretion and without fair warning; [this is] an uncouth slander that they never proved and they never rectified as is ordered by the Constitution of the Republic, article 14 of the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights and the most elemental journalistic ethical code.
"The handling of the case by the judiciary was, alas, worthy of a banana republic. After four changes of judge, a 'temporary' magistrate took over the case, held one hearing, and — 33 hours after his appointment — issued the 156-page ruling."
What the Washington Post does not say, contemptuously referring to our country as a banana republic, is that the four changes of judges were at the request of the daily El Universo for successive impeachments, tampering with and abusing the judicial process, and seemingly looking for a judge for their convenience. They omit that Judge Paredes had already tried the case and that of the 156 pages mentioned, 146 are scanned entirely from the presented dispute by President Correa, from the disputes of the defendants and from some presented evidence; which is to say that the ruling of the judge was hardly 10 pages.
"A subsequent independent investigation determined that he did not write it, and that the author was probably Mr. Correa’s attorney."
What the Washington Post does not say is that the “independent” investigation that they refer to is under contract by the accused, with supposed experts paid for by the same accused The “investigation” that does not have any legal validity, and it does not stand up to the slightest analysis. Moreover, the Washington Post does not say that the sentence has been entirely ratified by the Superior Tribunal.
"Though Mr. Chavez, Venezuela’s president, has taken over most of the television and radio media in his country, even he has not dared to attack historic newspapers like El Universo, which was founded in 1921 in Ecuador’s coastal business capital, Guayaquil, and is widely respected across the region. Mr. Correa’s attempt to control the media has been comprehensive: The government has gone from owning one radio station when he took office in 2007 to managing five television channels, four radio stations, two newspapers and four magazines."
What the Washington Post does not say is that the national government did what no other government before it had dared to do: seized around 300 businesses from corrupt banks that caused the country to go bankrupt in 1999; among these were some media companies. Today, these assets are for sale and the information is available for public access through the webpage http://www.stf.gob.ec/. Furthermore, for the first time in history, the country has a public television channel that is well-renowned nationally for having the best programs in Ecuador.
"Journalists who dare to be critical are targeted with defamation suits filed by the president, who attends hearings and sometimes tweets rulings before they are announced. Last month, the editor of another newspaper, Hoy, was sentenced to three months in jail after he refused to name the author of unsigned articles reporting on influence-peddling by a central bank director who is Mr. Correa’s second cousin."
What the Washington Post does not say is that the demand was posted in December 2009 by Mr. Pedro Delgado, who currently is the President of the Board of Banco Central but was previously Presidential Advisor, which the newspaper, Hoy, defamed by affirming that he had engaged in influence peddling, which they were never able to prove. They omit that Mr. Delgado desisted in his demand when he won the first case and demonstrated that the newspaper lied.
"Two other journalists face a presidential demand for $10 million in damages for a book documenting hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts given to Mr. Correa’s brother."
What the Washington Post does not say is that he is bringing a suit against the authors of the book El Gran Hermano (The Big Brother), who are coincidentally journalists, not for investigating the illegal contracts, but for stating that the President of the Republic knew about the contracts. The Washington Post omits that the President scarcely knew the contracts ordered his suspension, as well as the execution of the guarantees. To be sure that the President knew about the contracts, it would be necessary that he be prosecuted and discharged. In this hearing, it has been stated that recognizing the error and apologizing for the dishonor that they could not prove, would end the whole process, but they do not want to do this, [demonstrating they are] failing to observe the order of the Constitution of the Republic, article 14 of the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights and the most elemental journalistic ethical code.
"Not surprisingly, Mr. Correa has been criticized by the Organization of American States’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. His response has been an attempt to strip funding and powers from the office. OAS ambassadors should reject this insidious measure when it comes up for consideration this month. A more appropriate OAS action would be a review of Ecuador under the Inter-American Democratic Charter."
What the Washington Post does not say is that Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression – financed by the United States and with approval from Washington - is not recognized by the United States, since it is not a signatory of the Inter-American Charter on Human Rights. That is to say, the United States finances a rapporteur for everyone else, but not for themselves, because it does not recognize the charter. How can it accept contradictions of this nature? That is precisely what the Ecuadorean government is looking to change.
Final Commentary
North America is probably surprised that in Ecuador and many other countries, there are prison sentences for defamation. For us this is a surprise as well, and it frightens us that the United States has the death penalty, which we reject. Nevertheless, we respect the sovereign decisions of other States, without the crudeness of calling them a banana republic for having these anachronisms.
The editorial of the Washington Post only demonstrates, once more, the total ignorance of certain North American segments regarding the reality of Latin America and that the abuse of the media, with political goals and as a function of [presenting] hatred and prejudices, is not only the patrimony of Ecuador and Latin America.
They have to occupy more than just Wall Street.