(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – Approximately ten radio stations have been forced to suspend news broadcasts in Orellana and Sucumbíos provinces in the Amazon region since 14 August 2005, due to the imposition of a state of emergency. Among them is Radio Sucumbíos, a station well-respected in the area for its investigative journalism and news reporting. All of […]
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – Approximately ten radio stations have been forced to suspend news broadcasts in Orellana and Sucumbíos provinces in the Amazon region since 14 August 2005, due to the imposition of a state of emergency. Among them is Radio Sucumbíos, a station well-respected in the area for its investigative journalism and news reporting. All of the station’s reporters are currently under constant direct surveillance by a member of the armed forces, who monitors their work.
As well, according to a 23 August press release by the Latin American and Caribbean Catholic Communication Organisation (Organización Católica Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Comunicación, OCLACC), Radio Sucumbío is being threatened with closure, in both telephoned and two written warnings, for having met its obligation to inform the public about the concerns and requests being made by the region’s citizens (see the complete text in Spanish of the OCLACC press release: http://probidad.org/blogs/denuncias/AD_20050823_01.pdf).
To express their support for Radio Sucumbíos and the other radio stations affected by the measures, several organisations have begun protesting, asking for freedom of expression and information to be fully respected. They are also asking that national press organisations, journalism schools and media outlets, as well as international press organisations and human rights groups, issue statements on the situation.
The provinces on which the state of emergency has been imposed are petroleum-producing areas which, however, have been excluded from development. The radio stations have criticised this state of affairs and supported the communities in both provinces and their leaders when they began a complete stoppage of activities on 14 August. The protests aimed to compel the government to provide services to the areas’ residents and ask the trans-national petroleum companies operating there to contribute to basic public works, such as paving of roads, health care infrastructure, and potable water and sewage services.
In response, the government declared a state of emergency in the two provinces, including a prohibition on holding public gatherings or meetings as well as censorship of the local media.
PROBIDAD laments the censorship imposed on the media outlets in Sucumbíos and Orellana provinces through the state of emergency declared by the national government and warns the Ecuadorean state that actions of this nature infringe on individual freedoms and citizens’ fundamental rights, thereby constituting a rupture in the rule of law.
PROBIDAD also notes that every person has the right to seek, receive and disseminate information and opinions unimpeded, as stipulated in Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights. Therefore, the state of emergency should be lifted if the government wishes to consolidate and strengthen democracy in the country.
