(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned a bomb attack on Radio Canela station in the early hours of 4 February 2005 as “a serious press freedom violation.” The organisation urged the authorities to extensively investigate the incident in order to promptly identify and apprehend those responsible. Radio Canela is based in Macas, 240 km southeast of […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned a bomb attack on Radio Canela station in the early hours of 4 February 2005 as “a serious press freedom violation.” The organisation urged the authorities to extensively investigate the incident in order to promptly identify and apprehend those responsible. Radio Canela is based in Macas, 240 km southeast of Quito.
“It is vital to put an end to this kind of intimidation as rapidly as possible so that journalists can work in complete safety,” the organisation said.
The bomb went off outside the radio station’s premises at 2:30 a.m. (local time). There were no injuries but damages are estimated at US$20,000. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but Radio Canela owner Wilson Cabrera said he suspected the government, which he has accused of corruption on several occasions.
President Lucio Gutiérrez condemned the attack and denied the government was in any way involved. He accused “anarchist groups” of wanting to “spread chaos in the country.”
The day before the bomb attack, journalist Carlos Vera, of Canal 8 television station, claimed that soldiers threatened him with imprisonment for calling the president a “dictator” and a “populist” on air. Speaking on a state radio station, President Gutiérrez denied that the government wanted to arrest anyone.
