(AMARC/IFEX) – The Quito-based FM radio station La Luna, an AMARC associate, faces possible closure by President Lucio Gutiérrez’s government. According to station director Paco Velasco, government officials intend to shut down La Luna. Velasco said the government plans to impose sanctions on the station via the Ecuadorian Broadcasting Association (Asociación Ecuatoriana de Radiodifusión). The […]
(AMARC/IFEX) – The Quito-based FM radio station La Luna, an AMARC associate, faces possible closure by President Lucio Gutiérrez’s government.
According to station director Paco Velasco, government officials intend to shut down La Luna. Velasco said the government plans to impose sanctions on the station via the Ecuadorian Broadcasting Association (Asociación Ecuatoriana de Radiodifusión).
The government has recently intensified a campaign against media outlets that criticise its actions. Presidential spokesperson Iván Oña announced that those who speak out against the government or spread lies should face legal action. He added that the licences of media outlets critical of the government will be cancelled.
President Gutiérrez has had confrontations with the press in the past. In 2003, he brought before Congress a “gag” law, which was later withdrawn, and accused journalists of “conspiracy”, though he subsequently retracted his comment.
Ecuadorians are preparing to head to the polls and elect 22 governors and other regional authorities throughout the country.
Luis Dávila, executive secretary of the Latin American Radio Education Association (Asociación Latinoamericana de Educación Radiofónica), of which La Luna is a member, expressed his support for La Luna and stressed that freedom of expression must be respected in Ecuador.
“The government’s attempts to silence this radio station are nothing but the actions of a desperate authoritarian regime that has lost the people’s support,” Dávila said.
