WikiLeaks' Assange seeks asylum in Ecuador, an anti-press regime
Assange defends the publishing of classified diplomatic cables as a right to freedom of expression, but turned to a country that has been accused of limiting press freedom in recent years.
(Page 2 of 2)
That kind of transparency, however, is not what media observers have witnessed inside Ecuador.
Skip to next paragraph
Europe Bureau Chief
Sara Miller Llana moved to Paris in April 2013 to become the Monitor's Europe Bureau Chief. Previously she was the paper's Latin America Bureau Chief, based in Mexico City, from 2006 to 2013.
Recent posts
-
05.17.13
What does genocide conviction of Ríos Montt mean to Guatemalans abroad? -
05.16.13
'People of corn' protest GMO strain in Mexico -
05.13.13
Safety check: Are some car models sold in Latin America held to lower standards? -
05.13.13
What will the Rios Montt genocide conviction do for Guatemala? -
05.09.13
Move over Beyoncé: Another American explores Cuba, 'people to people'
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
Correa has sued journalists and clamped down on the media with new laws, at the same time that he has expanded state media outlets. He says he is doing so to demand fairness from a sensational industry that happens to be his no. 1 critic. But Correa has been condemned across the board inside and outside Ecuador. An editorial in the Washington Post in January described Correa as the man behind “the most comprehensive and ruthless assault on free media underway in the Western Hemisphere.”
Most recently Freedom House condemned Correa for shutting down another independent media outlet. “Freedom of expression continues to be severely threatened in Ecuador,” said Daniel Calingaert, vice president of policy and external affairs at Freedom House, in a statement in June.
Of course, Assange might have trouble finding a suitable ally in terms of a free press at many Latin American embassies. According to Freedom House's 2011 press freedom index, the region enjoys free press in 39 percent of countries, while in 44 percent of nations the press environment is only “partly free.” Venezuela and Cuba continued to be “not free,” for their state control of the media, while Mexico and Honduras faced the same “not free” fate, mostly due to the threat of drug traffickers and other extralegal groups. The region's ranking was also influenced by the slipping of Chile and Guyana, and of course the dramatic slide of Ecuador.
“Chile’s decline to Partly Free and major setbacks in Ecuador are the latest in a series of negative developments in Latin America over the past decade. Whether due to violence by criminal groups, as in Mexico and Honduras, or government hostility to media criticism, as in Venezuela, Argentina, and Bolivia, media freedom is under threat in much of the region,” according to Freedom House.
When the TV interview with Correa wrapped up last month, the Ecuadorean president signed off by telling Assange, "Cheer up. Welcome to the club of the Persecuted."
Previous
These comments are not screened before publication. Constructive debate about the above story is welcome, but personal attacks are not. Please do not post comments that are commercial in nature or that violate any copyright[s]. Comments that we regard as obscene, defamatory, or intended to incite violence will be removed. If you find a comment offensive, you may flag it.