Ecuador I

WHEREAS in Ecuador acts of aggression are more and more frequent from the President of the Republic, Rafael Correa Delgado, and his closest aides, toward those who report in an independent way on the actions of public servants of the national government and those who freely express their opinion in a different way from the official line of thinking; WHEREAS the Ecuadorian state has been using the judicial system in a sustained manner to persecute those who report and give opinion beyond the interests of officialdom; WHEREAS the President of the Republic, far from publicly debating questions about his management, has initiated a series of civil and criminal cases against journalists and managers of the independent media, which in and of itself constitutes self-censorship for those arrested and for the whole independent press; WHEREAS particularly in the case of the El Universo newspaper of Guayaquil, the success of its criminal case would mean prison for its managers and the destruction of this newspaper that is now completing its 90th year, in addition to generating evident self-censorship for Ecuadorian journalism in general; WHEREAS all situations described violate the Inter American Convention on Human Rights and put freedom of expression in Ecuador at grave risk; WHEREAS in a nation in which freedom of expression is threatened as is occurring in Ecuador, democracy is greatly weakened by the harmful consequences that this represents; WHEREAS Principle 10 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states that: “No news medium nor journalist may be punished for publishing the truth or criticizing or denouncing the government”; THE MID-YEAR MEETING OF THE IAPA RESOLVES: to condemn the criminal case brought against the managers of the El Universo newspaper and against journalist Emilio Palacio, as being contrary to the Inter American standards surrounding freedom of expression; to demand that the President of the Republic, Rafael Correa Delgado, withdraw immediately the criminal case against the managers of the El Universo newspaper, journalist Emilio Palacio, and other independent communicators, since as the first citizen of the Republic, he is obliged to submit to public scrutiny, to maintain the greatest tolerance for criticism of his management, and NOT to utilize the resources of the administration of justice to persecute those who criticize him, and much less, criminal law and the archaic crime of disrespect to send them to prison for their ideas, or for reporting in an independent manner; to demand that the President of the Republic, Rafael Correa Delgado, withdraw immediately the lawsuits brought against journalists or citizens who are critical of his management, because as the highest-ranking official of the Republic he is obliged to submit to public scrutiny, to maintain the greatest tolerance for criticism of his management, and not to utilize the resources of the public administration to persecute those who criticize him for the purpose of leading them to self-censorship under the threat of paying million-dollar compensations; to name a permanent oversight agency for the criminal case brought by the President of the Republic, Rafael Correa Delgado against the managers of the El Universo, its publishing company, and journalist Emilio Palacio.