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C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000449 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY DECL DATE ADDED 
E.O. 12958: N/A  DECL 6/15/2019 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KPAO EC
 
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CALL TO PRESIDENT CORREA ADDS TO PRESS 
FREEDOM DEBATE IN ECUADOR 
 
...



id: 212121
date: 6/15/2009 12:06
refid: 09QUITO449
origin: Embassy Quito
classification: CONFIDENTIAL
destination: 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000449 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY DECL DATE ADDED 
E.O. 12958: N/A  DECL 6/15/2019 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KPAO EC
 
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CALL TO PRESIDENT CORREA ADDS TO PRESS 
FREEDOM DEBATE IN ECUADOR 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Heather Hodges for reasons 1.4 (b and d) 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Initial Ecuadorian government and media reaction to 
President Obama's June 10 phone call to President Correa focused on 
President Obama's message of congratulation for Correa's reelection 
and his desire to deepen U.S.-Ecuador relations, but did not include 
extensive comments on his expression of support for a free and 
independent press.  The Ecuadorian president's office released the 
White House press statement on the call without any official comment. 
 However, on June 11 President Correa gave a speech where he argued 
that one cannot confuse freedom of expression with private, 
for-profit media companies "that do not pay taxes and are often owned 
by ghost foreign companies."  Media coverage June 12 changed and 
focused on President Obama's press freedom message, noting it came at 
the very moment that the Ecuadorian TV and Radio Council (CONARTEL) 
was taking administrative actions against TV station Teleamazonas 
that could lead to its closure (reftels). End Summary 
 
¶2. (U) News of President Obama's June 10 call to President Correa 
began to circulate in Ecuador on June 11, after the White House 
statement was released and wire-service reports of the call that 
stressed Obama's desire for "improved ties with Ecuador's Correa" 
were published.  The Ecuadorian president's office released the text 
of the White House statement in English and Spanish versions the 
morning of June 11 without any comment or reaction attributed to 
President Correa.  That same morning, however, President Correa gave 
a speech at the change of command ceremony for the Ecuadorian Police 
where he strongly criticized the Ecuadorian media and made extensive 
comments on his ideas on freedom of expression and freedom of the 
press. 
 
¶3.  (U) In that speech Correa said that no one can be above the law 
in Ecuador, but that unfortunately there are some sectors of 
Ecuadorian society that are accustomed to acting with complete 
impunity and that have committed clear infractions of the law. 
Without mentioning Teleamazonas by name, he defended CONARTEL's 
current administrative actions against the channel and said, "There 
is no freedom without responsibility.  I will never permit prior 
censorship of the media, but by the same token I will firmly apply 
the law to uphold the abused (concept of) freedom of expression." 
Summing up his populist rhetoric against the media that "prostitute 
sacred words such as liberty," he said, "I am prepared to give my 
life in defense of freedom of expression." 
 
¶4. (U) Ecuadorian media on June 12 picked up the second half of 
President Obama's message to Correa in such headlines as, "Obama 
advocates for a free press in Ecuador," and "Obama asks Correa for a 
free and independent press."  These reports linked President Obama's 
message in support of a free and independent press with the GOE's 
current administrative actions against Teleamazonas, led by CONARTEL, 
which could lead to the station's closing.  This reporting placed 
President Obama's congratulatory call in the middle of the current 
debate in Ecuador on press freedom prompted by President Correa's 
long-standing, ongoing attacks on the media, which in the case of 
Teleamazonas could lead to the first outright shutdown of an 
independent media outlet under Correa. 
 
¶5. (U) In what is perhaps a sign that some members of Correa's own 
Proud and Sovereign Fatherland (PAIS) movement are becoming 
uncomfortable with CONARTEL's hardball tactics against Teleamazonas, 
on June 11 PAIS assembly member Maria Paula Romo asked that the head 
of CONARTEL, Antonio Garcia, appear before the Assembly's Special 
Committee on Civil and Penal Affairs to give testimony about the 
sanctions it has been handing out against media outlets.  She is 
quoted as saying that if Ecuadorian laws governing the media were 
equally applied to all media outlets, "probably none would remain 
open." 
 
¶6. (C) COMMENT: From his June 11 remarks it seems clear that Correa 
intends to remain on the attack against the media and use populist 
arguments that "no one is above the law" to argue that the media 
abuse their right to freedom of expression, do not deserve to be 
trusted with that right, and should be fully prosecuted for abuses of 
prevailing press laws even if that leads to the closing of media 
outlets.  Now that leading Ecuadorian media outlets have used 
President Obama's statement in their own defense to criticize 
Correa's actions against them, it remains to be seen whether Correa 
will become defensive and in turn criticize the President's defense 
of freedom of the press.  President Obama's message that a free press 
is a necessary and important goal for both countries was timely and 
has had a significant impact on the ongoing debate here about the 
role of a free press in a vibrant democracy.  No doubt the 
Department's statement on Freedom of Expression in the Western 
Hemisphere will get broad coverage this weekend. 
HODGES 

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