TV station faces possible closure for 90 days

The privately-owned national TV station Teleamazonas has just been told it is being fined 40 dollars for “broadcasting unverified information.” The notification comes just a few weeks after it was fined 20 dollars on 3 June for “broadcasting a bullfight outside permitted viewing times.” The station, which is owned by banker Fidel Egas, could be shut down for 90 days if it receives a third sanction for a similar reason. President Rafael Correa, who takes over the rotating presidency of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) next month, has meanwhile proposed the creation of a UNASUR body to defend citizens and governments against press abuses. ---------------------- 12.06.2009 - TV station in open conflict with president could be stripped of its frequency Reporters Without Borders urges the government and National Council for Radio and Television (Conartel) to withdraw the latest administrative proceedings against the privately-owned national TV station Teleamazonas, which could force it off the air. The offensive comes amid a war of nerves between the station and President Rafael Correa, who has said he wants to “put an end” to news media he regards as “corrupt” and “mediocre.” “President Correa has had to face very harsh criticism from the privately-owned media since he first took office, but his desire to punish them for this violates the very principle of press freedom,” Reporters Without Borders said. “This is the unfortunate backdrop to the three proceedings brought against Teleamazonas.” The press freedom organisation added: “If the final objective is to withdraw the station’s broadcast frequency, it will in no way solve the problem of ‘false information’ decried by the president, and will never eliminate the criticism, fair or unfair, to which all governments are exposed. It could even fuel more radical polarisation beyond the reach of the media’s filtering.” The latest administrative proceedings against Teleamazonas got the green light from Conartel chairman Antonio García on 9 June. The station has already been punished once, but this time it could be silenced for good. The proceedings are in response to a recent Teleamazonas report about the environmental consequences of a project by the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA in the southwestern Gulf of Guayaquil. The issue was already raised by the daily El Universo, which is also in the president’s sights. Teleamazonas has said it will refer the case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The first case brought by Conartel against Teleamazonas, for broadcasting a bullfight at a peak viewing time, resulted in the imposition of a modest fine of 20 dollars in April. The station’s appeal was rejected on 3 June. A second case was brought against the station in May because it reported the existence of a “clandestine” vote-counting centre and the possibility of fraud after the 26 April general elections. In this case, it faces the possibility of a three-month suspension under a provision of the radio and TV broadcasting law that punishes “reports based on presumption, liable to cause harm or to cause social or public disorder.” The situation is all the more delicate as an independent report by experts that was submitted to President Correa on 18 May accuses Conartel of serious irregularities in the allocation of broadcast frequencies, to the detriment of community media. Correa, who takes over the rotating presidency of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in July, has meanwhile proposed the creation of a UNASUR body to defend citizens and governments against press abuses. Although the proposal has little chance of being approved, it has been backed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who is himself trying to silence the privately-owned Venezuelan TV station Globovisión