Ecuador’s president denies any hypocrisy in free speech fight
Correa gives Assange help, but cracks down on his country’s press
QUITO, ECUADOR— President Rafael Correa insisted Ecuador would not waver in its mission to protect WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, angrily rejecting allegations of hypocrisy.
At a specially convened meeting with foreign journalists Tuesday night, Correa fired back at those who accused him of double standards for purporting to defend the principle of free speech while allegedly silencing critics in his own country.
“What hasn’t been understood is that the press in Latin America is totally corrupt,” said Correa, who has offered Assange political asylum on the basis that he could face persecution by the United States after using WikiLeaks to publish thousands of Washington’s secret diplomatic cables.
Assange is wanted for questioning on sexual assault and rape allegations in Sweden. He says the claims have been fabricated as part of a plot to get him extradited to the U.S., where he and Ecuador claim he could face a life sentence or even the death penalty for his work with WikiLeaks.
He has not been able to take up last week’s asylum offer as the U.K. refuses to allow him safe passage out of the country, forcing him to remain inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London for two months.
When pressed by foreign journalists, Correa said much of the Ecuadorean press deserved harsh treatment, whereas Assange deserved protection.
“We’re not talking about the Bob Woodwards and the Carl Bernsteins here, but about people who lie and blackmail,” he said. “Don’t be fooled. Ecuador will not give up on Julian Assange.”
Janeth Hinostroza, a well-known Ecuadorean television presenter, said Correa’s claims that he is protecting freedom of speech were ridiculous, in a country where at least 14 media outlets have been forcibly closed since the beginning of the year.
Though there is a vocal opposition media in Ecuador, Reporters Without Borders says press freedom in the country has worsened significantly in the past decade, and especially in the past few years under Correa. Dozens of media organizations have been shut down, though the government argues the closures relate to licensing issues or the nonpayment of fees. Earlier this year, three newspaper executives and a columnist were sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay a total of around $41 million in damages.
“I loved hearing Julian Assange talking from the balcony of the Ecuadorean embassy demanding Barack Obama’s government stop persecuting him because it could ‘drag us all into a dark, repressive world where journalists live under fear of prosecution,’ ” Hinostroza said. “Great Britain, please grant Julian Assange the safe passage so that he can come here quick and demand the same thing of the Ecuadorean government.”
Correa said the door remained open to dialogue with the U.K., but Ecuador remained steadfast in its insistence on a guarantee that Assange would not be extradited to a third country. If the U.K. did not back down, the case would be taken to the International Court of Justice, he said, where the Ecuadorean position “would prevail.” The many Ecuadoreans who adore their president unconditionally see Assange and Correa as representing the same crusade against the big powers.
Rosana Alvarado, a politician from Correa’s party, said: “Assange and Correa are fighting the same battle against oligarchs and tremendous imperialism. They are fighting the same battle for dignity and humanity.”
For others, both men are accomplished manipulators playing a clever game.
“Assange is trying to convert himself into an anti-American leader in the world,” says Blasco Penaherrera Padilla, who served as Ecuador’s vice-president from 1984 to 1988. “But Britain is not going to change its attitude while he makes a mock- ery of their government.” Throughout this dispute, Correa has sought to position himself as a crusader against imperialism, a leader in the model of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. Some analysts have suggested Correa is positioning himself to ultimately take over from Chavez as Latin America’s leftist leader. Correa said Wednesday that he and Assange shared the desire to change the world’s power structures. “We are both trying to fight the U.S., the most unfair country in the world,” he said. “We both confront injustice, and because of that we are both victims of lies and misinformation. Welcome to the persecuted club, Mr. Assange.”