Sunday, June 21, 2009

the Ortega government wants to silence an opposition-leaning media outlet.

TO BE NOTED: From Bloggings by boz:

"Nicaragua silences radio station

Nicaragua's government has canceled the license for Radio La Ley. While the government claims the license was canceled over some technical violations of the telecommunications law, it's clear to everyone watching the situation that the Ortega government wants to silence an opposition-leaning media outlet.

Sound familiar? This is a story that is becoming increasingly common in some countries in Latin America. Peru canceled the license for Radio La Voz over documentation issues, but it was clearly due to the station's reporting on the violent clashes in Bagua. Ecuador's government is moving to suspend or shut down Teleamazonas TV over various political disputes regarding the station's reporting. Venezuela's government continues to attack Globovision through various administrative rules, with President Chavez publicly stating that they can only remain on the air if they change their editorial line.

Shutting down private media outlets over political disagreements is a clear violation of freedom of the press as it's defined by the UN, OAS and most of these countries' constitutions. Governments do have rights and obligations to regulate the broadcast spectrum, but using legal technicalities to attack the media outlets does not make the violation of democratic rights any less egregious.


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