Robbing Your Liberty by Degrees Like a Thief in the Night

March 31, 2010   Real leaders act to build the sustainable, common good. Cartel thugs abuse power to build power for themselves. Rafael Correa and his gang of dishonest chumps build false faces of power for themselves while harming all facets of Ecuadorean life. Ecuadoreans delude themselves by pretending that as long as the military is not marching through their homes in the middle of the night that all is well. However, all is not well. Ecuador, because of Correa, sustains a ruined global reputation as dishonest, free speech and the media are more than 95% controlled by Correa through outright seizures of bribes- extortion, and the state grants few freedoms unless it is taking your money and your future. It is past time to denounce this abuse of leadership. Citizens can stop pretending that this is a wonderful way to live and can start stating the facts.

A superb companion piece about Venezuela is here:

 
The Wall Street Journal
REVIEW & OUTLOOK
MARCH 31, 2010

Chávez's Gag Orders
It's a crime to criticize El Jefe.
'It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once," wrote 18th-century Scottish philosopher David Hume. "Slavery has so frightful an aspect to men accustomed to freedom that it must steal in upon them by degrees and must disguise itself in a thousand shapes in order to be received."

So it goes in Venezuela, where Hugo Chávez has slowly but steadily tightened his political grip since coming to power in 1999. Last week he squeezed again.

On Thursday military intelligence briefly detained the president of Globovision, the country's final remaining independent media voice. According to Attorney General Luisa Ortega, Guillermo Zuloaga is under investigation for criticizing Mr. Chávez at the Inter-American Press Association meeting in Aruba earlier this month for closing down independent media outlets. Mr. Zuloaga said press freedom had been lost.

Ms. Ortega said that Mr. Zuloaga is being investigated for spreading false information and making comments "offensive" to the president. The media owner was released but can't leave the country until the investigation is completed. He faces from three to five years in prison if convicted of making false statements.

This follows the recent arrest of Oswaldo Alvarez Paz, the former governor of the state of Zulia, on charges of conspiracy and making false statements. Mr. Alvarez Paz had appeared on Globovision supporting the claim by a Spanish judge that the Chávez government is allied with Basque separatists and Colombian rebels. He also said Venezuela is a major thoroughfare for drug trafficking in South America.

Mr. Chávez has already stripped Venezuelans of their property rights and their right to private schools, to hold dollars and to free association. Now, as his popularity slumps, he is closing the window on free speech.

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Sound familiar?  You think the Correa Cuban schools, bars to your money and investing, and threats to spy on all that you do- while the state actually does spy on all that you do is a good thing? What do you think those thousands of Cuban spies are doing all day long? You think having 3 newspapers and one semi-free TV channel left is a good thing and reveals robust open media and free speech? No- it does not. This clamp down of Correa’s rusting Pink Curtain erodes your soul, your liberty and your capability to move in life as a real human being.

And because so very very little is actually told to Ecuadoreans about the state of Correa’s bankruptcy and his criminal adventures, few are even aware that the first arbitral ruling stands against Correa’s lies about what PetroEcuador-Ecuador owes to Chevron Texaco. We hope that Correa, for once, acts honorably and pays this money as he should.  Correa should also recommit to the World Bank’s CIADI courts plus reinstate sustained, even handed justice and all civil liberties currently denied under Correa’s Cuban-ALBA constitution of 9-08, which we hope also by now the USA has formally translated and reviewed….a cornerstone of why Correa is acting with gay abandon to criminally deceive, seize assets and debase even handed justice…..like the thief in the night. ….robbing your honor and money.

Here from EL UNIVERSO is the latest:

            Martes 30 de marzo del 2010

Chevron dice que ganó arbritraje contra Ecuador
REUTERS

La petrolera estadounidense Chevron dijo que tuvo un resultado favorable en el arbitraje contra el gobierno de Ecuador.

Según Chevron CVX.N, el tribunal encontró que las cortes ecuatorianas violaron la ley internacional al retrasar los procesos judiciales que tenían a cargo.

La petrolera dijo que el tribunal internacional fijó una indemnización de unos 700 millones de dólares a su favor, con lo que se resuelven parcialmente siete reclamos comerciales de Texaco, que fue comprada por Chevron, presentados en Ecuador entre 1991 y 1993.

            And this:NEWS RELEASE – Chevron Wins Arbitration Claim Against the Government of Ecuador – International Tribunal Awards Chevron Approximately $700 Million  The Amazon Post     Tuesday, Mar. 30th 2010
SAN RAMON, Calif. – Mar. 30, 2010 – An international arbitration tribunal has ruled in favor of Chevron in a claim against Ecuador related to past oil operations by Chevron’s subsidiary, Texaco Petroleum Company. The tribunal, administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, found that Ecuador’s courts violated international law through their delays in ruling on certain commercial disputes between Texaco Petroleum Company and the Ecuadorian government.

Today’s ruling is distinct from arbitral claims Chevron and Texaco Petroleum filed against Ecuador in 2009 in connection with the Lago Agrio litigation.

In its decision, the tribunal found that Ecuador had violated the United States-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty by failing to provide effective means of asserting claims and enforcing rights. As a result, the tribunal awarded Chevron and Texaco Petroleum Company approximately US$700 million in principal damages and interest as of December 22, 2006, pending further proceedings to determine applicable taxes, compound interest, and costs.

“This ruling demonstrates that the government of Ecuador is not above the law,” said Hewitt Pate, Chevron vice president and general counsel. “We have maintained for some time that Ecuador’s courts are failing to administer justice when it comes to Chevron and its affiliates, and an international tribunal has now agreed. We hope this ruling will help move Ecuador towards proper treatment of foreign investors and respect for the rule of law.”

The arbitral award partially resolves seven commercial claims that Texaco Petroleum Company, now a Chevron subsidiary, filed in Ecuador between 1991 and 1993. Ecuadorian courts continually delayed and refused to rule on Texaco Petroleum’s cases, which has been found to constitute a breach of Ecuador’s treaty with the United States.

Chevron and Texaco Petroleum Company filed the arbitration in December 2006 under the Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The Permanent Court of Arbitration is an intergovernmental organization with over one hundred member countries established by international convention in 1899 to facilitate arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution. The United States acceded to the Court’s founding convention in 1900 and Ecuador acceded in 1907.

The tribunal is not alone in highlighting the Ecuadorian courts’ failure to provide justice to foreign investors. In February 2009, the United States Department of State released its Investment Climate Statement for Ecuador, which stated, “Systemic weakness and susceptibility to political or economic pressures in the rule of law constitute the most important problem faced by U.S. companies investing in or trading with Ecuador.” The report went on to state, “corruption is a serious problem in Ecuador,” and that, “the courts are often susceptible to outside pressure and bribes.”

Ecuador is defending the second largest arbitration docket in the world with more than 11 claims seeking more than US$6.5 billion in damages. Ecuador has withdrawn from the World Bank’s arbitration program, making it the second country ever to do so, and has indicated its intention to cancel scores of bilateral investment treaties that provide for international arbitration of investment disputes. The country has also fallen out of favor with international financial markets since defaulting on more than $3 billion of foreign debt after a government-appointed panel declared the debt to be “illegitimate.”

Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. The company’s success is driven by the ingenuity and commitment of its employees and their application of the most innovative technologies in the world. Chevron is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. The company explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and other energy products; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops the energy resources of the future, including biofuels. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.

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And….if you are still behaving like all Ecuadoreans, busily pretending that none of this matters, as your life is increasingly irrelevant and frivolous- that is, without meaning or integrity as you so desire, consider the on going patterns here.  Over ½ year ago one and all knew tat Correa, legalized to destroy freedoms under his democracy-ending ALBA constitution, began shutting down free speech. Not so bad you said then. And still yet today because you pretend that the thousands of Cuban spies monitoring your every step…are not so bad, you continue to play the game that this Pink Curtain is great when….it is not. Gabriela shows the deterioration from a half year ago and today. There will be more slides in to oblivion until the day comes when you finally grow up and realize that Ecuador mirrors Castro’s Cuba. Cubans today want an end to their tyranny. Ecuadoreans are still pretending that they can manipulate Correa’s tyranny for money and self delusion. It will not work. On these issues alone, CATO does a great service by featuring truth telling, shining some much needed light on Correa’s darkening disgrace. It is not enough….but we are grateful for this effort:

Ecuador’s Continuing Attack on the Free Press
Posted by Gabriela Calderon de Burgos    

Last year the Ecuadorian government seized two TV channels broadcasting on public airwaves and one cable channel along with hundreds of other businesses supposedly owned by the Isaías family, an unpopular Ecuadorian business group that the government bailed out in the late nineties. In seizing those assets, the current government claimed to be cashing in on a long overdue debt owed to it by the Isaías family. Leaving the violations of due process aside, this was a significant attack on freedom of the press in Ecuador given that the two public access channels garnered almost half the country’s TV audience. Back then the government said it was going to sell off the seized channels but it has not done so yet.

The last elections in my country, held on April 26, showed how government ends up manipulating state media: 79% of the political ads aired on these channels went for the official candidates despite the fact that the new electoral rules require every candidate to have equal air time.

Since those elections, Carlos Vera, the most popular morning news anchor in the country, quit his channel Ecuavisa because he claims to have been subject to the self-censorship imposed by Ecuavisa’s owner. According to Vera, the owner wanted to dictate whom he should interview on his show and chose not to air one of his interviews which, coincidentally, was with the President’s main political opponent. Vera issued a public statement explaining that he would not censor his show nor would he let anybody else do so. Since then, Ecuavisa’s independence has been severely questioned.

This leaves us with one important public airwaves channel that is still independent: Teleamazonas.

For the past couple of weeks there have been growing rumors that the government might shut down Teleamazonas applying the laws of Conartel, the regulator of TV and radio stations. According to Ecuadorian regulations, which have their origins in the military dictatorship of General Rodríguez Lara of the early 1970s, a TV channel or radio station can be sanctioned symbolically for $20 the first time it commits a violation; suspended for up to 90 days the second time; and lose its concession to operate for good the third time. Conartel has already imposed two sanctions on Teleamazonas.

In the first case Teleamazonas was sanctioned for showing bull fighting images, which Conartel has considered to be “conducive to violence” and thus, in violation of its regulations. This is a questionable rule, especially in a country in which bull-fighting takes center stage every December in Quito. In the case of the second sanction Conartel is applying a clause that forbids the live reporting of unconfirmed events. Such a law would make illegal most of the news reported in CNN or other news networks that report in real time. In this particular case, Teleamazonas aired images of what appeared to be a clandestine vote-counting center.

For now, we are waiting to hear from Conartel about the third sanction and what it is going to do about the second sanction, which would, if enforced, mean the suspension of Teleamazonas for up to 90 days. I wonder what freedom of expression Ecuadorians would be left with if the government decided to apply Conartel’s rules consistently to every TV and radio station.

Meanwhile the former Minister of the Interior, Gustavo Larrea, called attention to “journalists whose salary comes from foreign powers” including the CIA, though he did not specify what individuals he was referring to.

When asked about details he merely replied that it was the duty of a legislative commission to find out. I guess he is suggesting that individuals like myself, who write for an Ecuadorian newspaper but are not employed by an Ecuadorian company, should be investigated…

What is happening in Ecuador, and what has been happening in Venezuela over the last few years — the shutdown of RCTV, and the ongoing persecution of Globovisión — shows that in countries with a weak rule of law and public ownership of the airwaves, regulations can easily serve those in power who want to silence independent voices. Nobel Laureate Ronald Coase warned Americans about this potential abuse of power in 1959 in his classic “The Federal Communications Commission.” Back then he wondered, “In other fields it is almost always agreed that the use of property rights and of the price system serves the public good, why not in the case of radios [and TV]?”

Gabriela Calderon de Burgos
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A Columnist Sentenced to Three Years in Prison in Ecuador
Posted by Gabriela Calderon de Burgos          3-29-10

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has long labeled the free press as his “main enemy.” His attitude has unfortunately resulted in official intolerance of individuals critical of the government.

The latest example is that of Emilio Palacio, the editor of the op-ed page of El Universo — the newspaper with the highest circulation in the country — who was sentenced on Friday to three years in jail for an op-ed he wrote in August 2009. Palacio accused Camilo Samán, director of a state-owned bank, of having sent protesters to El Universo’s offices after the newspaper reported on possible acts of corruption at the bank. The President has repeatedly stated that Palacio should be punished for what he wrote. In a country where everybody knows that the courts are not independent of political power, it’s not surprising that the ruling went against the editor.

I have known Palacio since I began writing op-eds for El Universo in late 2006. Although we hardly ever agree on policy issues, I certainly don’t believe he (or anyone else) deserves to go to jail (and possibly pay a fine of $3 million) for expressing an opinion. (The court actually found Palacio guilty of libel, but even if we were to agree with that finding, the punishment surely does not fit the crime.)

Correa’s government has accused at least 31 people of offending “the majesty of the presidency,” jailing many of them for short periods of time. To do so, the President revived a law that the first military dictatorship of the 1970s put into place that made such an offense a crime and that was never taken off the books.

The government regularly vilifies its critics including journalists, university students, businessmen, and indigenous leaders. For example, during his weekly national radio shows, the President has attacked Carlos Vera and Jorge Ortiz, the two most popular news anchors in the country. The government’s frequent nationally televised messages (that every TV station on public airwaves is forced to broadcast) usually have the sole purpose of attacking a person or group that opposes official policy. Sometimes these messages were broadcast during Vera’s and Ortiz’s programs, thereby keeping their viewers from watching them. In 2008 Correa took over several privately owned TV and radio stations. Last year, he apparently had his eyes set on Teleamazonas, another TV station on public airwaves. In December, the government shut down Teleamazonas for three days and now has a frivolous legal case pending against it.

Sadly, Correa is following the pattern of his fellow populist Hugo Chávez in curtailing freedom of speech, though receiving virtually no international scrutiny.

Gabriela Calderon de Burgos • March 29, 2010 @ 10:39 am
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We at ECrisis are still laughing that Correa’s Larrea publicly-stated lies that the US CIA is behind truthful media stories in Ecuador. Larrea gives credit for actual day work when he should not.  To be sure, not once- not once in over two decades has any decent CIA official ever ever been active in Ecuador. In fact, all known CIA agents inside Ecuador were/are truly awful, enabling the Cuban cartels now enmeshed with the Russo-Iranean criminal cartels which somehow these overpaid liars from Langley ignored in their haste to make the best the enemy of the good. And of course….still do, like fallen angels spreading malaise but never honor.  It is a pity but that is the truth. In fact, no one is permitted today inside the US government to report the facts- let alone speak the facts- about Ecuador to enable Ecuadoreans to feel better about their national psychoses under Correa. Or as the U.S. Department of State has illegally stated, ` we will abandon all factual reporting on Ecuador.’ How is that dishonesty working out for you guys ? Feeling good about your mission yet?  Hoping to be rewarded like Linda Jewell with paid contracts through….Roger Noriega….to do what of consequence? Or perhaps see yourself like US tax-funded in main, John Sanbraillo, rewarded by Dan Restrepo and Hillary for sustaining the wretched OAS chief for Soros Jose Miguel Insulza? Feeling better yet?

Indeed, all US monies are spent to further Correa’s crime spree and his cartel efforts. Next week at the ridiculous and incompetent University of Illinois, whose current head is a specialist in animal breeding will award Correa- based on no facts and no due diligence-  with its outstanding global leader award, claiming that the award’s donors to praise free trade have found their advocate for  free trade in Correa when even the university itself cannot once find one act by Correa to defend or support free trade. Correa deserves no award from Urbana Champagne. Correa’s real life words, acts and policies shutter Ecuador while lying through his teeth to declare that he loves free trade and loves the USA when Correa lies every minute of every day. And this gets rewarded?  Ecuadoreans should not be fooled that this “university” is doing anything but buying in to a public relations company, paid for by Correa’s pockets of your money to lie a lot,  promoting their dishonest client Correa to sell the idea that he is a great global leader. The facts reveal that Correa has ruined Ecuador. The regents in Illinois, as if rewarding an identical player Fidel  Castro for his great leadership, abusing their own tax dollars in  partial payment for this bizarre award, should be ashamed. Who will they reward next-Hugo Chavez? Mahmoud? Hezbollah’s leaders, currently flooding in to Ecuador? They as a state entity of Illinois, have better, more honest things to do with their money. And please, we pray, keep Heather Hodges silent on this dishonest award- a joke in and of itself- and may she not further disgrace the nation of the USA with her additional complicity to praise Correa who warrants no praise but does warrant….a jail sentence for his crimes. The University of Illinois should stop this scam right now and apologize. And the people of Ecuador should protest this abuse of privilege and the facts. With gay abandon, Correa has dishonored himself and his nation. That is not commendable.

-Pedro Camargo for ECrisis