The USG Open Source Center gives highlights from the Ecuadorean press on the issue of asylum for Edward Snowden. It includes a translation of President Rafael Correa’s tweet slamming the Washington Post and other US media for making Snowden the issue rather than reporting on the NSA abuses he revealed
Ecuador Media Watch: USG Making ‘Prejudicial, False, and Counterproductive Accusations’
OSC Summary
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Document Type: OSC Summary
The following is a selection of political and economic highlights from Ecuadoran press sources, television, and government websites on 26 June:
Rafael Correa Rejects Washington Post Editorial About Snowden Case.
Quito El Comercio on 26 June has an AFP news agency report that President Correa has hit back at a recent Washington Post editorial which claimed that the government’s decision to consider Edward Snowden’s request for political asylum shows a “double standard.” Correa tweeted today: “Washington Post” accuses Ecuador of double standards. The shamelessness!” “Do you see the power of the international press? They have managed to focus attention on Snowden and the ‘evil’ countries which “support’ him making us forget the terrible things against the US people and the entire world which he denounced,” Correa added, concluding: “The world order is not only unjust, it is immoral.”
Ecuador Denies Provoking Confrontation With USA Over Snowden.
Guayaquil El Universo on 26 June reports that a senior Ecuadoran diplomat in the United States has denied that Ecuador is seeking confrontation over the Snowden case. “This current situation is not being provoked by Ecuador,” says a statement issued by Efrain Baus, number two at Ecuador’s embassy in Washington. Baus added that Ecuador will “responsibly review” Snowden’s asylum request and he said that “the Ecuadoran Embassy energetically rejects recent statements by US Government Officials which contain prejudicial, false, and counterproductive accusations” against Ecuador. Finally, Baus said that the Ecuadoran Government has asked the US Government for a written explanation of its position in the Snowden case so that this can be considered “as part of our exhaustive review process.”
Acting Foreign Minister Denies Ecuador Gave Snowden Refugee Documents.
Guayaquil El Telegrafo on 26 June has an EFE news agency report that acting Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Galo Galarza has denied that Ecuador has given Snowden a refugee document supposedly allowing him to travel internationally without a passport. Galarza said in a local television interview that Snowden “does not have any document issued by Ecuador such as a passport or a refugee document as people are saying.” The refugee document claim was made by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during an interview he gave on Monday 24 June.
Patino: ” Decision About Snowden Asylum Could Take A Day, A Week, Or It Could Take Two Months.’
Guayaquil El Telegrafo on 26 June reports that Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino has complained about being misquoted on the Snowden case. There have been reports that Patino said Ecuador will take two months to decide whether or not to grant Snowden political asylum, but Patino has clarified that what he actually said when journalists asked him about the asylum decision was that “it could be resolved in a day, a week, or, as in the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, it could take two months.”
The following media are regularly scanned to prepare this product:
(Guayaquil Ecuavisa Television in Spanish — commercial television station; consistently critical of the government; URL: http://www.ecuavisa.com )
(Quito El Comercio.com in Spanish — Website of prestigious daily owned by Grupo El Comercio C.A.; consistently critical of the government; URL: http://www.elcomercio.com )
(Guayaquil El Universo Online in Spanish — Website of influential daily owned by Grupo El Universo C.A.; consistently critical of the government; URL: http://eluniverso.com )
(Quito elciudadano.gov.ec in Spanish — Website of government-owned self-described “digital newspaper of the citizen revolution;” URL:http://www.elciudadano.gov.ec)
(Guayaquil El Telegrafo Online in Spanish — Website of Ecuador’s oldest newspaper, now serving as the government’s unofficial gazette since its takeover in 2007; URL:
http://telegrafo.com.ec/ http://telegrafo.com.ec )
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