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Is freedom of expression at risk?

The country must be very attentive to that, following the seizure of media, the administration is temporary and there is no political interference in the content.

By Journal Editorial El Comercio

The surprise decision of the Government and the Deposit Guarantee Agency (AGD) to seize all assets of those who were managers and shareholders of Filanbanco, in 1998, in order to recover assets and cover losses in certain USD 661 million presents aspects that it is imperative to analyse calmly and objectively.

There is no doubt that the decision has political reception for the serious effects of the 1999 crisis and the widespread perception that the injury has not been settled. While the family Isaiah Dassum argues that the law is not retroactive and that no judgement proves grounds for any seizure, the AGD decided to apply article 29 of the Act of Rearrangement in Economic and Tax Matters.

Consequently, seizing property and transferred to a trust, while testing their property. Either way, they are known in detail by the fundamentals of the Banking Board decision that led to the action.

In his statement, the AGD noted that the measure should have been taken 10 years ago. It is an assertion that draws attention, because such action did not occur in the administration of Wilma Salgado, former manager of the AGD, who had just received amnesty from the Assembly and since yesterday was the leader of Finance. Her predecessor left office because they disagree with the procedure.

The second striking fact is that the seizure involves the media. It is true that the authority does not know in advance the valuation of assets and could not act selectively, but the recent history of The Daily Telegraph-which ended in the hands of the state-opens doubt that the authority can meet the challenging goal of settling accounts quickly. The country should be very careful that the administration is temporary and there is no government interference in the content.

The seizure of the means of the Group Isaiah occurs hours after the Superintendency of Telecommunications of Guayas closed Radio Sucre, arguing, instead, technical failures - it is known that there are other frequencies in similar situation. All this requires extreme vigilance so as not to affect freedom of expression.

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