Panama Government hate campaign gets international hit
A Panamanian government “hate Campaign” against local media following publication of WikiLeaks revelations has been denounced in Paris by Reporters Sans Frontieres, "Reporters Without Borders (RSF) .
The problem began, according to RSF, when Panama’s La Prensa published cables in which the U.S. Embassy in Panama pointed out alleged drug trafficking links of the administrator of the Tourism Authority of Solomon Shamah, and with Colombian businessman David Murcia Guzmán awaiting sentencing in the U.S. for "money laundering" and already sentenced in Colombia to 30 years incarceration for running a Ponzi scheme.
"The hate campaign waged against journalists seems to be the answer to a series of revelations of WikiLeaks disseminated by the media. Such attacks in the form of defatmatory video clips ofemployees and associates of La Prensa, the organization said in a statement .
In these videos, according to RSF, they stigmatize the links of some journalists with the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), the main opposition Democratic Change which belongs to its founder and financer, President Ricardo Martinelli.
"This approach supports the argument that this is the revenge of the circles of poweragainst the media because of information disclosed by WikiLeaks" said the NGO.
The organization considered that such information is of public interest and called for Panama’s justice system to research "the origin of the coarse videos and find out if they are motivated politically. "
RSF went on to comment that in Panama the situation of press freedom has been “in clear decline since Martinelli came to power," and cited cases ranging from the arrest of journalists to the senseless loss of their right to exercise their profession.
While government leaders, including Shamah, have kept a low profile since the allegations were published, there has been a blitz of TV advertising on stations with government connections, and justice minister Raul Mulino has appeared on local broadcast media outlets trying to deflect images of allegedgovernment involvement in corrupt practices,
