President Rafael Correa addresses Newsweek article on Indigenous massacre in Ecuador

...who writes in the Expreso and thinks he
knows about economics. And he knows some,

he's somewhat informed, but he's a Libertarian,
so his ideology clouds him, makes him lose

objectivity. Ok. Let's see how the attacks
of the international press continue against

the Citizen's Revolution. This is the "free
press" of Capitalism. They have their media

outlets, and yes, if there's a traffic accident,
in the end, maybe they can inform you objectively,

if a train derails, or a hurricane.
But when it comes to political or social economy, or

challenges to the System, they are never going
to inform you objectively, they are propaganda

machines that try to annihilate anyone who
dares to defy the System. Let's look at the

"report", between quotation marks, because
it's a bunch of lies, from the extreme right

wing magazine Newsweek, about Ecuador and
basically about the massacre of our Taromenane

brothers. Do we have this one on video? Ok,
let's roll the clip. The north American right

wing magazine Newsweek, with a total lack
of profesisonal ethics, open to lies and attacking

the government for being left wing, publishes
on its pages a completely wrong news story

about the conflict between people of the Taromenane
and the Huaorani tribes, and the supposed

kidnapping of two girls. The magazine, with
malice, wants there to be talk of a "massacre,"

when no dead bodies are yet to be found. Despite
this, the magazine titles the article "After

All the People We Killed, We Felt Dizzy."
Yellow journalism, in its maximum expression!

This is the freedom of expression of Capital.
Within the article, the magazine writes: The

facts regarding this horrific incident were
widely known across Ecuador by early April,

but eight months went by before the government
even acknowledged them." Lies! The government

never hid the facts. It lent its complete
support to the investigation that was carried

out by the Attorney General. The government
even formed a top-notch commission to clarify

the events that occurred. It is then written:
"President Rafael Correa downplayed whatever

happened that bloody day in March as just
one of many conflicts between the tribes."

Lies! The President of Ecuador Never said
such things. What is written in this right

wing publication Newsweek is a complete calumny.
A collection of imprecisions that completely

miss the truth. The magazine continues to
add to the lies: "Correa ordered the arrest

of six Huaorani were arrested, and now face
charges of genocide ... Without warning, the

Ecuadorean government snatched the girls back."
Lies! The Attorney General is who solicits

judicial orders from a judge, who is then
in charge of issuing it or not, the order

to detain a person. The President Rafael Correa
cannot order the arrest of any citizen. Also,

the government did not kidnap the girls, as
the article writes with bad intentions. It

was the Attorney General who Rescued one Taromenane
girl from the hands of her kidnappers. Let

it be said, by the way, that those kidnappers
were the ones who had murdered her parents.

The article adds: "when Cabodevilla was ready
to publish his book about the massacre, someone

from the attorney general's office sought
an injunction to forbid its publication ... the

short-lived ban confirmed what many suspected:
the government was ashamed of the massacre."

Lies! It was the People's Ombudsman's Office
who solicited measures from a judge to prohibit

the circulation of the book A Hidden Tragedy.
It was the Ombudsman's Office. The government

never forbade the circulation of the book.
The North American right wing magazine Newsweek,

with a total lack of professional ethics,
deceives and lies bald-facedly, to try to

hurt a worthy and sovereign government. The
free expression of Capital. Cynicism and lies,

verified. That's the Anglo Saxon free expression
that they want to impose on us. They're their

vaues that they want to impose them universally
on us. The freedom of Capital to do what it

wishes, to lie, to attack, because we are
left wing. Newsweek does a report that it

totally wrong. I do believe that there was
a massacre, by the way, even though no bodies

have been found. But that we tried to hide
it, why? Yes, the title of the book by Miguel

Angel Cabodevilla. I read that book. It was
of a very low quality, honestly. To begin

with, there was a large quantity of footnotes,
which is always a disrespect to the author,

I mean disrespect to the reader. Laziness
of the author who instead of incorporating

the information in the text so that it flows,
no, he makes the reader do the work every

so often to interrupt their reading and go
look at the footnotes. Contradictions, unfounded

speculation: that if they had done this, then
there wouldn't have been this ... Come on,

we did what was possible, maybe we should
have done more, we are investigating. But

can they guarantee that one could have avoided
the vengeance of the Huaorani? These are extremely

difficult things, that it's not that they're
been treated, they've been mistreated. These

Srs. from Newsweek say I've tried to hide
the massacre, that even though I've named

a commission to investigate all this. The
main error, that Correa took eight months

to investigate, these people should find out
that within the structure of Ecuadorian State,

the investigating entity is the Attorney General.
I was actually upset with how long it took

them, the AG, to investigate. That "Correa
ordered the arrest of six Huaorani" - That

these people should find out that I can't
order the arrest of anybody. Maybe if there's

a contravention, yes, but for the investigation
of a crime, no. That's something the Attorney

General asks for and the judge orders it.
That "Correa kidnapped two girls," or "the

government kidnapped two girls" ... can you
see the bad faith there? That's something

the Attorney General did. And they RESCUED
one girl, who was in the hands of the people

who had kidnapped her and killed her family.
That girl is not in a different Huaorani community,

safe, protected by the Ecuadorian state. That
the government stopped, due to its embarrassment

about the massacre, that the Hidden Tragedy
book circulate. That was the Ombudsman office,

when the ombudsperson wasn't even in the country,
it was a decision of the second in command.

I found out because the President of the National
Assembly calls me. But do you realize? Probably,

Newsweek got this information from some hater
of the government. But it's Newsweek fault.

Because they have to contrast the information.
Newsweek is lying. So, Ecuadorians, the only

way to in some way mitigate this false freedom
of expression that isn't anything but the

freedom of Capital to do whatever it wants
to, is with a citizen reaction. So. We are

going to send the following Twitter to Newsweek
with a link so that they find out the truth

, so that they don't do yellow journalism.
Because even the photo is scandalous, right,

and what does the photo have to do with the
Taromenane? But that's the level of this magazine.

So that they come to Ecuador, find out about
the institutions in the country, find out

everything that we are doing, and don't speak
so much nonsense and open lies, mistakes,

montruous imprecisions, such as attributing
the investigation t the government, when who

investigates the crimes, in the judicial organization
of Ecuador, is the Attorney General. Even

those such elementary mistakes this magazine
has, probably a product that some bad faith

person send them the information, one of the
contrarians that are in Ecuador. But it's

the magazine's fault. They should contrast
the information, ask for the other version,

but this is the freedom of expression of Capital.
Freedom, with their money, to try to sink

anyone who opposes their vision and their
interests. And with their media power, try

to discredit a president just because I don't
submit to the same as ever. They're not going

to accomplish it. But so that they're a little
more decent, and professional quality, we're

going to send them the following Twitter,
with a link so that they find out about the

truth, and are a little more ethical and professional.
Here we are, sending it to @Newsweek. And

I hope that thousands, tens of thousands of
citizens can replicate this Twitter, to that

these people know that despite their millions,
despite their power, they are being watched

by the human beings, by the citizens, and
we will not permit their lies remain in impunity.

Here goes the Twitter. And that takes us to
a link, show the previous slide, where it

says, for example: why don't you come to Ecuador?
Also evidence of their double moral, right?

Because they talk about Yasuni, and the Taromenane,
saying I have the whole country against me,

because nobody is in favour of drilling responsibly
in the Yasuni. Let them come and find out

the truth. Let them find out the results of
the next elections on February 23. The biggest

truth that can exist. And the great question:
how much virgin rainforest exists in United

States? How many uncontacted groups exist
in United States? Don't be audacious. Don't

expect from others what you never expected
from yourselves. Let's continue. (musical

interlude) We also say to this corrupt press,
where freedom of expression isn't for human

but for capital, for money, that's the freedom
of expression they defend: your article is

imprecise and it deceives. Come to Ecuador,
and do some investigation because you publish

so much nonsense. It says there: those in
charge of the investigation aren´t the government,

rather the Attorney General. That it's the
Attorney General who orders the rescue of

the Taromenane girl, not both girls, one girl.
That the government never denied the conflict,

that's a lie. Let's continue. Stop your hypocrisy.
Next, please. There's no more, just that?

Ok. It won't be left in impunity this corrupt
press, national or international, and how?

With the reaction of citizens. All of us:
to reproduce the Twitter. The Newsweek article

is a calumny, entirely. Probably, insist,
one of the same embittered contrarians of

always, a permanent hater, from Ecuador sent
the article, so it's not an investigative

article but an opposition article, but it's
the magazine's fault. It has to contrast the

information, like any journalism ethics would
demand. They present any foolishness, and

make it say senseless things, things totally
wrong and far from the truth. And who are

these people? Well, let's see another example
of the powers we have to go against. And the

funniest thing, they say nothing is happening.
Thanks to a wonderful investigation by the

Telegrafo newspaper... (goes on to next story)