The following is a CPJ Blog post by John Otis, CPJ Andes Consultant:
Bolivia's loss of territory along the Pacific coast during a 19th-century war with Chile remains an extremely sensitive issue in the landlocked nation. Every March 23, patriotic "Day of the Sea" ceremonies mark the calamity, which Bolivia hopes to reverse through a lawsuit filed this year against Chile at the International Court of Justice.
But the dispute has also provided President Evo Morales's government with a baseless yet potent excuse to gang up on Página Siete, one of a dwindling number of independent newspapers in Bolivia. In response to Página Siete's aggressive reporting on government corruption, officials for the last year have been loudly denouncing the newspaper as a mouthpiece for Chilean interests who oppose Bolivia's territorial claims.
Read the full story on CPJ's site.
Bolivia's loss of territory along the Pacific coast during a 19th-century war with Chile remains an extremely sensitive issue in the landlocked nation. Every March 23, patriotic "Day of the Sea" ceremonies mark the calamity, which Bolivia hopes to reverse through a lawsuit filed this year against Chile at the International Court of Justice.
But the dispute has also provided President Evo Morales's government with a baseless yet potent excuse to gang up on Página Siete, one of a dwindling number of independent newspapers in Bolivia. In response to Página Siete's aggressive reporting on government corruption, officials for the last year have been loudly denouncing the newspaper as a mouthpiece for Chilean interests who oppose Bolivia's territorial claims.
Read the full story on CPJ's site.
