Opposition protesters in Bolivia take over state TV, radio to stop broadcasting of rallies
La Paz/Sputnik/UNI: Opposition protesters in Bolivia took over the state Bolivia TV (BTV) and Patria Nueva (RPN) radio stations and forced their employees to stop broadcasting any content covering the ongoing protests in the country, Patria Nueva director Ivan Maldonado told Sputnik.
Protests in the South American country have been ongoing since October 20 after Bolivian President Evo Morales secured a new term in the presidential election, while opposition refused to recognize the results.
"Protesters surrounded our studios and held us captive for two hours, threatening to destroy our equipment ... if we did not stop our journalistic work," Maldonado said.
The director added that station employees ended up playing only music or films for the duration of the hostage situation.
Morales condemned the attack on social media.
"State media BTV and RPN were taken hostage by organized groups that used threats to force journalists to leave their job posts. [The opposition] says that they defend democracy, but they are acting like dictatorial regimes," Morales Tweeted.
The two stations have been transmitting content almost exclusively dedicated to the ongoing protests since Friday.
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