23 March 1999
Volume 08 - 1999 Issue 11 (23 March 1999)
International
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) announces that three European journalists were awarded the
International
The International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) will hold its Annual Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa on 19-23 April. The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) will host the meeting, which is being held in Africa for the first time. About 70 delegates, many of them African, will attend the open sessions of the meeting, which will emphasize regional topics. Topics on the agenda include the state of media freedom in Nigeria; the recent crackdown on independent journalists in Zimbabwe; and freedom of expression in times of war and crisis, which will explore the effects of conflicts across Africa and worldwide on freedom of expression. Another session will focus on developing partnerships with groups in the Middle East and North Africa, where IFEX has limited contacts.
Zambia
On 22 March, Zambian police arrested and charged "The Post" editor-in-chief Fred M'membe with espionage, then immediately released him on bail, in what the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) called "the culmination of an unprecedented crackdown on "The Post" newspaper." M'membe was informed that he was to appear in court on 16 April or sooner, along with eight other journalists previously arrested and charged with espionage. Six journalists who had been arrested in a crackdown earlier in the month were formally charged on 17 March, but all were granted bail of K100 000 (US$43) the following morning. Those arrested were Brighton Phiri, Kelvin Shimo, Joe Kaunda, Amos Malupenga, Lubasi Katunda and Goodson Machona. Douglas Hapande and MacPherson Muyumba were arrested briefly on 20 March and charged with espionage. This legal retaliation is seen as the latest move in a concerted effort to punish "The Post" for publishing an article that questioned the Zambian military's inability to quell an Angolan incursion.
Vietnam
The arrest and detention of dissident writer Nguyen Thanh Giang in Vietnam has provoked fears of a widespread crackdown on dissidents, report the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Giang, a prominent geologist whose articles on corruption within the Communist Party have frequently been published on the Internet and in newspapers published by Vietnamese living in exile, was arrested by police on 4 March in Hanoi. HRW says Giang may be sentenced for "crimes against national security" under Article 82 of the Criminal Code, reportedly for possessing "anti-socialist propaganda," which could incur a long prison term. His whereabouts remain unknown and there is concern for his safety. Giang, whose writings include "Human Rights, the Thousand Year Aspiration" (1996), was forced to resign from his job in 1995, summoned for questioning repeatedly by the police and was detained for three days in March 1998.
India
Three journalists have been murdered in India this year, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). On 20 March, Anil Rattan, a free-lance journalist and former correspondent for the Hong Kong-based magazine "AsiaWeek", was found dead in his apartment. Police say that Rattan's body was discovered in his bathroom on 20 March "in a highly decomposed condition," and estimate that he was killed around 18 March. CPJ reports, "According to police reports, Rattan had been stabbed several times and strangled either with a length of wire found lying near the body or with his undershirt." On 13 March, police found the body of Irfan Hussain, a sometimes controversial political cartoonist for the English-language news magazine "Outlook", near a highway in New Delhi. His body showed signs of extreme torture.
International
As the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) meets to discuss human rights violations worldwide, human rights and media freedom groups worldwide report that human rights abuses, including violations against freedom of expression, have escalated in China. The UNCHR meets for six weeks annually in Geneva, starting on 22 March this year. Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the UNCHR "to call China to account for widespread abuses," and called on the international community to back a resolution condemning China's human rights practices. "Last year, the United States and the European Union argued that a 'nonconfrontational' approach would be more effective," said Joanna Weschler, HRW's UN representative. "But today China is carrying out one of the worst crackdowns since 1989. It's time to balance dialogue with strong public pressure." Reporters sans frontières (RSF) called on the European Union (EU) to sponsor a resolution condemning China.
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