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NORWEGIAN PEN PLANS MISSION TO BELARUS

Norwegian PEN is planning to lead a delegation of writers and publishers to Belarus in February 2005 to strengthen support for colleagues in the former Soviet republic. The IFEX member will visit the country from 15 to 20 February and meet with representatives from the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) and the Belarusian PEN Centre.

In Minsk, Norwegian PEN will be participating in a seminar on 18-19 February, organised by Human Rights House, which will measure the Belarusian government's record on human rights against the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms. The seminar will feature a workshop entitled Freedom of Speech and Protecting the Rights of Journalists.

Norwegian PEN is considering other ways of supporting journalists, writers and publishers in Belarus. It says BAJ and the Belarusian PEN Centre have expressed interest in obtaining financial support to establish a local free expression prize that would be awarded every year on 3 May, World Press Freedom Day.

For more information, contact Carl Morten Iversen at: pen@norskpen.no

Visit:
- Norwegian PEN: http://www.norskpen.no/en/index.shtml
- BAJ: http://baj.ru/indexe.htm