29 May 2007

TAKE ACTION! SUPPORT BHUTAN'S EXILED MEDIA


Journalists in Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal need your support. An estimated one sixth of the Bhutanese population, particularly the Lhotshampa minority, was forcibly evicted from the country during the early 1990s, with many of them now living in refugee camps in Nepal and India. Back in Bhutan, almost all of the media is controlled by the state.

So to keep the refugees and those in Bhutan informed, several media operations have set up in the refugee camps over the years. But they are facing a financial crisis. Laws in Nepal prohibit foreigners from selling their publications in the local market, and even if the refugee journalists could sell their papers, their audience could not afford to buy them.

Organisations such as the Association of Press Freedom Activists (APFA) - Bhutan, Bhutan Press Union (BPU) and Third World Media Network (TWMN) - Bhutan Chapter have been established in exile to campaign for free expression in the country.

TWMN has set up a new initiative, The Foundation for Media Promotion in Exile, to encourage funding from international and human rights organisations. The foundation aims to support the media in the refugee camps by providing financial support and training, and to organise a journalist of the year award to encourage young journalists in the camps. For more information and to contribute, contact: twmnbhutan@hotmail.com.

You can learn more about the press in Bhutan by reading APFA's new report, "Silenced and Controlled: The Status of Press Freedom in Bhutan"at: http://tinyurl.com/3caabk

Read more on the media situation and post a message of solidarity on the Media Helping Media website: http://www.mediahelpingmedia.org/content/view/186/1/

(29 May 2007)



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Also from the Communiqué, 29 May 2007

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Bhutan

Mass resignations in Bhutan's daily newspaper raise concerns 29 October 2009 Journalist Shantiram Acharya arrested, sentenced to seven and a half years in prison 27 January 2009 Two Bhutani journalists threatened with death by political activists for covering student demonstration 22 May 2008 Government blocks local access to website 27 June 2007 See all alerts: Bhutan


Asia and Pacific

TIBET (CHINA): PEN American Center concerned over "virtual lockdown" on freedom of expression 9 February 2012 MALDIVES: New government must guarantee safety and rights of journalists 8 February 2012 SRI LANKA: FMM voices concern over allegations in "Dinamina" newspaper article 7 February 2012 INDIA: Danish journalists refused visas 7 February 2012 CHINA: Senior newspaper staff fired for reporting inflation concerns 6 February 2012


 
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