7 June 2006
IFEX MEMBERS CALL ATTENTION TO FREE EXPRESSION "HOTSPOTS"
Governments around the world were served reminders last week that international organisations are closely monitoring their policies and actions regarding freedom of expression and press freedom.
At conferences held, respectively, in Berlin, Moscow and Edinburgh by International PEN, the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and the International Press Institute (IPI), thousands of news executives, editors, reporters and writers identified "hotspots" where serious violations are taking place and issued resolutions urging governments to put an end to censorship.
At International PEN's Congress in Berlin, more than 450 writers called attention to 16 countries where writers are being persecuted for exercising their right to free expression. They demanded the release of detained writers in China, Cuba, Iran, Yemen and other countries, and expressed concern over the prevalence of criminal defamation laws world-wide that are used to silence critical voices.
Delegates also drew attention to the situation in Russia, where International PEN says "all national TV channels belong to state-owned organisations that secretly censor all broadcasts" and provide scant coverage of opposition parties and views.
Russia was also the subject of much talk at WAN's World Newspaper Congress in Moscow, where more than 1,700 leading news executives heard WAN President Gavin O'Reilly challenge President Vladimir Putin on his press freedom record. In the presence of Putin, other Russian leaders and foreign ambassadors, O'Reilly said control of the media by the Russian government and its allies was hindering the ability of a free press to contribute to Russian development.
O'Reilly pointed to the absence of independent national television, which has been brought under direct or indirect government control, the purchase of many important newspapers by financial and industrial groups directly controlled by government or loyal to it, and the creation of an "atmosphere of caution and self-censorship among journalists."
Putin replied that "the number of state assets in the Russian press market is steadily decreasing" and claimed that it would be impossible for the government to control the 53,000 periodicals existing in the country today.
Criticism of Russia also came from the Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations, which issued a statement urging the Russian government to "back its statements of support for press freedom with actions."
At the WAN Congress, delegates also expressed concerns over press freedom conditions in Belarus, China and Eritrea. In Belarus, there is an ongoing crackdown on the independent press, despite the release of more than 30 journalists arrested during last November's elections.
In China, more than 30 journalists remain behind bars, including Chen Renji and Lin Youping, who have been detained since 1983. In Eritrea, where 15 journalists are being detained, authorities have refused to provide information on the health, whereabouts or legal status of the detainees. Most have not been formally charged despite having spent five years in detention, says WAN.
WAN's Congress included a prize-giving ceremony in which Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji received the Golden Pen of Freedom for defending press freedom. In his acceptance speech, Ganji dedicated the award to "all Iranian dissidents and freedom-fighters."
At the International Press Institute's (IPI) General Assembly in Edinburgh, delegates highlighted the situation in China, Ethiopia, Nepal, Russia, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
In the case of China, IPI criticised Western corporations for cooperating with Chinese authorities in suppressing free expression.
"The Chinese government is working closely with Western companies eager to enter the lucrative Chinese technology market to develop software that prevents Chinese citizens from accessing information on human rights and democracy. Those companies should not cooperate with censorship and should not supply information about users that can be used to prosecute journalists," said the organisation.
IPI said the single most alarming trend in Africa is the treatment of journalists in Ethiopia, where numerous individuals are imprisoned on treason charges and face the death penalty or life imprisonment if found guilty.
Visit these links:
- International PEN:
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/index.php?pid=33&aid=466- WAN:
http://www.moscow2006.com/eng/- Speech by Gavin O'Reilly:
http://www.wan-press.org/article11205.html- Coordinating Committee Statement:
http://www.moscow2006.com/eng/news/congress/1383/- IPI:
http://www.freemedia.at/