Details:
FREE EXPRESSION SPOTLIGHT:<\/p>\n
\n1. Come One, Come All to Global Forum on Freedom of Expression in Oslo, 1-6<\/p>\n
\nJune<\/p>\n
REGIONAL NEWS: <\/p>\n
\n2. Russia: Double Murder Highlights „Culture of Impunity“<\/p>\n
\n3. Venezuela: Journalist Murdered; Another Survives Shooting<\/p>\n
\n4. U.S.: IFEX Members in U.S. Urge Obama to Reaffirm Leadership in Human<\/p>\n
\nRights<\/p>\n
\n5. Middle East and North Africa: Governments Resort to New Type of Smear<\/p>\n
\nCampaign<\/p>\n
\n6. Botswana: Government Passes Repressive Media Law<\/p>\n
\n7. Somalia: Somali Journalist Freed, Two Foreign Reporters Still Being Held<\/p>\n
RESOURCES:<\/p>\n
\n8. Doha Centre Offers Assistance for Media at Risk<\/p>\n
\n——————————————————– <\/p>\n
\nFREE EXPRESSION SPOTLIGHT<\/p>\n
1. COME ONE, COME ALL TO GLOBAL FORUM ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN OSLO, 1-6<\/p>\n
\nJUNE<\/p>\n
More than 500 freedom of expression activists, including writers,<\/p>\n
\njournalists, artists and academics from around the world, are expected to<\/p>\n
\ndescend on Oslo, Norway from 1 to 6 June to participate in the Global Forum<\/p>\n
\non Freedom of Expression. Find out how you can be a part of this historic<\/p>\n
\nevent here.<\/p>\n
How effective was free expression campaigning around the Olympics? What’s<\/p>\n
\nthe best way to ensure free expression makes the UN agenda? Should<\/p>\n
\ndefamation of religion be a crime? These questions and more will be<\/p>\n
\nanswered in three days of open seminars and debates, and special keynote<\/p>\n
\nlectures by leading thinkers in the field from 3-5 June.<\/p>\n
Expected speakers include Mexican journalist and UNESCO World Press Freedom<\/p>\n
\nPrize laureate Lydia Cacho, South African writer and Nobel Prize laureate<\/p>\n
\nNadine Gordimer and Sudanese journalist Sami al Haj, released after six<\/p>\n
\nyears in Guantanamo.<\/p>\n
Those seeking hands-on workshops will be able to take advantage of special,<\/p>\n
\nsmall group training sessions in different languages geared to campaigning,<\/p>\n
\nfundraising, free expression monitoring and security.<\/p>\n
Throughout the week, free expression issues will also be highlighted<\/p>\n
\nthrough cultural exhibitions and performances, such as a film festival<\/p>\n
\nspotlighting films from the South, a national library exhibition on banned<\/p>\n
\nbooks, and a boat trip to an island where you can visit a cartoon<\/p>\n
\nexhibition housed in an old fortress.<\/p>\n
International Publishers Association (IPA) will also be awarding its<\/p>\n
\nFreedom to Publish Prize during the forum. The annual prize honours a<\/p>\n
\nperson or organisation that has made a notable contribution to defending<\/p>\n
\nand promoting the freedom to publish. Nominations are accepted until 13<\/p>\n
\nMarch and the nomination form is available here: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/9vg3ys<\/p>\n
The forum kicks off with the IFEX general meeting, and organisational<\/p>\n
\nmeetings for International PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee and Human<\/p>\n
\nRights House Network.<\/p>\n
There will also be ample opportunities to meet like-minded groups from your<\/p>\n
\nregion as well as others across geographic and professional borders.<\/p>\n
Register now – the deadline is 15 April 2009. Individuals and organisations<\/p>\n
\nwith limited resources and something to share may register and apply for a<\/p>\n
\ngrant.<\/p>\n
The Global Forum on Freedom of Expression is a partner initiative, led by<\/p>\n
\nIFEX, Norwegian PEN and the Freedom of Expression Foundation, Oslo (Fritt<\/p>\n
\nOrd), and supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n
For more information and to register, including updated info on the<\/p>\n
\nconference programme, visit: http:\/\/expressionforum.org or email: info (@)<\/p>\n
\nexpressionforum.org<\/p>\n
\n——————————————————– <\/p>\n
\nREGIONAL NEWS<\/p>\n
EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA<\/p>\n
2. RUSSIA: DOUBLE MURDER HIGHLIGHTS „CULTURE OF IMPUNITY“<\/p>\n
A double murder in Russia this week of a lawyer and journalist highlights<\/p>\n
\nRussia’s ongoing culture of impunity, said ARTICLE 19, Index on Censorship<\/p>\n
\nand English PEN in a joint statement and echoed by other IFEX members.<\/p>\n
Anastasia Baburova, a journalist for the investigative newspaper „Novaya<\/p>\n
\nGazeta“, and leading human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov were shot by a<\/p>\n
\nlone gunman after a press conference in Moscow given by Markelov, report<\/p>\n
\nthe Glasnost Defense Foundation (GDF) and other IFEX members.<\/p>\n
Markelov represented the family of Kheda Kungayeva, whose murder led to the<\/p>\n
\nfirst prosecution for the killing of a civilian during the Chechen<\/p>\n
\nconflict, is believed to have been the main target. He had just publicly<\/p>\n
\ndenounced at the conference the release of Kungayeva’s murderer from<\/p>\n
\nprison.<\/p>\n
Baburova, who reported on the conflict in Chechnya as well as on the<\/p>\n
\nactivities of neo-Nazi groups in Russia, had attended the press conference<\/p>\n
\nand was talking to Markelov outside a Moscow metro station when the gunman<\/p>\n
\nopened fire. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Baburova was<\/p>\n
\nshot in the head as she tried to prevent the killer from escaping and died<\/p>\n
\na few hours later.<\/p>\n
„The shocking murders… bring Russia’s human rights record to a new low. The<\/p>\n
\ncrime is compounded by the knowledge that Russia has a culture where<\/p>\n
\nimpunity reigns and murderers are rarely brought to justice,“ said ARTICLE<\/p>\n
\n19, Index and English PEN.<\/p>\n
Markelov, who also represented Anna Politkovskaya, the investigative<\/p>\n
\njournalist who was shot dead in 2006 after writing about Russian atrocities<\/p>\n
\nin Chechnya, had recently received death threats associated with the<\/p>\n
\nKungayeva case.“Every case Markelov was involved in were reasons for his<\/p>\n
\nenemies to hunt him down,“ said GDF.<\/p>\n
Coincidentally, the trial of the four suspects in the murder of<\/p>\n
\nPolitkovskaya, who was also a „Novaya Gazeta“ journalist, resumed the same<\/p>\n
\nday in Moscow. Neither the masterminds of her murder nor the suspected<\/p>\n
\ngunman are on trial.<\/p>\n
Several critics of the authorities in Russia, particularly those who spoke<\/p>\n
\nout about torture, abductions and extrajudicial executions in the North<\/p>\n
\nCaucasus, have been targeted in the past few months, say IFEX members.<\/p>\n
Just this month, Shafig Amrakhov, editor of the online regional news agency<\/p>\n
\nRIA 51 in Murmansk, northern Russia, died of gunshot wounds after at least<\/p>\n
\none unidentified man shot him in the head at his apartment on 30 December,<\/p>\n
\nreport GDF and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).<\/p>\n
According to CPJ, Russia is the third-deadliest country in the world for<\/p>\n
\njournalists. Since 2000 alone, 16 journalists have been murdered in Russia<\/p>\n
\nin direct retaliation for their work. Only in one of these cases have the<\/p>\n
\nkillers been convicted, and in all 16 the masterminds remain at large.<\/p>\n
Visit these links:<\/p>\n
\n– ARTICLE 19\/Index\/English PEN: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/dkd3zl<\/p>\n
\n– GDF: http:\/\/www.gdf.ru\/monitor\/index.shtml<\/p>\n
\n– Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations:<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.lenta.cjes.ru\/?lang=eng<\/p>\n
\n– CPJ: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/9oxzfm<\/p>\n
\n– Human Rights Watch: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/7hkxrh<\/p>\n
\n– International Federation of Journalists: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/9fyket<\/p>\n
\n– RSF: http:\/\/www.rsf.org\/article.php3?id_article=30043<\/p>\n
\n– IFEX Russia page: http:\/\/www.ifex.org\/en\/content\/view\/full\/212\/<\/p>\n
AMERICAS<\/p>\n
3. VENEZUELA: JOURNALIST MURDERED; ANOTHER SURVIVES SHOOTING<\/p>\n
A journalist who recently covered drug trafficking in Venezuela was<\/p>\n
\nassassinated last week, report the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS),<\/p>\n
\nthe Inter American Press Association (IAPA), Reporters Without Borders<\/p>\n
\n(RSF) and other IFEX members. He was slain just three days after the<\/p>\n
\nattempted murder of another journalist in southwestern Venezuela.<\/p>\n
Two men on a motorbike shot to death Orel Sambrano, the editor of the<\/p>\n
\npolitical weekly „ABC“ in Valencia, Carabobo on 16 January as he was<\/p>\n
\ngetting out of his car.<\/p>\n
Sambrano was also vice-president of the privately-owned Radio Am\u00e9rica radio<\/p>\n
\nstation, a columnist for the regional daily „Notitarde“, and a lawyer.<\/p>\n
Sambrano had recently covered several drug trafficking stories, including a<\/p>\n
\ncase involving the Makleds, an influential family in the region and the<\/p>\n
\nsubject of an investigation by the national prosecutor’s office after 400<\/p>\n
\nkilograms of cocaine was found in their home last year.<\/p>\n
According to IPYS, Carabobo’s National Journalists‘ Association decreed a<\/p>\n
\nstate of emergency following Sambrano’s murder due to the risks faced by<\/p>\n
\njournalists in the region.<\/p>\n
The murder of Sambrano came just three days after the attempted murder of<\/p>\n
\nRafael Finol of the privately-owned daily „El Regional“. Finol was grazed<\/p>\n
\nby a bullet on 13 January in Acarigua, southwestern Venezuela as he was<\/p>\n
\nleaving the office with colleagues, say IFEX members.<\/p>\n
According to RSF, Finol said he was attacked for political reasons. „I knew<\/p>\n
\nthis would happen after the recent interview I had with President Ch\u00e1vez,“<\/p>\n
\nhe said. „It was the work of the extreme right, who want to kill me.“ Finol<\/p>\n
\nis an avowed supporter of the President.<\/p>\n
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is calling for a swift and<\/p>\n
\nthorough investigation, especially in the current political climate. Last<\/p>\n
\nweek, the National Assembly approved a constitutional amendment that would<\/p>\n
\nallow Ch\u00e1vez to run for indefinite re-election. The reform will be voted on<\/p>\n
\nin a popular referendum as early as 15 February.<\/p>\n
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) says the attacks are part<\/p>\n
\nof a pattern of serious violations of press freedom in Venezuela this<\/p>\n
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
According to IFJ, a young graphic reporter, Jacinto L\u00f3pez, was killed on 1<\/p>\n
\nJanuary and his partner and fellow graphic journalist Ricardo Marapacuto<\/p>\n
\ninjured in Barquisimeto, Lara, in an attack that was blamed on general<\/p>\n
\ncrime.<\/p>\n
IFJ blames the attitude of law enforcement authorities for their failure to<\/p>\n
\nact against the behaviour of violent groups, allegedly associated with<\/p>\n
\ngovernment sectors that publicly declare journalists and communication<\/p>\n
\nprofessionals as military targets.<\/p>\n
Visit these links:<\/p>\n
\n– IAPA: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/8uxa7y<\/p>\n
\n– CPJ: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/938rjm<\/p>\n
\n– IFJ: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/7qcquj<\/p>\n
\n– RSF: http:\/\/www.rsf.org\/article.php3?id_article=30020<\/p>\n
\n– International PEN Writers in Prison Committee: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/a24kd7<\/p>\n
\n– IPYS on Sambrano: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/ad3ztf<\/p>\n
4. U.S.: IFEX MEMBERS IN U.S. URGE OBAMA TO REAFFIRM LEADERSHIP IN HUMAN<\/p>\n
\nRIGHTS<\/p>\n
New U.S. President Barack Obama must retake leadership of the global agenda<\/p>\n
\nthat has been hijacked by „spoiler“ states like China, Egypt and Russia,<\/p>\n
\nand put human rights at the heart of it, said Human Rights Watch in issuing<\/p>\n
\nits annual world report. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) voiced<\/p>\n
\na similar sentiment in a letter to Obama.<\/p>\n
„The Obama administration must undo the enormous damage caused by the Bush<\/p>\n
\nadministration and begin to restore the U.S. government’s reputation and<\/p>\n
\neffectiveness as a human rights defender,“ said the report.<\/p>\n
Human Rights Watch said the change must begin in Washington, with steps<\/p>\n
\nsuch as closing the Guantanamo Bay military detention centre, ending<\/p>\n
\ncoercive interrogation of terrorism suspects and detention without trial,<\/p>\n
\nand seeking membership of the UN Human Rights Council.<\/p>\n
„Changing U.S. policy on how to fight terrorism is an essential place to<\/p>\n
\nstart,“ said the report. „It’s not only wrong but ineffectual to commit<\/p>\n
\nabuses in the name of fighting terrorism or to excuse abuses by repressive<\/p>\n
\ngovernments simply because they’re thought to be allies in countering<\/p>\n
\nterror.“<\/p>\n
Human Rights Watch said the „spoilers“, governments opposing basic rights,<\/p>\n
\nsuch as Algeria, China, Egypt, Pakistan and Russia, had rushed to fill a<\/p>\n
\nvacuum left by controversial U.S. policies. These governments often „set<\/p>\n
\nthe human rights agenda in international forums“ and deflected<\/p>\n
\ninternational scrutiny away from their own or their allies‘ violations.<\/p>\n
Democracies are also singled out, such as South Africa for failing to<\/p>\n
\naddress the crisis in neighbouring Zimbabwe, and India for not addressing<\/p>\n
\nrepression in Burma out of political solidarity or economic interests.<\/p>\n
The best way to successfully defend human rights is to lead by example, say<\/p>\n
\nHuman Rights Watch and CPJ.<\/p>\n
„Journalists in many countries who risk their lives and liberty upholding<\/p>\n
\nthe values of free expression look to the United States for support,“ CPJ<\/p>\n
\nwrote to Obama in a letter dated 12 January. „To assert moral authority we<\/p>\n
\nmust first put our own house in order.“<\/p>\n
CPJ focuses on how Obama can lead specifically in press freedom. CPJ urges<\/p>\n
\nObama to end the U.S. military’s practice of open-ended detention of<\/p>\n
\njournalists, and to investigate fully the deaths of journalists from U.S.<\/p>\n
\nforces‘ fire.<\/p>\n
According to CPJ, the detention without trial of journalists has reduced<\/p>\n
\nthe U.S.’s standing in the world and „may have contributed to the overall<\/p>\n
\nglobal increase in jailed journalists by emboldening the many tyrants who<\/p>\n
\nlook for pretext or justification to throw critical journalists in jail.“<\/p>\n
\nU.S. allies and close friends such as Azerbaijan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco<\/p>\n
\nand Pakistan are among the 10 countries where press freedom has most<\/p>\n
\ndeteriorated, says CPJ.<\/p>\n
Fourteen journalists have been held for prolonged periods of time without<\/p>\n
\ndue process in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo. Ibrahim Jassam, a<\/p>\n
\nfreelance photographer working for Reuters who was detained on 2 September<\/p>\n
\nby U.S. forces in Baghdad, is still behind bars. The practice violates the<\/p>\n
\nU.S. military’s own commitment to review journalist cases within 36 hours<\/p>\n
\nof detention, says CPJ.<\/p>\n
CPJ is also hoping that the Obama administration will commit the military<\/p>\n
\nto fully investigate the killing of journalists at the hands of U.S.<\/p>\n
\nforces. According to CPJ, at least 16 journalists have died and others have<\/p>\n
\nbeen seriously wounded by U.S. forces‘ fire in Iraq since 2003. The handful<\/p>\n
\nof investigations that were carried out by the U.S. military authorities<\/p>\n
\nexonerated the soldiers involved in each case, says CPJ.<\/p>\n
Read the letter here: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/9cqnyy<\/p>\n
Human Rights Watch’s „World Report 2009“ documents ongoing human rights<\/p>\n
\nabuses by states and non-state armed groups in 90 countries, including<\/p>\n
\nattacks on civilians in conflicts, political repression, and violations by<\/p>\n
\ngovernments trying to curb terrorism, among others. Read the 564-page<\/p>\n
\nreport here: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/7z7x53<\/p>\n
Individual country reports will be uploaded to the IFEX website.<\/p>\n
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA<\/p>\n
5. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA: GOVERNMENTS RESORT TO NEW TYPE OF SMEAR<\/p>\n
\nCAMPAIGN<\/p>\n
Governments in the Middle East have taken their smear campaigns to a new<\/p>\n
\nlevel, planting news, adverts and paid-for editorials discrediting<\/p>\n
\njournalists and free expression advocates in foreign papers as well as the<\/p>\n
\nlocal press, report the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) and IFEX<\/p>\n
\nmembers.<\/p>\n
According to Rohan Jayasekera of Index on Censorship, who is also TMG’s<\/p>\n
\nchair, the most brazen practitioner of this kind of propaganda is Tunisia,<\/p>\n
\nwhich has unleashed a storm of such material apparently in reaction to the<\/p>\n
\nway Tunisia’s appalling human rights record has been exposed<\/p>\n
\ninternationally.<\/p>\n
In the most recent case, former Tunisian diplomat Khaled Ben Said was<\/p>\n
\njailed on torture charges for eight years in France in December. At the<\/p>\n
\nsame time, one of the leading witnesses for the prosecution, journalist and<\/p>\n
\nfree expression campaigner Sihem Bensedrine, was herself the target of a<\/p>\n
\npropaganda attack, says TMG.<\/p>\n
The government claimed impropriety in her funding relationships with<\/p>\n
\ninternational donors – even though her donors and partners are on public<\/p>\n
\nrecord confirming Bensedrine’s due diligence.<\/p>\n
The claims appeared in state-owned and state-sponsored news organisations.<\/p>\n
\nBut more surprisingly, international news agency United Press International<\/p>\n
\n(UPI) reprinted the accusations and the story was widely circulated in<\/p>\n
\nArabic and French.<\/p>\n
Jayasekera says the purpose was to discredit Bensedrine, a staunch human<\/p>\n
\nrights defender whose magazine „Kalima“ is banned in Tunisia and who has<\/p>\n
\nbeen both jailed and beaten by security forces because of her criticism of<\/p>\n
\nthe authorities.<\/p>\n
TMG members urged UPI „to protect its reputation by making appropriate<\/p>\n
\namends, and for the agency to take steps to ensure it is not embroiled in<\/p>\n
\nthis kind of state disinformation again.“<\/p>\n
In Egypt the pro-government daily „Rosa al-Yousef“ published a quarter-page<\/p>\n
\nadvertisement filled with allegations defaming Bensedrine and topped by a<\/p>\n
\nphoto of Tunisian president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, reported the Arabic<\/p>\n
\nNetwork for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). The head of ANHRI, Gamal Eid,<\/p>\n
\nhas been defamed in the same paper.<\/p>\n
„We are used to these campaigns and attacks being waged against us,“ said<\/p>\n
\nANHRI and 18 other Egyptian human rights groups in a joint statement.<\/p>\n
\n„However, what angers us is how they tarnish the name of a once great media<\/p>\n
\ninstitution that… helped to create freedom of the press in Egypt.“<\/p>\n
The pro-government Egyptian press has long used this tactic at home. Human<\/p>\n
\nrights and democracy advocates Hisham Kassem, Ayman Nour and Saad Edine<\/p>\n
\nIbrahim have all been slandered after they raised Egypt’s human rights<\/p>\n
\nrecord on the international stage, says Jayasekera.<\/p>\n
A study by the rights organisation Andalus Institute for Tolerance and<\/p>\n
\nAnti-Violence in Egypt revealed increasing human rights abuses by<\/p>\n
\njournalists against their own kind. The study, covering the period from<\/p>\n
\nFebruary 2007 to January 2008, confirmed that „Rosa al-Yousef“ was ranked<\/p>\n
\nfirst in Egypt at printing articles that intimidate and insult other<\/p>\n
\nnewspapers and journalists. <\/p>\n
The critical paper „Al Masry El Youm“ and its editor, Magdi al-Gallad, and<\/p>\n
\nthe famous opposition weekly „Al Dustour“ and its editor, Ibrahim Issa,<\/p>\n
\nwere among the favourite targets of „Rosa al-Yousef“ and other Egyptian<\/p>\n
\npapers known for turning their backs on journalism ethics. See results of<\/p>\n
\nthe study here: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/9orul9<\/p>\n
\nEnglish version: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/89lnn4<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in Bahrain, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) has<\/p>\n
\nreported a slandering media campaign against seven human rights defenders,<\/p>\n
\nincluding former president of BCHR Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. A group of 14<\/p>\n
\nyouth activists, currently facing charges of planning to carry out acts of<\/p>\n
\nterrorism, named the seven well-known human rights defenders as the<\/p>\n
\ninstigators and trainers of the plans. According to the youths‘ lawyers,<\/p>\n
\nthe detainees showed signs of ill-treatment and torture during<\/p>\n
\ninterrogation. But the accusations were repeated without reservation in all<\/p>\n
\nthe major Bahrain dailies and government-owned and run TV networks.<\/p>\n
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint<\/p>\n
\nprogramme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the<\/p>\n
\nWorld Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), fears that rights defenders have<\/p>\n
\nbeen slandered to deter them from defending Shi’a minority rights, and is<\/p>\n
\nasking for supporters to write to the authorities expressing concern that<\/p>\n
\nthe activists were framed. See: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/7uyulv<\/p>\n
This strategy of blurring the lines between truthful reporting,<\/p>\n
\nunattributed opinion and propaganda, coordinated to serve a political<\/p>\n
\nobjective, is also being extensively developed by the U.S. in Iraq, despite<\/p>\n
\ndomestic legal restraints and strong ethical opposition, says Jayasekera.<\/p>\n
According to Jayasekera, the responsibility of separating truth from lies<\/p>\n
\nrests on journalists. „They should treat false reports with healthy<\/p>\n
\nscepticism and always question the motive behind the message,“ he says. „In<\/p>\n
\ntoday’s high-volume, high-speed media environment it has never been more<\/p>\n
\nimportant to ask not only ‚Is this person telling me the truth?‘ but also<\/p>\n
\nto ask ‚Why is he telling me this?'“<\/p>\n
Visit these links:<\/p>\n
\n– Jayasekera’s op-ed, published in „The Daily Star“, Lebanon:<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/tinyurl.com\/7o7den<\/p>\n
\n– TMG: http:\/\/campaigns.ifex.org\/tmg\/<\/p>\n
\n– ANHRI: http:\/\/www.ifex.org\/en\/content\/view\/full\/99843\/<\/p>\n
\n– BCHR: http:\/\/www.bahrainrights.org\/en\/node\/2661<\/p>\n
AFRICA<\/p>\n
6. BOTSWANA: GOVERNMENT PASSES REPRESSIVE MEDIA LAW<\/p>\n
Botswana has hurriedly passed a controversial media law that journalists<\/p>\n
\nfear will restrict their work, say the Media Institute of Southern Africa<\/p>\n
\n(MISA) and news reports.<\/p>\n
The Media Practitioners Act was passed last year, but parliamentarians had<\/p>\n
\nasked for amendments and had expected to discuss them at parliamentary<\/p>\n
\ncommittees for fine-tuning this year.<\/p>\n
Instead, the government published the act in the official gazette over the<\/p>\n
\nholidays, making it law.<\/p>\n
Under the act, journalists are required to get the consent of a new Media<\/p>\n
\nCouncil before they can work. The council is a government-appointed body<\/p>\n
\nthat has the power to impose fines and jail time on journalists it<\/p>\n
\ndetermines have violated standards – including failing to register.<\/p>\n
Botswana already had an independent, self-regulated Press Council.<\/p>\n
„It is a very repressive law because one cannot practise journalism in<\/p>\n
\nBotswana without the consent of (the) Media Council, which excludes media<\/p>\n
\npractitioners, publishers or anybody with an interest in the media from its<\/p>\n
\ndecision-making structures,“ the Botswana chapter of MISA told The<\/p>\n
\nAssociated Press.<\/p>\n
MISA says the act amounts to direct, political interference in the media –<\/p>\n
\nmore so as Botswana has a general election this year – and will lead to<\/p>\n
\nself-censorship by media „fearing retributive measures by the council.“<\/p>\n
According to news reports, the law as it appeared in the official gazette<\/p>\n
\nincluded a passage saying it was designed, among other things, to „monitor<\/p>\n
\nthe activities of the media“ and to create a body to „receive any<\/p>\n
\ncomplaints directed against media practitioners.“<\/p>\n
Visit these links:<\/p>\n
\n– MISA: http:\/\/www.ifex.org\/en\/content\/view\/full\/99910<\/p>\n
\n– AP via International Herald Tribune: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/8lh5lw<\/p>\n
7. SOMALIA: SOMALI JOURNALIST FREED, TWO FOREIGN REPORTERS STILL BEING HELD<\/p>\n
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) and other IFEX members<\/p>\n
\nwelcomed the release of a Somali journalist after 146 days in captivity,<\/p>\n
\nand call for the safe release of two foreign journalists who were kidnapped<\/p>\n
\nwith him.<\/p>\n
Photojournalist Abdifatah Elmi was working as a fixer and translator for<\/p>\n
\nCanadian journalist Amanda Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel<\/p>\n
\nBrennan when they were kidnapped with their drivers, Mahad Isse and<\/p>\n
\nMarwali, while on their way to visit Elasha refugee camp in Afgoye, just<\/p>\n
\noutside of Mogadishu on 23 August 2008.<\/p>\n
Elmi and the two drivers were freed on 15 January and are apparently in<\/p>\n
\ngood health. According to NUSOJ, they were blindfolded, driven to<\/p>\n
\nMogadishu’s Bakara market in a four-wheel drive vehicle and released.<\/p>\n
Lindhout and Brennan are still being held. Elmi told NUSOJ that he and the<\/p>\n
\ndrivers were kept at a separate location from the foreigners and has no<\/p>\n
\nknowledge of where they are being held.<\/p>\n
According to Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), little has<\/p>\n
\nbeen heard from their kidnappers other than a ransom demand of US$2.5<\/p>\n
\nmillion several months ago. CJFE is asking the Canadian government „to do<\/p>\n
\neverything in its power to work for the release of these journalists.“<\/p>\n
Foreigners, journalists and humanitarian workers are frequently abducted<\/p>\n
\nfor ransoms in the Horn of Africa nation. Various IFEX members have been<\/p>\n
\nengaging in advocacy behind the scenes, trying to secure their release.<\/p>\n
British reporter Colin Freeman of „The Sunday Telegraph“ and Spanish<\/p>\n
\nfreelance photographer Jose Cendon were released on 4 January after being<\/p>\n
\nkidnapped on 26 November 2008 while covering a story on piracy.<\/p>\n
Currently Somalia is experiencing massive political change. Ethiopian<\/p>\n
\nforces have pulled out of the country, two years after they intervened to<\/p>\n
\ntry to oust Islamists from Mogadishu. The government and moderate Islamists<\/p>\n
\nare continuing talks on power-sharing, while the UN has adopted a<\/p>\n
\nresolution agreeing in principle to a peacekeeping force in Somalia. At the<\/p>\n
\nmoment all factions – whether they back the peace process with the<\/p>\n
\ngovernment or not – seem to be working together.<\/p>\n
„We call upon the transitional government, the alliance of re-liberation of<\/p>\n
\nSomalia and traditional elders to make use of the current political change<\/p>\n
\nin the country to secure the safe release of Amanda and Nigel. We demand<\/p>\n
\ntheir immediate release,“ NUSOJ said.<\/p>\n
Visit these links:<\/p>\n
\n– NUSOJ: http:\/\/www.ifex.org\/en\/content\/view\/full\/99915<\/p>\n
\n– CJFE: http:\/\/www.cjfe.org\/releases\/2009\/16012009somalia.html<\/p>\n
\n– Committee to Protect Journalists: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/9mo926<\/p>\n
\n– Reporters Without Borders: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/9aod9n<\/p>\n
\n——————————————————–<\/p>\n
\nRESOURCES<\/p>\n
8. DOHA CENTRE OFFERS ASSISTANCE FOR MEDIA AT RISK<\/p>\n
Journalists and media outlets in danger are invited to apply for support<\/p>\n
\nfrom the Doha Centre for Media Freedom, a relatively new international<\/p>\n
\nfreedom of expression organisation based in Qatar and run by the former<\/p>\n
\nhead of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Robert M\u00e9nard.<\/p>\n
The centre provides assistance to imprisoned journalists and their<\/p>\n
\nfamilies, and to journalists who have been threatened or attacked, by<\/p>\n
\noffering funding, legal aid and money for medical treatment. The centre<\/p>\n
\nalso offers advice for those facing lawsuits, including how best to defend<\/p>\n
\nthemselves at the regional and international level.<\/p>\n
Media outlets that have been censored or persecuted, or destroyed in<\/p>\n
\nfighting or national disasters, can also call on the centre for help.<\/p>\n
The centre has given financial assistance to 150 journalists or media<\/p>\n
\noutlets so far, totalling more than US$340,000.<\/p>\n
The Doha Centre was set up in December 2007 by a decree of Qatar’s Emir,<\/p>\n
\nH.H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who is also the chair of Al Jazeera,<\/p>\n
\nand is under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned.<\/p>\n
Complete the application form online here: http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/7a29ee<\/p>\n
The form can also be sent to you on request by contacting: assistance (@)<\/p>\n
\ndohacentre.org<\/p>\n
For more information, see: http:\/\/www.dohacentre.org\/-Assistance-.html<\/p>\n
\n——————————————————–<\/p>\n
\nThe „IFEX Communiqu\u00e9“ is the weekly newsletter of the International Freedom<\/p>\n
\nof Expression eXchange (IFEX), a global network of 80 organisations working<\/p>\n
\nto defend and promote the right to free expression. IFEX is managed by<\/p>\n
\nCanadian Journalists for Free Expression ( http:\/\/www.cjfe.org ).<\/p>\n
The „IFEX Communiqu\u00e9“ is also available in French, Spanish, Russian (<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.ifex.cjes.ru\/ ) and Arabic ( http:\/\/anhri.net\/ifex\/ ).<\/p>\n
The views expressed in the „IFEX Communiqu\u00e9“ are the sole responsibility of<\/p>\n
\nthe sources to which they are attributed.<\/p>\n
The „IFEX Communiqu\u00e9“ grants permission for its material to be reproduced<\/p>\n
\nor republished provided it is credited as the source.<\/p>\n
Contact IFEX Online Editor Natasha Grzincic at: communique (@) ifex.org<\/p>\n
Mailing Address: 555 Richmond Street West, #1101, PO Box 407, Toronto,<\/p>\n
\nOntario M5V 3B1 Canada, Tel: +1 416 515 9622; Fax: +1 416 515 7879;<\/p>\n
\nWebsite: http:\/\/www.ifex.org<\/p>\n
\n——————————————————-<\/p>\n
\nSign up for IFEX RSS feeds: http:\/\/www.ifex.org\/en\/content\/view\/full\/78635<\/p>\n
For a list of recent IFEX alerts, see the „IFEX Digest“:<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.ifex.org\/en\/content\/view\/full\/74937<\/p>\n
You received this message because you signed up for the „IFEX Communiqu\u00e9“<\/p>\n
\nat: http:\/\/www.ifex.org<\/p>\n
To unsubscribe or update your preferences, see below: <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
\nTo unsubscribe from this list visit<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/listmgr.ifex.org\/lists\/?p=unsubscribe&uid=af23a124533768f6504ee4ec1fc2a34e<\/p>\n
To update your preferences visit<\/p>\n
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