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Mon, 30 Oct 2006
IMLA NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006
AFRICA
Let's give Africa's good news too say media experts -
Long cast as the "dark continent" in news articles
about its coups, corruption and catastrophes, Africa
may soon be presented in a more positive
light.Delegates at an African International Media
Summit convened in Ghana this week to discuss ways to
change the continent's doom and gloom image, are
proposing a good news network to combat what they call
a culture of negative reporting.
http://za.today. reuters.com/ news/newsArticle .aspx?type= topNews&storyID= 2006-09-20T10430 5Z_01_BAN038556_ RTRIDST_0_ OZATP-MEDIA- AFRICA-20060920. XML
ALBANIA
OSCE Presence in Albania launches project on access to information - project aimed at helping Albanians be more aware of their rights to access information was launched today by the OSCE Presence in Albania and the People's Advocate (Ombudsman).Under the "Know Your Rights" project, funded by the Presence and the French Government, excerpts from or summaries of Albanian legislation will be displayed on state institution buildings and other visible places throughout the country.
http://www.osce.org/albania/item_1_20939.html
AUSTRALIA
Australian Broadcasting Commission overturns documentary ban - The Australian Broadcasting Commission has succeeded in overturning an injunction which had banned it from airing a documentary which suggested that a convicted child-murderer had committed other killings.The film, entitled The Fisherman, also alleged that James O'Neill, who is serving a life sentence in Tasmania after having been convicted in November 1975 of having abducted a murdered a young boy, was a suspect in the disappearance and suspected murders of the Beaumont children in 1966 - one of Australia's most notorious unsolved crimes.
http://www.hcourt.gov.au/media/ABCvO'Neill.pdf
Australia AG reconsidering access to books banned under terror laws - Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock [official website] is reconsidering the removal from Australian libraries of books which the government fears may incite terrorist activity. In a television interview [transcript] Monday Ruddock expressed a willingness to allow structured and limited research access to two banned books on jihad by the late Palestinian Islamist Abdullah Azam which have been taken off shelves at the University of Melbourne. Citing the importance of academic freedom,
University Vice Chancellor Glynn Davis had asked the Attorney General to indicate whether a complete ban was intended.
http://jurist. law.pitt. edu/paperchase/ 2006/10/australi a-ag-reconsideri ng-access- to.php
Media laws before senate tomorrow - television
stations, newspaper owners and even a Government MP
will voice their concerns about new media laws during
two days of Senate hearings, starting tomorrow. A
large number of Nationals, and at least two Liberals,
have complained that the proposed laws, which are
before Parliament, could damage media diversity in
rural areas.
http://www.smh. com.au/news/ business/ media-laws- before-senate- tomorrow/ 2006/09/27/ 1159036591061. html
CZECH REPUBLIC
Czechs place the media more than the government,
Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and courts, according
to a poll by the Centre for Public Opinion Research
(CVVM) the results of which were presented to
journalists by CVVM representatives. "In general, the
authority of all media has been on a very high level
since February 1995 till the present. The media win in
an overwhelming majority of comparisons with political
institutions, " Marketa Skodova from the CVVM said.
http://www.ceskenov iny.cz/news/ index_view. php?id=211620
EU/BRUSSELS
EU Court Rejects Reporter's Bid to Protect Sources - Europe's second-highest court today upheld a European Commission agency's right to enlist police assistance in a leak investigation, harming a bid by a journalist to protect his sources. The ruling brings the commission a step closer to being able to see documents and computer files seized from the German reporter who wrote articles about possible fraud at the European Union. The European Court of First Instance rejected the reporter's claims today that commission officials had no right to refer their leak
investigation to German and Belgian police.
http://www.bloomber g.com/apps/ news?pid= 20601100& sid=aN86. sGlS_VY&refer= germany
FRANCE
OSCE Representative urges French Senate to reject criminalization of Armenian genocide denial - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklós Haraszti, expressed his concern today about the French National Assembly's adoption in a first reading of an amendment that aims to criminalize the denial that the 1915 killings of Armenians in Turkey was genocide.
In a letter sent to the President of the French Senate, Christian Poncelet, the Representative asked the Senate members to reject the amendment when it reaches the Senate in its capacity as second chamber.
http://www.osce.org/item/21708.html
Take a stand against censorship, say media bodies -
The South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef), the
Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), the Media
Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) and several
international organisations have joined together in
opposing the Film and Publications Amendment Bill. The
current Film and Publications Act regulates films and
publications other than the news media by censorship
and classification measures which determine the age
groups precluded from viewing certain films and
determine which publications should be prohibited or
how they should be displayed in stores
http://www.sabcnews .com/south_ africa/general/ 0,2172,135563, 00.html
2006 Legion of Honour award for Putin condemned as “unworthy of France” - porters Without Borders voiced outrage today that
French President Jacques Chirac bestowed the Grand
Cross of the Legion of Honour - one of the highest
decorations awarded by a country that considers itself
the birthplace of human rights - on Russian President
Vladimir Putin on 22 September. The Internet is not
excluded from this drive to gag the press, as seen in
the trial of Vladimir Rakhmankov. Self-censorship
prevails as a result of lawsuits and administrative
harassment. The purchase of news media by
pro-government business groups such as Gazprom, which
already owns NTV and the newspaper Izvestia, is
reducing the amount of independent news and
information available to the public. The influential
opposition daily Kommersant was sold on 31 August to a
metalworking industry magnate who heads a Gazprom
subsidiary.
http://www.rsf. org/article. php3?id_article= 18989
GERMANY
Opera boss censors Mozart over stage beheading of
Muhammad (Times Online, by Roger Boyes) German politicians and writers have damned ruling as blow to freedom of
expression
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/ article/0, ,3-2376967, 00.html
GREECE
EU tells Greece to change anti-competitive broadcasting laws - The European Commission said Greece must change its laws that regulate broadcasting services in accordance with EU competition rules. The demand, sent to Athens in the form of a 'reasoned opinion', follows an EU court ruling in April last year which said Greece had failed to transpose EU measures into domestic legislation. If Greece does not conform with the commission's request by the end of December, it could face further court action and a possible fine.
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2006/10/16/afx3092783.html
IRAQ
Director-General condemns ferocious and systematic attacks on the media in Iraq - The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today condemned the ferocious and systematic attacks against the media in Iraq, calling for determined action to enable journalists to carry out their work in the country. His statement was issued following the deadliest attack on a media outlet to date and several other acts of violence against and journalists and support workers.
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=35106&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
IRELAND
Irish Privacy Proposal Poses Threat to Press Freedom - The World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum have protested to the Irish government against proposed privacy legislation that conflicts with press freedom in Ireland and would "inhibit the way newspapers carry out their legitimate and important function in society."
http://www.wan-press.org/article12139.html
Irish draft bill on defamation major improvement, but
job unfinished, says OSCE media freedom representative
- A legal review presented today to the Irish
government by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of
the Media, Miklos Haraszti, acknowledges that the
draft bills on defamation and privacy contain major
improvements but also highlights the need to
completely decriminalize defamation.
http://www.osce. org/fom/item_ 1_20783.html
MIDDLE EAST
Arab state media under tighter control - Since the
9/11 attacks on Washington and New York, journalists
employed by government-run media in Arab countries
have come under increased censorship.Arab media,
especially which is state-sponsored, has traditionally
enforced tight curbs on how Arab governments and their
policies are portrayed. But now, many journalists in
the region have reported increasing pressure not to
comment on US foreign policy, further limiting their
ability to report on events in the Middle East.
http://english. aljazeera. net/NR/exeres/ 277A24A9- 5DF3-4A79- 96B4-F63542BFD4E 3.htm
PERU
Mayor sues journalist for alleged defamation - On 12 July 2006, journalist Antonio Rojas Ramírez, of the newspaper “Ahora”, was accused of defamation by Rider Padilla Sinarahua, mayor of the district of Lagunas, Alto Amazonas province, northeastern Perú. The mayor demands the payment of 80 thousand nuevos soles (nearly US$$25 thousand) as civil reparation.
http://www.ifex.org/alerts/layout/set/print/layout/set/print/content/view/full/78407/
RUSSIA
Journalist on trial for satirizing Putin – The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the prosecution for criminal insult of a Russian journalist who satirized President Vladimir Putin’s campaign to boost the birth rate.Vladimir Rakhmankov,
editor-in-chief of the independent news Web site Kursiv, went on trial today in the city of Ivanovo, northeast of Moscow, charged with insulting the president in a May article titled “Putin as Russia’s phallic symbol.” The article satirized Putin’s goal,
outlined in a May 10 speech to the Federal Assembly, of increasing Russia’s population. Under Article 319 of Russia’s criminal code, “Insulting a Public Official,” Rakhmankov could be penalized with up to one year of corrective labor.
http://www.cpj. org/news/ 2006/europe/ russia21sept06na .html
Media freedom watchdog protests trial of Russian
journalist accused of insulting Putin - A media rights
watchdog sharply criticized Russian authorities for
prosecuting a journalist who wrote an article
allegedly mocking President Vladimir Putin. The New
York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in a
statement released late Thursday that it was “deeply
concerned” about the trial of Vladimir Rakhmankov, the
editor of the online publication Kursiv in the city of
Ivanovo northeast of Moscow. “We call on the
authorities to halt the prosecution of Vladimir
Rakhmankov immediately,” CPJ Executive Director Joel
Simon said in the statement.
http://www.newswatc h.in/?p=5930
SOUTH AFRICA
FXI welcomes court ruling on attempted gagging of
"Mail & Guardian" newspaper - The Freedom of
Expression Institute welcomes the decision of the
Johannesburg High Court a few hours ago, giving the
Mail & Guardian the go-ahead to publish an article on
allegations of possible fraud, violations of tender
rules, and contraventions of the Public Finance
Management Act that had occurred in the South African
Post Office.
http://www.ifex. org/en/content/ view/full/ 77311/
SWEDEN
EU sues Sweden over digital TV monopoly - The European Commission said on Tuesday that it is taking Sweden to court for failing to abolish state-owned monopoly Boxer TV-Access as required by EU law.The European Union's executive arm said it would lodge a case against Sweden at the European Court of Justice for not doing away with the company's monopoly in access control services for digital terrestrial broadcasts.
http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=5246&date=20061017&PHPSESSID=e07278181a05be3db1cebf8525a57eb5
TURKEY
Top novelist acquitted in Turkey - A court in Istanbul
has acquitted the best-selling Turkish novelist, Elif
Shafak, who had been accused of insulting Turkish
national identity. Ms Shafak, 35, had faced charges
for comments made by her characters on the mass
killings of Armenians in the final years of the
Ottoman Empire in 1915.
http://news. bbc.co.uk/ 1/hi/world/ europe/5366446. stm
Prime minister talks of amending "national identity"
article used to prosecute writers and journalists -
Reporters Without Borders gave a cautious welcome to
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's comment on
novelist Elif Shafak's 21 September 2006 acquittal on
a charge of "insulting national identity," in which
Erdogan spoke of amending the article of the criminal
code that allowed her to be prosecuted.
http://www.ifex. org/en/content/ view/full/ 77299/
UK
Amateur 'video bloggers' under threat from EU broadcast rules - The European Commission proposal would require websites and mobile phone services that feature video images to conform to standards laid down in Brussels. Ministers fear that the directive would hit not only successful sites such as YouTube but also amateur “video bloggers” who post material on their own sites. Personal websites would have to be licensed as a “television-like service”.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2407359,00.html
The right of freedom of speech does extend to abuse (Mr Justice Collins) London Mayor wins appeal over Nazi jibe. Ken Livingstone likened a journalist to a Nazi camp guard and won a High Court appeal against a finding that he brought his office into disrepute. The mayor was found guilty of being "insensitive and offensive" to an Evening Standard reporter by the Adjudication Panel for England. But Mr Justice Collins in the High Court said the panel had misdirected itself: while the mayor should have apologised he had the right to freedom of speech.
From the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6065124.stm and from The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,1926801,00.html#article_continue
New Ofcom chief will need to bare his teeth - From
"jumped-up Millbank oik" to the top job in regulating
communications in the U.K., Ed Richards has come a
long way. The new chief executive of Ofcom drew the
now famous barb from the former director general of
the British Broadcasting Corp. when he was media
advisor to Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was feuding
with the BBC at the time. Millbank is a reference to
the former headquarters of Blair's Labour Party, while
"oik" is British slang for "lout." Richards, who
became Ofcom's chief operating officer in July 2005,
two years after he joined the regulator, was named CEO
Thursday.
http://www.marketwa tch.com/News/ Story/Story. aspx?dist= newsfinder& siteid=google& guid=%7B883D615A -5246-4299- AE17-8639F1D84D0 3%7D&keyword=
Publishers take on Google - NEWSPAPER and book
publishers have launched a global initiative to regain
the control many feel they have surrendered to
internet search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Many
publishers are concerned that the search engines
provide unfettered and unpaid access to newspaper
articles and other published material.
http://business. timesonline. co.uk/article/ 0,,9071-2372000, 00.html
Editors take risks with journalists' lives, claims
CioJ - Editors and proprietors are expected to come
under attack for "taking unnecessary risks with the
lives and safety of staff journalists" when the
Chartered Institute of Journalists meets next month in
Malta."Personal safety for journalists in hazardous
conditions" will be under discussion at the group's
AGM, from 9-12 October.
http://www.pressgaz ette.co.uk/ article/260906/ journalists_ cioj_war_ risks
USA
Florida court refuses to block violent video game release - judge in Florida refused Friday to block the sale of the controversial video game Bully, ruling that it does not qualify as a "public nuisance" under state law. The suit, brought by long-time video games foe Jack Thompson, named Wal-Mart and Gamestop, two video game retailers, and Take-Two Interactive, parent company of publisher Rockstar Games, as defendants. Thompson wanted the court to issue an injunction against the October 17 release date for the game.
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/10/florida-court-refuses-to-block-violent.php
A US district court judge from the Northern District of Texas "sees no rational reason for distinguishing between the Internet and other forms of traditional mass media” as regards the one-year statute of limitations for bringing libel suits in Texas. The statute applies equally to articles posted on the Internet and articles in print. In dismissing a lawsuit against the Dallas Morning News columnist Scott Burns, and parent company Belo, Judge David Godbey held Monday that the statute begins to run the moment an article is published on the Internet and ends a year later, even if the article remains available online.
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/10/federal-judge-rules-statutory-one-year.php
Mum journalist back in prison - A San Francisco
freelance journalist reported to federal prison here
on Friday, a week after a federal appeals court upheld
a contempt order for refusing to cooperate with a
grand jury investigating an anarchists' protest he
videotaped.A San Francisco federal grand jury
subpoenaed Joshua Wolf to acquire the 30 minutes of
unpublished material, but he refused and was ordered
jailed Aug. 1. He was released a month later as he
appealed his case but surrendered after his appeal was
rejected.
http://www.mercuryn ews.com/mld/ mercurynews/ news/local/ states/californi a/northern_ california/ 15586201. htm
Supreme Court rejects campaign ad restrictions case -
The US Supreme Court Monday turned back a number of
cases brought before it for appeal, including that of
a Maine advocacy group which the Court deemed moot.
The nonprofit Christian Civic League of Maine had
challenged a district court dismissal of its challenge
to the electioneering communication ban in the
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002] prohibiting TV
advertisements funded with corporate or union money
that mention a specific candidate from airing 30 days
before a primary election or 60 days before a general
election.
http://jurist. law.pitt. edu/paperchase/ 2006/10/supreme- court-rejects- campaign- ad.php
CPJ concerned by jail sentences imposed on two U.S.
reporters - The Committee to Protect Journalists is
concerned that a U.S. District Court judge has imposed
jail sentences against two San Francisco Chronicle
reporters who refused to reveal the source or sources
of secret grand jury testimony about alleged steroid
use by professional athletes. The judge, ruling on
Thursday, stayed the sentence pending the outcome of
the journalists' appeal.
http://www.ifex. org/en/content/ view/full/ 77296/
VARIOUS
a) Press release
CHRI launches new publication on Implementing Access
to Information
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI -
www.humanrightsinit iative.org) has release its new
publication on 'Implementing Access to Information - a
practical guide to operationalising freedom of
information laws'. The report sets out a step-by-step
guide on how to overcome entrenched bureaucratic
cultures of secrecy, inconsistent legislation, process
and system constraints and a lack of understanding of
the law by officials to ensure effective
implementation of freedom of information laws.
The report is split into four sections setting out the
four key areas of change required to ensure
implementation in a correct and effective manner.
These include:
-Entrenching a Culture of Openness
-Crafting a Supportive Legislative Regime
-Putting in Place Good Systems
-Monitoring Implementation.
The report can be accessed through CHRI's website at
http://www.humanrig htsinitiative. org/publications /rti/implementin g_ati.pdf.
If you would like hardcopies, please email us at
jeet@humanrightsini tiative.org or
cecelia@humanrights initiative. org with a mailing
address.
CHRI is releasing the report ahead of international
Right to Know Day on 28 September, a day on which
advocates of freedom of information from across the
world will be celebrating the day by holding a number
of awareness raising events. To mark the occasion,
CHRI has produced a backgrounder paper attached above
which we encourage you to use to write articles to
raise awareness about the right to information on the
day.
Warm regards,
Mr Indra Jeet Mistry
Right to Information Programme
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
B-117 Sarvodaya Enclave, 1st Floor
New Delhi 110017
Tel. +91 11 26850523, 26528152, 26864678
Fax. +91 11 26864688
jeet@humanrightsini tiative.org
www.humanrightsinit iative.org
b) Nigeria takes lead on Freedom of Information Act -
Over 60 countries worldwide now have freedom of
information acts, opening up government and public
offices to scrutiny by the public and the press. This
week, Nigeria look set to become the first country in
West Africa to pass freedom of information legislation
– with hopes that new access to information there
will help the sub-regional giant to work its way out
of the endemic corruption which for years has
tarnished its international reputation. Elsewhere,
freedom of information legislation is already making
an impact in some other countries in which it has been
passed, according to a report released by Transparency
International, the global anti-corruption watchdog.
"Corruption flourishes in darkness and so any progress
towards opening governments and intergovernmental
organisations to public scrutiny is likely to advance
anti-corruption efforts," the report notes.
c)Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on the
guarantee of the independence of public service
broadcasting in the member states
(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 27 September
2006)
https://wcd. coe.int/ViewDoc. jsp?Ref=Decl- 27.09.2006& Sector=secCM& Language= lanEnglish& Ver=original& BackColorInterne t=9999CC& BackColorIntrane t=FFBB55& BackColorLogged= FFAC75
d) Foreign Office diplomats have raised concerns with
the Turkish Government after visiting a artist who has
been detained for drawing a cartoon showing the
country's premier as a dog.
The Foreign Office said it was "actively pursuing" the
case of artist Michael Dickinson, who has lived in
Turkey for 20 years, with the authorities. Labour
Euro-MP Richard Howitt found out about Mr Dickinson's
plight during a meeting with the Turkish writers'
organisation, Initiative for Freedom of Expression.
The writers, complaining about the oppressive Article
301 of the Turkish penal code, which bans "denigrating
Turkish national identity", told the MEP that Mr
Dickinson was still being held despite a court having
ordered his freedom last week.The revelation comes the
day after uproar in an Istanbul court when judges
dismissed charges against Turkish author Elif Shafak,
who was accused of insulting Turkish national
identity.
Mr Howitt said: "I have talked to the British
consulate who assured me Mr Dickinson had been freed
last Friday."That was true - but he had been
immediately detained again without charge and has been
held secretly at the Zeytinburnu police station. He is
still there this morning.
"Local police claim he is there as their guest but Mr
Dickinson is being held with up to 400 foreign
prisoners on a single floor of the police station, and
has allegedly witnessed beatings of other inmates and
was himself unable to wash for days. "The fact that he
appears to have been arrested as part of a deliberate
political protest does not alter the fact that the
'Bush's dog' poster is no different from political
cartoons produced daily in every British newspaper."
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, aware of
the damage denial of freedom of expression law could
have on his country's long-running bid for EU
membership, has already hinted that Article 301 may be
amended.
A crucial European Union progress report on Turkey's
suitability for membership is looming in November,
with the country already under pressure on human
rights and the political dispute between Turkey and
Greece over Cyprus.
Mr Howitt said the latest revelations about the plight
of Mr Dickinson highlighted the need for urgent change
in Turkey:
"Coming one day after charges were finally dropped
against an author over the words of a fictional
character in one of her novels, it exposes the great
strides still needing to be made within the Turkish
judicial system in order to respect freedom of
speech," he said. "Mr Dickinson's political views are
his own, but the Turkish police have only given them
more publicity, as well as undertaking detention
without trial, which is illegal under both Turkish and
international law. He should be released forthwith."
Consular officials have now been allowed to visit Mr
Dickinson, and lawyers have been brought in to secure
his freedom, according to the MEP. Mr Dickinson was
arrested on September 12 after displaying a poster
with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's head
superimposed on to a dog, attached to a stars and
stripes leash.
The animal, surrounded by US dollars, carried the
words "We won't be Bush's dog" on its back. Three days
later Mr Dickinson was cleared of defamation.
But instead of being released releasing him from
Umraniye prison, he was transferred to the police
station. Foreign Office spokesman Pasquale Lamanno
said that staff were "actively pursuing the case",
adding: "We are in touch with the Turkish authorities.
We asked for information on the charges and the
reasons for his detention.
"We cannot get people released or involve ourselves in
the judicial process of another country, but we can
raise our concerns. "One of the issues is freedom of
expression. The EU Commission 2005 regular report on
Turkey's progress highlighted freedom of expression as
an area where further reforms are needed. We have
raised this with the Turkish government on a number of
occasions."
Mr Lamanno said that his colleagues had visited Mr
Dickinson in prison and again after he was moved.
"They have raised concerns about the conditions in
which he is being kept," he said.
He added that the Foreign Office had been informed
that Mr Dickinson had been charged with "insulting a
public official". Later the Foreign Office announced
that Mr Dickinson was today released from the Turkish
police station where he was being held.
Posted: Oct 30 2006, 17:26 (/newsletter_October_2006) [ Return to top ]
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