PRESS FREEDOM RESOLUTIONS

WAN Board Meeting, Vienna, 18-20 November 2007

China

The Board of the World Association of Newspapers, meeting in Vienna, Austria, from 18 to 20 November 2007, calls on the International Olympic Committee, athletes, sponsors, media partners and others to exert serious pressure on the Chinese authorities to cease their flagrant and persistent abuses of human rights and, notably, to release from prison the dozens of journalists serving long jail sentences for freely exercising their profession.

China has failed to live up to the press freedom commitments it made when it sought the 2008 Games. At least 30 journalists and 50 cyberdissidents are currently in Chinese prisons, and Chinese media remain under the draconian control of the authorities.

China has also promised that foreign journalists will be free to report on Chinese politics, society, culture and economy. Yet foreign media still are unable to move freely in parts of China, notably in Tibet or Xinjiang province.

By all accounts, the Beijing Games are shaping up to be a showcase for China. But these events should not be allowed to take place without active opposition by participants -- the IOC, athletes, sponsors, media partners and others -- to the repressive conditions that surround the Games. Turning a blind eye to these violations of human rights would be a scandal.

The WAN Board believes the end of "business as usual" in China is necessary to effect belated and needed reform, and it encourages all partners in the Games, and all companies doing business with China, to speak out about China’s human rights abuses.

In this context, the Board of WAN applauds the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs for its condemnation of Yahoo for helping the Chinese police to persecute and arrest cyber-reporters and suggests that this should be an inspiration for politicians world-wide to make similar denunciations.

Among the Chinese journalists imprisoned, Shi Tao, 2007 Golden Pen of Freedom laureate, is serving a 10-year prison sentence on charges of "leaking state secrets" after he wrote an email in 2004 about media restrictions in the lead up to the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Yahoo provided state security authorities details about Tao’s e-mail usage that ultimately allowed them to trace the message to a computer he used at the newspaper.

The WAN Board calls on Chinese authorities to release all jailed journalists and uphold their promised reforms in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Somalia

The Board of the World Association of Newspapers, meeting in Vienna, Austria, from 18 to 20 November 2007, strongly condemns the increasing violence against journalists in Somalia, which is exerted both by the transitional government security forces, backed by Ethiopia, and the Islamic militia, backed by neighbouring Eritrea.

At least eight Somali journalists and media executives have been killed since the beginning of the year, while more than a dozen have fled the country in fear for their lives. Somalia is now the most dangerous country in Africa for the press.

Radio Shabelle, considered to be one of the country’s leading independent station, was closed down on 12 November, after months of threats, disruptions and attacks. WAN is appalled by the 19 October murder of Bashiir Noor Gedi, the station’s acting manager, assassinated outside his home in Mogadishu.

WAN is seriously concerned that this killing and that of journalists of Radio Warsan, Voice of Peace, Radio Jowhar, Horn Afrik, Radio Capital Voice and Radio Banadir earlier this year are meant to scare off local media from reporting critically on the country’s conflict.

The board of WAN urges the Transitional Federal Government to take all necessary steps to end the violence against journalists and the impunity enjoyed by those who order or carry out the execution of journalists, to firmly commit to the rule of law and to uphold international standards of freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Somalia.

Burma

The Board of the World Association of Newspapers, meeting in Vienna, Austria, from 18 to 20 November 2007, expresses its serious concern over the ruling junta’s continuing oppressive policies against a free press and a free flow of information.

WAN is appalled by the killing of Japanese freelance journalist Kenji Nagai during the recent crackdown and it calls on the authorities to ensure that the murder of Mr Nagai is thoroughly investigated and that those responsible are swiftly brought to justice. It also strongly condemns the abusive arrest and detention of Burmese journalists who reported on the August and September demonstrations and it calls for their immediate release.

The Board of WAN denounces the ruling junta’s persistent policy of harassment, censorship, suspension of critical publications and shutdown of the Internet and it expresses its full support to journalists inside and outside Burma that report with integrity and courage on the worsening situation in the country.

WAN reiterates its call for the release of all jailed journalists in Burma, including U Win Tin, former editor-in-chief of Hanthawaddy newspaper and laureate of WAN 2001 Golden Pen of Freedom, who is jailed since 1989 for exerting his right to freedom of expression.

Azerbaijan

The Board of the World Association of Newspapers, meeting in Vienna, Austria, from 18 to 20 November 2007, condemns the Azerbaijani government’s growing hostility toward independent and opposition media, which raises serious concerns about the future and the safety of journalists in the country.

With eight journalists behind bars, Azerbaijan is the leading jailer of journalists in Europe and Central Asia. Violence and the threat of violence against journalists have become frequent, and often such crimes are committed with impunity. A dramatic increase in defamation charges brought against journalists by state officials has further contributed to the deteriorating environment for freedom of expression.

Among the jailed journalists is Eynulla Fatullayev, editor-in-chief of the country’s largest independent newspapers, Realny Azerbaijan and Gündelik Azebaycan, who was convicted on 30 October 2007 of terrorism and inciting ethnic hatred and sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison. The charges stem from an article in which he wrote that the government’s support of the United States position on Iran makes Azerbaijan vulnerable to attack. Mr Fatullayev was already serving a two-and-a-half year prison sentence on charges of libeling and insulting Azerbaijanis in an internet posting he denied writing.

The Board of WAN calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to establish a climate where the press is free and independent of governmental, political or economic control and to take all necessary steps to ensure that the country fully respects international standards of freedom of expression.

Pakistan

The Board of the World Association of Newspapers, meeting in Vienna, Austria, from 18 to 20 November 2007, condemns the crackdown on freedom of the press during the current state of emergency in Pakistan.

As part of the clampdown on the media, dozens of journalists working for the independent media have reportedly been assaulted or prevented from working and at least five journalists were arrested during a demonstration against police attempts to seal the printing press of the Awam daily in Karachi.

The Board of WAN also denounces the far-reaching legal restrictions placed on media and the suspension of press freedom guarantees by the Provisional Constitutional Order that has replaced the constitution of the country.

Other attacks on press freedom include the suspension of broadcasts of all international and national private news channels, the restriction of cable broadcasts to entertainment programming and the blocking of a number of international and national news websites. Transmission equipment has also been seized from several broadcast media, and numerous criminal offences that severely restrict freedom of the press have been created.

The Board of WAN calls on the Pakistani authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all detained journalists, to lift all restrictions on freedom of the press and to uphold their prior commitments to free expression.

Georgia

The Board of the World Association of Newspapers, meeting in Vienna, Austria, from 18 to 20 November 2007, condemns the police violence against journalists and the shutdown of independent broadcasters amid a crackdown on opposition protests in Georgia that were followed by a nationwide state of emergency.

Several journalists were severely beaten by the riot police as they tried to film the crackdown, while others had their cameras confiscated to prevent them from filming and reporting on the demonstrations and the police response.

The Board of WAN also denounces the raids and bans against all independent local and international broadcast channels. It emphasizes that the diversity and timeliness of information is even more so critical in times of political crisis.

The Board of WAN calls on the Georgian authorities to investigate the police violence against journalists, to lift all restrictions imposed on newsgathering and to fully respect international standards of freedom of expression.