International PEN Writers in Prison Committee Newsletter No. 10 - 5 November 2004
Welcome to the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WIPC)'s electronic newsletter. This newsletter provides the latest news from the WiPC and PEN Centres worldwide. Any comments and suggestions about the content and layout of the newsletter, as well as contributions from PEN Centres, will be gratefully received atintpen@gn.apc.org.
*******************************************
*PEN PROTESTS MURDER OF DUTCH WRITER/FILMAKER THEO VAN GOGH*
*FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR: GERMAN PEN HOSTS PRESS CONFERENCE*
*PEN AMERICAN CENTRE: 2003 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER SHIRIN EBADI JOINS BATTLE AGAINST US TREASURY DEPARTMENT AS HER MEMOIR MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED IN THE USA*
*SWEDISH AND TURKISH PEN CENTRES: ¡°ROOM FOR THOUGHT¡± ¨C SEMINAR ON FREEDOM OF LITERATURE*
*SYDNEY PEN CENTRE¡¯S NEWSLETTER FEATURES ARTICLE BY CHEIKH KONE, EXILE FROM THE IVORY COAST*
*THE LATEST RAPID ACTION ALERTS*
*******************************************
*PEN PROTESTS MURDER OF DUTCH WRITER/FILMAKER THEO VAN GOGH*
International PEN is deeply shocked by the murder of film-maker and writer, Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam on 2 November, a killing apparently motivated by the controversy that van Gogh aroused through his films and writings on Islamic culture. It shares the Dutch people¡¯s horror and outrage that such a heinous crime was carried out in a society that places a high value on the right to freedom of expression.
International PEN is moved by the huge and spontaneous demonstrations protesting the murder that have taken place across the Netherlands, and by the speedy condemnations at the highest level of Dutch society, including Queen Beatrix, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and others.
We understand that a man has already been arrested and is under investigation. International PEN has every confidence that all efforts are being made to ensure that justice is carried out. This combination of public protest and judicial action will serve to send the strongest message that such acts of violence cannot and will not be tolerated.
PEN conveys its deepest sympathies to Theo van Gogh¡¯s family, friends and colleagues.
Links:
Netherlands PEN Centre www.pencentrum.nl
Theo van Gogh¡¯s official website www.theovangogh.nl
*******************************************
NEWS FROM PEN CENTRES
*FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR: GERMAN PEN HOSTS PRESS CONFERENCE*
The German PEN Centre hosted three events at this year¡¯s Frankfurt Book Fair in early October. A press conference held in association with Amnesty International on 7 October on the work of the Writers in Prison Committee and Writers in Exile network at which presentations were made by WiPC Chair, Karin Clark, German PEN General Secretary Wilfried Schoeller and guest of German PEN Writers in Exile Program, the Algerian journalist Hamid Skif.
For full text of Karin Clark¡¯s speech: Click here
For the text of German Writers in Exile Program¡¯s Vice President Michael Klaus presentation : Click here
For information on the German PEN Centre www.pen-deutschland.de
***********************************
*PEN AMERICAN CENTRE: 2003 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER SHIRIN EBADI JOINS BATTLE AGAINST US TREASURY DEPARTMENT AS HER MEMOIR MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED IN THE USA*
Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian human rights activist who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, has filed suit against the U.S. Treasury Department in federal court in New York because regulations of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) prohibit the publication of a book she wants to write about her life and her work for readers in the United States. Ms. Ebadi and The Strothman Agency, LLC, a literary agency that wants to work with her, filed the suit which will be joined to a legal challenge mounted by publishers and authors last month. For full text of PEN America¡¯s press releaase click here http://pen.org/corefreedoms/90.html
For more information on PEN America¡¯s Freedom of Expression Activities click www.pen.org
For information on the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Freedom of the Media Rapporteur statement on the ¡°book embargo¡± click www.osce.org/news/generate.pf.php3?news_id=440
*******************************************
*SWEDISH AND TURKISH PEN CENTRES: ¡°ROOM FOR THOUGHT¡± ¨CSEMINAR ON FREEDOM OF LITERATURE*
The following was carried in the Turkish Daily News 27 October 2004
Europe endured numerous crises and conflicts during the 20th century, and the language and art of the descendants and survivors of that era were influenced by these events. Provocative is the best way to describe a four-day seminar currently going on at the Swedish Research Institute, organized by Swedish PEN in cooperation with Turkish PEN and the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul.
Yesterday morning seminar participants visited the Sacred Blachernae Well and Kariye Museum that inspired Swedish poet Gunnar Ekelof, while in the afternoon they addressed such questions as which literary narratives were created over the centuries using Istanbul and its surrounding areas; did Homer face obstacles or did he have support, and what about the period from Homer to Tolstoy to Yasar Kemal; how has freedom and understanding, autonomy and solidarity, individualism and universalism, national literature and universal literature been developed or blocked; and how can the struggle for freedom of literature balance and complete these antitheses?
Speakers at yesterday's sessions were authors, poets and journalists Seckin Selvi, Maria Modig, Ahmet Altan, Barbara Lonnquist, Orhan Pamuk, Thorwald Steen, Kate Larsson, Maj-Britt Wiggh and Magnus Bergh, all PEN members.
For more information on Swedish PEN click: www.pensweden.org
For the Swedish Institute click: www.si.se
*******************************************
*SYDNEY PEN CENTRE¡¯S NEWSLETTER FEATURES ARTICLE BY CHEIKH KONE, EXILE FROM THE IVORY COAST*
¡°I was brought up in a country without democracy, like so many in the world. But like so many in the world democracy was what I believed in. As a student protesting one party rule in that country, the Ivory Coast, democracy seemed the way of a brighter, better future. It was my own belief in democracy that led me to criticize my government. It was the same belief that led me to flee my country and spend two and a half years detained in Australia.¡±
So starts Cheikh Kone¡¯s account of how he fled the Ivory coast in October 2000 only to find himself imprisoned in the country where he sought refuge. ¡°
For the complete story Click here
For more information on Australian PEN Centres¡¯ acivities click www.pen.org.au
See below for PEN WiPC recent alerts on the Ivory Coast.
RAPID ACTION NETWORK ALERTS
The latest alerts from the Writers in Prison Committee.
04 November 2004 - Iran: Serious concerns for the health of writers Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari and Akbar Ganji.More...
27 October 2004 - Ivory Coast: Journalist Amadou Dagnogo - whereabouts known More...
7 October 2004 - Sierra Leone: Editor sentenced to two years imprisonment for libel. More...
6 October 2004 - China: Internet essayist, writer and journalist Huang Jinqiu (aka Qing Shuijun)sentenced to twelve years in prison on subversion charges for his writings. More...
30 September 2004 - Ivory Coast: Ivory Coast: Disappearance of journalist Amadou Dagnogo. More...
30 September 2004 - Mexico: Government withdraws protection from General GallardoMore...
28 September 2004 - China: Serious concerns about the detention of journalist Zhao Yan; fears of ill-treatment. More...
*******************************************
WIPC PUBLICATIONS
Anti-Terrorism, Writers and Freedom of Expression - A PEN report. Click here for English, French and Spanish versions. Click here for the German version.
WiPC Caselist January-June 2004 now available. Click here
*******************************************
Past weekly newsletters are accessible from the WiPC newsletter archive page.
If you would like to unsubscribe please e-mail intpen@gn.apc.org with 'unsubscribe' in the subject line.
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN works on behalf of persecuted writers worldwide. Established in 1960 in response to increasing attempts to silence voices of dissent by imprisoning writers, the Writers in Prison Committee is today monitoring the cases of over 900 writers who have been imprisoned, tortured, threatened, attacked, disappeared and killed for the peaceful practice of their profession. It coordinates the International PEN membership's campaign towards an end to these attacks and an end to the suppression of freedom of expression worldwide.
For more information about PEN, please visit our website www.internationalpen.org.uk. For information about a particular PEN Centre, contact details for each of our Centres are available from the Centres page of our website.
Last updated: November 12, 2004
|
