IFEX MEMBERS ATTEND UNESCO CELEBRATIONS IN BELGRADE


Nine IFEX members will be joining media professionals from around the world to celebrate World Press Freedom Day at a UNESCO-hosted conference in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, on 2-3 May. The theme of the conference will be "Support to Media in Violent Conflict and in Countries in Transition."

The IFEX members will participate in panel sessions that will explore such issues as challenges facing press freedom and democratisation, the safety of journalists and building capacity for electoral and legal reform.

Members are:
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Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Committee to Protect Journalists
Fundación para libertad de la prensa
Inter American Press Association
International Federation of Journalists
Pakistan Press Foundation
World Association of Newspapers
World Press Freedom Committee
Representatives of donor agencies, journalist associations and intergovernmental organisations will also take part in the conference.

Following the conference, UNESCO will hold an award ceremony for the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, given this year to imprisoned Cuban journalist Raul Rivero (see
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/57216/).
For more information, visit: http://www.unesco.org/webworld/wpfd/2004/

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GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR


Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) criticised Greece's state-run television station ET-3 for canceling the screening of a documentary on Cyprus on 3 May, pointing out the irony of such a move on World Press Freedom Day.

"The Other Side," an award-winning documentary about a recent period in Cyprus's history from the point of view of Turkish Cypriots, was supposed to air on the evening of 3 May. It never reached viewers' television screens.

Visit: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr

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IJC MOLDOVA


In Moldova, the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) and five other journalist organisations are holding a week-long series of events under the banner "Press Freedom Days."

The week will begin with a press conference at the Infotag news agency on 3 May to launch the events, an award ceremony for the best articles on press freedom and a journalists' solidarity march in Chisinau.

On 4 May, the Writers' Union will host a congress of Moldovan journalists, and announce the winner of a cartoon competition. A photography exhibition entitled "The Year 2003 in Press Photography" will also be opened.

On 5 May, a round table on mass media will discuss the impact of the new Civil Code on press freedom in Moldova. "Press Freedom Days" will end with a festival of "Radio and TV Communitarian Programs."

For more information, contact Nadine Gogu, Program Coordinator, IJC: coordin@ijc.iatp.md

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INDEX ON CENSORSHIP


INDEX ON CENSORSHIP HOSTS CENTRAL ASIA CONFERENCE

Index on Censorship played the role of catalyst on World Press Freedom Day by bringing together more than 90 journalists, researchers and other freedom of expression activists from Central Asia for a conference in Osh, Kyrgyzstan from 30 April to 1 May 2004.

Participants at the conference discussed and debated issues including censorship, the financial sustainability of media in Central Asia, ethnic conflict and the political situation in Uzbekistan following the outbreak of violence in late March. An exhibition entitled "Free Speech Through the Viewfinder" featured work from local photographers.

Index on Censorship also invited conference participants to join an "information explosion" on Uzbekistan, using the website http://www.fergana.ru as a forum for people to post questions and opinions about the situation in the country. There were more than 1,000 postings from around the world.

Visit these links:
- Index on Censorship: http://www.indexonline.org
- Osh Media Resource Center: http://enews.ferghana.ru/main.php
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INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS


Safety, Solidarity and Justice were the themes of the International Federation of Journalists' (IFJ) 3 May message, which called for international action to investigate the unexplained killings of journalists in Iraq.

IFJ's report, Justice Denied on the Road to Baghdad, documents the cases of seven journalists killed during the conflict, including several by American troops (see: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?index=2328&Language=EN).

IFJ invited media companies to support the International News Safety Institute (INSI), an organisation formed last year that supports safety training for journalists. INSI has carried out safety training in some of the world's most dangerous hot-spots ? including Iraq ? and plans to expand its work into all regions of the world.

IFJ also launched a special call to boost the IFJ Safety Fund, which relies on donations to help other journalists in need. "The IFJ Safety Fund is a unique source of support and solidarity. We call on all colleagues to donate to the cause in the certain knowledge that every contribution will go directly to those who need it."

Find out more about:
- International Campaign for Justice for Killed Journalists:
http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?index=2348&Language=EN
- International News Safety Institute: http://www.newssafety.com
- IFJ Safety Fund:
http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Issue=SAFEFUND&Language=EN
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INTERNATIONAL PRESS INSTITUTE


On 3 May, the International Press Institute (IPI) urged the U.S. government to ease restrictions on foreign journalists traveling to the United States, saying many reporters in the past year have been subjected to harsh treatment by customs officials.

Since March 2003, numerous journalists have been stopped at U.S. borders, refused entry and forcibly deported to their home countries for not carrying visas, says IPI. Some were handcuffed, detained in holdover cells and prevented from making telephone calls.

IPI says that since March 2003, U.S. customs officials have taken a harder line against journalists from Australia, Austria, Denmark, France and the United Kingdom, who are not allowed visa-free entry into the United States even though non-journalists from these countries can enter for stays of up to 90 days.

IPI is working on a campaign with the American Society of Newspaper Editors and journalist associations from European countries to resolve this issue.

Visit: http://www.freemedia.at/

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REPORTERS SANS FRONTIERES


Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) will expose the faces of the world's "press freedom predators" on 3 May to raise awareness of government and military leaders who threaten the right of journalists to inform the public. Profiles of 37 "predators" will be included in a book of photographs by Dominique Issermann, which will be launched that day.

RSF will also mark 3 May by calling attention to what it calls "dictatorships in paradise" - popular tourist destinations where press freedom is virtually nonexistent and journalists are constantly hounded by authorities. A press conference will be held in Paris, featuring journalists and human rights activists who will talk about violations in Cuba, Tunisia, the Maldives and the Seychelles.

RSF will also launch its annual report "The 2003 Global Press Freedom Tour," a survey of press freedom violations around the world, including journalists killed and imprisoned.

For more information, visit: http://www.rsf.org or contact communication@rsf.org

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WORLD ASSOCIATION OF NEWSPAPERS


What do the Dalai Lama, Irish rock star Bono, Nobel Economics laureate Amartya Sen and Brazilian President Lula da Silva have in common?

They have championed press freedom as a vital ingredient for countries to achieve progress and peace. They have also granted exclusive interviews to the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.

These interviews are part of an editorial package WAN has made available for newspapers world-wide to use for free. Other interviewees are Marianne Pearl, the wife of slain American journalist Daniel Pearl, Tunisian journalist Sihem Bensedrine and Russian whistleblower Grigory Pasko.

The theme of the package is "Press Freedom Pays," which features articles, statistics on journalists killed and imprisoned in 2003, cartoons, photos from Agence France Presse and downloadable advertisements. WAN invites newspapers to use the materials on 3 May. The information is available in English, Spanish, French, German and Russian.

Download the editorial package here: http://www.worldpressfreedomday.org/