(IPI/IFEX) – The following is a 13 May 2002 IPI press release: Vienna, 13 May 2002 IPI PASSES PRESS FREEDOM RESOLUTIONS The International Press Institute (IPI), which met in Ljubljana, Slovenia, for the IPI World Congress and 51st General Assembly (9-12 May 2002), adopted resolutions on the African Union; Kenya; Nepal; ITN journalists and the […]
(IPI/IFEX) – The following is a 13 May 2002 IPI press release:
Vienna, 13 May 2002
IPI PASSES PRESS FREEDOM RESOLUTIONS
The International Press Institute (IPI), which met in Ljubljana, Slovenia, for the IPI World Congress and 51st General Assembly (9-12 May 2002), adopted resolutions on the African Union; Kenya; Nepal; ITN journalists and the Saville Inquiry (confidentiality of sources); Syrian journalist Nizar Nayyouf; violations against the media in the Palestinian Territories; the use of legal and administrative threats to suppress the media; and terrorism and the news media.
The IPI World Congress brought together 450 editors, media executives and leading journalists from 60 countries, as well as prominent politicians and experts, featured panel sessions on the Balkans in the post-Milosevic era and EU Enlargement. Other sessions dealing with the communications industry and press freedom, including the protection of journalists in areas of conflict and the effect of anti-terrorism measures on freedom of expression and of the press, were also on the conference programme.
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1) IPI Resolution on the Formation of the African Union
The International Press Institute (IPI), meeting in Ljubjana, Slovenia, for the IPI World Congress and 51st General Assembly (9-12 May 2002), notes that the nations of Africa are about to form the African Union, a continent wide forum to bring about greater political, economic, legal and social collaboration.
IPI calls on the founding members to ensure that freedom of expression and freedom of the media are core principles of the constitution of this body. IPI firmly believes that strict adherence to these basic human rights and the means to make them enforceable are the keys to its success.
2) IPI Resolution on Kenyan Media Law
The International Press Institute (IPI), meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, for the IPI World Congress and 51st General Assembly (9-12 May 2002) has learned with shock that the Kenyan Government has imposed far-reaching restrictions on newspaper companies and book publishers in a revised law that has raised publishing financial guarantees by 100-fold and criminalizes the sale of publications for which these guarantees have not been executed. Non-compliance of these new measures would lead to huge penalties, including imprisonment of publishers and a total ban on publishing.
IPI views this as a form of censorship, which is designed to restrict the media during the forthcoming General Election, and calls for its immediate withdrawal.
IPI also noted with dismay recent developments in which Kenyan courts have been awarding exorbitant damages in defamation suits. This is likely to put newspapers out of business and IPI calls on the Kenyan Court of Appeal to set the crippling awards aside.
3) IPI Resolution on Nepal
The International Press Institute (IPI), meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, for the IPI World Congress and 51st General Assembly (9-12 May 2002), strongly condemns the suspension of fundamental rights, including the right to freedom of opinion and expression (article 12.2 a) and the Press and Publication Right (article 13), that are granted by the constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal.
These rights were suspended on 26 November 2001 as a consequence of the declaration of the nationwide “State of Emergency” by King Gyanendra, made on the recommendation of the council of ministers and in accordance with article 115 of Nepal’s Constitution.
According to the constitution, such an emergency proclamation can remain in force for six months and may be renewed by Parliament for a further six months. IPI calls on the Nepal Parliament not to renew the State of Emergency and therefore ensure that all fundamental rights and freedoms are granted.
Furthermore, IPI urges the government to release nearly 100 journalists currently held in Nepali prisons as a consequence of the State of Emergency.
4) IPI Resolution on Syrian Journalist Nizar Nayyouf
The International Press Institute (IPI), meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, for the IPI World Congress and 51st General Assembly (9-12 May 2002), expresses its outrage at the fatwa against Syrian journalist Nizar Nayyouf. The fatwa, issued last month by the Alawite sect, the power base of the ruling al-Assad family, includes a US$ 250,000 reward for killing the journalist.
Due to take part in the IPI Congress, Nayyouf, who is in France for medical treatment, was forced to withdraw because he must appear in a French court on 9 May to face criminal defamation charges brought by the former Syrian vice-president, Rifat al-Assad.
IPI renews its condemnation of the harassment and violence against the Nayyouf family and calls on the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to halt the ongoing campaign against them. The current fatwa stands in clear opposition to the policies of political reform established at the beginning of his presidency.
5) IPI Resolution on Violations against the Media in the Palestinian Territories
The International Press Institute (IPI), meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, for the IPI World Congress and 51st General Assembly (9-12 May 2002), condemns the sustained attacks on media freedom that have been committed both by the Israeli army and the Palestinian authorities against journalists in the Palestinian territories.
Since the beginning of the Palestinian Al Aqsa Intifada in September 2000, four journalists have been killed during Israeli military actions. More than 220 incidents of violations against press freedom have been recorded in the region, most of which were committed by the Israeli side.
IPI calls upon the Israeli authorities to remedy the Israeli army’s lack of accountability for the actions of its soldiers and the sustained harassment of media workers, primarily in the form of shootings, beatings and arbitrary detentions. It also calls upon the Israeli authorities to reverse its decision on the non-renewal of press accreditations for Palestinians, and to remove obstructions preventing journalists from carrying out their profession. These include restrictions on the media’s access to Palestinian areas under Israeli siege or occupation, the deportation of journalists, and the illegal seizure and confiscation of reporting materials and equipment.
There have also been numerous Palestinian violations of press freedom, including the killing of one journalist. IPI therefore calls upon Palestinian civilians and the Palestinian National Authority to cease their acts of intimidation against journalists and the confiscation of their equipment.
6) IPI Resolution on ITN journalists and the Saville Inquiry – Confidentiality of Sources
The International Press Institute (IPI), meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, for the IPI World Congress and 51st General Assembly (9-12 May 2002), condemns the decision by Lord Saville to demand that two ITN journalists – working for Channel 4 – reveal their sources to his inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday in Londonderry (Northern Ireland) in 1972.
IPI fully supports the journalists’ refusal to give the names of the soldiers whom they interviewed in 1997 – even though they now face fines or prison sentences.
IPI believes that a free press is seriously damaged if state institutions do not respect the need for journalists to protect their sources – and calls on Lord Saville to reconsider his actions.
7) IPI Resolution on Legal and Administrative Harassment
The International Press Institute (IPI), meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, for the IPI World Congress and 51st General Assembly (9-12 May 2002), condemns the use of legal and administrative threats to intimidate and suppress the media.
In a number of countries around the world there are governments prepared to divert the institutions that in a democratic society should underpin the rule of law to permit the free flow of information.
Over the last two years, this type of pressure on the media has increased. For instance:
· targeted raids by masked tax police,
· civil laws stipulating that companies cannot run deficits for more than two years,
· disproportionate value-added-taxes on the sale of newspapers,
· government-inspired increases in the price of news print,
· government instigated attempts to limit private ownership of independent media,
· prohibiting the printing and/or distribution of critical independent mass media, wherever government owned or government controlled printing plants and distribution systems have a monopoly, and
· pressures on independent private broadcasters in countries where they are required by law to use the transmission systems of government broadcasting organisations.
Accreditation is another problem for the media, with journalists being prevented from reporting by governments which claim the journalists have failed to meet the demands of overly bureaucratic laws.
Freedom of the media is an essential and fundamental element of any democratic society and governments must do everything possible to ensure that this right is upheld.
Bearing the above in mind, the IPI membership calls on all governments to refrain from suppressing the media through spurious legal and administrative actions.
8) IPI Resolution on Terrorism and the News Media
The International Press Institute (IPI), meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, for the IPI World Congress and 51st General Assembly (9-12 May 2002), warned that it is dangerous to limit civil liberties under the pretext of combating terrorism. The best antidote to intolerant ideas leading to terrorist acts is the fullest possible public exposure, both of the false reasoning used to justify those acts and their inhumane consequences.
The struggle against international terrorism has led governments, including some of the world’s most established democracies, to seek dangerous controls over the free flow of information, freedom of expression and the freedom of the news media.
IPI firmly believes that the best way to reassure the public is for official policies and actions to counteract terrorism also to be given maximum possible disclosure consistent with the protection of human life.
Official calls for censorship or self-censorship, both of the traditional news media and those using new communication technologies, are at best misguided – as are restrictions on the movements and other newsgathering activities of press personnel.
The members of the IPI are convinced that democratic societies can best defend themselves within the framework of legislation that respects free speech, whether enacted prior to or after September 11, concerning ongoing security concerns and operations.
IPI agrees with the following statement made in the resolution on Terrorism and Media adopted by media professionals and press freedom groups at a 1-2 May 2002 UNESCO Conference held in Manila, the Philippines by media professionals and press freedom groups, “Any strategy to address the threat of terrorism must promote greater respect for freedom of expression and of the media, rather than imposing restrictions on these fundamental rights.”
IPI fully endorses the Manila resolution, which contains provisions on the right to report on terrorism and the safety of journalists. In particular, IPI supports the central tenet of the Manila resolution that “States at peace, as well as all parties to conflicts, should take effective measures to ensure that they, military forces, combatants, as well as secret and intelligence services and other officials engaged in combating terrorism, understand and respect the rights of journalists … as well as their right to freedom of expression.”
