(CJFE/IFEX) – The following is an open letter by the Comité québécois pour la liberté de presse (Quebec Committee for Press freedom) addressed to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Premier Lucien Bouchard asking them to present a resolution in favour of press freedom at the Francophone Summit: The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien Prime Minister of […]
(CJFE/IFEX) – The following is an open letter by the Comité québécois pour
la liberté de presse (Quebec Committee for Press freedom) addressed to Prime
Minister Jean Chrétien and Premier Lucien Bouchard asking them to present a
resolution in favour of press freedom at the Francophone Summit:
The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien
Prime Minister of Canada
The Honourable Lucien Bouchard
Premier of Québec
The Comité québécois pour la liberté de presse (Quebec Committee for Press
Freedom) is asking Quebec and Canada to present a resolution in favour of
press freedom at the Francophone Summit, beginning September 3rd in Moncton,
New Brunswick.
No fewer than fifteen countries known to violate press freedom will be
participating in the Summit. The actions of these countries have been
denounced by international organizations such as the International Freedom
of Expression Exchange (IFEX), Reporters sans frontières, and the Commitee
to Protect Journalists in the United States.
These actions include threatening, beating, imprisoning (often without a
fair trial) or killing journalists, controlling, seizing or suspending
newspapers, banning foreign media, or censoring the Internet. Countries
which are guilty of one or more of these violations include Burkina Faso,
Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Laos, Mauritania,
Central African Republic, Rwanda, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, and Vietnam. Quebec
and Canada must not be involved in any organization with these countries
without explicitly opposing such violations.
In particular, we want Quebec and Canada to call for the release of 17
journalists who are currently imprisoned in Francophone countries for
journalism-related offenses. It must be clearly stated at the Summit that
imposing a prison sentence for an offense such as defamation is an
exaggerated and unjust punishment that does not fit the offense. Fourteen of
the 15 countries mentioned above have adopted these kinds of laws.
Our organization recently hosted the Montreal visit of a Vietnamese
journalist who had been imprisoned for 20 years in his own country. Doan
Viet Hoat made it clear that economic development and the fight against
corruption cannot progress unless there is respect for the fundamental
rights of citizens.
This includes press freedom.
We hope you share this point of view.
The Comité québécois pour la liberté de presse is an initiative of the
Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec (Professional
Federation of Québec Journalists) (FPJQ). We work to defend press freedom
around the world.
Michel C. Auger, President of the FPJQ
Jane McElhone, Comité québécois pour la liberté de presse, member of
executive of the FPJQ
Recommended Action
Similar appeals can be sent to:
Appeals To
The Hon. Jean Chrétien
Prime Minister
House of Commons
P.O. Box 1103
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Fax: +613 941 6900
E-mail: pm@pm.gc.caLucien Bouchard
Premier of Quebec
Hotel du Parlement
Quebec City, Quebec
G1A 1A4
Fax: +418 643 3924
E-mail: premier.ministre@gouv.qc.ca
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