(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a WAN letter to Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov: Mr Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov Minister of Foreign Affairs Moscow, Russia Email: site@mid.ru 20 September 2005 Dear Mr Minister, We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications […]
(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a WAN letter to Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov:
Mr Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Moscow, Russia
Email: site@mid.ru
20 September 2005
Dear Mr Minister,
We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 100 countries, to express our serious concern at the refusal of Russian authorities to extend the visa and accreditation of Swedish journalist Bert Sundström to enable him to continue to report from Moscow.
We are informed that on 2 September Mr Sundström, a correspondent for Swedish Television – the Swedish public service broadcasting company – was notified that his visa and accreditation would not be extended for another year, as he wished. No reason was given for refusing the application, which should have been a routine matter. Mr Sundström has been working in Russia since 2003.
We respectfully remind you that Russia cannot pick and choose which journalists it approves of and which it does not; such actions amount to censorship. We also remind you of your obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 19 of the Declaration states: ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media, regardless of frontiers.’
We are particularly concerned by this action in view of the fact that our organisations will be holding the 59th World Newspaper Congress and 13th World Editors Forum in Moscow in June 2006. These summit meetings of the world’s press will bring more than 1,500 newspaper publishers, senior executives and chief editors from all over the world to Russia next year. Actions such as those taken against Mr Sundström can only have a chilling effect on these events and seriously prejudice their success.
We respectfully call on you to reconsider the decision to refuse Mr Sundström’s visa and accreditation so that he may continue working in your country.
We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
Yours sincerely,
Gavin O’Reilly
President
World Association of Newspapers
George Brock
President
World Editors Forum
cc: Mr Mikhail Seslavinski, Director, Federal Agency of Press and Mass Communications
