Hi Chat,
Thanks for the suggestion! Sacha is working on the first revision of it =
and we'll go through the modification together later.=20
Cheers,
Serena
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Chat Garcia Ramilo=20
To: communication@wsisasia.org=20
Sent: Saturday, January 25, 2003 1:55 PM
Subject: [communication 384] Re: 2nd draft of the statement for the =
Malaysiakini case
Hi Serena,
We'd like to suggest a slight revision. This suggestion comes from our =
colleague in Malaysia:
Third to the last para, second sentence which starts with:=20
"It should take actions to secure and promote open and free press =
rather than repressing journalists exposing critical and sensitive =
issues."
Can we add something about "investigative reporting" i.e. reporting =
based on facts and sound investigation, not just exposing critical and =
sensitive issues which the Malaysian govt likes to call sensationalism =
or irresponsible. In a case study presented by Prem Chandran of =
Malaysiakini in a Women's Electronic Network Training we had last August =
in Kuala Lumpur, he said that all their eports are based on facts and =
they make an effort to check their information and sources.
Perhaps the revision could be:
"It should take actions to secure and promote open and free press =
rather than repressing journalists who uphold high quality investigative =
reporting based on facts and sound investigation."
---------
I hope this helps.=20
Chat
At 04:39 PM 1/24/03 +0800, you wrote:
Dear all,
=20
Here is the second draft of the statement in support of the =
Malaysiakini (still rough though). Will be finalized soon in the =
evening. I added the recommendations of several colleagues here on the =
mailing list to the rough draft.=20
=20
Sacha, when and where to meet to finalize the draft? Anybody else =
available and interested in this?=20
=20
Cheers,
SERENA
=
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------------
=20
Joint Statement Calling for Press Freedom in <?xml:namespace prefix =
=3D st1 ns =3D "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" =
/>Malaysia<?xml:namespace prefix =3D o ns =3D =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
January 23, 2003
This is a joint statement of national, regional and international =
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who participated in the Asia =
Pacific Regional Conference on the World Summit of Information Society =
(WSIS) 2003 as well as other civil society entities that are concerned =
about human rights issues in the information society.
The statement is in support of the Malaysiakini for freedom of =
opinion and express, thus requesting the Malaysian authority to rule out =
any form of censorship at once.=20
The Malaysiakini, an independent and alternative online media based =
in Malaysia, faced police raid on Jan 20. Four servers and 15 central =
processing units (CPUs) from the office were seized during the raid. The =
raid was triggered by a police report accusing the media of publishing a =
"seditious" letter, which was alleged to have posed questions on the =
"special rights" of the Malays in the country.
As the joint statement of participants in the Asia Civil Society =
Forum on WSIS (held last December in Bangkok) clearly stated, =
transcending the divides between enabled citizens and marginalized =
communities is a major challenge of globalization facing all =
stakeholders in the information society, including NGOs. The safeguard =
and promotion of free and balanced flow of information and communication =
with full respect for human rights plays an indispensable role in =
helping all bridge the gap. =20
It is beyond doubt that the securing and promotion of the freedom =
should be guided by, inter alia, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration =
of Human Rights, which stipulates that "Everyone has the rights to =
freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold =
opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart =
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."
As the aforementioned Bangkok statement affirms, civil society's =
vision is to evolve the global community into a truly communicative, =
just and peaceful one grounded in respect for diversity and plurality.=20
All WSIS related events and the official summit to be held in Geneva =
this December will be absolutely pointless if we fail to uphold =
communication rights-the fundamental human right to communicate, to =
access and disseminate information-as the touchstone of our information =
society. The raid on Malaysiakini, which broke out shortly after the =
Asia Pacific Regional Conference on WSIS in Tokyo where NGOs reiterated =
the significance of communication rights, is a total disgrace to all =
that were committed to wide-range discussion in the WSIS preparatory =
process to better the information society.
We, as civil society in full support of freedom of opinion =
expression, gravely condemn the raid, which has severely jeopardized =
press freedom. All violations to media freedom, such the police raid on =
Malaysiakini, are extremely abhorrent, undemocratic and detrimental to =
human rights and alternative views. They are also a severe setback to =
regional and global evolution of politics and economics.
We hereby request the Malaysian government to publicly renounce =
censorship in all forms in respect of human rights. It should take =
actions to secure and promote open and free press rather than repressing =
journalists exposing critical and sensitive issues.=20
It is absolutely unnecessary for the Malaysian authority to apply =
the Sedition Act against the Malyasiakini. Sensitive issues should be =
resolved through constructive and rational dialogues and debate rather =
than censorship. =20
We also demand the Malaysian police to immediately return all seized =
items of the Malaysiakini and stop the interrogation over the media's =
decision to publish the letter and identity of the letter's writer.
This statement is endorsed by:
1. Name of individual:
2. Organization:
3. Country:
4. Email:
389_2.html (attatchment)