Dear Sacha and others,
I appreciate your efforts to share your information with others in this
communication list. But I feel some problems in some articles you are
introducing.
I hope you to talk with Supinya regarding NWICO (new world information and
communication order) because she knows correctly what that is. It was
never such a thing to lincense all journalists. Rather, such a critic was
given by the U.S. conservertive press group. In fact, NWICO dispute has an
aspect of struggle between developing countries and Big Power and their
so-called mainstream presses. The U.S didn't allow the critic to global
information and communcation order, where they had been dominating and
colonizing people's mind in the world. That is why they withdrew from
UNESCO. Now the surrender of UNESCO came from their financial
difficulties. Due to lack of the U.S. funding, UNESCO suffered very hard
times for last twenty years. So, finally, they chose to compromise.
Surprisingly, even in WSIS, still those U.S conservative press group
affects civil society contents very badly, You should know the notion of
communication rights have been aggressively offended in media caucus of
civil society and finally disappeard. Those negative actors in Media
Caucus was American conservative press group.
On the one hand, particularly concerned with internet governance, the
description that dictator's coalition is pushing for governmental control
over internet related things is right. Then, on the other hand, the
current conflict surrounding internet governance has something to do with
fighting aginst the U.S. monopoly dominating power over internet. Of
course, intergovernmental approach and preference of ITU has very negative
implication as well because it virtually and completely exclude the
participation of civil society and other stakeholders in decision making
process. However, the present U.S. monopoly mechanism could not be fully
justified because it allows multistakeholder's participation.
Due to these reasons, the viewpoint of Bangkok Post seems to be very one
-dimensional. The current conflict in WSIS cannot be simplified as the
conflict for freedom of press. Rather, in my view, the bad guy who is
trying to break up WSIS seems to be the U.S. Up to last 2nd PrepCom, the
U.S. has ignored the significance of WSIS. Their contribution or
intervention had been very limited. But since last intersessional meeting,
and remarkably in last PrepCom III, the U.S. positively mobilized their
bloc to make documents their languages. In a sense, the breakdown of WSIS
is what the U.S. and a few Big Powers really have wanted. Here, civil
society group is facing this dillema.
regards,
Chun
On Wed, 8 Oct 2003, Sacha Jotisalikorn wrote:
> The Bangkok Post
> 7 October 2003
>
> Editorial
> Fight never ends for a free press
>
> Last week was almost normal to those who specialise in trying to secure
> freedom of speech and the press. Iranian militiamen seized 14,000
> satellite dishes because citizens might use them to obtain news. The
> Chinese editor of a biography of US senator Hillary Clinton not only
> admitted censoring the Chinese translation but bragged of it. The
> United States rejoined Unesco, after bureaucrats in the United Nations
> cultural agency ended their 20-year-old battle for a ``new information
> order'' to license all journalists. And a loose coalition of
> dictatorships attempted to subvert the World Summit on the Information
> Society in December by putting all internet facilities under government
> control.
>
> WSIS was originally framed to discuss the digital divide around the
> world. In general, rich people have reaped the benefits of the internet
> and other information technology projects, sometimes to the detriment
> of the poor. Similarly, both governments and citizens of poorer
> countries have seen fewer IT benefits. Sometimes they have seen none at
> all. Sometimes, they have actually fallen back from their relative
> positions, compared with neighbours or richer countries.
>
> This subject alone has more than enough facets to keep world leaders
> arguing and proposing solutions to problems for three days. But that
> will not satisfy oppressive governments, meddling dictatorships and
> censorious regimes. Advance talks to the Dec 10-12 summit in Geneva
> reveal a dangerous, hidden agenda.
>
> Authoritarians seek to have the sponsoring International
> Telecommunication Union authorise government control of, and meddling
> into, freedom to access the internet and all information technology.
> Yoshio Utsumi, the Union secretary-general, is an expert on information
> technology and has deep knowledge of the digital divide. The Union
> itself was formed as a non-political group which sets world standards
> for technology so, for example, a fax machine made in Thailand will
> communicate with one made in Latin America.
>
> Certain governments, including several important and influential ones,
> are seeking to use the Union and its ambitious World Summit on the
> Information Society to legitimise their own censorious ways. Last week,
> the Union found it could not organise a statement of principles for the
> summit because of disputes. China and similar governments seek to sneak
> in statements and paragraphs that would seem to make the UN approve of
> censorship and withholding information. Other governments and a group
> of non-government organisations called the civil society disagree.
>
> This is not an issue that can be bartered. First Lady Laura Bush
> announced the United States was rejoining Unesco as a ``full, active
> and enthusiastic participant'' after a 19 year absence. The US, Britain
> and Singapore quit the group in protest at its New World Information
> Order. Now, with Unesco back on track pressing cultural and educational
> exchanges, there is a new attempt to use UN offices for censorship, via
> the International Telecommunication Union.
>
> Thailand has been blindsided by the tricky and underhanded attempts to
> subvert the WSIS. The Thai team to the two preparatory meetings in
> Geneva has pressed ahead with such issues as better access to
> information by the handicapped, more sources of aid to poorer nations
> to establish internet connectivity, and help to spread use of
> high-speed internet lines to and from the country. The attempt to
> subvert WSIS in favour of censorship has made it necessary to hold
> another unscheduled preparatory meeting. Thailand must join attempts to
> kill off attempts to write pro-censorship clauses into the final summit
> statement. Such subversion will widen the digital divide. Advances in
> information technology requires a free flow of ideas.
>
>
>
>
--
------------------------------------------------------------
Chun Eung Hwi
General Secretary, PeaceNet | phone: (+82) 2-2166-2205
Seoul Yangchun P.O.Box 81 | pcs: (+82) 019-259-2667
Seoul, 158-600, Korea | eMail: chun@peacenet.or.kr
------------------------------------------------------------