Thank you for sharing factual stories!
> 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.
If you read "Hope & Folly" written by William Preston, the full story
is there.
> 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.
I endorse this observation and support that US monopoly mechanism cannot
be fully justified because it allows multistakeholder's partcipation.
> 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.
Since I was not in the PrepCom III, I cannot say what happened exactly
but this story is not unfamiliar at all.
Regards,
YJ
> 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
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>