Begin forwarded message:
<excerpt><bold>From: </bold>Sacha Jotisalikorn <<sacha@forumasia.org>
<bold>Date: </bold>Mon Oct 13, 2003 14:10:26 Asia/Bangkok
<bold>To: </bold>Chun Eung Hwi <<chun@peacenet.or.kr>
<bold>Subject: </bold>Re: [communication 932] Fight never ends for a
free press
Hi Chun, others,
Good to hear the feedback, which I think is very fruitful for getting
a better understanding of what different people are thinking in the
region. This goes to show that the information society is a live,
active process.
(Just for clarification, any news article or paper that I can share
does not imply that I agree/disagree or endorse/condemn the ideas
contained within it, but to give the regional members information
about what people might be thinking in Thailand or elsewhere).
All best,
Sacha
On Wednesday, Oct 8, 2003, at 10:26 Asia/Bangkok, Chun Eung Hwi wrote:
<excerpt>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:
<excerpt>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.
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--
------------------------------------------------------------
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
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