SENEGAL: PRESIDENT PARDONS EDITOR CONVICTED OF DEFAMATION

SENEGAL: PRESIDENT PARDONS EDITOR CONVICTED OF DEFAMATION

A Senegalese editor who was serving a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence
for defaming leading government officials has been pardoned, report the
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), the Writers in Prison Committee of
International PEN (WiPC) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

El Malick Seck, editor of the Dakar daily "24 Heures Chrono", was freed
eight months into his sentence on 24 April following a Presidential pardon.

Seck was arrested in August 2008 only hours after writing an editorial that
alleged President Wade and his son Karim, a special adviser, were involved
in a money laundering scheme. He was handed a three-year jail term for
offending the head of state, publishing false news and threatening public
order. "24 Heures Chrono" was suspended for three months for the same
offence.

Then on 23 December, Seck was sentenced to a further six months in prison
for defaming Interior Minister Sheikh Tidiane Sy and ordered to pay
US$66,600 in damages.

Seck and his paper are no strangers to government harassment. In yet
another defamation case, Seck and another "24 Heures Chrono" colleague were
sentenced to a one-year suspended prison term sentence, allegedly for
defaming the Ministry of Culture.

According to WiPC, Senegal is one of Africa's worst offenders for
prosecuting journalists on criminal defamation charges, with about 20 such
cases brought against journalists every year. Courts frequently hand down
disproportionate rulings, often consisting of both custodial sentences and
heavy fines. But in the recent past journalists have rarely gone to prison.

President Abdoulaye Wade pledged to repeal criminal penalties for press
offences, including defamation in 2004, but, says WiPC, "the use of
criminal defamation laws against journalists, including those providing for
'insulting the President', appears to have increased in recent years." WiPC
urges the President to review Senegal's defamation laws and fulfil his
promise to decriminalise press offences.

Visit these links:
- Journalist El Malick Seck pardoned (MFWA):
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/102674/
- Editor El Malick Seck released (WiPC): http://tinyurl.com/q3kehw
- Le journaliste El Malick Seck libéré (RSF):
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=30921



From International PEN

SENEGAL: Editor El Malick Seck released

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC) welcomes the news that 24 Heures Chrono editor El Malick Seck, who was serving a three-and-a-half year sentence for "offending the head of state" and defaming a government minister, has been released from prison. Seck was reportedly freed on 24 April 2009 following a presidential pardon. The WiPC commends the release but reminds President Wade that Seck has apparently spent eight months in jail for exercising his right to freedom of expression. It urges the President to review Senegal's defamation laws and fulfil his promise to decriminalise press offences.

El Malick Seck, editor of the Dakar daily 24 Heures Chrono, was arrested on 28 August 2008 and sentenced to three years in prison on charges of offending the head of state, publishing false news and threatening public order on 12 September 2008. The charges reportedly stemmed from an editorial that alleged that President Wade and his son Karim, a special adviser, were involved in laundering money stolen from a bank in the Ivory Coast. Seck's arrest followed an attack on the premises of 24 Heures Chrono and another newspaper in mid-August 2008, days after the then Transport Minister Farba Senghor threatened retaliation against the papers for publishing critical stories. Government officials were allegedly involved in the attack.

On 23 December 2008, Seck was sentenced to a further six months in prison for defaming Interior Minister Sheikh Tidiane Sy and ordered to pay approx. US$66,600 in damages. In yet another defamation case against Seck another 24 Heures Chrono journalist by the Ministry of Culture's secretary general, Pape Massène Sène, the two men were each sentenced to a one-year suspended prison term and a FCFA 250,000 fine.

Seck's appeal against the original convection was rejected on 23 February 2009 and the sentence upheld. However, he was reportedly released on 24 April following a presidential pardon. He had spent a total of eight months in prison.

Background

Senegal is one of Africa's worst offenders in terms of criminal defamation prosecutions, with some 20 such cases brought against journalists every year. Courts frequently hand down disproportionate rulings, often consisting of both custodial sentences and heavy fines, although in the recent past journalists have rarely gone to prison.

President Abdoulaye Wade pledged to repeal criminal penalties for press offences, including defamation in 2004, but there has been no progress since. Indeed, the use of criminal defamation laws against journalists, including those providing for ‘insulting the President', appears to have increased in recent years.

For more information, see the WiPC's report Free Expression, Corruption and Criminal Defamation in Africa published in January 2008, available in English or French.

Take Action

Please send appeals:

• Welcoming the presidential pardon and release of El Malick Seck, editor of the Dakar daily 24 Heures Chrono, who was serving a three-and-a-half year prison sentence for "offending the head of state" and defaming a government minister;
• However, reminding President Wade that Seck has served eight months in jail on convictions that were apparently in violation of his right to freedom of expression, guaranteed by the Senegalese Constitution, as well as by the African Union's African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Senegal is party;
• Urging the President to review Senegal's defamation laws and any criminal restrictions on content, in line with his 2004 promise to decriminalise press offences and the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa.

Appeals to:

President of the Republic of Senegal
His Excellency President Abdoulaye Wade
Office of the President, Avenue Aoume, Dakar, Republic of Senegal, West Africa
Fax: + 221 33 823 1702
Salutation: Dear President Wade

Please also send appeals to diplomatic representatives of Senegal in your country.
(see http://www.diplomatie.gouv.sn/representations_diplomatiques.php?idsmenu=17&idmenu=4)

***Please send appeals immediately. Check with the WiPC if sending appeals after 8 July 2009.***

For further details please contact Tamsin Mitchell at the Writers in Prison Committee London Office: International PEN, Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER Tel: +44 (0) 207 405 0338 Fax +44 (0) 207 405 0339 email: tamsin.mitchell@internationalpen.org.uk

MEXICO: Journalist and family threatened

MEXICO: Journalist and family threatened; fears for safety

31 March 2009

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC) protests the threats issued against El Diario de los Altos editor Miguel Ángel Casillas in Jalisco State in March 2009. The threats allegedly come from ‘Los Zetas', a paramilitary criminal gang linked to drug traffickers, on behalf of a local politician, after the newspaper was critical of a dam project in the area. The WiPC is calling on the authorities to provide safety measures for Casillas, his family and other journalists at the newspaper and to carry out a full investigation into the threats.

The following is an urgent action alert issued by Amnesty International on 25 March 2009 (see http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR41/017/2009/en/c46b3840-6cb1-46e1-961f-fe4c5af4357a/amr410172009en.html). PEN members are asked to send appeals following the guidance given in the alert as a matter of urgency.

---

Mexico: Fear for safety: Miguel Angel Casillas Báez (m)
PUBLIC AI Index: AMR 41/017/2009

25 March 2009

UA 82/09 Fear for safety

MEXICO: Miguel Angel Casillas Báez (m), his family and other journalists of the newspaper, Diario de los Altos

Miguel Angel Casillas, editorial director of local newspaper, Diario de los Altos, was threatened on 18 March by a manclaiming to be an official in charge of the Zetas' department (a notoriously criminal organization responsible for hundreds of murders). The threat was made because Miguel Angel Casillas and the newspaper he works for have given critical coverage to a dam development project in el Zapotillo, Los Altos region, Jalisco state.

On 18 March, Miguel Angel Casillas received an anonymous call on his mobile from a mansaying "We know who you are, where you live, where you go, who your family are and we want to know how you are going to cooperate with us" (sabemos quién es usted, sabemos dónde vive, sabemos cómo se mueve, sabemos quién es su familia y queremos saber cómo piensa colaborar con nosotros). The caller insinuated that he was acting on the behalf of a politician who wished to damage Miguel Angel Casillas and added that "from this point on you and your family are at risk" (corre peligro a partir de ahora, usted y su familia).

The day before receiving the anonymous phonecall, Miguel Angel Casillas noticed that both his personal email and that of the newspaper he works for had been hacked. The hackers had left a message stating that "Today the email of the newspaper has been kidnapped. Careful what you publish we don't want to hurt anyone. Regards from Jalisco State Congress, from a friend that likes you a lot and is watching anxiously over you. Rightist Jalisco".(Hoy el secuestro fue del korreo elektonico del medio kuidado kon lo ke publican no keremos lastimar a nadie. Saludos desde el congreso de Jalisco de un amigo que te quiere mucho y te vigila con ansias de encontrarte. Yunque Jalisco)

Miguel Angel Casillas has submitted a official complaint with the Jalisco State Public Prosecutor's Office and the State Human Rights Commission.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The project to build el Zapotillo dam in Jalisco state on the Rio Verde has led to concern among local communities, particularly those of Temacapulín, Palmarejo and Acasico which will be flooded. Despite previous commitments by the state government to consult the public on the project, the Diario de los Altos and local human rights organizations have been critical of the project and the failure of the authorities to consult adequately with local communities or provide reliable and detailed information on impact and compensation packages.

Take Action

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Spanish or your own language:

• Calling for safety measure to be provided for Miguel Angel Casillas Báez, his family and other journalists at the Diario de los Altos and for protection measures to be implemented in accordance with their wishes;
• Call on the authorities to instigate a thorough, prompt and impartial investigation into the email and telephone threats against Miguel Angel Casillas, including any possible links to local politicians, for the results to be made public and for those responsible to be held to account;
• Calling on the authorities to fulfil their obligations under the UN Declaration on the Rights and Responsibilities of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognised Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and ensure that human rights defenders have a right to carry out their activities without any restrictions or fear of reprisals.

APPEALS TO:

Governor of Jalisco

Emilio González Márquez

Gobernador del Estado de Jalisco

Palacio de Gobierno,

Av. Corona No. 31, Planta Baja

Col. Centro

Guadalajara C.P. 44100

Estado de Jalisco

MÉXICO

Fax: (+52 33) 36 48 1601/02

Email: emilio.gonzalez@jalisco.gob.mx

Salutation: Dear Governor/ Señor Gobernador

Attorney General of Jalisco

Lic. Tomás Coronado Olmos

Procurador del Estado de Jalisco

Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado

Calle 14 no. 2567

Colonia Zona Industrial

Guadalajara, C.P. 44940

Estado de Jalisco

MÉXICO

Salutation: Dear Attorney/ Señor Procurador

Minister of Interior

Lic. Fernando Francisco Gómez-Mont Urueta

Secretaría de Gobernación

Bucareli 99, 1er. piso,

Col. Juárez, Del. Cuauhtémoc,

México D.F., C.P.06600, MEXICO

Fax: +52 55 5093 3414

E-mail: secretario@segob.gob.mx

Salutation: Señor Secretario/Dear Minister

COPIES TO:

Human Rights organization

Instituto Mexicano Para el Desarrollo Comunitario (IMDEC), A.C

A.C. Pino 2237-A, Col. del Fresno, Guadalajara, Jalisco C.P 44900

Mexico

Human Rights Commission of Jalisco

Lic. Felipe de Jesús Álvarez Cibrián, Presidente de la Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos de Jalisco,Pedro Moreno No. 1616,Col. Americana, Guadalajara C.P. 44160, Estado de Jalisco,MÉXICO , Fax: (+52 33) 36 69 11 01, Salutation: Dear President/ Señor Presidente

and to diplomatic representatives of Mexico accredited to your country.

---

***Please send appeals immediately. Check with International PEN if sending appeals after 6 May 2009.***

For further details please contact Tamsin Mitchell at the Writers in Prison Committee London Office: International PEN, Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER Tel: +44 (0) 207 405 0338 Fax +44 (0) 207 405 0339 email: tamsin.mitchell@internationalpen.org.uk

Visit http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/

PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature

Tickets Going Fast to PEN World Voices Festival Events!‏

PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature

April 27–May 3, 2009
Evolution/Revolution

160 writers from 40 countries gather for 60 events in New York City.

Tickets are already selling out, so purchase yours today!

A stellar line-up of writers from around the globe considers how the world changes and how we change. Don't miss this exciting cross-cultural literary exchange, featuring conversations, performances, readings, film screenings, and a cabaret night.

Festival Highlights

An Afternoon with International Graphic Novelists
Three back-to-back sessions with some of the world's most innovative and cutting-edge graphic novelists, including Neil Gaiman, Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Adrian Tomine, Shaun Tan, David Polonsky, and Emmanuel Guibert. Special offer: attend all three events for $25. >> More

Jazz: The Revolution of Beat
Legendary jazz critic Gary Giddins joins forces with American poets Bill Zavatsky and Jayne Cortez, as well as the Diane Moser Quintet, to explore the birth and life of jazz and how it relates to the written word. Moderated by composer Carman Moore. >> More

Enrique Vila-Matas & Paul Auster in Conversation
For years Enrique Vila-Matas and Paul Auster have been engaged in an extended literary correspondence spanning several continents and languages. Come eavesdrop on their conversation led by Eduardo Lago. >> More

Mark Z. Danielewski and Rick Moody in Conversation
Mark Z. Danielewski—the author of the cult novel House of Leaves as well as Only Revolutions, one of the great American road novels—makes a rare appearance in this conversation with fellow author Rick Moody. >> More


Evolution/Revolution
Don't miss the festival's headlining night, with internationally acclaimed writers Muriel Barbery, Nicole Brossard, Narcís Comadira, Jose Dalisay, Edwidge Danticat, Péter Nádas, Sergio Ramírez, Salman Rushdie, and Raja Shehadeh. >> More

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

Laurie Anderson
Paul Auster
Muriel Barbery
Nicole Brossard
Mark Z. Danielewski
Edwidge Danticat
Richard Ford
Neil Gaiman
Philip Gourevitch
David Grossman
A.M. Homes
Paul Krugman
Nam Le
Walter Mosley
Péter Nádas
Michael Ondaatje
Richard North Patterson
Francine Prose
Lou Reed
Salman Rushdie
Nawal El Saadawi
Hwang Sok-yong
Antonio Tabucchi
Colm Tóibín
Adrian Tomine

>> And many more

PEN American Center
www.pen.org

Grievance against All India PEN Center

Grievance against All India PEN Center
West Bengal PEN chapter of All India PEN center expresses it's grievance against All India PEN center, Mumbai, and this grievance had been brought to the attention of International PEN, secretariat, London on last 11 february 2009.But there is nobody to answer till today.
Our grievances:
We can trace back the legal participation of West Bengal PEN Unit as active and participated in the International PEN congress Buenos Aires , Argentina 1936, since then many personalities were active and worked for all India PEN center of International PEN.

But somehow for last two decades, All India PEN center is avoiding west Bengal chapter mysteriously . India is big country, from All India PEN center, Mumbai to Kolkata , West Bengal is about 2000 KM distance, it is not possible to keep contact traveling physically, The center do not answer postal letters or emails.
We understand the evil design of suppressing a community of writers are also in International PEN and other centers, otherwise we do not see any reason to avoid West Bengal, not only all India PEN center but it reflects also on International PEN, London.We doubt such ill intention is dangerous for writers community all world wide.
We wrote a mail begging an advice on 11 feb 2009 to International PEN that what we should do please direct us, but it seemed they are discouraging us from joining .
West Bengal PEN has more than 100 members, 60 life members, and every Wednesday in the afternoon a regular meeting on literature.
We demand an independent center of International PEN in West Bengal. And a recgnition with full support

We are waiting to hear from any PEN center and International PEN.

This is posted by Albert Ashok on behalf of PEN West Bengal, kolkata
email penkolkata@yahoo.co.in

-----------------------------------------------------
The following document we sent to All India PEN center and to International pen on last 11 Feb 2009 we have no response

----------------------------------------------------------------

To

International PEN

Frank Geary
International Programmes Director
International PEN
Brownlow House
50 / 51 High Holborn
LONDON WC1V 6ER
Tel: +44 207 4050338
Fax: +44 207 4050339

Dear Frank Geary and all,

Thank you for your reply on behalf of ‘International PEN’ , International PEN
Brownlow House, 50 / 51 High Holborn, LONDON WC1V 6ER.

From our Part, West Bengal chapter of All India PEN Centre, first we express our solidarity with international community of writers that is International PEN, London. Our due respect to everybody hold position in International PEN, and Indian Pen Center( we are sending same copy to Indian PEN center also)

You told us to liaise All India PEN Centre, Mumbai, which is about 2000 KM away from kolkata, and I am not sure how many members are actively working there and who are responsible for disconnecting the link with west Bengal Chapter, and what is their motive/ plan to avoid writers in P E N in west Bengal chapter which started in early stage of all Indian PEN in 1933. It’s a record.

You can not deny the history and involvement of West Bengal PEN chapter. Now, I can give you the proof in electronic medium that Mr. Ranjit Hoskote, the secretary of All India PEN Centre , is acting somewhat strangely, all he is doing is avoiding us, You ask him why? I understand error is human nature, but planned error is gross offence. I do not know How the International PEN looks into such matters.

We have been writing to Mumbai for last decades but they never cared for us. And we are really very much offended and frustrated . I myself have taken the initiatives to connect All India PEN Centre and bridge between west and east, what is the result you will find in this mail. And you insist to liaise with All India PEN Centre, do you think Mr. Ranjit Hoskote will answer! 15 mails I sent to Ranjit Hoskote and 3 mails sent to Sampurna Chatterjee. I donot know who she is in PEN except as a member, still I wrote her if there is any communication we can build up. Most mails were cc to Caroline M. the executive director of International PEN.

We are eager to know What International PEN thinks about West Bengal chapter which has more than 200 writers officially and their future as PEN member. The reply is very much Important to us. We see Mumbai, All India PEN Centre has violated the PEN charter ( last paragraph) already. Our humble request is please, do not put Mumbai and Kolkata in any embarrassment and enmity. Mumbai Pen center , Mr. Ranjit Hoskote already told us to create our own independent Pen Center, We also want West Bengal as independent PEN center and a member center of International PEN center.

We do not know whom to ask/ address, how to ask and what is the procedure, so, anybody in International PEN help us sooth our wound. It is quite a humiliation to us , you push to all India PEN center and All India PEN Center is denying its liability. What is it ? Is it the community that defends Freedom of Expression and a solidarity with world writers? we are not beggars that we want money, we are writers and cherish a solidarity with writers association which we think is in International PEN. We pray international PEN will understand our problem, the underlying frustration, and the frustration other writers group or individuals are undergoing in other countries.

In the beginning, in thirties, when Mrs. Sophy Wadia started All India Pen Center, West Bengal was a Chapter, we had communications, we had journals, it was nice. And this communication ( through postal document) lasted till Nissim EZikiel The famous poet was general secretary. I do not know when exactly Mumbai, All India PEN Center had stopped the communication with West Bengal. I don’t blame any body in Indian PEN center in Mumbai. Blaming is not our purpose our demand is our status in International PEN, We are not new, a long regular organized body and actively promoting literature in the state and neighbouring states and following ideal of International pen.

Now , its going to be decades that we have no communications, till it is 17 july 2007 when Caroline McCormick, Executive Director International PEN, forwarded my mail to Ranjit Hoskote, he replied.

(We understand, everyone who run voluntary organizations have their own families and other responsibilities, sometime they can not communicate due to such pressure. West Bengal chapter had sent many postal document since Nineties, but we did not hear one response from it. As a main center Mumbai , all India PEN Center , never followed its responsibilities, and it has been reflected when Ranjit Hoskote , secretary , All India Pen Center replied my mail in july 2007. )

Ranjit Hoskote feigned he was completely unaware of West Bengal Chapter. Read below Ranjit Wrote me on 17 July 2007:

Dear Albert Ashok,

Caroline McCormick of International PEN has forwarded us your recent emails -- we would be happy to initiate a dialogue with you on the subject of membership of the PEN All-India Centre (I will add your email address to our e-mailing list in any case, to keep you updated on our events: we hold an average of two readings/ lectures/ discussions a month; sometimes three or even four).

Please write to me with the following details about your group, and we can take the dialogue forward:

1. When was your group founded?
2. How many members do you have?
3. What is the periodicity of your meetings?
4. Do you already have an administrative structure; or
have you preserved a refreshing informality?
5. Do you have a journal, or any other publication?
6. We would be very interested in the profile of your
members -- are they young writers, published authors,
literary activists?

Details of this nature would help us enormously to
help you.

With best regards,
Ranjit Hoskote

Then he admits our existence in his second mail:

Thursday, 19 July, 2007 9:16 PM

Dear Albert,

I am very glad that you have established a line of communication with us. I have to say that -- to the best of my knowledge; it is possible that some papers are missing -- we have not found any previous communication from you.

And tell me, have you had no contact, in all these years, with the West Bengal Branch of the PEN All-India Centre? Our President, Annada Sankar Ray, used to preside over its periodic meetings; but he passed away some years ago, at a very advanced age, and we have subsequently had no communication from the West Bengal Branch either.

Do write again with more details, and let us take this forward. And please convey my warm personal regards to Sunil-da.

With very best wishes,
Ranjit

His mail encouraged us , we thought a long and suspended frustration had got an end. But soon we have understood that we should have an independent center, we should not oil them anymore. Mumbai center do not like west Bengal chapter , They will be neglecting us and we shall be complaining against it -- its an embarrassing situation. I sent Ranjit 15 mails since then , he wrote me only 4 mails, two mail are above and two mails below as it is.

He expressed what suited him.

Dear Albert Ashok,
Thank you for your email and for the link to your post. Since you have copied your mail to a wide array of recipients, I have addressed this response to them as well -- and apologise to those on the list who might quite justifiably regard this exchange as unsolicited mail.

We at the PEN All-India Centre, located in Bombay, have recently begun to sort through our large collection of files -- including records, correspondence, and PEN All-India Centre annual conference proceedings -- which date back to the early 1930s. An American researcher, who is working towards a PhD in the area of late-colonial Indian history, has offered us invaluable support in this endeavour. She regards our material as vital and even impressive: an opinion that vindicates the constancy with which we have held on to our files through the vagaries of shifting, lack of financial support, and other difficulties.

With some luck, time and support, we should soon be able to organise them into a proper and coherent archive -- this would go a long way towards addressing the lacunae that you have indicated in your post.

While many of the details that you have put together in your post are common knowledge to PEN members in Bombay, Lucknow, Chennai and elsewhere, I can well imagine how you must feel to be so cut away from this lineage in the West Bengal Branch. I also sympathise with the fact that you have suffered because of a problem of transmission between generations, and perhaps you were not as fortunate as us in Bombay, who have had the privilege of inheriting a clear succession from Madame Sophia Wadia through Nissim Ezekiel and Ramesh Sirkar.

At the same time, I would most collegially request you to avoid a persistent solipsism in your account of your situation -- in your post, and on previous occasions, you have resorted to the suggestion that, since you did not hear from the PEN All-India Centre in Bombay for many years, it is somehow defunct or non-existent. Unfortunately for your line of argument, the PEN All-India Centre is not only alive and well, but has been flourishing. It has rebuilt a network of contacts, exchanges and discussions across India, while also opening up a range of conversations with colleagues and institutions internationally. Given the difficulties that we faced in the late 1990s and the early years of the 21st century, this has been a demanding and onerous, but ultimately productive task.

Since this matter has arisen before, let me re-state my position on it clearly: If you wish to establish your own separate PEN Centre in West Bengal, please do so by all means, and good luck to you.

However, I will add a note of caution that I have refrained from sounding before, despite your repeated provocations: Please establish your Centre on your own merit, and not by trying to discredit the activities of a flourishing literary community in another part of the country, and of individuals who put in an enormous amount of work on a completely voluntary basis to sustain it.


With very best wishes,
Ranjit Hoskote

Secretary-Treasurer
The PEN All-India Centre

Dear Colleagues,

A brief post-script to my previous email; and once again, my apologies to those on this list who might regard exchanges on this topic as intrusions into their e-space.

This is just to set the record straight, since I am offended by Albert Ashok's claim (one he has made before) that the PEN All-India Centre did not respond to his letters and emails, until one was forwarded to us by International PEN.

I have just gone back over my correspondence, and find the very first reference to Albert Ashok in an email from Caroline McCormick, dated 1 July 2007 and forwarding an email written to her by him (in which, of course, he claims to have written to us over a ten-year period with no response). Since this was the first time we were hearing of him and his group, we were naturally interested to know more, and wrote to him at once.

With best wishes,
Ranjit Hoskote

About 2000 KM from Mumbai to Kolkata. It is quite impossible for members to keep in touch with centers. And If anyone wants to avoid the call of members residing faraway then what the members would do? Have international PEN ever looked into such problems?

How many PEN organization in UK? How many in Canada? How many in USA? How many in China? India is big country. 28 states. And number of population is next to china. Take an Indian Map and see where Mumbai is! It is not in the middle of India, it is western part of India.

West Bengal Chapter is very much active in literature and promoting literature to young generation. We have about sixty senior life members, and over hundred young writers and weekly meetings.

Please read carefully , and help us stand on our own legs — an Independent Center of International PEN.

With best wishes

Albert Ashok

Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

Following links supports original facts of west Bengal chapter of Indian PEN center.

http://penwestbengal.blogspot.com/2008/09/added-information-all-india-pen-center.html

http://penwestbengal.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-search-of-history-all-indian-pen.html

http://penwestbengal.blogspot.com/2008/04/pen-kolkata-west-bengalindia.html

http://www.penwestbengal.blogspot.com/

http://penreporter.blogspot.com/

History of PEN in bengali for Bengali People

The current issue of 'Darshak' fortnightly journal

Due to communication and ignorance we
(west Bengal) published an incorrect information
in an article written  by Adhir Ghatak in Darshak
vol. 45 -aug sep 2004,and Pratidin). 

Now once again the same journal publishes
The correct History of International Pen and
All India PEN, written by Albert Ashok Those are
interested to read the history of
International PEN and Indian PEN in English
can click the link below

http://penwestbengal.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-search-of-history-all-indian-pen.html 

History of PEN in bengali for Bengali People



(Click every fragments of bengali writing image to enlarge . 13 fragments as image have been posted for bengali speaking readers)


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3

4

5

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Support International PEN and all its centers
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/

Matters posted by Albert Ashok

English PEN :London Book Fair

The English PEN announces a fascinating programme of events at the English PEN Literary Cafe at this year's London Book Fair, 20th-22nd April at Earl's Court Exhibition Centre.

Thanks to the generous support of HW Fisher & Company and Reed Exhibitions, English PEN will once again be at the heart of this world-class event, hosting author talks in the Café and offering free consultations with specialist authors’ accountants, Barry Kernon and Andrew Subramaniam – see below for more details.



Authors speaking at the Cafe will include William Boyd, Amit Chaudhuri, William Dalrymple, Umberto Eco, Ramachandra Guha, Girish Karnad, Prue Leith, Azar Nafisi, Anita Nair, Andrew O'Hagan, James Patterson, Meg Rosoff and Sarah Waters. The Cafe will also be the venue for major literary events such as the announcement of the Orange Prize shortlist and the presentation of the Hessell-Tiltman Award for History and the Academia Rossica Translation Prize.

Full listings of events at the English PEN Literary Café.




English PEN literary cafe in partnership with the British Council
LBF 2009 will host a Literary Café on the show floor that is sponsored by English PEN. The cafe plays host to a series of author interviews where authors talk about their latest book.
Authors will sign copies of their books in the Foyles Bookshop, part of the Literary Cafe.


English PEN is the founding centre of the worldwide writers' association, working to promote literature as a means of international understanding and intercultural dialogue. Supported by authors, publishers, booksellers and others engaged in the literary business, English PEN runs a year-round programme of campaigns, events, publications and projects to ensure that the value of literature is widely recognised, and that writers enjoy full creative freedom to explore the world around them. To find out more about English PEN, and to see how you can get more involved, visit www.englishpen.org or contact Jonathan Heawood, Director, on jonathan@englishpen.org .

Literary Cafe 2009 Schedule
Monday, 20th April 2009
Time: Title: Additional information:
8.30am-9.30am The Author Breakfast organised by the Booksellers Association
By invitation only

10.00am-10.30am Author of the day - James Patterson
Interviewed by Jonathan Heawood, Director, English PEN

11.00am-11.30am Andrew O'Hagan
Interviewed by Lisa Appignanesi
1.00pm-1.30pm Girish Karnad & UR Ananthamurthy Interviewed by Maya Jaggi (TBC)
2.00p.m.- 2.30p.m. Azar Nafisi
Interviewed by Lisa Appignanesi
3.00pm-3.30pm K Satchidanandan & Amit Chaudhuri Interviewed by Boyd Tonkin (TBC)
4.30pm-5.30pm Silver PEN Publishing Partners reception


Tuesday, 21st April 2009
Time: Title: Additional information:
09.00am-11.00am Orange Prize for Fiction 2009 Shortlist Breakfast
Join Fi Glover, chair of the 2009 judging panel, as she announces the shortlist for this year’s Orange Prize for Fiction.
The Orange Prize for Fiction is the UK’s most prestigious annual book award for fiction written by a woman, celebrating excellence, innovation and accessibility and the best of outstanding international fiction in women’s writing. Click here to register for this event
This form is to register for the Orange Prize and will also grant you access to the London Book Fair.
11.00a.m.-11.30a.m. Umberto Eco interview and book signing Interviewed by Jonathan Heawood, Director, English PEN
11.30a.m.-12.00p.m. Tarun Tejpal Interviewed by Claire Fox
1.30pm-2.00pm Lydia Cacho
Interviewed by Jo Glanville
2.30pm-3.00pm Sarah Waters
Interviewed by Lennie Goodings
3.30pm-4.00pm William Boyd
Interviewed by Danuta Kean
4.00pm-5.00pm TBC
Wednesday, 22nd April 2009
Time: Title Additional information
9.30am-10.30am The Rossica Translation Prize:
This prize is the only in the world for literary translation from Russian into English. It is awarded by Academia Rossica, our Committee include Boyd Tonkin (The independent), Susie Nicklin (British Council), Christopher MacLehose, Amanda Hopkinson (British Centre for Literary Translation) amongst others.
11.00am-11.30am Meg Rosoff
Interviewed by Danuta Kean
12.00pm-12.30pm Author of the day - Prue Leith Interviewed by Jonathan Heawood, Director, English PEN
1.00pm-1.30pm Anita Nair & Javed Akhtar Interviewed by Pablo Mukherjee
2.30pm-3.00pm Ramachandra Guha Interviewed by Patrick French
3.00pm-3.30pm William Dalrymple
Interviewed by Ravi Mirchandani (TBC)


Contact the official PR Agents for The London Book Fair:
Midas Public Relations Limited
7-8 Kendrick Mews
London
SW7 3HG


Contact: Midas Public Relations on:
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7584 7474
Fax: +44 (0)20 7584 7123

www.midaspr.co.uk


Market Focus- Indian Exhibitors




Exhibitor Name Stand Number Info

Abhinav Publications T520

Aegean Offset Printers W524


Ajanta Offset & Packagings Ltd X270

Ananda Publishers Private Limited U540


Aptara V535

Association of Publishers in India U475


Bafna Exports V460


Bhavana Books & Prints T470


Bibliophile South Asia U450


BJain Publishers Pvt. Ltd D625

BPB Publications T460


Brijbasi Art Press Ltd D405


Cambridge University Press India Pvt. Ltd. U475

CAPEXIL U450, V480


CBS Publishers N510


Chowdhry Export House V454


D C Books V485


D.K. Agencies (P) Ltd U510


Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd U535

Eastern Book Company U480

Elsevier A Division of Reed Elsevier India Pvt. Ltd. U475

Full Circle Publishing & Hind Pocket Books U450

Galgotias A670


GBS Publishers & Distributors (India) U490


Globex Medicons U450

Gobind Sadan Publications U450


Goodword Books Pvt.Ltd U547


Gopsons Papers Ltd. Q704


Har - Anand Publications Pvt Ltd U545


Hemkunt Press V465

Heritage Impex Worldwide V475


IK International Publishing House Pvt Ltd T500

India Book House Publishing F430


India Trade Promotion Organisation V535

IndiaNIC Infotech Limited Y582

Jayant Printery X507


Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd O480


JJ Offset Printers U460

Kalyani Navyug Media Pvt Ltd U525


Laserwords Private Limited V535

Laxmi Publications (P) Ltd V505


Macmillan India Ltd. U475

Mandira U450


Manipal Press Limited W507

Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd. V495

McGraw-Hill Education (India) Pvt ltd U475

Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (P) Ltd U495, U455


Multivista Global Limited T540

National Book Trust, India V482

Navayana Publishing U450, H110

Neelkamal Publications Pvt Ltd W467

New Central Book Agency (P) Ltd. U492

Niyogi Books T510


Nutech Photolithographers W483


Om Books International H205


Outsource Publishing U530


Oxford University Press India U475

Paras Offset Pvt. Ltd V450

Pearson Education (A division of Dorling Kindersley India Pvt. Ltd.) U475


Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. U475

Prints India V455


Pustak Mahal W477


Rakesh Press K610


Ratna Sagar P.Ltd T492


Red Ink Literary Agency / representations 19o

Replika Press Pvt Ltd U565

Repro India Ltd V655


Research Press U475


Roli Books K700

Rupa & Co T530

SABDA U470


Sahaja Exports International U450

Sahitya Academy T480


Saraswati Printers W457

Springer (India) Private Limited U475

Star Publishers Distributors U497

Sterling Publishers P Ltd C410


TARU - Books & Journals U450


Thomson Press (India) Ltd S555

Thymus Solutions Ltd W479


Total IT Solutions Pvt.Ltd W489


Tulika Publishers V535


UBS Publishers' Distributors Pvt. Ltd U542

Vadehra Art Gallery K610


Veeswa Exports U515

Wisdom Tree U505


WITS Interactive Pvt.Ltd U500


Xact Studio International A564

Zubaan



Tickets to London Book Fair are £25 in advance, or £40 on the door. A limited number of complimentary tickets for LBF are available for English PEN members, who are also invited to a free consultation with leading authors' accountants, Barry Kernon and Andrew Subramaniam of HW Fisher, who specialise in advising authors on tax matters.

To reserve your complimentary ticket to LBF and make your appointment for a free consultation with Barry or Andrew, please contact Amy Oliver on 020 7713 0023, or email amy@englishpen.org .

Barry Kernon acts for a great many authors, journalists and others in the media world, and is an acknowledged expert in the tax treatment of individuals in the creative industries. Barry has been in private practice since 1972, and joined HW Fisher & Company in 2002. He is Honorary Treasurer of both English PEN and the Society of Authors, and is a Trustee of the Poetry Society.

Andrew Subramaniam specialises in advising authors, journalists and musicians. He joined H W Fisher & Company as an audit trainee in 1991. Since qualifying as a chartered accountant he has been promoted rapidly and became a partner in May 2006.

The English PEN Literary Café is at the London Book Fair, Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre, Warwick Road, London SW5 9TA

Dates: Monday 20th – Wednesday 22nd April 2009
How to Book: visit www.englishpen.org or www.londonbookfair.co.uk /.

Earlier the news about London Book Fair was posted at http://penreporter.blogspot.com/2009/03/london-british-council-indian-authors.html

Artist ,Singer, Writer : News

Artist Alert : November 2008
London: inaugural freedom of expression arts prize awarded
Zimbabwean playwright Mhlanga has won the inaugural freedom of expression art prize and $50,000 for his repeated challenge of the Mugabe regime through political satire.
The judges also awarded the art prize for an imprisoned artist to Burmese comedian, producer, director, writer and actor Zarganar (the tweezers). Zarganar was sentenced in November 2008 to 45 years imprisonment for “creating disaffection towards state and government” by collecting donations for the victims of Cyclone Nargis, and a further 14 years for other offences under various parts of the criminal code.The youth art prize went to City of Rhyme, a 14 strong hip-hop group from northern Brazil, whose lyrics condemn violence.

The ArtVenture Freedom to Create prize was launched in early 2008 by philanthropist organisation ArtVenture in partnership with ARTICLE 19. The prize received 930 nominations from 86 countries.





China: Guns ‘N’ Roses new album banned
Guns ’N‘ Roses first album for 17 years Chinese Democracy has been banned from importation into China. The state-owned China National Publications Import and Export Group has warned shops not to import the album, which includes tracks with names such as “Helpless Chinese under an iron fist”. The album has also automatically been censored from Chinese search engines and the album’s official website www.chinesedemocracy.com has also been blocked by the government.
Kuwait: concert ends for kiss and a hug
The Kuwaiti department for monitoring public entertainment ended a concert by an Egyptian singer when a female fan jumped onto the stage, hugged the male singer and gave him a kiss. According to the department head Qanas al-Adwani the fan’s behaviour at the concert “defied the conservative traditions” of Kuwait and were in disregard for the strict public entertainment licences that concerts must obtain.Concerts in Kuwait are permitted by the government provided that the crowd is monitored in order to enforce a strict code that bans standing up and dancing.
Turkey: singer acquitted of criticising military
The singer Bulent Ersoy has been acquitted of charges of criticising the Turkish military after reportedly saying on television that she would not want her own children to join an army that is battling Kurdish rebels. Turkey partially amended a notorious law in 2008 that banned the criticism of “Turkishness”, in order to join the European Union.
Egypt: film not “Egyptian” enough
Despite winning the Golden Tauro award for best film at the 54th Taormina Film Festival in Italy, Ibrahim El Batout’s second documentary Ein Shams (Eye of the Sun) has been banned from screening in Egypt for the crime of not being “Egyptian”. The film follows a taxi driver and starts in war torn Iraq before moving focus to the run down and crowded Ein Shams suburb of Cairo.
Burma: guitarist gets six years imprisonment
46 year old Burmese musician Win Maw received a six year sentence for “sending false news abroad”. Win Maw’s trial took place in a closed court in the notorious Insein prison and was part of a number of similar secretive trials carried out by the Burmese military government in the run up to elections in 2010. See ARTICLE 19’s recent statement for more details: http://www.article19.org/pdfs/press/burma-free-speech-crackdown-accelerates.pdf
Jordan: poet’s life threatened for apostasy
The Jordanian poet Islam Samhan’s life has been placed in danger after being accused of apostasy by the Jordanian Mufti and Muslim Brotherhood for his first poem “Elegant as a Shadow”. Following the accusations the Jordanian public prosecutor also ordered Samhan to be imprisoned for 15 days whilst an investigation of the claim of apostasy was underway.

Tibet: 81 year old painter jailed for printing “prohibited material”
Descended from a family with a long history of printing and publishing Buddhist texts, master printer Paljor Norbu received a seven year sentence from the Chinese government for printing “prohibited material”. The exact nature of the “prohibited material” has not been confirmed although it is most likely to be Tibetan flags. The judicial authorities at first refused to acknowledge his and many others’ arrests in the aftermath of the Tibetan uprising before the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, although after the trial a letter confirming the sentencing was delivered to Norbu’s family.
Saudi Arabia: internationally acclaimed poet beaten up
Poet Roshdi Algadir was snatched from his work place in Al-Dammam city and assaulted for three hours before being forced to sign an agreement to never write a blog on the internet again. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information asserted that the reason behind the attack was the publication of a poem on Algadir’s blog at http://roshdi.maktoobblog.com that was deemed to be heretical by extremist religious groups.
Malaysia: books banned for undermining the people’s faith
Malaysia’s Home Ministry censorship board has banned two books stating that they give a “misleading view of the religion” of Islam. The books were the English language “Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism” and the Malay language “Strange but True in Prayers”. Publishers Sisters in Islam criticised the ban explaining that the books were academic works that examined the impact of extremism on women’s lives, and that they had not received a single complaint despite the book having been distributed since 2005.
Lebanon: photos removed from exhibition
Lebanese photographer and filmmaker Jocelyne Saab has been censored in Beirut when government officials removed several photos considered to be too controversial to be shown in Lebanon. The exhibition named “Sense and Sensibility” contained photos of Barbie dolls including the controversially titled “American-Israeli playground” showing Christ on a crucifix surrounded by photos of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and naked Barbie dolls in the background.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
• For more information: please contact Oliver Spencer, oliver@article19.org, +44 20 7278 9292 ARTICLE 19, 6-8 Amwell Street, London EC1R 1UQ
Tel: (+44) 20 7278 9292 / Fax: (+44) 20 7278 7660
Web: www.article19.org / Email: info@article19.org

Joke:
‘The American president, the Chinese president and Burma’s leader go to visit God. George Bush asks God, “When will the U.S. become the most respected nation in the world?” God replies, “Not in your lifetime,” driving Bush to tears. Then Hu Jintao asks “When will China become the richest nation in the world?” Same answer from God and tears from the Chinese president. Finally, Burma’s ruler asks “When will Burma have enough water and electricity?” This time, God bursts into tears and says, “Not in my lifetime!”’ Zarganar, Burma