Join PEN American Center for an Evening with Liao Yiwu and at Brooklyn Book Festival‏

SAVE THE DATE September 18: Stop by the PEN booth [#93] at Brooklyn Book Festival October 12: PEN Literary Awards Ceremony November 1: PEN New Members/New Books Party

PEN and The New School Present: An Evening with Liao Yiwu With Liao Yiwu, Wen Huang, Salman Rushdie, and Philip Gourevitch When: Tuesday, September 13 Where: The New School, Tishman Auditorium, 66 W. 12th St. What time: 8 p.m. Tickets: $20/$15 for PEN Members and students with valid ID (free to New School Students with valid ID). Purchase tickets at ovationtix.com. PEN American Center is honored to present poet, novelist, musician, and documentarian Liao Yiwu, one of China’s most exciting and most censored writers, in his first U.S. appearance in nearly two decades. This very special evening of music and words will include a reading from his forthcoming book and a performance of the xiao, or Chinese flute, which Mr. Liao learned to play while incarcerated. PEN World Voices Festival founder and chair Salman Rushdie will introduce the event and Mr. Liao will be joined by his translator Wen Huang and journalist Philip Gourevitch for an on-stage interview. [More] PEN Literary Pub Quiz at Brooklyn Book Festival   With team captains Christopher Beha of Harper’s, George Prochnik of Cabinet Magazine, James Yeh of Gigantic Magazine, Scott Lindenbaum and Andy Hunter of Electric Literature, translator Susan Bernofsky, Ben Greenman, Matthea Harvey, Amy Sohn, and more; hosted by Katie Halper. When: Friday, September 16 Where: St. Ann’s Warehouse, 38 Water Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn What time: 7-9 p.m. Free and open to the public. PEN is pleased to announce the return of our popular Literary Pub Quiz! This Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend event gives you the chance to compete with (and against!) editors and writers from your favorite literary magazines, including Cabinet, Gigantic, Harper’s, and Electric Literature, as well as authors Matthea Harvey, Ben Greenman, and many more. Come early to reserve your spot on the team with the writer-captain who also knows where Hemingway was born. We’ll supply the paper and the pencils; you bring the literary smarts! Also look for PEN at the Brooklyn Book Festival on Sunday at Booth 93. [More]

PEN American Center | 588 Broadway, Suite 303 | NY, NY 10012 | (212) 334-1660

Mother language : UNESCO

Many things I do not know, I have to explore, Many times, due to lack of information I cant reach at the right place and at right time, so when I come across I think I should take action... and this is the way we all common people live.

Recently I have come across a wonderful information that is :

Mother language instruction “a powerful way to fight discrimination” says UNESCO Director-General 

©UNESCO

“We know how important education in the mother language is for learning outcomes,” declared Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of International Mother Language Day, 21 February 2011. “Mother language instruction is a powerful way to fight discrimination and reach out to marginalized populations.”

“Projects on Linguistic Diversity and New Technologies”, UNESCO’s IMLD information meeting, will feature debates on ICTs and bilingual education. Amidou Maïga and Papa Youga Dieng, programme leaders at Department of Education and Training Organisation internationale de la Francophonie will present, respectively, an overview of language teaching in multilingual contexts, notably the use of ICTs in the «School and national Language»  project (which aims to promote bilingual and multilingual education) and the use of ICTs in the Francophone Initiative on Distance Education for Teacher Training (IFADEM).

Celebrated annually since 2000, International Mother Language Day provides an occasion to recognize the vital importance of languages in education and to mobilize efforts in favour of multilingualism and linguistic diversity.

Links

Programme for IMLD at UNESCO

Focus on new information technologies for International Mother Language Day

“Language, Education and the Millennium Development Goals”

<- Back to: Languages in Education 

Source : UNESCO

  --------------------------o---------------------------------

Languages in Education

©UNESCO/Roger Dominique
The preamble to UNESCO's Constitution in ten languages

UNESCO promotes mother tongue-based bilingual or multilingual approaches in education - an important factor for inclusion and qualilty in education. Research shows this has a positive impact on learning and learning outcomes.

The Organization provides normative frameworks for language policy and education and shares good practices in bilingual and multilingual education and mother tongue instruction.

News

• 25.05.11
  Languages: fifty experts watch their tongues at UNESCO (30 May-1 June)
• 21.02.11
  Mother language instruction “a powerful way to fight discrimination” says UNESCO Director-General
• 09.02.10
  International Mother Language Day, February 22 and 23
• 07.10.08
  Thematic Debate on Languages at UNESCO’s Executive Board

 

Diversity :Translation & Linguistic Rights Committee of the International P.E.N.

Source : Linguistic Declaration

An old legend says that, a long time ago, there was a king that heard that in his country there lived a truly wise man. He was so wise, they said, that he could speak all the languages in the world. He knew the song of the birds and understood it as if he were one of them. He knew how to read the shape of the clouds and immediately understand their meaning. Any language he listened to, he could answer without hesitation. He could even read the thoughts of men and women wherever they came from. The king, impressed by all the qualities that were attributed to him, called him to his palace. And the wise man came.

When he was there, the king asked him:
"Wise man, is it true that you know all the languages of the world?"
"Yes, Sir," was the answer.
"Is it true that that you listen to the birds and you can understand their song?"
"Yes, Sir."
"That you know how to read the shape of the clouds?"
"Yes, Sir."
"And, as I have been told, that you can even read people's minds?"
"Yes, Sir."

The king still had a last question…

But, which question would we put to the wisest of all the wise men?

Which languages from all over the world are spoken by the authors of the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights? Countless, we would dare to say. In any case, from more than 90 states and 5 continents, more than 200 people gathered on June 6th, 1996, in Barcelona to proclaim the Declaration. Some represented small local NGOs committed to teaching a language not recognized by the official education system of their country. There were writers in many different languages who make use of their language everyday to create literary universes open to all. Other represented international NGOs whose mission is the defence of linguistic rights. Other were experts in law, in languages, in sociolinguistics and in various domains of knowledge which converge in the academic study of linguistic rights.
For all of them, the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights promises a future of coexistence and peace thanks to the recognition of the right that each linguistic community has to shape its own life in its own language in all fields. And so they proclaimed. Since then, the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights has spread: each month there is news about its translation into a new language, a new affiliation of some organization that might not have been associated to the process, or about an international personality who has decided to support the Declaration and with it the defence of all languages in an international context which threatens the survival of many of them.

That original text, written, amended, approved and proclaimed at a non-governmental level wants nevertheless to contribute to the work of the United Nations. It aims to be a strong motivation, an appeal to the states so that, in the dynamics started by the Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, they would recognize the linguistic rights of the individuals and of their communities. The association of UNESCO to our process from the very beginning and the work it has been doing along these lines gives us hope that some day a normative body of the United Nations regulating the defence of linguistic rights all over the world will be approved. This book wants to contribute to this work.

In this book the text of the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights appears and it is explained how it was written and proclaimed in the World Conference on Linguistic Rights. It is the work done by 61 NGOs, 41 PEN Club centres and over 40 experts in linguistic rights, coming from the five continents. The testimony of well-known personalities from all over the world also appears, as well as that of writers and people who fight for rights, for peace and who wanted to join us in this project.

We all, like that king in the fairy tale, may put the last question to that wise man who knew all the languages of the world. The king looked at him as if defying him, as if testing him, and asked him the final question:

"In my hands, which are hidden behind my back, there is a bird. Wise man, answer me: is it alive or dead?"

The answer of the wise man was addressed to everybody. In our case, to everybody who has any responsibility in promoting linguistic rights, from the militant to the writer, from the teacher to the legislator. For that wise man, surprisingly, felt scared. He knew that, whatever the answer, the king could kill the bird. He looked at the king and remained silent for a long time. Finally, with a very serene voice he said:

"The answer, Sir, is in your hands."

The answer is in our hands.

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

  Dear Friends and Collegues,
I am using this opportunity, only a few days before the start of the 77th Congress of International PEN, to inform you about the activities of the Office of the Vice President of International PEN and of the Diversity PEN Project (website and Collection of Poetry, Fiction & Essays).

1. Few regional, bilateral and other projects (conferences, intercultural exchanges, translation workshops, creative writing practices, readings), were realize during the last year, on my initiative, as the Vice President of PEN International and editor-in-chief of Diversity:
- Balkans regional conference for young writer on the topic of the New Image of the Balkans (May 2011);
- The bilateral conference with the Turkish PEN centre and the presentation of the contemporary Turkish poetry and short story in Skopje and Ohrid, in May 2010. The project was supported by the Macedonian PEN;
- Translation workshop The New Macedonian poetry in Spanish, organized in Skopje in the period from September - December 2010 (with mostly young translators);
- Creative writing project on essays followed by the workshop;
- Workshop on the Norwegian and Nordic literatures and cultures in Skopje, November 2010;
- Preparation for the next translation workshop on the Romanian poetry into Macedonian (October 2011).

2. Electronic multilingual presentation of the texts and translation on the Diversity web site of Diversity.
3. Public promotion of the PEN Charter Principles in the frame of regularly commemoration of the PEN and UNESCO International Days such as the Day of imprisoned writers, the Day of Cultural diversity, the Day of Mother languages, the Day of European languages, the Day of Poetry, Short story Day, etc.
4. During our activites , several times we have encountered with the necessity of modernisation and simplification of the aproach to the context of the on-line eddition and web-page of Diversity, so in order for us, as an organisation to be more approacabble to all audiences, we have re-designed ourweb site (http://www.diversity.org.mk/ ), thus making it easy accesible and easy to use.We have also opend an account on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Poetiki-Center-for-Creative-Writing/157472640972400), for is it not one of our goals to keep in touch with the informations in this modern times.
5. New Diversity practice with hard publishing of selected editions. Besides publishing text from poets, writers and essayists in electronic form as a standard publishing procedure of our project we have published a few printed printed book-editions as well. Through out wich we acted in the benefit of amplifying the process of favorising the translation as lingua franca, and as a phenomen that narrows the gap between the nations, countries and cultures.

I am presentig you the list of our printed edition:
Mozaik 1: Anthology of the Turkish poetry and Mozaik 2 - Antology of Turkish short story. This project – translation of selected poems and short storyes from Turkish to Macedonian came out as a result of the undisputed friendship and total cooperation between the our organistaion and the Turkish PEN center.
Mannuel pour seduire des princesses - a translation from Spanish into Macedonian of the poetry of the contemporary Spanish poet and essayist, Jose Maria Pas Gago from Spain.
Naked eye - a compilation of my haiku poetry originally written in Macedonaian, and subsequetially translated in five languages (Croatian, English, Spanish, Italian and Portugees)
Cartea a chirolui (in English - Book of time) - Anthology of Contemporary Aromanian poetry which was our biggest project of our anual activities. By publishing this book, we have finally realized on of the the intentions that was imposed as a nessesity with the implementation of the Declaration on Aromanian linguistic and cultural rights. Held in September 2008, at the International PEN Congress in Bogotá - Columbia, This bilingual selection (Aromanian and Macedonian) was promoted on the Day of Cultural Diversity in Skopje.

Notes:
- All of our printed editons will be presented on the Congress in Belgrade.
See you on Monday.
- A new Diversity Flayer will be distributed during the Belgrade PEN Congress.
- Our new Diversity assistant, Ms. Lydia Nikolova will be present on the meetings of the Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee and available for the extra explanations.

Kind regards from Macedonia
Kata Kulavkova, Vice President

Diversity

www.diversity.org.mk

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

DIVERSITY

What is Diversity?


Diversity is a multilingual literary collection of the Translation & Linguistic Rights Committee of the International P.E.N. Each author is presented in at least three languages: the original, Macedonian and one of the three official P.E.N. languages.

Diversity was founded in spring 2003, as the first massive electronic publishing and translation project of the P.E.N. International.

The idea for Diversity was initiated at the P.E.N. Conferences in Ohrid, Skopje and Pula, after the relocation of the TaLRC seat from Barcelona (the Catalan P.E.N.) to Skopje. Hosted by the Macedonian P.E.N. Center, Diversity is based in the Macedonian capital, where the Diversity web site is technically maintained.

Diversity is a digital collection that focuses on the selection and translation of literary works, or fragments of larger poetry texts, fiction, theatre plays and essays.

Diversity is concerned with inter-literary and inter-cultural dialogue, subtlety, originality, cultural tradition, literary innovation, and practical exploration of innovative literary sensitivity and discourses.

Diversity promotes literary and linguistic heritage as world heritage, and as an immanent and eminent anthropological and cultural value.


Why Diversity?

Diversity was formed to give its own particular mark and contribution to the realization of the International P.E.N. Charter.
Diversity was founded with the purpose of contributing to the affirmation of the essential UNESCO strife for protection of the World`s linguistic, literary and cultural diversity.
Diversity is designed in accordance with the Standing Orders of the Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee and it represents an actualization of one of its crucial functions.

Diversity responds to the need of literary exchange, according to the proposal adopted at the 1997 Ohrid P.E.N. Conference (PETL).

The major guideline of this multilingual electronic project is to form a collection of literary works translated from the so-called languages of lesser currency into other world languages, and into the official languages of the P.E.N. International (English, French and Spanish).

Diversity multilingual e-collection promotes minor languages and literatures of great value. At the same time, it presents works translated from the major languages into the minor languages of the world.

Diversity aims to form an open and continuously up-to-date circle of literary communication, translation, understanding, interpretation and dialogue between different cultures, traditions, civilizations and worldviews.


How does Diversity function?

Diversity publishes works by contemporary and living authors.

Diversity promotes already published and previously unpublished works, depending on the copyright agreement with the author.

The e-published works are translated in at least two languages, although, in principle, the collection aims to present each author in a number of languages.

The translation from the so-called langages of lesser currency into the official P.E.N. languages (English, French and Spanish) is organized and coordinated with the aid of a team of consultants and translators of Diversity. Translation into Macedonian is organized at the seat of the TaLRC in Skopje. Translation from the original language of the work is a preference: translation from one of the major languages, and not from the original language (in case the original is a language of lesser currency) is accepted only by exception.

Each e-publication offers basic biography and bibliography of the author, as well as critical reviews.

The Diversity database provides search options by various criteria, allowing searches for various aims and reasons.

In its first phase, the P.E.N. collection Diversity wil be exclusevely electronic, and hard copy published books are expected as soon as the project finds financial support that would make the printing possible.

When the circumstances allow, the TaLRC will organize a House of Translation in Ohrid, Macedonia, where one-month residence will be granted to Diversity translators. Diversity can organize translation workshops in the TaLRC Seat in Skopje, or in other countries upon an invitation of other P.E.N. Centres.

Diversity builds and maintains a network of instiutions and individuals interested in giving their contribution to the world linguistic and literary diversity.


Who is published on Diversity?

Excerpts from poetry books, selections and anthologies, short stories, excerpts from novels and essays from distinguished authors, mainly members of the P.E.N. International are taken into consideration for publishing. The authors are mainly (although not exclusively!) members of P.E.N. centres, regardless of their nationality, ethnic, linguistic and religious background.

The works can be previously published in the original language, and for the first time published in electronic format, as well as in Macedonian languagel.

The Diversity Editorial Board and the Editor-In-Chief are responcible for the sellection of the authors and their work.

Editor-In-Chief:
KATA KULAVKOVA - Macedonian P.E.N.
poetics@sonet.com.mk

Editor:
CASIMIRO de BRITO - Portuguese P.E.N.
casimirodebrito@netcabo.pt

Web Editor:
Igor Isakovski (previously Ana Pejchinova, Jasminka Markovska, and Jasmina Ilievska-Marjanovic)
diversity@diversity.org.mk


There are three basic collections of texts: poetry, fiction and non-fiction published on Diversity.

Diversity values the diverse nations, literatures, languages and cultures from around the world and one of its basic values is to preserve this diversity in the works presented on the site. The authors belong to different generations as well.

The Diversity people:

The Editorial Board consists of the following editorial bodies:
- Editorial Board,
- International Team of Consultants or the Advisory Board, consisting of representatives of all P.E.N. Centres, members of the TaLRC,
- Editor-in-Chief;
- Web editor.


The Diversity Editorial Board:

It has the following authorization:
- to determine the orientation of the collection,
- to form an international network of authors and translators,
- to select authors and works, and to plan the collection,
- to protect the copyright laws of the published authors and translators,
- to promote and protect the fundamental conceptual principles of multilinguism, diversity and aesthetical qualities of the Diversity.
- to maintain cooperation with corresponedent institutes, fondatons and sponsors,
- to coordinate the project with other P.E.N. projects,
- to maintain a multi-national editorial board,
The Editorial Board is appointed by the Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee at the proposal of the Editor-in-Chief of the Diversity.
The Board meets at least annually in Skopje, Ohrid (within the framework of the Ohrid P.E.N. Conference Programme) or elsewhere (within the International P.E.N. Conference, etc.)


The International Team of Regional Consultants

The team is an informal body of the Diversity.
The Team is open and consist of writers, critics, essayists, anthologists and publishers, all nominated by the P.E.N. Centres - members of the TaLRC. The Team can have 42 members at the most.

Considering that the International P.E.N. has 138 members, and the Committee 43, the consultants are invited to recommend authors and works not only from their regions, but also from the wider areas kindred to them in linguistic and cultural sense.

Each of the Consultants has the right to recommend authors and translators primarily from their own linguistic, literary and cultural region. The Consultants are responsible for establishing and maintaining relations between the Editorial Board and their publishers, with the aim to regulate the copyright laws.

The Consultans report about their activities at their home P.E.N. Centres.


Regional Consultants/Advisory Board:

Judith Rodrigues (Australian P.E.N. - Melbourne)
Aysu Erden (Turkish P.E.N.)
Esther Allen (American P.E.N. - NY)
Bente Christensen (Norwegian P.E.N.)
Philipe Cujas (French P.E.N.)
Sibila Petlevski (Croatian P.E.N.)
Yang Lian (Ind.Chinese P.E.N.)
Ivo Frbezar (Slovenian P.E.N.)
Vida Ognenovic (Serbian P.E.N.)
Reza Baraheni (Canadian P.E.N.)
Tomas Burghart (German P.E.N.)
Gulere Cornelius (Uganda P.E.N.)
Sulumba Maureen (Malawi P.E.N.)
Lasse Soderberg (Swedish P.E.N.)
Anna Hakobian (Armenaian P.E.N.)
Cecilia Balcazar (Columbian P.E.N.)
Justo Jorge Padron (Spanish P.E.N.).


What is the location of Diversity?

The Diversity Office is hosted by the Macedonian P.E.N. Centre and is located at the following address:

Translation & Linguistic Rights Committee
Macedonian P.E.N. Center
MKC, Dimitar Vlahov Quay bb
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Tel.+ 389 (2) 32 39 155
Fax: + 389 (2) 31 30 054
E-mail: diversity@diversity.org.mk

source : Dibversity 

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

ZARGANAR

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: BURMA

OCCUPATION: COMEDIAN, POET, DIRECTOR, ACTIVIST

STATUS: IMPRISONED FOR 35 YEARS

Zarganar is Burma's leading comedian and an accomplished poet, writer, and director who throughout his career has used his artistic talents to draw attention to political repression in Burma.

Zarganar was first arrested in 1988 following the pro-democracy demonstrations, in which he played a leading role. As reading and writing were forbidden in his cell in Insein Prison, he mixed dust with water and wrote poetry on the floor, committing the poems to memory and sweeping away the evidence. He was freed after six months.
He was arrested again in 1990 while making jokes at a political rally, and was returned to Insein, where he spent five years in solitary confinement. Following his release, he was increasingly involved in social activism and worked closely with international NGO's. During the 'Saffron Revolution' of 2007, Zarganar was one of the key figures to lead public support. This led to a further three weeks in detention.

Zarganar's arrest in June 2008 resulted from his criticism of the Cyclone Nargis relief effort. He had personally organised support from the Burmese arts community and oversaw its delivery to the delta. He was angered by the neglect and corruption he encountered and spoke out about this in interviews. In November 2008, he was convicted of 'public order offences' and sentenced to 59 years in prison, later reduced to 35 years.

In late 2008, Zarganar was moved to Myitkyina Prison in northern Burma, 1,500 km from his family home, where he remains today.

Zarganar was awarded the inaugural PEN/Pinter Prize for an International Writer of Courage in 2009.

Untitled
by Zarganar
Translated by Vicky Bowman

It's lucky my forehead is flat
Since my arm must often rest there.
Beneath it shines a light I must invite
From a moon I cannot see
In Myitkyina

Myitkina Jail, 2010

TAKE ACTIONSend a message of supportIf you would like to send a letter or card to Zarganar, please send it to the English PEN office and we'll arrange for it to be passed on:

Zarganar c/o Cat Lucas
English PEN
Free Word Centre
60 Farringdon Road
London
EC1R 3GA
Write to the authoritiesPlease write to the Burmese Embassy in London:

- Condemning the harsh sentence handed down to Zarganar, and calling for his immediate and unconditional release from prison;
- Seeking assurances of his well-being, and that he is being granted full access to any medical attention he requires, and to his family;

- Calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all those currently detained in Myanmar in violation of their right to free expression.

Appeals to:

His Excellency Mr U Kyaw Myo Htut
Embassy of the Union of Myanmar
19A Charles Street,
London
W1J 5DX
Fax: 020 7409 7043
Email: melondon@btconnect.com

Join the Worldwide Reading for Burma's Silenced Poets
English PEN and the Free Burma VJ campaign (www.freeburmavj.org/) are organising a Worldwide Reading to pay tribute to Burma's Silenced Poets, including Zarganar, and we'd love you all to get involved...

On 21 October 2011, we will be hosting public readings of poetry by our imprisoned colleagues including Zarganar, Nay Phone Latt, U Zeya, Zaw Thet Htwe and Min Ko Naing, in order to raise and maintain awareness of their plight and of all those currently detained in Burma.

We already have events lined up in England, France and Thailand, but to help our message that these writers should be released immediately get through loud and clear we are hoping that PEN centres, other campaigning groups and individuals all around the world will take part by organising a similar event in other countries.

Please join us in giving a voice to our silenced colleagues and in paying tribute to their incredible courage in the face of continued persecution. Together we can send a strong message to the authorities in Burma that these writers have not and will not be forgotten.


Source : English PEN

Two women journalists found strangled in Mexico City

MEXICO: Two women journalists found strangled in Mexico City

6 September 2011

RAN 47/11

The Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International (WiPC) protests the murder of Contralinea founder Ana María Marcela Yarce Viveros who, along with freelance journalist Rocio González Trápaga, was found dead in Mexico City on 1 September 2011. Both women were reportedly abducted the previous night and strangled. Yarce's murder brings the number of print journalists killed in Mexico this year to eight. The WiPC calls on the federal and state authorities to investigate the women's murder as a matter of the utmost urgency, focusing on their journalistic work as a possible motive, and to bring the culprits to justice.
Ana María Marcela Yarce Viveros (pictured, left), founder, reporter and head of public relations of the bimonthly political magazine Contralinea, was found dead near a cemetery in a park in a poor neighbourhood of the capital Mexico City on 1 September 2011, along with freelance journalist and former Televisa reporter Rocio González Trápaga (pictured, right). Yarce and González, both 48, were reportedly abducted as they left their office in the city centre the previous night and strangled. Their bodies were found naked with nooses around their necks and their hands tied behind their backs.
The Mexico City attorney general's office is investigating the murders and has yet to give any motive. According to the international free expression organisation Article 19, the attorney general said that although they were not ruling out any line of investigation, Yarce had not been working on any specific journalistic investigation at the time of her death and that the authorities were focusing on González' case. González, who owned a currency exchange point at Mexico City's international airport, apparently withdrew a large amount of money on the afternoon of 31 August, reports Article 19. A spokesperson for Contralinea also said that Yarce was no longer writing or leading projects for the magazine at the time of her death. Mexico's human rights commission reportedly planned to open its own investigation into the murders.
Contralinea has frequently exposed corruption in its coverage and has been the target of intimidation and judicial harassment, particularly since 2007 when it published reports that proved embarrassing for the national oil company PEMEX. The magazine's office was reportedly broken into last year and journalistic material and a laptop were stolen.
Journalist killings in Mexico City are relatively rare: the last recorded was of José Manuel Nava Sánchez, author and former director and editor of the newspaper Excelsior, who was stabbed to death in his apartment on 16 November 2006.
Background
Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to work as a journalist. Since January 2004, 42 print journalists and two writers have been murdered, while 10 print journalists have gone missing in the same period. Nine of the killings and three of the disappearances occurred in 2010 alone; the toll for 2011 to date stands at eight and one respectively. Few if any of these crimes have been properly investigated or punished. PEN International believes that it is likely that many of these writers were targeted in retaliation for their critical reporting, particularly on drug trafficking. While organised crime groups are responsible for many attacks, state agents, especially government officials and the police, are reportedly the main perpetrators of violence against journalists, and complicit in its continuance.
On 3 June 2011, PEN Canada, in collaboration with the International Human Rights Program at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, published a timely and provocative report on the situation in Mexico: Corruption, Impunity, Silence: The War on Mexico's Journalists (also available in Spanish). The same day Canada's national newspaper The Globe and Mail published an op-ed by John Ralston Saul, President of PEN International, on the report.
Useful links

• The Guardian (2 September 2011): English
• Article 19 (2 September 2011): English; Spanish
• Reporters Without Borders (2 September 2011): English; Spanish

Please send appeals:

• Protesting the murder of Contralinea founder Ana María Marcela Yarce Viveros and freelance journalist Rocio González Trápaga, who were abducted in Mexico City on the night of 31 August 2011 and found strangled the next day;
• Calling for a full and impartial investigation into the killings, focusing on Yarce's and González' journalistic work as a possible motive, with the involvement of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Freedom of Expression, as well as into all other unsolved journalist killings and disappearances in Mexico;
• Calling on the government of President Felipe Calderón to fulfil promises to make crimes against journalists a federal offence, by amending the Constitution so that federal authorities have the power to investigate, prosecute and punish such crimes.

Appeals to:

PresidentLic. Felipe De Jesús Calderón Hinojosa
Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Residencia Oficial de los Pinos Casa Miguel Alemán
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, C.P. 11850, DISTRITO FEDERAL, México
Fax: (+ 52 55) 5093 4901/ 5277 2376
Email: felipe.calderon@presidencia.gob.mx
Salutation: Señor Presidente/ Dear Mr President
Attorney General Lic. Marisela Morales Ibáñez
Procuradora General de la República
Av. Paseo de Reforma No. 211-213, Piso 16
Col. Cuauhtémoc, Defegacion Cuauhtémoc
México D.F. C.P. 06500
Tel: + 52 55 5346 0108
Fax: + 52 55 53 46 0908 (if a voice answers, ask "tono de fax, por favor")
E-mail: ofproc@pgr.gob.mx
Salutation: Señora Procuradora General/Dear Attorney General
Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Freedom of ExpressionDr Gustavo Salas Chávez
Fiscal Especial para la Atención de Delitos Cometidos contra Periodistas (FEADP)
Email: feadp@pgr.gob.mx
Please also send copies of your appeals to the Mexican Embassy in your country.
See http://www.sre.gob.mx/index.php/representaciones/embajadas-de-mexico-en-el-exterior
***Please send appeals immediately. Check with International PEN if sending appeals after 5 November 2011.***
For further details please contact Tamsin Mitchell at the Writers in Prison Committee London Office: PEN International, Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER Tel: +44 (0) 207 405 0338 Fax +44 (0) 207 405 0339 email: tamsin.mitchell@pen-international.org 

Dawit Isaac still detained incommunicado: PEN calls for a week of action

ERITREA: Tens years on, Dawit Isaac still detained incommunicado: PEN calls for a week of action (19-23 September 2011)

6 September 2011

Update #2 to RAN 51/05

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN protests the decade-long imprisonment of Eritrean-Swedish journalist and author Dawit Isaac, who has been detained incommunicado without charge since 23 September 2001. Isaac is said to be held in appalling conditions and to be in poor physical and mental health; there are serious concerns for his wellbeing. PEN invites its members and anyone interested in joining us to take part in a week of action (19-23 September 2011) calling on the Eritrean authorities to provide details of Isaac's whereabouts and assurances that he is receiving all necessary medical treatment as a matter of urgency. PEN also calls for Isaac's immediate and unconditional release as well as that of 15 other Eritreans imprisoned for their writings since September 2001.
Dawit Isaac (born 1964), owner of the now defunct weekly newspaper Setit, playwright and writer, was arrested on 23 September 2001 during the crackdown on Eritrea's private press that saw all eight independent newspapers closed down. He is one of nine print journalists who were arrested at the time and held incommunicado, apparently indefinitely, without ever being charged or tried. The only accusations made against them have been uncorroborated allegations by the authorities that the journalists were "traitors".
Information about the detained journalists is scant. However, at least four of them have reportedly died in custody since 2005 due to harsh conditions and lack of medical attention. There have also been unconfirmed reports of the deaths of nine out of 11 former government cabinet ministers also arrested in September 2001 for publishing a letter criticising the Eritrean government.
Isaac and the other surviving journalists are presumed to remain in detention in secret locations, despite a 2007 ruling by the African Union's Commission on Human and People's Rights that their detention was arbitrary and unlawful and that the Eritrean government should release and compensate them. There are ongoing concerns about severe ill treatment, possible torture, poor health and lack of access to medical care.
The most recent reports indicate that Isaac is being held at the Eiraeiro maximum-security prison camp, 10 miles north of the capital Asmara, along with a number of the other detained journalists. They are reportedly not allowed any contact with each other or the outside world, are routinely shackled and receive almost no medical care. Some are said to be held in metal containers or underground cells in temperatures of around 50 degrees Celsius.
Isaac suffers from a diabetic condition that requires medical supervision and he is said to be in poor psychological health. He has been hospitalised several times since his imprisonment, including in 2002 for treatment for injuries sustained through torture. In November 2005, Isaac - who holds dual Swedish-Eritrean citizenship - was briefly released for a medical check-up and to call his family and friends following pressure by groups in Sweden.
In July 2011, Isaac's younger brother, Esayas Isaac, who lives in Sweden, filed a writ of habeas corpus with Eritrea's Supreme Court calling for information on the journalist's location and a review of his imprisonment. The habeas corpus writ was reportedly not supported by the Swedish government; according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has said the country's goal was to have Isaac released on humanitarian grounds rather than stand trial. In 2010, Esayas Isaac wrote an open letter to the Swedish government and European Union expressing concern that they were not doing enough to pressurize the Eritrean government to release Isaac.
Background

• Dawit Isaac is an Honorary Member of Finnish PEN and Swedish PEN.
• Isaac was awarded the 2009 Tucholsky Award by Swedish PEN and the 2011 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
• A collection of Isaac's writings, entitled Hope- the Tale of Moses and Manna's Love, was launched at Sweden's Gothenburg book fair in September 2010.

Useful links
Information on Isaac:

• Update from the Committee to Protest Journalists (3 August 2011): http://cpj.org/blog/2011/08/habeas-corpus-writ-seeks-dawit-isaac-jailed-for-36.php
• Update from Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (24 May 2011): http://www.cjfe.org/resources/features/eritrea-ten-years-journalists-remain-imprisoned
• Free Dawit campaign (co-founded by Esayas Isaac): http://www.freedawit.com/
• PEN International profile: http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/index.cfm?objectid=22738991-3048-676E-265D5C266126D22F  

Information on Eritrea:

• BBC country profile: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13349078
• Amnesty International's 2011 report on human rights in Eritrea: http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/eritrea/report-2011  

Suggested actions:

PEN members are asked to do at least one of the following during the week leading up to the 10th anniversary of Dawit Isaac's imprisonment (19-23 September 2011):
1. Send protest letters to President Issayas Afewerki via your nearest diplomatic representative of Eritrea (see http://eritrea.embassyhomepage.com/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diplomatic_missions_of_Eritrea):

• Protesting the 10-year imprisonment of Dawit Isaac, at least four journalists and 11 former cabinet members detained incommunicado since September 2001 for their writings;
• Calling on the Eritrean authorities to release details of Isaac's health status, medical treatment and whereabouts, as well as that of the other detainees;
• Calling for the immediate and conditional release of Isaac and the other surviving journalists, in line with the 2007 African Commission on Human and People's Rights ruling, as well as that of the former ministers detained for their writings.

2. Organise a petition to present to your nearest Eritrean embassy or consulate and/ or hold a protest outside the premises
3. Request the ambassador or other diplomatic representative of your own country based in Eritrea to raise the WiPC's concerns about Isaac and the other detainees.
***Please keep PEN International informed of your activities and any response received from the authorities, if possible; please also check with us if sending appeals after 18 November 2011.***
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@pen-international.org 

Urgent Appeal for Cameroonian playwright Lydia Besong and her husband Bernard Batey

 Dear Reader,

As you may remember, we have been in touch on a number of occasions over the last couple of years with news of Cameroonian playwright Lydia Besong and her husband Bernard Batey who have been living in the UK since 2006.

 

We have just learnt from our colleagues at the Lydia and Bernard Must Stay Campaign that at 7.30am yesterday, Monday 5 September, at least five UK Border Agency officers went to Lydia and Bernard’s home in Bury, Greater Manchester. They took Bernard from the address - Lydia was not at the house at the time as she was on her way to the local immigration reporting centre.

 

Bernard is currently being held in Colnbrook IRC and is due to be forcibly removed from the UK  on Kenya Airways flight KQ526 at 8pm this Saturday, 10 September 2011, from UK to Nairobi for onward transit to Cameroon . The indications are that the UKBA want to deport Lydia as well.

 

Lydia and Bernard’s supporters were shocked to learn that Bernard had been detained whilst the UKBA were deemed to still be considering fresh evidence put forward by the couple's lawyer in July. There had been no indication to the couple or their legal representative that the new evidence had been rejected. It was only when their lawyer phoned Dallas Court Reporting Centre to find out why Bernard had been detained yesterday morning that the UKBA informed them that the further submissions had been turned down. The UKBA later faxed the legal representative with the reasons for rejection and removal instructions for Bernard, indicating that the decision to reject the further submissions was taken on 17 August, but it remains unclear why no-one was informed of this decision.

 

Lydia and Bernard are human rights activists who fled Cameroon , where they suffered from persecution as a result of their membership of the Southern Cameroon National Council, a peaceful pressure group which campaigns for the rights of the English speaking minority in Cameroon . Both had been imprisoned and tortured, and Lydia had been raped by a prison guard. There are widespread fears that both Lydia and Bernard will be in grave danger if they are returned to Cameroon .

 

Further information on Lydia and Bernard’s case can be found here:

 

Cameroonian playwright faces deportation:

http://www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/bulletins/ukplaywrightfacesdeportation/

 

Lydia Besong appeal for funds successful:

http://www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/wipcnews/cameroonlydiabesongappealforfundssuccessful/

 

Playwright refused asylum:

http://www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/wipcnews/cameroonukplaywrightrefusedasylum/

 

Justice for asylum seekers 60 years on:

http://www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/wipcnews/justiceforasylumseekers60yearson/

 

TAKE URGENT ACTION

 

Please write letters of appeal to the following – sample letters follow:

 

Write to Theresa May, Home Secretary

 

-          Asking her to exercise her discretionary powers to prevent the forced removal of Bernard Batey from the UK on Kenya Airways flight KQ526 at 8pm on Saturday 10 September 2011;  

-          Urging her to ensure that he is released from detention in the UK immediately.

 

Rt. Hon Theresa May, MP
Secretary of State for the Home Office,
2 Marsham St
London SW1 4DF
Fax: 020 7035 4745
Emails: mayt@parliament.uk
Emails: Privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk / UKBApublicenquiries@UKBA.gsi.gov.uk

 

Write to Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister

 

 - Asking him to intervene with the Home Secretary Theresa May to stop the forced removal of Bernard Batey on Saturday 10 September 2011 and urging her to ensure his release from detention immediately.

 

Nick Clegg - Deputy Prime Minister's Office
Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2AS
Fax: 020 7276 0514

Email: leader@libdems.org.uk

SAMPLE LETTERS

 

The following sample letters can be used as the basis of your appeals. Please do write a more personal letter if you have time and if so, please remember to quote Bernard Batey's Home Office Reference number B1236372. Please also send copies of all correspondence to admin@rapar.org.uk and cat@englishpen.org

SAMPLE LETTER TO THERESA MAY, HOME SECRETARY

Rt. Hon Theresa May, MP

Secretary of State for the Home Office,

2 Marsham St
 London SW1 4DF

Fax: 020 8760 3132

Dear Ms May,

Re: Lydia Besong & Bernard Batey, HO Ref: B1236372

I am writing as a member of English PEN, the charity which campaigns for writers and playwrights internationally, to urge you to intervene immediately in the case of Lydia Besong and Bernard Batey, two human rights campaigners from
 Cameroon . 

According to PEN’s information, at 7.30am on Monday 5 September, at least five UK Border Agency officers went to
 Lydia and Bernard’s home in Bury, Greater Manchester. They took Bernard from the address -
 Lydia was not at the house at the time as she was on her way to the local immigration reporting centre.

Friends and supporters were shocked to learn that Bernard had been detained whilst the UKBA were deemed to still be considering fresh evidence put forward by the couple's lawyer in July. There had been no indication to the couple or their legal representative that the new evidence had been rejected. It was only when their lawyer phoned Dallas Court Reporting Centre to find out why Bernard had been detained that the UKBA informed them that the further submissions had been turned down. The UKBA later faxed the legal representative with the reasons for rejection and removal instructions for Bernard, indicating that the decision to reject the further submissions was taken on 17 August. It remains unclear why no-one was informed of this decision.

 

As of Monday 5 September, Bernard Batey has been held in Colnbrook IRC with removal directions set for Saturday 10 September. It appears that the UKBA also want to deport Lydia on the same date.

Lydia and Bernard sought asylum in the
 UK on 18 December 2006. Their asylum claim is based on their activities with the Southern Cameroon National Council, a peaceful political pressure group which campaigns for the rights of the English-speaking minority of
 Southern Cameroon . In Cameroon , both
 Lydia and Bernard suffered beatings and imprisonment as a result of their involvement with the SCNC and
 Lydia was raped by a uniformed guard. These experiences have left them both traumatised and subject to severe depression.

Lydia was an English teacher in
 Cameroon and has written three plays, including one which is critical of
 Cameroon president Paul Biya. She was detained in Yarl's Wood IRC over Christmas 2009 and came within 72 hours of deportation. A campaign to gain her release saw an overwhelming response from people and communities across Greater Manchester and beyond, and a High Court judge granted an injunction to prevent their deportation from the
 UK .  

The chairman of the SCNC has since affirmed that
 Lydia and Bernard were active human rights practitioners in
 Cameroon and their human rights work in the
 UK stands as a testimony to that.  Bernard and
 Lydia have worked tirelessly at RAPAR (Refugee and Asylum Seekers Participatory Action Research) and WAST (Women Asylum-Seekers Together) with refugees in similar situations to their own.  They have also worked as volunteers with other charitable organisations and have been extremely active in their church community at
 St Ann 's Church, Belfield, Rochdale , where they are valued members of the congregation.  

I am writing to respectfully urge you, as Home Secretary, to exercise your discretionary powers in order to prevent the forced removal of Bernard Batey from the
 UK on Kenya Airways flight KQ526 at 20:00 this Saturday 10 September 2011, and to ensure that he is released from detention in the
 UK immediately. I also request that you grant both Bernard and
 Lydia some form of refugee protection, so that they may continue to make a valuable contribution to our society.

I would welcome your comments on my appeal. 

Yours Sincerely,

Name

Address

SAMPLE LETTER TO NICK CLEGG, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

 

Att: Nick Clegg

Deputy Prime Minister's Office

70 Whitehall

SW1A 2AS

 

Dear Mr. Clegg,

 

Re: Lydia Besong & Bernard Batey, HO Ref: B1236372

 

I am writing as a member of English PEN, the charity which campaigns for writers and playwrights internationally, to urge you to intercede with the Home Secretary in the case of Lydia Besong and Bernard Batey, two human rights campaigners from Cameroon .

 

According to PEN’s information, at 7.30am on Monday 5 September, at least five UK Border Agency officers went to
 Lydia and Bernard’s home in Bury, Greater Manchester. They took Bernard from the address -
 Lydia was not at the house at the time as she was on her way to the local immigration reporting centre.

Friends and supporters were shocked to learn that Bernard had been detained whilst the UKBA were deemed to still be considering fresh evidence put forward by the couple's lawyer in July. There had been no indication to the couple or their legal representative that the new evidence had been rejected. It was only when their lawyer phoned Dallas Court Reporting Centre to find out why Bernard had been detained that the UKBA informed them that the further submissions had been turned down. The UKBA later faxed the legal representative with the reasons for rejection and removal instructions for Bernard, indicating that the decision to reject the further submissions was taken on 17 August. It remains unclear why no-one was informed of this decision.

 

As of Monday 5 September, Bernard Batey has been held in Colnbrook IRC with removal directions set for Saturday 10 September. It appears that the UKBA also want to deport Lydia on the same date.

Lydia and Bernard sought asylum in the
 UK on 18 December 2006. Their asylum claim is based on their activities with the Southern Cameroon National Council, a peaceful political pressure group which campaigns for the rights of the English-speaking minority of
 Southern Cameroon . In Cameroon , both
 Lydia and Bernard suffered beatings and imprisonment as a result of their involvement with the SCNC and
 Lydia was raped by a uniformed guard. These experiences have left them both traumatised and subject to severe depression.

Lydia was an English teacher in
 Cameroon and has written three plays, including one which is critical of
 Cameroon president Paul Biya. She was detained in Yarl's Wood IRC over Christmas 2009 and came within 72 hours of deportation. A campaign to gain her release saw an overwhelming response from people and communities across Greater Manchester and beyond, and a High Court judge granted an injunction to prevent their deportation from the
 UK .  

The chairman of the SCNC has since affirmed that
 Lydia and Bernard were active human rights practitioners in
 Cameroon and their human rights work in the
 UK stands as a testimony to that.  Bernard and
 Lydia have worked tirelessly at RAPAR (Refugee and Asylum Seekers Participatory Action Research) and WAST (Women Asylum-Seekers Together) with refugees in similar situations to their own.  They have also worked as volunteers with other charitable organisations and have been extremely active in their church community at
 St Ann 's Church, Belfield, Rochdale , where they are valued members of the congregation.  

 

I respectfully urge you, as Deputy Prime Minister, to call upon the Home Secretary to exercise her discretionary powers in order to prevent the forced removal of Bernard Batey from the UK on Kenya Airways flight KQ526 at 20:00 this Saturday 10 September 2011, and to ensure that he is released from detention in the UK immediately.

 

I would welcome your comments on my appeal.

 

Yours Sincerely,

 

Name

Address


Source: English PEN