November 20, 2006
To SAMSN members and friends
Welcome to the South Asia Media Solidarity Network's (SAMSN) monthly e-bulletin. The next bulletin will be sent on Monday December 18, 2006 and inputs are most welcome. We encourage contributions: to let others know what you are doing; to seek solidarity and support from other SAMSN members; and to find out what others are doing in the region. To contribute, email ifj@ifj-asia.org
SAMSN is a group of journalists' trade unions, press freedom organisations and journalists in South Asia who have agreed to work together to support freedom of expression and association in the region. SAMSN was formed at a meeting of these groups in Kathmandu in September 2004. The group agreed to stand in solidarity and work together for media reform, an independent pluralist media and to build public respect for the work of journalists in the region.
For further information on SAMSN, visit http://www.ifj-asia.org/page/samsn.html
Please distribute this bulletin widely among colleagues in the media.
In this bulletin:
1. Journalist murdered, another tortured for months in Pakistan
2. Press freedom and journalist safety crisis in Pakistan
3. Conflict journalism trainings in Pakistan and India, November
4. USIP India-Pakistan Media Summit, New Delhi, December 8
5. India HIV/AIDS workshops in Chennai, Bangalore and Nagpur
6. Roundtable meeting on press freedom in Kashmir
7. Voice of Tigers bombed, dismissal of editor in Sri Lanka
8. Action after Jaffna editors threatened by military in Sri Lanka
9. First Doing Ethics workshop in Sri Lanka
10. Union management and leadership training in Nepal, November
11. Two-day summit on gender equity in media, Kathmandu
12. First private FM radio station launched in Bhutan
13. IFJ Executive Committee in Brussels, IFJ Congress in Moscow
14. Applications for Knight Fellowship due December 15
15. Latest South Asia protests
1. Journalist murdered, another tortured for months in Pakistan
In a sickeningly brutal attack, senior journalist and bureau chief of the Pakistan Press International, Mohammad Ismail, was found on dead on November 1with severe head injuries after being struck with a hard and blunt object. Ismail is the fourth journalist to be murdered in Pakistan in the last six months. A week earlier, Kawish journalist Mehruddin Marri, who was abducted on June 27, was released on October 24, by military intelligence officers, after being interrogated, beaten, and suffering electric shocks and other forms of torture, in an attempt to make him confess ties with the Baluch nationalist movement. Visit www.ifj-asia.org and www.pfuj.info for more.
2. Press freedom and journalist safety crisis in Pakistan
According to the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), five journalists - Masood Khan, Anwar Hakim, Haseen Ahmed, Zafarullah and Moammad Ibrahim - were harassed and detained by officials when travelling with a group of journalists and lawyers to the tribal region of Bajour to investigate the killing of 83 people on October 30. On November 10, SINDH TV, was shut down on orders from high officials, after it broadcast footage which implicated a former MNA in a police murder. In response to the deteriorating situation in Pakistan, which in the last six months has seen four journalists killed, four more detained and tortured by intelligence agencies, journalists' families targeted and countless more incidents of violence and threats against journalists, the IFJ wrote to Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf to demand immediate action on journalists' safety and press freedom. Visit www.ifj-asia.org for more.
3. Conflict journalism trainings in Pakistan and India, November
Under the USIP-supported project “Bridging the Divides”, the PFUJ and the All India Newspaper Employees Federation (AINEF) are holding four conflict-training workshops throughout November in Pakistan and India. Uniquely, the workshops are co-led by one Pakistani journalist and one Indian journalist. The workshops are in Srinagar and Delhi in India and Islamabad and Lahore in Pakistan. Under the IFJ project, a train the trainer workshop was held in June/July in Pakistan to train a pool of Indian and Pakistani journalists in training techniques. These trainers are now delivering the two-day journalism workshops. Contact ifjsouthasia@hotmail.com for more information.
4. USIP India-Pakistan Media Summit, New Delhi, December 8
The high-level media summit under the USIP-funded project, 'Bridging the Divides: Improving Relations between India and Pakistan' has now been rescheduled and is tentatively scheduled for Friday, December 8, 2006 in New Delhi. It will provide a forum for about 30 senior journalists from India and Pakistan to discuss media issues of mutual concern. This is an IFJ project being implemented in India and Pakistan in partnership with the All India Newspaper Employees Federation in India and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists in Pakistan. Contact ifjsouthasia@hotmail.com for more information.
5. India HIV/AIDS workshops in Chennai, Bangalore and Nagpur
Two of the three India workshops on Reporting HIV/AIDS have now been held. The first, hosted by the National Union of Journalists India (NUJI) was in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on October 26, with 26 participants from both print and electronic media. The second was hosted by the All India Newspaper Employees Federation (AINEF) on November 5 in Bangalore, Karnataka with 24 participants. The final workshop will be held in Nagpur, Maharastra on November 26, again hosted by the NUJI. The local trainers who are conducting these workshops were trained by the IFJ in Hyderabad in June, where all three India IFJ affiliates had journalists trained in training techniques with a focus on delivering the IFJ’s one-day Reporting HIV/AIDS training module. All the India workshops have been held in high HIV prevalence states in India. These workshops are part of a program, supported by the Swedish LO-TCO, across Asia and Africa aimed at improving reporting of HIV/AIDS. For more information, visit www.ifj-asia.org/page/hivaids.html.
6. Roundtable meeting on press freedom in Kashmir
In order to further develop work on monitoring and highlighting violations of press freedom, consolidate regional networks and reach out to media in regions of conflict, the International Federation of Journalists is conducting needs assessment missions in conflict areas in India. A roundtable discussion on press freedom in Indian-administered Kashmir is being held in Srinagar on November 25. Working journalists, editors, human rights activists and other key players are expected to attend. Roundtable meetings have already been held in Guwahati, Assam and Imphal, Manipur. This research is supported by UNESCO. For more information contact ifjsouthasia@hotmail.com
7. Voice of Tigers bombed, dismissal of editor in Sri Lanka
The conflict in Sri Lanka continues to have a damaging effect on the media, with a radio station bombed and an editor fired for critical reports. The Voice of Tigers (VOT), the official radio station of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was bombed by the Sri Lankan Air Force in Killinochch, an LTTE held town in Northern Sri Lanka on October 17, destroying the broadcasting towers and injuring two workers. One week earlier, Rajpal Abenayaka, editor of the state-owned The Sunday Observer, was suddenly dismissed on October 10, after publishing an editorial critical of a presidential speech. This is a further indication of state editorial interference. Visit www.ifj-asia.org for more.
8. Action after Jaffna editors threatened by military in Sri Lanka
IFJ has condemned the news that the Commander of Army 512 Brigade has summoned the editors of three Jaffna dailies, the Uthayan, Walampuri, and Yal Thinankkural, on November 6, not to publish critical news of the military. The three newspapers had published an interview with the former Jaffna district political leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Mr. Eelamparthi, was critical of the military presence in Jaffna. According to Free Media Movement the Tamil language dailies have faced various harassments and threats during the last few months, with four media workers killed, newspaper warehouses set on fire, and one newspaper forced to close down after its managing editor was murdered. Visit www.ifj-asia.org for more.
9. First ‘Doing Ethics’ workshop in Sri Lanka
On November 11-12, three local Sri Lankan journalist trainers conducted the first Doing Ethics workshop in Badulla, Sri Lanka, for 22 participants. The workshop was a great success, with all the participants active and receptive to the new material. The trainers used the new two-day IFJ-developed Doing Ethics training module. The IFJ and the Sri Lankan Press Institute conducted a train the trainer workshop in Sri Lanka in September, to train the journalists how to deliver training on the new module. Another Doing Ethics course will be held by the end of this year, and more in 2007. The Doing Ethics program has been developed with the support of Sweden-based Fojo. For more information contact ifj@ifj-asia.org.
10. Union management and leadership training in Nepal
IFJ trainer Emma Walters conducted a two-day union management and leadership training workshop for the executive and staff of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ). The workshop, part of a two-year Danida-supported project aimed at building the capacity of the FNJ, was held in Kathmandu on November 14-15. The workshop focused on the practicalities of effective governance and management of a journalist organisation, including the role of the board, governance, finances and fees, membership systems and internal democracy. For more information contact emma.walters@ifj-asia.org.
11. Two-day summit on gender equity in media, Kathmandu
The FNJ held a two-day Gender Equity in Media Summit in Kathmandu on November 15-16. The meeting was part of a project funded by the European Commission. The summit covered women’s and children’s representation in media, and focused on women’s participation and representation in journalists’ organisations. IFJ program manager Laxmi Murthy facilitated the meeting, along with Emma Walters. A Charter on Gender Equity in the Media was adopted at the meeting. The full text of the Charter is available at www.ifj-asia.org. For more information contact ifjsouthasia@hotmail.com.
12. First private FM radio station launched in Bhutan
Bhutan’s first private FM radio station went to air on September 28 at 6:30am. FM Kuzoo 90 MHz is run by Kuzoon Society, “for the youth, by the youth, and of the youth,” and broadcasts from 6:30 in the morning to 6:30 in the evening. Owners said Kuzoo will provide an alternative source of quality entertainment and information and the station will also foster creativity, innovation and social advocacy through the youth. Kuzoo has said it will not charge fees for any government or private entities wishing to advertise products or services, as long as the advertisements do not violate the station's editorial policy. However, business companies capitalised at over Nu 10 million (approximately 222,000 USD) will be charged advertising fees. Contact ifj@ifj-asia.org for further details.
13. IFJ Executive Committee in Brussels, IFJ Congress in Moscow
The IFJ Executive Committee met in Brussels on November 18-19. The Executive Committee meets twice-yearly and provides policy direction for the Federation between the three-yearly IFJ Congress. The last Congress was held in Athens in May 2004, and the next one will be held in Moscow on May 28-June 3, 2007. Resolutions from IFJ affiliates need to be submitted to the secretariat five months before the Congress (six months in the case of constitutional changes). The Executive Committee meeting was preceded by the Administrative Committee and the Gender Council Steering Committee. For further information, contact ifj@ifj-asia.org.
14. Applications for Knight Fellowship due December 15
The Knight Fellowships, based in Stanford University, CA, is reminding all interested applicants that December 15 is the deadline for international submissions. It is a professional, not an academic fellowship, which means criteria is not an academic background but more a body of work. Ideally, applicants should have at least five years journalism experience. Applications are available for both U.S. and International fellowships for 2007-08. There are online versions of application announcements and application forms at the "How to Apply" section of our website http://knight.stanford.edu/application/index.html. The deadline for international applicants is December 15, 2006. Please contact knight-info@lists.stanford.edu for further details.
15. Latest South Asia protests
Pakistan: IFJ shocked by “sickeningly brutal” murder of senior journalist in Pakistan – 02/11/2006
Pakistan: Missing Pakistani journalist returned after four months of torture – 31/10/2006
Sri Lanka: South Asian Editors in solidarity with beleaguered media in Sri Lanka – 23/10/2006
Sri Lanka: IFJ denounces bombing of Voice of Tigers in Sri Lanka – 23/10/2006
If SAMSN members have any information on a press freedom violation, please make sure you immediately contact staff at IFJ Asia so action can be taken.
Jacqueline Park
Emma Walters
Pi James
Laxmi Murthy
IFJ Asia-Pacific
SAMSN Members
Afghan Independent Journalists' Union, Afghanistan
Bangladesh Journalists' Rights Forum (BJRF), Bangladesh
Dhaka Reporters' Unity, Bangladesh
All India Newspapers Employees' Federation (AINEF), India
Indian Journalists' Union (IJU), India
National Union of Journalists India (NUJI), India
Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Nepal
National Union of Journalists Nepal (NUJN), Nepal
Nepal Press Union (NPU), Nepal
CEHURDES, Nepal
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Pakistan
Pakistan Press Foundation, Pakistan
Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), Sri Lanka
Federation of Media Employees' Trade Unions (FMETU), Sri Lanka
Free Media Movement (FMM), Sri Lanka
Bangladesh Manobadhikar Sangbadik Forum (BMSF: Human Rights Journalists Forum of Bangladesh)
Media Watch, Bangladesh
