Senegal Singer N'Dour |
- Journalists face threats in covering Isaac imprisonment in Eritrea
- Over 2000 Internet experts and users gathered to examine international Internet governance challenges
- Commonwealth Finance Ministers Call for Aid Reform
- Freedom House Condemns Crackdown on Peaceful WOZA Protest in Zimbabwe
- AU launches the Pan-African Media Network Project
- Singer N'Dour Weighs In On Senegal Election
NUSOJ welcomes AU
apology over Malaysian journalist’s killing
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) on
September 27 welcomed the apology tendered by the African Union (AU) over the
killing of a Malaysian Journalist, Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, and the injuring of
another, Aziz Reza Mazlan, on September 2, 2011 in Mogadishu by African Union
peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) deployed to keep peace in Somalia.
The apology came following an investigation into the
incident after the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the Commission
of the African Union (SRCC) and Head of Mission, Ambassador Boubacar Diarra
immediately ordered an investigation into the incident in line with appropriate
African Union procedures, an AU statement said. “The Board of Inquiry (BOI)
established that four soldiers were involved in the shooting at the Hajji Doole
Junction on Airport Road
and recommended that the four soldiers, from the Burundi contingent, be brought to
trial according to their country’s military and judicial processes. The four
soldiers have been suspended from duty to allow for further proceedings
following recommendations by BOI”.
However, NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman said while
the AMISOM apology was welcome, it was “urgent that a similar intervention be
undertaken to probe the peace keepers role in the alleged killing of a Somali
journalist, Farah Hassan Sahal, on 4 August 2011, at Mogadishu’s Bakara market.
Sahal, 45, who was working for the privately owned Radio
Simba as a newscaster, was shot in the head and chest at the gate of the Radio
station, as he and two of his colleagues tried to move the media house
equipment to a safer area after the Radio station became a battlefield between
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces with the support of African Union
troops (AMISOM) and Al-Shabaab Islamists forces.
NUSOJ quoted eyewitnesses to have said “the journalist was
shot at point blank range by a soldier believed to have been part of AMISON
forces at Hareed mosque.”
“We demand equal treatment of the two incidents in which
journalists lost their lives and urges an urgent probe into the shooting of the
Somali journalist and the taking of appropriate action against the soldiers who
may have committed the heinous act,” added Osman who is also the President of
the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ).
NUSOJ said the killings of journalists, be they from Somalia, Africa
or any part of the world, more so by a legally established security force such
as AMISOM, was unacceptable and deserved urgent probing and appropriate action. Source: NUSOJ
Journalists face
threats in covering Isaac imprisonment in Eritrea
A Sweden-based journalist was publicly threatened Friday in
connection with her reporting on the case of Dawit Isaac, a Swedish-Eritrean journalist
who has been imprisoned in Eritrea
for a decade without charge, according to news reports and CPJ interviews.
A day earlier in New
York, bodyguards for the Eritrean leader Isaias
Afewerki pushed and threatened two Swedish journalists seeking to speak to the
president about the Isaac case, the journalists said.
Meron Estefanos, a contributor to the leading Eritrean
diaspora news site Asmarino, was confronted Friday by Tedros Isaac, a brother
of the detained journalist whose strong support of Afewerki is extensively
documented, after a public forum on the Isaac case at the Gothenburg Book Fair
in Sweden.
“You mention my name and write about Dawit Isaac’s family
one more time I’ll cut your throat,” witnesses and Swedish Radio SR quoted
Tedros Isaac as telling Estefanos. In a 2010 column published on Asmarino,
Estefanos wrote about the deep political divisions that have split Eritrean
families into pro- and anti-government camps. In the column, Estefanos had
contrasted Tedros Isaac’s ongoing support for the government that arrested his
brother with the extensive advocacy to free the journalist that has been
undertaken by other brothers.
Sweden’s
Expressen newspaper reported Friday that Estefanos had given a statement to the
police and quoted Thomas Fuxborg, a local police spokesman, as saying that a
preliminary police report had been written.
“The confrontation occurred on the 10th anniversary of
Isaac’s September 23, 2001, arrest. Detained in a broad crackdown on
independent journalism, he has been held without charge or trial since that
time, with only brief contact with his family in 2005,” the US-based Committee
to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on September 27. “Estefanos, who spoke at
Friday’s forum, has been one of the leading activists in Sweden campaigning for the release of Isaac and
other political prisoners in Eritrea.
At least 17 journalists are now being held in Eritrea prisons.”
A statement released by the Gothenburg Book Fair and signed
by Nobel Prize laureates Mario Vargas Llosa and Herta Müller, as well as John
Ralston Saul, president of PEN International, called on Sweden and the European Union to take a tougher
approach toward Eritrea
to secure Isaac’s release. CPJ research shows the Eritrean government has used
agents and proxies to intimidate the country’s exile press.
A day earlier in New
York, bodyguards for Eritrean President Afewerki
roughed up and threatened two Swedish journalists seeking to ask the president
questions about Isaac, according to CPJ interviews. “I got an elbow in the
stomach,” Mats Larsson, U.S. correspondent of Expressen newspaper, told CPJ,
describing how he and photographer Axel Oberg were pushed aside after they
approached the president as he walked near United Nations headquarters. When
Oberg later tried to take photos of Afewerki, the journalist told CPJ, another
bodyguard attempted to seize his camera and made hand signals as if to slit his
throat.
“We’re relieved that Swedish police are investigating the
reported threats against Meron Estefanos,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator
Mohamed Keita. “It’s disturbing that bodyguards for President Afewerki tried to
intimidate journalists Mats Larsson and Axel Oberg in New York. There is no place for threats
against reporters trying to do their jobs.” Source: CPJ
Over 2000 Internet
experts and users gathered to examine international Internet governance
challenges
In 2010, 143 countries commercially offered 3G services
compared to 95 in 2007. Internet access at home has increased from 1.4 billion
in 2009 to almost 1.6 billion in 2010. Mobile cellular growth in developing
world increased from 53 per cent in 2005 to 73 per cent in 2010
Over 2,000 delegates from more than 100 countries,
representing a multi-stakeholder community of Governments, the private sector,
civil society, the Internet community, international organizations and the
media, on September 27 converged in Nairobi, Kenya to examine cross-border
Internet governance challenges at the sixth meeting of the Internet Governance
Forum (IGF), starting today till Friday, 30 September 2011. The Nairobi meeting of the IGF is the first to be held in
sub-Saharan Africa.
This year the annual meeting IGF has as its main theme: “The
Internet as a catalyst for change: access, development, freedoms and
innovation.” The many dimensions of this theme have been thrown into sharp
relief, for example, by political turmoil and changes this past year in North
Africa and the Middle East and, an unprecedented exposure of confidential
cables from the US
embassies across the globe by WikiLeaks.
“Throughout the world, increased access to the Internet has
brought about new development opportunities, freedoms and innovations. Across
each country, individuals, communities, and society at large have enjoyed
differentiated rights to these opportunities and this has fueled a global
debate on the nature of these freedoms,” a statement from the United Nations
Department of Public Information said on Monday.
“Building on the momentum of previous years, this year’s IGF
will help set the agenda for a way forward on Internet governance. The world is
relentlessly adopting the information and communication technologies and the
discussions around Internet governance have become ever more crucial in setting
the agenda and solidifying the Internet as a catalyst for positive change.”
The growth in access to and use of the Internet has brought
about new challenges – challenges which attract profound public policy debates.
The issues that have arisen are genuinely global in their importance as well as
national and local. The IGF process has been in the vanguard of bringing together
the global policy community with regard to Internet governance and is shaping a
truly global agenda.
There has been an increase in access, for example:
• In some
countries, more than 80 per cent of households have Internet access, almost all
of them through a broadband connection and many of them through mobile
networks.
- The developing world increased its share of mobile subscriptions from 53 percent in 2005 to 73 percent in 2010.
• Access to mobile
networks is now available to 90 per cent of the world’s population and 80 per
cent of the rural area population.
• It is estimated
that the number of people with the Internet access at home has increased from
1.4 billion in 2009 to almost 1.6 billion in 2010.
• In Kenya, over 60
per cent of the population uses a mobile phone and there are 4.7 million
Internet subscribers with the vast majority gaining access via mobile
devices.
• Kenya is known
for highly advanced mobile banking services that have brought financial services
to much of the population for the first time.
The debate in Nairobi
will continue to refine understanding of the appropriate local and
international institutional arrangements. Discussion on security, openness and
privacy will highlight the increasing number of young Internet users, in
addition to internet security, cybercrime and cloud governance in an attempt to
make the Internet sustainable and a tool for positive change. The potential of
the Internet rests, in part, on the availability and use of critical Internet
resources and, hence, one of the key issues to be discussed will be the
adoption and diffusion of IPv6. The debates on access and diversity will also
lead delegates to think in terms of ensuring the Internet as a meaningful tool
for development, freedoms and innovations.
A cross cutting theme of the Internet Governance Forum,
since its inception, has been Development. The meeting in Nairobi will place renewed emphasis on this
theme and the meeting will generate discussion on the relationship between
Internet governance and development and how the Internet can foster economic
growth, freedoms and innovation; for example through improved education and
knowledge while empowering citizens.
Internet governance and the spread of ICTs offer both opportunities
and also create challenges for development. Therefore, the rise in access to
the Internet means that the debates over fixed versus mobile access have been
eclipsed by more profound issues – such as the need to analyze specific global
Internet governance issues relevant to development, and to determine how to
promote capacity building in critical Internet resources and to foster
innovation while addressing cross-border Internet security issues.
According to the United Nations Assistant-Secretary-General,
Mr. Thomas Stelzer: “The IGF encourages open discussions on emerging issues
such as cloud computing services for development, Internet governance in Africa and digital technologies for civic engagement and
political change. More and better information can bring public value and
greater transparency in public life. More information freely available enriches
people’s lives and contributes to better governance (e.g. more informed public
debate, and strengthened transparency of government and business). But we also
know that digital literacy is a key element in ensuring that better information
leads to a more inclusive society and helping all realize the development
potential offered by the Internet.”
He said the IGF provides an open and inclusive dialogue and
an opportunity to create new dynamics between participating institutions,
“…through information exchange, best practices, while risks and challenges are
addressed and a common understanding of how to maximize Internet opportunities
is bolstered – which is valuable for all players involved.”
The Internet Governance Forum is an outcome of the Tunis phase of the World
Summit on the Information Society, which took place in 2005. In the Tunis
Agenda for the Information Society, Governments asked the United Nations
Secretary-General to convene a new forum for policy dialogue to discuss issues
related to key elements of Internet governance in order to foster the
Internet’s sustainability, robustness, security, stability and development.
The Internet Governance Forum is not a decision-making body,
but rather a space for dialogue where all participants are equal in discussions
on public policy issues relating to the Internet. While there will be no
negotiated outcome, the IGF informs and inspires those with policy-making power
in both the public and private sectors.
The UN Department of Public Information noted that the IGF is
also a space that gives developing countries the same opportunity as wealthier
nations to engage in the debate on Internet governance and to facilitate their
participation in existing institutions and arrangements. Ultimately, the
involvement of all stakeholders, from developed as well as developing
countries, is necessary for the future advancement of the Internet.
Five previous meetings of the Forum have been held, in
Athens, Greece in 2006; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2007; Hyderabad, India in
2008; Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in 2009; and Vilnius, Lithuania in 2010. The
government of Kenya
is the host for this year’s IGF.
Commonwealth Finance
Ministers Call for Aid Reform
Commonwealth finance ministers, meeting in Washington DC
on 21 September 2011, called on the international community to strengthen
mutual accountability backed by transparency in delivery and use of aid, in
order to make it effective in creating jobs, improving livelihoods and
combating poverty.
A statement from the Commonwealth Secretariat said the
ministers noted that the manner in which aid is delivered can impact domestic
accountability of both partner and donor countries, and therefore said that
there is need for greater openness and better tracking for both parties.
“We agreed that the achievement of results often hinges on
factors beyond the control of partner countries and that care needs to be taken
to prevent the escalation of conditionality for external assistance based on
these results. We also recognised the inherent tensions which can emerge in the
interplay between political systems and administrative and bureaucratic
systems, each with differing expectations, processes and accountabilities,”
said Pravin Gordhan, South Africa’s Finance Minister who
chaired the meeting.
The ministers noted that aid reforms have been uneven, with
recent evidence signalling relatively stronger progress among partner
countries, where reforms have taken hold and momentum sustained through
political changes and through external crises; while with some noticeable
exceptions, many donors have proved risk averse and reluctant to make a number
of anticipated changes.
In his remark,
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said that the Commonwealth
contains an increasing share of the world’s poorest people, placing significant
importance on the ability of the association’s poorest, smallest and most
vulnerable members to secure reliable, consistent and additional sources of
financing for development, including protecting existing flows of aid.
“The sustainability of such aid therefore remains crucial to
the Commonwealth’s developing countries,” Mr Sharma said.
Ministers also discussed the role of the G20 – the group of
the twenty most industrialised countries – in accelerating global recovery, and
pointed out that while the G20 represents a systemically important group, it
does not possess all the elements of a solution to global recovery.
“Many solutions can in fact be found in a wide range of
other developing countries. The G20 has the responsibility to ensure that the
voices of those not in the G20 are continuously heard, and the Commonwealth is
well placed to reflect the views of these countries, particularly the smallest
and most vulnerable, because of the organisation’s potential and effectiveness
as a forum through which consensus on global policy issues can emerge,” Mr
Gordhan said.
Ministers shared experiences in both providing and utilising
existing sources of innovative finance for development, and noted that securing
new funds is crucial for developing country members of the Commonwealth as they
strive to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals targets by 2015. They
noted that within the Commonwealth there are a wide range of examples of
successful development and use of innovative finance instruments and practices,
which deserved closer analysis and which offered the potential for scaling up
and broadening the use of innovative finance instruments across the
Commonwealth. Ministers agreed that the Commonwealth Secretariat will pursue a
focused programme of work to widen the sharing of experience and knowledge
within the Commonwealth on current and potential future sources of innovative
finance for development.
(Reuters)
- Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour has stepped up his drive to hold
politicians in his West African country to account ahead of February elections
that could fuel resentment against President Abdoulaye Wade's 11-year rule.
In a speech broadcast on the singer's television channel TFM (Television Futurs Medias) late on Wednesday, N'Dour said he wanted to stop politicians believing they could govern with impunity once in office.
"For my part, I've decided to get involved. I will not let the situation in my country, which I did not leave for other places, deteriorate," N'Dour said. "God willing, I will play my part."
N'Dour stressed he was not planning to run for office, but wanted to be of service to the Senegalese people and help them overcome their innumerable difficulties and challenges.
Senegal has long cherished its reputation as the region's most stable and democratic country and has had many peaceful elections since independence from France in 1960.
But there are increasing concerns over the concentration of power around octogenarian Wade, and growing frustrations over worsening public services and higher food prices.
Simmering resentment boiled over in June when Wade proposed cutting the score needed to win an election to 25 percent from 50 percent -- a level Wade's rivals said would have assured him a first-round victory against a fractured opposition.
Protesters, also enraged by chronic power cuts, clashed with riot police in the capital Dakar leaving more than 100 injured and forcing the president to back down.
One of Wade's chief rivals, former prime minister Macky Sall, said the attempt to rework the constitution amounted to "treason", and the main opposition party had said it would call for a popular uprising if the bill passed.
N'Dour is widely respected in Senegal for having stayed in his country, despite winning international acclaim and wealth thanks to hits such as "Seven Seconds" with Neneh Cherry.
He sparred with the government last year when he tried to launch the television channel, to add to his radio station and a daily newspaper that is often critical of the government.
The authorities initially denied N'Dour a broadcast licence saying the channel would be influenced by "foreigners" funding the station, prompting him to launch a movement called "Fekke Ma Ci Boole" (FMCB) in the Wolof language.
Loosely translated, the phrase means: "I'm taking part because I'm a witness."
The government backed down after N'Dour showed he was funding the channel without the help of foreign funds and it was launched in September last year.
N'Dour said in his speech that he wanted the FMCB movement to be a place for free and democratic expression, and a forum for presidential candidates and politicians to present their policies to voters.
"Swearing loyalty to my people ... I am and will remain by their side," he said. "I am prepared to respect my commitment to my compatriots and to defend myself against any attacks. I am determined."
In a speech broadcast on the singer's television channel TFM (Television Futurs Medias) late on Wednesday, N'Dour said he wanted to stop politicians believing they could govern with impunity once in office.
"For my part, I've decided to get involved. I will not let the situation in my country, which I did not leave for other places, deteriorate," N'Dour said. "God willing, I will play my part."
N'Dour stressed he was not planning to run for office, but wanted to be of service to the Senegalese people and help them overcome their innumerable difficulties and challenges.
Senegal has long cherished its reputation as the region's most stable and democratic country and has had many peaceful elections since independence from France in 1960.
But there are increasing concerns over the concentration of power around octogenarian Wade, and growing frustrations over worsening public services and higher food prices.
Simmering resentment boiled over in June when Wade proposed cutting the score needed to win an election to 25 percent from 50 percent -- a level Wade's rivals said would have assured him a first-round victory against a fractured opposition.
Protesters, also enraged by chronic power cuts, clashed with riot police in the capital Dakar leaving more than 100 injured and forcing the president to back down.
One of Wade's chief rivals, former prime minister Macky Sall, said the attempt to rework the constitution amounted to "treason", and the main opposition party had said it would call for a popular uprising if the bill passed.
N'Dour is widely respected in Senegal for having stayed in his country, despite winning international acclaim and wealth thanks to hits such as "Seven Seconds" with Neneh Cherry.
He sparred with the government last year when he tried to launch the television channel, to add to his radio station and a daily newspaper that is often critical of the government.
The authorities initially denied N'Dour a broadcast licence saying the channel would be influenced by "foreigners" funding the station, prompting him to launch a movement called "Fekke Ma Ci Boole" (FMCB) in the Wolof language.
Loosely translated, the phrase means: "I'm taking part because I'm a witness."
The government backed down after N'Dour showed he was funding the channel without the help of foreign funds and it was launched in September last year.
N'Dour said in his speech that he wanted the FMCB movement to be a place for free and democratic expression, and a forum for presidential candidates and politicians to present their policies to voters.
"Swearing loyalty to my people ... I am and will remain by their side," he said. "I am prepared to respect my commitment to my compatriots and to defend myself against any attacks. I am determined."
Freedom House
Condemns Crackdown on Peaceful WOZA Protest in Zimbabwe
Freedom House, a US-based freedom world freedom watchdog
condemns the September 22 arrest of members of the Women and Men of Zimbabwe
Arise (WOZA) during a peaceful demonstration.
In a statement, Freedom House strongly condemns the
continued crackdown on freedom of expression and other basic human rights by
Zimbabwean authorities, saying it is concerned that those arrested face
imminent danger of abuse and torture in prison and calls for their immediate
release.
The demonstration, which took place in the Mhlahlandlela
government complex, was to commemorate the International Day of Peace. WOZA was
distributing leaflets and flowers when interrupted by nearly 50 riot police,
who rounded up the group and beat them with batons, claiming they had “no
permission” to march.
Police arrested 12 women, according to a lawyer from the
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, including WOZA leaders Jenni Williams and
Magadonga Mahlangu.
“WOZA has been a frequent and brutal target of Zimbabwean
authorities as a result of their legitimate activities that address many of the
most crucial human rights issues facing Zimbabwean women, including domestic
violence and rape, the rights to food and education for children, and the
rights to participation and association,” Freedom House said. “The group has
called for police to follow standards set out in the Police Act and has fought
against corruption in parliament as well as sued the co-Ministers of Home
Affairs over inhumane conditions in the Harare Central Police Station.”
“The horrific use of violence by police against peaceful
demonstrators on a day intended to bring about peace is an unacceptable
violation of the fundamental human rights of Zimbabweans, including freedom of
speech and assembly. Freedom House is particularly concerned that ZANU-PF will
follow through on threats to place these women in male prison wards,” said
Paula Schriefer, director of advocacy at Freedom House. “Freedom House calls
for the immediate release of all twelve women, and for the Zimbabwean
authorities to halt its targeted assault on WOZA and like-minded
organizations.”
State-sponsored political violence in Zimbabwe is a
serious and chronic problem. Independent activists, politicians, and supporters
of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) continue to suffer from harassment,
assault, and arbitrary detention by security forces and militias aligned with
ZANU-PF.
“The nongovernmental sector in Zimbabwe is vibrant and
resolute, but nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have faced increasing legal
restrictions and extralegal harassment,” according to Freedom House, an
independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the
status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human
rights.
In February 2011, 46 academics, students, and other
onlookers were arrested, detained and tortured for allegedly planning a revolt
against the government while watching a video of street demonstrations in Cairo. At a recent
workshop for youth on politics, ZANU-PF militants ransacked the meeting and
prevented U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe,
Charles Ray, from addressing those assembled.
“Zimbabwe
is ranked Not Free in Freedom in the
World 2011, Freedom House’s survey of political rights and civil liberties,
and Not Free in Freedom of the Press
2011. Source: Freedom House
For more information
on Zimbabwe, visit: Freedom in the World 2011: Zimbabwe; Freedom of the Press
2010: Zimbabwe; Freedom on the Net 2011: Zimbabwe; and Countries at the
Crossroads 2010: Zimbabwe
AU launches
the Pan-African Media Network Project
The African Union (AU) and its partner, the Pan-African Conference on Access to Information
(PACAI) who are committed to
promoting freedom of expression, access to information and the practice of
independent journalism, on 19th September, 2011 launch the
Pan-African Media Network (PAMEN) in Cape
Town, South Africa
The launch
followed a September 17-20 Pan-African Conference on Access to Information in Cape Town. This major
event brought together the cream of journalism in Africa
and commemorates the twentieth anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration on
freedom of expression.
The PAMEN
platform is an African Union initiative, run by the African Forum for Media
Development of the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) and the African
Media Initiative (AMI). It will operate as a forum for exchange of information
and practices among media professionals. It also aims to promote media
development across Africa by fostering
synergies between the initiatives of AU Member States, international
institutions and development partners, including the media themselves.
The network will
pool projects for media development in Africa.
On the whole, the PAMEN will serve as a reliable source of information for the
AU and its partners to enable them to evaluate and monitor the changing media
landscape in Africa. The PAMEN will also be a
strategic tool that will help the AU to formulate better policies on aid and
support to the media on the continent.
A workshop was
dedicated to the launch of PAMEN. It was held in partnership with the African
Forum for Media Development of the GFMD, the AMI, the Federation of African
Journalists (FAJ), the Africa Bureau of the International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) and others.
“The commitment
of the African Union to respect democratic principles, human rights, the rule of
law and good governance as well as the promotion of social justice to ensure
balanced economic development as enshrined in the Constitutive Act justifies
the active participation of the organization at the PACAI,” according to
a statement from the Directorate of Information and Communication. Source: AU
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