Mexico City, January 30, 2012—A delegation of PEN International today reiterated its call for “immediate and definitive action” to end the killings of journalists in Mexico. Calling the mounting death toll “an assault on the dignity and rights of all Mexicans and a blight on Mexico’s reputation internationally,” PEN International President John Ralston Saul declared, “Our message is simple: the violence must stop.”

“The legal changes must be made,” Saul insisted. “The corruption that links crime to public life must be attacked. A normal, stable society can be created with the right laws and the right commitment from those with the power to act.”

Speaking at a press conference today in Mexico City at the end of an historic 5-day PEN International solidarity mission to Mexico, Saul said the 10-person delegation, representing the organization’s global membership, met with the Attorney General’s Deputy Minister, the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Freedom of Expression, the President and members of the Senate, and members of the international diplomatic community. The group came away from its meetings with Mexican government officials “disappointed with the gap between rhetoric and action,” he said, noting that there is a clear consensus on what needs to be done. “Making the murders of journalists a federal crime, equipping federal authorities to conduct real investigations, and empowering federal courts to hear these cases – everyone agrees with these things in principle, and there have been important steps toward implementing these plans. But where are the convictions?”

Moreover, Saul said, government officials frequently pointed to programs meant to protect journalists in the course of carrying out their work. “Yet the journalists we met are asking, ‘Why don’t we feel safer?’” Journalists working in some of the country’s most dangerous cities spoke of their experiences yesterday at PEN Protesta!, a remarkable event where these frontline reporters stood side-by-side with the PEN delegation and many of Mexico’s most prominent writers to demand an end to the killings. In all, more than 50 writers and journalists read short statements that alternated between harrowing first-hand accounts of deadly threats and declarations of outrage and horror, sending a message of determination and solidarity that its organizers said they hoped would reverberate around the country.

“PEN Protesta! was important because it is the first protest of its kind,” said Jennifer Clement, President of PEN Mexico. “It’s the first time journalists and writers from Mexico and around the world have stood together to lift their voices against the violence in Mexico and the danger this holds for freedom and Mexico’s emerging democracy.”

Addressing the PEN Protesta! event yesterday, Clement spoke of the dehumanizing effect on all Mexican citizens, saying that the words censorship, impunity, persecution, are worn out from overuse. “If out of fear we no longer publish the news, we lose not only our democracy and freedom, but our history,” she concluded. In today’s press conference, Hori Takeaki, International Secretary of PEN International, noted the unprecedented size of the PEN delegation, which included the entire executive of PEN International and representatives from all seven PEN centers in North America and the Japanese and English PEN centers.

He called the historic mission “a clear, physical sign of the profound and urgent concern” with which writers from countries as distant as Japan view the situation of their Mexican colleagues. That message was echoed in an open letter signed by 170 of the world’s leading writers that appeared as a full-page ad in El Universal on Friday. “We stand with you and all Mexican citizens who are calling out for the killing, the impunity, the intimidation to stop,” the writers declared. “You have an absolute right to life and a guaranteed right to practice your profession without fear.” At today’s press conference, Saul said the delegation would be reporting to PEN’s international membership on its findings and working to increase international pressure on Mexico to turn rhetoric into reality.

“Our presence in Mexico can be read in two ways,” he said. “For our colleagues here, this delegation is the physical embodiment of the sense of solidarity the global community of writers feels with them, and our tremendous admiration for their courage. For the Mexican government, our presence should be seen as a sign of the terrible damage the killings of journalists is doing to Mexico’s international standing.

“We will keep delivering both of these messages, louder and more persistently, until the killings stop,” Saul concluded.

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PEN International Statement
Background: Between 2000 and 2011, criminal organizations have murdered more than 67 journalists in Mexico. In recent months, these groups have killed 15 journalists, “disappeared” three, and attacked the facilities of 19 newspapers and media outlets with firearms and explosives, according to statistics released by the organization Article 19 in October 2011. As an international literary organization dedicated to the protection of writers and the defense of freedom of expression, PEN has condemned these killings and called for an end to impunity for those who carry out attacks on media workers in Mexico.

The report, “Justice Denied in Bahrain: Freedom of Expression and Assembly Curtailed”, outlines violations of human rights related to the authorities’ handling of protests and demonstrations in the country since February 2011. The report details meetings with human rights defenders, lawyers, writers, artists, journalists, government officials and foreign diplomats and provides insight into how the government continues to punish and prosecute individuals for expressing their opinions and protesting ongoing repression.

“In the middle of the successive events that occur in the region we must not lose sight of the Bahraini people’s plight. We should deal with what’s happening in Bahrain as a peaceful uprising asking for dignity and human rights, not in the framework of sectarian conflict,” said Mina Mamdouh, Researcher at the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.

With the publication of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report at the end of November (witnessed by the mission) and the deadline of February 2012 for a national commission to make recommendations for reform, expectations have been raised that there will be change in Bahrain. However, as the report indicates and as the mission members witnessed – and continue to monitor –the reality on the ground in Bahrain remains unchanged. Human rights activists, doctors, teachers, union members, political figures, journalists, bloggers and others continue to face harassment, prosecution and imprisonment despite the use of torture and unfair trials against them. Protests continue on an almost daily basis, and the security forces response is virtually unchanged since before the publication of the BICI report.

“It seems that despite the BICI report’s extensive catalogue of abuses against Bahraini citizens including torture, and a clear condemnation of the culture of impunity, the government of Bahrain is intent on maintaining the status quo. We are not seeing the immediate release of prisoners. Instead there is an interminable succession of postponed trials,” said Marian Botsford Fraser, Chair of the Writers in Prison Committee, PEN International.

The 11 recommendations made in the report, “Justice Denied in Bahrain: Freedom of Expression and Assembly Curtailed”, include calls to end the harassment, imprisonment and prosecution of Bahraini citizens for what essentially amount to persecution of free expression and legitimate human rights work. In line with the BICI report, which was accepted by the government of Bahrain, the international mission report also insists on accountability for those responsible for violating international human rights norms, in particular those responsible for torture and killing.

The full international mission report, “Justice Denied in Bahrain: Freedom of Expression and Assembly Curtailed”, is online (PDF).

The mission team was composed of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Front Line Defenders, the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), Index on Censorship, International Media Support (IMS) and the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International, and was supported by the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX).

Follow the mission on Twitter #BahrainMission

Link: http://www.ifex.org/bahrain/2011/11/30/international_mission/

Iranian journalist, blogger and activist Asieh Amini will receive the Oxfam Novib / Pen Award in a ceremony on 19 January at the Spui Theatre in The Hague as part of the Writers Unlimited Winter Nights Festival. Asieh Amini left Iran in 2007 after being incarcerated in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison for five days for her protests against the imprisonment of a fellow activist. She currently lives in exile in Norway, where she continues to speak out against social injustice and to write poetry and non-fiction. She is also active in the ‘Stop Stoning Forever Campaign’, which monitors incidences of stoning in Iran, reports them and collects evidence.

Five others will receive the Oxfam/PEN Award: Mexican journalist and writer Jesús Lemus Barajas; Russian journalist Mikhail Bekhetof; Moroccan newspaper editor Rachid Nini; and (jointly) Sudanese newspaper founder and editor Alhaj Warrag and columnist Abdul Moniem Suleman. These writers have suffered violence, imprisonment and impunity for their peaceful work and resistance. Rachid Nini is currently in prison in Morocco. Tom Van Der Lee, director of advocacy and campaigns at Oxfam Novib, said of the Awards:

“Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are crucial human rights. Courageous people, all over the world, use these rights as catalysts for change towards a just world, without poverty. That’s why Oxfam Novib supports PEN International. And that’s why it’s important to internationally recognise and honour courageous champions of free speech and daring journalism with the Oxfam Novib / PEN Award.”

Last year’s winners of the Oxfam Novib/PEN Award were Russian filmmaker Andrei Nekrasov, Azerbaijani journalist Sakit Zahidov, Turkish journalist Nedem Sener and Sri Lankan journalist J.S. Tissainayagam.

From International PEN

Rushdie was warned of the threat to his life shortly before he was due to attend the Jaipur Literary Festival, Asia’s largest event of its kind. The author had intended to discuss one of his earlier novels, the Booker-prize winning Midnight’s Children. The threat caused Rushdie to withdraw from the festival.

A brief statement was issued by the writer explaining that he had been warned by intelligence sources that members of Mumbai’s criminal underworld had put a price on his head. He said that he was unwilling to risk appearing at the festival, where there would be some risk to his family and other festival attendees.

Rushdie was the victim of an infamous attack on free speech over the publication of his book The Satanic Verses (1988), when the Ayatollah Ruohollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death, forcing him to remain in hiding for many years.

At least four writers are now confirmed to have been freed in a presidential amnesty announced on 12 January 2011 which according to Burmese state media included 651 prisoners. However, at least five writers are believed to be amongst an estimated one thousand political prisoners who remain detained for their peaceful dissident activities and writings. They include Aung Than, Zeya Aung, Maung Maung Oo and Sein Hlaing who were sentenced to between 7 and 19 yrs in prison for the publication of an ‘anti-government’ book of poems entitled Dawn Mann (The Fighting Spirit of the Peacock), and editor Nyi Nyi Tun who is serving a thirteen sentence for his critical reporting.

3pm Sunday 18 March 2012

Wheeler Centre

Free

Booking information coming soon.