IFEX Communiqué Vol 19, No 50

Thursday, 23 December 2010, 1:17 pm
Press Release: IFEX

Vol. 19 No. 50 | 22 December 2010

Headlines
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Belarus: Journalists and candidates beaten and arrested on election day

Hungary: IFEX members protest new media laws

Venezuela: Legal reforms violate free expression

Sudan: Activists and journalists arrested ahead of referendum

International / Events: UNESCO to host free expression symposium in January

International: Project Censored reveals top 25 censored stories of 2009-2010

Free Expression Spotlight

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BELARUS: JOURNALISTS AND CANDIDATES BEATEN AND ARRESTED ON ELECTION DAY
Tens of thousands of opposition supporters gathered in central Minsk on 19 December protesting fraud in Belarusian elections, and calling for authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to step down after his re-election victory that day. The demonstration was rapidly smothered by police, with hundreds of activists, journalists and opposition candidates bludgeoned with truncheons and arrested, report IFEX members and the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ). Read more>>

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Regional news

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HUNGARY: IFEX MEMBERS PROTEST NEW MEDIA LAWS
Hungary's parliament approved a contentious new media law on 21 December that grants the government strong influence over key media outlets, thereby returning the former Soviet satellite to the "dark days of free media repression," says the International Press Institute (IPI). IPI and its affiliate, the South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), have just returned from a two-day press freedom mission to Hungary. Read more>>

VENEZUELA: LEGAL REFORMS VIOLATE FREE EXPRESSION
In the final weeks of the outgoing Venezuelan parliament, controlled by President Hugo Chávez, a series of repressive media bills that limit free expression and threaten human rights are being pushed through for approval, report the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS-Venezuela), the Inter American Press Institute (IAPA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and ARTICLE 19. Read more>>

SUDAN: ACTIVISTS AND JOURNALISTS ARRESTED AHEAD OF REFERENDUM
In the run-up to a January referendum on Southern Sudan's independence, Sudanese human rights defenders and critical journalists are being arbitrarily arrested and disappeared, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and other IFEX members. The regime is particularly hunting down Darfuri activists and journalists. Read more>>

Also in this issue

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INTERNATIONAL / EVENTS: UNESCO TO HOST FREE EXPRESSION SYMPOSIUM IN JANUARY
Join more than 300 media professionals, government officials, policymakers and civil society activists at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris on 26 January 2011 for an international symposium on freedom of expression. The one-day event will focus on the status of press freedom worldwide, the safety of media professionals as well as the changes to the media landscape in the digital age. Read more>>

INTERNATIONAL: PROJECT CENSORED REVEALS TOP 25 CENSORED STORIES OF 2009-2010
Did you know that Cuba provided the greatest medical aid to Haiti after the earthquake? Or that the U.S. Department of Defense is the worst polluter on the planet? That's what Project Censored says in "Censored 2011: The Top Censored Stories of 2009-2010", now available online. Read more>>

ENDS

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World Headlines

WORLD

UN News: Aid Access Is Key Priority

Among the key issues facing diplomats is securing the release of a reported 199 Israeli hostages, seized during the Hamas raid. “History is watching,” says Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths. “This war was started by taking those hostages. Of course, there's a history between Palestinian people and the Israeli people, and I'm not denying any of that. But that act alone lit a fire, which can only be put out with the release of those hostages.” More

Save The Children: Four Earthquakes In a Week Leave Thousands Homeless

Families in western Afghanistan are reeling after a fourth earthquake hit Herat Province, crumbling buildings and forcing people to flee once again, with thousands now living in tents exposed to fierce winds and dust storms. The latest 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit 30 km outside of Herat on Sunday, shattering communities still reeling from strong and shallow aftershocks. More

UN News: Nowhere To Go In Gaza

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said some 1.1M people would be expected to leave northern Gaza and that such a movement would be “impossible” without devastating humanitarian consequences and appeals for the order to be rescinded. The WHO joined the call for Israel to rescind the relocation order, which amounted to a “death sentence” for many. More

Access Now: Telecom Blackout In Gaza An Attack On Human Rights

By October 10, reports indicated that fixed-line internet, mobile data, SMS, telephone, and TV networks are all seriously compromised. With significant and increasing damage to the electrical grid, orders by the Israeli Ministry of Energy to stop supplying electricity and the last remaining power station now out of fuel, many are no longer able to charge devices that are essential to communicate and access information. More

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