11 Oct 2010 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
A breakfast show anchor for Television New Zealand has resigned after being accused of racist behaviour. Paul Henry was shown laughing at the mispronunciation of the name of the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, which should sound more like “Dixit” in English. The Indian government lodged a formal complaint, calling the presenter’s comments “racist and bigoted”. Henry had already been suspended over accusations of racism, after suggesting that Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand, who is of Indo-Fijian descent, was not really a New Zealander. The television host said he was “astonished” and “dismayed” at the uproar his comments had caused.
11 Oct 2010 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Turkish journalist Ismail Saymez could be jailed for 79 years if convicted of charges related to newspaper articles he has written. He has been charged with “violating the secrecy of an investigation” for his reporting on the Ergenekon trials. He also faces charges of “insult” and “attempt to influence a fair trial.” According to The International Press Institute National Committee, Saymez stated, “I only do my job as a reporter, inform the public on the events that the public is interested in, and supply them with objective information. I do not try to influence in any way. They sue me with imprisonment of tens of years on every word my newspaper reports.”
Among the articles at issue are “What Prosecutor Cihaner was asked” of 18 February, “Assassination with a tick, coup of the tea vendors” of 12 February 2010, “Cihaner: I do not know Çiçek, I did not see him – Ciçek: I do not know anybody in Erzincan” of 20 February, “Did you meet Dursun Çiçek?” of 22 February, and “Love games in Ergenekon – The Ergenekon prosecutor also took the judge’s statement” published 8 June. These articles were published in the newspaper Radikal.
His first hearing is to take place on 28 January 2011.
11 Oct 2010 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, News and features
State censors in Lebanon have asked Beirut International Film Festival not to show an Iranian opposition film during a visit from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Originally scheduled for screening on 13 October, the day of Ahmadinejad’s arrival, the film “Green Days” documents violent protests in Iran following last year’s disputed elections. Director Hana Makhamalbaf is the daughter of Mohsen Makhamalbaf, who is close to opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.
11 Oct 2010 | Uncategorized
One of China‘s best-known dissidents Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday night. Liu is currently serving an 11 year prison sentence for “inciting subversion of state power” after the former litarture professor circulated Charter 08, a petition calling for greater freedom in China. He has been in and out of prison since he took part in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests but on the mainland the Chinese language media have ignored the prize. Instead Xinhua, China’s official news agency, released an English-language statement later recycled by China Daily and the Global Times, detailing the Foreign Ministry’s angry response.
Those who have talked about the prize have come under sharp state scrutiny. The nobel laureate’s wife, Liu Xia, was placed under house arrest on Friday.
Last night she tweeted:
Brothers, I am back; I’ve been under house arrest since the 8th; I don’t know when I’ll be able to see everyone; my mobile phone has been ruined; I have no way of making or receiving calls. I saw Xiaobo; the prison told him on the 9th the news that he’s been awarded the prize. Later matters we’ll talk about in time. Please help me [re]tweet. Thank you.
Popular netizen Secretary Zhang was celebrating on Friday. Now he finds himself under house arrest with shifts of guards watching his home. Zhang is behind an invitation only internet forum for liberal leaning people, 1984bbs.com, which today put up a notice today warning users to backup their files as the website stops operating tomorrow due to official pressure. On his Twitter page, Secretary Zhang thanks those who have supported his forum, including artist Ai Weiwei, and records his day under surveillance.
Other intellectuals have also been harassed but this hasn’t deterred internet users from talking about the event by using abbreviations and circumlocutions for “Liu Xiaobo.” They know using the full name would trip internet filters, drawing the attention of the censors who patrol microblog and blog sites deleting suspect posts.
