18 Oct 2013 | Bulgaria, Digital Freedom, Germany, News, United States
On 30 September, Bulgarian-German author Ilija Trojanow was travelling from Brazil to the US for a conference on German literature. That was his plan, anyway. At the airport in Salvador da Bahia, he was told his entry to the US had been denied. No explanation was provided then, and none has been provided since.
Trojanow is one of the main forces behind a 74,000 strong and growing petition against mass surveillance. Initiated and signed by some Germany’s biggest writers, the petition argues the government is bound by the constitution to protect its citizens against foreign spying.
His experience in Brazil exploded in the German media, but Trojanow seems more bemused than anything else.
“It wasn’t bad enough that governments are spying on everybody!” he says with a laugh. “What this shows is that general attacks on everybody and not individual victims, are too abstract. An individual case, even if it’s a minor one, can get more attention.”
While the incident did create more discussion around mass surveillance and caused a spike in the number of signatures, there is no doubt the petition already had widespread support. The issue of mass surveillance seems to have struck a particular chord in Germany. Trojanow believes this is due to their history.
“East Germany more than any other country in the former Soviet block has discussed its secret service files. It has been a dominant issue in the media. The archives are easy to access. Germans know how horrendous it is when the secret service is not under real control.”
He also thinks the famous German efficiency shines through even in this case. Many felt that something needed to be done about the mass surveillance, and when Germans set out to do something, they do it properly.
“It is quite ironic,” he adds: “Germans had democracy beaten into them. They were educated in democracy by the US and the UK. It seems they were good students!”
Trojanov himself has long been interested in the issue of state surveillance, with his 2009 book “Freedom Under Attack”, for instance, becoming a bestseller in Germany. For him, the issue carries a more personal dimension. Growing up in a Bulgaria, parts of his family were engaged in the struggle against the communist authorities.
“I am in the situation now where I am able to read transcripts of what adults in my family were saying, as our apartment was bugged.”
“What you realise is that when you have the attention of the secret service pointed at you, whatever you do is in some way proof of guilt. Even completely innocent things become potentially implicating.”
The petition was formally presented to the German government on 18 September, back when when it had 63,000 signatures. A month and ten thousand additional names later, they have still have yet to receive any sort of official reply. Still open, Trojanow and his compatriots now plan to take it global. As he says, mass surveillance is a worldwide challenge and cannot be tackled simply by and within one nation.
“I don’t understand why we wait until situation is completely unbearable. You start safeguarding your freedoms when they are attacked on the edges.”
This article was originally posted on 18 Oct 2013 at indexoncensorship.org
3 Oct 2013 | Europe and Central Asia
There was much raising of eyebrows yesterday when it was announced that Russia’s “International Academy of Spiritual Unity and Cooperation” are putting forward Vladimir Putin as a Nobel Peace Prize nominee. But who are the International Academy of Spiritual Unity and Cooperation.
A source suggests to Index that they are “a typical pseudo cultural organisation” that gets budgets for loyalty to Putin and is ruled by ex-Soviet nomenclature. But judging by this list of presidents, vice presidents, and Heroes of the USSR, they are very, very important people indeed. (Source)
Composition of the Management Board and the Academy
The President
Trepeznikov Shilov
First Vice-President
Gennady Zgersky,
First Vice-President
Alexander Leonidovich Manilow
First Vice-President
Topchiy Sergei Stepanovich
First Vice-President
Paul P. Petrik,
First Vice-President
Taras Shamba Myronovych,
The first vice-president
Sergei K. Kamkov.
Vice – President
Viktor Gorbatko – twice Hero of the Soviet Union (astronaut), B
Vice – President
Mikhail Tikhomirov – Advisor to the President of the Russian Olympic Committee
Vice – President
Aliyev Phase Gamzatovna folk poet of Dagestan,
Vice – President
Sergey Makarov
Vice – President
Malik – Ohanjanian Rafael Gegamovich – Branch Manager in Armenia
Vice – President
Todash Guinn, Head of the Representation in Japan
Vice – President
Yankovskaya Ludmila – Head of Representation in Ukraine
Vice – President
Bishop Vissarion – Head of Mission in Abkhazia, head of the Orthodox Church in Abkhazia,
Vice – President
Stoyan Topalov – Head of Representation in Bulgaria
Members of the Presidium
Sergei Shamba Tarasovich – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia.
Glebov Vladimir Vladimirovich – Academician of the Academy of Architecture.
Dadaev Gadzhievich Felix – People’s Artist of the USSR.
Antoshkin Nicholas T. – Hero of the Soviet Union.
Bepko Yegorov – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (MFA).
Yuri Dubinin – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (MFA).
Primakov Yevgeny Primakov – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (MFA), President of the Chamber of Commerce of the Russian Federation.
Peter A. Makarov – Project Manager CNNS Russia.
Kabzon Iosif Davidovich – People’s Artist of the USSR.
Rogozhkin Nicholas E. – Deputy. Minister for the Interior Ministry, Interior Troops Commander of the Russian Federation.
Ivan Sergeyev – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (MFA).
Alexander Golubev Titovich – Chairman of the RAF veterans’ organization.
Kuz’kina Galina – a journalist, deputy. chief editor of the magazine “Our Power.”
Valentin A. Prikhodko – gene. Director of the “Pride of Russia”.
Sergei Baburin, rector of the institute.
Novozhylov Valery Yu – Major – General of the Russian Federation Ministry of Internal Affairs of explosives.
Zalikhanov Michael Chukkaevich – Hero of the Soviet Union, deputy of the State. Duma
Samvel Samvel Grigoryan – Academician of the AHP.
Valentina Tereshkova – the pilot – cosmonaut.
Arthur N. Chilingarov – the hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Russian Federation, the deputy of the State. Duma.
Mesenzhnik Jacob Z. – Academician of the Academy of science and business.
Mikhail Vinogradov – Head of Federal Agency for Industry.
Aydarov Letcho Ayubovich – gene. manager of the “Larakas” in Moscow.
13 Jun 2013 | In the News
AUSTRALIA
WA premier denies censorship over PM event
THE West Australian government scuppered the venue booking for a Labor fundraiser featuring Prime Minister Julia Gillard, but claims it was not political censorship.
(Herald Sun)
BELARUS
The first rule of dictator club…
Belarus’s president Alexander Lukashenko will be able to count on some “like-minded” friends when it comes to a vote on his human rights record at the UN this week. Andrei Aliaksandrau reports
(Index on Censorship)
Belarus tries opposition activist for treason
An oil refinery mechanic went on trial in Belarus on Wednesday on treason charges after the government said it had foiled his attempt to pass information to foreign powers.
(Business Recorder)
BULGARIA
Bulgaria’s Ex PM Launched ‘Spate’ of Libel Lawsuits
Boyko Borisov, former Prime Minister and current leader of center-right party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, has informed that he has launched a number of libel lawsuits, with plans to use the proceeds for charity.
(Novinite.com)
CANADA
Ashley Madison repeats ‘censorship’ cry as CougarLife jokes canned in Canada
CougarLife.com is crying “censorship” over an ad in which a busty woman runs roughshod over younger women in a bar while explaining why cougars are better dates, because a Canadian regulatory body—the Television Bureau of Canada—has ordered that it can’t be aired unless the sandwich-shoving and the chair-pushing shots are removed.
(Novinite.com)
GREECE
Greeks protest public broadcast closure
It happened so quickly, few people inside Greece, and fewer watching from outside could comprehend it. Antonis Samaras, prime minister and leader of the Greek coalition government, announced that the state TV channel ERT, the equivalent of the BBC, would be shut down from midnight on 11 June. Dawn Foster reports.
(Reuters)
HUNGARY
Analysis: Divided EU in a bind over Hungary’s ‘erring’ Orban
Europe is in a bind over what to do about Hungary and a feeling that the former Soviet satellite is drifting back towards authoritarianism under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
(Reuters)
INDIA
Caught in a web of censorship
Deepesh T. is only one feature film old but he is already feeling the heat of censorship. As a teacher of drawing at CHMHS, Thillankeri in Kannur, he always exhorts students to speak the truth. The filmmaker in him is no different.
(The Hindu)
PAKISTAN
Internet Censorship in Pakistan
As the people of Pakistan celebrate a historic turning point, the first successful transfer of power from one civilian government to other in the nation’s 65-year history, the country faces numerous challenges in the road to development and democracy.
(Voice of Journalists)
PHILIPPINES
Pugad Baboy and freedom of expression
There appears to be some misunderstanding on the nature of freedom of expression lately.
(Manila Standard)
RUSSIA
Anti-gay law passes in Russia
New legislation against “homosexual propaganda” has been passed against backdrop of piousness and machismo of Putinism, says Padraig Reidy
(Index on Censorship)
Russia introduces jail terms for ‘religious offenders’
A controversial law introducing jail sentences for the crime of offending religious believers was approved by Russia’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday.
(The Telegraph)
TUNISIA
Tunisia jails three Europeans for topless feminist protest
A Tunisian court sentenced three European feminist activists to four months in jail on Wednesday after they demonstrated topless in central Tunis last month against the Islamist-led government, one of their lawyers said.
(Reuters)
TURKEY
Turkey’s Taksim Square cleared after violent clashes
In a bid to gain control of Taksim Square, Turkish security forces last night clashed with antigovernment protesters camped out in Istanbul’s centre. Sara Yasin reports
(Index on Censorship)
US cautions Turkey on ‘punishing protesters exercising their right to free speech’
The United States on June 15 cautioned Turkish authorities against seeking to punish any demonstrators merely for exercising their right to free speech in the latest of several statements that have been addressed during the ongoing Gezi Park protests.
(Hurriyet Daily News)
Turkey’s history of military coups hangs over protests
Turkey’s “pashas”, the generals who once made politicians quake at the mere hint of disapproval, are staying silent as riots sweep the nation. Today the words “military coup” are nowhere to be heard, a tribute perhaps to the prime minister now accused of trampling on democracy.
(Reuters)
UNITED KINGDOM
Prism surveillance: spies thrive in the internet’s legal free-for-all
MPs almost wear their technophobia with pride. No wonder William Hague faced no serious questioning in the Commons
(The Guardian)
Drug laws amount to scientific censorship, says David Nutt
Former government adviser says illegal status of psychoactive drugs stymies research into their potential therapeutic uses
(The Guardian)
‘This rigmarole feels wrong,’ says journalist at centre of free speech row
Ahead of his talk about the Church of Scientology at the Senedd on Monday, BBC Panorama journalist John Sweeney says Cardiff council’s decision not to allow him to speak at Cardiff Library is a matter of free speech
(Wales Online)
Out of order! Speaker’s wife Sally sells furniture on eBay from flat in Parliament
Sally Bercow has blundered into controversy again – by flogging antiques from her free home in Parliament.
(Daily Mail)
UNITED STATES
Free speech outside Supreme Court: Ban on protests in plaza struck down
A 60-year-old statute barring all protest on the marble plaza outside the US Supreme Court is ‘irreconcilable with the First Amendment,’ a federal judge in Washington ruled.
(The Christian Science Monitor)
Fleming proposal to require free religious expression in military draws White House objections
The Obama administration is objecting to a proposed amendment by Rep. John Fleming, R-Minden, that would require the military to accommodate, except in cases of military necessity, “actions and speech” reflecting the “conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the member.”
(The Times-Picayune)
Believers, nonbelievers vent over religious expressions during graduation
Graduation, religion and free speech combined for the perfect storm at the conclusion of the 2013 high school year.
(Deseret News)
PRISM Class-Action Lawsuit Filed: $20B, Injunction Sought Against ‘Complicit’ Companies and Officials
Lawsuit says Obama chilled free speech; attorney encourages citizens to ‘man the barricades of freedom’
(US News and World Report)
Snowden saw what I saw: surveillance criminally subverting the constitution
What Edward Snowden has done is an amazingly brave and courageous act of civil disobedience.
(The Guardian)
EDITORIAL: Trampling free speech
In a surveillance society, it’s wise to watch your words. A careless, offhand remark on Facebook can be grounds for a sacking or even probable cause for arrest, just for speaking your piece.
(The Washington Times)
Spies Without Borders I: Using Domestic Networks to Spy on the World
Much of the U.S. media coverage of last week’s NSA revelations has concentrated on its impact on the constitutional rights of U.S.-based Internet users. But what about the billions of Internet users around the world whose private information is stored on U.S. servers, or whose data travels across U.S. networks or is otherwise accessible through them?
(EFF)
12 Jun 2013 | In the News
AUSTRALIA
Art gallery raid threatens city’s image as creative enclave, says MP
A Victorian legislator says a rising tide of cultural conservatism in Melbourne is jeopardising artistic freedom
(The Guardian)
BRAZIL
Brazil’s natives step protests over land rights
Indigenous activists occupied the headquarters of a federal agency here Tuesday as part of mounting protests against government policies and the construction of a controversial dam in the Amazon.
(AFP)
BULGARIA
Bulgaria’s GERB to Sue Nationalist Leader For Libel
The Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, vowed to sue nationalist leader Volen Siderov for slander over his statement that notorious businessman Mihail Mihov had been killed to cover up ex- Prime Minister Boiko Borisov’s crimes.
(Novinite.com)
INDIA
VC Shukla, the face of press censorship during emergency, dies
VC Shukla, a close associate of late Sanjay Gandhi, not only cut power supply to printing presses but also used to monitor almost each and every story printed during his stint as I&B minister during the Emergency.
(Moneylife)
IRAN
Even Iran’s conservative media complain of filtering
Iran’s conservative media, including blogs and news websites, have been increasingly targeted by censors. The censorship has increased in the run-up to the June 14 presidential election.
(Turkish Weekly)
MALAYSIA
Free speech and education
The right to free speech is one of those rights that affirm the dignity of human beings as creatures of free will. It is every person’s birthright. There should therefore be no question of anyone having to demand it from some authority, as Malaysians have been doing for decades.
(Free Malaysia Today)
RUSSIA
Russia may deem civil servants’ use of Gmail, Facebook ‘high treason’
After the latest NSA surveillance revelations a Russian MP has suggested to the government to immediately limit civil servants’ access to the popular US internet services and social networks.
(RT)
A ‘dark day’ for freedom of expression in Russia
The space for free expression in Russia shrank further today after the State Duma in Moscow passed two new bills aimed at stamping out minority views, Amnesty International said.
(Amnesty International)
TUNISIA
People Reject Both Religious State and State At War Against Religion
Interim Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said the Tunisian government “is advocating neither for a religious State nor a State at war against religion.”
(AllAfrica.com)
UNITED STATES
European Union to tell US privacy ‘not a luxury’ after intelligence scandal
The European Union said Tuesday it will seek assurances from the United States that it will respect the rights of Europe’s citizens, following revelations about a huge US internet surveillance programme.
(Times of India)
Banning censorship of historical documents in schools to be considered by Michigan Senate committee
A pair of bills pending before the Senate Education Committee would mandate lessons on American history during “Constitution Week” and would prohibit any restrictions on or censorship of America’s “founding documents” by school administrators or teachers.
(MLive.com)
Colorado Booksellers Defeat Censorship Law
A week after Colorado booksellers challenged a law restricting the display of magazines about marijuana, the State of Colorado has agreed not to enforce it.
(Publishers Weekly)
Beware of libel risk when writing a memoir
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I’m writing a memoir and want to write honestly how I experienced incidents involving other persons, while including the caveat that the other persons may have felt very differently about the same incidents. I think these other people would rather I not write about them at all. Where does self-expression and one’s right to tell one’s memories end, and other people’s right not to be included in my written memories begin?
(Kansas City Star)
When anti-gay bullying and free speech collide
As Congress revisits federal education policy, gay rights activists are pressing for the enactment of the Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2013, which would prohibit harassment of students in public schools “on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.” Laws already on the books prohibit discrimination in public schools on the basis of race, color, national origin and gender. The new act would seem a natural extension.
(Los Angeles Times)
Displaying Ten Commandments in schools is part of ‘censorship’ bill in Michigan Legislature
A bill authorizing the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools alongside the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence was introduced in the Michigan Senate and will be debated by a Senate panel Wednesday.
(MLive.com)
A.C.L.U. Files Lawsuit Seeking to Stop the Collection of Domestic Phone Logs
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Obama administration on Tuesday over its “dragnet” collection of logs of domestic phone calls, contending that the once-secret program — whose existence was exposed last week by a former National Security Agency contractor — is illegal and asking a judge to stop it and order the records purged.
(The New York Times)
VENEZUELA
Capriles Starts Internet TV Show to Skirt Venezuela ‘Censorship’
Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski started a weekly Internet television program today, after alleging that the country’s television stations and newspapers are squeezing him out of their coverage. (Bloomberg)
ZIMBABWE
Challenges in promoting privacy and freedom of expression in Zimbabwe
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue and its implications for Zimbabwe. (Nehanda Radio)
