28 Nov 2008 | Uncategorized
It’s not often that a cause that unites Jeremy Corbyn on the hard left of the Labour Party and David Davis on the libertarian right of the Conservative Party (although the government’s attempts to push through 42 days detention without charge forged some strange alliances).
But the arrest of Damian Green, the Conservative spokesman on immigration, for allegedly receiving leaked document has provoked widespread anger in Westminster. In a press release issued this afternoon Corbyn described Green’s arrest by counterterrorism officers, his detention for nine hours and searches of five addresses as an “abuse of time and expense in our democratic society”.
Davis likened the government’s behaviour to Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, which may be a little over the top, but the news has certainly sent a chill through the journalistic community, which relies on MPs to act as a protective bulwark in such cases.
The civil service whistleblower is the lifeblood of democracy and opposition MPs are essential conduits for leaked information that ministers would prefer to keep to themselves. This does not mean that MPs should have total immunity from the law or that civil servants should be free to leak at will. But it is right that there should be special protection for both when the disclosures are in the public interest.
Damian Green put it rather well himself when he said: “In a democracy, opposition politicians have a duty to hold the Government to account. I was elected to the House of Commons precisely to do that and I certainly intend to continue doing so.”
As a serial disseminator of leaked government information myself, I find the latest development extremely worrying. In the cases of Katharine Gun, the GCHQ whistleblower who revealed a US plan to fix the United Nations security council vote for a second resolution on the Iraq war and Derek Pasquill, the Foreign Office official who disclosed a series of documents on radical Islam, MPs themselves were not the recipients of leaks. But it was essential that I was able to discuss the disclosures with them in order to inform them about the issues raised. In one case, I had lengthy discussions with an opposition home affairs spokesman about leaked Foreign Office documents: after the Damian Green arrest, he would be strongly advised against such action in future.
In the end, without parliamentary protection, journalists and whistleblowers will be left on their own to face the full force of the law. I sincerely hope that wasn’t the intention when the arrest of Damian Green was authorised because the consequences will be the further erosion of press freedom and the liberty of the individual in the face of an increasingly authoritarian state.
Martin Bright, the Political Editor of the New Statesman, is writing in his personal capacity
* Anyone wishing to support Derek Pasquill’s Employment Tribunal case or contribute to his fighting fund should contact Index on Censorship
2 Sep 2008 | Comment
Despite the dangers, Zimbabweans are still managing to spread a democratic message through the media, writes
Farai Maguwu
(more…)
14 Apr 2008 | Index Arts
The open call for artists & filmmakers closed on 1 July 2008. We received applications from artists & filmmakers from 30 countries, and we thank all organisations and persons who have assisted us in distributing our open call around the world.
We are currently in the process of selecting artists & filmmakers to participate in the 2009 dialogues, and will announce and introduce the artist pairs as and when they are all confirmed.
www.imagineartafter.net
Curated by Breda Beban, imagine art after is a multi-stage project for internet, gallery & broadcast that brings together artists and filmmakers who made a home in London with those who stayed in their country of origin.
For its second edition, imagine art after is looking for artists and filmmakers from the following places, who either live there, or in London.
Afghanistan | Albania | Algeria | Angola | Bangladesh | Cameroon | China | Colombia | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Eritrea | Ethiopia | Former USSR | Gambia | Ghana | India | Iran | Iraq | Ivory Coast | Jamaica | Kenya | Libya | Nigeria | Pakistan | Palestinian Authority | Romania | Serbia | Sierra Leone | Somalia | Sri Lanka | Sudan | Syria | Turkey | Uganda | Vietnam | Zimbabwe
Click here for application pack
For more information and an application pack, go to www.imagineartafter.net, or email [email protected]
DEADLINE 1 JUNE 2008
6 Dec 2007
Bridging the gap between the monitoring of abuse and effective advocacy for change through facilitation, research, publication, advocacy and new commissioned works.
Index on Censorship is internationally renowned for bringing leading thinkers from the creative communities to tackle the key issues of free expression, as the practitioners most often affected by censorship and most often least protected.
At the same time Index is respected for its rigorous documentation of free expression rights abuses, in partnership with free speech groups in some of the world’s most complex and dangerous regions. This unique combination of research skill and literary intelligence underpins 36 years of effective, timely and valued contributions to the free expression debate. It makes Index simply more accessible, relevant and authoritative on the issues than most media and think tanks.
- Facilitation: Index is an invaluable international partner when it comes to bridging the gap between human rights monitoring and effective advocacy for peaceful change. We give practical support for project development, fundraising, publication, advocacy and local capacity building. This year we are taking a key role in the development of the World Forum for Free Expression, to be held in Oslo and the Amsterdam World Book Capital events in 2009, in particular facilitating the involvement of international experts and advocacy groups; developing project concepts to support Burmese artists, writers and performers as well as media workers.
- Research: Index analyses how and why free speech is filtered and mediated, how the perceptions and positions of opposing communities are represented. This way the positive results of the process can be encouraged, and the negative ones contextualised and challenged – not censored. This year we are researching the links between public politics and the generation of hatred for short term political gain in countries like Turkey, Sri Lanka, Russia, Kenya and Zimbabwe; the cultivation of fear and hate in times of conflict through the spoken and published word, especially in the Middle East; how societies in conflict such as Ireland, Israel, Palestine and South Africa can be dividing or united by open debate on history and heritage; and a study of censorship of creative communities that challenge dissent, in countries like Burma, Iran, Zimbabwe and China.
- Publication: Index plays a key role in the formulation of balanced cases to underpin local campaigns for change, as a respected multi-lingual publisher in print and online and by organizing events to raise awareness or gather key actors and practitioners in free debate. We plan the publication of an updated edition of an Arabic language training guide to election coverage for reporters in the Middle East; publication of a special report on Censorship in the Maghreb; an extensive research, publication and related events programme to inform media industry debate surrounding the national regulation of the Iraqi media; continuing a three year programme to develop an Arabic language edition of Index on Censorship.
- Advocacy: We closely coordinate activities with our many international local partners so that the ideas generated and opinions heard can inform their own advocacy campaigns for peaceful change and fundamental rights to free expression, especially in societies in conflict. This work includes developing a programme of monitoring, publication and advocacy in defence of Latin American journalists facing deadly threats from drug gangs, insurgents and paramilitaries on behalf of a consortium of local media rights groups. We are also developing a programme in support of independent media and judicial groups in the Magreb.
- New works: Index on Censorship works internationally to support the creation of new work, not only articles for print and online, but also new photography, film & video, visual arts and performance – using the act of free expression to defend the right to free expression itself. This includes a European exhibition of Open Shutters, photostories produced by women in Iraq); developing a participatory online arts project for refugees and IDPs in the Middle East based on the participatory exchange of stories and images by mobile phone.
