A Tunisian journalist was physically attacked after being ejected from a political meeting last week. Al Jazeera journalist Lotfi Hajji was officially invited to a meeting on 24 March which brought together several political parties, but was ejected after some participants complained that he had a different political approach. The microphone which was being used to record the meeting was reportedly stolen and destroyed. After he was forced to leave the meeting, Hajji was severely assaulted.
A Chinese human rights lawyer has been visited in prison by his family for the first time since he disappeared over two years ago. Gao Zhisheng, China’s best known human rights lawyer, was sentenced to three years in jail in 2006 for “inciting subversion of state power.” He was put on probation for five years, which meant he did not have to serve the sentence, but he was taken into custody throughout that period. Gao was taken from a relative’s home in northern China in February 2009. Last December, in the first official account of his whereabouts, state media reported that Gao was back in jail.
Recognising artists, filmmakers and writers whose work asserts artistic freedom and battles against repression and injustice
Accepting the award Ali Ferzat said:
Artists are an integral part of any popular revolt. Their work encourages people to participate and take part in the revolution. Artists come from among the people and express their hopes, dreams and struggles.
When an artist becomes the living conscience of his people, he assumes an immense responsibility: everyone looks up to him. The artist needs to keep a compass in his heart and mind to be faithful to his people’s needs. That compass is the affection people have for the artist and the fact they trust him to deliver their human and national message to the world.
For any artist, his compass should be the degree to which people accept and identify with his work, the extent to which he is considered their living conscience; a lamplighter who shines a light on love, humanity and freedom when times are dark and difficult.
Artists know they are following the correct track when the international community and organisations honour their work and acknowledge it, they know they are on the right path towards love, peace and freedom.
Click here to see the full shortlist for the Arts Award
Freedomfone by Kubatana accept the Innovation Award, which recognises innovation and original use of new technology to circumvent censorship and foster debate, argument or dissent
Accepting the award FreedomFone activist Upenyu Makoni-Muchemwa said:
Repressive governments deliberately hinder people’s access to information to entrench control and minimise dissent. New media technologies, and the innovative uses of old media, challenge this control. The Kubatana Trust of Zimbabwe’s primary objective is to make human rights and civic information accessible from a centralised, electronic source. We use the Internet, email, blogging, SMS, Freedom Fone, DVDs and print publications to share this information with Zimbabweans living in urban and rural locations.
Our technical director, Brenda Burrell had a vision to enable activists and NGOs to create short form audio programmes, which people could call-in to listen to using their phones. Thus Freedom Fone was conceptualised.
Information can be shared and received at anytime in any language wherever there is mobile coverage. Traditional roadblocks of licensing, regulation and literacy are bypassed, and freedom of expression is broadened. However, it is not surprising that a regime which so thoroughly seeks to suppress dissent and suffocate opportunities for free expression and debate, should be threatened by a service which broadens access to information and encourages the open exchange of opinion.
The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, an entity generally acknowledged to have been set up to control, rather than to expand the access to information, advised Kubatana that we were operating an “unlicensed broadcasting service” and that we were in violation of the law by making these audio dramas accessible over phones.
We have sought advice from both local and regional legal practitioners, and the opinion is that the Freedom Fone services provided by Kubatana are not in violation of any broadcasting laws. Currently Kubatana is seeking support to challenge the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe in court. Kubatana’s Freedom Fone and services like it provide new opportunities for communication, mobilisation and activism.
In repressive environments, this will be met with resistance. However, it is important not to buckle under this pressure or constrain one’s own creative use of technology. Rather, we must use innovative technologies to expand access to information and broaden discussions of censorship, repression and control of the media environment. We are honoured to receive this award and would like to take this opportunity to thank our various donors and supporters for enabling our work. Most importantly we would like to thank the people who make up the Kubatana Community in Zimbabwe.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL SHORTLIST FOR THE INNOVATION AWARD, SPONSORED BY GOOGLE
