5 Mar 2010 | News
The controversial far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders arrived in the UK today to attend a screening of his anti-Islam film Fitna at the House of Lords. The 46-year-old leader of the Freedom Party was invited to London by the leader of the UK Independent Party (UKIP) Lord Pearson of Rannoch. The 17-minute film, which focuses on Islamic terrorism and depicts the Koran burning and provoked widespread anger around the world and demonstrations are expected in Westminster this afternoon.
Wilders was due to enter the country last February, but was detained on landing at Heathrow airport and ordered to return to Amsterdam by the then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, who said his presence had the potential to “threaten community harmony”.
Wilders has since had this ban overturned and seen his popularity rise in the Netherlands. In last week’s local elections, the Freedom Party polled second in The Hague, one of the country’s largest cities and the seat of the Dutch government.
Wilders is currently on trial in the Netherlands for fomenting hatred and discrimination and if convicted could face two years in prison.
Oliver Kamm, leader writer for The Times, writing for Index on Censorship earlier this year argued that Wilders should not be charged for expressing his views and described the Dutch authorities’ decision to prosecute as a “monstrous abuse of power”.
Allowing ideas to die in place of their adherents is a mark of a civilised society. It is not hyperbole to say that in the defence of the unlikely figure of Geert Wilders lies also the defence of western civilization.
Wilders is holding a press conference with UKIP at 12:30.
16 Dec 2009 | News
The proposed anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda threatens free expression not only for the gay community, but for all says Risdel Kasasira (more…)
10 Dec 2009 | Index Index, minipost, News
Two Tibetan web users have been sentenced to three-year jail terms after posting pictures of the exiled Dalai Lama on the Internet. Gyaltsen and Nyima Wangdu were given three-year sentences after being convicted of “communicating information to contacts outside China,” Reporters Without Borders said. Three other Internet users were also arrested for similar reasons on December 1 but have not yet been tried. Read more here
8 Dec 2009 | Uncategorized
This is a guest post by Ángel García Català
On 14 December, the first national Brazilian congress on communication and media will be held in the country’s capital. The four day conference in Brasilia will discuss, amongst other things, the need for a new media law. The Workers’ Party (PT) is trying to amend the current legislation, which they consider to be “anachronistic and authoritarian” primarily because they believe it favours the interest of business over the interests of the wider population. Brazilian president President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has shown that he favours the reform, stating that “the more television there is, the more journalism and cultural programmes that appear, the more political debates ensue and the stronger the democratisation of communication will become”.
Brazil is following a process that has already been initiated by other countries in the region. El Salvador has also started discussions on media law whilst the parliament of Ecuador will begin the approval process of its own law on the 10 December. Other countries like Uruguay and Argentina have already adopted reforms.
Opinions on these laws and their suitability are polarised. Take the various reactions to the law adopted by the Argentinian Senate, for example. Some see this type of reform as a clear attack on freedom of expression, while others applaud it as a mechanism for strengthening democracy.
The new law in Argentina, which replaces the broadcasting law passed in 1980 during the military dictatorship of General Jorge Rafael Videla, provides that the same company cannot own more than 10 audiovisual licences. Those who are currently exceeding that number will be forced to sell the rest. One of the businesses most affected by this measure is the Clarín group, which has 264 licences and whose profits last year stood at around US $500 million.
The Spanish companies Telefonica and Grupo Prisa (which publishes El País) are also greatly affected. No wonder then, that these companies are among the biggest opponents to reform. Ricardo Roa, assistant general editor of the newspaper Clarín believes that “the law promotes a press weaker and docile toward political power”. Associations like the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) have also rejected the new law outright, saying that such reforms are an “enslavement to freedom of expression while promoting the creation and acquisition of media by the state and groups close to power.”
In contrast, the Argentinian reforms have the full support of Frank La Rue, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, who considers it as one of the most advanced reforms in the world, as well as seeing it as “an example to others countries [to] ensure access for all social sectors to the media”. Reporters Sans Frontieres has also endorsed the reform, calling it a “brave and necessary law, despite pressure from some pretty selfish press groups”.
