International PEN Newsletter December 2008

International PEN Newsletter December 2008
Thursday, 18 December, 2008 10:50 PM

From International Secretary :

Dear Friends,
Looking back at 2008, I believe it is fair to say we have seldom been more active in one year. We launched our first literary festival, Free the Word! in London, in April, and now we are working hard to follow its success with a second Free the Word! in April 2009. I just hope as many of you as possible will have the opportunity to come - I can assure you it will be a worthwhile adventure!
The Writers for Peace Committee had their conference in Bled in March, hosted by Slovene PEN, followed by another successful conference, The Writers in Prison Committee gathering in Glasgow, hosted by Scottish PEN. The China campaign, supported by many PEN Centres, ran throughout the year and I would like to say a huge thank you to all who took part, and who responded to the amazingly widespread poetry relay focusing on freedom of expression issues in the host country of this year's Olympic games.
As most of you know I was not able to come to Congress in Bogotá, but all the news I received told me how highly appreciated this harmonious and interesting meeting was. We in the International PEN office worked hard to make it successful, but the one to honour first and foremost is the host, Colombian PEN, and particularly Cecilia Balcazar whose efforts I believe were more than admirable.
It is impossible to mention all the activities International PEN has been involved with, but I just want to end by thanking Algerian PEN for the extraordinary translation conference they held just two weeks ago, and all the members of the International PEN staff in the office in London for their enthusiasm and engagement with all the work we are now focusing on.
All the best,

Eugene,

International Secretary

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From Executive director:

Dear Friends,
As Eugene has already said, we are extremely grateful to Colombian PEN for their hosting of this year's Congress and in particular to Cecilia Balcazar for her tremendous hard work in realising this event. We were delighted to welcome Yang Lian to the Board of International PEN and thank Elisabeth Nordgren for all her hard work.
We also must also congratulate, Mohamed Magani, who was re-elected to the Board in Bogotá and who earlier this month oversaw the staging the first Algiers International Meeting on Literary Translation. The conference was hosted by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with The Higher Arab Institute for Literary Translation, Algerian PEN and International PEN. Writers, translators, publishers, cultural agencies and funders gathered to discuss ‘Translating and Living Together'. The Minister of Culture announced new funding for literature in translation and International PEN has made a series of recommendations to build on the outcomes of the meeting.
As the current year comes to an end, plans are already under way for new projects in 2009. This will be the final year of the current three year strategic plan and from January 2009 we will be inviting all of you to give us to give us your thoughts and feedback in order to develop both our priorities for the next three years (2010 -2012) and to enable us to develop a new organisational identity. The resulting three year plan will be presented to delegates at the 2009 Congress in Linz, in October 2009. The organisational identity will be agreed by the Board of International PEN and PEN Centres invited to adopt it from spring 2010.
Finally, on a sad note, Karen Efford our International Programmes Officer will be leaving us after five years. We are very grateful for all that she has done for International PEN and we wish her the very best.
On behalf of us all at International PEN, we wish you the very best for a wonderful festive season and look forward to working with you in 2009,
Caroline McCormick

A NEW TRANSLATION PARTNERSHIP
We are delighted to announce that Temple Translations, an international translation company based in London, has agreed to support us in a sponsorship enabling us to fully commit to operating in our three official languages - English, French and Spanish - for the first time. During the next 12 months, we will collaborate to produce materials across all areas of our work, allowing us to better communicate with everybody in PEN as well as our worldwide partners.

For more information about the partnership visit the International PEN website and for more information about Temple Translations visit http://www.templetranslations.com/

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: CAMPAIGN NEWS AND ACTIONS
Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2008
On 15 November every year, International PEN stages the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, aiming to raise awareness of harassment, persecution and detention of writers for the practice of their professions. This year, five cases were selected to illustrate the variety of issues that writers face in Azerbaijan, China, Iran, Peru and Zimbabwe. The 39 writers and journalists murdered since the last Day of the Imprisoned Writer in November 2007 were also commemorated. Centres world wide organised events celebrating the courage of their colleagues under attack. For a full report go to http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/freedom-of-expression/campaigns

Myanmar: Judicial crackdown on dissent
International PEN was stunned by the fifty-nine year sentence served against the Burmese poet and comedian, Zargana, who was also featured in the 2007 Day of the Imprisoned Writer. For more go to http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/myanmar-zargana-sentenced-to-total-of-59-years


and looking ahead ....
Freedom to Write in the Americas
In late January 2009, the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN will be launching a year-long campaign to promote freedom of expression and the right to write in the Americas, with a particular focus on Mexico, Cuba and Venezuela. The campaign will highlight the persecution of writers and journalists and the issue of impunity, provide direct support to colleagues in trouble and raise awareness of trends of repression and censorship threatening writers' rights in the region. 28 PEN Centres worldwide have already signed up to the campaign and all others are encouraged to join in, regardless of whether or not they have a Writers in Prison Committee. For more information, contact Tamsin Mitchell, WiPC researcher for the Americas:

http://in.mc84.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=tamsin.mitchell@internationalpen.org.uk

An invitiation from the Writers in Exile Network to all PEN Centres
The Writers in Exile network aims to share and distribute information in order to help writers fleeing from persecution establish themselves in new environments. We would like to invite all PEN Centres to consider joining the network to work together in sharing experiences and information. For the full invitation click here click here or go to http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/committees-and-networks/networks
COMMITTEE NEWS
Writers in Prison Committee Conference 2008
The 8th International Conference of the Writers in Prison Committee will be held from 1 to 2 June as part of the Global Forum on Freedom of Expression in Oslo, Norway held from 1 to 6 June. For more go to: http://expressionforum.org/
Women Writers Committee
Reminder! The fourth volume of Our Voice, an anthology of writings produced by the Women Writers' Committee, is now available. Featuring fiction, poetry, essays and cultural writing visit http://www.spdbooks.org/ to buy.

Writers for Peace
The Writers for Peace Committee are preparing for their annual meeting in Bled next year. In 2008, more than 30 PEN Centres participated and it is hoped that more will join the conference in 2009. Edvard Kovak, the Chair of the Committee, was invited to a number of institutions this year to give speeches on intercultural dialogue, including the University of Toulouse and the French Institute in Berlin.

Translation and Linguistic Rights
At the 74th International PEN Congress, Josep Maria Terricabras (Catalan PEN) was elected as the new Chair of the Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee, taking over from Kata Kulavkova who was elected an International PEN Vice President for services to PEN. The Committee is planning to hold its annual meeting in Barcelona on April 21 and 22, 2009.
PEN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
Context: Latin America and the Caribbean out now
Continuing our series focussing on new writing from and about different regions of the world, this autumn/winter it is the turn of Latin America and the Caribbean. Featuring the work of writers from well over a dozen countries, our guest writers are Patrick Chamoiseau of Martinique and Ernesto Cardenal of Nicaragua. Other highlights including the Brazilian novelist Milton Hatoum, an interview with reggae and dub artist Lee Scratch Perry, a short story by Ecuadoran-American writer Niki Aguirre, and excerpts from new books including the Haitian novelist Jean-Claude Fignolé's Une Heure Pour L'éternité.. Also back for the second time is ‘Found in Translation', sponsored by Bloomberg, featuring work translated from Spanish, Quechua, Aymara and Portuguese into English, Spanish and French.
Remember! PEN Centres receive two copies of each magazine, so ask your President or Secretary if you can borrow one to read or you can subscribe yourself. Visit http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/pen-international-magazine/subscribe for more information.

We need your writing!
The spring issue of PEN International will take International PEN's literary theme ‘Heaven and Earth'. This issue is timed to coincide with Free the Word!, International PEN's festival of world literature in London, in April. Many elements govern the relationship between Heaven and Earth, from the fantastical paradises created in our imaginations to the most material of concerns. Key concepts include, but are not limited to: faith and reason, hope and disillusionment, ideology and reality, the environment, imaginative freedom and imprisonment. We welcome submissions exploring the idea of Heaven and Earth in poetry, short stories, essays, articles and excerpts from longer works. Deadline: 16 February 2009 For writing guidelines and how to submit click here

Take out a subscription to PEN International for 2009
'For anyone who believes that words can help us chart a path, PEN International is essential reading' Alberto Manguel
For only £10 / €16 / $25 per year you can delight in some of the best contemporary writing from around the world. One year's subscription includes two issues of the magazine. Contributors have so far included Wole Soyinka, Patrick Chamoiseau, Margaret Atwood, Adonis and Nadine Gordimer. To subscribe or find out more, visit PEN International Magazine on the International PEN website.
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES: AFRICA, LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, ASIA AND PACIFIC
Africa
Throughout 2008, International PEN worked with the PEN Centres in Africa to increase their capacity and develop programmes. Six programmes grants were awarded to PEN Centres in Africa in 2008 for projects relating to education and reading and writing, library events for the community and programmes in schools. For example, Somali Speaking PEN ‘s main aim is to promote reading and writing in Somali, which has only existed as a written language since 1972. The Centre is working towards this by carrying out an education project in schools in and around Djibouti, holding creative writing workshops with students. And Nigerian PEN is holding a series of workshops examining the role of the writer in society and in education. These include events for young writers and also creative reading and writing workshops in community groups and schools. Also PEN Centres in Ghana, Guinea, Malawi, Uganda, Somalia and Zambia, held events for the Day of the Imprisoned Writer on November 15th to promote freedom of expression and human rights issues in their countries. International PEN has recently received additional funding for the Africa Programme from ArtVenture and the Alan and Babette Sainsbury Charitable Trust, which will increase the level of funding available to active PEN Centres in Africa in 2009.For information about further Centre activities and our work with the African PEN Centres, visit the international programmes pages of the International PEN website.
Latin America and the Caribbean
International PEN held a regional conference with PEN Centres in the Latin American and Caribbean region in May 2008. We talked about the shared priorities for the next year, and Centres identified such matters as the promotion of indigenous literature and culture and freedom of expression. PEN Centres in the region recommended several writers for PEN International 'Context: Latin America and the Caribbean' and the issue, out now, includes work by members of Mexican, Paraguayan, Colombian and Puerto Rican PEN. In 2009, we will work together to identify the activities and programmes that can be carried out to support the priorities of the Latin American and Caribbean PEN Centres, and we will also look at how to support and develop Centre capacity.
Asia and Pacific
As well as continuing work with the African and Latin American and Caribbean PEN Centre, in 2009, International PEN will begin work with the PEN Centres in the Asia and Pacific region too. We are planning a regional conference to take place in Tokyo in July 2009. Also, the second edition of PEN International magazine will be the fourth in the Context series, ‘Context: Asia and the Pacific'. Please visit the International PEN website for more information in spring next year.
INTERNATIONAL PEN WEBSITE: AN UPDATE ON THE PEN MEMBERS' AREA
The new PEN members' area on the International PEN website will now be launched in spring 2009. New features will include a discussion forum where PEN members can talk about and share their work, important documents such as Congress papers, presentations and speeches, and the chance to search for other PEN members to see if they have joined up. If you are a PEN member who would like to help test the area by creating your own profile and taking part in one of the first discussion forums before it is officially launched, then please email Emily Bromfield, International PEN's Communication Director at http://in.mc84.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=emily.bromfield@internationalpen.org.uk

PEN CENTRE NEWS
ALGERIAN PEN: The Algerian Ministry of Culture and Algerian PEN co-organised an international conference on literary translation, which took place in Algiers 2nd to 5th December. The theme of the conference was ‘translating and living together' and brought together over 100 writers, translators, publishers and editors from around the world. It is hoped that the conference will be a biannual event.

KAZAKH AND FINNISH PEN:

The second anthology of fiction by Central-Asian women writers was launched on December 5th in Helsinki. ‘Nightingale in Cage' follows ‘The Insatiable Furnace' with work from two writers from every Central-Asian country. This project is co-ordinated by the Women Writers' Committee of Finnish PEN who hosted a conference for and about women from this region in August 2007. Profits from the sale of these anthologies will support the work and activities of Kazakh PEN.

For more information and to order a copy contact Rita Dahl

---------------------------------xox--------------a comment is in italic----

dahl said...
There is a mistake here (still, even if I have corrected it!!): Finnish PEN´s Nightingale in Cage, an anthology of fiction by Central-Asian Women Writers, is launched together with BISHKEK PEN Centre. Kazakh PEN has nothing to do with it, and all the profit also goes to Bishkek PEN.
December 20, 2008 1:11 AM

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http://in.mc84.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=ritdahl@gmail.com
GALICIAN PEN:

Executive Director Caroline McCormick and International Treasurer Eric Lax had the pleasure of attending Galician PEN's 2nd biannual international conference, ‘De pedra e palabra,' in Santiago De Compostela, Spain. The conference brought together PEN members from 15 countries and three continents to discuss ways in which national cultures and languages can be made visible and relevant at an international level. The Centre also celebrates its twentieth anniversary, preparations for which are well under way.
NEWS FROM ELSEWHERE
International Poetry Prize Castello Di Duino
Young PEN poets under 30 years of age are invited to send their unpublished poems on the general theme of ‘Roads'. Participation is free and three winners will be selected along with a special prize for the best poem written by a poet under the age of 16. The deadline is 9th January 2009. For more information and for terms and conditions visit http://www.castellodiduinopoesia.it/
The Château de Lavigny International Writers' Residence
Eminent and emerging writers from all over the globe are invited to apply for a place on one of the three-week residences offered by the Château de Lavigny from June - September 2009. It is looking for writers interested in exchanging their ideas as well as concentrating on their own work. Applications must be received by 1st March 2009. For more information and an application form visit http://www.chateaudelavigny.ch/

The Africa Poetry Chatroom Content Project 2008 - 2015
The Africa Poetry Chatroom Contest is a poetry competition that seeks to celebrate the wealth of poetry talent in Southern Africa. Young poets from SADDC countries are invited to contribute to a variety of themes including political democracy, pride of African culture, gender balance and child rights. The contest will be followed by a series of programmes and workshops and the 10 winning contestants will represent a theme and his/her own country in a series of programmes and festivals from now until 2015. For conditions of entry and how to submit your work visit www.poetrychatroom.blogspot.com

TipofyourTongue
TipofyourTongue is an International performance poetry festival which aims to pull apart ideas of what poetry is through education, performance and extraordinary installations. For details of how to get involved and for events happening from now until the next festival in 2010, contact http://in.mc84.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=sally@thepoetree.net
The next newsletter will be available in March 2009.
PEN Centres: please send your news for inclusion to Emily Bromfield, http://in.mc84.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=emily.bromfield@internationalpen.org.uk
Originally founded in 1921 to promote literature, today International PEN has 144 Centres in 102 countries across the globe. Our primary goal is to engage with, and empower, societies and communities across cultures and languages, through reading and writing. We believe that writers can play a crucial role in changing and developing civil society. We do this through the promotion of literature, international campaigning on issues such as translation and freedom of expression and improving access to literature at international, regional and national levels.
Our membership is open to all published writers who subscribe to the PEN Charter regardless of nationality, language, race, colour or religion. International PEN is a non-political organisation and has special consultative status at UNESCO and the United Nations.
International PEN, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER
Email: http://in.mc84.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=info@internationalpen.org.uk
Website: http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/
International PEN is a registered charity, number 1010627To find out more visit http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/

Posted by Albert Ashok

All India PEN center, West Bengal

American PEN News

American PEN News

Leading PEN Member Liu Xiaobo Detained in ChinaProminent dissident Dr. Liu Xiaobo was detained last week on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power,” a criminal charge that could result in a lengthy prison term. >> More
Conversation: Patricia Hampl and Peter SisPatricia Hampl, author of A Romantic Education, joins Peter Sis, filmmaker, illustrator, and author of The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain for a discussion about his early inspirations and life in Cold War Prague. >> More2008 Year in ReviewVisit the web site for a collection of some of our favorite parts of 2008, with original work and recordings from writers including Edward Albee, Annie Proulx, Chris Abani, Mahmoud Darwish, and many more. >> More

Source : PEN American Center 588 Broadway, Suite 303 New York, NY 10012 Tel. (212) 334-1660 Fax. (212) 334-2181 www.pen.org

India : An expression of Our Anger and An Appeal from Writers Community

It is an expression of our anger and an appeal for maintaining peace, harmony and Indian integrity in face of terrorists' attack in Indian soil on 26 th Nov.08.
http://penwestbengal.blogspot.com/2008/12/all-india-pen-center-west-bengal-appeal.html
Read West Bengal Pen Blog
" We condemn the indiscriminate violence that hit Mumbai, India, through a series of ugly and odious terrorists act.We stand in solidarity with the families of unsung heroes, brave soldiers and security forces of India, who were courageously heading to protect Indians and foreign hostages in recent terrorists attack, in Mumbai.

We appeal to all INDIANS to stay calm,united and foil the evil designs of the terrorists whose main objectives are to spread violence, disintegration and hatred.

We urge the political parties not to exploit these terrorist acts for political purposes.We are alarmed over the sophistication and military level planning seen in these coordinated attacks and on the failure of the intelligence agencies in preventing such a huge and widespread attack.

We demand that the federal and state governments bring the perpetrators of these actions to justice swiftly."

The signatories include: ( writers, artists and prominent personalities)
Signs are collected from all over West Bengal.
Co ordinators : Sahitya Setu and Rainbow Artists and Writers Foundation


About 500 Intellectuals from different communities like religious, social and political: Writer ( mostly Editor, Poets , Novelists and Essayist) Film Maker, Singer, University Professors , Stage Actor have signed on this appeal of/to solidarity . Its a great bond of Brotherhood in face of abominable, heinous terrorists conspiracy and attacks from foreign and neighbouring soil. We are ready to weed out any fanaticism, communalism and conspiracy to save the lives of Indian and integrity of Indian Soil.
A few names signed mentioned below:

■■ Sunil Gangopadhya, President PEN West Bengal, Poet, Novelist ■■ Dr. Jagannath Ghosh, Secretary PEN West Bengal,Essayist■■ Ranjan Gupta, Jt. Secretary PEN West Bengal, Poet ■■ Shayamal Mukhupadhya, Poet■■Nisith Kr. Roychoudhury,Writer■■ Albert Ashok, Poet and Painter■■ Jayati Gangopadhya■■ Shyamal Roy Choudhury, Poet■■ Pabitra gangopadhya, film maker/Writer■■ barun chakraborty, Writer■■ Abdus Shukur khan, Writer/poet■■ Manish maulik, writer■■ nilima sarkar, Writer■■ Preeti Basu ,Writer/Social worker■■Keshab Ranjan,Editor■■ Dipshikha Poddar, bangle kabita Academy■■ prasanta Ghosh, Editor■■ Krishna basu, College Teacher/ writer■■ Gaur sankar bandhopadhya, poet and writer■■ dhirendranath modak Dy.commissioner.Commercial tax,writer■■Pradip saha, Asst.president,Jila parishad■■Biswajit Panda,Writer■■ Bhupati Ghosh,Editor,Kristi■■Jibanmoy Datta, President ,Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan. Chandannagar■■asim tribedi, Author■■ Chaitali data , Singer■■ sukanto gangopadhya, Writer■■kinnar Roy,Writer■■ Nabakumar sil, Editor■■soumyadeb Basu, Stage actor■■debashish Mukhupadhya, rteporter■■ gautam Bandhupadhya, reporter■■tapas Ghosh, photojornalists■■ prasanta Majhi,Writer■■ Meghanath Das,Editor,Chikan■■ KashinathGhosh, Editor■■ S. Choudhury, Writer■■ D N Lahiri, Writer■■ Mrs. Minati Datta mishra, writer■■ rasbehari chakraborty, Poet■■ Dipendra bhaduri,Writer■■sashankha sekhar Paul,poet■■Biren Chattopadhya, Writer■■ Benoy Kr Mahato,University professor, writer■■ prafulla Ch. Acharya, Writer■■ Bishnupada das Writer■■Ashok lakhdar, Writer■■ rathin kar, Poet■■ nandita guha, poet■■ Rabin Mukhupadhya, editor/ Poet■■ Vivek Moitra, Story writer■■tapan Kr. roy■■■■ Samarendra Dasgupta, Poet■■ Anirban roychoudhury, Editor- Lokmanas■■ Sankar Saha , Artist and Poet■■ Neel Kashyap,Poet■■ Apurba Barman, Poet■■ Dr.Jagabandhu Kundu, Editor- Sahitya Setu■■ Sri Manimoy Sengupta, Writer ■■ Partha Chattopadhya, Writer ■■ Shaubhik Mondal, Poet ■■ B. Banerjee, Secretary Little Magazine ■■ Nikhil Kar, Working President, Kalyani Book Fair ■■ Samar Kr. Mitra, Asst. Secretary K B F ■■ Dr. Samir Mukherjee, Writer, University Prof. ■■ Kumarsankar Raysarma, Poet■■ Sukhendu Bikash Maitra, Poet■■ Tamal Saha, Writer ■■ Kanai Chakraborty, Poet ■■ Bhavatosh Roy, writer ■■ Sunanda Maitra, Poet ■■ Pandu Biswas, Poet ■■ Sarit Kr Misra, Poet, ■■ Pranesh Sarkar writer/teacher ■■ Narayan Bairagya, Poet ■■ Yadab Das, poet ■■ samit Mandol, Poet ■■Pijush Bagchi, Poet ■■ Ranjoy malakar, writer ■■ Santosh Mukhupadhya, Poet ■■ Anindita Goswami, poet/Teacher■■ Gautam Guha Roy, poet■■ Pijush Kanti Saha, Librarian■■ Mrinal Kanti Datta, Writer■■ Tarapada Santra, Teacher,Poet ■■
( double click The document photos below to see enlarged form)

posted by Albert Ashok on behalf of PEN all-India center, West Bengal

RAISE YOUR VOICE FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

USE THIS PICTURE FOR

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

FREEDOM TO WRITE

FREEDOM TO READ

ECUADOR: Editor given 10 months in prison

ECUADOR: Editor given 10 months in prison

15 December 2008
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC) protests the 10-month prison sentence handed to La Verdad editor Milton Chacaguasay Flores on 15 November 2008 for allegedly libeling a judge. The WiPC believes that Chacaguasay's conviction and imprisonment is in violation of the right to freedom of expression, guaranteed by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, to which Ecuador is a state party. It calls for his immediate and unconditional release.
On 15 November 2008, a criminal court in the southwestern province of El Oro sentenced Milton Chacaguasay Flores, editor and director of the weekly newspaper La Verdad, based in Machala, southern Ecuador, to 10 months in prison for allegedly libeling a judge. Chacaguasay was arrested and jailed on 30 November. The judge who brought the case in late 2007 claimed that Chacaguasay had accused him of corruption in a report published in La Verdad in September that year. According to the editor, the report in question was not written by him or his staff but by a third party who had paid for its publication. The piece reportedly requested the National Judiciary Council to review a sentence issued by the judge, who was not named, that was considered to be unfair.
Chacaguasay was acquitted of the charges in May 2008 but was found guilty on appeal before a different court on 15 November and sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment. In February 2008, the same court had given the editor an eight-month prison sentence for allegedly libeling the leader of the Christian Social Party, whom Chacasaguay had reportedly linked to corruption in Machala municipality. The first sentence is pending appeal by the National Court of Justice.
Chacaguasay was held in the Social Rehabilitation Center in Machala from his arrest on 30 November until 5 December, when he was transferred to a maximum security prison in Quito, reportedly for fear that other prisoners may attempt to kill him. According to his son, the politician who brought the first libel case left a death threat on Chacaguasay's voicemail on 1 December.

Background

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) stated in 1994: "Considering the consequences of criminal sanctions and the inevitable chilling effect they have on freedom of expression, criminalization of speech can only apply in those exceptional circumstances when there is an obvious and direct threat of lawless violence."
Links
Report from Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS): http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/99310/(English), http://www.ifex.org/es/content/view/full/99312(Spanish)
Letter from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ): http://cpj.org/2008/12/cpj-to-correa-release-journalists-jailed-for-defam.php (English)

Take Action
Please send appeals:
Protesting the 10-month prison sentence given to La Verdad editor Milton Chacaguasay Flores on 15 November 2008 for allegedly libeling a judge. The WiPC believes his conviction and detention to be in violation of the right to freedom of expression under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, to which Ecuador is party.
Expressing serious concern that Chacaguasay has reportedly received threats from the plaintiff in another libel suit and that there are fears for his safety in prison
Asking that the editor be released immediately and unconditionally.
Appeals to:

President Rafael Correa Palacio de Carondelet, García Moreno 1043, entre Chile y Espejo, Quito, Ecuador Fax: +593 2 258 0714

Please also send copies of appeal letters to the Ecuadorian Embassy in the UK:
His Excellency Eduardo Cabezas Molina Flat 3b3 Hans Crescent LondonSW1X 0LS
And/ or the Ecuadorian Embassy in your country.
***Please send appeals immediately. Check with the WiPC if sending appeals after 14 February 2008.***
For further details please contact

Tamsin Mitchell at the Writers in Prison Committee

London Office: International PEN,

Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER

Tel: +44 (0) 207 405 0338 Fax +44 (0) 207 405 0339

email: tamsin.mitchell@internationalpen.org.uk

Click the link below for details
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/ecuador-editor-given-10-months-in-prison

Maldives: Trouble in Paradise

Maldives: Trouble in Paradise
Published: December 12, 2008

In Dharubaaruge, the great hall of the presidential palace in Malé, capital of the Maldives, Jonathan Heawood, director of English PEN, and I await the arrival of the president-designate, Mohamed Nasheed. It is the first day of the new democratic government that swept to power in the recent elections and brought to an end 30 years of despotic and corrupt misrule by the previous president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

It is also a startling day for PEN, the international fellowship of writers, which campaigned for the release of Nasheed, formerly a dissident journalist and opposition activist who had been in and out of prison ever since 1991, when he was arrested for an article in the popular political magazine Sangu and detained for two years. Freed in June 1993, he was rearrested in 1994 and 1995, sentenced to a further two years in 1996 and finally banished from the Maldives in 2003. Returning from exile in 2005, "Anni", as he is popularly known, formed the Maldivian Democratic Party and managed to pressurise Gayoom to introduce the democratic reforms that led to the recent election.

At the reception after his inauguration, people press towards Nasheed as he shakes outstretched hands. "It's a political fairy tale," says his adviser James McGrath, a strategist who previously ran Boris Johnson's campaign for London mayor. "From prison to president, who could believe it?"

"He should be called the father of democracy here," adds Aslam Shakir, another campaign aide. But there are hints of trouble. Shakir glances across at Adam Zahir, the chief of police, a thickset man who allegedly tortured Nasheed, but is now helping himself to the buffet. "Even he has been invited - even people who brutalise people."

I ask the new president if we can see Abdullah Saeed, a writer for an opposition paper detained on the island jail of Maafushi. He nods soberly. "You will visit the prison tomorrow."

Under the former regime, drug charges proved a convenient way to silence journalists. When Saeed is brought out, limping and leaning on his stick, the price he has paid for speaking out against Gayoom is horribly clear. A prominent TV personality and investigative journalist, Saeed was arrested in October 2005. Now he is a broken figure who wakes every night, screaming. He is 44 but looks 60. One leg shakes, the result of an accident when he fell after being released from a year's solitary confinement in a tiny cell that left him unable to walk.

The police planted more than a gram of heroin on him and the mandatory sentence for possession is 25 years. In April 2006 he was sentenced to life. His appeal to the high court was never heard. Although Saeed is brought out to meet us in a relatively spacious dormitory, we learn that he was only released from his cell a few days before. "I am sad," he whispers. "I have no hope."

On 30 November, Abdullah Saeed was finally released. "I've waited a long time, gone through a lot of torture," he said after receiving the high court's verdict that his case was non-proven. "I am finding it hard to believe that I am free now."

Nasheed had pledged to make penal reform a priority and promised that political prisoners would have their cases heard within 100 days. He has kept his word. But only a day after his inauguration, there was a demonstration outside parliament calling for his resignation. The pressure cooker that is Malé is still simmering, and could explode within months.

Written by Carole Seymour-Jones, Chair of the Writers in Prison Committee.

To view the original article, published in the New Statesman on 11 December 2008, please click here

http://www.newstatesman.com/society/2008/12/maldives-saeed-nasheed-prison .

http://www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/bulletins/maldivestroubleinparadise/

Vacancies : Office & Membership Manager

Vacancies
Office & Membership Manager
English PEN

(To read in details click the link http://www.englishpen.org/aboutenglishpen/vacancies/ )

The English Centre of International PEN is the founding centre of the worldwide writers' association, working to promote literature and defend the freedom to write. From campaigning on behalf of persecuted writers to promoting literature in translation and running writing workshops among refugees and other excluded groups, English PEN seeks to dismantle the barriers to creative expression. English PEN also offers a wide range of events and discussions open to its members and the general public.

Answering to the Assistant Director, the Office & Membership Manager underwrites the success of English PEN's public programmes by ensuring the smooth running of this busy office, maintaining accurate membership records, dealing with members' enquiries, and supporting the work of the Assistant Director in the delivery of English PEN's events.

The important part-time role requires a highly organised, flexible and committed individual with great attention to detail and good IT skills (ideally including familiarity with Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer and Access), who enjoys working with a wide variety of people. This is a fulfilling role for anyone who is interested in literature and shares English PEN's aims.

Job summary
1. To ensure the smooth running of the English PEN office
2. To maintain accurate membership records and deal with members' enquiries
3. To support the Assistant Director in the delivery of English PEN's events

1. Office Management
• Provide assistance to the Director and Assistant Director of English PEN
• Deal with general enquiries and act as first point of contact
• Deal with press enquiries and requests for members' details
• Take responsibility for office equipment such as the photocopier, computers, printers and the credit card payment system
• Check availability of stationery and other office supplies
• Update and maintain the central database•
Book and attend Board meetings (5 per annum)
• Prepare and circulate agendas and reports
• Take minutes
• Collate and circulate reports for the AGM

2. Membership
• Prepare and handle mass communications to the membership, including a monthly newsletter and reports for the AGM
• Maintain the Members' Only area of the website
• Process new memberships and send out welcome packs
• Deal with membership renewals and reminders
• Support the Assistant Director in recruitment drives
• Report on membership to the Board and AGM

3. Events
• Send regular emails to members and wider contacts regarding events
• Organise listings for events with newspapers and magazines
• Take ticket bookings for events and compile guest-lists
• Represent English PEN at some events in place of the Assistant Director

General
• Any other duties as may from time to time be deemed necessary by the Assistant Director

Summary of Conditions
• Hours: 20 hours per week, ideally 4 days a week but with some flexibility;
• Occasional out of office hours will be required and will be recompensed with time off in lieu• Salary: £20,000 pro rata
• Location: London EC1• Holiday: 25 days per year, plus all public holidays, to be taken after prior consultation with the Director. In addition, holiday may be granted between Christmas & New Year, at the discretion of the Director
• Pension: contributions available after six-month trial period.

To apply for this position, please send a full CV and covering letter outlining your suitability for the role to Sarah Hesketh: sarah@englishpen.org. The deadline for applications to be received is 5pm, Monday 5 January 2009.

CHINA: Prominent dissident writer detained

CHINA: Prominent dissident writer detained

10 December 2008
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/china-prominent-dissident-writer-detained
The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN is seriously concerned about the detention of prominent dissident writer Liu Xiaobo, former President and Board member of Independent Chinese PEN Centre, who was arrested on 8 December 2008. He is among a number of activists to have been detained in recent days for their participation in events to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that is being celebrated world-wide today. Most have since been released, but Liu is thought to have been charged with ‘suspicion of inciting subversion of State power'. The WiPC considers Liu Xiaobo to be held for his peaceful opposition activities, and calls for his immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.
According to the WiPC's information, writer Liu Xiaobo is among a number of dissidents to have been detained or harassed in recent days after issuing an open letter calling on the National People's Congress Standing Committee to ratify the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and launching Charter 08, a declaration calling for political reforms and human rights. These activities are part of campaigns to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December), and were signed by more than 300 scholars, journalists, freelance writers and activists in China. The following background is given by Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) in a 9 December 2008 alert:
A group of Chinese citizens launched Charter 08 (????) today, a declaration that outlines a vision for a constitutional democratic China and initiates a platform for citizens' actions. Charter 08 calls for bold political reforms, including an end to one-party rule and replacement of the current political system with one based on human rights and democracy. Charter 08 was signed not only by well-known dissidents and intellectuals but also by officials and rural leaders. The signatories will form an informal and open group to promote democratization and advance human rights in China. Charter 08, assisted by CHRD, was inspired by Czechoslovakia's Charter 77 in which Czech and Slovak citizens espoused similar ideals for their country.

For more information follow these links:"An Open Letter to Calling on the National People's Congress Standing Committee to Ratify the ICCPR", 10 December, 2008 (in Chinese), http://www.crd-net.org/Article/Class4/200812/20081209030825_12257.html
PEN America statement on Liu Xiaobo's detention,http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/3000/prmID/172
Charter 08, 10 December, 2008 (in Chinese), http://crd-net.org/Article/Class71/200812/20081209130050_12266.html; the English version will appear in the upcoming issue of the New York Review of Books.

Take Action
Please send appeals:
Expressing serious concern at the arrest of prominent dissident writer Liu Xiaobo;

Calling for his immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.
Send appeals to:
His Excellency Hu JintaoPresident of the People's Republic of ChinaState CouncilBeijing 100032P.R. China

Mr. Meng Jianzhu Minister of the Public Security East Chang'an Avenue 14100741 BeijingP.R. China

Please note that there are no fax numbers for the Chinese authorities. WiPC recommends that you copy your appeal to the Chinese embassy in your country asking them to forward it and welcoming any comments.
Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for China in your country if possible.
**Please contact the PEN WiPC office in London if sending appeals after 2 January 2009**
For further information please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email: cathy.mccann@internationalpen.org.uk

PEN west bengal Condemns Mumbai attacks

" It is an expression of our anger and an appeal for maintaining peace, harmony and Indian integrity in face of terrorists attack in Indian soil on 26 th Nov.08

We condemn the indiscriminate violence that hit Mumbai, India, through a series of ugly and odious terrorists act.

We stand in solidarity with the families of unsung heroes, brave soldiers and security forces of India, who were courageously heading to protect Indians and foreign hostages in recent terrorists attack, in Mumbai.

We appeal to all INDIANS to stay calm,united and foil the evil designs of the terrorists whose main objectives are to spread violence, disintegration and hatred.

We urge the political parties not to exploit these terrorist acts for political purposes.We are alarmed over the sophistication and military level planning seen in these coordinated attacks and on the failure of the intelligence agencies in preventing such a huge and widespread attack.

We demand that the federal and state governments bring the perpetrators of these actions to justice swiftly. "

The signatories include: ( writers, artists and prominent personalities)

PEN International : ‘Context: Latin America and the Caribbean'

PEN International :The magazine contains ‘Context: Latin America and the Caribbean'

‘Context: Latin America and the Caribbean', the third issue in PEN International's series focusing on new writing from and about different regions of the world.
This issue contains a diverse range of poems, stories, essays, excerpts and interviews, spotlighting the work of writers from well over a dozen countries; over half the contributions appear in the original Spanish. Two special guest writers have joined us for ‘Context: Latin America and the Caribbean'. Patrick Chamoiseau of Martinique pays homage to the great Martinican poet and politician Aimé Césaire, and one of the world's most beloved poets, Ernesto Cardenal of Nicaragua, presents a new poem. Other highlights include the Brazilian novelist Milton Hatoum on his Middle Eastern heritage; an interview with the Dominican-American Junot Díaz; a short story by Ecuadoran-American writer Niki Aguirre; excerpts from new books including João Almino's novel The Five Seasons of Love; French music journalist Olivier Cachin's Rap Stories (in which he interviews dub legend Lee "Scratch Perry"); the Haitian novelist Jean-Claude Fignolé's Une Heure Pour L'éternité; and unpublished novels from the UK's Robert Collins (set in Brazil) and Canada's Bruno Goulard (set in Guatemala).
‘Found in Translation', sponsored by Bloomberg, is back for the second time, featuring work from Venezuelan, British, Bolivian and Brazilian authors in English, Spanish and French. To sample content from Context: Latin America and the Caribbean, click on the links to one of the three pieces featured:

Robert Harding
"Allegedly, I have Arawak blood in me ..."From PEN International 'Context: Latin America and the Caribbean'Read more...
Jeff McMahon
"Less than three years after the U.S. Cavalry massacred the Sioux at Wounded Knee, Chicagoans could safely observe Sioux encampments at the World's Columbian Exposition ..."From PEN International 'Context: Latin America and the Caribbean'Read more...
Niki Aguirre
"‘You know we’re two percent, right?’ says my niece Tatiana, when she comes to visit me for the summer ..."From PEN International 'Context: Latin America and the Caribbean'Read more...

To download the full online issue, click on the magazine cover. If you'd like to subscribe to PEN International, or would simply like a copy of the full printed issue of ‘Context: Latin America and the Caribbean', please email us at: pisubscribers@internationalpen.org.uk.
Read more ckick below
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/ipfarcry/conjuror/%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20/go/pen-international-magazine/extracts-of-the-current-issue/extracts-from-the-current-magazine

China: Dissident writer Chen Daojun sentenced

photo courtesy: American PEN center

China: Dissident writer Chen Daojun sentenced
November 25, 2008

English PEN strongly protests the three-year prison sentence handed down to dissident writer and journalist Chen Daojun for 'inciting subversion of state power' in his online articles.

According to our information, freelance journalist Chen Daojun was handed down a three-year imprisonment sentence and three years' deprivation of political rights on 11 November 2008 by the Intermediate People's Court of Chengdu. Chen was arrested on 9 May 2008 and charged with "inciting subversion of state power". At some point during Chen's detention, the charge of "inciting subversion" was dropped and replaced by "inciting succession" for reasons which remain unclear to PEN. At his trial which took place on 5 November 2008 and lasted two and a half hours, no verdict was reached. However, on 11 November 2008 it was announced that he had been convicted of 'inciting subversion' in three of his articles published in overseas Chinese websites and a Hong Kong-based magazine. The articles in Chinese language can be found on the following links:

1) Misgovernment Drives People to Revolt - My Respect to the Tibetans Struggling Heroically (http://2newcenturynet.blogspot.com/2008/04/blog-post_7713.html), comment on the March 2008 protests for Tibet;

2) What to Do After the Seventeenth Congress?(http://www.newcenturynews.com/Article/gd/200711/20071117100747.html), comment on the Chinese Communist Party congress in Nov 2007;

3) The Backgrounds of the Anti-West Chinese (http://www.fireofliberty.org/article/7867.asp), comment on the Chinese demonstrations against France and the US in April 2008.

Chen Daojun, aged 40, is a freelance dissident writer from Jintang Township, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. He is believed to be targeted for several articles in support of anti-government protesters in the Tibetan Autonomous Region following unrest which broke out in the region in March 2008.
For the previous WiPC alert on Chen Daojun's case, please click here.

Please send appeals:

- Protesting the sentence imposed on dissident writer and journalist Chen Daojun; - Calling for his immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.

Appeals to:

His Excellency Hu JintaoPresident of the People's Republic of ChinaState CouncilBeijing 100032P.R. China.

Mr. Meng Jianzhu Minister of the Public Security East Chang'an Avenue 14100741 BeijingP.R. China

Please note that fax numbers are no longer available for the Chinese authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for China in your country to forward your appeals:

Her Excellency Mrs. Fu YingEmbassy of the People's Republic of China49 - 51 Portland PlaceLondon W1B 1JL

Read more:

http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/2376/prmID/172
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/china-dissident-writer-chen-daojun-charged
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/21/chinese-journalist-sentenced-to-3-years/
http://wtopnews.com/?nid=105&sid=1523166
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081121/ap_on_re_as/as_china_human_rights

Posted by : Albert Ashok, Indian PEN center, West Bengal

Myanmar: Journalist Zaw Thet Htwe sentenced

Myanmar: Journalist Zaw Thet Htwe sentenced
November 26, 2008

English PEN strongly protests the fifteen year prison sentence handed down to journalist Zaw Thet Htwe on 21 November 2008 under the Electronics Act.

According to our information, Zaw Thet Htwe was arrested on 13 June 2008 whilst visiting his sick mother in the town of Minbu, central Burma, and was transferred to an interrogation centre in Yangon. His computer, mobile phone, and personal documents were also confiscated.

Zaw Thet Htwe had been working with comedian Zargana and other leading Burmese figures on a private relief effort to deliver aid and support to the victims of Cyclone Nargis. Zaw Thet Htwe was tried together with three other defendants, including Zargana, in special courts held inside Insein prison for their peaceful opposition activities. All of them received staggeringly harsh sentences ranging from 15 to 45 years. All four men still face charges, and more years are expected to be added to the sentences next week, according to Aung Din of the Washington-based U.S. Campaign for Burma.
ARREST DETAILS: He was arrested at 9:00 pm in Minbu Township, Magwe Division by the military police on 13 June 2008 for assisting in the distribution of food and clothes in areas hit by Cyclone Nargis. He was arrested while returning from visiting his 75 years old mother, who had suffered a stroke. He was transferred to Aung Thabyay interrogation centre in Rangoon. On 15 June 2007, his wife Ma Khaing Cho Zaw Win Thint told the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), “About seven government officials from Bahan township and Special Information Division police officers came with ward authorities and searched our house yesterday evening. They seized his mobile phone, a PC, a couple of computer discs and some documents. I was not so worried when my husband was first arrested but it made me nervous that the authorities were searching our house. I asked the police officials in my house why my husband was arrested. But they just said it had nothing to do with his aid work and told me not to ask them questions.”
We at English PEN strongly condemn these sentences, and demand the immediate and unconditional release of all those currently detained in Myanmar in violation of Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, protecting the right to freedom of expression. A major crackdown in Burma has been underway since early September 2007, following demonstrations led by monks and pro-democracy activists which began on 19 August 2007. Many of those who took part in these protests, including Zargana, poet Saw Wei and musician Win Maw have been sentenced in the past two weeks in what the BBC describes as 'a judicial crackdown across the spectrum of Burma's pro-democracy movement'. For more details go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7741653.stm
Please send appeals:

- Expressing shock at the harsh sentence handed down to journalist Zaw Thet Htwe, and seeking assurances of his well-being;
- Urging the authorities to release Zaw Thet Htwe immediately and unconditionally in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
- Demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all those currently detained in Myanmar in violation of Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Appeals to:

Senior General Than ShweChairman, State Peace and Development Councilc/o Ministry of Defence, Naypyitaw, Union of MyanmarSalutation: Dear General Appeals to Myanmar (Burma) Embassies:

We recommend that you copy your appeal to the Burmese embassy in the UK, asking them to forward it to the Burmese authorities and welcoming any comments.

Letters to the press:

PEN members may consider writing letters to their national newspapers expressing alarm at events in Burma, and highlighting Zaw Thet Hwe's case to illustrate the many years of repression in the country.

Read More:

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,RFA,,MMR,4864e9211a,0.html
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24688516-23109,00.html
http://www.fbppn.net/?p=548

Nigeria: Second US-based internet writer released

Nigeria: Second US-based internet writer released
Published: November 26, 2008

English PEN welcomes the release without charge of the US-based internet writer Emmanuel Emeka Asiwe, who was held incommunicado from 28 October to 4 November 2008 due to his critical reporting on Nigeria.

Emmanuel Emeka Asiwe, editor of the website HuhuOnline, based in Arlington, Massachusetts, USA, was arrested by the State Security Service (SSS) on his arrival at Lagos airport on 28 October. He was held incommunicado without charge for a week in Abuja during which he was questioned about "matters of national security." He was reportedly released without charge on 4 November, however his passport had not been returned to him, preventing him from returning to the US.

Background

Asiwe was the second US-based Nigerian Internet writer to be arrested by the SSS and detained incommunicado in October. Jonathan Elendu of Elendureports.com was arrested on his arrival in Abuja for a family visit on 17 October and detained incommunicado without charge for 11 days before being provisionally released without charge on 29 October. He was reportedly questioned about his alleged links to another US-based Nigerian news website, Saharareporters.com, his sources and funding and his opinions on the Nigerian president, as well as articles he had written on the president's health. He was denied legal and medical assistance for most of his detention, only gaining access to his lawyer on the tenth day of his arrest. Some reports suggested that the writer was ill treated during his detention. His travel documents also remained confiscated.

Both detentions are in contravention of Nigerian law, which stipulates that anyone arrested must be charged in court within 48 hours. They are reportedly part of a government crackdown on foreign-based Nigerian political websites since the publication of controversial photos of President Umaru Yar'Adua's son by a popular news blog.

Links

• Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF): http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=29324
• Update #2 to RAN 57/08 - http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/nigeria-one-internet-writer-released-another-detained

• RAN 57/08 - http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/nigeria-blogger-detained-incommunicado-fears-for-health

** English PEN would like to thank all those who sent appeals on behalf of Emmanuel Emeka Asiwe. **

Read More: http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/nigeria-one-internet-writer-released-another-detained
http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/2949/prmID/1610
http://www.nigeriancuriosity.com/

Join and raise yourVoice of protest for Comedian Zargana in notorious Insein prison in burma

the Mandalay Gazette shows politician U Win Naing (L), comedian Zarganar (R) offering food and water to monks

World Writers‘ Association ‘stunned’ by the sentencing of Burmese Poet and Comedian Zargana

25 November 2008
International PEN is stunned by the forty-five year prison sentence handed down on 21 November 2008 to poet and comedian Zargana in Burma. One of Burma's most courageous defenders of the right to speak out against tyranny, Zargana is among a number of leading dissidents to have been sentenced in recent days in special courts held inside the notorious Insein prison for their peaceful opposition activities, many to staggeringly harsh sentences. He still faces further charges, and it is feared that more years could be added to his sentence in the next hearing scheduled for 27 November.
Zargana has long been a scourge to the Burmese government, and spent several years in prison in the early 1990s for his support for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. In 1988 he was briefly imprisoned for six months, and during that time produced some of the most outstanding poetry to come of political prisons in recent years. One of these defiant verses proclaimed:
With row upon row of iron bars

They can cage me.

With the heat of seven suns

They can roast me.

With a battalion of ogres

They can guard me.
But if I took my scarlet blood

And sprayed it all across the sky

The bars would melt

The ogres kneel

Their suns kowtow before me.

The Burmese authorities cannot justify the shocking sentences against Zargana and scores of other prisoners of conscience recently sentenced in Burma, alongside those who are already imprisoned. International PEN calls to writers worldwide to protest the sentences and to call for the release of all Burmese prisoners of conscience.
Jiri Grusa, International President
Eugene Schoulgin, International Secretary
On behalf of the Board of International PEN.
For further information, please contact

Cathy McCann at International PEN WiPC,

Brownlow House, 50-51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER. Tel: +44 (0) 2074050338, Fax: +44(0) 2074050339.

Email: http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/ipfarcry/conjuror/Cathy.McCann@internationalpen.org.uk

Poet Yusuf Juma ill-treated in prison

Thursday, December 27, 2007
The courage of Yusuf Juma
Earlier this month, Yusuf Juma and his sons began a series of small demonstrations in Bukhara, by holding posters which called for the resignation of President Karimov. There was an election campaign at the time. They were severely beaten for this. In the evening, the Uzbek security forces stormed Yusuf Juma's house. They killed two of the family's dogs, They destroyed the poet's archive and library as well as other personal possessions. They arrested his daughter. Yusuf Juma escaped. He wrote an account of what happened on that evening. This is part of his account:
"At approximately 18.00 we heard people outside shouting ‘Babur! Babur! Run away!” I was reading at this time. I looked out from the window, but didn’t see anyone. I then went outside and saw a lot of people getting out of their cars. Having seen this entire army all the people in the village were shouting to us, “Run away! Run away!” Then the men started shooting.
"Bullets were coming like rain from all directions. They were shooting from our cow-shed. I ran away, barefoot. My wife and nine-year-old son Javhar ran out of the second house. Three of us hid behind a water tank. A group of armed men stormed into my room. I heard one of my sons asking to see whoever was in charge.
"Another two of my children were left surrounded in our second house. They were still shooting. We heard the sounds of dogs, cows, geese, and chicken being shot.
"One of the armed men spoke. "He must be a leader of the terrorists. Here are his notebooks, his books. He might be hiding behind the curtain. Open fire!" Another said, "Smash the head of this man who has lifted his head against our Leader!"
"They were shooting ceaselessly from four sides. "We are dead . . . " whispered my wife. "Forget about us, but what will happen with the kids? They’ll also be killed."
"My son Javhar was trying to hide my foot. "They can see it, they will shoot!" he whispered.
"They were shooting in all the rooms, shooting everywhere. They were shooting at locked doors. They were using automatic machine guns, pistols and firearms.
""Mother f***er, this guy's house is surrounded by trees. If they aren't at home, they must be hiding in the trees. Target every tree, every bush," someone ordered.
"They started to shoot with more intensity.
""This is our fate, but my poor boys . . ." cried my spouse.
"Suddenly the electricity was cut off. The terrorists who were in my room shouted: "Why have the lights gone out?" Then they left.
"We went to the house of our neighbor who himself was an employee of the National Security Service. Then they started to shoot at us. The bullets were flying above our heads. But God saved us. However our two children were still left behind in the second house.
"After few minutes, my wife couldn't take it. "I won’t leave my children, I will go back. They can't survive after this shooting . . . I would prefer to die," my wife said.
"I tried to calm her down. "Don’t be silly! God will save them, you will see. He will protect us.""

Yusuf Juma escaped with most of his family that night. On 19th December, he and his son Bobur were arrested at the hosue of Mukhiddin Akramkhodjaev. Since then, they have been held in detention and denied access to lawyers.


In May 2005, hundreds of unarmed demonstrators were shot and killed in Andijan, in Uzbekistan.

The poet Yusuf Juma wrote these lines about those who died:

The best men of the people were shot in Andijan.

Elders like Dukchi-ishan, were shot in Andijan.

People were shot in Namangana, shot in Fergana, the very best lions were shot in Andijan.

The blind are alive, the jackals are alive,

Sharifjan Shokurovs were shot in Andijan.

Future Babarakhin Mashrabs were killed,

tigers like Babur were shot in Andijan.

In their hearts they were wild activists, endurers of the right way,

let their graves be full of light, they were shot in Andijan.

They went off faithful to their faith, they went off with open eyes,

the earth was left without men, they were shot at Andijan.


Poet Yusuf Juma ill-treated in prison
(WiPC/IFEX) - WiPC is concerned by reports that the Uzbek poet, Yusuf Juma, who was arrested in December 2007 and sentenced to five years imprisonment, is suffering ill-treatment in prison. The WiPC is seeking assurances of Juma's well-being, clarification of the reasons for Juma's detention and assurances that he is not being held in denial of his right to freedom of expression.
In early November, Feruza Juma, Juma's daughter, visited her father in the maximum-security Jaslyk prison. She reports that Juma's health is deteriorating and that he is suffering beatings and ill-treatment by the prison wardens. She claims that she saw bruises on her father's body. She reports that her request to the prison head to allow Juma to meet with his lawyer was refused.
Juma's sentence reportedly states that he should serve his five-year term at Kungrad prison, in Karakalpakstan, however he was transferred to Jaslyk prison earlier this year for unknown reasons. Jaslyk Prison, which is based in a remote area of northwest Uzbekistan, is notorious for its harsh conditions. It is situated in a former Soviet military camp on land said to be heavily contaminated with chemical and biological waste. With no roads, the only access is via infrequent rail links, making visits by family and lawyers extremely arduous, and thus infrequent.
BACKGROUND:
In early December 2007, Juma (also known as Yusuf Dzhumaev/Jumaev), aged 50, held a series of demonstrations in the south western city of Bukhara with other members of his family, during which they displayed posters calling for the resignation of Uzbek President Karimov who was standing for re-election in presidential elections (1). The posters were also posted on the Jumas' car as it drove around the city.
On 10 December, Juma and his family were staging a demonstration at a bus stop when they were ordered to disperse by police. According to reports, Juma and others got into their car and drove off, injuring two policemen as they attempted to halt the vehicle. That evening the Juma home was said to have been raided by police who shot into the house at random. Juma and his family fled into hiding. Some family members are now reported to be in exile.
Juma was arrested around 22 December along with his son, Bobur Juma. He was subsequently sentenced on 15 April 2008 to five years in prison under the Uzbek Criminal Code's Article 104 (Intentional Infliction of Serious Bodily Injury) and Article 219 (Resistance to Authority or Person Fulfilling Civil Duty). His son was given a suspended sentence and freed. According to reports, Juma does not deny that the two police could have been injured as he drove away. However, early police statements that the injuries had been minor were later changed to more serious injuries, leading to questions about whether more has been made of the incident so as to be sure that the dissident poet would be convicted and imprisoned.
Juma had earlier come to the attention of International PEN when, in October 2000, he was arrested on criminal charges that Uzbek human rights groups considered to have been trumped up as a means of penalising him for his outspoken criticism, some of which was carried on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The trial ended in September 2001 - its outcome unclear. He was again arrested in October 2001 and held for two months on charges of "anti constitutional activity", said to be related to two articles in which he accused Bukhara officials of corruption. In response to appeals from International PEN in 2001, the Uzbek National Security Service (NSS) wrote that Juma had been calling for a "holy jihad" and referred to previous charges levied in 1994 and 2000 under which Juma had been accused of physical attacks against his neighbours. Supporters dispute this, claiming that local people had been coerced by police to make false allegations. Until the arrest in December 2007, PEN had not received reports of further attacks against Juma, although it is apparent that he continued his dissident activities.
(1) President Karimov was re-elected on 23 December 2007 although questions arise as to whether he is qualified to stand for a third term when the Uzbek constitution does not allow for a president to serve for more than two. First elected to a five year term in 1991, his tenure was extended in 1995 by a further five years. He was re-elected in 2000, and in 2002 another referendum, also widely criticised, extended his term to 2007. This process has been widely criticised within Uzbekistan and abroad as being neither free nor fair.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Send appeals to authorities:- expressing concern at reports that Juma has suffered ill-treatment in prison and is being denied medical attention- referring to further concerns that the evidence against Juma may have been manipulated as a means of ensuring his conviction and imprisonment in retaliation for his long standing criticism of the government - calling for Juma to be freed immediately and unconditionally if he is being held solely in denial of his rights to freedom of expression and association, as guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Uzbekistan is a signatory
APPEALS TO:
Islam A. Karimov

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Rezidentysia prezidenta

Ul. Uzbekistaniskaia 43

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Fax: +998 71 139 5325

E-mail: presidents_office@press-service.uz

Rashidzhon Kodirov

General Prosecutor

Prokuratura Respubliki Uzbekistan

Ul. Gulyamova 66, 700047

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Fax: 998 71 133 39 17 / 133 73 68

E-mail: prokuratura@lawyer.com

Akmal Saidov

Head of the National Centre for Human Rights

Natsionalny tsentr po pravam cheloveka

5/3 Mustakillik Maidoni

Tashkent 700029Uzbekistan

Fax: +998 71 139 13 56
Please also send copies to the representative of Uzbekistan in your country.
If sending appeals after 21 December 2008, please contact WiPC for any updates.
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
MORE INFORMATION:
For further information, contact the WiPC, International PEN, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6ER, U.K., tel: +44 207 405 0338, fax: +44 207 405 0339, e-mail: wipc@internationalpen.org.uk, Internet: http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/uzbekistan-poet-yusuf-juma-detained
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2008/04/11/uzbekistan-yusuf-juma-a-martyr-poet/
http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1381
http://freecommonwealth.blogspot.com/2007/12/courage-of-yusuf-juma.html
http://uk.blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Tpv8PQc6erJG2MG9Z6bDMj1oGgx.?p=814
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=12027

Every November 15-The Day of the Imprisoned Writer

In the past year, at least thirty-eight writers and journalists have been killed around the world- many clearly in the pursuit of their professions, others in unclear circumstances. In Mexico there have been eight such deaths, five in Iraq and in Pakistan and multiple deaths also in countries such as Somalia, Guatemala, the Philippines, Thailand and Russia.
PEN Canada joins 145 PEN centres around the world every November 15-The Day of the Imprisoned Writer-to acknowledge the plight of individual writers imprisoned for speaking out and to condemn the unconscionable suppression by many governments worldwide of the human right to freedom of expression.
In addition to the writers killed, the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN has monitored over 1,000 attacks on writers and journalists in 90 countries, 200 of whom are serving long prison sentences; others have been threatened, harassed and attacked.
Each year PEN focuses on five cases - one from each world region-illustrating the type of repression faced daily by those who question and challenge and reveal truths through their writings. This year the focus cases are:
Azerbaijan: Eynullah Fatullayev - a journalist serving eight years for his political commentary and investigations into the murder of another journalist in 2005;
China: Tsering Woeser - a Tibetan writer and poet who writes in Chinese and who has been banned and suffers harassment for her writings on Tibet;
Iran: Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand - a journalist and Kurdish rights activist serving an 11-year prison sentence;
Peru: Melissa Rocío Patiño Hinostroza - a student and poet currently on trial for alleged links to a terrorist organization, although there is no evidence of her having carried out or advocated violence;
Zimbabwe: Writers, Cast and Crew - The Crocodile of Zambezi - a play that has been banned and led to actors and crew being beaten, and the playwrights threatened.
Writers and Journalists Killed Since Day of Imprisoned Writer - International PEN has recorded the killings of 38 writers and print journalists during the 12 months since the last Day of the Imprisoned Writer 15 November 2007.