🚀 go-pugleaf

This is from the IFEX COMMUNIQUE # 6-20  27 May 1997

FOUR NEW MEMBERS WELCOMED TO IFEX AT ANNUAL MEETING IN PERU

JOINT ACTIONS ON PERU AND INDONESIA ATTRACT MEDIA ATTENTION

Four new members from around the world joined the International
Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) at the IFEX Annual Meeting
in Lima, Peru on 16-18 May. The meeting was hosted by the
Institute for Press and Society (IPYS). The new members are Free
Expression Ghana, Periodistas of Argentina, the Independent
Journalism Centre of Nigeria, and the Hong Kong Journalists
Association (HKJA). IFEX members and participants issued joint
statements on Peru and Indonesia, which attracted media coverage
in the Peruvian press, as did the meeting itself. There was also
a press conference on freedom of expression issues in Latin
America and the world. The joint statement on Peru calls for the
pardoning of jailed Peruvian journalists Hermes Rivera Guerrero
and Ernesto Llosa Giraldo, who have been unjustly accused of
terrorism. The joint statement on Indonesia expresses concern
about freedom of expression abuses, with particular regard to the
elections on 29 May. Among the joint actions planned are an
action on Hong Kong prior to the transition to Chinese rule on 1
July 1997, and one surrounding the elections in Nigeria. The
attendees at the meeting resolved to participate in more joint
actions than in the past.

The new IFEX Convenor is Mette Newth of the Norwegian Forum for
Freedom of Expression (NFFE). New Council members are the World
Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), Canada, the
Network for the Defence of Independent Media in Africa (NDIMA),
Kenya, the Institute for the Studies on Free Flow of Information
(ISAI), Indonesia, the Free Media Movement (FMM) of Sri Lanka,
and the West African Journalists' Association (WAJA). Other
Council members are the Canadian Committee to Protect Journalists
(CCPJ), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Freedom
House, Index on Censorship, IPYS, NFFE, the Pakistan Press
Foundation, and the Writers in Prison Committee of International
PEN.

The meeting was preceded by workshops attended by participants in
the IFEX Developing Countries Outreach Program. Topics included
resource development, effective action, network building, and how
to take advantage of communications technologies in freedom of
expression work. A session featured a talk by freed Peruvian
journalist Jesus Alfonso Castiglione Mendoza, whose case served
as a starting point for discussion on effective campaigning.

Participants at this year's annual meeting came from more
countries than ever before. New countries and regions represented
include Russia, the Pacific Islands, Egypt, Nigeria, Chile,
Guatemala, and Bangladesh.

** ** **

The IFEX "Communique" is published weekly in English, French and
Spanish by the IFEX Clearing House, Toronto. The facility is
operated by the Canadian Committee to Protect Journalists (CCPJ)
in partnership with the member organizations of the International
Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX). Contact the IFEX CH at
CCPJ, 490 Adelaide Street West, Suite 205, Toronto, Ontario, M5V
1T2, CANADA; Tel: (1-416) 703-1638; Fax: (1-416) 703-7034; or
E-mail: ifex@web.net. WWW site: http://www.ifex.org/.
"Communique" Editor: Kristina Stockwood. Subscriptions are
available by e-mail and surface mail. The views expressed in the
"Communique" are the responsibility of the sources to which they
are attributed.

___________________________________________________
Bruce Girard             Agencia Informativa Pulsar
Email: bgirard@pulsar.org.ec
http://www.web.net/amarc/pulsar.html
Fono/Fax: +593-2-501 180 o 551 674
Fax en Montreal, Canada: +1-514-221-2009
Av. Atahualpa 333, Casilla 17-08-8489, Quito, Ecuador