Monday, March 15, 2010
Nigeria / State radio reporter nearly killed by angry crowd
12 Mar 2010 12:57 Africa/Lagos
Nigeria / State radio reporter nearly killed by angry crowd
ABUJA, March 12, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- An angry crowd of mourners attending a mass funeral in Dogo Nahawa, central Nigeria, assaulted state radio reporter Murtala Sani on Monday. Sani, a reporter for the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, was assigned to cover the funeral of more than 40 people killed during a bloody March 7 attack on four villages in central Nigeria.
Sani and other journalists told CPJ that the state governor's adviser on religious matters, Pastor Choji, demanded Sani hand over his identification card and told nearby men that the reporter was an ethnic Hausa-Fulani. One man struck Sani and enlisted the crowd to join in the assault. “He was inches from losing his life,” said Wall Street Journal reporter Will Connors, who covered the funeral. “They wanted to kill him and throw his body in the mass grave with the others.”
Police fired in the air to disperse the assailants and then took Sani to a military hospital in the nearby city of Jos, the journalist told CPJ. He was treated for multiple injuries to his head and body. He was moved to a secure location today, journalists said. Sani's car was destroyed and his equipment was stolen, they told CPJ.
Conflicts between Yoruba and Igbo Christians and Hausa-Fulani Muslims have occurred intermittently in central Nigeria for nearly a decade. Hundreds of Christians were killed on Sunday in four villages near Jos, Plateau state, in an attack seen as reprisal for a January assault on Muslims. Although the conflict has evident religious and ethnic dimensions, it is also centered on land, resources, and political posts, local journalists told CPJ.
“The terrible violence in central Nigeria needs in-depth local and international coverage,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes. “Local authorities must do everything in their power to protect journalists in this environment—not instigate further violence.”
State Commissioner of Information Gregory Yenlong met Sani after the incident and pledged to cover his medical expenses. “[Sani] is a responsible, committed journalist. But he must take precautions in these tense times; he should ask for security coverage when covering these events.”
The crowd at the funeral also accosted Agence France-Presse reporter Aminu Abdulla and demanded that he prove “that he was a Christian” by reciting the Lord's Prayer, the journalist told CPJ. Abdulla managed to escape with the help of other journalists but lost equipment that he had kept in Sani's car, he said.
Source: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Hot Topics
AMA Releases New Older Driver Safety Guide
Apax Partners Reaches Definitive Agreement to Sell Tommy Hilfiger Group to Phillips-Van Heusen for euro 2.2 Billion
CONSOL Energy to Acquire Dominion's Appalachian E&P Business for $3.475 Billion In Cash
New Poll: One in Ten Employees Knowingly Violates IT Policy
International Pop Superstar Lady Gaga Announces 2010 North American Tour
FEMA and NOAA Renew Partnership to Encourage Flood Safety
PepsiCo to Increase Annual Dividend by 7 Percent; Authorizes Share Repurchases up to $15 Billion
Earthquake in Haiti
Nigeria / State radio reporter nearly killed by angry crowd
ABUJA, March 12, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- An angry crowd of mourners attending a mass funeral in Dogo Nahawa, central Nigeria, assaulted state radio reporter Murtala Sani on Monday. Sani, a reporter for the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, was assigned to cover the funeral of more than 40 people killed during a bloody March 7 attack on four villages in central Nigeria.
Sani and other journalists told CPJ that the state governor's adviser on religious matters, Pastor Choji, demanded Sani hand over his identification card and told nearby men that the reporter was an ethnic Hausa-Fulani. One man struck Sani and enlisted the crowd to join in the assault. “He was inches from losing his life,” said Wall Street Journal reporter Will Connors, who covered the funeral. “They wanted to kill him and throw his body in the mass grave with the others.”
Police fired in the air to disperse the assailants and then took Sani to a military hospital in the nearby city of Jos, the journalist told CPJ. He was treated for multiple injuries to his head and body. He was moved to a secure location today, journalists said. Sani's car was destroyed and his equipment was stolen, they told CPJ.
Conflicts between Yoruba and Igbo Christians and Hausa-Fulani Muslims have occurred intermittently in central Nigeria for nearly a decade. Hundreds of Christians were killed on Sunday in four villages near Jos, Plateau state, in an attack seen as reprisal for a January assault on Muslims. Although the conflict has evident religious and ethnic dimensions, it is also centered on land, resources, and political posts, local journalists told CPJ.
“The terrible violence in central Nigeria needs in-depth local and international coverage,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes. “Local authorities must do everything in their power to protect journalists in this environment—not instigate further violence.”
State Commissioner of Information Gregory Yenlong met Sani after the incident and pledged to cover his medical expenses. “[Sani] is a responsible, committed journalist. But he must take precautions in these tense times; he should ask for security coverage when covering these events.”
The crowd at the funeral also accosted Agence France-Presse reporter Aminu Abdulla and demanded that he prove “that he was a Christian” by reciting the Lord's Prayer, the journalist told CPJ. Abdulla managed to escape with the help of other journalists but lost equipment that he had kept in Sani's car, he said.
Source: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Hot Topics
AMA Releases New Older Driver Safety Guide
Apax Partners Reaches Definitive Agreement to Sell Tommy Hilfiger Group to Phillips-Van Heusen for euro 2.2 Billion
CONSOL Energy to Acquire Dominion's Appalachian E&P Business for $3.475 Billion In Cash
New Poll: One in Ten Employees Knowingly Violates IT Policy
International Pop Superstar Lady Gaga Announces 2010 North American Tour
FEMA and NOAA Renew Partnership to Encourage Flood Safety
PepsiCo to Increase Annual Dividend by 7 Percent; Authorizes Share Repurchases up to $15 Billion
Earthquake in Haiti
Nneka’s Concrete Jungle Tour in the USA
Nneka is 2010’s First Breakout Artist to perform on “The Late Show with David Letterman” on February 3rd.
“…righteously bold and heartbreakingly fragile.”-SPIN, 10 To Watch in 2010
“Nneka…is pure hotness.”-Rolling Stone
Nneka had a successful US tour from January 27th to Valentine’s Day. It was called the Concrete Jungle Tour and launched her stateside debut album that was released on February 2nd.The tour took her to 14 cities across the US, including New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
Nneka made her US late night television debut on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” on February 3rd.
Rolling Stone selected her as an Artist to Watch in 2010, and her video for “The Uncomfortable Truth” has been getting regular spins on both BET and MTV.
Shot throughout the course of her recent November 2009 visit to the US, the Who Is Nneka? video is an intimate look at the artist. See it HERE.
“My main message is to wake people up,” Nneka said. “To make them feel themselves; to make them feel their spirit; to be in touch with their innermost.”
From the critical acclaim of her recent collaborative mixtape The Madness (Onye-Ala) with DJ and producer extraordinaire J.Period to her sold-out performances with The Roots in NYC, Nneka’s certainly only just getting started.
“There’s so much that I, myself, have to learn in my life…and there’s still much that I do not know. At the same time I’m sharing my music with people, [I’m] learning from that sharing.”
For more information or to interview Nneka, give us a ring!
Pam Nashel Leto (212) 989-2222 x 111 pam@Girlie.com
Kabeer Malhotra (212) 989-2222 x 123 kabeer@Girlie.com
Vickie Starr (212) 989-2222, x101 vickie@girlie.com
Alexandra Dunne (212) 833-5429 alexandra.dunne@sonymusic.com
www.myspace.com/nnekaworld
WATCH: Lady Gaga Premieres Epic "Telephone" Video
The 'Hottest' Researchers in the World
Rudolf Jaenisch, M.D.
15 Mar 2010 05:01 Africa/Lagos
Thomson Reuters Names the World's 'Hottest' Researchers
PHILADELPHIA and LONDON, March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's "hottest" researcher is biochemist Rudolf Jaenisch, M.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is joined by scientists scattered from Ann Arbor to Osaka on the annual Thomson Reuters list of the world's 12 hottest researchers.
In its March/April issue of Science Watch, Thomson Reuters identified the dozen authors whose recent papers were cited most often by other researchers during 2009. Jaenisch authored 14 of these Hot Papers. His research investigates reprogrammed fibroblast cells in models of Parkinson's disease, sickle-cell anemia and other conditions.
Mark J. Daly from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard produced 13 Hot Papers on genetic mapping and genome-wide association studies. Several of these reports were co-authored with David Altshuler and Paul I.W. de Bakker from the Broad Institute and Goncalo Abecasis of the University of Michigan -- all of whom are making their first appearance in the annual Top 12 list.
The Broad Institute has a fourth researcher on the list: genomics researcher Eric S. Lander.
Two materials professors from Manchester University in England earned spots in the Top 12: Andre K. Geim and Konstantin Novoselov.
Shizuo Akira of Osaka University, named by Thomson Reuters as the hottest researcher in 2005 and 2006, returned to the list this year with nine Hot Papers exploring toll-like receptors and aspects of innate immunity.
Rounding out the list are Carlo M. Croce from Ohio State University, Mikhail Katsnelson from Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and Ji-Huan He from Donghua University in Shanghai, China.
"Our annual roundup of researchers who have authored multiple Hot Papers allows us to recognize those who are leading scientific thought," said Christopher King, editor of Science Watch. "It is exciting to see several researchers make first-time appearances on the list."
Thomson Reuters Hot Papers are derived from its Web of Science(SM) database. A published work is identified as a Hot Paper if it is less than two years old and has achieved a rate of citations in scientific journals that is markedly higher than papers of comparable type and age. The researchers named have published the most Hot Papers in the latest two-year period indexed by Thomson Reuters for inclusion in Web of Science.
For a detailed list of the 2008-2009 hottest researchers and research papers, as well as expert analysis, visit ScienceWatch.com.
Here's the full list:
1. Rudolf Jaenisch
Whitehead Institute at MIT has 14 papers in Biochemistry.
2. Mark J. Daly
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has 13 papers in Genetics.
3. Andre K. Geim
University of Manchester has 13 in Materials.
4. David Altshuler
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has 13 papers in Genetics.
5. Konstantin Novoselov
University of Manchester has 12 papers in Materials.
6. Carlo M. Croce
Ohio State University has 12 papers in Cancer Genetics.
7. Goncalo Abecasis
University of Michigan has 10 papers in Biostatistics.
8. Eric S. Lander
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has 10 papers in Genomics.
9. Mikhail Katsnelson
Radboud University of Nijmegen has 10 papers in Materials.
10. Ji-Huan He
Donghua University has 10 papers in Mathematics.
11. Paul I.W. de Bakker
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has 9 papers in Genetics.
12. Shizuo Akira
Osaka University has 9 papers in Immunology.
About Thomson Reuters:
Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people and operates in over 100 countries. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: TRI) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:TRI) . For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com.
Source: Thomson Reuters
CONTACT: Susan Besaw, Manager, PR & Communications Healthcare & Science
of Thomson Reuters, +1-215-823-1840, susan.besaw@thomsonreuters.com
Web Site: Thomson Reuters
Nokia : Video Competition
Nokia : Video Competition
Grand Prize
Once in a lifetime trip to experience the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City (worth up to $10,000 US Dollars). Prize includes:
Exclusive Nokia screening event of your video during the Cannes Festival with flights and accommodation
Round trip airfare for two (2) to New York City from a major airport nearest winner's home
4 day/3 night hotel accommodations
Screening passes and after party access
Nokia N900 mobile computer
Nokia 3G Netbook
Nokia BH905 noise cancelling headphones
2nd Prize
Exclusive Nokia screening event of your video during the Cannes Festival with flights and accommodation
Nokia N900 mobile computer
Nokia BH905 noise cancelling headphones
3rd Prize
Exclusive Nokia screening event of your video during the Cannes Festival with flights and accommodation
Nokia X6 16GB
Nokia BH905 noise cancelling headphones
4th Prize
Nokia X6 16GB
Nokia BH905 noise cancelling headphones
5th Prize
Nokia X6 16GB
Nokia BH905 noise canceling headphones
Runner Up Prizes
5 x Kodak Zi8 Hi-Definition Video Cameras
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE RULES AND GUIDELINES.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Adaobi Nwaubani Wins Coveted Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book
Adaobi Nwaubani Wins Coveted Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book
~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani's novel I Do Not Come to You by Chance has won her the 2010 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book in the Africa Region.
The crime fiction tells the story of the notorious Nigerian 419 Internet scammers from a very sensitive narrative writer and has been described as a must read by The Washington Post.
"Nwaubani's subversive skill lies in telling us a familiar story from an unfamiliar angle. By making Robin Hood heroes of the vilified perpetrators of e-mail scams, she allows us to enjoy watching a potbellied pervert from Utah pay an African village kid's school fees," wrote Chris Cleave in The Washington Post on Saturday, May 23, 2009. I Do Not Come to You by Chance made the highly esteemed newspaper's Best Books of the Year in 2009.
Adaobi is the Editor of Elan, a small glossy fashion and style magazine published by Timbuktu Media in Nigeria.
~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani's novel I Do Not Come to You by Chance has won her the 2010 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book in the Africa Region.
The crime fiction tells the story of the notorious Nigerian 419 Internet scammers from a very sensitive narrative writer and has been described as a must read by The Washington Post.
"Nwaubani's subversive skill lies in telling us a familiar story from an unfamiliar angle. By making Robin Hood heroes of the vilified perpetrators of e-mail scams, she allows us to enjoy watching a potbellied pervert from Utah pay an African village kid's school fees," wrote Chris Cleave in The Washington Post on Saturday, May 23, 2009. I Do Not Come to You by Chance made the highly esteemed newspaper's Best Books of the Year in 2009.
Adaobi is the Editor of Elan, a small glossy fashion and style magazine published by Timbuktu Media in Nigeria.
Friday, March 12, 2010
President Obama Donates $125,000 of Nobel Prize Money to American Indian College Fund
President Barack Obama received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway on Thursday, December 10, 2009.
12 Mar 2010 01:35 Africa/Lagos
President Obama Donates $125,000 of Nobel Prize Money to American Indian College Fund
DENVER, March 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Obama announced today that he will donate $125,000 of his $1.4 million 2009 Nobel Peace Prize monies to the American Indian College Fund (the Fund). In a statement issued by the White House, Obama said of the Fund and nine other charity organizations that received donations from the president, "These organizations do extraordinary work in the United States and abroad helping students, veterans and countless others in need. I'm proud to support their work."
"We are thrilled that President Obama has chosen to publicly acknowledge the work the American Indian College Fund is doing in Indian Country by sharing $125,000 of his prestigious Nobel Peace Prize award with us," said Richard B. Williams, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund. "As a result of President Obama's vision and leadership, through his donation to the Fund along with nine other outstanding charities, he is setting an example for how all Americans can help those less fortunate. The gift will be used to support Native scholarships at America's 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities."
According to the White House Statement, these charities include Fisher House, which provides housing for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers; the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, which raises money for long-term relief efforts in Haiti after its earthquake; College Summit, which partners with elementary and middle schools and school districts to increase college enrollment and student preparation; the Posse Foundation, a scholarship organization which identifies public high school students with academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes; the United Negro College Fund, which helps 60,000 students yearly to attend college through scholarship and internship programs; the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the nation's leading Hispanic scholarship organization; the Appalachian Leadership and Education Foundation, which supports and enables young Appalachians to pursue higher education though scholarship and leadership curriculum; AfriCare, which supports health and HIV/AIDS, food security and agriculture, and water resource development projects in 25 countries; and the Central Asia Institute, which promotes and supports community-based education and literacy, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
About the American Indian College Fund
With its credo "Educating the Mind and Spirit," the American Indian College Fund is the nation's largest provider of private scholarships for American Indian students, providing an average of 6,000 scholarships annually for students seeking to better their lives and communities through education and support to the nation's 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org
Source: American Indian College Fund
CONTACT: Dina Horwedel, Director, Public Education, +1-303-430-5350
(direct), or +1-720-394-8073 (cell), dhorwedel@collegefund.org
Web Site: http://www.collegefund.org/
Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time 12 Mar 2010
12:49 El presidente Obama dona 125.000 d?lares estadounidenses al American Indian College Fund
12:29 A Further Salvo in the OXO v Hydro Plastics War:
11:00 Bridgepoint Education's Ashford University Forms Articulation Agreement With Nashville State Community College
01:35 President Obama Donates $125,000 of Nobel Prize Money to American Indian College Fund
00:03 Poll Results of Finance Students at University of Dayton's Rise Investment Forum to Be Available Through Twitter, Facebook
11 Mar 2010
23:24 Mars Area HS Student Wins Visions and Voices Best of Show, Eleven Students Receive Best of Category Honors at PTI
Related report:
The President Donates Nobel Prize Money to Charity
Brazil's GDP Down 0.2% in 2009, Demonstrating Resilience Amidst Global Economic Crisis
11 Mar 2010 21:12 Africa/Lagos
Brazil's GDP Down 0.2% in 2009, Demonstrating Resilience Amidst Global Economic Crisis
Fourth quarter growth in consumption and investments supported growth, says Finance Minister Mantega
BRASILIA, Brazil, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federative Republic of Brazil announced today that its economy saw only a moderate decline amid the global recession in 2009, with a 0.2 percent decrease in annual real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services adjusted for inflation -- to R$ 3.14 trillion (at current values), equivalent to US$ 1.58 trillion. In the fourth quarter of 2009, real GDP rose 2 percent (seasonally adjusted) over the third quarter of 2009, according to data released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
"Both our fourth quarter and full year GDP performance show that Brazil, despite the difficult economic environment throughout 2009, successfully recovered from the global financial crisis. Through our sound macroeconomic steering, we feel we have demonstrated our resilience and weathered the storm better than most," said Finance Minister Guido Mantega. "We are already seeing strong indications of economic growth for the year ahead and expect at least 5 percent growth in 2010."
2009 Annual Performance Supported by Services Sector
Brazil's 0.2 percent decrease in annual GDP in 2009 was primarily a result of the performance of the services sector, which grew 2.6 percent, offsetting the performance of the agriculture and industry sectors, which declined 5.2 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. The economy was also supported by stable domestic demand, with household consumption growing 4.1 percent and a 3.7 percent increase in public administration consumption.
Q4 2009 Performance Buoyed by Investment and Domestic Consumption
The expansion in real GDP for the fourth quarter of 2009 in the seasonally adjusted series represents a 2 percent increase compared to the third quarter of 2009. Highlights of Q4 performance included 4.0 percent growth in the industrial sector, 0.6 percent growth in the services sector, and a stable 0.0 percent change in agricultural output. Regarding domestic demand, gross fixed capital formation recorded a growth of 6.6 percent, household consumption grew 1.9 percent and public administration consumption increased by 0.6 percent. These outcomes point to the recovery of private investments and increased consumption.
To access more information in English and the full press release in Portuguese, please visit IBGE's website: http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/presidencia/noticias/noticia_visualiza.php?id_n oticia=1571&id_pagina=1 (due to length of URL, please copy and paste into browser).
Source: SECOM
CONTACT: Steve Naru, +1-212-453-2228, steve.naru@fleishman.com, for
SECOM
Web site: http://www.brasil.gov.br/
Brazil's GDP Down 0.2% in 2009, Demonstrating Resilience Amidst Global Economic Crisis
Fourth quarter growth in consumption and investments supported growth, says Finance Minister Mantega
BRASILIA, Brazil, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federative Republic of Brazil announced today that its economy saw only a moderate decline amid the global recession in 2009, with a 0.2 percent decrease in annual real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services adjusted for inflation -- to R$ 3.14 trillion (at current values), equivalent to US$ 1.58 trillion. In the fourth quarter of 2009, real GDP rose 2 percent (seasonally adjusted) over the third quarter of 2009, according to data released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
"Both our fourth quarter and full year GDP performance show that Brazil, despite the difficult economic environment throughout 2009, successfully recovered from the global financial crisis. Through our sound macroeconomic steering, we feel we have demonstrated our resilience and weathered the storm better than most," said Finance Minister Guido Mantega. "We are already seeing strong indications of economic growth for the year ahead and expect at least 5 percent growth in 2010."
2009 Annual Performance Supported by Services Sector
Brazil's 0.2 percent decrease in annual GDP in 2009 was primarily a result of the performance of the services sector, which grew 2.6 percent, offsetting the performance of the agriculture and industry sectors, which declined 5.2 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. The economy was also supported by stable domestic demand, with household consumption growing 4.1 percent and a 3.7 percent increase in public administration consumption.
Q4 2009 Performance Buoyed by Investment and Domestic Consumption
The expansion in real GDP for the fourth quarter of 2009 in the seasonally adjusted series represents a 2 percent increase compared to the third quarter of 2009. Highlights of Q4 performance included 4.0 percent growth in the industrial sector, 0.6 percent growth in the services sector, and a stable 0.0 percent change in agricultural output. Regarding domestic demand, gross fixed capital formation recorded a growth of 6.6 percent, household consumption grew 1.9 percent and public administration consumption increased by 0.6 percent. These outcomes point to the recovery of private investments and increased consumption.
To access more information in English and the full press release in Portuguese, please visit IBGE's website: http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/presidencia/noticias/noticia_visualiza.php?id_n oticia=1571&id_pagina=1 (due to length of URL, please copy and paste into browser).
Source: SECOM
CONTACT: Steve Naru, +1-212-453-2228, steve.naru@fleishman.com, for
SECOM
Web site: http://www.brasil.gov.br/
Nigerian and Indonesian Activists Challenge Repressive Measures in “Defamation of Religions” Debate
1 Mar 2010 17:52 Africa/Lagos
Nigerian and Indonesian Activists Challenge Repressive Measures in “Defamation of Religions” Debate
GENEVA, March 11, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Freedom House today held a panel discussion entitled “Free to Express, Free to Believe: The Defamation of Religions Debate” at the 13th Session of the Human Rights Council featuring human rights defenders from Indonesia, Nigeria and the United States who discussed options for combating religious discrimination without restricting free speech. Delegates from the United States, Chile, the UK, Italy, Denmark, Pakistan, Mexico and Brazil attended the session, together with about 75 UN and civil society representatives.
The issue of defamation of religions has become a highly polarized topic at the Human Rights Council with non-binding resolutions calling on governments to ban speech considered offensive to some religious believers continuing to pass each year since first introduced in 1999. The resolutions have yet to result in a decrease in acts of religious discrimination and intolerance, which continue to occur as moderate voices are drowned out of the debate.
“Freedom House has strongly opposed these resolutions not only because they pose unacceptable restrictions on free speech, but because they do nothing to address the real problem of discrimination and hate crimes based on a person's religious belief,” said panel moderator Paula Schriefer, Freedom House's director of advocacy.
Several states that have domestic laws against religious “defamation” are considering repealing or revising such laws, including Indonesia and Pakistan, whereas other states with these laws on the books have not demonstrated their effectiveness in combating the problem of religious discrimination and violence, as in the case of Nigeria. Nonetheless, the 56 countries that comprise the Organization of the Islamic Conference continue to advocate for a legal mechanism—in the form of an optional protocol to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)—that would go further than the nonbinding resolutions by banning “defamation of religions” under international law.
Panelists were united in the view that legal measures to protect religious beliefs from criticism are counterproductive to the goal of promoting religious tolerance. They instead advocated practical measures, such as social initiatives that encourage people of different faiths to work together, educational programs and dialogues among groups of different faiths, during which controversial religious tenets could be debated openly and without fear of reprisals.
“One might conclude that these laws are really useless,” said panelist Edetaen Ojo, director of Media Rights Agenda, an organization established in 1993 to promote freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Nigeria. “Religious violence will continue to occur in Nigeria unless steps are undertaken to educate Nigeria's children and to generate genuine dialogue among its population.”
Panelists also warned against the use of defamation laws to suppress religious minorities.
“Most of the time, the blasphemy law is misused to criminalize the internal minority sect of religion, or traditional believers who have different interpretations of the official religion,” said panelist Renata Arianingtyas, an activist from an Indonesian NGO that promotes human rights and justice through legal education.
Background on the “defamation of religions” debate can be found on the Freedom House website as well as report card on the performance of the Human Rights Council from 2007-2009
Media interested in interviewing any of the panelists should contact Courtney C. Radsch at +1 202-378-0006 or by email at radsch@freedomhouse.org
Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.
Source: Freedom House
Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time 11 Mar 2010
17:52 Nigerian and Indonesian Activists Challenge Repressive Measures in “Defamation of Religions” Debate
16:36 MTN Group Reports Sound Operational Performance for the Year Ended 31 December 2009
15:00 China Precision Steel to Present at Roth Growth Conference on March 16, 2010
03:26 Nigeria / Red Cross assisting victims of Jos violence
Nigerian and Indonesian Activists Challenge Repressive Measures in “Defamation of Religions” Debate
GENEVA, March 11, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Freedom House today held a panel discussion entitled “Free to Express, Free to Believe: The Defamation of Religions Debate” at the 13th Session of the Human Rights Council featuring human rights defenders from Indonesia, Nigeria and the United States who discussed options for combating religious discrimination without restricting free speech. Delegates from the United States, Chile, the UK, Italy, Denmark, Pakistan, Mexico and Brazil attended the session, together with about 75 UN and civil society representatives.
The issue of defamation of religions has become a highly polarized topic at the Human Rights Council with non-binding resolutions calling on governments to ban speech considered offensive to some religious believers continuing to pass each year since first introduced in 1999. The resolutions have yet to result in a decrease in acts of religious discrimination and intolerance, which continue to occur as moderate voices are drowned out of the debate.
“Freedom House has strongly opposed these resolutions not only because they pose unacceptable restrictions on free speech, but because they do nothing to address the real problem of discrimination and hate crimes based on a person's religious belief,” said panel moderator Paula Schriefer, Freedom House's director of advocacy.
Several states that have domestic laws against religious “defamation” are considering repealing or revising such laws, including Indonesia and Pakistan, whereas other states with these laws on the books have not demonstrated their effectiveness in combating the problem of religious discrimination and violence, as in the case of Nigeria. Nonetheless, the 56 countries that comprise the Organization of the Islamic Conference continue to advocate for a legal mechanism—in the form of an optional protocol to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)—that would go further than the nonbinding resolutions by banning “defamation of religions” under international law.
Panelists were united in the view that legal measures to protect religious beliefs from criticism are counterproductive to the goal of promoting religious tolerance. They instead advocated practical measures, such as social initiatives that encourage people of different faiths to work together, educational programs and dialogues among groups of different faiths, during which controversial religious tenets could be debated openly and without fear of reprisals.
“One might conclude that these laws are really useless,” said panelist Edetaen Ojo, director of Media Rights Agenda, an organization established in 1993 to promote freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Nigeria. “Religious violence will continue to occur in Nigeria unless steps are undertaken to educate Nigeria's children and to generate genuine dialogue among its population.”
Panelists also warned against the use of defamation laws to suppress religious minorities.
“Most of the time, the blasphemy law is misused to criminalize the internal minority sect of religion, or traditional believers who have different interpretations of the official religion,” said panelist Renata Arianingtyas, an activist from an Indonesian NGO that promotes human rights and justice through legal education.
Background on the “defamation of religions” debate can be found on the Freedom House website as well as report card on the performance of the Human Rights Council from 2007-2009
Media interested in interviewing any of the panelists should contact Courtney C. Radsch at +1 202-378-0006 or by email at radsch@freedomhouse.org
Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.
Source: Freedom House
Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time 11 Mar 2010
17:52 Nigerian and Indonesian Activists Challenge Repressive Measures in “Defamation of Religions” Debate
16:36 MTN Group Reports Sound Operational Performance for the Year Ended 31 December 2009
15:00 China Precision Steel to Present at Roth Growth Conference on March 16, 2010
03:26 Nigeria / Red Cross assisting victims of Jos violence
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Nigeria: Two Popular Nollywood Stars Murdered in Benin
View "Ukeke" in "Avielele", a Bini Edo movie.
Popular Edo State Nollywood stars Mr. Erhauyi Ogbeide, a.k.a "Ukeke" and Eghosa Idehen, a.k.a "Erejiro" were reported shot and killed Tuesday evening at the home of "Ukeke"’s father-in-law, located at 39, Ore-Oghene Street in Benin at about 8pm, according to the Daily Trust newspaper in Nigeria.
Erhauyi Ogbeide played leading roles in several Bini Edo moves such as "Avielele".
Click here for more details.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)