http://www.minivannews.com/news_detail.php?id=6118
Maldives to become haven for dissident writers 6 March 2009 Maryam OmidiPresident Mohamed Nasheed has said he intends to turn the Maldives into a sanctuary for opposition journalists from countries such as Burma. The announcement came during a meeting today with Frank La Rue, the special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression. Nasheed came to power on 28 October 2008 ending the former president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s 30-year rule. A political prisoner under Gayoom, Nasheed was made an Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience in 1991 after being imprisoned for his political writings in Sangu magazine at a time when there was very little vocal criticism, and then again in 1997. Last month, Nasheed spoke out against the 14-year detention of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners by the Burmese military authorities. In a strongly-worded letter to Ibrahim Gambari, the UN special envoy to Burma, President Nasheed wrote: “As a former political prisoner myself, it is especially distressing to see that nearly 2,000 political prisoners are currently languishing in the jails of Burma without hope of freedom,” wrote. Speaking about the state of freedom of expression in the Maldives in the meeting with the special rapporteur today, the president said the government had “opened up” state media and was moving towards surrendering all its control over state media, including making it “equally accessible to all parties”. He added although there were a number of challenges faced by print media, the government was in the process of attracting foreign investment to help develop the industry. At a press conference today, La Rue said he was “very well impressed” with the Maldives’ smooth transition to a democratic state. “I think there’s a strong commitment by the president and the new government,” he said. “I want to say I’m impressed. All sectors of society, with the exception of one political party...expressed and manifested that they were fearless in the use of their freedom of expression. That their sense of fear, their sense of oppression has banished and disappeared from their attitudes.” Irene Khan, the secretary-general of Amnesty International, told the Vice-president Dr Mohamed Waheed in February the Maldives has the best human rights record and more press freedom than any other country in South Asia. At the meeting with La Rue today, Waheed said it was essential for the Maldives to have the opportunity to speak out in international forums and media on climate change issues. La Rue said all countries should be concerned with global warming and finding alternative energy sources, adding freedom of expression and access to information could be used to develop a national eco-consciousness in the Maldives. ------------------------------------ -- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTMedia mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to [email protected], OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE Share media news, discuss journalism issues and network with media professionals across South Asia on this mailing list. Just write to [email protected] TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTMedia by sending a blank mail to [email protected] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTCaste: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
