People's Resistance (Pakistan) Media Brief - Nov. 25, 2007

[Claude Almansi]

People's Resistance

~ Media briefs - Information for Journalists ~

25 November 2007

PLEASE SUPPORT THE ONGOING STRUGGLE OF PAKISTANI JOURNALISTS FOR DEMOCRACY AND AGAINST MEDIA RESTRICTIONS

PFUJ/IFJ Declaration, Nov 22: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), affiliated with the International Federation of Journalists, has started the second phase of protests against emergency rule and curbs on the media. A joint statement of the PFUJ and the IFJ (represented by Kanak Mani Dixit) denounced the imposition of the Provisional Constitutional Order announced on 3 November, 2007 and called for a rollback of all decisions and actions associated with that order. The statement urged reinstatement of the independent judiciary and return to the Constitution of 1973 “as the only way forward to democracy, pluralism and people-power.” - Complete statement at http://www.pfuj.info/ & http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?index=5533&Language=EN

INTERVIEWS, ANALYSIS, COMMENT:

Beginning of a movement (Resistance: The gift of a crisis) - By Beena Sarwar - The News on Sunday, Nov 25, 2007 -The previous jumble of activists are now joined by the young 'techies', artists, bankers and accountants -- a diverse, loose coalition called the People's Resistance… Something about the present situation has fired them up enough to engage in 'subversive' activities like public demonstrations against the martial law for which they know they can be arrested, tried for treason, or worse. http://jang.com.pk/thenews/nov2007-weekly/nos-25-11-2007/enc.htm#1

Gagged! - The News on Sunday Special Report, Nov 25, 2007: Editorial - “But gagged we always were, even if not as openly as now. The freedom we have enjoyed was never absolute; there were always ëno-go areasí, self-censorship was the unwritten rule every journalist was prepared to follow”…. Plus, interviews with M A Niazi, Executive Editor, daily The Nation; Imran Aslam, President Geo TV Network; Mushtaq Minhas, anchor of Aaj TV's discontinued show Bolta Pakistan; Kashif Abbasi, talk show host on ARYOne; Huma Ali, President, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) & Hamid Mir, talk show host, Geo TV -

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/nov2007-weekly/nos-25-11-2007/spr.htm#1

Pakistani media challenges emergency rule -By Robert Birsel (Reuters) KARACHI, Nov 25 - Outraged Pakistani journalists have been confronting police on the streets since President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule three weeks ago and muzzled the vibrant media that blossomed under his rule.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSISL10670320071125

PAKISTAN: Media Under Siege - By Beena Sarwar - Karachi, Nov 23 (IPS) - Musharraf’s ham-handed dealing with the media over the past year, and particularly the last couple of weeks, evokes bitter memories of the late Gen. Ziaul Haq’s martial law with its strict media censorship and ‘press advice’. Dissenting journalists were arrested and some were even flogged. Musharraf has been comparatively benign… Until now, his claim that he gave the media more freedom than ever before was true to an extent, say journalists, but it is a freedom they have fought for, and it has come with a price. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40184

Difficult times for media are back - By Aroosa Masroor, Nov 24, 2007, Karachi - For senior journalist Shamim-ur-Rahman, also President of the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ), Tuesday’s attack on journalists by the police and law enforcers came as no shock. http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=82455

Road to Perdition - By Aijaz Zaka Syed, Khaleej Times Online, 24 Nov 2007

…This crackdown on the media and the entire civil society is actually the facade behind which the General is hiding to perpetuate himself in power.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/opinion/2007/November/opinion_November81.xml&section=opinion&col=

Emergency Times (blog), Nov 24, 2007 - Battleground High Court: hundreds upon hundreds of lawyers, young and old, men and women are dragged by their foreheads into dark and narrow police vans and no one knows where they are being taken. http://pakistanmartiallaw.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-are-we-fighting-for_24.html

NEWS ROUNDUP:

Geo TV to move out of Dubai - Dubai: Pakistan's most popular private satellite channel Geo Television Network is to move its base from Dubai to Hong Kong, Gulf News has learnt. http://archive.gulfnews.com/world/Pakistan/10170154.html

Banned TV talk show hosts take to live footpath shows – ‘On-road TV show attracts crowd’ - ISLAMABAD, Nov 24: The journalists’ protest against curbs on media revolved around a television talk show staged on Friday in front of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club Camp Office.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\11\24\story_24-11-2007_pg11_2

Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) starts second phase of protests - Nov 24: To start with the second phase of journalists protest plan, the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) has announced a sit-in outside Karachi Press Club on Saturday…, as per the schedule announced by Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), has given the call for the sit-in. - http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=82456

Sindh Governor orders withdrawal of cases against journalists - Karachi, Nov 25:

Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad, issued directives late Friday night to withdraw cases lodged against journalists earlier this week. Four journalists were booked under violation of section-144 in section 188 of PakistanPenal Code (PPC). http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=82454

Foreign diplomats condemn media clampdown - Nov 24, 2007, Karachi …Foreign envoys’ activities during the last two weeks remained focused on the political and human rights situation of the country.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=82464

PPP expresses solidarity with media while APDM protests too

KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has expressed its solidarity with the journalists of the print and electronic media and held a demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC) Friday.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C11%5C24%5Cstory_24-11-2007_pg12_5

Geo Television ‘Geo Writers Conference 2007’ - Karachi, Nov 23: Geo Television’s ‘Writers Conference 2007’ aimed at improving the standards of script writing and drama making keeping in view the requirements of modern times. http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=82445

Pak Journalists hold demo in Europe against curbs on media - PARIS: Pakistani journalists in European countries on Thursday condemned the restrictions on media and demanded of the government of Pakistan to restore the transmission of private TV channels otherwise they will kick off protest campaign against it. http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=120920

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