NEAR Newsletter October 2004
Welcome to the NEAR Newsletter. In this edition you will find our most recent Action Alerts and also an ‘Academic Freedom in the Media’ section, listing news by country (October 2004). Any comments and suggestions about the content and layout of the newsletter will be gratefully received at roisin.joyce@nearinternational.org.
NEAR Action Alerts *Taken from the NEAR website
United States of America: Denies Visas to 61 Cuban Scholars
The U.S.A. has denied entry to 61 Cuban scholars scheduled to take part in the Latin American Studies Association's international congress in Las Vegas. US officials are quoted as saying the scholars were deemed "detrimental to the interests of the United States". Milagro Martinez, a political scientist who was to attend congress, confirmed that the U.
Colombia: Murdered for Standing Up for Public Education
Colombia news agency reports that the past weeks have seen a huge upsurge in deadly attacks on students, teachers and other workers in the Colombian education sector. Students and staff in the Colombian education sector strongly oppose a referendum, due to be held in October 2004, arguing that it includes measures that will destroy the public education system in Colombia.
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwean Government Targets Voter Education
The Zimbabwe government is seeking to pass a bill aimed at banning international rights groups from operating in the country and cut off foreign funding to local groups involved in governance issue. According to an official notice of amendment, proposed by the social welfare ministry, rights groups targeted by the “Non-Governmental Organisations Bill”, will include those involved in educating the public on anti-corruption programmes and issues of public transparency and accountability.
Syria: Kurdish Student Imprisoned for Three Years for Using Internet
Massud Hamid (please see related NEAR alerts), has been sentenced to three years in prison. Hamid a journalism student and member of Syria's Kurdish minority, was found guilty of "belonging to a secret organisation" and "attempting to incorporate part of Syria's territory into a third country." Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called for his immediate release, saying "the trial was completely unwarranted as he was simply exercising his right to circulate information freely on the Internet.
Moldova: Moldova Closes Minority Language School Despite International Protestations
Amnesty International calls on the authorities of the self-proclaimed Dnestr Moldavian Republic (DMR) to respect the right to freedom of expression of pupils, parents and teachers of Moldovan language schools which use Latin script in the DMR. Since the announcement by DMR authorities on 1 July 2004 that the schools would be closed parents, teachers and pupils have been peacefully protesting against the closure by occupying the schools.
Iraq: "Iraq's Education Systems Denies Children Education"
“The current [education] system [in Iraq] is effectively denying children a decent education, and the poor quality of the learning environment delivers a major blow to children” declared the UNICEF Iraq representative, Roger Wright. These declaration accompany the first comprehensive study on the condition of schools in post-conflict Iraq conducted by the Iraq Ministry of Education with the help of UNICEF.
Zimbabwe: Brutal Police Assault Leaves Student Union President Struggling for Life
Phillan Zamchiya, the president of the Zimbabwe Students Union (ZINASU) was severely assaulted on 14 October by unidentified police officers. He is in critical condition in a private hospital. Zamchiya was accused by the police of organising street demonstrations against the government of President Robert Mugabe ahead of the delivery of the judgment in the high treason trial against the president of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai.
** Please continue to send us any relevant cases involving threats to academic freedom and education rights, for potential alerts.
The Network for Education and Academic Rights (NEAR) is a membership-based, non-governmental organisation which facilitates international collaboration between organisations active in issues of academic freedom and educational rights, and committed to promoting an understanding of, and respect for, the values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
For more information about NEAR, please visit our website at www.nearinternational.org
For further information please contact:-
Roisin Joyce
Deputy Director
roisin.joyce@nearinternational.org