NEAR Newsletter January 2007
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 (January 2007). 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
Sri Lanka: University Vice-Chancellor Abducted
The Vice-Chancellor of Eastern University of Sri Lanka (EUOSL) was abducted while attending a conference of the Sri Lankan Association for the Advancement of Science on 15 December 2006. Professor Sivasubramanium Raveendranath, a 55 year old hypertensive heart patient and a father of two, was in Sri Lanka’s Capital, Colombo attending the conference and was in an area tightly controlled by the military.
United States of America: Registration Process Must be Reviewed in USA
Amnesty International issued, on the 10 January 2003, a statement concerning the new security rules requiring the registration of males from Arab and Muslim countries with the United States immigration authorities. Amnesty International is calling on the US authorities to ensure respect for the human rights of non citizens and to review the special registration process to ensure that it is administered fairly and complies with the principle of non-discrimination under international law.
Syria: Syria, Teacher Released After Five Months Detention
After five months of detention, Ali Sayed al-Shihabi, a 50-year-old English teacher was released by Syrian authorities on 9 January 2007. The teacher had been arrested the 10 August 2006 (Please see related NEAR Alerts) for posting articles on far-left websites. Reporters Without Borders (RWB) informs that he was freed under a presidential amnesty marking the Muslim Eid celebrations.
Burma (Myanmar): Former Student Activists Released After Three Months Detention
Ko Min Ko Naing, Ko Htay Kywe, Ko Ko Gyi, Pyone Cho, former students activist have been release the 11 January 2007, after more than three months of detention. According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRCHK), the five, belonging to the organisation 88 Generation Students, were arrested by police as suspects of planning bombings in the country and accepting financial assistance from foreign embassies.
United States of America: US Provider Terminates Iranian Student Website
The Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) on 14 January 2005 had its contract terminated by the American hosting provider ‘The Planet’. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has written to the company seeking an explanation for its decision. RSF commented that Iranian Internet users already suffer relentless government censorship (please see related NEAR Alerts), so it is all the more important for American hosting providers to demonstrate their respect for free expression.
** 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