​Nobel Peace Prize winner, Liu Xiaobo, has died after spending the last eight years of his life in Jinzhou prison in northeast China. Writer, literary critic and human rights activist, Liu Xiaobo was a former president of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre. He was denied access to friends, family and colleagues after his arrest in December 2009 on a charge of ‘inciting subversion of state power.’
He continued to write from within prison, including poetry that expressed continued hope for a China freed from discrimination and human rights abuses. At the December 2010 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo, Liu Xiaobo’s medal and diploma were presented to an empty chair. News of his death signalled the beginning of a flow of tributes from PEN centres worldwide.
 
‘On this sad day I remember the 2010 image of the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Thorbjoern Jagland, sitting beside Liu Xiaobo’s medal and diploma on an empty chair – PEN’s symbol for imprisoned writers.  On that day the world honoured and celebrated Liu Xiaobo’s courage as it does again today. Liu once said, ‘I hope I will be the last victim in China’s long record of treating words as crimes’.  We must continue to uphold his dream.’
– Jennifer Clement, PEN President
 
‘Jan Patocka wrote that, ‘the real test of a man is not how well he plays the role he has invented for himself, but how well he plays the role that destiny assigned to him.’ Patocka drafted and signed with Havel the Charter 77 and died after a marathon interrogation by Czech Police; he remains the symbol of freedom for Czechs. Dear Liu Xiaobo, dear PEN colleague, you have died today because of the treatment imposed on you by Chinese authorities after you signed the Charter 2008. Your PEN friends around the world will praise your destiny and your commitment, we will praise you every single day until China will be free.’
– Carles Torner, PEN Executive Director
 
If you would like to pay tribute to Liu Xiaobo, you can write a message in memory here.
A poem by Liu Xiabo written from prison can be read here
 

​When Hate Speech and Free Speech Collide
This week the line between free speech and hate speech was thrust to the fore when the University of California at Berkeley cancelled a speech by the ultra-right movement’s Milo Yiannopoulos, editor of Breitbart News. Scheduled to speak at campus, Yiannopoulos’ speech was cancelled after protests and concerns that police could not guarantee security at the event.
Protestors gathered with signs stating that ‘Hate Speech is not Free Speech’ in response to Yiannopoulos, whose comments have been criticised as racist, misogynist, and anti- Muslim.
U.S. President Trump waded unto the debate with a tweet “If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS?”
Hate speech and free speech have an uneasy relationship. Last week, New Zealand’s Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy was reported as asking for police to ‘record hate crime statistics to combat racism’.
 

​EXODUS AT RUSSIAN PEN
 
Writers are abandoning PEN Russia. It is reported that Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich, follows 30 other writers in leaving PEN to protest the expulsion from PEN Russia of journalist and activist Sergey Parkhomenko.
 
PEN’s strength has always been in its ability to bring writers together irrespective of culture, language or political opinion. PEN was founded on the idea that ‘no politics in PEN Clubs – under any circumstances’. Since 1921 PEN has stood since for freedom of expression, peace and friendship, not political debate.
 
Being apolitical is not an easy line to walk. In 1933 German PEN failed to protest against the burning of books in Nazi Germany and tried to prevent a Jewish author from speaking at the Congress in Dubrovnik. As a result, German PEN had its membership withdrawn. 
Now, we see a similar controversy in Russia. PEN Russia has issued a statement in its defense which can be read here.

Rapper ‘50 Cent’ has been fined for offensive language in St Kitts. The small Caribbean Island has laws prohibiting profanity. '50 Cent' was fined at the airport under the Small Charges Act which prohibits offensive language in public places.  

20 June 2016
This week on 'Top Writers' (broadcast through Fresh FM) I shine the spotlight on the plight of Behrouz BOOCHANI, who has been incarcerated on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea for almost 3 years. Boochani is one writer out of the 1054 writers currently on PEN’s Case List. An Iranian national, in his native Iran, Boochani worked as a journalist for several newspapers. Since his detention on Manus Island Boochani has been documenting human rights violations, which he passes on to the Humanitarian Research Partners (HRP), who in turn pass the information on to the United Nations and its relevant agencies.

With the demise in freedom of speech in the Pacific, voices like Boochani, are a valuable link to what is going on in the region.

The podcast will be available Thursday 23rd June.
 
About 'Top Writers'
‘Top Writers’, is a radio show written and produced by Dana Wensley in conjunction with the Top of the South Branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors. It features a PEN section hosted by Dana Wensley. The show begins with freedom of speech issues, focusing the lens on one author each session. You can find out more about the show on http://www.topwriters.co.nz/radio-show.html

​The growing problem of freedom of expression in the Pacific was highlighted again this week by the continuing ban by the Fijian government of Television New Zealand Pacific Affairs correspondent Barbara Dreaver.

Dreaver is on a ‘blacklist’ of journalists banned from Fiji. In 2008 Dreaver was taken into custody after arriving in Fiji, detained overnight, and refused access to assistance from the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affair and Trade.

Following her detention she was deported back to New Zealand. For the past eight years she has been banned by the post-coup Fiji government, led by former military commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama, from entering the country, except for a one hour special dispensation to transit through Nadi International Airport.
Dreaver is the TVNZ’s Pacific Correspondent. NZ Prime Minister, John Key, described Barbara Dreaver as a ‘significant voice’ of the Pacific.

Other journalists also banned from Fiji include former Fairfax reporter Michael Field and Australian journalist Sean Dorney.

Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has stated he will not be lifting the ban which he sees as necessary to prevent the "wilful propagation of false information."

The continued ban on Barbara Dreaver is part of an ongoing slip in freedom of expression worldwide. In September 2015, dozens of journalists were banned from entering the Ukraine by President Petro Poroshenko. In April this year Thai journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk was banned from travelling to Finland to attend the UNESCO Press Freedom Day conference in May.

New Zealand currently ranks 5th in the world in the latest World Press Freedom Index. This is well ahead of Australia, which ranks 25th out of 180 countries. New Zealand should take its place as leader in the Pacific on the World Press Freedom Index, to make a clear stance in favour of Barbara Dreaver and the other journalists currently banned from Fiji. In the last year there has been a marked erosion worldwide in freedom of expression.

Freedom of Expression is a right guaranteed under the European Convention of Human Rights. Article 19 of which states, ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression’. PEN NZ notes that this right includes the freedom to ‘seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.’
 
more
 

PEN is interested in freedom of speech issues in relation to both fiction and nonfiction. In Canada, under the Conservative government of Steven Harper, PEN Canada advocated strongly for publicly funded scientists who were ‘gagged’ and prevented from presenting their research findings in the public arena.

Is the same happening in New Zealand?

Shaun Hendy, author of Silencing Science argues that ‘scientists are often prevented from speaking out, either by commercial interests or concerns about their funding and criticism from their peers.’  

​Shaun Hendy is professor of physics at the University of Auckland and director of Te Punaha Matatini

PEN CASE LIST: UPDATED
Each year PEN International produces a case list of persecuted writers. From January 2015 to Dec 2015 there were 1054 writers brought to PEN’s attention. The Case List provides a breakdown of writers by country, and a further indication of field of work. Journalists, bloggers, and those involved in digital media are prominent this year in the chilling read of statistics. The full report is available here.
 
Early Release: Vietnam
PEN welcomes the early release of poet, essayist, and scholar Father Nguyen Van Ly. A Catholic priest, Father Nguyen Van Ly has been serving an 8 year prison term for ‘conducting propaganda against the state’. It is great to have good news to report. NZSA and PEN thank Writers in Prison Committee team coordinator Lesley Marshall, and her team of writers who support the PEN Rapid Action network in NZ. Find out more about the Rapid Action Network and how to join here.
​
PEN ISSUES: ‘TOP WRITERS’ RADIO SHOW
‘Top Writers’, a show which interviews authors from the Top of the South Branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors, features a PEN section hosted by Dana Wensley. The show begins with freedom of speech issues, focusing the lens on one author each session. This Saturday, the show examines the power of fiction and the Film and Literature Board of Review decision following the interim ban on Into the River. The show airs on Fresh FM. More
​

For the first time in New Zealand history the Films, Videos and Publications Act has been used to sentence someone for carrying or procuring graphic material that could promote acts of terrorism or torture.The material is said in the court documents to tend to "promote or support acts of torture or the infliction of extreme violence or cruelty". This is the first time in New Zealand the Films, Videos and Publications Act has been used to suppress propaganda related to acts of terrorism. Last year, the Act was used to consider whether the teen novel, Into the River, should be banned or restricted for its language and scenes of nudity or sexual encounter between school pupil and a teacher. For more information see the Herald article here.

Report into Fruit Juice Industry Lands Blogger in Court
Blogger and British rights activist, Andy Hall, has been charged with criminal defamation, and offences under the Computer Crimes Act. Hall, facing a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, has investigated the fruit juice industry in Thailand and published a report which details alleged abuses of migrant workers committed by the Natural Fruit Company Limited. The report, published by Finnwatch in 2013, reportedly details interviews with migrants who suffered labour rights abuses, from poor working conditions to child labour. Natural Fruit has denied the allegations. more
 
PEN ISSUES: ‘TOP WRITERS’ RADIO SHOW
‘Top Writers’, a show which interviews authors from the Top of the South Branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors, features a PEN section hosted by Dana Wensley. The show begins with freedom of speech issues, focusing the lens on one author each session. This Saturday, the show examines self-censorship and the plight of Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy, after the publication and trial surrounding her novel, The God of Small Things. The show airs on Fresh FM. More
​

TOP WRITERS is a new radio show sponsored by the Top of the South Branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors. It is produced and written by freedom of speech spokesperson for New Zealand, Dana Wensley Ph.D.

The programme can be heard on Fresh FM. Each show includes an update on freedom of speech issues both in New Zealand and around the world, as well as interviews with local writers. 

The first show aired on 23rd April and included an interview with Panni Palasti who spoke about her book Budapest Girl. Panni Palasti is a Hungarian writer who now lives in New Zealand. Her memoir, Budapest Girl, is a powerful mix of poetry and prose, and examines the stories of her childhood,  her father (a writer who was in a labour camp during the war) and her experiences growing up in Nazi occupied Hungary. 



​ 

Pacific Media Centre carries an opinion piece examining ‘open and silent’ censorship in Fiji.  Professor Wadan Narsey details the demise of freedom of speech in Fiji. Called the ‘silent censorship’, Narsey outlines what he calls the ‘invidious silent self-censorship’; which is ‘denying the public access to “alternative voices”’.  More. Self-censorship is a growing problem worldwide, which is increasingly hard to track down. In 2013, PEN America undertook an investigation into self-censorship in the United States. The report Chilling Effects: NSA Surveillance Drives U.S. Writers to Self-Censor can be read here. 

 
Comedian Jan Böhmermann faces prosecution for reading a poem which screened on late-night German state broadcaster ZDF. The poem, which allegedly criticised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was aired on Neo Magazine Royal, a show hosted by Böhmermann. Section 103 of the German Criminal Code, makes it illegal to insult heads of state. Punishment for an offence under the law ranges from up to five years imprisonment or a fine. More

Book Club Members Sentenced
Last week 17 writers, activists, and academics, were sentenced by a court in Angola for reading a book. Members of the Luanad Book Club, it demonstrates ‘once more the power of the word, the book and the writer’.  See full details here, and in a transcript of a talk by Mark Heywood ‘Democracy and the Writer’.
 

​World Poetry Day
March 21st was World Poetry Day. To mark the occasion PEN highlights poets who have paid a high price for their work and are currently in prison. This year PEN is campaigning on behalf of:
 
Amanual Asrat: Award-winning Eritrean poet and editor-in-chief of the Zemen, The Times. Arrested on 23rd September 2001, PEN has limited information on Asrat’s whereabouts, but it is assumed he is held without trial or charge in a maximum security prison, Eiraeiro, north of Asmara.
 
Aron Atabek: poet, journalist, and author of prose inspired by Tengriist spirituality, he was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment in 2007 following a protest at a ‘shanty town’ called Shanyrak. He has written a poem from prison for PEN (NZ) which can be viewed here.
 
Liu Xia: a Chinese poet and founding member of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre, Liu Xia is held in her Beijing apartment without access to phone, internet, or visitors since her husband (imprisoned poet Liu Xiaobo) was named Nobel Peace Laureate in October 2010.
 
Ashraf Fayadh: Arrested in August 2013 and accused of ‘misguided and misguiding thoughts’, then rearrested in January 2014 for ‘insulting the divine’ and having long hair, he has been imprisoned in the city of Abha for the last two years. Fayadh is a Saudi Arabia-born Palestinian poet and artist.  

​
PEN Marks 34th Day of Imprisoned Writer
 
Sunday November 15th is PEN’s 34th anniversary of the Day of the Imprisoned Writer. In New Zealand it is great to see NZSA Branches working in conjunction with libraries to mark the day (known in New Zealand as Courage Day).
 


​Courage Day is part of an ongoing programme by PEN to monitor and campaign on behalf of the hundreds of writers who are persecuted, harassed, attacked and imprisoned around the globe.
 
A number of specific cases are highlighted this year. In October three empty chairs were featured at the PEN International Congress in Ottawa. Two of the chairs symbolised imprisoned writers Raif Badawai and Amanuel Asrat. The third chair, for Juan Carlos Argenal Medina, stood empty in his honour following his murder outside his home in Honduras in December 2013. PEN International continues to call for justice following his murder. More
 
It is not too late for branches to get involved. Further details of what you can do are contained on the NZSA website.
 


"Writers killed makes chilling read" opinion piece on Courage Day by Dana Wensley (Otago Daily Times: 11 Nov, 2015)
 


Bangladesh Government: Failing Bloggers
 
Jennifer Clement, the newly appointed president of PEN International, has strongly criticised the Bangladesh government for its ‘colossal failure’ to protect the rights of Bangladeshis to ‘express themselves freely, without fear’.
 
Her statement follows the death of secular publisher Faisal Arefin. Three others were seriously injured in the attack. This is the fifth assassination this year. Faisal Arefin, from the publishing house Jagriti Prokashoni, had published Biswasher Virus (The Virus of Faith). Biswasher Virus was written by Avijit Roy, a writer and blogger featured in e-news earlier this year who was hacked to death in his office in Dhaka. More





 

​INTO THE RIVER: BAN LIFTED
 
The interim ban on Into the River has ended with the majority of the Film and Literature Board classifying the book as ‘unrestricted’. The majority of the Board stated that the book dealt with the subject matter in a way that was ‘essential to the story’ and was not gratuitous. The majority viewed the book as dealing with matters “about the potentially negative consequences that can follow from involvement in casual sex, underage drinking, drug taking, crime, violence and bullying” in a way that was likely to educate, rather than promote. The majority therefore reached the conclusion that Into the River was not “objectionable” as defined by section 3(1) of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 (“the Act”).

See dissenting opinion by Dr Don Mathieson (President)
  
AGE RESTRICTION: REMOVED
 
The Film and Literature Board has removed its earlier age restriction on Into the River. The book now carries no age restriction. In reaching this decision the majority stated:
 
“Although we previously formed the view that an age restriction was justified, in light of the better information available at this review particularly regarding the consequences of a restriction even for those over the restricted age, and in light of the other books and entertainment options that intermediate aged children and younger are exposed to anyway, we do not now consider an age restriction is justifiable.” See full decision. 

BANNED BOOK WEEK: INTO THE RIVER
Banned Book Week is celebrated internationally this year from September 27th to October 3rd. The week has special resonance in New Zealand since the dates coincide with the interim ban of Into the River by Ted Dawe. Updates on the interim ban can be found on the Office of Film and Literature Classification website. The Classification Office has received correspondence about the ban and will be making submissions to the Film and Literature Board of Review. The decision on the interim ban is to be made by the Film and Literature Board of Review in October. The Board has issued separate advice about the interim ban. PEN (NZ) encourages correspondence to be directed directly to the Film and Literature Board of Review. Background material and a case study of the history of classification in relation to Into the River can be viewed here. PEN also contributes to Banned Book Week internationally. Librarians, teachers, writers, and students can access more information about banned books including information about censorship around the world here.

 
INTERNATIONAL TRANSLATION DAY: 30th SEPTEMBER
30th September is International Translation Day. This year PEN International marks the day by calling on PEN Centres around the world to translate the poem The Scourge of War by imprisoned Eritrean editor-in-chief and award-winning poet, Amanuel Asrat, into local languages. The poem, translated into English, is reprinted here. Please take time to mark International Translation Day by reading the words of one of our fellow writers.  



Journalist Mohamed Fahey released from prison...

Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy has been pardoned by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. 

Fahmy worked for Al-Jazeera and was sentenced to three years in prison on August 29th following an unsuccessful appeal on terrorism-related charges. 

Click here for background material on Mohamed Fahmy and the other two journalists sentenced with him. 



Into the River
The interim ban of Into the River has renewed interest in freedom of speech in New Zealand. Freedom of speech is an issue that is constantly with us. It is a complex issue, that in New Zealand operates within the legal context of the Films, Video, and Publications Classification Act 1993. A point I endeavoured to highlight in my opinion piece published in the New Zealand Herald which can be viewed here. 

In a country which ranks 6th in world press freedom, and in which many authors experience a freedom to write that (until now) has been taken for granted, the ban reminds us that we need to be vigilant in supporting writers and the goals of PEN.

PEN (NZ) works to support writers both within NZ, and beyond our borders. The Writers in Prison Committee of PEN monitors between 700 -900 cases globally of writers imprisoned for their work each year.

This year PEN(NZ) endeavored to gain support for writers, such as Aron Atabek, currently serving a prison term for writing The Heart of Eurasia.

We issued requests for 'empty chairs' at literary events, and support for writers and freedom of speech for Courage Day (what we in New Zealand call the day known internationally as the Day of the Imprisoned Writer) held on 15th November.

In the upcoming weeks, as the Film and Literature Board of Review considers its ban, let’s take time to remember the bloggers in Bangladesh, the journalists in Nauru, and the 1144 journalists killed since 1992 (statistics provided by the Committee for Protection of Journalists).

Any restriction on freedom of speech is a concern for PEN. Let’s hope this renewed interest following Into the River mobilises support for PEN and its activities both in NZ and globally.

PEN (NZ) is a voluntary limb of the New Zealand Society of Authors, and anyone wanting to become involved and offer assistance is greatly appreciated. 

For further information on PEN or any issues or concerns raised above please contact Dana Wensley, PEN Representative for NZ at PEN@nzauthors.org.nz 


 

   

 

Charlie Hebdo: World Press Freedom Day

Since the January 7th attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, eleven interior ministers from countries in the European Union (including France, Britain and Germany) have called on Internet service providers to remove online content ‘that aims to incite hatred and terror’.  In response, PEN centres around the world have issued a declaration calling on governments to uphold their international obligations to protect freedom of expression and freedom of speech. The declaration, timed to coincide with World Press Freedom Day (marked on May 1st)  called for governments to create a safe environment for the exercising of rights of authors and journalists. Signatories to the declaration called for particular attention to be placed on threats to freedom of expression in the form of governments restricting freedoms in the name of terrorism and security. The full declaration can be viewed at http://www.pen-international.org/newsitems/not-in-our-name-world-press-freedom-day-116-days-after-charlie-hebdo/.

PEN: Focus on the Future

PEN (NZ) was recently asked to nominate three top issues for PEN International to focus on in the upcoming years. The issues identified  as needing priority attention were;

1.     The arbitrary imprisonment of writers for exercising their right to freedom of expression

2.     Combatting the use of trumped-up criminal charges to restrict the right to freedom of expression

3.     Combatting impunity for killing writers

Other issues- such as how freedom of expression will respond to particular forms of ‘hate speech’- are also looming on the horizon. PEN International will collate responses from PEN centres around the world and use this as a guide to planning for the future challenges to freedom of speech worldwide.

 

Sadism or Satire?: Rethinking Freedom of Speech after Charlie Hebdo

The limits of freedom of speech after Charlie Hebdo will be explored in a lunchtime seminar hosted by the Top of the South branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors. PEN (NZ) Representative, Dana Wensley, will be discussing freedom of speech following allegations that Charlie Hebdo crossed the line between satire and sadism. PEN’s historical interest in representing writers will be examined, and its direction for the future explored. Further information at: http://www.topwriters.co.nz/coming-events.html




Write Against Impunity: PEN

Writers in Latin America have joined forces to protest the killing of journalists, writers, poets, and bloggers in the region. The resulting work, Write Against Impunity, is a diverse offering from respected writers such as Luisa Valenzuela, Gioconda Belli, and Sergio Ramirez. Write Against Impunity crosses a numbers of genres, and includes poetry, stories, and essays. The unifying link between all authors is their shared solidarity with writers under attack in the region. In May, PEN concluded a sixteen centre summit (PEN Summit of the Americas) to highlight the grave dangers to writers in Latin America. An open letter from John Ralston Saul (International PEN President) to all PEN members detailing the event and other PEN activities is available here.

China: Governments Make Bad Editors

PEN’s American Center has released a new report on censorship in China. The report, Censorship and Conscience: Foreign Authors and the Challenge of Chinese Censorship, highlights China’s censorship programs, and aims to increase awareness of the freedom of expression violations in China. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports at least 44 writers currently in prison. Using the slogan, ‘Governments Make Bad Editors’ the campaign includes a ‘Shadow Expo’ during BookExpo America to counter state sponsored propaganda in China. more

PEN LGBTQI Resolution: Pen-Outwrite

PEN has launched an online platform featuring writers and short films from LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex) communities and writers around the world: www.pen-outwrite.org/pen-outwrite  Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects the right to free expression. PEN believes that sexual and gender minorities’ right to freedom of expression should be universally respected and protected by governments as part of their international obligations. more

For further information on PEN or any issues or concerns raised above please contact Dana Wensley, PEN Representative for NZ at PEN@nzauthors.org.nz 

 

Call to Action: Kazakhstan - Prison Authorities Denying Medical Treatment to Jailed Poet

 

Aron Atabek is a poet, journalist and social activist. He has written several books of poetry and prose inspired by Tengriist spirituality and was the founder, in 1992, of the monthly newspaper Khak (The Truth). Atabek was awarded the literary “Almas Kylysh” prize in 2004 and the Freedom to Create “imprisoned” prize in 2010.

Atabek has been in prison since 2007 and has spent much of his incarceration in solitary confinement. In December 2012, following the online publication of The Heart of Eurasia, a critique of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s regime (written in prison by Atabek and smuggled out for publication), the poet was sentenced to spend two years in solitary confinement at a high security prison in Arkalyk. Whilst in solitary detention, Atabek was kept in extremely harsh conditions: he was denied access to natural light, communication with other prisoners, writing materials and telephone calls; family visits were severely restricted, resulting in only one successful visit between 2010 and the current date; he was kept under constant video surveillance.

PEN centres campaigned vigorously to have Atabek released from solitary confinement and moved to a prison within reasonable visiting distance for his family.

Atabek’s solitary confinement and the harsh conditions in which he has been held qualify as a cruel and inhuman punishment that violates the prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment under international human rights standards and runs contrary to the recommendations made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. 

 

 NEW ZEALAND ‘SHANYRAK’
by Aron ATABEK

There is an empty chair in New Zealand –
Kept for me on writers’ congress,
That is the God to turn me –
Back to an ‘environment’, to a writer’s place!

Writer is an armchair worm –
Gnawing science tomes,
Only sometimes he affects –
Having published poems and novels.

And Life, seems to be passing by,
Writer – the life’s contemplator,
Yet he is present invisibly,
On the stricken filed with us.

Writer, he is the THRID EYE –
And he sees through distance,
And contemplates the “SHANYRAK” –
And us, the fighters on the stricken field.

And if in Kazakhstan bulldozer breaks homes –
Family’s asylum, a Holy Hearth,
By doing that they break
New Zealand ‘SHANYRAK’ too!


As ‘SHANYRAK’ is not merely a shelter, roof –
In summer heat, in winter cold,
‘Shanyrak’ is a Segner wheel, given from above,
A symbol of the Sky, the Sun, the eternal motion!

The world is a running Segner wheel –
From the crucifixion till the crucifixion
Christ, He also had been a REVOLUTIONARY –
Social-Justice and Democracy!

Quotation: “And TENGRI sees my soul –
With the eyes of the *Aruakh,
With the Nation’s karma –
I am crucified on the ‘SHANYRAK’!

…There is an empty chair in New Zealand –
Kept for me on writers’ congress,
Wait, my friends, and I will come back –
Not for an empty place!

Written by Aron ATABEK 12.10.2014
Pavlodar, SI-14, solitary confinement, punishment cell of the PKT, c.#36

*Aruakh — Kazakh ‘Ancestor’s spirit’.



 

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: The Case of Nabeel Rajab

PEN views freedom of expression as a basic human right.  When it is denied, PEN assumes a pivotal role in representing those whose rights have been challenged. In this issue we highlight the case of writer and human rights activist Nabeel Rajab.

On April 2nd, Nabeel Rajab was arrested at his home in Bahrain. He was charged with spreading false rumours, after publishing tweets and a piece in the Huffington Post exposing ill-treatment and collective punishment in Bahrain’s Central Prison. The piece linked to his arrest can be viewed at Into Bahrain’s Jaws of Hell.

PEN International calls on the Government of Bahrain for the immediate and unconditional release of Nabeel Rajab and all those currently detained in the Kingdom of Bahrain solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to free expression.


See more at: http://www.pen-international.org/newsitems/bahrain-human-rights-defender-nabeel-rajab-arrested-again-over-tweets/#sthash.HSGGlSH5.dpuf

PEN INTERNATIONAL: Rights, Writers, and  Refugees

 

PEN International has waded into the weighty issue of the rights of refugees. More measures like this are needed to prevent disasters such as the 900 estimated deaths of migrants to Europe after a shipwreck off the Libyan coast earlier this week. 

 

On 14 April a delegation of PEN members met with the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, and called for greater protection for refugees in Europe. John Ralston Saul, PEN International president said: ‘We go to the European Parliament with a simple message: We and our civilization will be judged by the solidarity we show with people in crisis.’ PEN International maintains that border security should not put the lives of refugees in danger. ‘The deaths of refugees should not be legitimised or tolerated in the name of protecting borders. The protection of human life must have the highest priority.’

 

 

PEN NEW VOICES AWARD: Seeking submissions

PEN NZ is seeking submissions from writers for the upcoming PEN New Voices Award 2015. Submissions must be unpublished prose 2000- 4000 words in length or unpublished poems up to 2500 words. Poetry may be one individual poem, a sequence, or a number of smaller poems. Writers must be aged 18-30 years. PEN NZ may nominate a maximum of two writers, one male and one female. Entries must be from an accredited PEN centre and not individuals. The winning writer will receive an award of $1,000 USD. The award is created to promote freedom of expression, literature, and the tenets of the PEN Charter and it actively encourages entries from diverse linguistic regions and communities. For details and guidelines see: PEN International/New Voices Award. Submissions must be received by PEN (NZ) by 15 May 2015. For more details contact PEN NZ Spokesperson Dana Wensley, at PEN@nzauthors.org.nz.

Enoh Meyomesse: Thank you

The award winning writer and activist Enoh Meyomesse has been released from Kondengui Prison in Cameroon. Imprisoned for almost three and a half years, he has been the focus of PEN’s Writers at Risk Programme for some time. In 2014 Meyomesse was featured in PEN’s annual Day of the Imprisoned Writer. PEN wants to thanks all those who have written letters of support for Enoh Meyomesse over the term of his imprisonment. His poetry, including those poems written in prison, can be viewed at: http://www.englishpen.org/campaigns/cameroon-pen-publishes-enoh-meyomesses-prison-poetry/

 

I THANK YOU by Enoh Meyomesse

I thank you
you through whom my name has continued
to boom like a monumental drum
in the ears of these people


I thank you
you who have continued
to place my thinned-out face
in the entrails of the daily papers
of these people

I thank you
you who have continued
to reveal my nameless ordeal
to the entire world-

 

Excerpt from ‘Jail Verse: Poems from Kondengui Prison’ translated by Ruth Clarke.

Pen Matters

INDIA: IMPOSING SILENCE

Indian journalist Akshay Singh is the latest journalist to die in mysterious circumstances in what PEN International, PEN Canada, and PEN Delhi call a “worrying development”.

Reports suggest that 45 people related to the investigation of a corruptions scandal in India have died. The scandal, known as “Vyapam Scan” involves admission to medical schools. Singh’s death follows the earlier murder of journalist Sandeep Kothari who was kidnapped, choked, and set on fire. Earlier this year another journalist, Jagendra Singh, was set on fire after alleging state involvement in illegal mining and land seizures. PEN Canada and the International Human Rights Programme (University of Toronto) have published a report on India’s record on freedom of speech: “Imposing Silence: The Use of India’s Laws to Suppress Free Speech.” more     

 

PEN NEW VOICES AWARD: LONG LIST

The longlist for the 2015 PEN International New Voices Award has been announced. The award, which encourages young unpublished writers to promote their work sought applications from diverse linguistic regions and communities earlier in the year. Applicants must be between 18-30 years of age and nominated by their local PEN Centre. Unfortunately no one from NZ made the longlist, but there is always next year!

Longlisted this year:

‘Likkewaan’ by  Carien Smith (PEN Afrikaans)

‘Under the Jacaranda Tree’ by Nozizwe Dube (PEN Planders)

‘Nichts kurz vor der Rue Saint-Blaise’ by Lea Sauer (German PEN)

‘Ailleurs’ by Sophie Prevost (PEN Quebec)

‘Varshava’ by Ana Dontsu (PEN Romania)

‘Moon Dog’ by Rebecca F John (Wales PEN Cymru)

 

For further information on PEN or any issues or concerns raised above please contact Dana Wensley, PEN Representative for NZ at PEN@nzauthors.org.nz