RFE/RL (Un)Civil Societies: excerpts

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Subject: RFE/RL (Un)Civil Societies: excerpts

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RFE/RL (Un)Civil Societies: excerpts

 
RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
________________________________________________________
RFE/RL (Un)Civil Societies
Vol. 1, No. 1, 18 May 2000

"Freedom of information is ... the touchstone of all the freedoms."
(UN Freedom of Information Conference, 1948)
 
NOTE TO READERS: This is the first issue of a new RFE/RL weekly
report, "(Un)Civil Societies," on East-Central and Southeastern Europe
and the countries of the former Soviet Union. This weekly report will
present a summary of recent events and trends in regard to freedom of
the press as well as other civil society issues.
 

AZERBAIJAN
 
ISLAMIC NEWS AGENCY CLOSED. On 25 April, "Islam Dun'yasi," the only
Islamic news agency in Azerbaijan, was closed down by official order,
even though it had been officially registered. (Azerbaijan Human
Rights Committee, Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations, 5 May)
 
.................
 

BELARUS
 
JUDGE UPHOLDS ALLEGEDLY ANTI-SEMITIC PUBLICATION. A Minsk district
court judge ruled on 11 May that material in the book "The War
According to Pernicious Laws," published by the Orthodox Initiative in
late 1999, was scientific and dismissed a suit against it claiming it
was anti-Semitic, according to the New York-based World Association of
Belarusian Jews (WABJ). According to the WABJ's Yakaw Basin, the book
blames 28,000 Belarusian Jews for genocide against the Slavic
population of Belarus. The WABJ said the Orthodox Initiative published
other books along these lines, including "About Jewish Fascism" by B.
Mironaw, and the anti-Catholic work, "The Roman Catholic Church and
Ecumenism," by H. Alyakseyew. (Belapan News Agency, 11 May)
 
.................


GEORGIA

.................

TWO JOURNALISTS HELD IN SOUTH OSSETIAN JAIL. Two reporters from
"Kviris palitra" were seized on 8 May in a market in Ergneti where
they were gathering information on smuggled goods from Russia. They
were later taken to the capital city of Tskhinvali. Charged with
spying, the reporters were released two days later due to "personal
contacts" with Tskhinvali police officials. (Kavkaz Information
Agency, 11 May)

.................


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Copyright (c) 2000. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
 
RFE/RL (Un)Civil Societies is prepared by Catherine Cosman on the
basis of reports by RFE/RL broadcast services and other sources. It is
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