What Do Communication Rights Mean to People on the Ground when They Are Denied Them?

At the January 2005 5th World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, activists from Tunisia, Italy, Paraguay, and Brazil gathered as part of a Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS) campaign on building social agendas for national action. These activists shared on-the-ground realities in terms of freedom of media expression in their own countries, noting the civil society response. The following summary highlights communication trends emerging from each activist's report:

Tunisia

• the government controls the media with a strong hand - people have to read foreign newspapers in order to find out what is going on at home
• the freedom to hold public meetings is non-existent - of 8,400 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), less than a handful are autonomous and many are banned
• there has been no independent press since 1991 - this activist (the speaker)'s NGO set up their own publication - "Kalima" (or "Word") - but were forced to close it down after a week by the police. The publishers put "Kalima" online...
• the law controls use of the Internet - a 2002 communications law mandated 5-year prison sentences for those using the Internet to inform others about conditions at home. Any news or discussion website coming from Tunisia needs to be hosted outside the country. Cybercafes must display a sign warning users that it is illegal to visit banned sites, which include human rights-related pages as well as both national and international sites that report on national affairs. However, said this activist, "no list of banned sites exists!" As a consequence, recently 6 young people were jailed, each for 13 years for visiting these "banned pages".

Italy

• ownership in commercial television and the printed press is highly concentrated - 90% of the advertising market is controlled directly or indirectly by the Prime Minister
• the government has a grip on expression - many journalists are banned from appearing on state-owned TV for articulating - or are fired from airing - views that do not correspond with those held by the Berlusconi government. Tighter controls are being developed: Bills in the Italian parliament include the military vetting of journalists reporting from conflict zones and prison sentences for people exchanging copyrighted files using peer-to-peer exchange
• voices are emerging to challenge this control - several European-level movements are gathering force to protect certain communications rights, particularly free software and copyright.

Paraguay

• the media tends to represent the interests of the government and the military - written media is dominated by 4 newspapers that this activist describes as politically motivated and commercial in their approach to news coverage
• language barriers are a problem - 80% of the Paraguayan population speaks the indigenous language (Guarani); however, 99% of TV and radio are broadcast in Spanish
• civil society is beginning to find its voice after 35 years of dictatorship - the Paraguayan Communications Law that was modified in 1995 is based on the communications law passed by Mussolino's Italy in 1948. Paraguayan civil society actors - young people, women's organisations, and others - are working to get a new law in place, particularly one that recognises the role of the third sector and local radio.

Brazil

• the media is in the hands of a private/military alliance - in the 1970s, Brazil saw an explosion of the communications sector, especially of TV and radio, which was managed by the military dictatorship
• a public notion of communications never emerged - even when the dictatorship ended, the Brazilian constitution of 1988 has left the system predominantly in private hands, reflecting an alliance of private interests and the government
• civil society realises that a paradigm shift is needed - among the areas for action being proposed are work in schools and fostering community radio.

Based on the above, APC concludes that - while varying levels of restrictions on communication liberties are evident in these 4 countries - "groups and individuals are coming together to build a new communications agenda focused on equality, dignity, diversity and justice."

Click here for the full article in English on the APC website.

Click here for the full article in Spanish on the APC website.

Click here to read additional APC coverage of the World Social Forum.