20 Nov 2009 | Uncategorized
This is a guest post by Jenni Hulse
Last night, Index on Censorship hosted a screening of An Iranian Odyssey: Mossadegh, Oil and the 1953 CIA Coup, directed by Canadian-Iranian journalist and filmmaker, Maziar Bahari.
The film played to a full house, with latecomers finding room in the aisles. The atmosphere felt particularly celebratory as the screening had originally been arranged as part of a campaign for Bahari’s release, after he was detained in Tehran’s Evin prison in June. Happily, he was freed without charge on 17 October and allowed to return to the UK.
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20 Nov 2009 | Uncategorized
This is a guest post by Sophie Lewis
On Monday 16 November, the winners of 2009’s Times Stephen Spender prizes for poetry translation were warmly applauded at the annual ceremony of readings and prize-giving. As always, both the standard of translations and the range of languages and periods represented, living and dead, were impressive. Several of those commended in the open category confessed to a sense of awe at Johanna Reimann-Dubbers’ rendering of La Fontaine’s “The Cricket and the Ant”, which won the 14 and under category.
While the Spender Trust’s translation grants unfortunately remain on hold, the prize is now calling for submissions for 2010. All entries must be sent by post before 28 May and will be scrutinised by seasoned poets and translators Susan Bassnett, Edith Hall, Karen Leeder and George Szirtes. For more information on how to submit, see the trust’s website: www.stephen-spender.org.
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20 Nov 2009 | Uncategorized
This is a guest post by Felix Colchester
The Turkish government’s much anticipated “Kurdish Initiative” was discussed in parliament on 10 November, with many political parties eager to have their say on how best to solve the long-standing “Kurdish problem”. Speculation is rife as to the details of the initiative; thought to be amongst its key policies are the decentralisation of power away from Ankara, a more inclusive definition of citizenship, and the use of dialogue to pacify and eventually integrate militant groups such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) back into the political process. Why, then, if the “Kurdish Initiative” seems to favour mediation over military campaigns and dialogue over coercion, does it remain almost impossible for the Turkish media to discuss the initiative?
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20 Nov 2009 | Uncategorized
The High Court has again rejected claims made by the Foreign Office in an attempt to block the release of evidence relating to the detention of Binyam Mohamed.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband argues that the release of materials detailing Mohamed’s treatment at the hands of the CIA would seriously harm Britain’s intelligence-sharing relationship with the US.
According to the Guardian:
The judges revealed that seven paragraphs in a key document Miliband insists must remain secret “relate to admissions of what officials of the US did to BM during his detention in Pakistan”. They repeated their earlier finding that “what is contained in those seven redacted paragraphs gives rise to an arguable case of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment”.
The court has heard that a British security service officer interrogated Mohamed in Pakistan and officials passed information about him to the CIA. It was clear, the judges said, that the relationship of the UK to the US in connection with Mohamed “was far beyond that of a bystander or witness to the alleged wrongdoing”.
Read the rest here
