Modern Liberty: free speech must be for all
The United Nations’ retreat from defending free expression is at odds with the concept of universal rights, says
Jo Glanville
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Event: Twenty years of free speech wars
In February 1989, five months after the publication of The Satanic Verses, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against its author Salman Rushdie. It is often seen as a pivotal moment in shaping the landscape of contemporary Western society. So, 20 years on, what is the legacy of the most famous free speech controversy of modern times?
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'Without free speech you cannot claim or protect your other rights'
So says AC Grayling over at Comment is Free. Professor Grayling, normally known as a quite strident critic of religion, points out that Articles 18 (which guarantees freedom of worship) and 19 (freedom of speech) of the UN Declaration on Human Rights must be read together: they embody the ideas of freedom of conscience and freedom to express one’s conscience.
Read it here
Burma: free speech crackdown accelerates
The Burmese people are still experiencing the backlash from the Saffron Revolution, with more and more writers, satirists and dissidents being locked up. Read Index on Censorship and Article 19’s joint statement on the situation here (pdf).