News in Brief

A national cultural policy for a Creative Australia

Creative Australia-capturing our digital culture

Arts Minister Simon Crean and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC said Creative Australia will ensure digital content is collected and preserved just as printed materials and books are archived.

More...

Freedom to Publish Mass Trial Continues in Turkey IPA Calls for Release of Academic and Publisher Deniz Zarakolu

As the second hearing of the trial of Ragip and Deniz Zarakolu opens on 1 October in Silivri, Turkey, the International Publishers Association (IPA) urges the Turkish authorities to drop all charges against both publishers and to immediately release Deniz Zarakolu who has been detained since 7 October 2011. Ragip and Deniz Zarakolu are among more than 40 people arrested in October 2011 under the Koma Civaken Kurdistan (KCK) investigation which has seen scores of writers, journalists, and publishers detained following thousands of arrests over the past two years. In addition, dozens of writers and publishers in Turkey are either held in prison, or currently on trial.

Deniz Zarakolu, a publisher, writer, translator, and PhD student specializing in political thought at Bilgi University, is charged with 'being a member of an illegal organisation' and risks up to twelve years in prison. He was arrested on 7 October 2011, after giving a lecture at the Political Science Academy of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy (BDP) opposition party. This party is legal, and such party-affiliated research academies are common in Turkey, with similar institutes run by the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

For his part, his father Ragip Zarakolu is charged with 'aiding and abetting an illegal organisation' and is threatened with up to fifteen years in prison. He was released on 10 April 2012 following 160 days spent in a high security prison on pre-trial detention. IPA believes that he and several other writers and intellectuals are charged solely because of their writings and publishing, which violates Turkey's international human rights obligations. Ragip Zarakolu, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, risks between 7.5 and 15 years in prison. In June 2012, the 29th IPA Congress adopted a resolution "rejecting the abuse of broad definitions of terms such as defamation, state security, state secrecy, or terrorism as dangerous inroads for censorship, harassment of the media, and undemocratic influencing".

Sadly, Turkey's strict anti-terror legislation (ATL) illustrates the resolution above only too well. The broadness of ATL has allowed the Turkish authorities to curtail the freedom of expression of many in Turkey, including publishers who have for a long time advocated freedom to publish for all publishers and writers. This is particularly true of the Zarakolus. IPA's Freedom to Publish Committee Chair, Bjorn Smith-Simonsen commented: "IPA emphatically protests the ongoing detention of publisher Deniz Zarakolu and urges the Turkish authorities to release him on Monday 1st October as the second hearing of the KCK mass trial opens in Silivri. At the end of next week, Deniz Zarakolu will have been detained for a year as he was arrested on 7 October 2011 on the eve of last year's Frankfurt book fair! "Deniz and Ragip Zarakolu are outspoken, peaceful publishers who have worked to bring down the barriers of censorship in Turkey. Thinking that their publishing activity encourages the violent pursuit of political agendas is absurd. IPA therefore urges the Turkish authorities to drop all charges against Deniz and Ragip Zarakolu as soon as possible, and calls on the Turkish authorities to secure Deniz's immediate release.

"Turkey is a signatory of international human rights treaties and is therefore under the obligation to observe individuals' human rights, including in particular Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). IPA remains concerned that these rights will be denied to the Zarakolus, and several other intellectuals, including Busra Ersanli and Ayse Berktay who are also defendants in the KCK case. More writers are either in prison or on trial in Turkey than in any other country in the world".

IPA and PEN International Issue Joint Statement Protesting Postponement of Trials against Two Publishers

IPA and PEN International issued a joint statement protesting the decision taken by an Istanbul court on 5 July 2012 postponing the trial against publishers and translators of the Turkish editions of William Burroughs' The Soft Machine and Chuck Palahniuk's Snuff until 2015. They were also warned that further ‘obscene’ works that they publish in the meantime will be added to their cases.

The decision was met with shock and outrage. Most observers had been expecting the trial to follow the usual pattern of Turkish ‘obscenity’ trials: a report compiled by a panel of academics declaring a novel as ‘literature’, prompting an acquittal from the judge. Despite the presence of just such an expert report last week, the judge revealed that he was obliged by law to postpone the trial for three years due to new legislation ratified the night before, holding that any trial of a pre-2012 ‘press offence’ will be delayed for three years as new laws are drafted to address such offences.

Despite the warning, both Sel owner Irfan Sanci, who was awarded a Special Freedom to publish Award by IPA in 2010 (at the time he was prosecuted for publishing the Turkish edition of a book by poet Apollinaire), and Ayrinti Publishing House owner Hasan Basri çiplak said that they would continue to publish such books. IPA and PEN are concerned by the implications of the new law on publishers. Not only does it elongate an already lengthy judicial process, but it also intimidates publishers, and indeed any others who may consider publishing, by delivering them a direct warning that any subsequent works will be prosecuted.

The 2012 IPA Freedom to Publish Goes to Jonathan Shapiro (“Zapiro”)

Cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro (“Zapiro”) has been named the recipient of this year's IPA Freedom to Publish Prize for his exemplary courage in upholding freedom to publish by IPA's Executive Committee. IPA President YoungSuk “Y.S.” Chi formally presented this year's award during the closing ceremony of the 29th IPA Congress in Cape Town on 14 June 2012. The keynote speech was delivered by Brian Wafawarowa, Executive Director of the Publishers Association of South Africa (PASA). Jonathan Shapiro then accepted his Award, and made a captivating 45-minute presentation, showcasing and explaining a selection of his cartoons over the last 30 years. In the 1980s Jonathan Shapiro was actively engaged in the anti-apartheid movement, already as a cartoonist.

In accepting the award Jonathan Shapiro said: “It is an honour to receive such a meaningful award, one that has previously been given to courageous writers and activists under threat all over the world. And to receive it right now in South Africa is of particular significance to me. The African National Congress, the very movement that brought democracy to South Africa, now as the ruling party responds to criticism by curtailing the spread of information and by stifling freedom of expression. Journalists, whistleblowers, corruption-busters, cultural activists and even judges have been targeted. Politicians who demand that artists and writers conform will find that many of us consider it our duty to be patriotic sceptics”.

Australian Publishers Association Statement on WikiLeaks

As part of the charter of the APA, we uphold a publishers right of freedom to publish and freedom of expression. Julian Assange is an Australian citizen and WikiLeaks is a publisher.

"The members of the Australian Publishers Association value the freedom to publish and the right of a publisher to release information that is perceived to be in the public interest without fear of retribution.

We deplore the calls for violence against the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, an Australian citizen exercising his right to publish freely.

We urge the government of the United States of America to respect the due process of law which underpins the fundamental freedom to write and publish – and allow WikiLeaks and its founder to do so, without the private or public threat of intimidation, or harassment of their commercial partners, to prevent publication.

We call on the governments of Australia and the United States of America to recognise and uphold the right of WikiLeaks as a publisher, to freedom of expression."

Equal Access Resolution

On World Book and Copyright Day, 23 April, the International Publishers Association's Copyright Committee focused its attention on readers who are unable to access material in the same way as sighted readers. A statement confirming that "it is a shared ambition of publishers around the world to make their works accessible to all readers" was released. A copy of the full statement is available here.

For APA Members, more news and reports are available in the Members Only section. If you have problems logging in please contact Loula Aravanis at the APA.