Janvier 2010

samedi 30 janvier 2010

In Copenhagen the over-riding impression was chaos ! People queuing for hours outside in the freezing cold, and deadlocked talks inside. The conference failed on several fronts. Negotiations to protect the climate under the formal UN framework produced no meaningful result. Talks will continue through 2010 to the next Conference of Parties (COP16) in December 2010 in Mexico. The last minute ‘Copenhagen Accord’ was negotiated mainly between the Heads of State of China and the US, with involvement from India and Brazil. It also falls well short of all expectations with no guarantees for avoiding dangerous climate change and no legally binding mechanisms. Away from the formalities, Greens globally were part of the massive 12 December Day of Action. Over 100,000 people gathered in Copenhagen alone while hundreds of thousands more marched in countries around the world. The Global Greens also organised an information exchange forum for Greens in Copenhagen, and a public event featuring leading Green climate activists including Rebecca Harms, Marina Silva, Jose Bove, Christine Milne and Elizabeth May. Regrettably, at the last minute, Prof Wangari Maathai was unable to attend. More information : Beyond Copenhagen- where to for International climate policy : Green Group in the European Parliament, to be web-streamed live 4 February. http://www.greens-efa.org/cms/defau Global Greens call for honest, scientifically sound climate agreement. Media release from Copenhagen http://www.globalgreens.org/stateme Commonwealth Greens push for democracy in Rwanda The Rwanda Greens (Democratic Green Party of Rwanda) have tried numerous times in the last year to register formally as a political party. They have been blocked and their supporters harassed and intimidated by members of the ruling party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front. The Commonwealth Human Rights Commission was so concerned about the lack of human rights, including political freedom, that it recommended against Rwanda’s admission to the Commonwealth. Greens from Commonwealth countries including Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Canada, Mauritius and England and Wales united in calling on the Commonwealth to block Rwanda’s application. Rwanda was admitted, but now must improve its performance – the Greens will be watching ! Global Greens Secretary The Global Greens Coordination, meeting in Copenhagen during the climate conference, agreed to appoint a secretary, based in Australia, to help with administration, communication and networking. This is a big step forward for the Global Greens, giving us for the first time resources to become more effective. Global Young Greens – second congress in 2010 The GYG will hold their second Congress in August 2010 in Berlin, Germany. On the agenda, will be plans for restructuring, training, workshops and developing common positions on vital global issues. Join in with your ideas :www.globalyounggreens.org More dates African Greens congress : April-May 2010 in Uganda (date to be confirmed).http://www.africangreens.org/ Asia Pacific Greens Network congress : 30 April—2 May, Taiwan.http://www.apgn2010.org/ Greens of the Americas : Next meeting September 2010, Colombia.http://www.fpva.org.mx/ European Greens. Meeting schedule and other news :http://europeangreens.eu/ About this newsletter The Global Greens Coordination has representatives from each Green federation/network (Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe). It meets mostly by teleconference and occasionally face to face, most recently in Copenhagen in December 2009. It makes statements on current global issues, organises the Greens common presence at global events, and arranges Global Green conferences. Informal Global Greens news updates, like this one, will be published from time to time. Please circulate it to your Green-minded friends and colleagues. Click here to download a PDF document

jeudi 21 janvier 2010

On 19th January 2010, Rwandan Journalists from the Private media convened in order to elect two members amongst themselves to represent them to the National High Media Council-a government agency that has taken over most duties of the Ministry of Information. The Media Council answers to the Ministry of Information, with the role to monitor and regulate the media sector. The council is composed of nine members. The government appoints the executive secretary plus other three council members, two members are nominated by the private media through their professional association, one is nominated by the state/public media, one by the media training institutions and one by Rwandan citizens. According to Rwanda News Agency (RNA) story of 20th January 2010, the Director General of the Ministry of Information Mr. Ignatius Kabagambe, had sent out an invitation letter which indicated that each media house would have one vote. To the big surprise of the electorate present, The New Times Newspaper and Radio Contact FM mobilized and brought in all their entire staff members, including support-staff to participate in the elections and exceeding by far, the number stipulated by the Ministry of Information. Several Representatives of Private Media houses present, contested that action, but elections went forward and the controversial vote saw Mr. Arthur Asiimwe, The New Times Managing Editor, and Radio Contact FM’s Managing Director, Mr. Albert Rudatsimburwa elected to the nine-member media council. Both The New Times and Contact FM are private companies but other media houses consider them as government-owned, according to RNA. Other media houses dismissed the results of the election as a sham and walked out in protest. They argued that the process was sabotaged to bring in people close to government. They replaced the two outgoing members, Mr. Bahati Prince of Radio UMUCO and Father Pierre Nkusi – Editor of Kinyamateka Newspaper. The two also did not attend the elections. The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, in its efforts to fight for Press/media freedom in Rwanda would like to make the following remarks : 1. We do not doubt the ability and competence of the two gentlemen elected. Indeed they are seasoned journalists, but we strongly condemn the manner in which the election process was conducted. Any election process to any office must be free, fair, transparent and devoid of any form of manipulation, coercion and rigging. 2. The Media Houses in Rwanda are part and parcel of the society’s fourth estate (arm of government) therefore, stand as a beacon of hope in the country that is trying to build its democratic institutions. Any type of election in which they are involved must be exemplary and above reproach, lest they loose the moral high ground they enjoy in the day to day life of the society and fail to properly report the upcoming August 2010 Presidential elections. 3. By refusing to adhere to the Ministerial instructions and doing it their way, those implicated in this scandal are indirectly bringing back and perpetuating the culture of impunity which has characterized Rwanda for so long. 4. We therefore strongly condemn that election process and call upon all peace loving journalists to challenge it, using legally acceptable, legitimate and non-violent means. Done at Kigali, 22nd January 2010 Frank HABINEZA Chairman, Democratic Green Party of Rwanda