우간다의 언론인 Kalundi Serumaga에 대한 호소
Writers in Prison Committee International PEN
Please accept our deep appreciation for your kindness in welcoming us, the Korean Centre, to the WiPC of International PEN. We are pleased to inform you that we have decided to join the Writers in Prison Committee as of today. Names, genre and e-mail addresses of the Korean members of the WiPC are as below ;
Member Mr. Byeong-Cheol Kang (Novelist) - qshuba@naver.com
Dr. Say-Young Kim (Poet) - mokjoin@hanmail.net
Mr. Jung-Pil Park (Poet) - nogo0424@hanmail.net
Mr. Gwi-Sun Hwang (Poet) - simwunh@hanmail.net
Mrs. Jin-Soo Kim (Essayist) - jinjing52@hanmail.net
If you have any questions or need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me anytime.
I wish our participation in the WiPC will be able to make a small contribution to your efforts in helpng the harassed and persecuted writers in many parts of the world.
The revised Writers in Prison Committee handbook is in the final stages of approval and I hope to have it very soon, and then to send to Centres. It will give guidance to your Centre on our work. In the mean time I shall put the details of the Korean PEN Centre WiPC members on our mailing lists and you will soon be receiving action alerts and other materials.
I also recommend that the Committee members also visit the International PEN website that has a section dedicated to our freedom of expression work. http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/freedom-of-expression
Will there be Korean PEN representatives at the PEN Congress in Linz in October? On 19 and 20 October there will be special sessions of the WiPC and I very much hope that members of your Centre will be able to attend.
My team and I are always at hand to answer questions and to receive ideas about our work, so please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.
Journalist Kalundi Serumaga, arrested on 11 September 2009, was freed on bail of $250 on 15 September to face trial on charges of sedition. International PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) is concerned that he is charged solely for comments made during a television interview that criticised the Ugandan government. Should he be convicted as charged, this would be a clear breach of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Kalundi Serumaga (also Sserumaga) was arrested at 11 pm as he left the studios of WBS Television in Kampala where he had participated in a debate in which he had been critical of Ugandan President Museveni. Eyewitnesses report that he was bundled into a waiting car and taken away. Two hours later it was disclosed that he was being held in the Kampala Central Police Station. He was later transferred to the International Hospital in Kampala to receive treatment for injuries he sustained under severe police beatings.
On 15 September, Serumaga was formally charged under six counts of sedition under Sections 39 (1) (a) and 40 (1) (b) of the Penal Code. Each count refers to comments he made during a discussion on the Kibazo on Friday Live Talk Show and Phone-in Programme, broadcast on 11 September. He is accused of “intention to bring into hatred, contempt and to excite disaffection against the person of the President, and the Government…” On reading the charge sheet, International PEN concludes that while strongly critical of the authorities, none of the contentious statements can be considered as incitement to violence. Serumaga was freed on payment of $250 bail. To read the charge sheet go to the East Africa Press website: http://www.eastafricapress.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=
Background
Violence broke out when the government banned the King of Buganda, one of the four tribal regions in Uganda, to the neighbouring Kayunga district. Over 20 people are said to have been killed, and 550 others, including Serumaga, have reportedly been arrested to face trial.
Serumaga is a respected writer and journalist and popular host of a daily radio talk show, “Spectrum”. On 14 September the allAfrica.com website published an article by Serumaga on the disturbances entitled ‘Things fall apart – Again…’ Here he discusses the background to the riots. He opens his piece: “Most people are familiar with the proverbial last straw that broke the camels’ back. However, rarely does anyone get to see the actual straw, and the moment it is laid on. The final stages of the breakdown of the always troubled relationship between Buganda and Uganda’s NRM-led central government, may provide just the opportunity for such a rare sighting”. For the full article go to: http://allafrica.com/stories/200909140844.html
이철화
2009-09-24 01:39
국제 펜의 노력이 결실로 우간다의 언론인 Kalundi Serumaga 가 석방되었다고 하니
다행스러운 일입니다. 강병철 소설가님의 활약에 경의를 표합니다.
강병철
2009-09-24 08:45
이철화시인님!
관심에 고맙습니다.
양금희
2009-09-29 14:18
부당한 처우나 투옥과 같은 언론인의 인권을 보호하기 위하여
국제펜투옥작가위원회가 필요한 것이로군요.
노력의 결실로 우간다의 언론인이 석방되었다니
국제펜투옥작가위원회의 힘과 노력에 존경을 보냅니다.
강병철
2009-09-29 16:33
전세계의 많은 저명한 작가들의 노력으로
세계의 많은 사람들의 인권이 보호를 받았거나 향상되고 있습니다.
선생님의 관심에 감사합니다.
더욱 노력하겠습니다.
연혁 
이철화
