NEWS - 2 Burmese Writers Receive Pe

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Subject: NEWS - 2 Burmese Writers Receive Persecution Awards from HRW

2 Burmese Writers Receive Persecution Awards from HRW

  In Burma, prize-winner Aung Htun -- an activist in the Aug
           1988 uprising against the military regime -- spent four years
               in prison, including periods of torture and in solitary
               confinement during the early 1990s. 

               He was arrested again in March 1998 and is currently
               serving a 15-year prison term for writing a seven-volume
               history of the Burmese student movement. 

               The other Burmese awardee, Paschal Khoo-Thwe, was a
               student leader who fled Burma, emigrated to England, and
               won first prize for creative writing in English, his
third
               language, at Cambridge University. 

               He now works as a cook in London to support himself while
               he continues to write, according to HRW. 


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African Writers Sweep Persecution Awards

               Inter Press Service
               15-JUL-99

               WASHINGTON, (Jul. 14) IPS - Journalists from Africa and
               Iran dominated special prizes awarded this year by the
New
               York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) to writers
               persecuted for their political beliefs. 

               Out of 32 writers who received the 1999 Hellman-Hammett
               Awards, 14 were from African countries -- including three
               from Nigeria -- five hailed from Iran, four from Vietnam
and
               two from Burma. 

               Award-winners also included Fabio Castillo, an
investigative
               journalist at "El Espectador" in Colombia; Recep Marasli,
a
               prolific writer on Kurdish rights and culture in Turkey;
and
               Algerian Khilida Messaoudi, a well-known feminist
activist
               and essayist who has been outspoken in defense of
               women's rights during the ongoing civic violence. 

               Eleven winners could not be named due to possible
               retaliation, according to HRW. They included writers from
               Belarus, Cameroon, China, Eritrea, Pakistan, Sierra
Leone,

               Tanzania, Togo, and the four winners from Vietnam. 

               Additionally, a U.S. winner -- a lesbian author -- asked
not to
               be named at this time due to difficulties she could face
in
               obtaining employment, said HRW spokeswoman Marcia
               Allina. 

               The 10-year-old grant program, funded by the combined
               estates of U.S. authors Lillian Hellman and Dashiel
               Hammett, provides up to $10,000 for needy writers who
have
               been subject to political persecution. 

               Total grants this year came to $170,000. Grantees each
               received between $2,000 and $8,000. 

               Four of the five Iranian award winners worked with
liberal
               print media, which were closed down or subjected to
attack
               by right-wing forces. 

               Hamid-Reza Jalei-Pour was the publisher of two newspapers
               -- "Jameh" and "Tous" -- closed by clerical authorities
during
               the past year. 

               Last September, Jalei-Pour, and two other staff members
               who won the prize -- Seheed Ebrahim Nabvi and Masahallah
               Shamss-Ol-Vaezin -- were arrested and charged by the
               Iran's Revolutionary Court for 
               publishing articles "against security and general
interests." 

               Akbar Ganji, editor of the news weekly "Rah-e No," was
held
               in incommunicado detention for three months after he gave
a
               speech criticizing the government. Although he was
released
               last year, "Rah-e No" was closed, and he could be taken
               back into custody at any time, HRW said. 

               A fifth Iranian, Hojatolesam Mohssen Saeidzadeh, a former
               judge who has published numerous newspaper articles
               attacking discrimination against women as a violation of
               Islamic law, was arrested last June and held for four
months
               without charge. 

               After his release, his status as a clergyman was
rescinded
               and, last October, the government's Culture and Islamic
               Guidance ministry refused to allow the publication of his
               latest book, "Freedom of Women During the Time of
               Mohammed." 

               The three Nigerian recipients of the grant were all
victims of
               the military regime headed by the late Gen. Sani Abacha. 

               Along with his colleagues from "The News" of Lagos,
               Akinwumi Adesokan was first detained by the authorities
in
               1993 before his release one week later. On returning from
a
               fellowship abroad in late 1997, he was detained again,
               interrogated and held incommunicado for two months. 

               Lanre Arogundade, whose outspoken opposition to military
               rule in Nigeria, dated back to the early 1980s, had been
               arrested three times during the past year on unsupported
               allegations ranging from gun running to association with

               illegal organizations. 

               He was arrested a fourth time last April on a murder
charge
               but was freed on bail. Arogundade denied the accusation
               and a trial date still remained to be set. 

               Niran Malaolu was arrested in Dec 1997 at the offices of
the
               independent news weekly "Diet" where he worked as an
               editor. Convicted of "information gathering" and
"implication
               in an alleged coup plot," he was sentenced to life in
prison. 

               After Abacha's death in June 1998, the sentence was
               reduced last July to 15 years, and he was finally
released in
               April. In prison, however, he was refused medical care,
and
               contracted typhoid fever and another infection that
threatens
               his eyesight, according to HRW. 

               In Burma, prize-winner Aung Htun -- an activist in the
Aug
               1988 uprising against the military regime -- spent four
years
               in prison, including periods of torture and in solitary
               confinement during the early 1990s. 

               He was arrested again in March 1998 and is currently
               serving a 15-year prison term for writing a seven-volume
               history of the Burmese student movement. 

               The other Burmese awardee, Paschal Khoo-Thwe, was a
               student leader who fled Burma, emigrated to England, and
               won first prize for creative writing in English, his
third
               language, at Cambridge University. 

               He now works as a cook in London to support himself while
               he continues to write, according to HRW. 

               Besides Nigeria, other African countries with
prize-winners,
               included Niger, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo
               (DRC), Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Swaziland. 

               In Niger, Gremah Boucar, who heads the Anfani group that
               includes a newspaper, a magazine, and three radio
stations,
               was kidnapped from his home in mid-1998 and threatened to
               death and has since been rested and detained half a dozen
               times. 

               Radio Anfani has been ransacked or occupied by soldiers
at
               least twice since 1996, the last time in May, 1998 when
               Radio Anfani broadcast a petition condemning government
               efforts to intimidate the press. 

               Goretti Mapulanga, a news anchor on state television, and
               her husband Cornelius were fired from their jobs in
               November 1997 after interviewing Zambian President
               Frederick Chiluba. Unable to find work, the Mapulangas
               have since been under constant surveillance, and Goretti
               and her children have been harassed in public by
               unidentified people, said HRW. 

               Modeste Mutina Mutuishayi, editor and managing director
of

               the independent daily, "Demain L'Afrique," and also the
head
               of a non-governmental organization engaged in public
               education, has suffered repeated detention and harassment
               by security agents under the regime of DRC President
               Laurent Kabila. 

               In war-torn countries of West Asia, Alex Redd, who was
               abducted and tortured by Liberian government security
               forces in December 1997 in connection with his
investigation
               of the murder of a prominent opposition politician, was
given
               political asylum in the United States last year. 

               A winner from Sierra Leone, Alieu Sheriff, also fled here
after
               repeated detention in the early 1990's in both his
homeland
               and Gambia for critical reporting about the governments
of
               both countries.