Abstract
Free expression is never a gentle, easily accessible terrain, and new challenges emerge at every turn – whether it’s what can and can’t be said on social networks or the threat of being arrested due to increased government surveillance. But in recent years there have been even more dramatic shifts in the landscape, dismantling previous assumptions about human rights and political influence across the globe.
We are now living in a multipolar world, where emerging powers command considerable influence and where economics, politics and cultural expression are being redefined. The protection of free speech in one country may amount to criminal insult in another. Whether it’s religious offence, public order or online freedom, India, Brazil, the United States and Russia have vastly different approaches. How they position themselves on the international stage – and how they resolve matters when countries clash – could have enormous impact for the future of free expression.
Whether it’s violence against those speaking out in the public interest in Vietnam, unreasonable restrictions on demonstrations in Belarus, or national security laws in South Korea, violations against human rights are an everyday occurrence in many countries. As Michael Bochenek and Guy Berger point out (pp. 84–90 and pp. 52–58), tactics for stifling debate are on the increase, so it’s more important than ever for governments to be held to account. Citizens, too, are quick to censor, not least when it comes to artistic expression, as Index’s Julia Farrington discovers (pp. 72–75) – including religious fundamentalists and communities dealing with a period of huge change, as in the case of Burma. Those advocating for a global embrace of free expression certainly face tough battles ahead.
Also in this issue, Geoffrey Cain looks at access to education in Cambodia, a country finally emerging from decades of conflict, where illiteracy seriously hampered citizens’ ability to access information and share news. As we approach the deadline for meeting the Millennium Development Goals, James Deane asks what role free expression plays in these ambitious aims to improve lives on a global scale. Mansur Akhmadov reports from the North Caucasus, where a group of brave journalists and editors are ensuring the truth about human rights violations in the region is reported, often taking great risks to do so.
The issue also boasts sharp satire from Turkmenistani writer-in-exile Farid Tukhbatullin, whose wit offers a glimpse of life inside one of the world’s most closed and repressive countries. And we publish the powerful photography of Zanele Muholi, this year’s winner of the Index on Censorship Free Expression Arts Award, as well as writing from the website she curates, inkayiso.org.
For censorship news and analysis, visit www.indexoncensorship.org