[NCUC-DISCUSS] Statement from APC re coup in Brazil vis a vis communication issues

[Michael Oghia]

Hi all,

Agreed Bill, both with the sentiment you share as well as the wording of
the document (good letter APC!).

Best,
-Michael


On Tue, Sep 6, 2016 at 9:11 AM, William Drake <wjdrake at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi
>
> A good statement from one of our member organizations (of which I happen
> to be an individual member).  CGI.br <http://cgi.br> has been a long-time
> supporter of NCUC/SG and I hope they and the Marco Civil are not negatively
> impacted by the new government’s plans.
>
> Best
>
> Bill
>
>
> On Sep 6, 2016, at 04:45, DeeDee Halleck <deedeehalleck at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> *The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) firmly condemns the
> decision of the Brazilian Senate to dismiss President Dilma Rousseff.* This
> decision deeply undermines the democratic system in Brazil, as well as the
> political stability and the development of progressive and inclusive
> policies for the country. It also has negative effects for peace and
> integration in the Latin America region. APC sees the ousting of
> President Rousseff as a parliamentary coup in which not only the judicial
> power is implicated, but around which mainstream private media played a
> critical role, bypassing the public interest, destabilising democratic
> processes <https://www.apc.org/en/node/21570/> and manipulating public
> opinion to privilege specific political and economic interests.
>
> We are deeply concerned about the implications that the current situation
> will have for the possibility to reinforce the use of the internet as a
> platform for public deliberation and debate, accountability, and dissent,
> and for the realisation of human rights. Earlier in 2016, we watched with
> concern the attempts by Brazilian legislators to undermine the rights
> guaranteed by the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet (Marco Civil da
> Internet), such as free expression online, net neutrality, user privacy and
> access to information, among others; and the serious legislative setbacks
> being proposed by the parliamentary Inquiry Commission on Cybercrimes which
> would criminalise the practices of ordinary internet users
> <https://www.apc.org/en/pubs/joint-statement-brazilian-congress-drop-dangerous> under
> the pretext of preventing cybercrimes.
>
> We are also concerned about the threat to the multistakeholder nature of
> the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee <http://bestbits.net/cgi-br/> (
> CGI.br) and the substantive activities it has been developing which are
> vital for the internet and its development in the country.
>
> Brazil has been a paradigm for pioneering progressive internet policy
> development and its Civil Rights Framework for the Internet has been and
> still is an inspiration around the world in the struggle for a free
> internet for social justice, human development and democracy. APC stands
> with the civil society organisations and activists in Brazil who are
> defending the social and political achievements aimed at guaranteeing a
> free online and media environment, and we express our solidarity and
> support for them, particularly to our member and partner organisations
> Nupef, the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, Coding Rights, IDEC,
> Intervoces, Artigo 19, and many other civil society organisations we work
> with in the defence of human rights online and offline.
>
> We reaffirm the importance of strengthening popular and community media as
> well as public communication mechanisms to provide alternative views of the
> situation in the country. The internet could play a key role in giving them
> greater visibility, to counteract the discourse of mainstream private media
> and respond to the manipulation of public opinion with other
> interpretations of reality. The plurality of media offered by community
> initiatives and the internet are critical to reinforce democratic values in
> society.
>
> APC underscores its commitment to social justice and will keep working
> for a diverse and open online environment which serves the public interest,
> the enjoyment of human rights, peace, regional integration and the
> reinforcement of democratic institutionality.
>
> APC is a member-driven organisation with over 70 members from 36
> countries across the world, mostly from developing countries. Our mission
> is to empower and support organisations, social movements and individuals
> in and through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs)
> to build strategic communities and initiatives for the purpose of making
> meaningful contributions to equitable human development, social justice,
> participatory political processes and environmental sustainability.
>
>
>
> --
> http://www.deepdishwavesofchange.org
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>
> ************************************************
> William J. Drake
> International Fellow & Lecturer
>   Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ
>   University of Zurich, Switzerland
> william.drake at uzh.ch (direct), wjdrake at gmail.com (lists),
>   www.williamdrake.org
> ************************************************
>
>
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