[WSIS CS-Plenary] Reply to Mr. Ronald Koven

[Sasha Costanza-Chock]

Although we have far more important things to discuss on this list, I 
feel it's necessary to briefly respond to Mr. Koven. See below.

> There was a description made of what had happened that was neither rigoro=
> us
> nor professional, by a person who had made previous statements that were
> clearly misleading on other subjects at a meeting I had attended the
> previous day. (The person claimed that axes and knives had been brought
> into the Summit, while his leaflets were seized by security.) 

I made no misleading, exaggerated, or fabricated statements to the 
Plenary. Each repressive act I described has been documented on video. 
If anyone believes that I am fabricating stories, please contact me and 
I will be happy to point you to documentation.

I thought i=
> t
> was in the interest of Civil Society to have a serious image and not to l=
> et
> itself be stampeded into doing something by a partial account of
> circumstances.

I agree that we should have a clear picture of events before releasing 
statements. The statement we released, and the unanimous (except for mr. 
Koven) consensus on releasing it, reflect the fact that the internal 
hypocrisy of the WSIS was blatant and plain for all to see. Not only We 
Seize!, but RSF, Human Rights in China, IPS (Terra Viva), Adbusters, and 
others all experienced censorship and repression of free speech, to 
varying degrees, in Geneva.

> Subsequent to my speaking in the plenary meeting to that effect, Alain
> Clerc told me that the Geneva chief of police had called him to say that
> nobody had been arrested, that four persons who refused to give their
> identities to the police were held briefly on the scene -- not taken to t=
> he
> police station, as the speaker in plenary had said -- and that they were
> released there as soon as their identities were established. That version=

> may or may not be accurate, but it differs from what the plenary was told=
> .

The Geneva chief of police lied. Demonstrators were taken to the 
station, and we are currently gathering video to provide legal support 
for the case of one activist from Lausanne charged with 'making death 
threats' against an officer. In addition, I recorded the testimony of a 
reporter from aporrea.org in Venezuela who was taken to the station, not 
for PARTICIPATING in a nonviolent protest at the train station, but for 
PHOTOGRAPHING the protest. He did so clearly marked as Press (wearing a 
vest marked 'PRENSA,' a hat marked the same, and a press credential 
hanging around his neck). He was not arrested during the action: after 
taking photos, he stepped into a store in Gare Cornavan to buy a watch 
for his wife. When he came out 5 minutes later, he was seized by police, 
pushed into a police car without any explanation, taken to the police 
station, and questioned as to why he was taking photos and what his 
relation to the protesters was. He was not released after showing 
personal identification, press credential or NGO delegate credential - 
he was only released upon providing a diplomatic visa from the 
government of Venezuela.
> 
> One can be outraged that supposedly peaceful demonstrators had to give
> their identities to the police, but in continental Europe, everyone must =
> be
> carrying his or her ID papers and must be ready to show them to the polic=
> e.
> There is simply a difference in culture concerning these things between t=
> he
> Continent and Anglo-Saxon countries. (The way things are trending, those
> differences are being erased; we simply must face that, unfortunately.)
> 
> Anyway, the only point I was trying to make, as a professional journalist=
> ,
> is that one must know what it is one is talking about before making
> statements. The person describing what had happened was doing so in
> emotional terms and had a record of misleading statements, including
> insulting statements he made to me after the meeting -- categorically
> alleging that I am a CIA agent, on the basis of zero evidence (and which =
> I
> am not now and have never been. In fact, as the Foreign Editor of The
> Washington Post, I told reporters working for me that any such attachment=
> 
> would be grounds for dismissal).

The statement about Mr. Koven being a CIA agent was made 
tongue-in-cheek, in response to his earlier allegations that Cees 
Hamelink is a Stalinist.

> If Civil Society groups want to be taken seriously, their statements shou=
> ld
> be accurate, as far as is humanly possible. That is and was the only poin=
> t
> I was and am making. Without credibility, Civil Society groups will not b=
> e
> listened to.

But all humor aside, I completely agree with you, Mr. Koven. I invite 
and encourage you and the World Press Freedom Committee to conduct a 
thorough investigation of the allegations of censorship and suppression 
of free speech that took place in Geneva last week, both in the city 
center and in the Palexpo. I am confident that you will find my 
allegations to be true and I hope that the WPFC will release an 
appropriate condemnation of the Summit organizers and the Geneva 
authorities in response - and I hope that we can work together towards 
Tunis, where the situation will undoubtedly be much worse.

Regards,

Sasha Costanza-Chock

coordinator, Global Communication Project
Free Press media reform network
mediareform.net