H.E. Natsagiyn Bagabandi
President
Office of the President
State House
12 Ulan Bator
Mongolia
Your Excellency:
We write to protest your country@quot;s part in the continuing world-wide abuse of press freedom.
On this day, World Press Freedom Day, there are — to the best of our knowledge –193 journalists imprisoned in the jails of 29 countries, most of them solely for having done their jobs. Mongolia is one of the 29, and we are informed that you have in custody B. Hand-dolgor, editor of the free newspaper, Ug (Word) .
Ms. Hand-dolgor was convicted on July 31, 2002, of libel and sentenced to one year in prison. The charges followed an Ug news alert, published on March 5, 2002, about the possible spread of AIDS in the area at the Northern border of Mongolia. In the alert, a woman called B. was suspected of being infected with HIV and having numerous affairs with soldiers at the border. In response, a public health team tested B. and several of the men she had slept with; all of the tests were negative. Ug published a front-page apology on April 26, which included a signed statement from Ms. Hand-dolgor that she was sorry that Ug published the item without firm confirmation. ?As a free media,”” she wrote, “”we are ready and obliged to publish an Apology Statement for our wrong-doings ourselves because we think it is one of the ethical principles of the free media.? In May, one of B@quot;s former lovers severely beat her, demanding proof that she was not infected with HIV, and she died of her injuries. Ms. Hand-dolgor was arrested soon after and convicted quickly in a trial where the district judge prior to hearing the case expressed his belief in her guilt. Although she may have completed her sentence, Reporters Without Borders continues to list her as a journalist in jail.
Your Excellency, if Ms. Hand-dolgor is still in prison, she should be released both on principle and as a matter of expediency. The principle is simple, as stated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “”Everyone,? according to the Declaration, ?has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”” UN members recognize that this right is sometimes inconvenient and troublesome. Yet, it is crucial to uphold, and for practical reasons as well as principle: A nation that stifles freedom of thought and expression forfeits the good opinion of the world and isolates itself. This may prompt political or economic sanctions, with loss of diplomatic influence and domestic prosperity; at the least, it relegates a country to the company of North Korea, Iraq under Saddam Hussein, or Zimbabwe. And in long or short order, a repressive regime will be overturned.
The Overseas Press Club of America, an independent organization that has defended press freedom around the world for 65 years, urges you to rethink your policy, to welcome free expression of ideas and opinions, and to release Ms. Hand-dolgor.
The courtesy of a reply would be appreciated.
Respectfully yours,
Larry Martz
Norman A. Schorr
Co-chairmen, Freedom of the Press Committee