“I Am a Reporter not A Spy!” Human Rights House Tbilisi Celebrated Press Freedom Day

On May 3, Human Rights House Tbilisi and other nongovernmental organizations held performance “I Am a Reporter not a Spy!” in Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi to celebrate the World Press Freedom Day.

The participants with bounded eyes and mouths sat on the benches in front of the Youth Palace, Tbilisi. Human rights defenders expressed solidarity to the “arrested press” and every journalist, who is persecuted in Georgia, with newspapers placed under the wire-trap. Simultaneously, the participants protested current difficult conditions of Georgian media and called upon the government to investigate all intimidation and oppression facts of journalists.

Besides Human Rights House Tbilisi member organizations - Article 42 of Constitution and Human Rights Center - Public Advocacy, Study Center for Elections and Political Technologies, Youth for Justice and Healthy World also participated in the performance. Journalists from various media organizations and active citizens, who learned about the planned event from social networks, also joined the performance.

Human Rights House Tbilisi celebrated the Press Freedom Day last year too. The participants of the Flash Mob protested the oppression on Georgian printed media by holding newspapers upside down in front of the parliament.

On May 3, 1991 African journalists adopted Declaration in Namibian town of Windhoek where they called upon the authority to promote freedom of press in the country. On December 21, 1993 the UN General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day.

This day reminds the world community that freedom of expression is still blatantly breached in many states and very often journalists implement their professional activities at the expense of freedom and sometimes even at the expense of life.

Human Rights House Tbilisi
03.05.12