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Fellowships Increase Journalists' Understanding of a Free Press

The 1995 Visiting Media Fellows included (L-R, top) Ali Sharefetdin-Ogly Danagaev of Azerbaijan; Abdumajid Usamnov of Tajikistan; Gennady Ovchinniko, (bottom) Arina Sharapova and Elena Masiu, all of Russia; and Daina Ostrovska of Latvia (Photo: Annemarie Poyo)

What constitutes fair usage by the media? How does violence reported on television impact society? What are the root causes of ethnic conflict, and how can they be covered fairly?

This spring, six broadcast journalists from Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union studied these and other issues as Visiting Media Fellows. They were hosted by the Commission on Radio and Television Policy, a joint project of The Carter Center and the DeWitt Wallace Center for Communications and Journalism at Duke University. Founded in 1990 by former President Jimmy Carter, the Commission encourages the development of democratic broadcast media through effective policy choices.

Fellows spent their first two weeks at Duke where they studied the role of television in democracy with 10 other journalists from around the world. They spent their final week in Atlanta, where they met privately with President Carter and with media experts at CNN, a local public television station, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Commission began the fellowship program last year for journalists from the former Soviet Union to exchange ideas with other journalists and media policy-makers. Funded in part by the Eurasia Foundation, the fellowships are an adjunct to the Visiting Media Fellows Program at Duke, begun in the early 1970s.

"The idea is to help journalists prepare for an increasingly complicated world," said Dee Reid, program director of the DeWitt Wallace Center. "Many of the fellows come from emerging democracies, where they are learning about new press freedoms while dealing with complex economic and social problems." For example, evolving press freedoms in Russia have made it possible for journalists to provide comprehensive coverage of the conflict in Chechnya, including some reports and viewpoints that contradict government information.

Last year's fellows were from Armenia, Belarus, and Russia. All initiated new projects with their respective television stations after their fellowships. For example, Nellie Alelova launched the first independent television station in Armenia. Nicolai Ignatenko of Belarus introduced television programming from diverse cultures, including Jews and minorities.

"We have been fortunate in the selection of Commission fellows," said Ellen Mickiewicz, director of the Commission and the DeWitt Wallace Center. "They are among the most pioneering and independent voices in the former Soviet Union, and they are on the 'frontline' of the region's television revolution."

United States, North Korea Agree on Implementation of Nuclear Accord

Based on the Carter breakthrough, North Korea agreed to halt its current nuclear program, which Western observers feared could provide the North with nuclear weapons. In exchange, the North's nuclear plants will be replaced with safer light-water reactors, which are incapable of producing weapons-grade materials.

Talks then turned to how to implement that agreement. At issue was the North's refusal to accept new reactors built in South Korea. "Creative phrasing" finally overcame those objections, pro-ducing an agreement that Secretary of State Warren Christopher hailed as "a very important step forward."

Carter Center Program Director Marion Creekmore, who accompanied President Carter on his mission to Korea last year, agreed. "President Carter closely monitors developments on the Korean Peninsula," Dr. Creekmore said, "and remains willing to be helpful should an appropriate opportunity arise."

INN's Olusegun Obasanjo's Future Uncertain

Four months after his arrest for alleged crimes against the government, the fate of former Nigerian head of state Olusegun Obasanjo remains uncertain.

Gen. Obasanjo, who led his country from military to civilian rule in the 1970s, was detained in March. Although never officially charged, he was accused of taking part in a coup attempt against the military government of Gen. Sani Abacha.

A week after Gen. Obasanjo's arrest, former President Jimmy Carter, who was in Nigeria to assess its progress toward Guinea worm eradication, asked that Gen. Obasanjo be allowed to return home. Within 24 hours, Gen. Obasanjo was back at his farm in Otta, held under house arrest.

However, in June, Gen. Obasanjo was taken to a military garrison in Lagos, where he is undergoing a secret trial. At press time, it was unclear if a verdict had been decided.

According to Ahuma Adodoadji, acting director of The Carter Center's African Governance Program, "We at The Carter Center believe public trials are the only way to ensure fairness and due respect for the legal process."

"We are deeply concerned about Gen. Obasanjo and other political detainees. This is a flagrant violation of their human rights," President Carter said. "Gen. Obasanjo serves as a member of The Carter Center's International Negotiation Network, and I have the utmost respect for him. We will continue to push for his release."

Kiwanis International Honors Work to Immunize Children

The Kiwanis International Foundation also presented them with a $10,000 grant for ECBT, which they accepted at Kiwanis International's 80th annual convention in Las Vegas.

Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Bumpers began their campaign in 1991 at the height of a U.S. measles epidemic, which started in 1989. By 1991, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recorded more than 55,000 cases and 123 deaths nationwide. Rates of other vaccine-preventable diseases also rose from 1989-91.

Since then, the co-chairs have begun campaigns in 38 states, many with the help of governors' and Congressional spouses, to raise awareness about early childhood immunization. ECBT also has provided technical information about immunization to Great Britain, Armenia, Canada, and the former Soviet Union. According to ECBT, measles vaccination rates have risen from about 50 percent in 1991 to 82 percent in the United States today.

"The efforts of Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Bumpers through Every Child By Two complements Kiwanis' All Their Shots While They're Tots program," said Ian Perdiau, president of Kiwanis International. "Their determination to keep youngsters healthy is admirable, and they are clearly deserving of such an award."

Carter Center Launches a Site on the Internet's World Wide Web

From Korea, to Haiti, to Bosnia, to cyberspace -- The Carter Center is on-line. The Center recently unveiled a site on the Internet's World Wide Web, the most popular and fastest-growing portion of the Net. The site allows Internet users from around the world to point and click their way through a library of information about the Center.

"In the past year, public awareness of both the Internet and The Carter Center's work has increased enormously," said Carrie Harmon, director of public information. "Through our web site, we can now provide both the press and public with up-to-the-minute information about President and Mrs. Carter's projects and travels, and about the Center's ongoing work to alleviate suffering and promote democracy around the world."

The web site features a hypertext collection of more than 100 documents and nearly 70 photos, including a library of current Center news, brief biographies of fellows and directors, a photographic tour of the grounds, an order form for the Center's publications and a growing selection of reports available on-line, and a library of links to dozens of related sites. The Carter Center site is located at:

http://www.emory.edu/CARTER_CENTER/

South African Activist Joins Carter Center

A noted scholar and activist for reform in South Africa has been named fellow for human rights at The Carter Center.

Johan David van der Vyer, who taught law at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, is a scholar in the field of religion and human rights and a leading proponent for constitutional and human rights reform in his native country.

"Dr. van der Vyver joins us at a time when the Center's Human Rights Program is working with our International Human Rights Council (IHRC) to find ways to renew and advance the cause of human rights worldwide," former President Jimmy Carter said. The IHRC was formed last year.

In collaboration with program staff, Dr. van der Vyver will help shape projects to promote respect for basic human rights, prevent abuses, and establish institutions to protect human rights in emerging democracies.

"We will continue to focus on issues such as the creation of an international human rights court and the status of economic and social rights in the international human rights arena," Dr. van der Vyver said. "Religious freedom also deserves special attention because religious differences have emerged as a source of political conflict in many parts of world."

Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Domenici Urge Fair Treatment of the Mentally Ill

"We believe members of Congress should be careful to avoid the historic unfair limitations placed on people with mental illness," Mrs. Carter said.

The former first lady and Mrs. Domenici--both long-time mental health advocates--called for parity to protect people with mental illness against discriminatory cuts in benefits as federal Medicaid and Medicare health programs are restructured. They urged that only those limitations placed on physical illness should be placed on mental illness and specifically called for nondiscrimination against medically necessary mental illness services.

"We hope Congress will listen to our message," Mrs. Carter said. "We are long past the time when people with mental illness can be arbitrarily excluded from benefits or coverage on the stigmatizing assumption that they are not truly disabled or truly in need of care."