International Publishers Association Releases First “Freedom to Publish Manifesto”

From the IPA:

The International Publishers Association (IPA) has published its first Freedom to Publish Manifesto, a declaration of the IPA’s steadfast commitment to raise the alarm when publishers are threatened and to counter their repression through international activism.
The text was adopted by the IPA’s Freedom to Publish Committee (FtPC), which is comprised of nine international publishing professionals elected in October 2016 by the IPA General Assembly, the IPA’s highest decision-making body.
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Part of the IPA Freedom to Publish Manifesto reads:
Publishing is a powerful mechanism by which humanity has for centuries circulated works of the mind, information, ideas, beliefs and opinions…The IPA believes that the unique contribution of publishers to enabling freedom of expression, debate and dialogue by disseminating the works of others deserves distinct recognition and protection. The IPA is committed to defending and promoting the freedom to publish, which is under siege worldwide today.
It also describes the four ways that the IPA will do this work:

• Celebrating freedom to publish champions;
• Driving dialogue on freedom to publish;
• Challenging violations of freedom to publish;
• Helping IPA members to fight for freedom to publish.

Current priority cases include the state shuttering of 30 publishing houses in Turkey, the ongoing incommunicado detention in China of Swedish publisher Gui Minhai, and the violent arrests and interrogations of Belarusian publisher Miraslau Lazouski and bookseller Ales Jaudaha, who were seized by masked officers at a literature festival last month in Minsk.

Read the Complete Announcement
Direct to Full Text of Freedom to Publish Manifesto
PDF version also available. 

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