Anti-censorship committee reopened after religious protests
-30/08/05
The actions of conservative religious groups such as Christian Voice have persuaded The Writersí Guild of Great Britain to reopen its Anti-Censorship Committee.
The committee, which was set up in the sixties to offer support to writers confronted with attempts to censor their work, fell into disuse twelve years ago. But recent events surrounding controversial productions Jerry Springer – the Opera and Behzti, as well as the introduction of the governmentís Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, have inspired the guild to relaunch it.
The committee’s brief is to examine all forms of censorship but “of immediate concern is the threatened or actual violence by which religious groups disrupted controversial stage and broadcast productions during 2004-2005” a statement said.
“The dangers of this situation cannot be overstated.”
The Writers Guild will be putting forward a motion at the forthcoming Trade Union Congress, registering its opposition to the proposed legislation, which they fear will curb writersí freedom of expression.
“Indecisive official reaction has revealed a tendency towards appeasement which may soon have legal footing in the proposed amendment to the Racial Hatred Bill” the statement continued.
Lydia Rivlin, chairman of the new committee, told The Stage: ìWe have contacted various MPs with our fears. A highly-placed Labour minister has told us he thinks the bill is a ëdangerous hotch-potchí, so we have support. A leading Muslim official has also told us he believed the bill would have prevented The Satanic Verses from being published.
ìWriters are finding themselves in a very difficult situation. Religious pressure groups have recently started to use increasingly belligerent tactics to stifle expression, as can be seen by the riot which closed down a play in Birmingham in December [Behzti].î
Other arts unions including Equity and Bectu have been contacted to enlist their support for the committee. An Equity spokesperson confirmed that it had been in talks with the guild and would be supporting the motion at the TUC. He added: ìWeíve contacted the minister and expressed our concern that the bill could create an atmosphere in which people are more afraid to take risks. Clearly a lot of our members, especially the comedians, are worried about this.î
The news comes as Christian Voice suggested that broadcasters in the UK were happy to offend their viewers. The claim was made by the religious group Christian group at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
Anti-censorship committee reopened after religious protests
-30/08/05
The actions of conservative religious groups such as Christian Voice have persuaded The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain to reopen its Anti-Censorship Committee.
The committee, which was set up in the sixties to offer support to writers confronted with attempts to censor their work, fell into disuse twelve years ago. But recent events surrounding controversial productions Jerry Springer – the Opera and Behzti, as well as the introduction of the government’s Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, have inspired the guild to relaunch it.
The committee’s brief is to examine all forms of censorship but “of immediate concern is the threatened or actual violence by which religious groups disrupted controversial stage and broadcast productions during 2004-2005” a statement said.
“The dangers of this situation cannot be overstated.”
The Writers Guild will be putting forward a motion at the forthcoming Trade Union Congress, registering its opposition to the proposed legislation, which they fear will curb writers’ freedom of expression.
“Indecisive official reaction has revealed a tendency towards appeasement which may soon have legal footing in the proposed amendment to the Racial Hatred Bill” the statement continued.
Lydia Rivlin, chairman of the new committee, told The Stage: ‘We have contacted various MPs with our fears. A highly-placed Labour minister has told us he thinks the bill is a ëdangerous hotch-potch’, so we have support. A leading Muslim official has also told us he believed the bill would have prevented The Satanic Verses from being published.
‘Writers are finding themselves in a very difficult situation. Religious pressure groups have recently started to use increasingly belligerent tactics to stifle expression, as can be seen by the riot which closed down a play in Birmingham in December [Behzti].’
Other arts unions including Equity and Bectu have been contacted to enlist their support for the committee. An Equity spokesperson confirmed that it had been in talks with the guild and would be supporting the motion at the TUC. He added: ‘We’ve contacted the minister and expressed our concern that the bill could create an atmosphere in which people are more afraid to take risks. Clearly a lot of our members, especially the comedians, are worried about this.’
The news comes as Christian Voice suggested that broadcasters in the UK were happy to offend their viewers. The claim was made by the religious group Christian group at the Edinburgh TV Festival.