IISH

The Banishment of Brandsteder from the Dutch East Indies

Logo UNESCO 3 MayOn the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, which will be commemorated on May 3, 2004, the IISH wishes to call attention to Jacob Andries Brandsteder's (1887-1986) forced departure from the Dutch East Indies in 1919. He had to leave the archipelago because of his provocative writings in the Soldaten- en Matrozenkrant [Soldiers and Sailors' Paper].

This site contains background information on the press in the Dutch East Indies and on Brandsteder and the political situation in the Indies. His article 'Menschenvernietiging in vredestijd' [Destruction of people in peacetime] in Het Vrije Woord [Free Speech] and the brochure Indië een hel [The Indies, a hell], in which Brandsteder strongly protests his banishment, are digitized. There is also a list of literature and sources.

May 3 was declared World Press Freedom Day by the UN General Assembly in 1993, and was intended to commemorate the need for a free, pluralistic, and independent press as an essential component for any democratic society. The idea stemmed from the UNESCO General Conference in 1991.

In Amsterdam on May 3, 2004 a conference will be organised by NVJ, NPD and the Press Museum called 'Persvrijheid bestaat (niet)' [Press freedom does (not) exist].
Press Freedom Links

On May 3, 2003 the IISH called attention to the violent death of journalist Koos Koster in El Salvador.

Text: Huub Sanders, April 2004
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