The WTI is an international citizen's initiative to examine and establish the
truth in relation to the war and occupation of Iraq. It is comprised of
various sessions held around the world (see www.worldtribunal.org)
culminating in a Final Session in Istanbul, June 2005.

This is a call to individuals and associations to support, through financial
sponsorship, the Rome Session of the WTI on Media Wrongs Against Truth and
Humanity. It is an appeal to citizens for a pledge of Euro 50,00, or more, to
support this effort for media accountability and the rights to truth and
information.

So often we hear about the need to hold the Media to account. It is time to
take action. The Rome tribunal will be the first time a citizen’s tribunal is
being convened for this purpose. The session focuses specifically on the role
and responsibilities of the 'Media' with respect to telling the truth about
the war on Iraq and its consequences. Information, or disinformation, has
significant human and social impact. In this connection, the Session will
consider the following wrongs against 3 identified communities:

1. Against the Peoples of Iraq:
• A Wrong of Aggression – complicity in the waging of an aggressive war
and perpetuating a regime of occupation that is widely regarded as guilty of
war crimes and crimes against humanity.
• A Wrong of Silence – violation of the duty to tell the truth of the
on-going Occupation of Iraq and to give privilege and dignity to the Iraqi
people in their suffering.

2. Against the Peoples of the ‘Coalition’:
• A Wrong of Deception – complicity, through the validation and
dissemination of disinformation, in enabling the fraudulent misappropriation
of human and financial resources for war, from social development.
• A Wrong of Incitement – culpability for inciting an ideological
climate of fear, racism, xenophobia and violence.

3. Against Humanity:
• A Wrong of Exclusion – complicity in the exclusion of the global
voices and visions of peace, against war and for justice.
• A Wrong of Usurpation – complicity in enabling the usurpation of
human aspirations - for peace and human security and - for political and
economic profit.

We make this appeal for financial assistance in order to sustain our
activities. We hope that you will regard this support as an important
contribution for citizen’s actions for a socially responsible media which
upholds the highest standards of the duty to peoples’ rights to truth and
information. We need your help. The money will be used to fund the travel and
accommodation costs of our international participants including Iraqi
witnesses, the panel of jury and other witnesses from the South, and
independent journalists and film-makers. It will also enable to more
effectively disseminate the documentation of the session and to publicise the
findings and testimonies.

Attached is a programme for the session, with participants.

Every contribution, big or small, will help us achieve our aims. Please help
us.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of this appeal.

If you would like to make a financial contribution to WTI-Italia, below is
provided the account details (please state purpose as WTI-Italia, and inform
us of your contribution)

Account Name: Flavia Gasperetti (state as purpose - WTI-Italia)
Bank: Banca Etica
Account: 114581
ABI: 05018
CAB: 03200
IBAM: IT05 X050 1803 2000 0000 0114 581
BIC: CCRTIT2184D


Contact:
Dr. Jayan Nayar (on behalf of WTI-Italia)
Peoples’ Law Programme
Lelio Basso International Foundation
Via della Dogana Vecchia, 5 - 00186 Rome, Italy
Tel. 0039.06.68.65.352 - Fax 0039.06.68.77.774
 wti-italia@libero.it


Proceedings for the WTI Rome Session on Media Wrongs Against Truth and
Humanity

Confirmed Panel of Jury:

Prof. Samir Amin Director, Third World Forum - Egypt/Senegal
Prof. Haleh Afshar, Department of Politics, York University, Iran/UK
Prof François Houtart Director, Center Tricontinental – Belgium
Prof Margherita Hack Astronomist – Italy (waiting for confirmation)
Prof. Wangaari Mathai Nobel Peace Prize 2004, Minister of Environment –
Kenya
(waiting for confirmation)

Confirmed Participants

Dr. Corinne Kumar Director, El-Taller International, Coord. World Court
of Women,
Tunisia.
Danny Schechter MediaChannel, New York, Journalist/Film-maker (WMD - Weapons
of Mass Deception), USA
Dahr Jamail Independent Journalist, Alaska/Iraq
Isam Rasheed Iraq
Tahrir Swift Independent Journalist, Arab Media Watch, UK
Michele Santoro Journalist, MEP, Italy
Gabriele Zamparini Independent Film-maker (XXIst Century), Italy/UK
Fernando S. Del Solar Guerrero Azteca Project, US
Prof. David Miller Professor of Geography, Media Analyst (Ed. Tell Me
Lies), UK
Prof. Peter Phillips Director, Project Censored, USA
Anjali Kamat Independent Journalist, India/Egypt
Dr. Tony Alessandrini Human Rights Activist, WTI International, USA
Hana Albayaty Independent Film-maker, activist, Iraq/Belgium
Ayse Berktay Peace Initiative Turkey, WTI International Coordination Group,
Turkey
Patricia Alessandrini Composer, USA/France


PROGRAMME

10 February 2005

7.00 pm – 8.00 pm: Opening Ceremony and Introductory Statements

8.00 pm – 11.30 pm: Concert: Peoples’ for Truth and Against War


11 February 2005

10.00 am – 10.30 am: Introduction - The Right and Duty to Truth

10.30 am – 1.30 pm:Truth-Telling in Context
• ‘Media Wars’ and the Histories of Media
Propaganda, Disinformation and Resistance
• On Ownership, Message and Profits
• Theory and Practice of “Embeddedness”
• The Silencing of Dissent

1.30 pm – 2.30 pm: Lunch

2.45 pm – 5.00 pm: Media Wrongs Against the Peoples of Iraq: Aggression
• Complicity in waging a war of aggression through disinformation
• Complicity in denying peaceful resolution of situation
• Complicity in distorting the Iraqi will

5.00 pm – 5.30 pm: Coffee

5.40 pm – 7.30 pm: Media Wrongs Against the Peoples of Iraq: Silence.
• Silence on the realities of war, occupation, reconstruction,
liberation and political transition.
• Silence on truths of civilian suffering
• Silence on Iraqi visions and rejections


12 February 2005

09.30 am – 2.00 pm: Media Wrongs Against the Peoples of the ‘Coalition’:
Deception and Incitement
• Complicity in willing a public to war
• Deception on the political and economic motives of war and occupation
• Silence on costs of war and occupation
• Incitement of a public mood of fear and insecurity

2.00 pm – 3.00 pm: Lunch

3.00 pm – 6.00 pm: Media Wrongs Against Humanity: Exclusion and
Usurpation
• Distortion of the fundamental concerns and priorities of the global
population
• Complicity in enabling the corporate-military usurpation of visions
of ‘security’
• Complicity in the exclusion and non-hearing of global voices for
peace and justice
• Complicity in denying the truths told by non-Western and alternative
Media


13 February 2005

10.00 am – 1.30 pm: Celebrations of Compassionate Truth-Telling
• Watching the Media
• Blogging Towards Truth
• Experiments of Peoples’ Media

1.30 pm – 2.30 pm: Lunch

2.45 pm – 5.00 pm: Voices of Truth, Humanity and Wisdom
• inter-cultural visions of the duty to truth and truth-telling
• the poetics of non-violent futures
• experiences of reclaimed voices

5.00 pm – 9.00 pm: Break

9.00 pm – 10.00 pm: Presentation of Preliminary Findings and Summary
Statement of Judgement

10.00 pm – 10.15 pm: Concluding Statements