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Announcement :: UCIMC |
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UCIMC Video Working Group Statement of Apology |
Current rating: 0 |
by Paul Riismandel
Email: mediageek (nospam) gmail.com (unverified!)
Address: PO Box 2102, Champaign, IL 61820 |
23 May 2005
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The UCIMC's Video Group met for an emergency meeting on May 22 in order to draft a statement in response to the problems and controversy that have arisen regarding a statement, about the UCIMC's position in the global Indymedia network, made May 9 at a press conference announcing the UCIMC's purchase of a new building.
This is the statement that the volunteers at the emergency Video Group meeting consented to. |
May 22, 2005
We, the listed members of the UCIMC Video Working Group, consent to
the following statement of apology regarding the recent statement made
by Sascha Meinrath at a press conference announcing the purchase of
the UCIMC's new building:
"There's [sic] over 150 Independent Media Centers in 50 plus countries
worldwide. And this IMC here in Urbana-Champaign is the umbrella under
which the entire global network operates. We are in essence the global
headquarters for the Indymedia movement, here in Urbana."
We can speak only for ourselves.
We did not write or give prior consent to this statement made by Mr.
Meinrath (hereafter, referred to as just "the statement"). However we
accept our collective responsibility for it having been said and
communicated, and believe it is our responsibility to respond and
repudiate that statement.
We feel the need to stand up specifically on this issue in solidarity
with other IMC volunteers nationally and internationally. We have
worked in solidarity with other IMCs and IMC activists around the
world in the past. We intend to work to repair the trust that may
have been betrayed by this statement so that we may be able to work in
solidarity once again. We take seriously the concerns of our fellow
IMC volunteers and their criticisms of the statements and actions of
the UCIMC.
We stand by the UCIMC reporter who documented the statement, in that
the statement was actually said, and his reporting of that quote was
accurate. We offer no excuses for the statement, regardless of the
context in which it was made.
We disagree fundamentally with the statement, and do not believe that
it is true in reality or in effect.
We apologize for this statement made at the press conference.
We do not want to view the UCIMC as the headquarters of the Indymedia
network, nor do we wish it actually to be the headquarters of the
network. We do not believe the UCIMC deserves to be headquarters of
the Indymedia network, and nothing justifies or merits the belief or
appearance that we are. We do not believe UCIMC can or should be the
headquarters of the network.
We are very sorry that the statement was made, and that no immediate
correction to or retraction of the statement was made. We apologize
for the impression that it has made to the world that the members of
the UCIMC collective believe ourselves to be the headquarters of the
Indymedia network. Further, we take responsibility for having allowed
the statement to be made and not immediately corrected.
We recognize that this statement has caused outrage and sparked
distrust of UCIMC in the Indymedia network. We are making this
statement out of respect for this. We wish to thank the IMC volunteers
from around the world who sent email directly to the UCIMC's email
list and therefore made it clear to the UCIMC collective, as a whole,
the impact the statement had, and the damage it has caused.
We are especially concerned about the impression this statement made
to IMC volunteers working outside of the US.
We recognize that the UCIMC enjoys tremendous privilege as a result of
the resources and support given by our local community. We also
recognize that this privilege stems from the immense and
disproportionate wealth that we have in the US that results from the
oppressive military and economic policies of our government. That
privilege does not equal merit of any kind. It does not mean that the
UCIMC has or should have any position in the global IMC network except
as just another IMC.
We especially regret that the idea that the UCIMC is the headquarters
of the global Indymedia network evokes US imperialism and hegemony.
We believe that most UCIMC members do not know the details of the
UCIMC's financial relationship with other organizations and IMCs. We
are responsible for our own ignorance.
An ad hoc group of UCIMC members is now documenting all aspects of the
UCIMC's financial relationships, which it is scheduled to have
finished by June 2, 2005. We expect that this documentation will be
complete, transparent, and published to the world.
We also believe that most UCIMC members are ignorant about the global
IMC movement. By and large we do not know how IMCs from around the
world interact and how decisions of global importance are made.
We, the UCIMC Video Working Group, will work to better inform
ourselves, and our fellow UCIMC members, about other IMCs and the
global IMC network. We will join global working groups and encourage
other UCIMC members to do so.
Finally, we reiterate our apologies to all Indymedia activists,
contributors and volunteers around the world for our ignorance of
global issues and our inaction, which led to this statement being made
and standing uncorrected and unaddressed for more than two weeks.
Again, we thank IMC volunteers from around the world for contacting
UCIMC directly to alert us to the impact, effect and damage this
statement, and the UCIMC's lack of action has caused.
We wish to stand in solidarity with Indymedia activists around the
world. We regret the damage the has been done to the trust between
UCIMC and other IMCs, and we pledge to work to repair that damage
however we can.
Signed,
Paul Riismandel, Dave Powers, Dave Berliner, Randall Cotton, Bob
Illyes, Colleen Cook |
This work is in the public domain |
