FYI: Given recent discussions about the US and globalization, I thought
some of you may be interested in this statement just released here in
the Caribbean in response to censorship of research publications. I
think it's also important to highlight the difficulties of researchers
travelling from the Caribbean to the US (and the UK), who are
increasingly being met with intensified (and sometimes confrontational)
scrutiny (particularly at secondary inspection- given a quick
unscientific survey of several of my colleagues, myself included),
making collaborative research with US researchers and attending
conferences in the US, something that is potentially going to become
increasingly difficult.
Best, Susan.
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(apologies for cross-postings)
DECLARATION OF THE CARIBBEAN SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY
RE: US. CENSORSHIP
The Caribbean Scientific Community (La Communidad Cientifica del
Caribe) which is an association of academies of sciences of the wider
Caribbean including Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico,
Nicaragua, Panama, The Caribbean Academy of Sciences, The Dominican
Republic and Venezuela expresses its concern on the prohibition by the
U.S.A. to review edit or modify in US scientific journals, papers by
authors from certain countries. This is in violation of UNESCO
resolutions on promoting worldwide scientific exchanges and also a
statement released in Mexico City in December 2004 by The Inter Academy
Panel (IAP) on 'Access to Scientific Information' . The US Academy of
Sciences is an active member of IAP and a signatory to this statement.
The international scientific community is a very close-knit community,
that inter alia, works through the IAP in close collaboration with the
UN to assist in solving, with the aid of Science and Technology, some
of the major global problems facing mankind today. The present
censorship measures may in some ways inhibit this close collaboration
and may create further tensions in an already highly insecure and tense
world. We firmly believe that it is counter productive and strongly
urge the US government to kindly reconsider its decision.
The Caribbean Scientific Union is based at the St. Augustine Campus of
the University of the West Indies,Trinidad and its Executive Members
are Prof. H. Ramkissoon (President ,Trinidad), Dr. M. Bonettti (Vice
President, Dominican Republic), Dr. I Clarke, (Secretary, Cuba) and
Dr.
F.G. Pasos (Treasurer, Nicaragua).
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Dr. Susan Mains
Department of Geography and Geology
The University of the West Indies, Mona
Kingston 7
Jamaica, West Indies
Tel: 876-927-2129
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