Pierre has done the essential service in posting up an example of how to write
to the Bangladeshi government about Talisma Nasrin.
Members of this list may have more experience of writing to foreign
governments on freedom issues than I have, but from my own small experience, I
believe it important to find a way of talking which speaks to the government
addressed. There's the vexed question of fundamentalist Islamic attitudes
towards women. Also, the government probably need to think: "There are people
out there not knee-jerk unfriendly to our country but who are really
concerned." The only risk in following the PEN letter too closely is that it
won't help either if the Bangladeshi government receive a lot of form letters.
So elegant, polite variation might be good with an addition of personal
feeling. And then it's a question of sheer volume, which is finally the only
thing with any hope of making a real difference.
Doug
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