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23rd
April 2003
To: Mr
Kamran Mir Hazar
Dear Kamran
Mir Hazar,
I am in
receipt of your e-mail carrying the title: RAHA THE INDEPENDENT WRITERS'
HOME, INTERNATIONAL PEN CLUB , AFGHANISTAN CENTER.
While
International PEN, the global association of writers, founded in 1921
and now comprising of some 134 Centres in 96 countries, is interested in
collegial relations with all other writers organisations, I feel I must
point out very strongly that our name, International PEN, and the name
PEN Centre as attributed to a Member Centre, are protected by the
conventions of international law, and may not be used in any connection
whatsoever without legal authority ultimately conferred upon Centres by
the World Assembly of International PEN.
All requests
to form and be accepted as a member Centre of PEN must go through the
London Office of International PEN. As Chief Executive Officer of
International PEN, I must therefore ask you to immediately cease using
the title and name of International PEN, and to cease calling
yourselves the Afghan/Afghanistan PEN Center.
I view your
initiative – which may well be without malicious intent – as especially
unsettling since International PEN is now in the process of facilitating
the organization of a proposed Afghan PEN Centre in Kabul. If this
proposed PEN Centre is accepted as a member Centre of International PEN
by the organization’s World Assembly, you and your colleagues, as the
free writers you undoubtedly are, may wish to associate yourselves with
it as individuals, or perhaps as a future branch. If so, the matter may
certainly be discussed – please let me know.
Should you
wish to inform yourselves about due legitimate process in any PEN
activities, I will be pleased to be at your service. Meanwhile, I ask
you to cease forthwith from calling yourselves a PEN Centre, and
immediately remove from your website, and any other means of
communication, all references to International PEN, yourselves as a PEN
Centre and any information using the name of PEN.
Yours
sincerely
Terry
Carlbom
International Secretary
International PEN
9/10 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road,
London EC1M 7AT, United Kingdom
tel: + 44 (0)20 7253 4308 fax: + 44
(0)20 7253 5711
e.mail:
intpen@dircon.co.uk website:
www.internatpen.org
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