To Ocean Books, Australia
We are a group of writers, civil rights activists and
left-leaning publishers from the city of Chennai
and other parts of TamilNadu ,
India
1. Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevera
2. Che: A Memoir by Fidel Castro
3. Bolivian Diaries by Che Guevera
The publisher clearly has no idea of what Che stood for or
what work by and about him are likely to contain. For one, they claim that all
three books listed above are written by Che! Besides, the advertisement in its
brief note on Che Guevara claims that he was an exponent of ‘gorilla’ warfare
(sic). It would not be out of place to mention here that the publishing house
has been named after a popular song-writer and poet, Kannadasan who famously
remarked that ‘communists are cockroaches that live off the dirt and muck of
poverty’.
The advertisement also claims that the above publishing house
has entered into an agreement with you in respect of many other books
(neither the books nor the content of the agreement are specified) and
has obtained copyright for the use of all the photographs of Che Guevera and
also the right to make TV serials about that great revolutionary martyr.
The advertisement says that since the above publishing house
alone has the right to translate into Tamil and publish the works of Che
Guevera, civil and criminal proceedings will be instituted against all
others who publish them under the Indian Copy Right Act of 1957 (as amended)
and Indian Penal Code 1800-As amended) with claims for compensation of
the loss etc., sustained by it. What is most outrageous in the advertisement is
the warning it issues against using of any of the photographs of Che Guevera by
any one apart from this publishing house.
The publisher clearly has no idea of how copyright laws work
across the world and in India
On the other hand, we see this recourse to the language of
the law as a means of intimidating many independent, left-leaning small
presses, which, for the last thirty years and more have kept the
memory of Che and the Cuban revolution alive through any number of
translations, essays, broadsheets, t-shirts, Bandanas, photographs, home-made
documentaries, pieced together from footage that is available on the Internet.
Recently, a young publisher who has re-published in December 2012 an earlier
Tamil translation of Bolivian Diary by a well-known woman writer (who is also a
leading member of Indo-Cuban Peoples’ Friendship Association) has been
threatened with legal action by the publishing house in question.
We have taken the liberty to write to you on the following
grounds:
· We went through your website (English and
Spanish) and saw that your list includes a number of works from Cuba , especially on Che Guevara, in addition to
poetry, art and fiction from other parts of Latin America .
It seemed extremely odd that an arch-right wing Tamil publisher should have
entered into a contract with you to publish Che’s works.
· We also are perplexed that Che, a visual icon
of the international left (in TamilNadu he is adored by not just the Left but
also thousands of young persons from the anti-caste movements,
particularly those from the so called ‘untouchable castes’) is
being considered the sole property of individual publishers/individuals – you
have no doubt seen the movie, Chevolution which in fact establishes the folly
of trying to fix Che’s visage to a particular moment, place or event.
· Your website says that you are “ an independent
publisher with a unique list of books offering a radical global vision of
politics and history, focusing particularly on Latin
America . Our books are designed to capture the imagination of
those who believe that a world of peace and justice is possible, and who are
actively working toward creating such a world”.Then how come you have allowed a
publisher in TamilNadu whose publishing interests are diametrically opposed to
both these principles and their practitioners ?
· We do hope that Che is not
‘copyrighted’ in a fashion that allows a Publisher who has no idea
of the ideals for which Che fought and martyred himself but is only driven by
the profit motive and that his writings are available to the wide world at
large, a world that his internationalist spirit embraced so generously and with
much warmth.
If you have actually entered into a contract with Kannadasan
Publishing house, please reconsider allowing them the right to publish Che
Guevara’s works and using his photographic and video graphic representations:
they have no interest in left politics, Latin American or anything even faintly
progressive. They are in all probability trying to ‘cash’ in on the persistent
popularity of Che, amongst newer and younger generations of activists.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Name
Profession
Address and email
People who
wish to support our cause and protest against this act pl send the above letter
toRachel Kirby rights@oceanbooks.com.au
To read in tamil: http://saavinudhadugal.blogspot.in/2013/03/blog-post.html
Done Kottravai.
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