The 72 th international P.E.N congress from 22th to 28th may 2006 in Berlin, Horst Kohler, Federal President of Germany welcomed more than 450 writers from PEN Centres in 144 countries around the world and Johano Strasser, President of German PEN Centre, emphasized on the theme of the 72 International PEN Congress "Writing in a world without peace".
At a private reception at the Federal Chancellery for delegates, Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted delegates including Nadine Cordimer, A.L Kennedy, Gyorgy Konrad and Ronald Harwood.
In accordance of the regulation of International PEN; the election of president and vice president after three years of office been successfully conducted, Jir? Gruša has been elected as the president of International PEN for a second term. Nobel laureates Toni Morrison, J.M.Coetzee and Gloria Guardia, president of the PEN Iberian American Foundation, have been elected by the delegates as the Vice Presidents of International PEN.
PEN's international literary symposiums and its work on freedom of expression, linguistic rights, women's access, dialogue for peace and issues of exiled writers were the focus of a three -year plan endorsed by the Assembly. Caroline Whitaker, Executive Director said, "International PEN will work regionally to connect the activity of its many Centres around the globe on these issues".
From Tibetan Writers Abroad PEN Centre, Mr. Kunthar dhondup (Vice President) and Mr.Dolma Kyab (Executive Member) along four participants attended the congress, they talked on human right situation and restrictions imposed on Tibetan writers by Chinese authority in Chinese occupied Tibet, some resolutions on Tibet passed as a result of their highlight. Our delegates had interactions and discussions on Tibetan issues with Chinese writers from Beijing, Hong Gong and Taiwan, America and German. And we believed that; we impressed them to some certain extend.
The Assembly of Delegates called upon numerous governments around the world to decriminalize insult and defamation laws used to persecute or silence writers. And The 72nd International Congress of PEN has also been historic highlighting the repression of writers in countries including China, Tunisia, Russia, Iran, Maldives, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Cuba, and Mexico.
The 73rd International PEN Congress decided to be held in Senegal, South Africa, to focus and promote Freedom of Expression through the literary works of International PEN.