PAX GAEA WORLD POST HUMAN RIGHTS HEADLINES (12/12)
Issues: Car bomb in Iraq kills 47 day laborers, Soros to Indonesia: Support UN resolution against Myanmar, No oversight of NK Human Rights confesses SK Commission, Pakistan denies Kashmir designs, Transsexuals find acceptance in Muslim Malaysia, Iran Holocaust denial fest kicks off, Israel PM admits nukes despite official denials, Congo flood victims living in canoes, World must stay engaged in Guyana democratization, Hope for Hong Kong democracy movement
Car bomber kills 47 people in Iraq
A suicide bomber killed 47 people and wounded scores in central Baghdad on Tuesday after luring a crowd of poor day labourers to his vehicle with promises of work, police and the Interior Ministry said. Police said 148 people were wounded when the bomber's vehicle exploded at 7am (1500 AEDT) in Tayran Square, sending a cloud of black smoke into the sky. Gunfire sounded immediately after the blast. Tayran Square is typically a gathering point for carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers, painters and other workers in the construction trade who frequent the cafes and street vendors in the early morning while waiting for the chance of some work. Sydney Morning Herald (12/12)
Soros calls for Indonesia to support UN Myanmar resolution
Billionaire US philanthropist George Soros has appealed for Indonesia to support a UN resolution against the military junta in Myanmar. Speaking in front of the Indonesian parliamentary caucus on Myanmar, Soros said they should pressure the government to step up diplomatic efforts for freedom in Myanmar.."It is very frustrating, you have a junta that is clearly difficult to influence because they do not care what other parts of the world would think," he said. "In this case I am in line with (President George W.) Bush's policy," he said, referring to Washington's trade and investment bans on Myanmar in protest at the regime's dismal human rights record and refusal to adopt democratic reforms. Today (Indonesia) (12/12).
Rights agency decides it has no say in North
December 12, 2006 ㅡ Breaking years of silence, the National Human Rights Commission said yesterday it will not address violations of North Korean citizens' human rights because the agency does not have jurisdiction in the communist country. The commission, however, said it will consider some cases involving South Koreans. Human rights issues involving South Korean citizens who are prisoners of war, kidnap victims or people separated from their families will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, the commission said. The commission voted yesterday afternoon in favor of its new official position. The actual voting tally was not announced. The decision appeared to contradict an earlier statement given by the commission's head, Ahn Kyong-hwan, who assumed the post in October. At that time, he said in media interviews, "I can no longer remain silent about North Korea's rights abuses." Yesterday, Mr. Ahn read a statement announcing the results and said his agency could not intervene. JoongAng Daily (South Korea (12/12)
Pakistan says it never claimed Kashmir as its territory
Nirupama Subramanian
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Monday it had never claimed Kashmir as an integral part of its territory, that its legal position was based on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, and that it wanted a settlement that would be acceptable to itself, to India and to the people of Kashmir. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam made these remarks when asked to comment on President Pervez Musharraf's statements to an Indian TV channel that Pakistan would give up its claim on Kashmir if India showed similar flexibility. "First, Pakistan does not claim Kashmir. The dispute is about the aspirations of the Kashmiris. According to the UNSC resolutions, Pakistan and India are parties to this dispute, and Kashmiris have to essentially decide their future," Ms. Aslam said at the weekly briefing. The Hindu (India) (12/12)
Transsexuals in Malaysia get more acceptance in Muslim society
Transsexuals are gaining more acceptance in mostly Muslim Malaysia, a well-known transsexual said Tuesday, a little more than year after she held a high-profile but controversial wedding with an accountant. Jessie Chung, an ethnic Chinese Malaysian who had sex-change surgery in 2003, said her country's transsexuals are "luckier than those in some other places" because anti-discrimination campaigns by nongovernment groups have helped to change the way in which many people view them. "I know this because when I walk down the street, strangers who recognize me often approach me with encouraging words," Chung told reporters. "Our society is becoming more open-minded." Pravda (Russia) (12/12)
Revisionist fringe gathers for Iran's Holocaust denial jamboree
By Angus McDowell in Tehran
President Ahmadinejad's long-promised Holocaust conference opened in Tehran yesterday to an audience including infamous revisionists, racists and anti-Semites. The only speakers who confirmed the Holocaust as a historical fact were a group of rabbis who criticised its use to justify Israeli abuses against Palestinians. Mr Ahmadinejad called for the conference last year following Western revulsion at his assertion that the slaughter of six million Jews was a myth. But he missed the event to give a speech at Amir Kabir university, a hotbed of student radicalism, where he was heckled by protesters shouting "death to the dictator" and burning his photograph. In response, he quipped that "it is my honour to burn for the nation's ideals". Independent (United Kingdom) (12/12)
PM aides: No violation of 'nuclear ambiguity' policy
By Yossi Verter, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Staff and Agencies
Aides to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, seeking to quell a political storm over an Olmert remark which appeared to publicly confirm that Israel has nuclear weapons, said Tuesday that the prime minister had been misinterpreted and had not violated Israel's traditional policy of "nuclear ambiguity." The statement, which provoked calls for Olmert's resignation, followed recent comments by newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who listed Israel among the nations near Iran which possessing nuclear arms. Ha'aretz (Israel) (12/12)
DRC flood victims 'living in canoes'
Eddy Isango Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Thousands of people have been displaced by about a week of heavy flooding in the north-western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), United Nations and government officials said on Monday. A provincial medical officer said about 600 houses have been destroyed in the town of Bumba following a month of heavy rains, leaving about 3 600 people without shelter. Many houses were washed away, while some in low-lying areas were completely inundated, Dr Charles Longoso, chief medical inspector for the province, said by telephone from Iyonda, a town near the provincial capital of Mbandaka. UN officials confirmed the flooding.Mail & Guardian (South Africa) (12/12)
Stay engaged: OAS urges international community
By Mark Ramotar
THE international community must remain engaged in the political processes of Guyana, the Washington-based Organisation of American States (OAS) has recommended. This is one proposal in the final report of the OAS observer mission that monitored the August 28 general and regional elections here, Assistant Secretary General of the organisation, Mr. Albert Ramdin, said in Georgetown yesterday. According to him, the international community needs to provide adequate resources to consolidate democracy in Guyana, by helping to strengthen institutions such as GECOM and the National Assembly, and by promoting mechanisms for dialogue among the political parties and civil society. Guyana Chronicle (12/12)
Pluralistic hopes in Hong Kong
A pro-democracy figure may make history by making the ballot
By Mitchell Landsberg, Times Staff Writer
BEIJING — For the first time since China's communist revolution, a pro-democracy candidate in an area under Beijing's control appears likely to compete in a contest for high political office.Alan Leong is virtually certain to lose the March race for chief executive of Hong Kong, and the election itself will be a far cry from international standards of democracy. But pro-democracy forces in the former British protectorate had a strong showing Sunday in a vote to choose Hong Kong's equivalent of the electoral college and are taking the results as a victory. "The people in Hong Kong seem to have spoken very clearly and loudly," Leong said Monday, hours after voting results appeared to show that he had sufficient support to take on Donald Tsang, the incumbent, in March. "Certainly, I'm encouraged by the results." Los Angeles Times (12/12)
posted by Dave Carroll @ 12/12/2006 07:09:00 AM
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