Pax Gaea Human Rights World Post

PAX GAEA WORLD POST HUMAN RIGHTS HEADLINES TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2007

• Landmark Aussie native land deal stretches across state borders
• China's Hu Jintao urges "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan, not independence
• UK to be sued by Indian workers for racist immigration policies
• New UN Secretary General Ban says Israel-Palestine conflict key to all Middle East peace
• Journalist kidnapped by gunmen in Gaza
• Oprah builds $40 million girls school for South African poor
• German childbirth subsidy inspiring young working couples to "machen kinder"
• French Presidential campaign being waged on the web to reach young voters
• Peace talks between Colombia government, right wing warlords ends in violence
• Cops indicted in Katrina victims shooting indicted, cheered by fellow officers at surrender

Native title agreement completed in 2007

By Nick Ralston

A LANDMARK agreement resulting in the first native title deal stretching across state borders should be completed by the end of 2007, negotiator Warren Mundine said today. The NSW Government is in the final stages of an agreement that will hand joint control of 19 national parks and state forests near the Queensland border to the Githabul people. The deal, the biggest in the eastern states, will give the Githabul people a say in the management of the parks and forests, as well as creating job opportunities for them. Mr Mundine, the chief executive of NSW Native Title Services, said he hoped an agreement could be also reached with the Queensland Government on sections of the Githabul nation on the other side of the state border. "I think the NSW Government has done a great job in negotiations, we want to now talk to the Queensland Government and say, 'look at the NSW side of the border'," he said. "The big issue is that this is probably the first cross-border agreement, and that is a landmark and we want to have that finalised this year.'' Mr Mundine said he was disappointed that information about the deal had been released before negotiations were completed. Herald Sun (Australia) (1/2)

Chinese President calls for fighting against Taiwan secessionists

Chinese President Hu Jintao said in a New Year message on Monday that the Chinese mainland will actively promote exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Strait, safeguard peace and stability, and push ahead with peaceful reunification. He called on Chinese people around the world to join hands to oppose "Taiwan independence" and work for the ultimate reunification of the Chinese nation. Hu made the speech at a New Year tea party held by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a top political advisory body composed of various political parties and people from all walks of life. The tea party was also attended by top leaders of Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Zeng Qinghong, Wu Guanzheng, Li Changchun, Luo Gan, and presided over by Jia Qinglin, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee. President Hu said that the mainland's Taiwan policy of "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems" will not change. In reiterating his four guiding principles regarding cross-Strait relations, Hu said the mainland will strictly adhere to the one-China principle, continue efforts to seek peaceful reunification, always place its hopes on the Taiwan people, and never compromise in the struggle against "Taiwan independence". People's Daily Online/Xinhua (China) (1/2)

Indians take British govt to court over 'racist' rules

Rashmee Roshan Lall

LONDON: An estimated 30,000 Indians who left the mother country to work in Britain on the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) have begun the fraught task of taking the UK government to court for its allegedly racist new immigration policies. The UK, which allowed the Indians into the country under the four-year-old scheme on the understanding that they would work and probably settle here, is accused of changing the rules of disenfranchise coloured economic migrants arbitrarily and without warning. Britain's new, strict HSMP rules, which officially came into force on December 5, will force Indians and other South Asians to leave the country because they no longer fit the highly-skilled migrant category. The new rules disenfranchise potential non-European migrants over 28 years old and earning UK salaries less than £ 35,000, say the affected Indians, British immigration lawyers and immigration campaigners. Amit Kapadia of the newly-formed HSMP Forum that represents those affected by the changed rules told TOI on Tuesday "most Indians will no longer be eligible to stay on in Britain under the HSMP because the government is clearly trying to remove migrants like us. They unfairly say you will only qualify if you are younger and better paid even though the average Indian highly-skilled migrant can reasonably be expected to be over 28 years old". He added, more in sorrow than in anger, "What is the difference between these people (the British authorities) and Idi Amin, who threw Indians out of Uganda one morning?" Times of India (1/2)

'Israel-Palestinian conflict is key'

By HERB KEINON

Ban Ki-Moon, the new secretary-general of the United Nations, said on Monday that the Israeli-Palestinian issue was at the core of solving all the problems in the Middle East. In an interview with the South Korean Hankyoreh newspaper, he followed the lead of his predecessor, Kofi Annan, and other international leaders such as British Prime Minister Tony Blair by focusing on "Palestine." "If the issues with the conflicts between Israel and Palestine go well, [resolutions of] other issues in the Middle East, including Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Syria, are likely to follow suit. I will meet with the concerned parties as soon as possible," Ban said in an interview posted on the paper's English Web site Monday. This position is widely at variance with Jerusalem's position, which is that the roots of the problem in the region are terrorism, Islamic radicalism and extremism, and hatred of the West. Despite Ban's comments, Israel warmly welcomed the new secretary-general, who officially took office on Sunday. Jerusalem Post (1/2)

Gunmen kidnap journalist in Gaza as infighting flares anew

Compiled by Daily Star staff Violence erupted in the Gaza Strip again, with warring Palestinian factions firing on each other and abducting rivals, and gunmen kidnapped a foreign news photographer. The clashes in the Jebaliya refugee camp near Gaza City on Monday broke a weeklong pause in the violent confrontation between Prime Minister Ismail Haniyya's Hamas faction and President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah. In the past few weeks, 17 people have been killed in the internal fighting, leading to fears of civil war. At least two people were wounded in the gunfire on Monday, security officials said, and media reports said 18 Hamas gunmen and four from Fatah were abducted. Seven of the Hamas militants were later freed. In the past, captured militants have usually been released unharmed. Shortly before sundown Monday, gunmen abducted a photographer from the French news agency, AFP, from downtown Gaza City. AFP identified the photographer as Jaime Razuri, 50, from Peru. An AFP reporter said the photographer was returning from an assignment in Gaza and was abducted at gunpoint as he got out of his car with his driver. Palestinian security officials said the kidnapping happened in an area where many foreign news agencies have offices. They said the victim was standing at an intersection when about five masked men pushed him into a car and sped away. The security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details. There was no public claim of responsibility for the kidnapping. Daily Star (Lebanon)/ Tunisia Daily (1/2)

Oprah opens dream school for poor SA children

HENLEY-ON-KLIP (South Africa), Tuesday US television talkshow queen Oprah Winfrey has opened a 40-million-dollar school for poor South African girls which she paid for, fulfilling a promise she made to Nelson Mandela six years ago. Ms Winfrey, a regular visitor to South Africa, was to unveil the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls at Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg, with Mr Mandela expected to attend the ceremony today. The 280-million-rand (Sh2.7 billion) facility, funded entirely by Ms Winfrey’s foundation, is spread over 21 hectares and is composed of 28 buildings with modern classrooms, a dormitory, computer and science laboratories and an auditorium. It will provide free education to 152 girls from poor families drawn from all of South Africa’s nine provinces. They are aged between 11 and 13 and were chosen for their intelligence and leadership qualities. Kenya Daily Nation (12/2)

Germans going "ga-ga" over new baby subsidy

By Erik Kirschbaum

BERLIN (Reuters) - German hospitals have seen a surge in the number of planned births this week after a generous government aid program for parents of newborns took effect. The government, worried about a shrinking population, introduced benefits worth up to 25,200 euros ($33,470) to encourage working couples to have children. But only babies born from January 1 qualify. "A lot of women who were scheduled for planned deliveries last month asked to postpone till this week," Klaus Vetter, chief doctor at Vivantes hospital in Berlin's Neukoelln district , told Reuters. For some, there's a lot of money at stake and they quite reasonably ask: 'if it won't hurt the baby, why not wait?'," he said on Tuesday after performing a Caesarean section. He advised the mother to have the operation a week ago in her 38th week. "But she wanted to wait. There was a small risk but everything worked out okay. It was a healthy boy." German media have been full of tips on how women could hold off giving birth until January 1 -- from avoiding physical and sexual activity to taking magnesium and homeopathic medicines. But medical experts urged pregnant women against medical intervention to delay births, warning of complications and saying it would have only a minimal impact on the timing. Reuters (1/2)

French voters are wooed via the web

Kim Willsher in Paris

France's presidential frontrunners signalled their intention to carry out their political fight via the internet yesterday, firing the opening salvoes of 2007 by posting new year messages on the web. The internet video greetings from Socialist Ségolène Royal and her centre-right rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, reflect how the pair have taken their battle for the hearts and minds of French voters to the internet. Both are anxious to embrace new technology to reinforce their out-with-the-old message - in contrast to President Jacques Chirac's traditional televised speech - and for the campaigning possibilities it offers. After Ms Royal, 53, appeared to steal a march with her participative Désirs d'Avenir (Desires for the Future) website in which she invited people to express their concerns and suggest policy, Mr Sarkozy's supporters have been quick to catch up online. From today about 331,000 members of the ruling UMP party will be able to vote electronically to nominate their presidential candidate. Mr Sarkozy, 51, is the only contender, so the result is a foregone conclusion, but supporters of the interior minister hope the vote will give their web campaign a boost. They are already boasting of at least 900 websites promoting his campaign and say the internet is attracting thousands of new party members. Guardian (United Kingdom) (1/2)

Future of Colombian paramilitary peace process uncertain after talks end

The future of Colombia's peace process with paramilitaries appears uncertain after detained warlords ceased talks after the government pulled them out of comfortable digs.

BY TOBY MUSE, Associated Press

BOGOTA - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's peace pact with far-right militias is in shambles after the paramilitary warlords, incensed at being transferred to a maximum-security prison, broke off talks. Critics had long called the deal with drug-trafficking militia bosses responsible for some of Colombia's worst massacres a farce, though the three-year-old pact was credited with helping bring down the country's sky-high murder rate. The paramilitaries ended negotiations Wednesday after the government forcibly moved them from a relatively comfortable former holiday camp on Dec. 1, claiming it had information of a possible escape plot. Uribe also accused the warlords of ordering assassinations from the center. The crisis comes as Uribe faces a widening scandal over close ties between some of his top political allies and the paramilitary groups, which were originally created by landowners and drug-traffickers to wrest control of the countryside from leftist rebels. Following a stormy three-hour meeting on Wednesday in the maximum-security Itagüi prison, 125 miles northwest of Bogotá, the 59 imprisoned paramilitary warlords confronted the government's chief peace negotiator and a leading bishop known for his closeness with the illegal militias. Bogota Daily/Miami Herald (1/2)

Cheers greet police indicted in New Orleans bridge shootings

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- More than 200 supporters applauded as seven indicted policemen arrived at a jail Tuesday to face charges in a deadly bridge shooting amid the chaos that followed Hurricane Katrina. Each of the indicted men faces at least one charge of murder or attempted murder in the shootings of six people on the Danziger Bridge on September 4, 2005, less than a week after the hurricane hit. One protester shouted "Police killings must stop" and "Racism must go" as the men arrived, but the protester was shouted down by the crowd yelling: "Heroes, Heroes." Uniformed police officers from nearby districts joined other supporters embracing the seven policemen and shaking their hands. The Fraternal Order of Police had encouraged rank-and-file officers to gather outside the jail to show their support. One sign in the crowd read, "Support the Danziger 7." Another read: "Thanks for protecting our city." "These men stayed here to protect our city and protect us and this is the thanks that is given to them," said Ryan Maher, 34, of New Orleans, who described himself as a civilian with friends in the police department. "It's a serious injustice," said Sgt. Henry Kuhn of the Harahan Police Department, one of several uniformed officers from the New Orleans suburbs who joined the crowd. The first person to show up outside the jail was Darren Hills, whose brother Ignatius Hills was indicted on one count of attempted second-degree murder."It took everybody by surprise. Totally blindsided by the decision," Darren Hills said of the charges. He said the family would post bail for his brother as soon as possible. Two men died and four people were wounded in the gunfire on the bridge that spans the Industrial Canal. CNN (1/2)

posted by Dave Carroll @ 1/02/2007 04:58:00 PM