Pax Gaea Human Rights World Post

PAX GAEA WORLD POST HUMAN RIGHTS HEADLINES SUNDAY, JANUARY 7, 2006

• Fiji coup leader assumes role of Prime Minister
• Rebels in India kill score of poor migrant workers
• Trials for Iraqi officers accused of genocide against Kurds resumes
• Armed Palestinian groups warn Abbas not to disarm Hamas militias in massive protest rally
• Oppression of minorities in refugee camp reflects fears of Morocco favored settlement in Western Sahara
• South Africa ruling party condemns statements by human rights commission
• Exclusionary British Evangelical student group takes university to court citing "Human Rights"
• Israel denies London Times story of impending nuclear attack on Iran
• Inequality in Argentina after economic rebound tarnishes nation's egalitarian self-image
• U.S. university researchers report enough stem cells in amniotic fluid to end embryo debate

New role of coup leader condemned

By Mike Houlahan

New Zealand and Fijian politicians have condemned the decision of Fiji's military leader, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, to take on the role of interim Prime Minister. Commodore Bainimarama was yesterday sworn in by President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, a day after saying he had handed executive authority back to the President.The Government House ceremony was immediately dismissed by New Zealand as nothing more than an attempt to validate December's military coup, in which Commodore Bainimarama deposed Laisenia Qarase's Government. Fiji's influential Great Council of Chiefs had refused to recognise Commodore Bainimarama had legitimately taken over the powers of the council-appointed President, Ratu Iloilo. With the military leader returning the President's powers and in return receiving an endorsement of his coup from Ratu Iloilo, the commodore will hope his rapid promotion to interim leader will tighten his control over Fiji. New Zealand Herald (1/7)

Rebels suspected of killing workers

AP

GAUHATI, INDIA- Suspected separatist rebels fatally shot 48 migrant workers and wounded at least 19 others in 10 separate attacks launched late on Friday and early yesterday in India's remote northeast, officials said. The attacks targeted poor, Hindi-speaking migrants in the state of Assam, and suspicion fell on the rebel United Liberation Front of Asom, which is fighting for an independent homeland for the region's Assamese speaking people, the state's police chief, R.N. Mathur, told reporters. The shootings were the worst spate of violence in recent years, and raised fears the ULFA was seeking to broaden its insurgency following the breakdown of peace talks last year. The most lethal attack was yesterday's pre-dawn shooting of 13 workers while they slept in the remote town of Sadiya, 600km east of Assam's capital Gauhati, local administrative officer Absar Hazarika said.On Friday, 35 people were fatally shot in several incidents in the tea-growing districts of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh, 500km to 600km east of Gauhati, Mathur said. Details on individual attacks were not immediately available. ULFA has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, although rebel officials don't usually comment on such incidents. "Intensive operations against the ULFA militants are being carried out jointly by the army, police and paramilitary [forces]," said Mathur, who added the operations were proceeding slowly because of difficult terrain. Separately, a bomb exploded yesterday on an express train running from New Delhi to the city of Dibrugarh in Assam, but there were no casualties, railway spokesman T. Rabha said. Officials were not sure if the rebels were behind that attack as well. ULFA, fighting for an independent homeland since 1979, stepped up its violent campaign after the Indian government called off peace talks and a six-week temporary truce in September and resumed military offensives.At least 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have died in Assam because of fighting between government forces and ULFA, as well as another separatist group, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland. Taipei Times (1/7)

Iraqi Kurd genocide trial resumes

BAGHDAD: Proceedings resume on Monday in the trial of six former Iraqi officials charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for the mass killing of 182,000 Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s-minus their executed co-accused Saddam Hussein. A US official close to the special Iraqi court that is trying the case said that the deposed dictator-who was hanged at dawn on December 30 for crimes against humanity-was no longer an “accused” in the case, which has been in recess since December 21. “Saddam is dead. From what I understand of law, the case is over against him,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “You can’t try somebody posthumously (but) the trial will continue against the other accused now.” It has yet to be confirmed, however, whether the Iraqi High Tribunal-which is responsible for trying senior members of Saddam’s regime-has officially dismissed the charges against the late president. The ongoing case centres on the slaughter of 182,000 Kurdish villagers during the so-called Anfal campaign, which ran from 1980 through 1988. If convicted, the remaining six defendants could face the death penalty. International News (Pakistan) (1/7)

Armed groups warn Abbas not to outlaw Hamas militia

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

Six Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip on Sunday threatened to assassinate "collaborators and traitors" in response to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's decision over the weekend to outlaw Hamas's "Executive Force." The groups warned Abbas and senior Fatah leader Muhammad Dahlan against trying to implement the decision which, they claimed, was taken at the request of Israel and the US. Dahlan, who according to Palestinian sources has been asked to head the PA security forces in the Gaza Strip, responded by issuing a threat to eliminate Hamas leaders. One of the six groups that issued the threat belongs to Abbas's own Fatah party. The five others are: Izzadin Kassam, the Abu Rish Brigades, Sword of Islam, the Brigades of Unification and the Salah Eddin Brigades. Abu Obaidah, a spokesman for the six groups, told reporters in Gaza City that Abbas's security forces were not carrying out their duties to restore law and order. It was a mistake to hold the Executive Force responsible for the anarchy, because it had existed long before the Hamas force was established, he added. Obaidah said a "rebellious" group inside Fatah was trying to topple the Hamas-led government with the help of the US and Israel. He criticized Abbas for the move against the Hamas force, branding him the "President of the Oslo Accords." Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians braved torrential rain and the cold to participate in a rally marking the 42nd anniversary of the founding of Fatah. The rally, the largest of its kind since 1994, turned into a show of support for Abbas in his power struggle with Hamas. Jerusalem Post (1/7)

Repression in Tindouf camps reflects Polisario's fear of Sahrawis' support to autonomy Project, FM

Rabat, Jan. 04 - Polisario's repression against the uprising in Tindouf camps reflects the separatists' fear of the Sahrawis' support to the autonomy project within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty, said, here Wednesday, Foreign minister, Mohamed Benaissa. Morocco is mulling a proposal to grant large autonomy - under its sovereignty and territorial integrity - to the Sahara to solve the dispute related to these provinces, which the Algeria-backed Polisario separatists lay claim to since the mid-Seventies.Speaking at the House of Representatives question time, Benaissa said these camps witnessed, during the last week of June 2006, a great uprising during which the sequestered voiced their rejection of the cruel acts perpetrated against them by "Polisario" gangs. The minister said that in order to silence the voices that claim their rights within the framework of international legality, "Polisario" militias, supervised by the Algerian military police forces, set up "mobile sequestration camps" that are difficult to locate. As for the efforts and measures undertaken to deal with this situation, Benaissa said Morocco sent a message to the UN Secretary General calling him to shed light on these practices and to determine the responsibilities. The Kingdom, he said, included in this message many testimonies that highlight the worrying degradation of the human rights situation in Tindouf camps. Maghreb Arab Presse (Morocco) (1/7)

ANC questions comments of human rights body

Johannesburg, South Africa- The African National Congress (ANC) said on Sunday it considers as inappropriate and irregular public pronouncements of an official of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) regarding the minister of justice and constitutional development and applications for a presidential pardon by prisoners aligned to the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).The ANC said in a statement the public statements and reported correspondence with the Justice Ministry suggested a failure on the part of the SAHRC to adhere to its own procedures for dealing with such matters. "Its failure to follow the correct protocol in its interaction with the ministry undermines its integrity as an institution and the integrity of its publicly stated positions."The ANC was disturbed that, far from executing its important responsibility to uphold and protect the rights of all South Africans, the SAHRC's irregular approach to this matter created space for political parties like the IFP to use the institution's pronouncements for its own ends. "The ANC urges the SAHRC to engage with the minister of justice directly through the proper channels and according to proper procedures so that it may make an informed finding on this matter." Mail & Guardian (South Africa) (1/7)

Christian students take 'equality' row to court

By Chris Court, PA

Christian students are taking legal action against their university's Student Guild in an equal opportunities row. The Exeter University Evangelical Christian Union today issued High Court proceedings seeking a judicial review. They claim to be the first students in the UK to take legal action against the Guild and university under the Human Rights Act. They want quashed the decision to suspend the CU from the Guild, which they maintain violates the rights of association of religious bodies. The CU, which will be represented by a civil rights barrister, took the action after advising the Guild and the university authorities that they had failed to support their right as Christians to the freedoms of speech, belief and association. The 50-year-old CU is currently suspended from the official list of student societies on campus. It has had its Student Union bank account frozen, and has been banned from free use of Student Guild premises, or advertising events within Guild facilities. The Student Guild claims the CU constitution and activities do not conform to its equal opportunities policies. The CU said today that the Guild has refused to reinstate it, and CU committee member Ben Martin added: "Legal action was the very last thing we wanted to take. Independent (United Kingdom) (1/7)

Israel plans 'nuclear' strike on Iran

LONDON (AFP) - Israel has drawn up plans to destroy Iranian uranium enrichment facilities with a tactical nuclear strike, a British newspaper has said in a report that was rubbished by the Jewish state. The Sunday Times quoted several Israeli military sources as saying that two of the country's air force squadrons are training to use "bunker-busting" bombs for a single strike. The story is "incorrect", Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Sunday. "Israel is 100 percent behind the international community's efforts to bring about an end to Iran's nuclear program. Israel totally supports Resolution 1737 and the international community must be ready to take even tougher measures against Iran," he said. The Sunday Times -- which in 1986 first revealed Israel's undeclared nuclear arsenal -- said the plans involved sending conventional, laser-guided missiles to open up "tunnels" in the targets before "mini-nukes" with a force the equivalent of one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb are fired in."As soon as the green light is given, it will be one mission, one strike and the Iranian nuclear project will be demolished," one of the unnamed sources was quoted as saying. A senior Israeli official dismissed the report out of hand. Agence France Presse (1/7)

Inequality grows in Argentina

Fruits of good economy not shared by all

By Larry Rohter , The New York Times

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina- Five years after the collapse that ushered in the worst economic crisis in its modern history, Argentina has largely recovered. Since 2003, the economy has grown faster than any other in South America, expanding on average by more than 8 percent annually. But another problem has come with that revival, embarrassing and vexing Argentines and challenging their image of themselves and their society. The fruits of the rapid expansion of commerce, construction, corporate profits and exports are not being shared by all. As a result, economic and social inequality have intensified. Historically, this country has prided itself on its egalitarianism. An Argentine factory worker, for instance, could reasonably aspire to live in a comfortable apartment, often with professionals as neighbors, eat meat every day, get competent medical care and, through his union, enjoy a couple of weeks of vacation each year at the beach. Argentines scorned what they saw as the individualistic dog-eat-dog, every-man-for-himself character of American capitalism and the chasm between rich and poor in nearby countries like Brazil, Chile and Peru. If there was an external model Argentines admired, it was France's manifesto of "liberty, equality and fraternity." Argentina Star (1/7)

Report: Amniotic Fluid Yields Stem Cells

By PAUL ELIAS, AP

Biotechnology WriterScientists reported Sunday they had found a plentiful source of stem cells in the fluid that cushions babies in the womb and produced a variety of tissue types from these cells — sidestepping the controversy over destroying embryos for research. Researchers at Wake Forest University and Harvard University reported the stem cells they drew from amniotic fluid donated by pregnant women hold much the same promise as embryonic stem cells. They reported they were able to extract the stem cells without harm to mother or fetus and turn their discovery into several different tissue cell types, including brain, liver and bone. "Our hope is that these cells will provide a valuable resource for tissue repair and for engineered organs as well," said Dr. Anthony Atala, head of Wake Forest's regenerative medicine institute and senior researcher on the project. It took Atala's team some seven years of research to determine the cells they found were truly stem cells that "can be used to produce a broad range of cells that may be valuable for therapy." However, the scientists noted they still don't know exactly how many different cell types can be made from the stem cells found in amniotic fluid. They also said that even preliminary tests in patients are years away. San Francisco Chronicle (1/7)

posted by Dave Carroll @ 1/07/2007 05:29:00 PM