Pax Gaea Human Rights World Post

PAX GAEA WORLD POST HUMAN RIGHTS HEADLINES THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2007

• U.S. forces raid Iranian consulate in Kurdish Iraq, may have violated Geneva Convents
• Protestors stage Gitmo protest, theatre in front of U.S. embassy London
• Harvard med study may limit mother to child spread of HIV, save lives in poor countries
• Sudan government, rebels reach 'cease fire' agreement in Darfur
• Troops needed in Somalia, OK'd by UN Security Council
• Mogadishu on the Mississippi: New Orleans murder capital of U.S. due to law enforcement breakdown post-Katrina
• Leadership from Europe urged in grim Human Rights Watch Report
• Pre-election chaos puts Bangladesh under "Martial Law'
• Syria calls for peace negotiations with Israel at Madrid Peace Conference
• Victims of priest sexual abuse may sue Vatican, U.S. judge rules

U.S. Forces Raid Iranian Consulate in Iraq, Detain 5 (Update2)

By Marc Wolfensberger and Robin Stringer

Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. forces in Iraq raided Iran's consulate in the northern city of Arbil and detained five staff members, a state-run Iranian news service said. The U.S. soldiers disarmed guards and broke open the consulate's gate before seizing documents and computers during the operation, which took place today at about 5 a.m. local time, the Islamic Republic News Agency said. There was no immediate information on whether any of those detained are diplomats. The raid follows a warning yesterday to Iran and Syria from President George W. Bush in his address to the American people on a new strategy for Iraq. Bush accused Iran and Syria of aiding the movement of ``terrorists and insurgents'' in and out of Iraq and said the U.S. will ``seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies.'' Coalition forces arrested six people during ``routine security operations'' in the Arbil area, the U.S. military said in an e-mailed statement. The military didn't confirm that the consulate was raided and didn't say whether any of those detained were Iranians. The operation was ``part of an ongoing effort by coalition forces targeting individuals involved in activities aimed at the killing of Iraqi citizens and coalition forces,'' the military said. Arbil, about 320 kilometers north (200 miles) north of Baghdad, is the Kurdistan Regional Government's seat in Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish area. The Iranian Embassy in Baghdad sent a letter of protest to the Foreign Ministry, calling for the Iraqi government to secure the release of the detainees, IRNA said. U.S. forces detained two Iranian diplomats in Baghdad in December. The men, suspected of weapons smuggling, were later released to Iranian officials in the capital. Deputy White House Press Secretary Scott Stanzel said on Dec. 26 those detainees had diplomatic status, and an investigation would be completed before ``characterizing their activities.'' Bush's approach to Iran and Syria ignores a key recommendation of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group -- diplomatic engagement with Iran and Syria to help end the conflict. He announced plans yesterday to send 21,500 more U.S. soldiers and Marines to Iraq. Calls to the Iranian Foreign Ministry in Tehran weren't answered. Bloomberg (1/11)

Protesters bring Guantánamo to Grosvenor Square

Demonstrators recreate detention camp outside US embassy in London

Hélène Mulholland

The former Guantánamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg is experiencing a surreal moment. He is watching row upon row of "inmates" in a pen as they kneel on the floor, heads bowed and clad in orange boiler suits, masks and goggles, while US soldiers walk up and down barking orders. "It makes me feel very strange," he says, "particularly the orders being shouted. It is almost bizarrely real - yet I know it isn't." Mr Begg is standing in front of the US embassy in Grosvenor Square in central London on a grey January day as more than 300 demonstrators play out the mock Guantánamo Bay camp scenario to mark the fifth anniversary of the arrival of the first detainees to the US naval base in Cuba.Other protests are being held across the globe, from Brisbane to Washington DC and from Hungary to Cuba itself. Mr Begg, a British citizen, was held for four years before finally gaining his freedom after pressure from the US government. In total, 780 detainees have been held at the camp. More than 400 of those there today have had no contact with their families throughout their detention. Many are without access to lawyers, and none has been charged. Mr Begg disagrees that the camp is a necessary evil in the "war on terror". He says Guantánamo has created strong anti-US feelings in ordinary Iraqis who until then had no such views, and that it has excited the imaginations of insurgents. "Guantánamo Bay is producing more terrorism. In Iraq, they have dressed people in orange and executed them as a direct response. They have said that." Guardian (United Kingdom) (1/11)

Waiting to take 2d dose of AIDS drug may be key step

New mothers in poor countries stand to benefit

By John Donnelly, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- A Harvard study has found a way around one of the thorniest problems in preventing HIV transmission from mother to child during birth in poor countries. In recent years, efforts to prevent transmission of the deadly virus that causes AIDS were set back by the discovery that many mothers who received a single dose of the drug nevirapine during labor developed a resistance to it, foreclosing the chance to use the drug later to fight AIDS in their bodies. But the study, which is being published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that if the mother waited six months after birth to take a nevirapine-based, antiretroviral treatment, resistance from that single dose during labor had vanished in the vast majority of cases. The findings should give greater confidence to many governments in Africa to promote use of nevirapine at birth, which cuts the chances of transmission to babies by nearly 50 percent, researchers and a US policymaker said. Boston Globe (1/11)

Sudan, Darfur rebels agree on truce

From Reuters

KHARTOUM, SUDAN — Sudan's government and Darfur rebels have agreed to a 60-day cease-fire and a peace summit sponsored by the African Union and the United Nations as steps toward stopping the violence in western Sudan, visiting New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Wednesday. Sudan also agreed to let foreign journalists visit Darfur after a two-month ban and to remove a requirement for exit visas for humanitarian workers, one of the biggest obstacles to the world's largest aid operation. Sudan's president, Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir, "agreed to the start of a peace process that includes a 60-day cessation of hostilities," Richardson said. The African Union-U.N. peace summit is to be held no later than March 15. Richardson said the rebel commanders he met in Darfur had agreed to the cease-fire, which would begin on a date to be set by the U.N. and the African Union, which are jointly mediating Darfur peace efforts. A statement by the Sudanese government and Richardson said Sudan would not use military aircraft painted white, a color usually reserved for humanitarian groups, and that Darfur rebel commanders could safely call for a conference in the field to be monitored by the African Union and the U.N. Experts estimate more than 200,000 people have been killed and an additional 2.5 million displaced since mostly non-Arab rebels in Darfur took up arms in early 2003, accusing the government of neglect. Khartoum rejects Washington's description of the violence by pro-government forces as genocide. Los Angeles Times (1/11)

U.N. Backs Deployment of Troops to Somalia

Security Council backs speedy deployment of African troops to Somalia

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press Writer

(AP) The U.N. Security Council said it backs the speedy deployment of African troops to Somalia and strongly urges a dialogue among all political players, in addition to the delivery of humanitarian aid to the country. Russia's U.N. Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, the current council president, told reporters after a closed-door meeting Wednesday that members regard Somalia as "a high priority matter" and are concerned about instability, security, and the humanitarian situation. "They expressed their support for the plan to send a humanitarian assessment mission to the border between Somalia and Kenya and spoke of the importance of adequate humanitarian support for Somalia," he said. "They strongly supported inclusive political dialogue among various political forces in Somalia. They favor speedy deployment of IGASOM," a new force to be set up by the African Union and a seven-nation regional group. Ibrahim Gambari , the undersecretary-general for political affairs, told reporters after briefing the council that Nigeria, South Africa and Malawi "are said to be considering sending troops" to Somalia. "We hope that these countries will actually go ahead and commit." Somalia has not had a functioning government since clan-based warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, sinking the Horn of Africa nation of 7 million people into chaos. CBS News (1/11)

Storm Left New Orleans Ripe for Violence

By ADAM NOSSITER

NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 10 — The storm of violence that has burst over this city since New Year’s Day can be traced in part to dysfunctional law enforcement institutions, aggravated by a natural disaster that turned the physical and social landscape of New Orleans into an ideal terrain for criminals. Eight killings have occurred in 10 days. New Orleans, the United States’ murder capital by many measures in 2006, is well on its way to keeping that distinction in 2007. Since July 2006, there have been at least 95 murders per 100,000 residents, and possibly a higher ratio depending on how the city’s depleted population is counted, said Peter Scharf, a criminologist at the University of New Orleans.Frightened citizens now see their city as a stalking ground, roamed with impunity by teenagers with handguns — an image that may not be far off the mark, experts here say. There are a variety of reasons for the descent toward chaos. An automobile-bound police department is reluctant to walk the streets and interact with the city’s residents. It is at war with the district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting seven officers for a deadly shooting soon after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. Judges in the city’s courts regularly rule in favor of criminals. Completing the grim picture is an already fragile social structure in the city’s poorest wards that has been all but destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Moving back to town, in many cases, are “kids with guns, and without parents,” said Mr. Scharf, who predicted a year ago that the city was in for a tidal wave of violence. New York Times (1/11)

Human Rights Watch calls for leadership in bleak annual report

NEW YORK (AFP) - Human Rights Watch has painted a grim picture of rights abuses around the world in its annual report, urging Europe to play a stronger role in the absence of "credible leadership" from the United States. In a far-reaching report on more than 75 countries Thursday, the New York-based watchdog singled out the United States, European Union, Russia and China for not doing enough to defend fundamental rights. "Every government these days seems to have a ready excuse for ignoring human rights," the group's director, Kenneth Roth, said in the 556-page report. "Washington's potentially powerful voice no longer resonates after the US government's use of detention without trial and interrogation by torture," it said. "The trend is bleak, but not irreversible," added the report, released to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the first "enemy combatants" arriving at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The report accused the United States of practicing arbitrary detention, torture and disappearances in its "war on terror." "These abuses committed in the name of counter-terrorism have only aggravated the terrorist threat. The use of torture and arbitrary detention spurs terrorist recruitment in communities that identify with the victims." Iraq, it added, "has degenerated into massive sectarian blood-letting, with civilians the principal victims." Agence France Presse (1/11)

Emergency declared in Bangladesh

Haroon Habib

DHAKA: Bangladesh President and Chief Adviser to the non-party caretaker Government Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed declared Emergency in the country on Thursday. "The President has declared a state of Emergency, and a curfew has been clamped daily from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. in all metropolitan and district cities," said an announcement on Bangladesh Television and the state radio. The announcement added, "The President will address the nation over television and radio tonight." Political analysts are of the view that Emergency was declared to tackle the serious socio-political situation after the grand alliance led by Sheikh Hasina announced that it would boycott and "resist" the highly controversial January 22 "one-sided" election. Dhaka was deserted as the people panicked after the announcement was broadcast by the state media. Political leaders did not comment on the announcement, preferring to wait and watch. The Hindu (India) (1/11)

Syria urges Israel to talk peace

By JPOST STAFF AND AP

Syrian representative at the Mideast peace conference that kicked off in Madrid on Thursday afternoon said that his country's calls to renew negotiations with Israel expressed the needs and will of the entire region. Doctor Ya'ad Daoudi said that the return of the Golan Heights was a vital step in establishing regional peace and that Israel must return to the 1967 borders. Daoudi added that Damascus was urging third party officials to stop getting involved in negotiations. Osama el-Baza, the political advisor to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, said that Israel needed to be pressured into renewing talks with Syria because Damascus "holds the key to the region." MK Ofer Paz-Pines said that the conference opened a direct channel of discussion between Israeli, Syrian and Lebanese representatives. The conference that aims to revive optimism into stalled Mideast peace talks opened with messages of support from former US President Bill Clinton and other leaders involved in past efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The two-day meeting was called to commemorate 1991 talks in the Spanish capital that brought Israel and many of its Arab enemies together for the first time. Jerusalem Post (1/11)

Judge OKs sex abuse lawsuit against Vatican

U.S. federal court says victims can pursue damages from Church

Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Sex abuse victims can pursue damages from the Vatican in a lawsuit alleging top church officials failed to report known or suspected cases of child abuse, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The ruling by U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II allows three men to pursue claims against the Vatican over allegations of sexual abuse by priests in the Archdiocese of Louisville. The men alleged that the Vatican knew or suspected some of its priests or bishops were child molesters, but failed to warn the public or local authorities about them because of a policy prohibiting it. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damaged. MSNBC (1/11)

posted by Dave Carroll @ 1/11/2007 03:42:00 PM