Pax Gaea Human Rights World Post

PAX GAEA WORLD POST HUMAN RIGHTS HEADLINES WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2007

TOPICS

• Security concerns of guerrillas spurs Indonesia to supplement force
• China's one child policy not likely to change despite sex imbalance
• Iran takes delivery of Russian air defense missile system, both countries confirm
• Israeli journalist murdered in Vladivostok
• Reporters group condemns bombing of media building in Gaza, no claim of credit
• 10,000 children still missing in Uganda, many pressed into rebel armies
• Five star dining at World Poverty Summit? Poor raid food tents
• Davos forum kicks off with German President Merkel warning on "protectionism"
• UN condemns assault by Sudan police on social gathering at NGO compound

Indonesia boosts security in Sulawesi

Indonesia has sent 200 elite police to enforce security in the troubled Poso region of Sulawesi island after 14 people were killed during a raid on a suspected Muslim militant hideout, police said. Officials defended Monday's raids in downtown Poso after criticism from Islamic groups and some local media that innocent people were killed in the gunfire that erupted between the suspected militants and police. "PKS (Prosperous Justice Party) regrets the Poso incident because many victims have fallen, particularly people who have no link to the dispute," said Tifatul Sembiring, head of the PKS, an Islamic party and part of the government coalition. But Badrodin Haiti, police chief of Central Sulawesi, said there was evidence that security forces had been attacked with illegal firearms. "Jakarta has sent 200 more policemen to help. We are searching thoroughly in the jungles for possible injured people and bombs that could endanger the community," Haiti told Reuters. The bodies of two suspected militants found in nearby bushes on Wednesday took the death toll to 14. A policeman was among the dead. Police had arrested 25 suspected militants and seized ammunition and bombs from the militant base. Sydney Morning Herald (1/24)

Sex imbalance won't alter one-child policy in China

AP

BEIJING -China says it will not loosen its so-called one-child policy, despite a top family planning official's acknowledgment yesterday that the policy was partly to blame for creating the problem of too many boy babies and not enough girls. A baby-boom generation born in the early 1980's has reached marriage and childbearing age, putting China at risk of another massive population boom if the restrictions are dropped, said Zhang Weiqing, minister of China's National Population and Family Planning Commission. Since the late 1970s, China has limited urban couples to one child and rural families to two children in order to control the population and conserve natural resources. Beijing contends that the policy has helped prevent 400 million births and has aided rapid economic development. Zhang said many migrant workers have been found to be evading the birth restrictions by having two or more children despite living in cities where couples are only allowed to have one.Both factors have convinced the government not to alter the basic policy, which the central government had reviewed and renewed without change last month, he said. However, he acknowledged that the policy has accelerated a growing sex imbalance among newborns, with some 118 boys born for every 100 girls in 2005. Taipei Times (1/24)

Iran receives Russian air defense missiles, defense minister says

Iran has received a Russian air defense missile system, the Iranian defense minister said Wednesday. Iran's announcement came as it launched three days of military maneuvers its first since the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions against it in late December. "We have had constructive defense transactions with Russia and we purchased Tor M-1 missiles that were recently delivered to us," the official Web site of Iranian state television quoted Minister of Defense Mostafa Mohammad Najjar as saying. Najjar did not say how many missiles were delivered or say when they arrived. A Russian news agency on Tuesday quoted Sergei Chemezov, the head of the country's state-run weapons exporter, as saying that Russia had fulfilled a contract to sell air defense missiles to Iran. Chemezov comments were reported by the Itar-Tass news agency in Bangalore, India, where he was on a visit along with Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov. Previously Moscow said it would supply 29 of the sophisticated missile systems to Iran under a US$700 million contract signed in December 2005, Russian media has reported. Last week, Ivanov said that at least some of the missiles had been sent. The United States last year called for an international halt of arms exports to Iran, and for an end to nuclear cooperation Iran as a means of pressuring it to halt uranium enrichment. Israel has also criticized arms deals with Iran, reports AP. Pravda (Russia) (1/24)

Israeli journalist killed in Vladivostok

By HAVIV RETTIG

Journalist and Jewish Agency activist Konstantin Borovko, who was beaten to death by unknown assailants on the streets of the eastern Russian town of Vladivostok over the weekend, will be laid to rest Thursday in the city's cemetery. While the motive for the assault was not yet known, Jewish Agency officials told The Jerusalem Post it was most likely a criminal act, perhaps a robbery, which quickly turned violent. Local police have yet to ascertain the identity of the assailants. An Israeli citizen, Borovko ran several projects for the Jewish Agency in the area. The 25-year-old reporter for one of Vladivostok's largest television stations, Borovko was known in the Jewish community and was a frequent master of ceremonies at community events. The attack took place on the evening of January 19, when Borovko left a night club with a friend. The two were attacked, and Borovko received several hard blows to the head which killed him on the spot. The local Jewish community and Jewish Agency officials have been helping the family following the attack, particularly with funeral arrangements. According to a Jewish Agency statement, Agency chairman Ze'ev Bielski has called on local authorities to fully investigate the murder and bring those responsible to justice. Jerusalem Post (1/24)

RSF Condemns Al-Arabiya Channel Attack

PARIS, January 24, 2007, (WAFA)-Reporters sans frontières (RSF) condemned the bombing of the Gaza City offices of the Dubai-based pan-Arab satellite TV station Al-Arabiya. In a press release issued Wednesday, RSF said that this attack highlights the climate of violence in which journalists are working in the Palestinian territories, calling on the Palestinian Authority to thoroughly investigate such attacks. RSF added that "In the current political tension, we urge the country's authorities not to refer to journalists as 'enemies' any more. When senior officials, especially the prime minister, stigmatize the work of journalists, this kind of attack is to be feared." The bomb that was set off on 22 January outside the offices of Al-Arabiya, which also houses the bureau of the Saudi TV station MBC, caused considerable damage but no injuries. The bureau of the British news agency Reuters, which is located on the same floor, was slightly damaged. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Less than a week earlier, threatening phone calls were received by several of Al-Arabiya's staff in Gaza and their families. The Hamas-led government had also threatened to prosecute the station and suspend its broadcasts in the Palestinian territories if it did not formally apologise for broadcasting footage of a cabinet meeting on 15 January in which Prime Minister Haniyeh said: "No conditional aid will be accepted, not even if it comes from God." Hamas accused Al-Arabiya of broadcasting the footage out of context. WAFA Palestine News Agency (1/24)

Thousands of children missing, captive in Uganda

About 10 000 children are still missing in Uganda with as many as 1 500 held captive by rebels engaged in stalled peace talks to end a two-decade war in the country's shattered north, an aid agency said. Children's charity Save the Children UK has urged donors to pressure the Ugandan government and Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels not to allow peace talks in south Sudan to collapse. "The future of Uganda's children is under severe threat," the aid agency said in a statement late on Tuesday. "Any hope of reconciliation is fading fast and needs international support." Stop-start negotiations since July have produced a truce that has been mostly respected, despite frequent walk-outs by the LRA and accusations of violations on both sides. But talks stalled this month when the rebels said they could not go back to south Sudan because they feared for their security after Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir vowed to "get rid of the LRA from Sudan". The war in northern Uganda, one of Africa's longest, has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced 1,7-million into squalid refugee camps. The LRA, who are notorious for killing civilians and hacking body parts off victims, are estimated to have abducted more than 20 000 children during the insurgency, according to aid workers. Once abducted, children are forced to fight or carry loot and girls are made "wives" of rebel commanders. "Children are still the principle victims of violence," the statement said. "1 500 children are still in LRA ranks and at least 10 000 children remain unaccounted for." Mail & Guardian (South Africa) (1/24)

Street kids raid poverty summit

Dozens of street children have invaded a five-star hotel food tent and feasted on meals meant for sale at the World Social Forum in Kenya's capital. The hungry urchins were joined by other participants who complained that the food was too expensive at the annual anti-capitalist get together. The police, caught unawares, were unable to stop the free-for-all that saw the food containers swept clean. The gathering in Nairobi is discussing social problems, including poverty. A plate of food at the tent being operated by the prestigious Windsor Hotel was selling for $7 in a country where many live on less than $2 a day. The children, who had been begging for food, launched the raid after being told they would have to pay for the food. The hotel management declined to comment on the incident. Two days ago, World Social Forum organisers were forced to waive entry fees for participants after Nairobi slum dwellers staged a demonstration against the charges. Participants were originally being asked to pay a 500 Kenyan shillings ($7) accreditation fee. "We are now not charging anybody, the event is free so that many people can participate," Boniface Beti, the event's media officer, told the BBC. Mr Beti also said hawkers had recently been allowed in to sell cheap food to participants as up until a few days ago five-star catering firms had dominated business. Tens of thousands of people are attending the World Social Forum, which is being held at the same time as the World Economic Forum - hosted in the Swiss town of Davos. At Davos, the world's largest corporations are discussing business and hammering out trade deals, while the Kenyan event is addressing a wide spectrum of the world's social problems - including poverty. BBC (1/24)

Davos elite warned over protectionism, climate change

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel lectured global leaders on the perils of protectionism, as the annual Davos forum kicked off with bullish predictions on growth but warnings about global warming. In her keynote speech opening the annual gathering of world movers and shakers at the Alpine ski resort, Merkel staunchly rejected protectionism as a solution to the economic and social challenges of globalisation, saying that free trade was essential for economic growth. In the capacity of Germany's presidency of the European Union and G8 industrialised nations, Merkel cautioned that some developed countries might be tempted to confront globalisation by selfishly consuming global resources and setting up customs barriers to protect "their own weaknesses". "My clear and succinct answer is: No!" Merkel told the gathering. In a wide-ranging address, the German leader called for greater flexibility from all sides to resolve the blocked Doha round of world trade talks and stressed the need for a binding global pact on carbon emissions. Merkel's audience contained a healthy quota of the impressive Davos guest list that includes the likes of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. This year's theme -- "The Shifting Power Equation" -- sought to take in everything from the growing geopolitical clout of Asia to the increasing influence of the Internet in business and information gathering. "We have a shift of power in many ways ... with the rise of China and India, and the next layer of countries like Vietnam, Brazil and Korea," said World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab. Agence France Presse (1/24)

UN probes police assault of staff at social gathering in Darfur

22 January 2007 – The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) is investigating an incident in which 20 people, including five UN staff, taking part in a social gathering in a Darfur town were arrested by local police and assaulted – in some cases causing serious injuries – before being released. The Mission said today that the UN will officially protest to the Sudanese Government over the arrests and physical and verbal assaults that followed the raid on a gathering in the compound of an international non-governmental organization (NGO) in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state. UNMIS said in a press statement that it is “deeply concerned at the treatment of the detained staff,” and added the assaults by police and security officials were “in violation of basic principles of rule of law and due process.” Some of the injuries sustained by the staff members were so serious they required treatment at the UN clinic in Nyala. The people arrested included African Union peacekeepers and aid workers as well as the UN staff. UNMIS said it would continue its inquiry into Friday’s events in cooperation with the relevant Sudanese authorities in both Khartoum and Nyala. The UN Staff Council’s committee on staff security also issued a statement in which they condemned the attack, called the recent increase in cases of harassment of UN personnel and aid workers operating in Sudan unacceptable and requested a complete review of the security situation in the UNMIS area of operation. MaximsNews (United Nations) (1/24)

What's At Stake?

Cuban Human Rights Lawyer Threatened With Jail

Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva is a human rights lawyer and President of the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights, a human rights monitoring group that exposes human rights violations by the government and reports on attacks against peaceful activists and independent journalists. Gonzalez Leiva also established and heads the Independent Fraternity for the Blind in Cuba, which advocates for the rights of the physically disabled. As a staunch advocate for freedom of expression, he has also created several independent press agencies and founded various independent libraries in Cuba. Gonzalez Leiva frequently speaks out on behalf of other activists and journalists who have come under threat. In particular, he has called international attention to the situation of political prisoners in Cuba, including those imprisoned in the spring of 2003, and has denounced the substandard conditions and treatment the prisoners have received. In March 2002, Gonzalez Leiva was arrested in Ciego de Avila, along with seven other activists and journalists. They were at a hospital, visiting a colleague who had been beaten by state security agents and police when he tried to attend a monthly meeting of the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights. During their visit, Gonzalez Leiva and several others prayed for their colleague and shouted "Long live human rights." When the hospital staff asked them to stop, they immediately resumed their quiet vigil. Soon after, state security police arrived and dragged the activists out of the hospital and arrested them. Gonzalez Leiva was apparently beaten during this incident and required four stitches in a wound on his forehead. After 26 months in pre-trial detention, during which he was reportedly held in substandard conditions, Gonzalez Leiva and nine other activists were put on trial. In April 2004 Gonzalez Leiva was sentenced to four years of house arrest on charges of disrespect for authority, public disorder, disobedience, and resisting arrest. Since then, Gonzalez Leiva and his family have been subject to harassment, intimidation, and violence on the part of government officials and mobs of civilians (who are widely believed to be organized by the government) who have repeatedly surrounded his home for hours at a time, shouting threats and banging on windows. Human Rights First (1/24)

posted by Dave Carroll @ 1/24/2007 05:32:00 PM