Pax Gaea Human Rights World Post

PAX GAEA WORLD POST HUMAN RIGHTS HEADLINES THURSDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 2007

TOPICS

• Time to Stop the Killing of Activists in the Philippines
• State Department challenged to recruit diplomats for Iraq duty
• Activists charge U.S. not handling asylum cases properly, putting refugees at risk
• Inquest into East Timor killing of Australian newsmen underway after 31 years
• Israel condemned for excavating under Muslim Jerusalem mosque, digging will continue
• Sentences for official crimes "too lenient" argues Chinese prosecutor
• Accord struck in Nepal Constituent Assembly as all agree government should be federal state
• Defense attorney for Equatorial Guinea coup plotters hints South African government knew
• UN Peacekeeper presence augmented on Israel-Lebanon border after clash
• Franciscan priests say Latin American poverty, economy worse now than it was at last meeting 40 years ago

What's At Stake?

Time to Stop the Killing of Activists in the Philippines

The flood of extrajudicial killings since 2001 is a resurgence of an old problem in the Philippines. After President Marcos declared Martial Law in the 1970's, the government created armed civilian militias as part of the military's counter-insurgency operations. (The central government has been battling communist and Muslim separatist insurgencies for almost 40 years). After Marcos was deposed in 1986, many of the armed groups were dissolved after being linked to extensive human rights violations. However, in the vacuum that followed, numerous vigilante groups, many of them created and supported by the armed forces, targeted those alleged to have links to, or sympathies for, communist insurgents. During this period the insurgents also carried out bloody purges of their own members. In the 1990s these killings became far less common, as overall levels of violence declined due to a cautious peace process. However, in the last five years there has been a resurgence of attacks on left-wing political party activists, labor organizers, human rights activists, journalists, lawyers and judges. The human rights group Karapatan estimates that more than 800 activists have been killed since Mrs. Arroyo came to power in 2001. Many were members of a left-leaning political party called Bayan Muna and its affiliated groups. These attacks have been accompanied by increasing rhetoric by the civilian and military leaders accusing human rights, labor, and political activists of being linked to the communist insurgency. And more important than rhetoric, the antiterrorist operation known as Oplan Bantay Laya, (Operation Freedom Watch) launched in January 2002, may have increased the direct targeting of a wide range of peasant leaders and labor activists. There is also evidence of direct military involvement in some of the killings. Human Rights First (2/8)

Few Veteran Diplomats Accept Mission to Iraq

By HELENE COOPER

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 — While the diplomats and Foreign Service employees of the State Department have always been expected to staff “hardship” postings, those jobs have not usually required that they wear flak jackets with their pinstriped suits. But in the last five years, the Foreign Service landscape has shifted.Now, thanks to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the White House is calling for more American civilians to head not only to those countries, but also to some of their most hostile regions — including Iraq’s volatile Anbar Province — to try to establish democratic institutions and help in reconstruction. That plan is provoking unease and apprehension at the State Department and at other federal agencies. Many federal employees have outright refused repeated requests that they go to Iraq, while others have demanded that they be assigned only to Baghdad and not be sent outside the more secure Green Zone, which includes the American Embassy and Iraqi government ministries. And while Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice maintained Wednesday that State Department employees were “volunteering in large numbers” for difficult posts, including Iraq, several department employees said that those who had signed up tended to be younger, more entry-level types, and not experienced, seasoned diplomats. The reluctance highlights a problem with the administration’s new strategy for Iraq, which calls on American diplomats to take challenges on a scale unmatched anywhere else in the world, when the lack of security on the ground outside the Green Zone makes it one of the last places people, particularly those with families, want to go. Steve Kashkett, vice president of the American Foreign Service Association, the professional organization that represents State Department employees, said that “our people continue to show great courage in volunteering for duty in Iraq.” But Mr. Kashkett added, “there remain legitimate questions about the ability of unarmed civilian diplomats to carry out a reconstruction and democracy-building mission in the middle of an active war zone.” New York Times (2/8)

U.S. May Be Mishandling Asylum Seekers, Panel Says

By RACHEL L. SWARNS

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 — A bipartisan federal commission warned on Wednesday that the Bush administration, in its zeal to secure the nation’s borders and stem the tide of illegal immigrants, may be leaving asylum seekers vulnerable to deportation and harsh treatment. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, which Congress asked to assess asylum regulations, found two years ago that some immigration officials were improperly processing asylum seekers for deportation. The commission, which also found that asylum seekers were often strip-searched, shackled and held in jails, called for safeguards in the system of speedy deportations known as expedited removal, to protect those fleeing persecution. But the commission, which will issue its new findings on Thursday, says officials have failed to put into effect most of its 2005 recommendations. It says the failures come even as the Bush administration has significantly expanded efforts to detain and swiftly deport illegal immigrants from countries other than Mexico without letting them make their case before an immigration judge. “We are clearly concerned as to whether, in addition to prioritizing secure borders, the government is ensuring fair and humane treatment of legitimate asylum seekers,” said Felice D. Gaer, who is head of the commission, which was created by Congress in 1998. “We are really quite disappointed and dismayed by the lack of a response.” New York Times (2/8)

Witness saw bodies of newsmen being burnt

Hamish McDonald

A TIMORESE witness wept as he told an inquest yesterday how he had seen the bodies of five Australian-based newsmen in a house at Balibo, East Timor, before they were burnt. Codenamed Glebe 3, the 56-year-old man said he had entered the village at the rear of Indonesian special forces led by then Captain Yunus Yosfiah who attacked on October 16, 1975. Later that morning, after hearing five white people had been killed, he went to a Chinese-owned shophouse fronting Balibo's central square, and went inside. "I saw three people dying, sitting there, and two more lying there," he told the State Coroner's Court, then correcting himself that all five were dead. "They were white people." As he answered crown counsel Naomi Sharp about his recollections, the witness began crying, and Deputy State Coroner Dorelle Pinch asked if he wanted a break from the witness box. "You can continue, I was just showing some emotion, that's all," Glebe 3 said through a Tetum interpreter. The soft-spoken Timorese said he had heard the dead men were Australian and were newsmen. The witness indicated where he had seen three bodies slumped in a sitting position under a window, and two lying in the same room, with blood on the floor. Later that day, he saw smoke billowing from the house. The inquest is being held more than 31 years later into the death of Channel Nine cameraman Brian Peters, a British citizen resident in Sydney, killed in the attack along with colleague Malcolm Rennie and Channel Seven's Greg Shackleton, Gary Cunningham and Tony Stewart. Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (2/8)

Olmert spurns bid to reconsider Jerusalem dig

By Jonathan Saul

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has spurned a call to consider halting excavation work near Jerusalem's most sensitive shrine, which has angered Muslims and threatened a Gaza ceasefire deal. Palestinians have warned Israel the work near a compound housing the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest site, could derail a shaky truce in Gaza with the Jewish state. Militant group Islamic Jihad said it fired rockets from Gaza at Israel on Thursday, which caused no serious damage, in response to the work. Arab states have asked Israel to halt the digging, which began on Tuesday, saying it could damage the mosque's foundations. Israel has said the dig in search of ancient artifacts beneath the compound, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount, would not harm the sacred site in Jerusalem's walled Old City, at the heart of Arab-Israeli conflict.A Palestinian uprising began in 2000 after then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon toured the compound. Israeli Deputy Defense Minister, Ephraim Sneh, said Defense Minister Amir Peretz asked Olmert to reassess the excavation. "He (Peretz) did not request the work be stopped," Sneh said. "He asked for a discussion to reconsider (the issue)." "Our problem with the work at the Temple Mount ... is its effect on our relations with important, moderate elements in the Arab world who are very angered by it," he told Israel Radio. Israel's Haaretz newspaper said Peretz had written to Olmert on Wednesday calling for an immediate halt to the work, fearing it could trigger violence. An Israeli official confirmed Peretz had written to Olmert, adding that "we are continuing the work."Olmert's office said in a response: "A thorough examination of the matter would reveal that nothing about the work underway will harm anyone, and there is no truth in the contentions against the work." Yahoo News/Reuters (2/8)

Chinese prosecutor challenges "too lenient" penalties for official crimes

Penalties meted out for dereliction of duty and abuse of power by officials involved in serious workplace accidents have been "too lenient" as a result of sympathy from local governments, a Chinese prosecutor said here Wednesday. Song Hansong, deputy director of the work-related crimes section of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), said that many workplace accidents were directly related to the abuse of power and dereliction of duty, such as authorizing unsafe mines or turning a blind eye to illegal mining activities. "Many officials have been exempted from prosecution, or given lesser sentences because local courts are usually under pressure from governments to believe the officials didn't intentionally cause the accidents," Song said in an interview. According to statistics, up to Dec. 20, Chinese prosecutors had investigated 1,383 cases of serious workplace accidents in 2006 and only 629 government employees were prosecuted. "Most of them were exempted from criminal sanctions or put on probation," said Song. He warned that some local governments still have not understood the harm of job-related crimes and impede investigations and ask for leniency for indicted officials. "Some local officials claim that it is simply a 'bad outcome generated by a good intention', rather than a violation of the law," he said. "Some local governments are reluctant to report and hand over cases to the procuratorates and contented themselves with giving the suspects administrative rather than criminal sanctions," Song said. The work safety situation in China is still grim. Statistics show that 2,459 serious workplace accidents occurred last year, taking 10,898 lives. People's Daily Online/Xinhua (2/8)

Nepal to become federal state , says Koirala

PTI

Kathmandu: Nepal's Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said late on Wednesday night the major political parties, including Maoists, had unanimously agreed to meet the key demands of the protesters of the Terai region and declare the nation a federal state. In his address to the nation at the conclusion of the eight-party meeting, Mr. Koirala said the Government would amend the Constitution to fulfil the genuine demands of the Terai people.Mr. Koirala also called the agitating groups in Terai to withdraw their movement and come to the negotiating table for resolving the issue through peaceful means of dialogue. He said the government would delineate the constituency on the basis of population and geographical speciality and increase the seats for the Terai during the Constituent Assembly polls. The Hindu (India) (2/8)

Did SA govt know of E Guinea coup plot?

Louis Oelofse

Pretoria, South Africa- A defence lawyer for two of the eight men allegedly involved in an attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea hinted on Thursday that the South African government might have given its permission for the attempt. Defence lawyer Alwyn Griebenow was cross-examining state witness Johannes Smit in the Pretoria Regional Court. Earlier in the week, Smit said it was an enigma why the men went ahead with the plan when everyone knew about it. On Thursday, Griebenow asked Smit whether the attempted coup would not have been a "suicide mission" had the government not given permission or its blessing for the mission.Smit agreed, saying Nick du Toit, one of the alleged leaders of the group, was told to call it off. He said he drew up two reports before the coup attempt, warning of its possibility. He told the court on Thursday that it was "highly unlikely" that the South African government did not know about a possibility of a coup in Equatorial Guinea. Another state witness, Nigel Morgan, who is also a private security consultant with a background in the British military, testified that he passed on reports to a source in the "foreign intelligence service of the South African government" about the alleged coup. Mail & Guardian (South Africa) (2/8)

UN boosts border presence after Israeli-Lebanese clash

TYRE, Lebanon (AFP) - UN peacekeepers boosted their presence on the volatile Lebanese-Israeli border after a clash between the armies of both sides, the first such incident in decades. Dozens of Italian and French soldiers deployed after the first direct clash involving Lebanese troops, who moved into the border area after Israel's 34-day war with Lebanese Shiite Muslim Hezbollah last summer. The peacekeepers, backed by armour, took up position along a five-kilometre (three-mile) stretch between the villages of Yaroun and Maroun ar-Ras, near the site of the overnight shooting. "The situation in the general area of Maroun ar-Ras has been relatively quiet today," said UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesman Milos Strugar late Thursday. UNIFIL troops have been deployed in significant number," he said. "UNIFIL troops in coordination with the Lebanese army have also placed a sign to visibly mark the Blue Line in the area." Lebanese and Israeli troops exchanged fire across the border late on Wednesday, causing no casualties, in an incident sparked by Israeli sappers moving towards the border to clear unexploded ordenance. Tension remained high on Thursday as Israeli aircraft continued to fly over the border after Israeli officials pledged that warplanes will intensify controversial flights over Lebanon. Strugar said UNIFIL had called for a trilateral meeting with senior representatives of the Lebanese and Israeli armies next week. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora ordered the army to respond to any new Israeli violation, the state National News Agency reported. Agence France Presse (2/8)

Dominicans discuss poverty, failed economic policy in Latin America

By Barbara J. Fraser, Catholic News Service

LIMA, Peru (CNS) -- From his vantage point 170 miles south of the U.S. border, Bishop Raul Vera Lopez of Saltillo, Mexico, sees the people who pass through his diocese on their way to seek work in the United States as testimony to decades of failed economic policy in Latin America. The migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and places like the southern Mexican region of Chiapas, where the bishop worked in the 1990s, are victims of "a deliberately exclusive economy that makes an option for big business and excludes everyone else," he said. "It is no longer a matter of marginalizing them -- it's exclusion," he said.Despite decades of loans and economic adjustment packages -- and more recently economic growth -- more than 40 percent of Latin Americans still live in poverty. Economic policies adopted in recent years have made it difficult to change that figure, Bishop Vera told Catholic News Service Feb. 2, while in Lima for a meeting of Dominican provincials from Latin America and the Caribbean. Bishop Vera is a Dominican. "A new president can take office with great promises and plans but be unable to fulfill them because of the terrible conditions imposed by the global economy and requirements that macroeconomic figures be kept at a certain level," he said. "This means favoring capital growth and generally neglecting social responsibilities." In that sense, he said, the region has changed little -- and for the worse -- since the second general conference of Latin American bishops in Medellin, Colombia, in 1968, when the region's church leaders declared their "preferential option for the poor." Latin America today is "in a political and social situation even worse than the one that existed at the time of Medellin," Bishop Vera said. Argentina Star/Catholic News Service (Washington DC) (2/8)

Labels: China, diplomats, East Timor, Equitorial Guinea, Iraq, Israel, Latin America, Lebanon, Nepal, Philippines, South Africa, U.S. asylum seekers

posted by Dave Carroll @ 2/08/2007 02:55:00 PM