Derechos: The Week in Human Rights - January 20 to 26, 1997
Jan. 20
(Reuters) - China - Yesterday, China proposed to abolish laws on democratic elections and civil
liberties when it regains sovereignty of Hong Kong later this year. Hong Kong Governor Chris
Patten and pro-democracy groups said that the proposals are aimed at undermining civil liberties
in Honk Kong.
(Reuters) - China/US - The San Francisco-based Chinese Democracy Education Foundation today
gave awards to dissident Chen Ziming , journalist Hu Chu-Jen, and New York Times columnist
A.M. Rosenthal for advancing democracy in China.
(Financial Times) - Burma - The Burmese military regime reported that it had sentenced 20
people to seven years in jail for inciting unrest during demonstrations last month in Rangoon.
(Financial Times) - UK - A bill that would formalize the procedure for judicial review of police
decisions to use surveillance bugs [remote listening devices] has raised a debate on civil liberties
in the House of Lords. While the government would like the police to retain authorization to plant
bugs and inform judges of their actions after the fact, the Labor party has supported amendments
that would require judicial review prior to planting bugs. Opponents of the government's
proposals claim that its bill would give the police more surveillance power than the MI5 domestic
security service and would make it easier to plant bugs than to obtain a warrant to conduct an
open search.
(DPA) - Egypt - The Egyptian Human Rights Organization today called for the abolition of the
country's military court after it sentenced four suspected Islamic militants to death. The EHRO
claims that the judges lack independence and experience and the court doesn't have adequate
provisions for appeals. According to the EHRO, the court has sentenced 74 suspected Islamic
militants to death since 1992 and 54 of those have been executed.
(BBC) - Argentina/Spain - According to a Spanish television broadcast on January 18, the
Argentine government rejected a request by Spanish National High Court Judge Baltasar Garzon
to investigate the disappearances of Spanish citizens during the Argentine Dirty War from 1976 to
1983. Argentine human rights groups have vowed to appeal to the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights. According to the Spanish request, 266 Spaniards were disappeared during the
military dictatorship and 100 of those suspected of being responsible were to be summoned to
testify in the cases. Argentina has previously rejected similar attempts by France and Italy to
assist in investigations of disappearances.
(AFP) - Kuwait - The official KUNA news agency reported today that a human rights committee
will be set up by the Kuwaiti government. According to the announcement by Interior Minister
Sheikh Mohamed Khaled al-Sabah, the committee will prepare reports on human rights and
investigate complaints. Members of the committee will be Dean Nasser Abdel-Hai al-Banai,
Colonel Mohamed Jaber al-Fahd, Colonel Fahd Faleh al-Masaria and Colonel Ghazi Bader
al-Qattan. Kuwait also has a parliamentary human rights committee and an independent human
rights group.
(AFP) - Serbia - According to Elisabeth Rehn, the UN special envoy for human rights, the UN
center for human rights would like to open an office in Pristina, Kosovo province. She cited the
recent death of a professor in custody, torture, and mistreatment of ethnic Albanians as some of
the UN concerns.
(AFP) - East Timor - Two more alleged rebels were arrested in connection with Christmas Eve
unrest in Dili. The arrests bring the total to 18 who have been detained for unrest that resulted in
the death of Corporal Alfredo de Santo Siga, an East Timorese member of the Indonesian army.
Jan. 21
(Reuters) -Algeria - According to the French newspaper Le Monde, Ali Benhadj, the
vice-president of Algeria's banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), is being secretly held in a
military jail in Blida. Benhadj has been detained since 1991 and Amnesty International has
expressed concern that his family hasn't had news of him since he was transferred in early 1995.
Benhadj was sentenced to 12 years in prison for plotting against the state in July 1992 after he
urged people to "stock any weapons" they came upon.
(UPI) - Kuwait - In statements before the Kuwait National Assembly, relatives of convicts in the
Kuwait Central Prison claimed that prison wardens beat inmates and deny family visits. Staff at
Kuwait's Farwaniyya Hospital earlier this month that a larger than usual number of prisoners were
being treated for lacerations and fractures.
(DPA) - China - The Intermediate People's Court of the city Guangzhou in China sentenced 26
people to death for crimes ranging from stealing automobiles to drug trafficking and murder.
Those sentenced were reportedly executed, bringing to 4,000 the number of people executed since
China's Strike Hard campaign began in April 1996.
(Times) - UK - A judgment issued by the British Court of Appeal on December 17, 1996, upheld
an earlier ruling that prohibited Amnesty International's British Section from radio advertising
under section 92(2)(a)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1990 and under rule 8(a) of the Radio Authority
Advertising Code. The Court of Appeal declared that promoting the observance of "human rights
by campaigning to change the laws or policies of foreign governments was a political object."
The case had been brought by Nigel Wright and David Bull on behalf of Amnesty International's
British Section and was decided unanimously by Lord Woolf, Master of the Rolls, Lord Justice
Aldous, and Lord Justice Brooke.
(AFP) - Sudan - The Arab Organization of Human Rights (AOHR) today urged the Sudanese
government to release Sudanese journalist Babakr Osman, who has been detained without charge
for four months. Osman is a correspondent of the Qatari daily Al-Watan.
(AFP) - Peru - A poll of Peruvians in Lima by the polling company Apoyo found that 76 percent
believe that prison conditions should be improved to help end the hostage situation at the Japanese
Ambassador's residence. The poll also indicated that 53 percent believed that the Tupac Amaru
rebels took the residence to gain the freedom of their comrades and only 11 percent agreed with
President Fujimori that the rebels were in it for the money. The poll is one of the first conducted
after a self-imposed moratorium. It is considered important because Fujimori has changed
positions in the past to accommodate public opinion.
(AFP) - Greece - The Church of Scientology today appealed an Greek court's ruling that ordered
it to be shut down. After Athens prefect Dimitris Efstathiadis accused the church "of becoming a
center of proselytizing," a lower court announced that the church was being dissolved.
Jan. 22
(AP) - USA - U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin today ruled the Military Honor and
Decency Act of 1996 unconstitutional because it forbids the sale or rental of adult magazines or
videos at military installations. The judge wrote, "In the context of our long and rich First
Amendment tradition, it becomes clear that sexually explicit material cannot be banned from sale
or rental at military exchanges merely because it is offensive."
(Reuters) - Turkey - The European Court of Human Rights today heard allegations of torture and
human rights abuses by Turkish authorities in Kurdish areas. The cases being heard range from
Sukran Aydin who alleged that she was tortured and raped while in custody while four others
claimed that security forces burned down their house in Saggose village in 1993. In cases before
the court last year, it ruled that Turkish police had tortured a Kurd in 1992 who was arrested but
never charged and that Turkish security forces had violated the European Convention on Human
Rights by destroying the village of Kelekci in 1992-93.
(Reuters) - Cuba - Cuban authorities reportedly arrested Marta Beatriz Roque, director of the
Association of Independent Economists, and journalists Tania Quintero and Juan Antonio Sanchez
for trying to produce independent economic reports and news articles. The arrests coincided with
a visit by Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy, who reportedly raised human rights issues
with President Fidel Castro.
(Daily Mail) - UK - Mandatory random drug testing will begin April 1 for the Royal Navy and
Marine units. The Army has been conducting drug testing for two years. Liberty, a British
human rights group criticized the drug testing program and said that testing was only justified if
there was suspicion of misconduct.
(AFP) - East Timor - Indonesian Major General Abdul Rivai said today that troops would assist
universities in keeping order in East Timor. He was quoted by the official Antara news agency as
saying "Let's not be hesitant in reprimanding them (students who cause unrest), because if they are
left alone then it would lead to anarchy."
Jan. 23
(Reuters) - Ivory Coast - The LIDHO human rights league today called for an independent inquiry
into the death under suspicious circumstances of student Akpele A. Mercellin. In a statement,
LIDHO also called on the government to stop treating the student union FESCI as an illegal
organization. According to student activists and the main opposition newspaper La Voie,
Mercellin was killed by brutal police during a raid of a FESCI meeting.
(Reuters) - Turkey/US - Hundreds of US journalists, human rights activists, and media executives
today called on Turkey to free Ocak Isik Yurtcu, editor of the now defunct Ozgur Gundem.
Officials of Committee to Protect Journalists handed the petition to Turkish ambassador Nuzhet
Kandemir. Yurtcu was convicted of publishing "separatist propaganda" which is subject to
criminal penalties under Turkey's anti-terrorism laws.
(Reuters) - East Timor/US - Republican Congressman Frank Wolf urged the Clinton
administration to take a leading role in supporting human rights in East Timor after a three-day
visit from January 12 to 14. Wolf also suggested that Clinton meet with Nobel Peace
Prize-winning Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo when he comes to the US later this year.
(Reuters) - Colombia - A few days after US Ambassador to Colombia Myles Frechette expressed
US concern about human rights violations by death squads, Colombian army commander Gen.
Manuel Jos De Bonett said that the Colombian army would go after the right-wing paramilitary
squads with the same vigor as drug traffickers and leftist guerrillas.
(BBC) - Morocco - According to a report by the Moroccan news agency MAP on January 21, a
press release from the Moroccan Organization of Human Rights called for the government to
withdraw reservations it has made in its ratification of the International Convention for the
Eradication of Discrimination Against Women.
Jan. 24
(Reuters) - Thailand - Earlier this week, Thailand's Education Minister Sukavit Rangsitphol
announced that he would not reverse a ban on homosexuals from teacher training colleges.
Rangsitphol defended the ban, stating, "The ministry has not violated human rights. The ruling is
only aimed at banning people with improper personalities from being models for youngsters."
(Reuters) - UK/Indonesia - Ciaron O'Reilly of Liverpool and Stephen Hancock of Oxford
received three-month suspended jail sentences today for contempt of court when they trespassed
on British Aerospace (BAe) property to protest its sale of Hawk missiles to Indonesia. Hancock
defended their action, saying, "BAe is abetting genocide in East Timor."
(Reuters) - UN - U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Jose Ayala-Lasso today announced
the appointment of Mona Rishmawi, a Palestinian lawyer at the International Commission of
Jurists, as an independent human rights expert on Somalia. Ayala-Lasso also announced the
appointment of Spanish diplomat Almudena Mazarrasa Alvear to head the new UN human rights
office in Colombia and Swedish diplomat Elisabeth Stam to head the new UN human rights office
in Abkhazia, Georgia.
(DPA) - Indonesia - The Situbondo district court in East Java today sentenced nine youths to five
and seven-month jail terms for acts ranging from throwing rocks to arson in connection with riots
in October that left five people dead. The court also set one person free because of lack of
evidence.
(AFP) - Burma - The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child today criticized the Burmese
government for a wide range of child rights abuses, from forced labor to underage recruitment of
child soldiers. The Committee also called on the Burmese government to enact laws that would
outlaw torture, forced labor, and underage recruitment and take measures against rape. Burmese
Ambassador to the UN Aye defended the government, saying that children's rights "should not be
politicized" and that the allegations of abuses were false.
(AFP) - Cambodia - Cambodian human rights groups today said that the use of electric shock
batons by Cambodia police should be discontinued until the dangers of their use are studied.
Earlier this month, garment worker complained that they were injured by shock batons wielded by
police during a demonstration outside a factory.
Jan. 25
(Reuters) - Kenya - According to a statement by the Nakuru diocese, Larry Timmons, a Roman
Catholic priest, was shot and killed by Kenyan police after he confronted local officials about
alleged corruption. Anglican and Catholic churches in Kenya have been at odds with the
government since they called to constitutional change.
(Reuters) - Hong Kong - Chinese authorities paroled Xi Yang today after serving three years of a
12-year sentence for "stealing state secrets" about Chinese policies on interest rates and gold. Xi's
release came as a surprise to diplomats in Beijing because China has been tightening its grip on
journalists and media.
(Reuters) - Cambodia/US - According to Craig Etcheson, associate research scientist in Yale
University's Cambodian Genocide Programme, the project has discovered enough evidence to
"clearly implicate" Khmer Rouge leaders in crimes against humanity when they ruled the country
from 1975 to 1979. The project was initially funded by US $500,000 , but the project has
received new funding to continue research for two years.
(Reuters) - China - The human rights group Human Rights in China said today that five Chinese
dissidents were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for subversion. According to the group, the
sentences were handed down in May 1996, but were only confirmed recently. Lu Yongxiang and
Huang Zhongmin were arrested in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1995, while distributing copies
of an open letter to Communist Party leaders and sentenced to five years in jail. Chen Xi was
sentenced to 10 years for organizing and leading a counter-revolutionary group. Liao Shuangyuan
and Zeng Ning were jailed for organizing and joining a counter-revolutionary group.
(Russian Press Digest) - Russia - Sixty-two people have been executed in Russia since it joined
the Council of Europe, according to Anatoly Pristavkin, chairman of the presidential Commission
on Pardoning. A law that would place a moratorium on executions has been submitted to the
Duma [Russian parliament], but it appears unlikely that it will be approved soon.
(NY Times) - Mexico - The Organization of American States (OAS) condemned the Mexican
government on January 23 for jailing Brig. Gen. Jose Francisco Gallardo Rodriguez, who has
been in a military prison since November 1993. Gallardo had written an essay about crimes
committed by Mexican troops and suggested that an ombudsman be appointed to hear human
rights complaints. This is the first time that the OAS has ruled that Mexico had violated
individual civil rights. The OAS concluded that General Gallardo had been imprisoned "with no
reasonable, logical or justifiable purpose." A Mexican government official said that the
government rejected the commission's findings and wouldn't comply with its findings.
(Kyodo News Service) - Indonesia - The Jakarta Post reported today that a woman detained in
East Timor was beaten and raped by Indonesian soldiers, charges that the military denies.
(The Economist) - Indonesia - Indonesian Lieutenant Colonel Alex Riatmojo plans a trial in the
use of cobras to control crowds. Riatmojo, who was trained by the US FBI, envisions the snakes
being waved by police to intimidate violent protesters.
(DPA) - Peru - According to the Lima newspaper El Comercio, the Peruvian government is
considering moving prominent members of the MRTA and the Shining Path to Challapalca prison
in the high Andes, which is notorious for its harsh prison conditions. National and international
human rights groups have consistently criticized inhuman conditions in Peruvian prisons.
(Billboard) - USA - Former Amnesty International USA director Jack Healey and his new
organization Human Rights Action Center, will mark the 50th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) with a campaign called Rights Now! And a music
compilation called "Generations I--A Punk Look At Human Rights." The album will feature
artists such as Joe Strummer, John Doe, Green Day, and Bad Brains, Pennywise, the Vandals,
DFL, and Pansy Division with Tre Cool. The theme track "Generations" written by former Clash
member Strummer highlights the articles of the UDHR and salutes Eleanor Roosevelt for her role
in creating the document. According to Healey, "We want to raise money directly [for] small
human-rights groups around the world. . . You can give $ 10,000 to Amnesty International or you
can give $ 10,000 to a human-rights group in Turkey or Guatemala. To the smaller groups, $
10,000 is like a million dollars."
(BBC) - Georgia - Giorgi Kervalishvili, president of the All-Georgian Association of Human
Rights said in a statement on January 23 that capital punishment should be abolished in Georgia,,
that all political prisoners be released, that NGO representatives be allowed to visit prisons, and
that international norms for prisoners be implemented.
(AFP) - Sierra Leone - The prison-monitoring organization Prison Watch today claimed that
prison guards were forcing prisoners to engage in homosexual acts. Prison Watch also reported
that the maximum security prison in Freetown was overcrowded with juvenile and adult prisoners.
(AP) - USA - Florida State Senator John Grant wants the University of South Florida to cancel a
speech by Greg Louganis because Louganis stands for "moral decadence." Louganis is a
five-time Olympic gold-medal winner who is gay and HIV positive. School officials said that the
speech will go on.
Jan. 26
(AFP) - China - The Chinese government today called on the public to report "moral violations"
and "professional misconduct" by journalists by calling a special telephone hot-line. The
announcement came after journalist Xi Yang was released after serving three years of a 12-year
sentence.
(AFP) - Burma - Burmese dissident Aung San Suu Kyi received an honorary degree today from
American University in Washington, DC to honor her struggle for democracy and freedom. A
commencement address by Aung San Suu Kyi was smuggled out of Burma and read by here
husband Michael Aris. In the address, she called for a boycott of companies that invest in Burma.
(AFP) - Argentina - Argentine human rights organizations condemned an anti-terrorism bill which
would allow law enforcement officials to imprison "anyone who demonstrates against the
government." According to the Coalition against Political and Institutional Oppression, "The bill
creates a dangerous potential for the violation of constitutional rights and the political persecution
of students and unions."
(Derechos) - Derechos announced today the publication of Ko'aga Ron'eta, a new electronic
journal of human rights. Ko'aga begins with publication of papers presented at the International
Conference on Impunity and its Effects on Democratic Processes, which took place in Santiago,
Chile in December. The journal will feature articles in all areas of human rights in different
languages and it welcomes submissions. http://www.derechos.org/koaga/
(Clarin) - Argentina - The body of Argentine news photographer Jose Luis Cabezas was found
incinerated and handcuffed inside his car on January 25. Cabezas worked for the magazine
Noticias and had photographed people rarely seen in public, such as human rights abusers and
people alleged to be part of the mafia. He had also written articles about alleged mafia member
Alfredo Yabran.
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AFP - Agence France Presse
AI - Amnesty International
AP - Associated Press
BBC - British Broadcasting Company
CSM - Christian Science Monitor
CTK - Czech News Agency
DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
GNS - Gannett News Service
HRW - Human Rights Watch
IPS - Inter Press Service
LA Times- Los Angeles Times
NYT - New York Times
SF Chronicle - San Francisco Chronicle
UPI - United Press International
WP - Washington Post