Feb. 3

(Reuters) - Turkey - The People's Democratic Party (HADEP) today gave information about 148 killings to a Turkish parliamentary inquiry that is investigating suspected links between security officials and right-wing assassins. According to human rights groups, an estimated 3,500 civilians, mainly Kurds, have been killed in suspicious circumstances in southeast Turkey in the last 12 years.

(Reuters) - Slovakia/Hungary - The Hungarian government appealed to Slovakia to pass a law to protect minority languages. The Council of Europe and the United States have also criticized Slovakia for passing a 1995 law that makes Slovak the only language to be used in public places. The law to protect minority languages is required under the terms of a treaty ratified by Slovakia and Hungary in 1996.

(Reuters) - Cuba - According to Amnesty International, Cuban dissident Hector Palacios Ruiz was arrested on January 9 for criticizing Cuba's human rights record to foreigners. Palacios is head of the illegal Democratic Solidarity Party and the Concilio Cubano, a coalition that is not officially permitted to operate.

(Reuters) - Colombia - The Inter-American Court of Human Rights today ordered the Colombian government to pay $89,500 to the families of Isidro Caballero Delgado and Maria del Carmen Santana, who disappeared near Guaduas in February 1989. The case was referred to the Court by the Inter-American Human Rights Commission in December 1994.

(Reuters) - China/US - According to US diplomats, the US will sponsor a UN resolution condemning China's human rights unless China improves its human rights record. For the past six years, China has successfully quashed similar resolutions with the help of developing countries.

(Reuters) - ASEAN/EU - Singapore foreign ministry officials today said that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will block any attempt to discuss East Timor at the 12^th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting in Singapore on February 13-14. According to one official, Indonesian government officials would walk out of the meeting if the issue of East Timor was raised.

(PR Newswire) - The United States Southern Command's second Human Rights Conference will be held February 4-6 in Miami. The conference, which is sponsored by the InterAmerican Institute of Human Rights, has the theme ""Armed Forces, Democracy and Human Rights on the Threshold of the 21st Century." "Our goal is to further create a culture of respect for human rights," said Air Force Lt. Col. Rafael Frontaura, director of USSOUTHCOM's Human Rights Division.

(NY Times) - Colombia - Television news shows can be taken off the air by the National Television Commission that was given broad authority by the Colombian Congress. Colombian journalists see the move as an attempt to punish those programs that have investigated links between politician and drug traffickers. Enrique Santos Calderon, a columnist for the El Tiempo newspaper, said "It's a very direct measure against news shows that have been critical of Samper over the last two years." News organizations have challenged the law in court but no ruling is expected for several months, during which news programs can be taken off the air.

Feb. 4

(Reuters) - Brazil - The Brazilian government today approved a new law that makes all Brazilian organ donors. The law allows the government to use the organs of deceased people without prior consent of the person. In order to opt out of the automatic donor program, Brazilians must indicate so on their identity cards or driving licenses. Valdir Mesquita, head of the Federal Council of Medicine told Globo newspaper, "Automatic donation is an abuse of one of the fundamental human rights, that of the individual's autonomy." The bill was intended to reduce the shortage of donor organs in Brazil.

(Reuters) - Australia - Peter Nugent, head of the Australian Parliaments human rights sub-committee said today that Australia will not offer asylum to Chinese dissidents seeking to leave Hong Kong before China takes over in July. Eight other countries, including the US, Britain, and Japan, have offered asylum. According to Nugent, "My understanding is that the government has taken the view that we have taken a large number of dissidents...in recent years."

(LA Times) - USA - The American Bar Association yesterday called for a halt to executions in the US until the system can be changed to be more fair. The resolution was adopted by a vote of 280 to 119 at its conference in San Antonio. The full text of the resolution can be found at http://www.abanet.org/irr/rec107.html

(Jerusalem Post) - Palestinian Authority - Palestinian Authority Justice Minister Freih Abu Medein said that those responsible for torturing Yosef Baba to death will be brought to justice. Baba was in good health when he was arrested on January 3 and died February 1 in Rafidiye Hospital. Khader Shkeirat, a lawyer with the Palestinian Center for the Protection of Human Rights wants a new autopsy with a family doctor present and the Ramallah-based human rights group Al Haq has demanded an impartial investigation into Baba's death.

(DPA) - Ukraine - The Ukraine parliament today delayed debate on abolition of the death penalty until April. Most deputies favor retaining the death penalty. More than 150 people were executed in 1996.

(AFP) - Turkey - A three-man investigative delegation of the European Commission of Human Rights left yesterday to investigate four cases of alleged human rights abuses in Turkey. The four cases are the disappearance of a man jailed in Ertak in 1992, Hasan Kaya, a doctor who was murdered after he disappeared in 1993, journalist Kemal Kilic who was murdered in February 1993, and the destruction of a house in the Hasro region in 1993.

(AFP) - Turkey - The media group Reporters san Frontieres said today that more than 150 Turkish journalists were subjected to police violence in 1996. Metin Goktepe, a journalist for Evrensel, was battered to death, according to the group. Reporters sans Frontieres called for the Turkish government to take action to eliminate torture and bring the police officers responsible to justice. On February 6, the trial of the 48 police officer accused of torturing Goktepe to death in January 1996 will resume.

Feb. 5

(Reuters) - Russia - Human rights and environmental groups including the Sierra Club, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have asked US Vice President Al Gore to raise the case of Aleksandr Nitkin when he meets on February 6 with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. Nitkin is a former Russian naval captain who publicized radioactive pollution in the Arctic and Pacific Oceans caused by the Russian North Sea Fleet. He was held without charge for six months but was released in December. He has not been allowed to leave St. Petersburg.

(Reuters) - Latin America/USA - Speaking at a conference in Miami on "Armed Forces, Democracy and Human Rights on the Threshold of the 21st Century", Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIHR) director Juan Mendez said that armed forces in Latin America have not yet proved they are fully committed to human rights. The conference is sponsored by the IIHR and the US military's Panama-based Southern Command and is attended by defense chiefs and senior officers from 32 Latin American and Caribbean countries.

(Reuters) - Burma - Unocal, the largest US investor in Burma, said today that the best way to promote democracy there was for firms like McDonalds to invest there. Last week, John Shattuck, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, said that US sanctions were being given "very, very active consideration."

(LA Times) - Rwanda - A UN human rights team was ambushed yesterday in a Hutu stronghold by gunmen and four human rights monitors were killed. Those killed were two Rwandan local employees, a Briton, and a Cambodian. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Jose Ayala Lasso ordered monitors working in the western part of Rwanda to evacuate to Kigali. It is the third attack involving UN human rights monitors.

Feb. 6

(Reuters) - UN - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today reassigned Ibrahima Fall, the assistant secretary-general for human rights and director of the Centre for Human Rights, to the Department of Political Affairs in New York. According to UN sources, the move is part of an effort to end feuding in the rights operation. Fall reportedly had differences with High Commission for Human Rights Jose Ayala Lasso, his boss.

(Reuters) - Turkey - In the resumption of the trial of 48 Turkish policemen accused of battering journalist Metin Goktepe to death, prosecutors today demanded sentences of three to 15 years for the policemen. Goktepe was rounded up for a random identity check after the funerals of two far-left jail inmates and was killed in January 1996.

(Reuters) - Thailand/Burma - Thai Foreign Minister Prachuab Chaiyasarn today sad that the West should ask Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to tone down her position so that a compromise can be reached with the military regime known as SLORC Suu Kyi has said that her party, the National League for Democracy, will step up its opposition to the military regime this year.

(Reuters) - Germany/Iran - The German government today denied an accusation by Iran that it was interfering in Iran's internal affairs by asking for information about journalist Faraj Sarkuhi, who was detained for allegedly trying to leave the country illegally. In a letter that was recently published in German newspapers, Sarkuhi said that he has tortured by the Iranian secret service into confessing that he had spied for Germany.

(Reuters) - Hong Kong/EU - In a non-binding resolution expected on February 20, the European Parliament is expected to urge the European Union to give passports to all Hong Kong citizens before China takes over in July. The resolution is also expected to demand that EU representatives in Hong Kong produce an annual report on human rights in Hong Kong.

(Reuters) - Cambodia/UN - The UN special representative on human rights for Cambodia, Thomas Hammarberg said yesterday that a truth commission should be established in Cambodia to make sure that the past is not forgotten. A UN human rights worker said, "I don't think there will ever be a trial of the Khmer Rouge leadership. . . . If something is feasible, it is a truth commission."

(DPA) - Albania - The Albanian Helsinki Human Rights Committee today criticized the police in Tirana for using violence to break up peaceful anti-government demonstrations. The group called on the authorities to respect the right to peacefully protest and denounced the alleged mistreatment of those detained, including journalists.

(Daily Telegraph) - UK - Yesterday, Lord Woolf, the Master of the Rolls, indicated he supported the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into United Kingdom law. Wolf said, "It cannot be correct that our citizens should have to go to Europe to receive a remedy which they cannot receive from our domestic courts." He also said that the country needed a Bill of Rights.

(BBC) - Paraguay - According to a report in the Paraguayan newspaper ABC Color on February 4, Sandino Gil Oporto, the former director of the Tacumbu National Penitentiary, was appointed the Interior Ministry Human Rights Promotion and Protection Director. Gil Oport said he would seek to promote democracy to guarantee its survival in Paraguay.

(BBC) - Gambia - Twelve Gambian political detainees whose release had been demanded by human rights groups were released by President Yahya Jammeh, according to a Radio France Internationale report on February 4.

(AFP) - Malawi - Malawi Lands and Valuation Minister Peter Fachi said today that it would seek public opinion on the death penalty. A 1994 national constitutional conference retained the death penalty. A bill that would establish a human rights commission is currently being discussed in Malawi.

(AFP) - Egypt - The Egyptian Organization of Human Rights today praised a ruling by the constitutional court that a law holding editors-in-chief responsible for libelous articles in their newspapers was unconstitutional. The group said, "This is an important gain for freedom of the press, freedom of opinion and freedom of expression." The Center for Human Rights Legal Aid expressed relief at the ruling.

(AFP) - Nigeria - UN human rights rapporteurs Willy Bacre Ndiaye of Senegal and Dato Param Cumaraswamy of Malaysia are due to arrive in Nigeria on February 23 for a 10-day visit to investigate human rights abuses and the independence of the judiciary. According to the presidential office, the rapporteurs will be allowed free access to individuals and groups, including NGOs. A similar mission was conducted during a two-week trip last year.

(AFX News) - Burma - NV Nutricia has canceled a planned investment in Burma because of its poor human rights record. Nutricia manager Louis Thorig said at a corporate social duties meeting at Amsterdam University that Nutricia's plans were called off after meeting with groups including Birma Centrum Nederland.

Feb. 7

(Reuters) - Poland - A Polish court today ruled that Mandugeqi and his wife Yinge, members of China's Mongolian minority, should not be extradited to China, where they could face violations of their human rights. Judge Ewa Gutowska-Sawczuk noted that Poland would have to answer to the European Court of Human Rights if the couple was extradited. Mandugeqi and Yinge have asked for political asylum.

(Reuters) - EU/Burma - European legislator Richard Howitt today alleged that British Petroleum is involved in a "conspiracy of violence" over human rights abuses in eastern Colombia, but he admitted that he had no evidence directly linking BP to the deaths of civilians in Casanare province. In a statement today, BP said, "BP rejects energetically human rights abuses from whatever quarter and has publicly condemned the deaths of civic leaders and others in Casanare."

(Reuters) - Burma/South Korea - According to the Burmese government, Kim Sang Woo, a member of South Korea's National Assembly, was refused entry into Burma and ordered out of the country. The move was likely in response to a proposal by Woo submitted in November 1996 to the Forum of Democratic leaders in the Pacific Region Conference in which he dissuaded ASEAN members from "constructive engagement" with Burma.

(AFP) - Kenya/Denmark - Danish Cooperation minister Poul Nielson will have human rights on his agenda when he visits Kenya next week. Denmark has slightly reduced its aid to Kenya since the early 1990s because of corruption and Kenya's poor human rights record.

(AFP) - Indonesia - Human Rights Watch today condemned the arrest and trial of Andi Syahputera, who was caught with copies of the banned magazine Suara Independen. Syahputera faces six years in jail for defaming the president. Police also arrested Dasrul, an employee of a printing house where 3,000 copies of the magazine were confiscated. Former parliamentarians Sri Bintang Pamungkas and Aberson Marle Sihaloho also face jail terms for insulting the president.

Feb. 8

(Portland Press Herald) - USA - Maine Secretary of State Dan A. Gwadosky today said that Concerned Maine Families had gathered enough signatures for a state law banning same-sex marriages to put it before the Legislature. The law would ban marriages between people of the same sex and direct the state to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Concerned Maine Families sponsored a referendum that would have barred any new categories, including sexual orientation, from being added to categories of people that are protected by law. Patricia Peard, a leader of Maine Won't Discriminate, said, "I think same-gender marriage is an issue of a basic human right. . . . CMF wishes to attack gay people instead of going after real issues that impact families in Maine.''

(Moscow Times) - Russia - A new law that was enacted quietly in December by Russian President Boris Yeltsin would allow Russians suspected of a crime to be imprisoned for 2 years before a trial. Boris Abramkin, head of the Moscow Center for Prison Reform, said, "This is a gross violation of human rights." An estimated 282,000 suspected criminals are detained in 169 prisons awaiting trial.

(BBC) - Mauritania - According to a report on Gabonese Africa No 1 radio on February 6, Mauritanian opposition leaders and activists who were arrested last month were arraigned after 13 days of interrogations at the State Security offices. The six were detained for alleged links to Libya. Those arrested include Mohamed Hassaoud Ould Ismael, secretary general of the People's Progressive Alliance and Abdulahi Adirk Ould Iyed. Ahmed Ould Daddah, secretary-general of the Union of Democratic Forces, denounced the arrests as violations of human rights.

(AFP) - Australia/China/Singapore - Australian Prime Minister John Howard today announced he will visit China from March 28 to April 2 to mend relations after the Dalai Lama visited Australia last year. He will also meet Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong from March 26 to March 28. In addition to Chinese criticism for meeting the Dalai Lama, Australia's relations with China were strained by a ministerial visit to Taiwan and a strengthened defense alliance with the US.

Feb. 9

(AFP) - Zimbabwe - Despite an improvement in human rights over the last 10 years, serious human rights violations continue in Zimbabwe. The government of President Robert Mugabe has been accused of denying political rights, intimidating the opposition, infringement on citizens' privacy, harsh prison conditions, and restrictions on press and academic freedom.

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NYT - New York Times

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UPI - United Press International

WP - Washington Post