|
Wednesday, April 30, 1998 The Latest News From Human Rights Watch Northern Ireland Peace Impossible Without Human Rights Protections (May 1, 1998)--Human Rights Watch warned today that the success of the Northern Ireland peace agreement may lie in the way it addresses human rights. In an analysis released today, the New York-based group assesses the human rights provisions in the peace accord and urges the United Kingdom to immediately stop abuses by its security forces. Rights Organization Condemns Takeo Grenade Attack (April 29, 1998) --Human Rights Watch today condemned a deadly April 25 grenade attack on the home of the family of a Cambodian opposition activist from the Son Sann Party. The incident, in the southeastern province of Takeo, may have been in part politically motivated, Human Rights Watch charged. In a separate incident on April 26, the Son Sann Party president in Tramkak District of Takeo reported that several shots were fired in front of his house, but no one was wounded. Tajikistan -- Crackdown In The North (April 29, 1998) -- Earlier this month, Tajikistan's government again excluded Leninabad, the country's northern province, from that country's post-civil war political settlement. This move caps the government's four-year effort to discredit the Leninabad-based political opposition, and, more recently, the National Revival Movement (NRM), a major political force in Leninabad. Disappearances In Indonesia: The Military Must Answer (April 28, 1998)--Human Rights Watch said today that either senior army and police officials had lied in denying any knowledge of the whereabouts of "disappeared" activists who later turned out to have been in custody, or a secret military or paramilitary unit was operating without the knowledge of top-ranking officers. Either way, the "disappearances" reflected badly on the Indonesian government, the organization said. It called on the government to step up efforts to find and prosecute those responsible both for the disappearances and for the intimidation and harassment of the non-governmental organizations helping the disappeared and their families. HRW And FIDH Condemn Planned Execution Of 23 In Rwanda (April 23, 1998)--Human Rights Watch and the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues(FIDH) strongly condemn the decision of the Rwandan Council of Ministers to execute twenty-three persons sentenced to death for the crime of genocide. According to the Rwandan national radio, the executions will be carried out on April 24 at 10 a.m., in order "to serve as a lesson" to Rwandans. The executions will take place at five places that became infamous for massacres carried out during the 1994 genocide. World Bank Should Monitor Abuses In India (April 21, 1998)--In a report released today, Human Rights Watch called on the World Bank to develop a more effective system of monitoring to prevent human rights abuses related to Bank-funded projects. Wang Dan's Release Welcome But Does Not Signify Improvement Human Rights Watch said today that it welcomed Wang Dan's release but looked forward to the day when critics of the Chinese government would not have to choose between detention at home and exile abroad. Clinton Attends the Second Summit of the Americas, April 18-19, 1998 Human rights is one of four items on the agenda for the thirty-four leaders who will gather in Santiago, Chile for the summit. We at Human Rights Watch have prepared this briefing packet to familiarize you with the human rights situation in several countries in the region. International Tribunal For Khmer Rouge Leaders (April 16, 1998)--Human Rights Watch today said that with the death of Pol Pot, the group of countries known as the Friends of Cambodia, meeting this weekend in Bangkok, should continue the effort to bring the remaining leaders of the Khmer Rouge before an international tribunal for crimes against humanity. Human Rights Watch Condemns Pentagon Lobbying on the International Criminal Court (April 14, 1998)--Human Rights Watch today condemned efforts by the U.S. Department of Defense to mobilize foreign militaries in an effort to weaken the proposed International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a document dated March 27, 1998, the Pentagon urges non-U.S. military officials to "take an active interest in the negotiations regarding an international criminal court." The Department of Defense distributed the memorandum to military attaches based at embassies in Washington, and to NATO partners in Brussels. Some of these officers represent militaries with extremly poor human rights records.
Two International Organizations Protest Jordan's Ban On Press Coverage Of Leith Shubeilat Trial ( April 10, 1998) -- In separate letters sent yesterday to Prime Minister Abd al-Salam Majali, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Watch strongly protest the sweeping ban that Jordanian authorities have imposed on all press coverage of the case of Leith Shubeilat, a prominent political opposition figure and former member of parliament. Rights Group Condemns Actions Of French, Swiss, Brunei Governments Toward Acehnese [Français] (Apirl 10, 1998)-- Human Rights Watch today condemned the actions of three embassies in Kuala Lumpur _ the French, the Swiss, and the Bruneian _ for turning twenty-seven Acehnese asylum-seekers over to the Malaysian police for immediate deportation to Indonesia. At the same time, it urged the Malaysian government to halt plans for deportation and allow the men immediate access to officials of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) so that they can be interviewed in confidence to determine whether they have a valid claim to asylum. Eight Acehnese remain at the U.S. embassy compound. Human Rights Watch Welcomes NATO Arrests in Bosnia (April 8, 1998)--Human Rights Watch welcomes the successful arrest today by NATO-led SFOR troops of indicted war crimes suspects Miroslav Kvocka and Mladen Radic. "The continued presence in Bosnia of those who perpetrated war crimes during the war has seriously undermined the Dayton Peace Agreement," stated Holly Cartner, executive director of the Europe and Central Asia Division of Human Rights Watch. Kenya: Urgent Need For Action On Human Rights (NAIROBI, 8 April)--A coalition of three major human rights groups today called Kenya "a powder keg waiting to explode" and warned the government to stop using "divide and rule" tactics that are likely to plunge the country deeper into violence. HRW Condemns Targeting Of Civilians In Burundi's Civil War (April 8, 1998)--The opposing sides in the civil war that has raged in Burundi since 1993 have killed, raped, tortured and looted thousands of civilians, according to a report released today by Human Rights Watch. In Proxy Targets: Civilians in the Civil War in Burundi, the organization charges that the largely Tutsi armed forces and various Hutu rebel groups have both attacked civilians as proxy targets in the four-year-old conflict. [Français] Human Rights Watch Condemns Ban On Congolese Rights [Français] (April 8, 1998)--Human Rights Watch strongly condemned today a government ban on one of Congo's oldest and most respected rights groups, the Association for the Defense of Human Rights (AZADHO). On Friday April 3, the Congolese Minister of Justice appeared on national television and declared AZADHO illegal and ordered police to immediately close their offices throughout the country. The minister accused the organization of not registering with the government, receiving foreign funding, leading political activities, and keeping the letter "Z" in their acronym, a reference to the former Zaire. Rights Group Condemns Move to Put HK Govt. Above the Law (April 7, 1998)--HRW today condemned a draft law the Hong Kong government is rushing through the Beijing-selected legislature as an exceptionally grave setback to the rule of law in China's new Special Administrative Region (S.A.R). The bill would have the effect of exempting both the S.A.R. government and organs of the Chinese government from many local laws. Police Violence in Macedonia (April 7, 1998)--Police abuse is threatening social stability in Macedonia and could worsen the turmoil in the South Balkans, Human Rights Watch said today. In a report released today, the New York-based human rights organization charged that the Macedonian government is ignoring a pattern of police brutality, while the international community turns a blind eye. " Restrictions on Press Freedom in Egypt: the Pace Quickens (April 2, 1998)--In a letter sent yesterday to President Hosni Mubarak, Human Rights Watch criticizes recent government actions targeting independent journalists and newspapers in Egypt. The letter charges that the pattern of censorship, banning of newspapers, and criminal prosecution of journalists thus far in 1998 has created a formidable atmosphere of intimidation for the media, and calls on President Mubarak to reverse the sharp deterioration in freedom of the press. | |||
|
| |||
|
|