China: the wounds of Tiananmen

martes, 19 de mayo de 2009

Publicado por Posmodernism News :

Two decades later continues to censorship and persecution of the survivors and the critical.

Twenty years after the Chinese army to assassinate an unreported number of unarmed civilians in Beijing and other cities throughout the country between 3 and 4 June 1989, the Chinese government continues to persecute the survivors, relatives of victims and those who question the official version of events, Human Rights Watch said today.

Human Rights Watch has released today “The Tiananmen Legacy” (The Legacy of Tiananmen Square), a study of the prolonged impact of Tiananmen and a multimedia presentation on the twentieth anniversary of the repression.

The Chinese Communist Party initially justified their actions during the bloody repression as a necessary response to a "counterrevolutionary incident", and then revise its definition of events as "political."

Eritrea: Crackdown creates a human rights crisis

Publicado por Posmodernism News :

Recipient countries should stop the return of Eritrean refugees

The widespread practice in Eritrea detention and torture of its citizens and its policy of extending compulsory military service are creating a human rights crisis and causing increasingly Eritreans flee the country, Human Rights Watch said in a report published today.

The 95-page report “Service for life: State Repression and indefinite Conscription in Eritrea” (perpetual Service: State repression and indefinite military service in Eritrea) documents serious human rights violations committed by the Eritrean government, including arbitrary detention, torture, appalling prison conditions, forced labor and severe restrictions on freedom of movement, expression and worship. It also examines the plight faced by the Eritreans who manage to escape to other countries such as Libya, Sudan, Egypt and Italy.

"The Government of Eritrea is turning the country into a giant prison," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director for Human Rights Watch. "Eritrea must immediately accountable for the hundreds of prisoners' disappeared 'and to open its prisons to independent review," he added.

Human Rights Watch urged the United States and European Union to coordinate with the UN and the African Union to resolve regional tensions and to ensure that development assistance given to Eritrea is linked with progress in human rights.

The EU has recently approved an assistance package of 122 million for Eritrea, despite the concern for the employment of persons in military service or imprisonment for development projects, a violation of international law.

The report, based on over 50 interviews with victims and witnesses of the Eritrean abuse in three countries, says that the Eritrean government uses an extensive system of detention centers and secret officers to imprison thousands of people without charge or trial. Many of the prisoners are detained for their political or religious beliefs, others for trying to escape military service or flee the country indefinitely.

Torture, cruel and degrading treatment and forced labor are common both to those who perform military service for prisoners. Detention conditions are terrible: Prisoners are often crammed into cells (sometimes underground) or in containers that reach blistering temperatures during the day and freezing at night.

Those who attempt escape are at risk of severe punishment and that they fire when crossing the border. The government also punishes the families of those who escaped or deserted from military service with exorbitant fines or prison sentences. Despite these harsh measures, thousands of Eritreans are still trying to flee the country.

Sri Lanka: Ban will travel to assess situation on the ground

Publicado por Posmodernism News :

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, announced today that it will travel to Sri Lanka 22 and May 23 for the purpose of observing the situation of the civilian population after the government of that country declare its military operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The visit reflects the urgency of alleviating the most pressing needs of communities affected by the clashes between the Sri Lanka army and the rebel group in northern Iraq.

At a press conference in Geneva, Ban said it will go to the IDP camps to see what conditions are such people.

"The challenges facing the people of Sri Lanka now are immense and require all hands," he said.
He added that the most critical at the moment are humanitarian assistance, reintegration of the displaced and reconstruction of the country's north.

On the other hand, stressed the need for Sri Lanka to find a just and sustainable political solution to this crisis.

Ban lamented again the death of many innocent civilians and called for focusing efforts in the reconstruction in a spirit of national reconciliation.

According to estimates by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), camps housing some 220,000 people displaced and up to 60,000 more will be coming to these centers.

Furthermore, the Council of the UN Human Rights announced that, at the request of its members, will hold a special meeting next Monday to assess the status of the fundamental guarantees in Sri Lanka.

UNHCR humanitarian airlift to help the displaced Pakistanis

Publicado por Posmodernism News :

A May 18, 2009 are now 1.7 million people displaced as a result of fighting between the Pakistani army and Taliban insurgents, who desperately needed humanitarian aid.

UNHCR humanitarian supplies are loaded on the plane that departed from Dubai to Pakistan. UNHCR / A. Rummery.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 18, 2009 (UNHCR) - A Boeing 747 with 120 tons of humanitarian UNHCR, for people who have fled fighting in northwestern Pakistan, landed in Islamabad on Tuesday to 15: 15 pm local time.

The plane chartered by UNHCR transported 11,000 mosquito nets, 14,000 plastic tarpaulins for emergency shelter, 1,500 rolls of plastic tarp to build walls and private spaces in the camps and moving from our two stores in central Dubai. New supplies were brought to the warehouses of UNHCR in Peshawar, for distribution to the various camps housing displaced persons in the Frontier Province Noroeste.La National Authority for Disaster Management (NDMA stands for English) has provided emergency and this flight has provided 10,000 additional tents to UNHCR for emergency operation.

Returning foreign NGOs and the U.S. Promisses money for the 2010 elections

Publicado por Posmodernism News :

While the Government of the United States of America reaffirmed its commitment to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement with an injection of money, Senator John Kerry announced that Sudan accepts the shipment of new foreign humanitarian groups to replace those expelled in March.

U.S. Senator John Kerry said that 16 of Sudan accepts the shipment of new groups of humanitarian aid to Darfur and other parts of the country, replacing the organizations out March 4.

After meetings with Sudanese officials, the spokesman for the international affairs committee of the senate of the United States of americastated that it would allow access to some humanitarian groups to warn that it is better to prevent worsening of the situation.

However, Kerry remarked that "a partial restoration of the capacity of humanitarian assistance is not enough." He added: "A humanitarian crisis is a humanitarian crisis."

Kerry met with Second Vice President Ali Osman Taha Sudanese and Nafi Nafi Presidential Assistant and has scheduled a meeting with the head of Sudanese intelligence, Salah Gosh.

The official news agency Sudan - SUNA reported a gradual normalization of relations between the two countries after the meeting.

Two days later, the Sudan Tribune announced that U.S. support of a guaranteed $ 25 million for the general election and democratic transition in Sudan.

The guarantee was signed on Sunday between the Sudanese Minister of International Cooperation, Al-Tigani Fidail, the head of the board of elections, Abel Alier, the Chargé d'affaires of the United States Alberto Fernandez and the director of the U.S. Agency International Development USAID in Sudan, William Hammink.

In the speech after the signing, Alier is committed to the National Elections Commission: "We will work hard to ensure the success of the upcoming elections," he said. He added that he hopes will be free and fair and a way of guaranteeing the rights of the parties involved.

For its part, the minister stressed that the Fidail contribution of $ 25 million is the first of a series of U.S. contributions to enable the technical and logistical support of the electoral commission. It also represents a part of the U.S. took in the conference in Oslo.

He also said the agreement is the first direct support of humanitarian non-United States of America to Sudan, and the indicator of the USA joined in support of the key elements of the Comprehensive Peace Agrrment (CPA) in Sudan, he stressed.