Archive

January 20-26, 2002

Human Rights

Civil Rights Watch:

Uzma Naheed (at right, center) said her husband and brother had been in jail for about three months and she had not been permitted to visit them.
Her Bayonne, N.J., home was barren because she is selling off her possessions to make do. She was behind on the mortgage.
"I am really in a lot of big trouble here," Naheed said. She said her husband, Anser Mehmood, has been in the United States since 1989 and had let his visa lapse. On the morning of Sept. 11, Mehmood, a truck driver, was scheduled to make a delivery to the Pentagon. That helped draw the attention of authorities.
She said her husband is innocent: "He always respects the law."
--- Associated Press

BBC: The BBC's Tim Franks
John Walker... it will be an extraordinary trial.

BBC Human Rights audio files:

Andreas Kouris, Greece
"It shouldn't only be America handling this, it should be an international coalition."

Antonia Henrique Amaral, Brazil
"These prisoners are definitely war prisoners and should be treated as such."

Jonathon Lieberman, USA
"These people are getting a free holiday in the Caribbean."

Faisal Shamsia
"If this is a war - then they are prisoners of war."

Hans Elleby
"The Americans should remember: Do unto others as will be done to you."

Williams Stevens, Singapore
"I am very pleased with how the International Red Cross is handling it."

Max Mahajan
"At times [the West] uses human rights as a political tool."

If it is wrong to kill people in the United States of America is it not wrong to kill people in Afghanistan? Are some lives worth more than others or is this a competition as to who can be most violent?

How can we defend freedom and democracy by further restricting civil liberties and human rights?

Remember: terrorism did not arise in a vacuum but sprang from a soil of discontent and deprivation.

source: BBC Reports
EU Terror Laws

Rights groups say Europe is becoming a police state

By European affairs correspondent William Horsley

French police and soldiers at Charles de Gaulles airport European Union ministers in Brussels are working on radical EU powers aimed at protecting Europe against terrorism.

Human Rights Watch in Brussels says the anti-terrorism measures will allow the EU authorities to harass and prosecute those who take part in legitimate protests

These drastic measures follow evidence that suspected Islamic terrorist cells were intending to use chemical weapons or bombs to attack high-profile targets in London, Paris, Brussels and Strasbourg.

The measurel enable police and prosecutors in any part of the EU to arrest suspects anywhere else on the continent and put them on trial promptly.

Civil rights groups warn that the Europe is becoming a police state already.

New York, January 16, 2002

The anti-terror campaign led by the United States is inspiring opportunistic attacks on civil liberties around the world, Human Rights Watch warned in its annual global survey.

Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org) accused governments around the world of using the US-led war on terrorism as an excuse to carry out repressive policies and crush on internal dissent.

A report by the US-based Human Rights Watch singles out Russia, Uzbekistan and Egypt as the main offenders, saying they are waging wars against political opponents who they claim are terrorists.

According to the 670-page report, which covers 66 countries, one of the worst abusers of human rights is Uzbekistan. The report says the country has no political parties or independent media and sanctions the torture of Muslims caught praying outside the state-run mosque.

Saturday, 19 January, 2002, 15:06 GMT
Human rights: A casualty of the war on terror?

Freedoms are being lost in the push to defeat terrorism, according to Human Rights Watch.
The group says that countries such as Russia, Uzbekistan, and Egypt are using the war on terror to "justify abusive military campaigns or crackdowns on domestic political opponents."
Human Rights Watch has also raised concerns over the treatment of al Qaida and Taliban prisoners at a US naval base in Guantanamo Bay.
However, the organization says the war on terror has had the positive effect of focusing attention on human rights deficiencies in the Middle East.
Are governments going too far? Or are restraints on civil liberties acceptable in the face of global terrorism? Are the Afghan prisoners having their human rights violated.

UN Investigating US Again (source: BBC)

Complaints that the United States is mistreating Taliban and al Qaida prisoners have been taken up by the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson.

Mrs Robinson said in a statement she wanted the allegations thoroughly investigated, and reminded the United States of their international obligations towards prisoners of war as specified in the Geneva Convention.

UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Robinson reminded the US of its legal obligations.

The US does not recognize the captives as prisoners of war, which would invoke the Geneva Convention, and is reserving the right to try them in military tribunals.
But Mrs Robinson said that if there was a dispute on whether the captives were prisoners of war, a competent tribunal should be set up, in accordance with the provisions in the Convention to decide their status.
International law
Mrs Robinson also reminded the US that they had ratified both the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and were therefore bound to observe international law which required all detainees to be treated humanely.
"It is appropriate to recall that there are international legal obligations that should be respected," Mrs Robinson said.
"All persons detained in this context are entitled to the protection of international human rights law and humanitarian law," she added.

ABC is Hiding US (source: stopworldwar3.com)
On its January 16 broadcast, ABC's World News Tonight aired this brief item about the annual report released that day by Human Rights Watch:

"The international human rights group Human Rights Watch has released its annual report, and it says that several countries are using the U.S.-led war against terrorism as a justification to ignore human rights. Human Rights Watch says that Russia, Egypt, Israel, China, Zimbabwe, Malaysia and Uzbekistan have all cracked down on domestic opponents in the name of terrorism."

US guard patrols the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay... The prisoners are being held as 'unlawful combatants' But one country singled out for criticism by Human Rights Watch was conspicuously absent from ABC's report: the United States, whose anti-terrorism measures were described in the group's press release as "threatening long-held human rights principles."

Among Bush administration actions that were identified as demonstrating a "troubling disregard for well-established human rights safeguards" were "new laws permitting the indefinite detention of non-citizens, special military commissions to try suspected terrorists, the detention of over 1,000 people, and the abrogation of the confidentiality of attorney-client communications for certain detainees."

While ABC ignored this criticism of the U.S. in favor of pointing fingers at other countries, the rights report actually drew a connection between the erosion of human rights standards in the U.S. and overseas. As the London Guardian reported (1/17/02), "dictators 'need do nothing more than photocopy' measures introduced by the Bush administration, whose ability to criticize abuses in other countries was thus deeply compromised, said the New York-based Human Rights Watch in a devastating 660-page report." ABC's exclusion of criticism of the U.S. did a disservice to its viewers. U.S. human rights problems are the ones that are most likely to affect them, and also those that they are most in a position to do something about.

ACTION: Ask ABC to issue a correction to its original report about the Human Rights Watch Annual Report to reflect the group's criticisms of the U.S. response to the terrorist attacks of September 11.
CONTACT:
ABC's World News Tonight
Phone: 212-456-4040
Fax: 212-456-2795
at: PeterJennings@abcnews.com

Human Right Watch:

Take Action Now on US Military Commissions

at HRW

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Refugees

BBC World

How to help volcano victims

Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless after the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo in eastern DR Congo engulfed the nearby town of Goma.

Driven out by the encroaching lava, the displaced have descended on neighbouring towns and villages, dependent on international aid for their food, shelter and medical supplies.

While the streams of lava and the explosion of the petrol station on Monday have produced a number of burns victims, aid agencies' main concern is an outbreak of infectious disease among those displaced by the disaster. Some patients were burned on the feet as they tried to get to their homes on the opposite side of the lava flows.

Many have no proper access to safe drinking water or sanitation. Poor sanitation makes it easier for the bacteria which cause these diseases to be passed on to other people. Experts fear outbreaks of cholera or dysentery. Both of these cause vomiting and diarrhea, and are dangerous because they can cause progressive dehydration.

BBC News Online lists some of the main aid agencies working in the area, and gives details of how to donate to their appeals.

International Red Cross
www.ifrc.org
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has details of its activities in the region. Online donations are accepted.

Red Cross organizations in different countries have also established their own appeal efforts - such as the British Red Cross and the American Red Cross.

Oxfam
www.oxfam.org
Oxfam International has a general information page on the disaster. Donations can be made via the Oxfam sites in each individual country.

In the UK, contributions are accepted via Oxfam UK's special DR Congo disaster page, or by post at Oxfam, 274 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7DZ, UK. Tel: +44 1865 313131

Unicef
www.unicef.org
The United Nations Children's Fund has an extensive resource page on the current situation, and also accepts donations.

World Vision
www.wvi.org
World Vision is also active in the Goma area. In addition to its main website, the charity has more information on its national sites - the UK site has further details specific to the UK.

Christian Aid
www.christian-aid.org
British-based charity Christian Aid has produced a special report on its humanitarian efforts in Goma. You can donate online, or by post to Christian Aid, PO Box 100, London SE1 7RT, UK. Tel: +44 80 80 004 004

Save the Children
www.savethechildren.org.uk
The UK arm of Save the Children has information on its appeal, and opportunities to donate.

Medecins sans Frontieres
www.msf.org
This international charity providing emergency medical care has a special report on MSF's involvement in the emergency relief, as well as a donations page, with details on how to donate from different countries. In the USA, the charity is called Doctors without borders.

Merlin
www.merlin.org.uk
British-based NGO Medical Emergency Relief International has also launched an appeal. Donations are accepted online, or by post at 5-13 Trinity Street, Borough, London SE1 1DB, UK. Tel: + 44 20 7378 4888. There is also a site for US donations.

Care International
www.care.org
US-based Care International has compiled a report on the volcano disaster, and launched an appeal. It is possible to donate online, or via post to CARE, 151 Ellis Street, NE Atlanta, Georgia 30303-2440, USA. Tel: 1-800-521-CARE ext. 999, or 404-681-2552 from outside the US

World Relief
www.worldrelief.org
The international charity World Relief also has a special appeal for the disaster victims.

World's refugee problems worsen
The world's refugee problem is getting worse, according to a new report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

It says that unless concerted action is taken, more and more people will be forced to abandon their homes across the world but fewer will find safe refuge.

[ image: These men are returning to their Cambodian village after months in Thaiiland]

These men are returning to their Cambodian village after months in Thailand

The report, entitled "The State of the World's Refugees", says that although there are now fewer wars between states, the changing nature of war and communal conflict is making increasing numbers of people ever more vulnerable.

The UNHCR says that increasingly refugees and displaced people have nowhere to run. Having fled, in some cases refugees have been harassed and attacked until they decide to go back home.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, says the trend has been exacerbated by a desire amongst many governments to prevent refugee populations remaining away from their homes for long periods: When refugee outflows take place these days, there is a great pressure to solve the problem quickly, whereas during the cold war people were allowed to stay in asylum countries, in camps, for fifteen years, sometimes longer.

[ image: Celebrations in a Cambodian village asa refugees return]

Celebrations in a Cambodian village as refugees return

The report says that those requesting asylum in Western Europe, North America and Australia now face an array of different measures intended to prevent them getting in and the UNHCR says if the very countries responsible for creating the international refugee protection regime begin to challenge its legal and ethical foundations, it's hardly surprising if poorer countries with larger refugee populations follow suit.

Rebuilding Afghanistan
Interim Afghan Prime Minister Hamid Karzai has called for funds to rebuild his country at the start of an international aid conference in the Japanese capital, Tokyo. More than 50 nations sent high level representatives to Tokyo for Monday's international pledging conference for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Child injured by bombing in Kabul A report to be presented to the conference estimates that Afghanistan will need about $15bn of recovery and reconstruction aid over the next decade. The UN estimates that $10bn over five years is the immediate Afghan need. Uzbek soldiers guard UN aid destined for Afghanistan in the city of Termez, Uzbekistan The conference's final statement said more than $1.8bn will be given in the first year, with funding over the next few years bringing the total to $4.5bn. Afghanistan's interim leader Hamid Karzai has said the $4.5bn of aid pledged to start rebuilding the country must be made available quickly.

Aid organizations and officials agreed on the need for urgency. However, while Afghan delegates at the meeting expressed delight at the amount pledged, questions remain about how the money will reach those most in need. The conference statement set out several priorities for rebuilding Afghanistan - with the setting up a credible administration in Kabul and education, particularly for girls, topping the list.

	UN refugee agency spokesman Yusuf Hassan "There's a considerable increase in the number of people forced out of their homes."
	Sporadic violence and executions In an ongoing development, fighting is reported to have broken out in Afghanistan's Kunduz Province between forces of commanders who are meant to be allies under the interim government. Getting food across the border, down very difficult routes and into towns such as Kabul, Kandahar and Jalalabad is difficult enough at the best of times. Truck drivers often are unwilling to drive into Afghanistan without military, believing all sides will target them. A Unicef spokesperson confirmed that a 200-tonne convoy of food and supplies was seized and that there are shots taken at the trucks. Aid workers say millions of Afghans face starvation if aid operations are not successful. Food, medicine and clothing are in desperate need.
	Terry Giles from Save the Children in Uzbekistan "What is needed now is a significant amount of supplies to go in"
	The BBC's Mike Wooldridge reports on the refugee situation from Khoja-bahaauddin

Problem - on the horizon?

Pledges so far (BBC)

US: $297m this year

Japan: Up to $500m by 2004

EU: $495m this year

Saudi: $220m over three years

UK: $288m over five years

Germany: $362m over four years

World Bank: $500m

Asian Development Bank: $500m

Donors are looking for guarantees that the aid will not be wasted or be misused by corrupt officials. Most want reassurances that Afghanistan will continue making workable plans for establishing democracy and civil rights, as well as battling the drugs trade.

The EU and Iran are worried about opium production in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan produces 90% of the heroin reaching Western Europe
The war weary and cynical population are looking for an immediate improvement.
Bandits and militia groups continue seeking control with violence.
Afghanistan is teaming with bandits, extremists, factions, and murderous thugs
Parts of Afghanistan are still a haven for Islamic extremists.
Tokyo has traditionally used aid as a way of increasing its international influence.

Kabul, reports before the crack-down on armed inhabitants suggest that robbery and violence were increasingly prevalent. The murder count in the first week of January was 50 people, with robbery and car theft commonplace. With the government struggling to improve the situation, the population of Kabul has been sharply reminded of the anarchy during the mujahideen government in the 1990s.

On the one hand Bush and Blair pledge "crusades" and "a war on terrorism" without military experience. On the other hand experienced veterans of past battles, such as former NATO commander, Bob Stewart and former Gulf War commander, Colin Powell, urge caution, forward planning and a long-term view. Ask yourself who really knows from experience what they are talking about?

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PBS

Widening the War (17:07)
After a background report from Spencer Michels, Jim Lehrer discusses opening another front in the war on terrorism with Albert del Rosario, the Philippine Ambassador to the United States.

BBC - Former Enron vice chairman J. Clifford Baxter was found dead Friday, the victim of an apparent suicide.

Enron legal developments

BBC Report: Enron Time Line - White Collar Scandals, Scams, Criminal Activity

BBC Maureen Castaneda, former Enron employee
"I left in the second week of January and the shredding was still going on"

BBC The BBC's Stephen Cviic
The State Department is sounding tougher... puts pressure on Arafat. The latest attack was "a continuation of the terrorist campaign against Israeli civilians, women and children, committed by terrorist organizations with the passive or active encouragement of the Palestinian Authority."

BBC

Michele Hodges, Troy Chamber of Commerce
Kmart's woes include stealth competitors Target and Wal-Mart that feature newer, larger stores, which give the perception of better-quality merchandise. While Kmart shoppers were buying, its shareholders were selling. K-MART put in for bankruptcy... departure would have both a psychological as well as a very measurable dollar impact in the communities. Chapter 11 filing gives the store some respite from creditors, allowing it to continue in business while it tries to implement what must now be a swift restructuring.

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PBS News Hour:

How did so few see the largest corporate bankruptcy in American history coming?

Analysis of the budget deficit, the Enron hearings, and campaign finance reform.

A suicide bomber attacks Tel Aviv shopping district, wounding at least 24.

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US halts prisoner transfers to Cuba camp
Washington halts transfers of al-Qaida and Taliban prisoners to the Guantanamo base in Cuba, citing the need for the facility to be upgraded.

biohazard workers in Capitol decontamination... The final cost of the clean-up may be more than $14m Senator Daschle said on Tuesday, returning to the building "It's good to be back." -- WASHINGTON (BBC) - A Senate offices in the Hart Building has reopened in Washington after a three-month shutdown to rid it of anthrax contamination. The building is home to half of the 100 senators. It was closed in mid-October after a letter addressed to Senate majority leader Tom Daschle was found to contain highly toxic anthrax spores in powder form.

The letter was one of a number of such deliveries to government officials and media companies in Washington, Florida and New York. During the scare, five people died and several others were treated for anthrax poisoning. Coming just after the 11 September suicide attacks, American officials originally suspected a foreign source, but investigators now believe the anthrax attacks had a domestic origin.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations has made little progress in tracing the source of the anthrax-tainted letters and is set to offer a $2.5m reward.

-- WASHINGTON (CNN) - The U.S. added two charities believed to be raising money for al Qaida to its global terrorist watch list, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said Wednesday. The groups -- the Afghan Support Committee and the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society -- operated in Afghanistan and Pakistan and were not believed to have any assets in the United States. Scientists at the Institute for Genomic Research in Rockville, Maryland, say they have pinpointed a few subtle genetic variations between two anthrax samples they are comparing.

-- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American aircraft are continuing raids in eastern Afghanistan, as President Bush issued a stark warning to followers and allies of Osama Bin Laden's al Qaida terror group. "They think they can run, they think they can hide, because they think this country's soft and impatient," he said. "But they're going to continue to learn the terrible lesson that says don't mess with America."

-- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on reasserted US commitment to a nuclear testing moratorium for now as the Pentagon sent Congress a new top-secret proposal to overhaul the nation's nuclear policy. Speaking before defense officials briefed congressional staffers on the Nuclear Policy Review, left open the possibility that future underground tests might be needed to keep the shrinking U.S. nuclear arsenal "safe and reliable."

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PBS

Report (9:47): Tom Bearden reports on the National Guard's increased role in the homeland security effort. Since Sept. 11, forty-five thousand National Guardsmen have been called to active duty. Pilots are flying combat air patrols over major cities. Troops are guarding airports, bridges, and nuclear power plants.

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