Issue No 27

August 2007

 

Welcome to Civil Society Watch Monthly Bulletin, an e-newsletter of updates and analyses concerning civil society's rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression around the world. The Bulletin is compiled by the staff at Civil Society Watch, a programme of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. Please feel free to forward the Bulletin to friends and colleagues. We welcome your comments and contributions!

 

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

 

FRONT PAGE
TUNISIA: Imprisoning dissent

An interview with Mohammed Abbou, lawyer and human rights defender

 

CIVICUS ALERTS!

ZAMBIA: SADC host bans local civil society demonstrations

 

ANALYSIS

"This is what democracy looks like"

An article by Civil Society Watch

 

GOOD NEWS

KENYA: President rejects restrictive media bill

ZAMBIA: NGO bill deferred for further consultation

 

COUNTRY UPDATES

ALBANIA: Two trade unions expelled from offices

AUSTRALIA: Police up security for APEC summit

BANGLADESH: Curfew declared in 6 cities

BELARUS: Youth organisation to appeal registration denial

BURMA: Human rights defenders sentenced

CANADA: Undercover police try to incite violence during protest

CHINA: New agreement could stop anonymous blogging

EGYPT: Restrictive amendments to NGO law planned

ETHIOPIA: Anti-poverty activists to wait two more months in detention

GUATEMALA / HONDURAS: Human rights activists at risk

INDIA: Provincial government announces plans to regulate NGOs

IRAN: Two more women's rights activists sentenced

KYRGYZSTAN: Police break up human rights picket

LEBANON: Registration of human rights organisation delayed

LIBYA: 12 men on trial for planning demonstration

RUSSIA: Thousands of NGOs could face closure

TAJIKISTAN: Draft law to limit religious minorities

TURKEY: Three activists sentenced for criticising military

UAE: Website administrator sentenced

USA: Activists express concern about restrictions on assembly

YEMEN: Fight against terror used to clamp down on media

ZIMBABWE: Human rights group exposes false police reports

 

RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

GCAP: Stand Up and Speak Out on October 17th

ISHR: Training course for UN treaty monitoring bodies

CIVICUS: What do you think? Have your say on the CIVICUS Blog

 

FRONT PAGE

 

TUNISIA: Imprisoning dissent

An interview with Mohammed Abbou, lawyer and human rights defender

Tunisian lawyer and human rights defender Mohamed Abbou was released on 24 July 2007 after spending more than two years in jail for criticising the government on the Internet. He is a founding member of the International Association for Solidarity with Political Prisoners and the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, both organisations the government has refused to register. CIVICUS highlighted his case during the Civil Society Behind Bars campaigns at both the 2006 and 2007 World Assemblies in Glasgow. In this interview, he tells Civil Society Watch about his time in prison and the challenges facing civil society in Tunisia.

Read the full interview, visit: http://www.civicus.org/csw/FRONTPAGE_TUNISIA.htm

 

CIVICUS ALERTS

 

ZAMBIA: SADC host bans local civil society demonstrations

16 August 2007 – The decision by Zambian authorities to ban peaceful demonstrations by Zambian civil society during the annual Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government Summit being held in Lusaka is a blatant and unnecessary restriction on freedom of assembly, said CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation.

http://www.civicus.org/csw/CIVICUS.SADC-press-release-16.08.07.htm

 

ANALYSIS

 

"This is what democracy looks like"

An article by Civil Society Watch

Two weeks ago, during the annual Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government Summit in Lusaka all demonstrations and marches were banned by local authorities. Civil society leaders were told that the police would be too tied up by the meetings to worry about supervising rallies. Civil Society Watch discusses the restrictions on protests at international meetings and freedom of assembly.

Read more: http://www.civicus.org/csw/ANALYSIS_Protest.htm

 

GOOD NEWS

 

KENYA: President rejects restrictive media bill

23 August - President Mwai Kibaki's rejected a bill on 22 August that would have forced editors to name their sources if their stories led to court cases, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists. Kibaki declined to sign Kenya's Media Bill after calling an amendment within it "a great inhibition of press freedom" that could "undermine the (country's) democratic strides." In recent years, Kenya's lively press has reportedly defeated several governmental attempts to introduce repressive legislation.

http://www.cpj.org/news/2007/africa/kenya23aug07na.html

 

ZAMBIA: NGO bill deferred for further consultation

27 August - The Zambian government has indefinitely postponed debate on legislation widely seen as an attempt to curtail the activity of NGOs, reports the Sunday Times. The government is reportedly deferring the NGO bill to allow for further consultation. The bill seeks to introduce tight rules regarding the registration, management and operation of NGOs with provisions requiring them to submit quarterly reports of their activities.

http://www.suntimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=542660

 

CSW COUNTRY UPDATES

 

ALBANIA: Two trade unions expelled from offices

3 August - Two nationally recognised trade union confederations were expelled from their offices on 1 August, and their property and documents were destroyed, reports the International Trade Union Confederation.

http://www.ituc-csi.org/spip.php?article1344

 

AUSTRALIA: Police up security for APEC summit

24 August - Police are beefing up security in Sydney to control protests around the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, including clearing out jail cells to prepare for arrests, bringing in a high-powered water cannon, and erecting a five kilometre barrier fence almost three metres high to ring central Sydney and the APEC venues, reports the Age.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/prisoners-get-weekend-off-for-apec/2007/08/24/1187462496633.html

 

BANGLADESH: Curfew declared in 6 cities

23 August - The government has issued indefinite curfews in six cities, closed academic institutions, threatened the press into censoring itself and continued to violently repress demonstrations, leading to at least one death and hundreds of injuries and arrests, says the Asian Human Rights Commission in a recent statement.

http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2007statements/1159/

 

BELARUS: Youth organisation to appeal registration denial

20 August - The Minsk City Court on 17 August rejected a lawsuit filed by the youth organisation Young Front against the Ministry of Justice for denying its registration, reports Charter 97. Young Front now reportedly plans on taking the ruling to the Supreme Court.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/07/16/019.html 

 

BURMA: Human rights defenders sentenced

9 August - Six members of the Burma based Human Rights Defenders and Promoters were sentenced on 24 July to four to eight years’ in prison. An additional activist was sentenced to three years in prison for giving illegal classes on human rights, reports the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.

http://www.omct.org/index.php?id=&lang=eng&articleId=7183

 

CANADA: Undercover police try to incite violence during protest

23 August - Activists and opposition politicians allege that police used agents provocateurs during protests at the recent Montebello summit in Quebec. Incriminating video evidence suggests undercover cops tried to incite violence, reports the Globe and Mail.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20070824.VIDEO24/TPStory/National/

 

CHINA: New agreement could stop anonymous blogging

23 August - Twenty leading blog service providers in China including Yahoo.cn and Msn.cn have signed a "self-discipline pact" unveiled by the government on 23 August 2007, reports Reporters Without Borders. The pact could be used to force service providers to censor content and identify bloggers.

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=23372

 

EGYPT: Restrictive amendments to NGO law planned

14 August - The government has announced plans to amend the already restrictive 2002 NGO law, prohibiting similar NGOs from registering in one geographical area, establishing new monitoring mechanisms and narrowing the definition of NGO work, reports the Arab Program for Human Rights Activists.

 

ETHIOPIA: Anti-poverty activists to wait two more months in detention

3 August - Judges trying the case of two anti-poverty activists on trial in Ethiopia, Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie, have adjourned the trial until 8 October, when the court will give its verdict, reports ActionAid.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200708030751.html
 

GUATEMALA / HONDURAS : Human rights activists at risk

8 August - Human rights defenders working to protect the economic, social and cultural rights of the most marginalised people in Guatemala and Honduras are at high risk of threats, harassment, unfounded charges, attacks and even killings, a new Amnesty International report reveals.

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR020012007
 

INDIA: Provincial government announces plans to regulate NGOs

25 July - The provincial government of Karnataka has announced plans to regulate NGOs, reports the Times of India. NGOs have reportedly been criticised by the opposition for their lack of accountability.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bangalore/Govt_to_rein_in_NGOs_plans_law/articleshow/2231681.cms

 

IRAN: Two more women's rights activists sentenced

22 August - Two more women's rights activists - Nasim Sarabandi and Fatemeh Dehdashti - have been sentenced for their involvement with the “One Million Signatures Campaign”, advocating the revision of discriminatory legislation against women, reports the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.

http://www.fidh.org/article.php3?id_article=4599

 

KYRGYZSTAN: Police break up human rights picket

6 August - The police broke up a human rights picket in Bishkek on 30 July, confiscating banners and flags and detaining the one of the organisers, reports the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights. The event was to call on the US and other Western governments to continue efforts to promote democracy and human rights in Kyrgyzstan.

http://www.ihf-hr.org/documents/doc_summary.php?sec_id=3&d_id=4430

 

LEBANON - Registration of human rights organisation delayed

22 August - The Lebanese Centre for Human Rights is still awaiting the authorities' response to its registration application submitted more than 10 months ago, reports the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.

http://www.omct.org/

 

LIBYA: 12 men on trial for planning demonstration

14 August - 12 men are currently on trial for planning to hold a peaceful political demonstration in Tripoli on 17 February 2007, to commemorate the anniversary of a violent clash between police and demonstrators, Human Rights Watch reports. Two other men have "disappeared" since their arrest in connection with the case.

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/08/14/libya16638.htm

 

RUSSIA: Thousands of NGOs could face closure

22 August - Up to three-quarters of the over 200,000 officially registered non-commercial organisations in Russia could face closure because of their failure to comply with cumbersome reporting requirements in the heavily criticised NGO law, reports the Moscow News. In a recent example, the Russian NGO International Youth Human Rights Movement was threatened with closure for allegedly failing to provide reports about their activities.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/08/24/001.html

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGEUR460332007?open&of=ENG-RUS

 

TAJIKISTAN: Draft law to limit religious minorities

2 August - The government has introduced a bill to parliament that is aimed at limiting the activities of religious minorities, reports Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The draft law would permit only nationals to found or lead religious organisations, and would require a minimum number of followers in each district.

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/08/ba2213f2-f393-4ac2-ba3b-3172cf4005fd.html

 

TURKEY: Three activists sentenced for criticising military

10 August 2007 - Three human rights activists of the Adana branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) have been sentenced to two years and eight months' imprisonment for criticising military operations in December 2000 and the prison conditions of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, reports BIANET.

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/85447

 

UAE: Website administrator sentenced

21 August - The administrator of the Majan.net website was sentenced to a fine and a one year prison term on 8 August, reports HRINFO. He was charged after the head of a medical service filed a complaint against the website alleging libel and defamation.

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/85716/

 

USA: Activists express concern about restrictions on assembly

8 August - Organisers of protests around the September Republican National Convention in Minneapolis expressed concern about a proposal to require demonstration permits. According to the Fight Back News Service, the ordinance would criminalise non-permitted political speech.

http://www.fightbacknews.org/2007/08/rnccurtail.htm

 

YEMEN: Fight against terror used to clamp down on media

29 July - The government is using the fight against terrorism and claims of protecting "national security" to clampdown on journalists in a recent series of condemnation and trials, reports International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).

http://www.fidh.org/article.php3?id_article=4521

 

ZIMBABWE: Human rights group exposes false police reports

22 August - The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum have issued two analyses responding to police reports that falsely accuse opposition parties and civic organisations of working together to violently overthrow the government.

http://www.hrforumzim.com/frames/inside_frame_special.htm

 

RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

 

GCAP: Stand Up and Speak Out on October 17th

The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is mobilising people around the world to Stand Up and Speak Out on 17 October against poverty and inequality. Last year, 23.5 million people stood up, marking the largest number of people that had ever been mobilised for a single event. Be part of this growing global movement of peope who refuse to stay seated or silent in the face of poverty. Get involved!

Visit www.standagainstpoverty.org.

 

ISHR: Training course on UN treaty monitoring bodies

Applications are now being accepted for the International Service for Human Rights’ Training Course on the treaty monitoring bodies to be held in Geneva, 12 - 23 November 2007. This course aims to empower human rights organisations by training their representatives to effectively use the United Nations treaty body system.

For more information, visit http://www.ishr.ch/etp/mainframe.html

 

CIVICUS: What do you think? Have your say on the CIVICUS Blog

Have your say, visit http://civicus.civiblog.org 

 

CONTACT US

We hope you enjoyed the Bulletin! If you would like to send an appeal or share information with us regarding issues affecting civil society in your region, please contact the Civil Society Watch (CSW) team at, cswatch@civicus.org

To subscribe or unsubscribe please e-mail , cswcommunity@civicus.org

CIVICUS House, PO Box 933, Southdale, Johannesburg, 2135, South Africa, tel +27 11 833 5959 / fax +27 11 833 7997

CIVICUS is an alliance of members and partners in over 100 countries, dedicated to strengthening civil society and citizen action around the world. Civil Society Watch is a programme of CIVICUS, which seeks to expose, address and prevent threats to civil society's rights to freedom of association, expression and assembly. For more information, visit www.civicus.org and www.civilsocietywatch.org

www.civilsocietywatch.org

DISCLAIMER:

The views expressed in this bulletin are a reflection of those contained in the original reports to which they are linked here, and are not necessarily those of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation.