Issue No 30 

November 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
PAKISTAN: A state of emergency

 

CIVICUS ALERTS!

ETHIOPIA: Observers dismayed as verdict delayed again

CHOGM: Commonwealth must no longer condone human rights abuses

PAKISTAN: Letter of appeal to President Musharraf

 

GOOD NEWS

CHINA: Yahoo! apologises and settles over email given to authorities

UK: Court rules secret evidence violates right to fair trial

ASEAN: Rights charter adopted

 

COUNTRY UPDATES

AFGHANISTAN: Increasing insecurity for NGOs and aid workers

BAHRAIN: Civil society demands end to restrictions on free speech

BURMA: Leading monk charged with treason

CANADA: Two new anti-terror bills introduced

CHINA: Lawyer imprisoned for five years

COLOMBIA: Human rights defenders threatened

GEORGIA: State of emergency declared to curtail protests

INDIA: Labour rights organisations charged with libel

IRAN: Kurdish activist sentenced to death

MALAYSIA: Police violently disperse demonstration

NEPAL: Police arrest protesting journalists

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: NGO accused of assassination plot

PHILIPPINES: Armed forces executing leftist activists

RUSSIA: Human rights defender and journalists threatened

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Police commissioner threatens to charge NGO

SUDAN: Activists and journalists harassed

TAJIKISTAN: Religious practice law could restrict groups

UGANDA: Police violence against demonstrators at Commonwealth meeting

VIETNAM: Court upholds conviction of human rights lawyers

USA: New anti-terror law could criminalise dissent

 

RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

INTRAC: Counter-terrorism and Development website launched

ITUC: 2007 report on trade union rights violations released

ICNL: Competition for scholarship on environment for civil society

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

 

FRONT PAGE

 

PAKISTAN: A state of emergency

An interview with Irfan Mufti, secretary of Pakistan Social Forum and GCAP Campaign Manager

For almost a month Pakistan has been under martial law, curtailing civil liberties dramatically. Since 3 November, thousands of judges, lawyers, journalists and civil society leaders have been imprisoned or placed under house arrest. The supreme court has been dismissed, the constitution suspended and the media silenced. Just yesterday, President Pervez Musharraf resigned as army chief and took on the position of civilian president, a role he dismissed the country's Supreme Court in order to secure. Irfan Mufti, the secretary of the Pakistan Social Forum and Campaign Manager for the Global Call to Action against Poverty, tells Civil Society Watch about the reaction of civil society in Pakistan.

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

 

CIVICUS ALERTS

 

ETHIOPIA: Observers dismayed as verdict delayed again

30 November - Ethiopian anti-poverty activists Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie will remain in prison for at least another 24 days, as Judges in Ethiopia’s High Court today delayed their verdict for the third time in two months, postponing it until 24 December.

http://www.civicus.org/csw/CIVICUS.GCAP.Ethiopia.PR.30.11.07.htm

 

CHOGM: Commonwealth must no longer condone human rights abuses

20 November 2007 - From the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala, Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of CIVICUS; World Alliance for Citizen Participation, highlighted the need for the Commonwealth to take action regarding attacks on civil society.

http://www.civicus.org/csw/CHOGM.Appeal-20.11.07.htm

 

PAKISTAN: Letter of appeal to President Musharraf

8 November - In a letter to President Pervez Musharraf, CIVICUS expressed deep dismay at the disintegration of governance in Pakistan and the escalating attacks on civil society and dissenting forces in the country. CIVICUS called on the President to take urgent actions to immediately halt violations of human rights and restore democratic and constitutional order.

http://www.civicus.org/new/media/CIVICUS-Letter-President-Pakistan.pdf

 

GOOD NEWS

 

CHINA: Yahoo! apologises and settles over email given to authorities

15 November - American Internet company Yahoo! has settled a Californian lawsuit brought by the families of journalist Shi Tao and pro-democracy activist and blogger Wang Xiaoning, who were convicted and imprisoned on information which Yahoo! gave the Chinese authorities, reports Reporters Without Borders. Six days earlier Yahoo! publicly apologised to the families during a US congressional hearing.

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=24240

 

UK: Court rules secret evidence violates right to fair trial

1 November - A decision by Britain's highest court on the use of secret evidence against terrorism suspects sets an important precedent, reports Human Rights Watch. In four judgments on 31 October, the House of Lords Judicial Committee ruled that control orders based solely on secret evidence violate the right to a fair hearing, even when national security is at stake. Lord Brown wrote, "a suspect's entitlement to an essentially fair hearing ... one of altogether too great importance to be sacrificed on the altar of terrorism control."

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/11/01/uk17214.htm

 

ASEAN: Rights charter adopted

21 November - The Charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has been signed by leaders of ASEAN at its 13th Summit held in Singapore, reports Amnesty International. The process to establish the ASEAN Charter, however, was reportedly opaque and non-participatory. The result is also unfortunately much weaker than expected, with the body to be established lacking any enforcement power.

http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGASA010092007&lang=e

 

CSW COUNTRY UPDATES

 

AFGHANISTAN: Increasing insecurity for NGOs and aid workers

7 November - The work of NGOs is being constrained by insecurity as criminal groups and Taliban insurgents increasingly target aid workers, reports IRIN News.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75190

 

BAHRAIN: Civil society demands end to restrictions on free speech

8 November - In a letter condemning the ongoing restrictions on freedom of expression for journalists and activists, 52 organisations urged the authorities to unblock websites and stop censorship and harassment, reports the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights.

http://www.bahrainrights.org/en

  

BURMA: Leading monk charged with treason

15 November - As arrests of activists continued throughout November, a leading monk in the recent mass demonstrations, U Gambira, leader of the Alliance of All Burma Buddhist Monks was reportedly charged with treason, reports Irrawaddy News.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=9323

 

CANADA: Two new anti-terror bills introduced

October 2007 - Two new anti-terrorism bills have been introduced in quick succession by the minority Conservative government, reports the Jurist. The bills include provisions for investigative hearings, preventive arrests and deportation.

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forumy/2007/10/canadas-new-terrorism-bills-slow-down.php

 

CHINA: Lawyer imprisoned for five years

14 November - Lawyer Guo Feixiong has been sentenced for “illegal business activity”, in connection with the publication of Shenyang Political Earthquake, which exposed government corruption in Shenyang City, reports the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.

http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article4914

 

COLOMBIA: Human rights defenders threatened

9 November - Front Line reported concern following the recent physical assault and death threats made against Yolanda Becerra Vega, President of the Organización Femenina Popular – OFP (Popular Women's Organisation), and the intimidation of Jacqueline Rojas Castañeda, member of the OFP and Juan Carlos Galvis, Vice President of the National Union of Food Industry Workers (SINALTRAINAL).

http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1209

 

GEORGIA: State of emergency declared to curtail protests

16 November - A nationwide state of emergency ended on 16 November, nine days after it was declared amid police crackdown on a six day long demonstration, during which the Georgian Ombudsman was allegedly beaten while trying to protect a civilian, reports the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.

http://www.omct.org   

 

INDIA: Labour rights organisations charged with libel

November 2007 - On September 26, 2007, the Indian VII Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Bangalore reportedly issued arrest warrants against seven Netherlands-based human rights defenders from Clean Clothes Campaign and India Committee of the Netherlands, at the request of two clothing companies that subcontract for such big brands as G-Star, Armani, RaRe, Guess, Gap and Mexx, which are accused of violating labour rights.

http://www.cleanclothes.org
 

IRAN: Kurdish activist sentenced to death

13 November - The court has confirmed the death sentence for Adnan Hassanpour, a member of the Iranian Kurdistan Journalist Association as well as a reporter for the banned Aso newspaper, on the grounds of treason and other national security charges, reports the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.

http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article4908
 

MALAYSIA: Police violently disperse demonstration

13 November - Police reportedly used excessive force  when dispersing a peaceful demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on 10 November 2007.  According to the International Secretariat of the World Organisation against Torture, teargas and chemical-laced water were used against the demonstrators, who were advocating for free and fair elections.

http://www.omct.org

 

NEPAL: Police arrest protesting journalists

15 November - Police arrested 25 journalists during a demonstration on 15 November 2007 to protest against continuous attacks on and intimidation of journalists, reports the organisers of the demonstration, Federation of Nepali Journalists.

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/87668/

 

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: NGO accused of assassination plot

15 November - NGOs planning to march to the national parliament to demand Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare step aside have been accused by the police commissioner of plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister, reports the Pacific Magazine.

http://www.pacificmagazine.net/news/2007/11/15/police-check-assassination-plot-against-somare

 

PHILIPPINES: Armed forces executing leftist activists

26 November - The armed forces of the Philippines has been executing leftist activists in recent years, said an independent United Nations human rights expert in a new report which emphasises the need to end impunity through prosecution and punishment.

http://www.un.org/news

 

RUSSIA: Human rights defender and journalists threatened

24 November - The chair of the Human Rights Centre Memorial, Oleg Orlov, and three journalists of the REN-TV federal television channel were abducted in Nazran / Ingushetia, beaten up and threatened with execution, reports the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.

http://www.ihf-hr.org/documents/doc_summary.php?sec_id=1&d_id=4445

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Police commissioner threatens to charge NGO

29 October - The police commissioner in Solomon Islands said he would consider pressing charges against Transparency International Solomon Islands after it claimed there is rising corruption in the country’s police force, reports Radio New Zealand International.

http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=36067

 

SUDAN: Activists and journalists harassed

6 November - Sudanese security forces are harassing human rights defenders and journalists by summoning them repeatedly to their offices for questioning without explanation, reports Article 19.

http://www.article19.org

 

TAJIKISTAN: Religious practice law could restrict groups

9 November - Civil rights activists in Tajikistan fear the government is pushing for more restrictive legislation on religious practice, which would make it difficult for smaller faith groups to operate, reports the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.

http://www.iwpr.net/?p=rca&s=f&o=340494&apc_state=henh

 

UGANDA: Police violence against demonstrators at Commonwealth meeting

23 November - Human rights demonstrators who left the designated protest area during the Commonwealth meeting in Kampala were beaten by police, resulting in injuries to many, reports the BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7110092.stm

 

VIETNAM: Court upholds conviction of human rights lawyers

28 November - An appeals court has confirmed but reduced the jail terms of two human rights lawyers convicted of spreading anti-government propaganda, reports Human Rights Watch.

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/11/27/vietna17415.htm

 

USA: New anti-terror law could criminalise dissent

27 November - The House of Representatives passed the Violent Radicalisation and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 on 23 October - a law many fear will lead to the criminalisation of beliefs, dissent and protest, and invite more draconian surveillance of Internet communications, reports the National Lawyers Guild and the Society of American Law Teachers.

http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/1127-06.htm

 

RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

 

INTRAC: Counter-terrorism and Development website launched

INTRAC has launched a new section of our website, on Counter-Terrorism Measures and Development. It shares INTRAC's analysis of the fallout from worldwide anti-terrorism measures, based on experiences from around the world.

For more information, visit http://www.intrac.org/pages/CTM_analysis.html

 

ITUC: 2007 report on trade union rights violations released

An appalling total of 144 trade unionists were murdered for defending workers’ rights in 2006, while more than 800 suffered beatings or torture, according to the Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights Violations, published by the 168-million member International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The 379-page report details nearly 5,000 arrests and more than 8,000 dismissals of workers due to their trade union activities.

For more information, visit http://www.ituc-csi.org/spip.php?article1404 

 

ICNL: Competition for scholarship on environment for civil society

The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) and Cordaid have announced a competition to encourage scholarship on the legal and political environment for civil society, with a focus on civil liberties. Manuscripts should contain between 5,000 and 25,000 words. One person will be chosen for the ICNL-Cordaid Civil Liberties Prize of US $15,000. Two other participants will receive Distinguished Research Awards of US $5,000 each. In addition, selected manuscripts will be published in ICNL’s online journal. Scholarship from all regions is welcome. Deadline 31 January 2008.

For more information, visit www.icnl.org/prize

 

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

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

 

CONTACT US

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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.