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Asian governments urged to pressure Myanmar

Tue, 13 May 2008 12:50:49 +0100

As hold-ups continue in the supply of foreign aid to Myanmar, Asian leaders have been urged to pressure the country's military rulers into taking swift action to address a growing humanitarian catastrophe. Amnesty International believes that by deliberately blocking life-sustaining aid, the government of Myanmar may be violating the right of the population to life, food and health.

“Time is of the essence if lives are to be saved,” said Mika Kamae, chair of Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Forum in Hong Kong.

Myanmar’s government claims that it needs no help in efficiently providing and distributing food and aid to victims, but UN agencies, independent observers, and international and local humanitarian workers speak with growing urgency of deteriorating conditions for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by Cyclone Nargis.

Myanmar’s government has not facilitated visas to expert aid workers. This is in stark contrast to the behaviour of fellow-ASEAN member Indonesia, which responded to the 2004 tsunami by cooperating with international efforts (including the US and other militaries).

Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific directors have called on the region's governments to increase the pressure on the Myanmar authorities to receive and support massive international assistance required to protect the rights to life, food and health of the victims of Cyclone Nargis.

“The ASEAN countries, Japan, India, South Korea and China are best placed to influence the Myanmar authorities to lift the blockages and allow aid, expertise and materials to reach the millions now in need,” Kamae said.

It is now over a week since Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy delta, killing tens of thousands and leaving over a million homeless, without essential food, shelter or healthcare and in need of instant relief assistance. The UN estimates that the number of affected people is between 1,200,000 and 1,900,000.

The official death toll has climbed to almost 32,000. However, as international relief agencies on the ground are reaching further into the devastated areas, the enormity of the crisis is becoming clearer. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Saturday the number of deaths could range from 63,000 to 100,000, and that 220,000 people are reported missing.

A UN flash appeal has attracted millions in government donations, and many disaster relief agencies are assembled on standby in Thailand. However, the Myanmar government is still impeding such life-saving assistance. It is slowing distribution and not waiving visa requirements, or else urgently issuing visas to foreign aid workers, including those from three international agencies it has approached for assistance; World Vision, JICA and UNICEF. Myanmar even observed a full 3-day holiday in its embassies while experts waited for visas.

Instead, in a briefing on 11 May, the Minister for National Planning and Economic Development U Soe Tha maintained that international relief workers were not required. He claimed: “Aids from any nations are accepted and delivery of relief goods can be handled by local organisations,” according to state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar.

“The Myanmar authorities must also give complete priority to mobilizing their own resources for disaster response. Instead, considerable government resources were tied up conducting Saturday's constitutional referendum, even in close proximity to the devastation. There can be no clearer message to the destitute about the priorities of those in power,” said Milabel Cristobal, Director of the Amnesty International Hong Kong section.

Children are particularly vulnerable to the after effects of natural disasters, as they are prey to malnutrition and communicable diseases. Myanmar’s failure to provide adequate aid to thousands of children could result in many preventable deaths. As a state party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Myanmar authorities also have legal obligations to uphold their rights to life, adequate food and health “to the maximum extent of their available resources, and where needed within the framework of international co-operation”.

Restraint urged following Lebanon clashes

Tue, 13 May 2008 17:33:02 +0100

At least 62 people have died and 198 have been injured in armed clashes between Hizbullah-led opposition groups and pro-government forces in Lebanon, according to official figures. The fighting broke out in the capital Beirut on Wednesday, 7 May, and gradually spread to other parts of the country.

Amnesty International has called on political leaders in Lebanon to clearly instruct their supporters to fully respect human rights and to refrain from recklessly carrying out attacks in heavily-populated areas that endanger civilians uninvolved in the clashes.

"They must also ensure that any person within their custody is treated humanely and is not subjected to torture or other ill-treatment."

The fighting started following government decisions to close down the group's telecommunications network and to dismiss Beirut Airport's head of security, who was seen as sympathetic to Hizbullah.

A 60-year old woman and her 33-year old son were killed attempting to flee the Ras al-Naba'a area in Beirut on Friday. Their car was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade followed by a salvo of bullets fired by armed men.

The same day, two other sons of the same woman were seriously injured when they were shot in the back by a group of armed men in the al-Nwairi area in Beirut. They were on their way to find out what had happened to their mother and brother.

According to news reports, two civilians were killed at a 10 May funeral procession for a killed pro-government supporter, in Tariq al-Jdide, Beirut.

Hizbullah said on Sunday that three of its members had been kidnapped in Aley, outside Beirut, by members of the pro-government Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and that bodies of two of the men had been found. PSP leader Walid Jumblatt acknowledged that three Hizbullah men had been killed and that he would accept responsibility if reports that the men had been tortured before being killed were found to be true.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Amnesty International called on the Lebanese authorities to ensure proper investigations into the killing and any other abuses of those not involved in the armed clashes.
"Political leaders must ensure that anyone within their ranks suspected of having committed human rights abuses is handed over to proper judicial authorities to be investigated and brought to justice in full compliance with international human rights standards."

In the statement, Amnesty International also urged representatives of Arab states to press all parties involved to put an end to all human rights abuses and ensure that the civilian population is spared. The representatives are expected to hold a meeting on the situation in Beirut on Wednesday.

Myanmar obstructionism costs lives

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:24:02 +0100

In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, which has already killed tens of thousands of people and displaced around a million more, the government of Myanmar (formerly Burma) is deliberately impeding life-saving assistance. Its failure to open the borders to the massive relief efforts required, including expertise, will lead to further deaths and suffering for those affected by the cyclone.

Amnesty International has repeated its urgent call on the government to allow aid, expertise, and materials to reach all cyclone-affected areas, while ensuring that aid is provided on the basis of need without discrimination.

A spokesperson for Amnesty International said that the organization believes that, by deliberately blocking life-sustaining aid, the government of Myanmar may be violating the right of its citizens to life, food and health.

"Every block hindering access for the urgently needed assistance risks increasing the already extremely high death toll," said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Myanmar researcher.

Myanmar’s government has stated that nearly 23,000 people died as a result of the cyclone, though independent observers estimate that as many as 100,000 people may have died. Cyclone Nargis left more than a million people homeless and without essential food, shelter or health care.

Myanmar's government has grown increasingly isolated from the rest of the world due to its record of systematic human rights abuses and war crimes. It has not provided desperately needed assistance to hundreds of thousands of its own hard-hit citizens, and it has so far blocked international aid workers and supplies from reaching the most affected areas.

Amnesty International has said that it fears thousands more may die as a result of malnutrition, communicable diseases and exposure to the elements. Each passing day that the cyclone's survivors do not receive necessary aid greatly increases the risk of death or permanent injury.

In a statement quoted in the media, the Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday said that the country would not receive "rescue and information teams from foreign countries." Instead, he is reported to have said that it would receive and distribute aid "with its own resources."

As a consequence, the Thai Prime Minister, Samak Sundaravej, who had planned to travel to Myanmar to meet with the government, cancelled his trip. A team of rescue workers flying in to Yangon from Qatar was reported to have been turned back.

In addition to turning much-needed relief expertise away, the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok is reported to have closed on Friday for a local holiday, rather than issuing visas to relief expertise waiting in the Thai capital.

Following what they described as "unacceptable restrictions", the World Food Programme briefly halted relief flights and human rights groups reported that local authorities in Yangon had been selling rooftop materials rather than distributing them.

Amnesty International has called on Myanmar's neighbours, in particular those that have friendly relations with the Myanmar government – China, India, Thailand and Viet Nam – to continue to press the country's government to facilitate aid efforts and to establish transparent coordination efforts with the international community.

Myanmar's government has announced that it will proceed with plans for holding a national referendum regarding a new constitution on 10 May. Amnesty International has said that the document is an effort to undermine respect for human rights and to entrench military rule and impunity.

Even as hundreds of thousands of its citizens struggle for basic shelter, food and health care, Myanmar's government has prioritized acceptance of the new constitution.

"Myanmar’s leaders are again demonstrating their disregard for the well-being of their own people," Zawacki said. "Instead of helping hundreds of thousands of people in desperate condition, the government is more concerned about shoring up its own power."

Human rights abuses in Sri Lanka flourish under veil of secrecy

Fri, 02 May 2008 18:22:04 +0100

Ensuring respect for human rights around the world very often relies on impartial and rigorous media coverage – without exposure and public scrutiny abuses can flourish under a veil of secrecy and denial.

The importance of the media in conflict situations cannot be overstated, without reports, pictures and film of the fighting and the violence, no-one knows enough to put the pressure on the participants to ensure human rights are respected.

This need is particularly strong in Sri Lanka, where fatalities on all sides are believed to be very high with large numbers of civilians caught in the crossfire. All parties to the conflict are responsible for grave violations of human rights and breaches of international humanitarian law.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has expressed concern that "since the start of the year civilian casualties had gone up as the number of indiscriminate attacks had grown in the north, east and south of the country."

Despite the gravity of the human cost of war, Sri Lanka is a conflict where journalists face unjustified restrictions on reporting and there are very few established facts. In fact, both sides consistently contradict each other.

The conflict in Sri Lanka is between government forces, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and armed Tamil groups alleged to be aligned with the government. Sri Lanka, as Amnesty International reported in its February report Silencing Dissent, is a country where media coverage of war has effectively been silenced – through threats, restrictions and violence.

The conflict in the north and east of Sri Lanka has continued to escalate since the ending of the ceasefire agreement on 16 January 2008. The withdrawal of the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission responsible for monitoring the implementation of the 2002 ceasefire agreement means that there is a vacuum of independent reporting of human rights violations. This makes it more urgent that journalists are allowed to report without undue restrictions and document human rights abuses on the ground.

Yet journalists are often barred from conflict areas. The LTTE does not allow independent reporting in the areas under its control, while the government masks the cost of the war.

According to the Free Media Movement, a Colombo-based media watchdog, Government of Sri Lanka officials have barred photographers in the past week from entering hospitals in Colombo where Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers injured in battle in late April are being treated.

According to the International Federation of Journalists, 25 journalists from the minority Tamil community had fled the Jaffna peninsula where government forces are battling Tamil Tiger rebels.

It is two years since support staff Suresh Kumar and Rajiv Kumar were gunned down at the Jaffna-based Uthayan newspaper office on 2 May 2006. The newspaper has come under severe attack because of its alleged Tamil nationalist stance. Seven media workers have been killed in Jaffna since the beginning of May 2006, four of these working with Uthayan.

Gunmen on motorcycles attacked the office and killed the two workers in the absence of the journalists the gunmen were apparently looking for. The killers still walk free.

"Publishing our daily newspaper in Jaffna is an increasingly Herculean and dangerous task with armed gunmen who continuously threaten our work and our lives," said the editor of Uthayan.

To date, the organisation is unaware of any investigation that has led to the arrest and prosecution of those believed responsible for the killing of journalists and other media workers.

In another incident, journalist Jayaprakash Sittampalam Tissainayagam was arrested on 7 March and has been held in the Terrorist Investigation Division Detention centre in Colombo since. The authorities have claimed that he is held on suspicion of involvement with the LTTE, although he has not been charged with any offence.

Amnesty International has said that his detention is arbitrary. He is at risk of going blind if he does not receive specialist treatment for a serious eye condition.

In all, at least 10 media workers have been unlawfully killed in Sri Lanka since the beginning of 2006. Others have been arbitrarily detained, tortured and allegedly disappeared while in the custody of security forces.

For Press Freedom Day 2008, Amnesty International has urged the Sri Lankan government to protect media workers and their rights to life, liberty and security of person, in compliance with Sri Lanka’s obligations under international law.

The organization has also called on the government to respect media workers and publicly announce that killings, threats, or other attacks will not be tolerated and to investigate all cases of attacks, disappearances and killings of media workers promptly, independently, impartially and effectively, irrespective of the identity of perpetrators or victims.

The organisation is also calling on the LTTE to issue instructions to all its members to cease all killings, threats or other attacks on media workers. All parties to the conflict must stop targeting journalists.

Mozambique: Violent police assume ‘licence to kill’

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:43:49 +0100

In a report published today, Amnesty International revealed the extent of police violence in Mozambique, saying that police are killing and torturing people with near total impunity.

“Police in Mozambique seem to think they have a licence to kill and the weak police accountability system allows for this,” said Michelle Kagari, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Africa Programme.

“In almost all cases of human rights violations by police – including unlawful killings – no investigation into the case and no disciplinary action against those responsible has been undertaken, nor has any police officer been prosecuted.”

Mozambican police face numerous challenges stemming from high crime rates, a backlog of criminal cases in the judicial system, and occasional violence against police by criminal elements. These have led to pressure from the public for the police to deal with the crime decisively and forcefully. Police officers have responded to these challenges by using excessive force, including the unlawful killing of suspects.

There have been many cases where excessive use of force by the police has resulted in death – and in some cases the killings appear to be unlawful.

On 5 February 2008, Mozambican police shot at people demonstrating against increased transport fares in the city of Maputo, killing at least three and injuring 30 with stray bullets. Related demonstrations took place in the provinces of Inhambane and Gaza on 11 February, during which the police also fired live ammunition into crowds. A police spokesperson said that live ammunition was used because some officers were “caught by surprise” by the demonstrators.

On 14 August 2007, police grabbed Abrantes Afonso Penicela from his home and pushed him into a car. Abrantes said that the officers gave him a toxic injection and drove him to a secluded area where they beat him until he lost consciousness. The police then shot him in the back of the neck and set him on fire, leaving him for dead. Abrantes somehow survived the attack and managed to crawl to a nearby road where he was found and taken to hospital. He managed to tell his family and police what had happened to him, but died of his injuries later that night. No police officer has been arrested for his killing.

The police have generally been unresponsive to the public, providing very little information to those who have lodged complaints against the police for human rights violations. Victims virtually never receive compensation for these violations.

“Any officer suspected of involvement in human rights violations must be held to account,” said Kagari. “Police officers must be made aware that they cannot torture, beat and kill with impunity. They must be held responsible for their actions if policing is ever going to change for the better in Mozambique.”

Amnesty International’s report urges the Mozambican authorities to ensure steps are taken to prevent human rights violations from occurring in the first place. The report recommends the revision of the police codes of conduct to bring them in line with international standards.

To see Amnesty International’s recommendations regarding policing in Mozambique and a full copy of the report Licence to Kill: Police accountability in Mozambique, please click here.

Secret video shows horror of Saudi beheading

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:50:03 +0100

Secretly filmed footage of a man being beheaded in Saudi Arabia has been received by Amnesty International. The organization strongly condemns the execution and calls for the Saudi Arabian government to adhere to the UN moratorium on executions around the world.

The horrific footage shows the condemned man’s public execution. He kneels on a mat while spectators and guards watch. With one strike of the executioner’s sword, his head rolls off and his body collapses in a heap.

Amnesty International has been closely monitoring the prisoner’s case, a Jordanian citizen convicted on drug trafficking related charges; the footage filmed on a mobile phone is consistent with AI’s records.
Executions in Saudi Arabia are generally held in public. Prisoners are usually sentenced to death following inadequate legal representation.

Saudi Arabia continues to execute prisoners despite the UN General Assembly’s adoption of a resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions on 18 December 2007. The beheading is counter to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and comes at a time when there is a clear international trend away from the use of the death penalty.

“As a member of the UN Human Rights Council, Saudi Arabia should take a leading role in implementing the UN moratorium on executions and commute all outstanding death sentences," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“Very few countries currently carry out executions, and it is deplorable that a member state of the Human Rights Council continues to execute people. Trials are grossly unfair with prisoners getting inadequate or no legal representation. Foreign nationals are often not even given adequate interpretation facilities and consequently remain ignorant of the exact nature of the charges against them or the punishment they face.”

The footage is a dire reflection of the extensive use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. In defiance of the world community, in 2007, Saudi Arabia executed at least 143 people, including three women, and children.

Since January 2008 the figure has already reached 53. On Friday 25 April 2008, three more people were put to death in Saudi Arabia. All were convicted of drug related crime, following trials about which very little is known. Amnesty International remains gravely concerned for the lives of a number of prisoners at risk of imminent execution and has issued urgent appeals calling for the commutation of their sentences.

“Amnesty International calls on the Saudi government to cease executions and adopt an immediate moratorium on executions in accordance with the UN resolution,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

Pakistan must restore judges deposed under emergency law

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:35:38 +0100

The Pakistan government must reinstate around 60 judges of the higher courts removed by President Pervez Musharraf under emergency law ahead of a 30 April deadline set by the ruling coalition, Amnesty International has said.

"The restoration of the judges is a necessary step toward ensuring an independent judiciary," said Amnesty International. "Judges are in a unique position to challenge human rights policies, overturn abusive laws and protect individuals from violations."

"Without an effective, independent judiciary, the human rights situation will remain bleak in Pakistan."

"Unless all deposed judges are reinstated, future presidents and military leaders may feel justified in removing judges whenever they are unhappy with courts’ decisions."

Amnesty International has urged the Pakistan government and national parliament to formulate urgently a clear mechanism for appointing higher court judges, with a view to restoring an independent judiciary in line with UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary. The mechanism should ensure that judges are free from conflicts of interest, intimidation or undue influence and have security of tenure. They must not be viewed as expendable tools by those in power.

On 3 November 2007, President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule in his capacity as Army Chief and removed around 60 judges from the Supreme Court and provincial High Courts. The Supreme Court was about to decide his eligibility for another term as President while also being Chief of Army staff. Among other things, the Court had vigorously pursed the cases of hundreds of "disappeared", whose cases have been sidelined by President Musharraf’s hand-picked replacement judges.

Ethiopia must release mosque attack children

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:11:14 +0100

Ethiopian forces and forces of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) have been accused of targeting civilians in an attack on a Mogadishu mosque on Saturday. Twenty-one people were killed in the attack, which Amnesty International has said may constitute a war crime.

Eleven of the twenty-one dead were killed inside the mosque, including the Iman Sheik Saiid Yahya, Sheik Abdullah Mohamud and a number of Tabliq Islamic scholars. At least ten other individuals were killed in the area around the mosque. Their bodies were later brought to the mosque by local residents.

Seven of the twenty-one were reported to have died after their throats were cut, a form of extra-judicial execution practised by Ethiopian forces in Somalia.

The mosque was raided during extensive conflict in the north eastern area of Mogadishu, in which a number of Ethiopian soldiers were reported to have been killed. According to eye-witnesses, the eleven killed inside the mosque were unarmed civilians taking no active part in hostilities. A spokesperson for the Ethiopian government has denied the involvement of Ethiopian troops in these killings.

Amnesty International is also concerned that approximately 41 children, estimated to range from 9 to 18 years of age, were taken by the Ethiopian military from the Al Hidya mosque where they were attending religious classes. The children are reported to be detained at the Ethiopian military base close to the pasta factory in Mogadishu. Other younger children present were not arrested.

Witnesses have told Amnesty International that Ethiopian forces said these children would be released "once they had been investigated" and "if they were not terrorists".

The Ethiopian military and TFG forces have been fighting against armed groups opposed to them for two days. The Elman Human Rights Organisation has documented 81 deaths and more than one hundred injured in the fighting. It is not known how many of these were civilians.

The attack on the mosque followed increasing attacks by armed groups opposed to the TFG on towns in southern and central Somalia. Local residents of Beledweyne City have reported that members of the Al-Shabab militia killed four teachers in an attack on 13 April. An Al-Shabab leader has claimed that the teachers were shot in crossfire.

The targeting of civilians constitutes a war crime. Amnesty International has called for international action to end impunity for crimes such as these, which are being committed in many areas of Somalia. The organization has said that the Ethiopian Government and TFG must ensure an independent investigation into these killings.

"Any Ethiopian soldiers found to be responsible must be prosecuted in accordance with international fair trial standards without use of the death penalty," said Amnesty International.

The organization is also calling on the United Nations Security Council to take action to end impunity throughout Somalia, through the establishment of an international Commission of Inquiry or similar mechanism to investigate serious human rights abuses and violations being committed in armed conflict in the country.

Zimbabwe: No supply of arms until state sponsored violence ceases

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:27:10 +0100

All shipments of small arms, light weapons and ammunition ordered from China by the Zimbabwe Government must be halted as there is a real risk that it may lead to increased human rights violations in Zimbabwe, said Amnesty International.

“The international community must not supply small arms to Zimbabwe until state sponsored violence has ceased and the rule of law is re-established.”

Amnesty International extended its call to include a halt of sales to Zimbabwe of security equipment including tear gas, water canons and other anti-riot equipment which has been used in the past by the Zimbabwe Republic Police to suppress the right to peaceful protest. Since 2000, police have used excessive force against human rights defenders.

The organization has documented serious human rights violations committed by soldiers and police in Zimbabwe against opposition supporters after the elections held on 29 March 2008. These abuses assaults and torture by soldiers, police, so-called “war veterans” and supporters of the ruling party, ZANU-PF, against people who have been accused of not having voted “correctly.” Though some victims have reported these crimes to the police, no arrests have been reported and it appears that perpetrators continue to commit abuses with impunity.

Amnesty International welcomed the mobilization of civil society in South African and other southern African countries to stop the delivery of arms to Zimbabwe through legal and civil action taken in solidarity with victims of state sponsored violence in Zimbabwe. The organization welcomed the mobilization of the trade union movement which has appealed to its members not to offload the cargo if the ship docks at any African port.

“The mobilization of civil society has proved critical in view of the inaction of governments to put an end to arms trade to countries where there is a pattern of gross human rights violations,” said Amnesty International.

“All political leaders in southern African must urgently support the efforts of civil society and demand an end to state-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe and the return of the rule of law.”

The An Yue Jiang Chinese cargo ship carrying arms supplies to Zimbabwe, highlights the absence of a global treaty to ensure proper regulation of the conventional arms trade. Following a vote of 153 states in favour to one against, Members States of the United Nations are considering the feasibility, scope and parameters for a global Arms Trade Treaty that would prevent the irresponsible trade in conventional arms, and Amnesty International and its partners are appealing for such a treaty to contain provisions to fully respect international human rights and humanitarian law.

Amnesty International called on all states to support the early establishment of a global Arms Trade Treaty that contains robust provisions to reflect states’ obligations under international law and ensure these are incorporated into national law.

Background
On 10 April 2008 the arms shipment arrived aboard a Chinese cargo ship – the MV “An Yue Jiang” - in Durban, South Africa. The ship’s owner was the parastatal Chinese Ocean Shipping Company and it was carrying cases of weaponry and ammunition in six containers. The shipper of the arms was Poly Technologies Inc of Beijing China, the delivery address on the shipping documents was the Zimbabwe Defence Force, Harare, and the point of origin on the cargo manifest is Beijing, China. The cargo in question consisted of 3080 cases of arms contained in six containers. The Arrival Notification described the contents as follows:

    7.62 x 54mm Ball - 1000 cases containing 1 million rounds
    7.62 x 39mm Ball - 1331 cases containing 2 million rounds
    RPC7, 40mm Rockets - 250 cases containing 1500 rounds
    60 mm mortar bombs - 227 cases containing 2703 rounds
    31mm mortar bombs - 176 cases containing 581 rounds
    31mm mortar tubes - 93 cases containing 31 items

Legal action to stop this Chinese arms consignment was taken on 18 April by concerned South Africans with the support of human rights legal organizations in a bid to constrain the authorities from allowing transhipment of the arms through South Africa to Zimbabwe. The application was brought in the Durban High Court on the grounds of South African national law, which prohibits arms transfers that may contribute “to internal repression or suppression of human rights and fundamental freedom” or “to governments that systematically violate or suppress human rights and fundamental freedoms”. An interim ruling was issued on 18 April to confine the arms to Durban harbour pending a final court hearing but the ship sailed away. Currently many governments, including in the SADC region, and organisations worldwide are appealing for the arms transfer to be prevented to Zimbabwe, but it is feared that the arms cargo may be delivered to Zimbabwe through another route.

Nepal threatens Olympic protesters

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:14:30 +0100

Nepal's threat to use violence to prevent anti-China protests when the Olympic torch reaches Mount Everest has been condemned by Amnesty International.

The Nepali Home Ministry has pledged to use "force, including gunfire… to prevent anti-China protests" when the Olympic torch relay arrives on Mount Everest in early May. The threats follow earlier crackdowns on peaceful pro-Tibetan protesters, which were unconstitutional. Since 10 March over 2,000 people have been arbitrarily detained.

The Nepali government is extending illegal police actions against Tibetans in Nepal and systematically violating their fundamental rights to liberty, due process and freedom of movement, assembly and expression.

"Members of the Tibetan refugee community have in recent days faced increasingly punitive police measures designed to muzzle free speech, including threats of arbitrary deportation to China. Statements threatening the use of lethal force represent an unacceptable escalation," said Amnesty International.

The Nepal authorities must ensure that its officers are adequately equipped and trained to employ non-violent means of crowd control before resorting, where strictly necessary, to the use of force. Firearms may only be used as a last resort where lives are at risk. The government must also ensure that its officers are subject to strict regulations regarding the use of such methods and are tied to a strict system of accountability.

Amnesty International has called on the Nepali government to police demonstrations in line with the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force.