http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2005/05/26/2003256649
Human rights in Asia get `trampled'
BETRAYED: Amnesty International said in its 2005 annual report yesterday that
armed rebels and governments alike were trampling human rights in Asia `with
impunity'
AP , KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
Thursday, May 26, 2005,Page 4
>From Afghanistan to East Timor, human rights were trampled with impunity in
>Asia last year by governments and armed rebel groups, Amnesty International
>said yesterday.
People were jailed indefinitely without trial in Malaysia and Singapore,
religious minorities were persecuted in China and Vietnam and security forces
committed extra-judicial killings in Nepal, Thailand and Indonesia, the
London-based watchdog group said in its 2005 annual report.
"In 2004, we saw that governments betrayed their promises and sold out their
people," Si-si Liu, chairperson of Amnesty International Hong Kong, told a news
conference.
Women were a major focus of the report -- Amnesty's latest report card on the
state of human rights around the world -- and suffered violence and systematic
discrimination ranging from acid attacks in Bangladesh to forced abortion in
China, rape by soldiers in Nepal and domestic beatings in Australia.
While Amnesty reported moderate improvements in the protection of rights in
some countries, the list of places where rights deteriorated was much longer.
Amnesty International's Secretary-General Irene Khan holds a copy of the
``Amnesty International Report 2005,'' which provides a global overview of the
state of the world's human rights, during a news conference in London yesterday.
PHOTO: AP
In North Korea, people starved because of a food crisis, and radio and
television sets were tuned to receive only state broadcasts. In Myanmar, the
ruling generals continued to deny democracy despite promising reforms, Amnesty
said.
Extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence and
destruction of property continued to be reported in Indonesia and Nepal, and
politically motivated killings rose dramatically in Sri Lanka.
Following are summaries of rights abuses alleged by Amnesty in Asian countries:
Although Afghanistan has a new constitution that guarantees gender equality,
women still faced widespread discrimination. Hundreds of women set fire to
themselves to escape violence at home and forced marriage. Rape, forced
marriage and the exchange of girls to settle disputes were frequently not
treated as crimes. US forces arbitrarily detained people unlawfully, and large
chunks of the country were off limits to aid groups.
In China, authorities used the threat of terrorism to justify a crackdown on
minority Muslim Uighurs, closing many unofficial mosques, arresting imams and
restricting the use of the Uighur language. Freedom of expression and religion
was severely restricted in Tibet. Political crackdowns continued on specific
groups, including the Falun Gong spiritual movement. Thousands of people were
sentenced to death or executed, many after unfair trials.
In Myanmar, more than 1,300 political prisoners are being held, and arrests and
imprisonment for peaceful opposition activities continued. Pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest and the army committed serious
rights violations against ethnic minority civilians during counterinsurgency
operations in the Mon, Shan and Kayin states.
In Thailand, more than 500 people were killed in the southern provinces where
security forces are battling a Muslim insurgency. Attacks against government
officials and installations by unidentified groups continued in the south. No
one was brought to justice for the deaths of 78 people who suffocated in army
trucks after being arrested at a demonstration.
In the Philippines, summary execution of suspected Muslim rebels during
military operations were carried out. Scores of suspects were reportedly
tortured or ill-treated by police or the military to extract confessions on
information.
Singapore, the city-state of 4.2 million people, retains the highest per capita
execution rate in the world. It also maintains a "broad array" of laws
restricting speech and assembly.
In Australia, new counterterrorism laws extended the period of detention
without charge and further restricted choice of legal representation. Refugee
families were kept separated by the government's mandatory detention policy,
and the treatment of indigenous Aborigines remained of concern.
In India, Gujarat state authorities still haven't brought to justice those
responsible for violence in 2002 when hundreds of Muslims were killed by Hindu
mobs. Security legislation was used to facilitate arbitrary arrests, torture
and other grave rights violations, often against political opponents.
In Pakistan, arbitrary arrests and detentions continued in the context of
combatting terrorism, and possible extrajudicial executions were reported
during security operations in tribal areas. Blasphemy laws were used to
prosecute Christians. In East Timor, the world's newest country, the rule of
law and human rights were undermined by the weakness of key institutions,
leading to unlawful arrests, long court delays and impunity for police accused
of using excessive force and assaulting suspects.
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