| http://sg.news.yahoo.com/010715/1/19ant.html
Sunday July 15, 10:29 PM Uproar in Denmark as Israeli ambassador supports use of torture COPENHAGEN, July 15 (AFP) - Human rights organisations in Denmark have urged the government to reject the appointment of Israel's new ambassador to Denmark, Carmi Gillon, after he told Danish media that he supported the use of torture on suspected Palestinian militants. Gillon, who was the head of the Israeli secret service in the mid-1990s, recently told Danish media he supported the use of "moderate physical pressure" on suspected Palestinians. A number of human rights organisations have urged the Danish government to either reject Gillon's appointment or pursue him in court for breach of the United Nations convention on torture. "We cannot have a situation where torturers are allowed to walk freely in Denmark," said Jens Modvig, general secretary of the Copenhagen-based International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims. "It would be an insult to torture victims and to the many years of international efforts against torture if a man who has hundreds of cases of torture on his conscience were allowed to walk freely on the streets of Copenhagen," Modvig said. "Under the UN convention, Denmark has a duty to pursue suspected torturers in justice, and if the Danish government refuses to reject Gillon outright then it should take measures to pursue him in court when he arrives," Modvig said. He also urged the government to revoke the immunity granted to diplomats in order to pursue Gillon. Gillon is scheduled to take up his post in September. Danish Foreign Minister Mogens Lykketoft said in a statement he would not block Gillon's appointment. "During many years of uninterrupted practice, it has been the responsibility of foreign governments to decide who they deem appropriate to represent them in Denmark," he said. However, he made clear Denmark's opposition to the use of torture. "We distance ourselves strongly from any use of torture. We will protest against any country whose actions violate the UN convention on torture," he stressed. "The newly appointed Israeli ambassador has in recent days indicated that there may be a need to reintroduce methods of moderate torture. There shall be no doubt that the Danish government strongly opposes this stance, which is in direct breach of the convention on torture which Israel has signed," Lykketoft said. |
