April 4
IRAQ:
UN chief Ban urges halt to executions in Iraq
Iraq should impose a moratorium on executions in the country, which has seen a
sharp rise in the number of people put to death in recent months, U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report released on Wednesday.
Ban said he was "concerned by the continued and increased implementation of the
death penalty." His report said Baghdad executed 80 people between December
2011 and February 2012 compared with 68 in January-November 2011.
Most of those put to death were executed under the country's anti-terrorism
laws, the report said.
"I therefore ... urge the Iraqi authorities to establish a moratorium on the
use of the death penalty," he said.
Last month the human rights group Amnesty International said the number of
executions carried out around the world jumped last year, largely due to a
surge in use of the death penalty in Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Ban also voiced concern about the increase in the number of civilians killed in
Iraq in the months since U.S. troops departed. He said 302 civilians killed
were in violent attacks in January, the highest monthly civilian death toll
since 2007.
Army and police forces are frequently targeted in Iraq, where bombings and
shootings still occur almost daily.
Al Qaeda's Iraq wing and allied Sunni Muslim insurgent groups say that despite
the withdrawal of U.S. forces they will not lay down arms and will continue to
battle the Shi'ite-led government.
They have claimed responsibility for nearly all the major attacks so far this
year, mounting days of coordinated bombings across the country about once a
month since the Americans left.
Although overall violence has declined since the height of sectarian fighting
in 2006 and 2007, Iraqis fear their government lacks the wherewithal to impose
security nine years after the U.S.-led invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein.
Ban also said the United Nations was planning to launch an appeal soon for
financial aid to help with the relocation of an Iranian dissident group in Iraq
that has been living at a base called Camp Ashraf, which the Iraqi government
is closing down.
He reiterated previous calls on the Iraqi government and the Iranian dissidents
to cooperate with each other and avoid violent confrontations.
The group, which calls for the overthrow of Iran's Islamist government, has
long been based in Iraq. It was supported by former Iraqi dictator Saddam
Hussein, but is no longer welcome in Iraq under the Shi'ite-led government that
came to power following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and Saddam's downfall.
The Iraqi government plans to expel the residents of Camp Ashraf and is in the
process of moving them to a processing center at a former U.S. military base in
Baghdad.
Camp residents, who numbered about 3,000 and had been under the protection of
the U.S. forces since 2003, agreed to be moved earlier this year. U.S. troops
withdrew from Iraq in December.
Also known as the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran, the group led a
guerilla campaign against the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran during the 1970s that
included attacks on U.S. targets.
As a result, the United States placed it on its list of foreign terrorist
organizations. The group has said that it has renounced violence.
(source: Yahoo News)
GUYANA:
Guyana seeks public opinion on death penalty, laws that target gays, lesbians
Guyana is launching a national debate on whether to eliminate its death penalty
and overhaul laws that discriminate against gays, lesbians and transgender
people.
Town-hall-style meetings will be held across the socially conservative South
American country as part of a promise that Guyana made to the United Nations
Human Rights Council. The government plans to analyze public opinion before
deciding whether it will submit any bills to revise current laws.
"Government has no line or position on the gay rights issue," Presidential
Adviser Gail Teixeira told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "We will hold the
consultations, and if the recommendation is to change the laws, then that will
be taken into consideration."
The death penalty is common across the Caribbean, as are laws against
cross-dressing and gay sex.
The government said officials also plan to meet with leaders from Christian,
Hindu and Islamic communities who represent Guyana's most prominent religions.
Many religious leaders in the country oppose legalization of homosexuality.
The independent Society Against Sexual Orientation and Discrimination said it
will campaign to remove what it says are extremely discriminatory colonial-era
laws.
"It is making criminals out of ordinary people," spokesman Joel Simpson said,
noting that under current law, two consenting male adults could face a minimum
of two years in prison for having sex in the privacy of their home.
Many Guyanese are opposed to the discussions because they want the current laws
to remain untouched.
Rayon Griffith, a food vendor in the capital of Georgetown, said he already
worries about gay and lesbian displays of affection on TV.
"I am worried that a whole generation is coming up thinking this is right," he
said.
Others are opposed to abolishing the death penalty.
"We have a nation with criminals with warped minds," said Cranon Henry, a
41-year-old security guard. "Hanging will make criminals fear attacking people.
Once they kill two or three of them, you will see how quickly the murder rate
will go down."
National Security Minister Clement Rohee already has launched the debate on
hangings via televised panel discussions that last up to one hour and allow for
call ins. People also will be able to attend town halls on the issue later this
month. No one has been hanged in Guyana since 1997 even though the law remains
on the books. Nearly 30 prisoners are on death row.
Teixeira said the government will inform the U.N. in October about the results
of the discussions even if they are still in progress.
"We are keeping our promise to consult with an open mind," she said.
(source: Associated Press)
VIETNAM:
Vietnam charges 18 over 'plot' to overthrow government -- The authorities in
Vietnam have charged 18 people with plotting to overthrow the government.
The highest punishment for such a crime is the death penalty.
State media gave few details of the group, which they said in February had been
uncovered in Phu Yen province, north of the resort of Nha Trang.
The police have said the group has more than 300 members, but there are few
official details of its suspected crimes.
In an operation at the beginning of February, official media said police had
made several arrests at the base of what they called a subversive organisation
in the Huynh Long eco-tourism area.
Initially the group was accused of abusing democratic freedoms, a crime with a
maximum jail term of 7 years.
The new charge of "plotting to overthrow the people's government" comes under
Article 79 of the penal code, which can carry the death penalty.
The Vietnamese People's Army newspaper accused the group's leader, whom it
named as Phan Van Thu, of setting up two companies and investing in an
eco-tourism park as a cover for recruiting supporters.
"This case shows that the 'peaceful evolution' strategy is being implemented by
hostile forces in many ways," the newspaper said.
Dissident sources told the BBC Vietnamese service they had no knowledge of the
group.
(source: BBC News)
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