House Speaker guilty
of 'double standards,' state says
Associated Press Mar 23, 08 2:36 PM CDT
(Newser)
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China’s government hammered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today over her meeting with the Dalai Lama and subsequent condemnation of China's "oppression" of Tibetan protests that turned to riots, the AP reports. Xinhua, China’s state news agency, said “human rights police” like Pelosi employed “double standards” unfair to China and didn’t “check their facts.”
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April 6 stop in London will test police readiness, set tone for rest of tour
Times (UK) Mar 21, 08 2:38 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Olympic torch will pass through London on April 6, meeting major protests over China's human-rights abuses in Tibet and other causes. The visit will test how disruptive political forces could be on the Summer Games—and how well British security forces are preparing for the 2012 London Olympics, the Times of London reports.
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They'll get just one a year, along with censored letters
Reuters Mar 13, 08 4:15 AM CDT
(Newser)
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"Unlawful enemy combatants" detained at the Guantanamo Bay naval base will be allowed to phone their families one a year, Reuters reports. But the military task force in charge of managing the prison has yet to work out the details. As it stands, Gitmo inmates can send and receive letters—subject to military censorship—but otherwise are permitted no contact with the outside world.
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State Dept. report drops China from top 10 worst abusers despite poor record
New York Times Mar 12, 08 10:26 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The State Department has taken China off its list of the world's 10 worst human rights abusers, the New York Time s reports. China's human rights record "remained poor," the department's annual report said, with abuses including "extrajudicial killings, torture, and coerced confessions of prisoners." Officials declined to explain why the country was dropped from the list or whether it had anything to do with the Beijing Olympics.
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Plight of Tibet is back in the spotlight
Independent (UK) Mar 12, 08 8:25 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Nearly a half-century after China brutally crushed Tibetan opposition and sent the Dalai Lama into exile, calls for China to give Tibet more freedom are stronger than they have been in decades. While Beijing remains unwilling to budge, activists plan to use China's time in the Olympic spotlight to show that the world hasn't forgotten about Tibet. The Independent takes a look.
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AFP Mar 12, 08 6:06 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The US has denied a top UN official access to American prisons in Iraq, drawing condemnation from the torture expert, reports AFP. "I'm astonished that the US government is not willing to grant me access," said the official. Iraqi and British forces have permitted access to their prisons. The US maintains that Iraq is still a combat zone not subject to traditional human rights protections.
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But critics say the nation's dissidents
must be released
BBC Feb 29, 08 8:22 AM CST
(Newser)
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Cuba yesterday signed a pair of legally binding human rights agreements, promising, among other things, to allow its citizens free speech, free association, and the right to travel, the BBC reports. Coming mere days after Raul Castro became president, the gesture could signal a shift in Cuba’s policy, though Cuba insists it is only “formalizing” rights Cubans have long held.
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Beijing trying to improve its image before summer Olympics
Washington Post Feb 26, 08 6:07 PM CST
(Newser)
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China said today it is ready to restart a discussion on human rights with the US that has been suspended since 2004, the Washington Post reports. The move, announced by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi after a meeting with Condoleezza Rice, comes as China looks to improve its image before the summer Olympics. A growing number of Western rights groups have criticized Beijing's record in recent weeks.
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Pressure mounts for pre-Olympics change
Guardian (UK) Feb 14, 08 4:28 AM CST
(Newser)
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Human rights groups praised Hollywood's Steven Spielberg yesterday for stepping down as artistic director of the Beijing Olympics due to China's ongoing support for the Sudanese regime. His move has opened the floodgates to a deluge of criticism over China's involvement in Darfur, giving the Chinese government a taste of what's likely to come during this summer's games, the Guardian reports.
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Sudanese gov't says attacks on 3 villages aimed at rebels
BBC Feb 10, 08 10:27 AM CST
(Newser)
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Government attacks on Darfur villages, ostensibly directed at rebel fighters, have caused a new exodus of at least 12,000 people from western Sudan into Chad, the BBC reports. The government acknowledges bombing three villages Friday, but said it was targeting fighters from the Justice and Equality Movement. Rebel leaders denied their people were in those villages.
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Western powers
allow autocrats to pay
lip service to ideals
BBC Jan 31, 08 6:25 PM CST
(Newser)
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Human Rights Watch says Western powers accept too many sham democracies out of political convenience, the BBC reports. The group's annual report slams the tendency of the US and EU governments to allow autocrats to claim “the mantle of democracy" without granting authentic political freedom. It also said the US and others undermine the global commitment to human rights by committing their own violations while fighting terrorism.
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Bureaucracy in full spin mode with Games less than 200 days away
Der Spiegel Jan 30, 08 2:29 PM CST
(Newser)
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With less than 200 days to go before the Summer Olympics, Der Spiegel takes an in-depth look at China’s feverish preparations and finds a sprawling bureaucracy working overtime to project the perfect image to the world. But while Beijing might clean the smog, and even prevent rain, making communist China look like an open and free society won’t be easy.
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