• Political Violence on All Sides
    juin 1, 1996

    The fierce struggle for power between Bangladesh's main political parties has fostered a situation of lawlessness and civil strife in which wanton acts of violence and intimidation by both the former ruling party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, backed by security forces, and the opposition parties, have become routine features of the political process.

  • Election Monitoring and Human Rights
    mai 1, 1996

    As the 1997 parliamentary elections in Indonesia approach, the political atmosphere has begun to heat up and civil liberties are deteriorating. Since the first such election under the “New Order” government of President Soeharto in 1971, they have never been the “democratic festival” that the government would have both outsiders and its own citizens believe.

  • Violations of Media Freedom
    mai 1, 1996

    Despite the government of Uzbekistan's professed commitment to freedom of the press—made both explicitly and publicly over the past two years—state censorship of the media remains pervasive and intimidation of journalists is rampant. The tone and subject matter of articles published in Uzbekistan is strictly controlled by the government.

  • Civilian Pawns
    mai 1, 1996

    For over a decade, a conflict has raged on the border of Israel and Lebanon, where Israel occupies a large section of Lebanese territory. Civilians have been the principal targets and victims in this conflict.

  • Tajik Refugees in Northern Afghanistan: Obstacles to Repatriation
    mai 1, 1996

    In 1992, a devastating civil war in Tajikistan led to the deaths of more than 20,000 (with some estimates as high as 50,000) and created more than 800,000 displaced persons and refugees.

  • Persistent Human Rights Violations and Prospects for Improvement
    mai 1, 1996

    In late 1994, the authoritarian government of Uzbekistan, long stigmatized as a serious human rights abuser, showed the first signs that it desired to change its image.

  • Bolivia Under Pressure
    mai 1, 1996

    In 1995, under strong pressure from the U.S., the Bolivian government began an aggressive coca eradication effort that was strongly resisted by coca growers. Periods of negotiation alternated with outbursts of violence in the Chapare, the sub-tropical region in which thousands of poor farmers produce most of the Bolivian coca.

  • India’s Secret Army in Kashmir
    mai 1, 1996

    In 1996, the conflict in Kashmir entered it seventh year, with little indication that parliamentary elections in May would either lead to peace or end the widespread human rights abuses that characterized the war.

  • Behind the Red Line
    mai 1, 1996

    Since the National Islamic Front in Sudan took power following a military coup in 1989, it has created restrictions on daily life and political activity in an effort to maintain control. The Sudanese refer to these rules as the “red line,” and anyone who breaks the rules and crosses the line while expressing their political or civil independence is severely punished.

  • Syria's Tadmor Prison
    avr 1, 1996

    In December 1995, some 1,200 political prisoners in Syria were released pursuant to an amnesty marking the 25th anniversary of the rule of Pres. Asad. It was widely reported that most, if not all, of the released prisoners were members or supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.