Human Rights Watch, the Greek Helsinki Monitor, and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in the Republic of Macedonia express their common concern regarding the recent decision of the Skopje Court of Appeals in the cases of Rufi Osmani, Mayor of Gostivar, and Refik Dauti, president of the Gostivar city council. The court's decision on February 19 to reduce their sentences by six years, eight months and one year, respectively, ignored the fundamental violations of due process that took place in their original trial, such as poor access to the case files, restricted lawyer consultations, and the court's refusal to accept witnesses on behalf of the defense.
The rise in prices of basic goods such as rice and cooking oil has led to violent protests across Indonesia, much of it aimed at the ethnic Chinese minority who dominate the retail economy. The rioting appears to have been largely spontaneous, but Human Rights Watch believes that senior government and military officials have fueled anti-Chinese sentiment through veiled references to "rats" and "traitors" and by their failure to explain that high prices and food shortages are not the fault of individual retailers. Human Rights Watch calls on the government to state explicitly that the ethnic Chinese are a valued and important part of Indonesian society and that violence against them and their property will not be tolerated. Denouncing communal violence in generic terms is not enough. The government should cease immediately the harassment of two prominent members of the ethnic Chinese community, Jusuf and Sofyan Wanandi.
(February 17, 1998)--Human Rights Watch has issued an open letter to Republika Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik on his first official visit to the United States. He has come to Washington to discuss the terms of international financial assistance to the Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two entities of the Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina.
Background Information Regarding Visit of Prime Minister Milorad Dodik(February 17, 1998)--The Europe and Central Asia Division of Human Rights Watch called on Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck to raise the issue of legal reform during his visit this week to Turkey. Presently, the Justice Ministry of Turkey is working on a law to amend the Penal Code. In a letter sent to Mr. Shattuck, Human Rights Watch underscored the need for farther-reaching legal reform beyond the scope of the Penal Code to target an array of laws that curtail free speech and violate international standards guaranteeing freedom of thought.
Also includes List of Turkish Laws Violating Free Expression
Human Rights Watch, the largest U.S.-based human rights organization, condemns your government's ongoing attempts to restrict the independent media in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). Your consistent unwillingness to establish a clear and democratic set of laws to regulate the electronic media violates your government's obligations under Serbian, Yugoslav, and international law to guarantee freedom of the press and freedom of expression.
HRW Background Material The Electronic Media in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia(February 13, 1998) --Human Rights Watch condemns the arrest yesterday of opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi and calls on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to release him immediately. More broadly, Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned about the recent spate of violent attacks by government troops against the nonviolent opposition, the free press and civil society groups in the DRC.
As Chinese Premier Li Peng was due to arrive in the Netherlands for official talks, Human Rights Watch called on the Dutch government to press for significant human rights improvements in China and Tibet. The organization also urged the Hague to resist expected pressure from Li to drop any resolution on China at the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which convenes in Geneva on March 16.
(February 12, 1998)--In a letter to the government of Sudan, Human Rights Watch condemns recent trials of both secular and religious government opponents, who have been punished for exercising their rights to free expression and free association. Human Rights Watch asks the Sudan government to stop blocking United Nations relief operations in Wau, where 100,000 civilians are in desperate need.
(February 4, 1998) --In a letter to members of the U.N. Security Council yesterday, Human Rights Watch called for reactivating a commission to investigate arms flows to Rwanda, and extending the commission's mandate to include Burundi.
(February 3, 1998) --A conservative veterans' organization is posing a serious threat to the rule of law in Armenia, Human Rights Watch charged today. An organization of veterans of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, known as the Yerkrapah Battalion, played a role in the February 3 resignation of President Levon Ter-Petrossian. The Yerkrapah Battalion's growing faction in parliament had recently joined Armenian defense minister Vasken Sarkissiyan's calls for President Ter-Petrossian's resignation. On February 2, forty members of the national assembly reportedly quit the ruling coalition in order to join the Yerkrapah parliamentary faction.