China's human rights worse: Amnesty

Human rights group Amnesty International has released a scathing assessment of China's human rights record since it was awarded the right to host next month's Olympic Games seven years ago.

The report says that far from improving, China's human rights record has actually worsened.

Amnesty says when it won the right to host the games, the Chinese Government promised better human rights and greater freedom for the media.

But Amnesty's China researcher Mark Allison says this has not happened.

"We want China to live up to its promise of complete media freedom and allow full access to foreign journalists who are reporting in China," he said.

"We want them to release all the journalists, Chinese journalists, who've been imprisoned in violation of their human rights and also to stop its censorship of the domestic media, particularly the internet."

There has not been a reaction to the Amnesty report from China so far.

Related:

Beijing 2008: how much will you be allowed to see?



The spectacle of the opening ceremony. The competition in the pool. The drama in the glamorous stadium. All of this and more will be broadcast around Australia and the world when the Beijing Olympics get underway in just a few weeks time.

But what about the executions still being carried out by the Chinese Government? Or the ‘Re-education through Labour’ camps where hundreds of thousands of people are detained without charge or trial? What about the torture that is frequently reported? The repression of free speech?

Ye Guozhu was tried in secret and sentenced to four years in jail for “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble”. His ‘crime’ was to apply for permission to protest after his home and restaurant were demolished to make way for the Olympics.

People like Ye Guozhu are silenced. You are not. Use your freedom to speak up for those who can’t and become a Human Rights Defender.

Human rights in China have actually deteriorated because of the Games. The authorities have locked up and forcibly removed people they think will threaten the image of stability and harmony.

This is the China the authorities do not want you to see. Please don’t let them pull the wool over your eyes. Get the full picture on China.

Help monitor China's internet censorship now!

China operates a sophisticated internet censorship regime and it is difficult to know exactly what information Chinese citizens can and can't access. The lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics has seen some previously inaccessible websites in China become wholly or partly accessible.

We have developed a method to test, monitor and report on changes in levels of censorship, to assist in pressuring the Chinese Government to not revert old ways once the Games are over. If you are travelling to China during 2008 you can register to become a Chinese Internet Censorship Index (CICI) tester. This simply involves testing access to specific websites. The sites chosen for testing are ones that a tourist or journalist might access, such as BBC news and flickr. We believe that participating in these tests presents no risk to visitors to China.

Those not travelling to China can also participate by displaying a CICI badge on their Facebook, MySpace, blog or website to help us spread the word.

Join global day of protest

To mark the 10-day countdown to the Beijing Olympics on 30 July, we will be holding a global, online day of protest against internet censorship in China. All registered websites will display a censorship simulation which will momentarily censor random words on webpages.

Join the protest by registering now

Updated 30 July 11:36am (AEST)

China to censor Internet during Games: official

China will censor the Internet used by foreign media during the Olympics, an organising committee official confirmed Wednesday, reversing a pledge to offer complete media freedom at the games.

"During the Olympic Games we will provide sufficient access to the Internet for reporters," said Sun Weide, spokesman for the organising committee.

He confirmed, however, that journalists would not be able to access information or websites connected to the Falungong spiritual movement which is banned in China.

Other sites were also unavailable to journalists, he said, without specifying which ones.

Journalists working at the main press centre for the Olympics also complained that they were unable to access Internet sites belonging to rights group Amnesty International, the BBC, Germany's Deutsche Welle, Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily, and Taiwan newspaper Liberty Times.

"Our promise was that journalists would be able to use the Internet for their work during the Olympic Games," said Sun.

"So we have given them sufficient access to do that."

However, in the runup to the Games the Beijing Olympic organising committee, under pressure from the International Olympic Committee, has promised full access to the Internet for thousands of reporters expected here to cover the August 8-24 Games.

Falungong is a spiritual group banned by China as an "evil cult," and many of its members have been detained, amid claims that hundreds have died in custody due to torture, abuse and neglect.

Dalai Lama arrives in Sydney
The president of the NSW Tibetan Community, Tenzin Gaden said he hoped the Dalai Lama's visit would raise awareness of the plight of the Tibetan people, who are under Chinese rule.

Thousands flock to Canberra ahead of torch relay
"Among all the communities, including the Chinese and Tibetan, those who live in Australia, I personally have had to deal with them in many, many years, they are strongly supportive of peace and harmony, because we are a great multicultural nation here."

FOI review changes cautiously welcomed

Premier Anna Bligh and Attorney-General Kerry Shine release the FOI review report yesterday.

A State Government-commissioned review released yesterday makes 140 recommendations on how to improve public access to information.

The review recommended sweeping changes to FOI laws so more information is made available more quickly and cheaply.

Keeping Cabinet documents secret for 10 years, rather than 30, is one of the recommendations that Premier Anna Bligh will consider.

Ms Bligh says she is comfortable with the suggestions and supports the findings, but will hold further consultation before new laws are drafted later this year.

The Australian Press Council (APC) says media freedom in Queensland will only improve if there is a complete change of attitude towards FOI.

APC chairman Professor Ken McKinnon says the State Government's promise to be more open will be tested when it comes under pressure from journalists.

"When there's some potential scandal and the hungry dogs in the media are chasing and trying to get the information and they're not to be deterred very readily then we'll see whether a new culture will last or not," he said.

Lead the world

Michael Cope from the Council for Civil Liberties says it is up to MPs to lead a cultural shift.

"Politicians have to have the courage to implement these recommendations even though they may suffer some harm or embarrassment as a result," Mr Cope said.

Professor McKinnon agrees, saying it would be a big change for the Government.

"Given that it has a notorious reputation for wheeling things through Cabinet," he said.

University of Tasmania law lecturer Rick Snell says Queensland would lead the world in its approach to freedom of information if new recommendations are implemented.

"It will move Queensland to the forefront of freedom of information legislation in Australia," he said.

"It would also move to the forefront of freedom of information within the world, because these proposals give us a blueprint of how to move freedom of information into the next generation."

No case against Henson: prosecutors

Controversial ... Bill Henson.

Photographer Bill Henson will not face charges over naked photographs of a 13-year-old girl that sparked a political furore.

Twenty of the artist's photographs were seized from Sydney's Roslyn Oxley9 gallery last month after complaints from the public.

But the Director of Public Prosecutions has told police there is no reasonable prospect of a conviction.

The decision comes after the Australian Federal Police yesterday said they found the National Gallery of Australia's collection of Henson's works did not breach the law.

The Prime Minister, the New South Wales Premier and the state's Police Commissioner have condemned the photos, with Kevin Rudd calling them "absolutely revolting".

Assistant Police Commissioner Catherine Burn says police were obliged to investigate the works.

"Police did receive complaints and this has been a matter of significant public concern and debate. This is a complex area of law," she said in a statement.

"Matters involving the law and art are notoriously difficult and that is why police sought this advice...

"It is the role of the police to respond to community concerns and investigate complaints."

The works will be returned to the Paddington gallery.

The Classification Board has also ruled that the photograph that sparked the outrage was not pornographic.

The image of the girl was featured in an invitation to the Roslyn Oxley9 gallery's exhibition and posted on a blog.

The board has ruled the image is mild and given it a PG rating, meaning people under 16 might need parental guidance.

It cleared another Bill Henson image of a naked girl earlier this week, as well as four partly censored versions used by news websites.

Rudd stands by outrage

Commenting on the Classification Board's decision, Mr Rudd has stood by his initial reaction.

"My reaction was very-clear cut," he said.

"I've been asked many times since then, 'Have I changed my view?' ... I have not changed my view one bit.

"I also said, when it comes to the independent processes of the law, they are completely separate from what any individual or politician may think, feel or respond to by way of their own individual judgments."

Law Society president Hugh Macken says he is not surprised the investigation into Henson is likely to be dropped.

Mr Macken says a prosecution against the artist would have been unlikely to succeed.

"If Henson is not charged, it's because his photos are not child porn," he said.

"That is, they do not offend the Crimes Act because they do not show children in a sexual context."

Related:

Nude photo row to hinge on 'community standards'
The Australian Arts Law Centre says police will have to prove there has been a major change in community standards in order to successfully prosecute Sydney photographer Bill Henson.

Palestinian exhibition axed after police visit

THE decision by a Sydney library to dump an exhibition about Palestinian refugees after a visit by counter-terrorism police the night before it opened has been criticised as an act of censorship.

Leichhardt municipal library was to launch the Al-Nakba pictorial exhibition last Friday. A local community group, Friends of Hebron, had developed the display of photos, poems and articles over eight months.

"We set up the exhibition at the library on Thursday night and the librarian … approved the exhibition, and said that it could be seen by children and other people who enter the library," said Carole Lawson, a Friends of Hebron member.

But that night, shortly before the library closed at 8pm, officers from the police counter-terrorism operations arrived at the library.

A police spokesman said the officers were from the operations' community contact unit and had come only to "say hi" to Friends of Hebron members. "They went to introduce themselves just to let them know who they are and what they are about. [Speaking with community groups] is part of their charter," he said. "When they got there the librarian was the only one there … they just had a quick chat to the librarian."

But Ms Lawson said: "They wanted to put the fear of god into the library staff and wanted the staff to feel threatened."

The librarian, Marilyn Taylor, would not speak publicly. But the Mayor of Leichhardt, Carolyn Allen, confirmed Ms Taylor later contacted her boss, the council's director of corporate services, David Marshall, on Thursday evening to discuss the exhibit.

They arranged a meeting for the next morning, and a decision was made to cancel the exhibition at about 9.30am.

Ms Lawson was informed of the decision later that morning. "It's the censorship of Palestine - apparently the anti-terrorism squad decides what we can see on the public walls of a library," she said.

The president of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties, Terry O'Gorman, said it was clear the police visit on the eve of the exhibition had influenced the council's decision. "The terrorism unit's explanation [of coming to introduce themselves] is unacceptable," he said. "The fact that they turn up as a display is being mounted is entitled to be interpreted as a threat."

Cr Allen maintains the decision was made by the council and the library, and not influenced by police. The council had decided last year that exhibitions such as Al-Nakba would need to be assessed by a panel of councillors to ensure they were not divisive, she said. This had not happened earlier with Al-Nakba because of a "a breakdown of managerial process".

But Mr O'Gorman criticised the library for being "too-ready [with] self-censorship". .

Shane McArdle, a council spokesman present when the decision to cancel was made, said some photo captions were deemed capable of causing anxiety and "undue angst".

But Ms Lawson said there was nothing alarming in the exhibition and that it merely highlighted the plight of many Palestinian refugees in Hebron, about 30 kilometres south of Jerusalem.

"The exhibition was taken down because it was about Palestine, the dispossession of Palestinians and what's going on in Hebron," she said.

She said the group would now look to hold the exhibition at another venue, promoting it as "the exhibition the council didn't want you to see".

Related:

An extra 500 federal cops to fight crime
An extra 500 Australian Federal Police (AFP) positions will be created over the next five years to fight domestic and transnational crime. The federal budget contains an additional $191.9 million to fund the positions. "These officers will be directed to build the AFP's capacity to tackle organised and transnational crime, particularly in the areas of high-tech crime, drug trafficking, major fraud, money laundering and combating terrorism," the budget papers said. The fight against terrorism will not just be one fought through arrests and investigations.

[Also the usual? Like political scapegoating? draconian laws? Attacking Iraq and Afghanistan? Or by being compromised over Palestine and Lebanon?]

The AFP plans to establish Islamic liaison teams in each Australian capital city during the next financial year to "facilitate communication and relationship-building activities", the papers said. On the wider theme of regional security, the budget offers $80.1 million in direct assistance to Australia's Pacific neighbours to help the island nations create better police forces [colonialism?]

And the AFP will receive $47 million to help put more police on the ground in Afghanistan to fight the opium trade at the centre of the war-torn nation's economy [Because of pre-emtive strikes by NATO waging illegal and degrading war and crimes against humanity to steal and move Middle Eastern oil resources and build oil and gas pipelines.]

"Through increasing AFP numbers and supporting our international friends in their policing efforts, Australia is pulling its weight in the fight against terrorism in a statement and transnational crime," Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus said.

[Mainly because of our Pre-emptive strikes produced because of Australia's very bad foreign policy invading countries in the Middle East with illegal and degrading war crimes against humanity.

The budget also offered an extra $16 million over four years to beef up the examination of containers at four ports: Launceston, Darwin, Townsville and Newcastle.

Related:

ASIO, police don't trust each other, report finds
A LACK of trust between the Australian Federal Police and ASIO has hindered co-operation between the anti-terrorism agencies, a report commissioned after the collapsed prosecution of the Sydney doctor Izhar ul-Haque has found.

Secret policemen's bill: $7.5m
Mr McClelland separately ruled out compensating or apologising to the Sydney medical student Izhar Ul-Haque, who a Supreme Court judge said had been kidnapped by ASIO officers. The conduct of ASIO in the case of Mr ul-Haque, who was cleared of terrorism charges, is being reviewed by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Ian Carnell.

Tough police powers outlive APEC
CONTROVERSIAL powers granted to NSW police during last year's APEC summit are likely to be made permanent - or at least available to police for any special event - under a proposal to be taken to state cabinet.

Push for overhaul of laws on terrorism
Anti-terrorism laws are just 'state sanctioned terrorism' aimed at 'innocent people' and using them as 'scapegoats' for Australia's 'alleged war on terror'. These laws were meant to project 'fear' in the community that we somehow need to be protected so that the government can wage war on innocent people for resources around the world unchallenged.

IT'S ALL ABOUT OIL!
In 1998, Dick Cheney, now US vice-president but then chief executive of a major oil services company, remarked: "I cannot think of a time when we have had a region emerge as suddenly to become as strategically significant as the Caspian." But the oil and gas there is worthless until it is moved. The only route which makes both political and economic sense is through Afghanistan.

Unknown News
"News that's not known, or not known enough."

-- IN IRAQ --

30,000 IRAQI TROOPS KILLED
and 90,000 SERIOUSLY INJURED Aug. 2003

785,957 IRAQI CIVILIANS KILLED
and 1,414,723 SERIOUSLY INJURED June 2007

3,615 U.S. TROOPS KILLED
and 50,677 SERIOUSLY INJURED June 2007

287 OTHER COALITION TROOPS KILLED
and 861 SERIOUSLY INJURED June 2007

160 U.S. CIVILIANS KILLED
and 288 SERIOUSLY INJURED June 2007

251 OTHER COALITION CIVILIANS KILLED
and 452 SERIOUSLY INJURED June 2007

-- IN AFGHANISTAN --

8,587 AFGHAN TROOPS KILLED
and 25,761 SERIOUSLY INJURED July 2004

3,485 AFGHAN CIVILIANS KILLED
and 6,273 SERIOUSLY INJURED July 2004

342 U.S. TROOPS KILLED
and 1,026 SERIOUSLY INJURED Jan. 2007

278 OTHER COALITION TROOPS KILLED
and 834 SERIOUSLY INJURED June 2007

? U.S. and COALITION CIVILIANS KILLED
and ? SERIOUSLY INJURED]

Loyal troops farewell an old campaigner
Comrades in arms [war criminals] Tony Blair (ret.) and George Bush (about to ret.) stood shoulder-to-shoulder last night to honour John Howard (ret.).[co offenders for crimes against humanity.]

Prosecute War Criminal John Howard
To: International Criminal Court
We, the undersigned, called for the indictment and prosecution of John Winston Howard (currently Australian Prime Minister) for acts of terrorism and war crimes.

EXCLUSIVE: Fmr. Military Intelligence Officer Reveals US Listed Palestine Hotel in Baghdad as Target Prior to Killing of Two Journalists in 2003 Last month marked the fifth anniversary of the US military shelling of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad. The attack killed two journalists: Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk and Jose Couso, a cameraman for the Spanish television network Telecinco. The Pentagon has called the killings accidental, but in this broadcast exclusive Army Sgt. Adrienne Kinne (Ret.) reveals she saw secret US military documents that listed the hotel as a possible target. Kinne also discloses that she was personally ordered to eavesdrop on Americans working for news organizations and NGOs in Iraq.