Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basm Özeti
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EU hits death penalty in China, torture in Turkey
GeM,.. - Reuters
• The European Union, in a speecb to
the U.N. Human Rigbts Commission
sai~ it was stepping up its fight agan;st
raCism at home, but blasted states including
China for "excessive use of the death
penalty."
Peter Van Wulfften Palthe, head of the
Qutch delegation which currently bolds the.
EV presidency, also expressed concern at
alleged torture and other violations in
Tqrkey, which is seeking entry to the 15-
niember bloc.
It ur,ed Ankara to bring about a "substantialunprovement"
in its human rigbts
situation. Abuses in Algeria, North Korea
Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and the states'
of former Yugoslavia were also of concern
t? the EU, according to Palthe, a respected
nghts expert wbo bas served as chairman
of the 53-member forum.
In his late-night speech to the
Commission, Palthe made no reference to
the EU. backing a~ay from sponsoring a
resolution express10g concern about China
at this year' s talks.
After EU discord, Denmark bas
announced it will present a motion. The
European Union noted progress in
Beijing's legal practice such as the amended
criminal procedure law whicb entered
into force on January l, according to
Palthe. "However, this is not sufficient. We
express the hope that other steps will be
taken to align the Chinese judicial process
with international human rights standards,"
he said. "The system of re-education
through labour and the excessive use of the
death penalty in China constitute some of
,our major conéerns.
. "The continued and increased prosecution
of those with dissenting views is a
worrying development, as well as the number
C?fpeople detained arbitrarily or
detamed simply because of their views,"
Pal the added. The EU remained concerned
about prison conditions in China.
In the EU's name, Pal the called upon
China to cease all activities that threatened
the distinct cultural, ethnic and religious
identity of Tibetans.
He said the EU accepted scrutiny into
the practices of its members and had a
~~giti!llate inte~est in those of other states.
For 1Ostance, 10 the face of racism, intolerance
~d xenop~obia raising their ugly
hea~s 10 our regIOn as well, 1997 has been
deSignated the European year against
racism. "The Union will step up its efforts
to combat racism and intolerance and will
do its utmost to foster understandin~
between different groups in society, ' he
added.
About Turkey
Palthe said the EU was concerned about
Turkey - where human rights groups
including Amnesty International have
alleged systematic torture by police and the
army that they say goes unpunished.
"The Turkish government is aware of
our concern about the incidence of torture,
involuntary disappearance and extrajudicial
execution and the government shares our
concern." "The EU welcomes recent initiatives
by the Turkish government to amend
criminallegislation so as to diminish the
risk of torture by reducing the period of
detention, registering detainees and by
inspection of detention centres," he added.
,\.1.1).- Agence France Presse-A.F.P.- Agl'I1LL'France PressL'-A.F.P.- Agence Fr(HKl' Pre'-,'-,L'
• Affaire "Mykonos": l'Etat iranien mis en cause, perpétuité
pour un Iranien et un Libanais
BERLIN, 10 avr (AFP) - Pour la première fois dans le monde, l'Iran a
été directement mis en cause jeudi par un Tribunal de Berlin dans
l'assassinat d'opposants, celui de quatre opposants kurdes iraniens à
l'arme automatique à Berlin en 1992.
"Les ramifications du crime vont jusqu'au plus haut sommet de l'Etat
iranien", a déclaré le Tribunal criminel de Berlin dans les attendus de
son verdict, conformément aux réquisitions du Parquet fédéral.
Le tribunal a condamné un Iranien, organisateur de l'attentat, et un
Libanais, qui avait été le tueur, à la prison à perpétuité. L'Iranien
Kassem Darabi, considéré comme un agent des services secrets
iraniens, a été jugé comme étant l'organisateur de l'attentat, le Libanais
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