17/08/04

Concern abuses continue in Darfur

TEAR Fund New Zealand is concerned human rights abuses continue in Darfur, despite assurances from the Khartoum government hostilities have ceased.

Human rights organisations are reporting the rape and assault of black Sudanese continues.

There is also speculation Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed, are being incorporated into police and government security forces. Khartoum's security forces are responsible for protecting the civilian population. "We are calling for Khartoum to accept the offer by The African Union to significantly increase its ceasefire monitoring force," says TEAR Fund Executive Director Stephen Tollestrup.

At least 30,000 people have been killed in the Darfur region since February 2003, when pro-Khartoum, Arab militia initiated attacks against black Africans.

A further 1.2 million have been displaced by the conflict, 200,000 of whom have fled to neighboring Chad.

TEAR Fund is working through the Global Alliance Relief and Development partnership to respond to the needs of Sudanese refugees.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>