[Onthebarricades] Global pro-democracy protests, Dec-Jan 07/08

[Andy]

*  CAMBODIA:  Monks battle police during protest over Vietnam repression
*  BANGLADESH:  Teachers "pardoned" for involvement in unrest
*  BURMA/SINGAPORE:  Burmese students protest Myanmar/Burma at ASEAN summit
*  ZIMBABWE:  Police attack opposition protest in Harare
*  KURDISTAN/US:  Hundreds rally against Turkish militarism during state 
visit
*  GLOBAL/HOLLAND:  Rights groups protest at International Criminal Court
*  INDIA:  Activists occupy train in Nandigram protest
*  TURKEY:  "Anti-judiciary law" protested
*  EGYPT:  Police cordon off vigil for jailed dissident
*  SCOTLAND:  Students protest over Topshop "use of slave labour"
*  AUSTRALIA:  Activist with poop-scoop targets outgoing PM
*  UK/SUDAN:  British Muslims rally for teacher jailed in Sudan
*  EUSKAL HERRIA/SPAIN:  Thousands protest against arrests, repression of 
Basque movements
*  CANADA:  Smokers light up to protest local ban
*  INDONESIA:  Journalists march against police violence
*  SOUTH KOREA:  Candlelit vigil protests repression of the press
*  HONG KONG:  Free press activists hold publicity event
*  TAIWAN:  Chinese spouses protest attacks on their rights via new visa 
rules
*  MANIPUR:  Sit-in protest over shooting
*  VENEZUELA:  Protests at US embassy over alleged role in Argentinean 
elections
*  SOUTH AFRICA:  Protests spread against ban on teens kissing
*  US:  Ron Paul supporters call Giuliani "fascist" at hotel protest

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSBKK10830620071217

Nine hurt as Cambodian monk protest turns ugly
Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:30am EST

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Three Cambodian Buddhist monks and six riot police 
were hurt on Monday in a fight that broke out when the monks tried to 
deliver a protest letter to the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh, officials 
and witnesses said.

About 40 saffron-robed monks were trying to demand Vietnam stop persecuting 
Buddhists. When their path was blocked, they started throwing bottles and 
hitting the 100 riot police positioned near the embassy compound.

The riot police, who were not armed, chased the monks away with electric 
batons.

One of the marchers, 20-year-old Thach Many, accused police of overreacting. 
"We just wanted to deliver a protest petition," he told Reuters.

The petition urged Vietnam to free a jailed Cambodian monk called Tim 
Sakhorn, release five others disrobed by Hanoi early this year and respect 
the religious rights of the ethnic Cambodian minority in Vietnam's Mekong 
delta area.

Tim Sakhorn, 39, was defrocked in June and sentenced to a year in jail in 
Vietnam on charges of upsetting Cambodia-Vietnam relations.

Police accused the monks of staging an illegal and violent protest.

"Monks hid stones in their bags and hit police, injuring them in the arms 
and legs," said police chief Touch Naroth.

Nobody at the Vietnamese embassy was immediately available for comment.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7147981.stm

Last Updated: Monday, 17 December 2007, 12:49 GMT
E-mail this to a friend    Printable version

Cambodia monks clash with police
By Guy De Launey
BBC News, Phnom Penh

Police say the monks brought stones to use as missiles

Buddhist monks and riot police have been involved in a violent confrontation 
in Cambodia's capital.

The monks were trying to draw attention to allegations of mistreatment of 
the Kampuchea Krom minority, who are ethnic Cambodians living in Vietnam.

They were attempting to deliver a petition to the Vietnamese Embassy in 
Phnom Penh when police officers blocked their way.

Human rights workers claim the police beat the monks with batons.

The violence started after about 50 orange-robed monks arrived at the 
Vietnamese Embassy and staged a sit-down protest.

The situation deteriorated as riot police ordered the monks to move on.

The authorities allege that the monks tried to storm the embassy and had 
brought stones to throw at the police.

Several members of each side were injured, none of them seriously.

Sensitive topic

The monks had been protesting about the treatment of ethnic Cambodian 
colleagues in Vietnam.

Their petition asked for the release of a monk who has been jailed on 
charges of "undermining national unity".

They also demanded the return of Vietnamese territory which they claimed 
belonged to Cambodia.

It is a sensitive topic for the Cambodian government.

Its links with Vietnam date back to 1979 when Vietnamese-backed troops 
ousted the Khmer Rouge from power.

But many Cambodians dislike their larger neighbour and resent the loss of 
territory over the years, which includes modern day Ho Chi Minh City.

Some Buddhist pagodas have become rallying points for protests on the issue.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSDHA23996020071210

Mon Dec 10, 2007 5:56am EST
 Bangladesh pardons jailed teachers

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh pardoned four university teachers on Monday, 
six days after they had been jailed for inciting violent student unrest in 
August, which forced the army-backed government to impose curfew in major 
cities.
"President Iajuddin Ahmed has approved the clemency considering mercy 
petitions filed by their (teachers) respective wives," a senior official of 
the Presidential Palace told Reuters.
The clemency came after a series of silent protests by teachers and students 
of major universities in the country.
Although rallies and marchers were banned by the army-backed interim 
government that assumed power in January following weeks of deadly political 
violence, the teachers and students continued to wear black badges and held 
silent rallies on their campuses for last few days.
A Bangladesh court sentenced the teachers of the Rajshahi University, 
located about 187 miles northwest of the capital Dhaka, last Tuesday to two 
years in jail for inciting violent student unrest in August.
Four other teachers from the Dhaka University, the country's biggest, are 
being tried on similar charges by another court, officials said.
The four have been detained for allegedly instigating student unrest in the 
capital. Following the clemency granted to their colleagues at Rajshahi, the 
four Dhaka University teachers are also expected to be exempted of the 
charges.
A man was killed in Rajshahi and several hundred were injured there and in 
other cities as students fought battles with police, in defiance of a state 
of emergency in force since January.
Authorities ordered an indefinite curfew in Dhaka and five other cities in 
late August following violence sparked by an alleged assault on some 
students by army troops during a football match on the Dhaka University 
campus.
The curfew was lifted after a few days later but all major universities in 
the six cities remained closed for up to two months.
(Reporting by Nizam Ahmed, writing by Anis Ahmed)

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2007/11/20/2003388678

Foreign students protest against junta

AFP, SINGAPORE
Tuesday, Nov 20, 2007, Page 1

International students from the National University of Singapore stage a 
peaceful vigil walk along a walkway on Orchard Road in Singapore yesterday.
PHOTO: AFP
A handful of foreign students demonstrated against Myanmar's junta on the 
fringes of the ASEAN summit yesterday, drawing close police attention as 
they tested Singapore's tough protest laws.
Nine activists marched up the Orchard Road shopping strip in groups of 
three, to avoid arrest under strict rules that say any outdoor gathering of 
five or more people requires a police permit.
Most carried candles and wore red T-shirts with the slogan "We pursue peace, 
justice and democracy for Burma."
"We wanted to do something in some small way to show that the world hasn't 
forgotten," said Pia Muzaffar, a 22-year-old British student at the National 
University of Singapore. "We want to send a clear message."
Protests are rare in Singapore -- and those by foreigners even more 
unusual -- but police have designated the meeting venues as "security 
zones," meaning a single demonstrator can be expelled if deemed to be 
creating a stir.
The three groups were outnumbered by more than 35 police, some of whom 
recorded the proceedings on video.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php?article_id=102163

Myanmar citizens mount protest at ASEAN summit

Agence France-Presse
First Posted 09:59pm (Mla time) 11/20/2007
SINGAPORE -- About 40 Myanmar residents of Singapore held a brief vigil 
Tuesday night to protest what they said was an inadequate response to the 
crisis in Myanmar by Southeast Asian leaders meeting here.
It was one of the largest public protests seen in recent memory in 
Singapore, which has tight rules against demonstrations.
The group of mostly young men and women, all wearing red T-shirts, lined up 
silently in rows of three on the main Orchard Road shopping and tourist 
strip.
Many held small printed leaflets that read "ASEAN -- Act with Honour, Action 
on Burma Now".
Three people in front of the group held a large banner that read, "Listen to 
Burma's Desires, Don't Follow Junta's Order".
Others had written messages on pieces of paper. "Respect Human Rights Now", 
said one. Another said, "We welcome professor Gambari on behalf of Burmese 
people."
The United Nations special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, arrived in 
Singapore Tuesday expecting to brief leaders of the Association of Southeast 
Asian Nations (ASEAN), who held their annual summit here Tuesday.
But as Gambari flew to Singapore, the city-state's Prime Minister Lee Hsien 
Loong, the summit chairman, announced the briefing was cancelled after 
Myanmar complained the envoy should only report to the Security Council.
Myo Myint Maung, 22, a spokesman for the demonstrators, said they were 
disappointed by ASEAN's response to the junta.
"We want ASEAN leaders to be more effective and more active regarding their 
action on Burma," he said. "We are standing here to hold a vigil to protest 
their statement."
The grouping has come under mounting pressure to rein in its errant member 
Myanmar after a September crackdown on mass protests, led by Buddhist monks, 
that left at least 15 people dead and sparked worldwide outrage.
Myo Myint Maung said ASEAN has taken "a very passive stance" towards 
Myanmar.
It is illegal in Singapore to hold a public gathering of five or more people 
without a police permit, meaning demonstrations are rare.
Myo Myint Maung said the group did not have a permit for the vigil which 
occurred a few hundred metres (yards) from the ASEAN summit venue, and just 
outside a special summit security zone in which even one protester is not 
permitted.
About 15 minutes after the vigil began, about 20 police converged on the 
group and asked if they had finished. They said they had, and peacefully 
dispersed as police recorded some of their names.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200712070934.html

Zimbabwe: Police Violently Stop NCA Protest in Harare

SW Radio Africa (London)
7 December 2007
Posted to the web 7 December 2007
Tichaona Sibanda
The National Constitutional Assembly reported Friday that 300 of its 
activists staged a demonstration in central Harare, before heavily armed 
riot police officers violently stopped it.
In a statement the NCA said in an act of 'clear determination and courage,' 
their activists walked from the city's Copacabana area to the Parliament 
Building.
'They were however violently dispersed by riot police who were heavily 
armed. The police launched a severe attack on the activists and the general 
public who were in the vicinity of the area that they were marching,' the 
statement said.
The activists chanted songs about the need for a new constitution braving 
the wet weather to march. The demonstration was against Constitutional 
Amendment Number 18, as well as the deteriorating situation in the country.
'The struggle to have a new, democratic and people driven constitution will 
continue as long as the issue remains unaddressed. We say no to willy-nilly 
amendments of the constitution. Rather, the people of Zimbabwe should be 
consulted so that they contribute to the process of making a new 
constitution,' the NCA said.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jP7tZ-z1PhvYMGD_mx62vRJPFs4w

Kurds protest in Washington during Turkish premier's visit
Nov 5, 2007
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Hundreds of ethnic Kurds called Monday on US President 
George W. Bush to press visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan 
not to launch military operations in northern Iraq to track down Kurdish 
rebels.
To cries of "stop the Turkish invasion" and brandishing banners, several 
hundred men, women and children, many in traditional dress, gathered outside 
the White House, where Bush was due to meet with Erdogan.
"We urge you, Mr President, to do all that you can to dissuade Turkey from 
carrying out military operations inside Iraqi Kurdistan and to continue 
calling for dialogue and diplomacy as a means to find a peaceful resolution 
to this issue," said a letter which the demonstrators handed in to the White 
House.
"We want to send a clear message to President Bush not to give the green 
light for any invasion" by Turkish troops, said Isa Chalky, who had 
travelled to Washington from Tennessee for the demonstration.
After attacks by suspected Kurdish rebels killed 15 Turkish soldiers in 
three days, the Turkish parliament voted on October 17 to authorize the army 
to conduct military incursions against bases of the Kurdistan Workers' Party 
(PKK) in northern Iraq.
A dozen Turkish protesters held up banners proclaiming "Stop PKK terrorism" 
on the pavement opposite the Kurdish demonstration at the White House.
Police intervened quickly when the two sides looked as if they would come to 
blows.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20071210-0910-netherlands-humanrights.html

Rights groups from Africa, Asia protest in The Hague about rape, other 
offenses

By Mike Corder
ASSOCIATED PRESS
9:10 a.m. December 10, 2007
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Militias and foreign fighters are using rape as a 
weapon of war in lawless eastern Congo, activists said Monday, calling on 
the International Criminal Court to investigate sex crimes in the country.
"The number of victims of sexual violence continues to increase each day and 
the cruelty used during the rapes exceeds any understanding," said Chouchou 
Namegabe, a journalist from the South Kivu province of eastern Congo, 
speaking on international Human Rights Day.

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"But the international community is silent on this issue and the Congolese 
government does nothing to end this crime against humanity," she said.
Namegabe was representing a group of non-governmental groups that appealed 
to the Hague-based international court - the world's first permanent war 
crimes tribunal - to do more to investigate rapes in Congo.
The court has just two suspects in custody, both from Congo. One - Germain 
Katanga - has been charged with rape and sexual enslavement; the other, 
Thomas Lubanga, is expected to go on trial early next year on charges of 
recruiting child soldiers.
Namegabe said foreign fighters, including members of the extremist Rwandan 
Hutu militia the Interahamwe, were responsible for many rapes. But she also 
blamed warlord Laurent Nkunda, a one-time general who defected from the army 
several years ago and formed his own militia soon after Congo's civil war 
ended in 2002, saying he needed to protect his minority Tutsi ethnic group 
from Rwandan Hutu rebels.
Activists say that this year, more than 4,500 women have been raped in South 
Kivu province.
The Congo activists were among groups that traveled to The Hague on Monday 
to protest on Human Rights Day, which marks the adoption 59 years ago by the 
U.N. General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Hague, home to several major international courts, brands itself as the 
world's legal capital. The rights to life, liberty, free speech, equality, 
education, health and work are among those enshrined in the declaration. It 
also condemns slavery, torture and arbitrary arrest.
Other activists marched through the city with black sashes tied over their 
mouths to protest mass rapes in Bangladesh. A small group also protested in 
front of the Dutch Parliament calling for human rights for China's Uighur 
Muslim minority, and another group demonstrating outside the Foreign 
Ministry to draw attention to what they say are rights abuses by Indonesia 
against inhabitants of Maluku province.

http://www.timesnow.tv/NewsDtls.aspx?NewsID=4961

Patna train riot
12/17/2007 7:46:36 PM
Hundreds of activists of the CPI(ML) party disrupted the lives of people 
wanting to travel on the Howrah-Dinapur express to Kolkata

The activists boarded the train and occupied the seats that had already been 
reserved. When the passengers holding the tickets arrived, a scuffle broke 
out as the activists refused to give up the seats. Soon after, the Railway 
police took over and tried to bring the situation under control.

Some of the angry party workers justified their action on the train. 
According to Krishna Kumar Mirmohi, a CPI(ML) party worker, "We are from the 
CPI(ML) party and we are having a rally in Kolkata from December 16 to 18. 
It is the start of our nationwide movement to protest against the atrocities 
at Nandigram and Singur."

As another party worker Manoj Kumar puts it, "We had already alerted the 
public through newspapers, that our rally was going to take place in 
Kolkata, and they should make alternate arrangements to get to Kolkata."

TIMES NOW spoke with A S Sidaqui, the Railway officer in charge of Patna 
Railway station, who gave an assurance that the passengers attacked would be 
compensated.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C12%5C10%5Cstory_10-12-2007_pg7_56

Turks protest anti-judiciary law
ANKARA: Thousands of Turks protested on Sunday against a new law that 
opponents say will undermine judicial independence and demanded respect for 
secularist values in a new constitution being prepared by the 
Islamist-rooted ruling party.

Lawyers and judges led the demonstration to protest against the law, which 
changes the appointment process for judges and prosecutors.

The law introduces a justice ministry interview into the selection process. 
Critics say that opens the way for political interference.

Opponents have also criticised President Abdullah Gul, a former member of 
the ruling AK Party whose role is to review legislation, for approving the 
law in just a few days. Gul's office said a review of the law had started 
before the draft went to parliament. "They do not know the importance of 
judicial independence ... but we will explain it to them, we will teach 
them," Turkish Bar Association Chairman Ozdemir Ozok shouted to the crowd in 
Ankara. The judiciary is traditionally a bastion of secularism and the march 
turned into a pro-secularist rally.

It was reminiscent of massive protests earlier this year at which 
demonstrators accused the AK Party, whose roots are in political Islam, of 
undermining Muslim Turkey's official secular order. "Turkey is secular and 
will remain secular!" protesters shouted, waving Turkish flags and pictures 
of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern secular republic. reuters

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/05/africa/ME-GEN-Egypt-Jailed-Dissident.php

Riot police cordon off candlelight vigil for Egypt's top jailed dissident

The Associated Press
Published: December 5, 2007

CAIRO, Egypt: Riot police cordoned off dozens of supporters of Egypt's most 
famous jailed dissident as they held a candlelight vigil marking two years 
since a judge ordered Ayman Nour be imprisoned.
No violence was reported at the protest at the downtown Cairo headquarters 
of Nour's opposition party, called al-Ghad or "Tomorrow."
Some 10 police trucks stood parked by the Talaat Harb Square as riot police 
cordoned off the party offices, while protesters crammed onto the balcony, 
the hallway and the street outside.
Plainclothes policemen hurried passer-by away from the protesters, who held 
candles and chanted "Long live Ayman Nour" and "Down with state of 
emergency!"
Nour is serving a five-year prison sentence for allegedly forging signatures 
on petitions to register his political party. He complained earlier this 
year of heart and eye problems, but an Egyptian court in July turned down 
his request to review whether his jail sentence was endangering his health.
A diabetic dependent on insulin, Nour has also undergone cardiovascular 
surgery while in prison.
Nour challenged President Hosni Mubarak for the presidency in 2005, 
finishing a distant second in Egypt's first contested presidential 
elections.
International rights groups and Western governments rebuked Egypt for 
prosecuting him, adding weight to Nour's charge that his trial was 
politically motivated - an accusation Egypt denies.
Nour has also been questioned this year on allegations of slander initiated 
by pro-government lawmaker and editor, Mustafa Bakri, who accused Nour of 
publishing "blasphemous" remarks in his party's newspaper.
U.S. President George W. Bush, who has also criticized Nour's conviction, 
further railed Mubarak's government and some Egyptian media when the 
American leader met in June with leading human rights activist Saad Eddin 
Ibrahim and specifically criticized Nour's detention.
Even though the United States has called for greater democratic reform in 
Egypt, it has lately eased off pressure on Cairo in what is perceived as 
U.S. effort to shield its leading Mideast Arab ally.

http://news.scotsman.com/ViewArticle.aspx?articleid=3587720

Students protest over Topshop 'slave labour'

View Gallery
STUDENTS were today expected to hold a protest outside a Princes Street 
store.
The Edinburgh University students were to target Topshop to campaign against 
the retailer's alleged use of "slave labour" overseas. The group, from the 
university's People and Planet society, will be joining a national Redress 
Fashion day that aims to expose the impact of business practices on wages 
and labour standards.

Topshop, which is part of the Arcadia Group, was accused on the BBC's 
Newsnight programme of buying cotton from suppliers who used forced child 
labour.

Sarah Waldron, Campaigns Officer at People and Planet, said: "If the Arcadia 
group is serious about conditions in its supply chain it must do more than 
send a code of conduct to its suppliers."

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22772068-662,00.html

Police scoop up protest by union official against PM
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Peter Jean
November 17, 2007 12:00am
A UNION official with a pooper scooper managed to get within metres of a 
stage where John Howard was giving a speech before being tackled by 
bodyguards.
Australian Education Union organiser Ken Case approached the stage at the 
Adelaide Convention Centre as Mr Howard was beginning an address to Liberal 
think tank the Menzies Research Institute yesterday.
Mr Case dropped the pooper scooper as he was dragged out of the hall by 
plain-clothed federal police officers.
Another man in the audience held up a sign with the hand-written message 
"non core promises" and shouted the slogan at Mr Howard before leaving the 
hall.
The PM ignored the incident and calmly went on with his speech to 300 
Liberal Party members and supporters.
As he was frisked by police outside the building, Mr Case denied he had been 
planning to harm Mr Howard.
"I'm just collecting the non-core promises in a pooper scooper," he said.
Police later released him without charge.
"The man has not been charged over the incident and police described the 
incident as minor, with no threat to the Prime Minister," a South Australian 
police spokesman said.
AEU branch president Andrew Gohl said Mr Case was on leave and the union did 
not approve of his involvement in the protest.
"He participated as a private citizen. It was not authorised by the AEU and 
we don't support Ken's actions," Mr Gohl said.
Mr Howard declined to blame the union movement for the protest and joked 
that Mr Case was probably not planning to vote for him at the election.
Mr Howard said people were entitled to take part in political protests as 
long as they didn't hurt any one or break the law.
Before the speech, Mr Case placed the pooper scooper, which was inside a 
torn brown paper bag, on a platform at the back of the hall set aside for 
television cameras.
He sat with journalists before grabbing the scooper and moving towards the 
stage.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-7119346,00.html

Muslims in jailed teacher protest
Press Association
Saturday December 1, 2007 5:28 PM
British Muslims protested outside the Sudanese Embassy over the treatment of 
jailed teacher Gillian Gibbons.
The small but noisy group demanded the immediate release of Mrs Gibbons, who 
is currently serving a 15-day prison sentence in Sudan after her class of 
seven-year-olds named a teddy bear Mohammed.
Chanting "free, free Gillian" and "let her go, let her go", demonstrators 
attempted to hand over a "goodwill teddy" to the embassy, but a staff member 
refused to accept the gift.
Some 20 British Muslims, including MP for Tooting Sadiq Khan and chairman of 
the Islamic Human Rights Commission Massoud Shadjareh, gathered outside the 
Sudanese embassy in Piccadilly.
Leaders of the protest said they wanted to show that British Muslims 
supported Mrs Gibbons. Some arrived with their own teddy bears.
The protest followed angry scenes in Khartoum on Friday in which 
knife-wielding fundamentalists called for the execution of Mrs Gibbons.
At the London demonstration, Catherine Heseltine, a 28-year teacher and 
member of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, condemned the action of 
hard-line Islamists.
She said: "They are dragging the name of Islam through the mud. The 
overwhelming feeling in the Muslim community in the UK is that it is really 
sad the way Gillian Gibbons has been treated. I haven't met a single British 
Muslim who has taken the naming of the teddy to be an insult."
Mr Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said: "I find 
it offensive that Islam is being used in this way by the Sudanese government 
and the media.
"It is totally unacceptable by the Sudanese government and the press are 
trying to make this into another cartoon or a Salmon Rushdie issue."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/02/europe/EU-GEN-Spain-Basque-Rally.php

Thousands march in Spain's Basque region to protest arrests

The Associated Press
Published: December 2, 2007
MADRID, Spain: Thousands of protesters held a rally in the northern Basque 
city of Bilbao Sunday to protest the arrest of people for lending support to 
the Basque separatist group ETA.
Several thousand protesters marched carrying placards reading "In favor of 
the Basque Country's democratic rights."
Spanish police on Friday began detaining 56 Basques who went on trial in 
November 2005, were convicted of indirectly aiding ETA, and then released on 
bail pending sentencing.
Those convicted were judged to have aided the armed Basque separatist group 
ETA through a network of outwardly legitimate social and political 
organizations.
Police began the roundup to avoid the possibility of those convicted fleeing 
Spain before they were sentenced, officials said. Up to 37 people have been 
arrested, lawyer Jone Goirizelaia told reporters.
The case ended in March. Judges are expected to begin meting out sentences 
later this month.
The trial stemmed from an eight-year inquiry by Baltasar Garzon, Spain's 
leading anti-terror investigator.
Garzon argued that ETA was not made up solely of armed commandos but was 
supported through political, financial and media organizations.
The defendants were accused of belonging to these groups, some of which had 
been outlawed previously.
The organizations, such as the banned youth groups Ekin and KAS, engaged in 
activities ranging from fundraising and helping ETA plan attacks to 
organizing street violence by separatist supporters, Garzon charged.
The rally went ahead despite the death Saturday of Raul Centeno, a 
24-year-old member of the Civil Guard and the serious injury of his 
colleague, Fernando Trapero, 23, in a shooting in France blamed on ETA.
ETA declared a cease-fire in March 2006 but grew frustrated with a lack of 
concessions in ensuing peace talks with the government.
It killed two people in a car bombing at Madrid airport in December 2006 and 
formally declared the truce over in June.

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iYHhWrzhhdn8EFXUY_haEzamTvyw

Smokers light up in N.S. town to protest tough anti-smoking proposal
Dec 8, 2007
BRIDGEWATER, N.S. - Several dozen people lit up on this Nova Scotia 
community's two bridges Saturday to protest tough anti-smoking measures 
that, if adopted, would make it illegal to smoke in almost all public places 
within the town's limits.
Because they are provincially owned, the two bridge's that span the LaHave 
River would be the only public places in Bridgewater that smoking would be 
allowed under a proposed bylaw. Otherwise, it would be illegal to smoke 
while walking on the sidewalk or driving in a car.
The police said Saturday's protest, which alternated between the two bridges 
and at its height saw about 60 puffing away, was peaceful. Sgt. Al 
Cunningham said reporters almost outnumbered the smokers.
Town council recently voted to order staff to draft the bylaw. However, the 
proposal's future is uncertain, as the most recent vote only passed 3-2 with 
two councillors absent.
Mayor Carroll Publicover has said the proposal would be an unreasonable 
restriction, arguing it would be impossible to enforce the rules on the 
town's 66 kilometres of streets and 34 kilometres of sidewalks.
Bridgewater, a town of about 8,000 people along the province's south shore, 
is the second Nova Scotia community to make headlines by proposing tough 
anti-smoking measures.
Council in Wolfville, N.S., recently passed a bylaw that bans smoking in a 
vehicle when a child is present.
Last week, Nova Scotia's ruling Conservatives said they would support an 
opposition bill that would effectively extend Wolfville's ban across the 
rest of the province.
A similar private member's bill has also been proposed in Ontario, though 
Premier Dalton McGuinty has signalled the legislation would not have the 
government's support.
And on Friday, the Canadian Medical Association urged governments across the 
country to ban smoking in cars carrying children.

http://www.etan.org/et2007/december/08/08soharto.htm

The Jakarta Post
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Journalists protest police violence
JAKARTA: Dozens of journalists gathered in front of the National Police 
Headquarters in South Jakarta on Friday, protesting violence against 
journalists.
"We want the National Police chief to punish Sr. Comr. Julius Srijono, who 
forcibly seized the camera of a Jawa Pos reporter," Suparni, from the group 
Jakarta Journalist Axis, said as quoted by Detik.com news portal.
The reporter, Farouk Arnaz, was covering the police reconstruction of a 
crime in Depok, West Java, on Monday, when Srijono, head of a narcotics unit 
at the National Police, allegedly confiscated his digital camera and deleted 
the pictures he had taken.
The group of reporters protesting on Friday also demanded punishment for 
Depok Police chief Sr. Comr. Imam Pramukarno for allegedly intimidating 
three journalists in a separate incident.
The incident occurred when the journalists were covering a church service at 
a shopping mall last Friday, when a mob arrived and forced the service to 
halt, claiming it was unauthorized. (JP/lva)

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200712/200712070013.html

Police Reporters Protest Pressroom Closure

Reporters on the National Police Agency beat on Thursday issued a statement 
of protest after all-night sit-ins since Nov. 30 failed to prevent the 
closure of their pressroom. "It is people's right to know that we are 
determined to defend," they said and called on the agency to end attempts 
under a draconian new government press policy "to obstruct press 
 monitoring."

Reporters on the National Police Agency beat read a statement against the 
closure of their pressroom in an unlit pressroom on Thursday afternoon.

"Reporters have been sticking it out with candles" in the pressroom when 
electricity and heating were cut off, the statement said. "This shows they 
are willing to defend the freedom of the press against those in power. With 
about 10 days remaining until election day, we reject the government's 
attempt to close down pressrooms." They said police "cut off communication, 
electricity and heating to the pressroom. They disconnected all equipment 
necessary for reporters in gathering information and writing and filing 
stories. This government, which owes its mandate to a candlelight vigil" --  
a reference to an anti-American protests in 2002 that fueled enthusiasm for 
the Left - "is now attempting to blow out the candles in the pressrooms." 
But the reporters said the government can do nothing "to prevent new candles 
from being lit everywhere near them."
The statement was signed by reporters from a total of 16 press organizations 
including the Chosun Ilbo, the Dong-A Ilbo, the JoongAng Ilbo, Yonhap news 
agency, KBS, MBC, SBS, and YTN.
Meanwhile, the NPA, while making energetic efforts to shut down the 
pressroom, has been dragging its feet in disclosing information. The NPA has 
disclosed a mere nine pieces of information through the open government 
website launched in April 2006 to give people access to public information. 
That is minuscule compared to the Supreme Prosecutor's Office (310,461 
pieces of information disclosed), the Korea Customs Service (191,590), the 
Public Procurement Service (147,507), the Rural Development Administration 
(80,119), and the Military Manpower Administration (67,234). In 2006, the 
Office for Government Policy Coordination gave the NPA an "unsatisfactory" 
mark, the lowest among government agencies, for information disclosure.

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-30908720071210

Free press campaigners protest at China block
Mon Dec 10, 2007 1:57pm IST


HONG KONG (Reuters) - Five press freedom campaigners from France who said 
they were denied visas to China unfurled a huge flag depicting handcuffs 
arranged as Olympic rings in front of Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong 
on Monday.
The protesters, from media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, had 
originally planned their international human rights day demonstration to 
take place in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, but on Friday they were barred 
from visiting China and two said they were blacklisted.
"We have eight months before the Olympic Games start to do something to 
improve the situation. One of the things we ask the Chinese authorities is 
to release journalist prisoners," said Robert Menard, secretary-general of 
the group.
The Games begin on Aug. 8, 2008.
The rights group sent an open letter to International Olympic Committee 
(IOC) President Jacques Rogge last week detailing what it described as abuse 
of journalists and accusing him of allowing it to happen by remaining 
silent.
China responded by reiterating that foreign journalists would be welcome to 
cover next year's Beijing Olympics "in a fair and objective way".
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the Paris-based group had 
"consistently attacked China".
Vincent Brossel, another of the campaigners who was denied a visa, said on 
Monday: "We are a press freedom watchdog and we have this campaign -- they 
don't like it. Maybe that's the reason they put us on the blacklist.
"But if they don't like the critics, how can they improve their standards in 
terms of freedom of expression? If they don't accept critics they are 
totally against the Olympic values ... You cannot prepare the Olympics in 
China without mentioning human rights issues."
Reporters Without Borders called on other countries and Olympic sponsors to 
apply pressure on Beijing ahead of the Games.
At the start of the year, China relaxed its rules to allow foreign 
journalists to travel around the country without the usual need for official 
approval. Some local officials and police, however, have often proved 
reluctant to comply.
Chinese reporters are still subject to censorship.
The IOC has said it is confident China will deliver on its commitment to 
allow freedom to report in line with that enjoyed at previous Games.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/12/22/2003393634

Chinese spouses protest 'declining human rights'
'UNREASONABLE POLICIES': Since September Chinese spouses wishing to enter 
Taiwan after getting married have been required to produce health 
certificates

STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Saturday, Dec 22, 2007, Page 4

Chinese spouses of Taiwanese, accompanied by members of a social activist 
group, filed a protest yesterday against what they called "declining human 
rights" in Taiwan.

Several Chinese spouses said at a news conference at the National 
Immigration Agency that unreasonable policies -- including the interview 
policy upon arrival, a long waiting period for citizenship and restrictions 
on working -- have made their lives difficult.

Members of the Chunghua Cross-Strait Marriage Consultation Association, 
which called the news conference, asked the government to respect the rights 
of Chinese spouses.

They said that since the government opened the door to cross-strait 
marriages in 1987, Chinese spouses have endured discrimination.

For example, the Mainland Affairs Council proposed in 2002 that the waiting 
period for Chinese spouses to obtain Republic of China (ROC) citizenship be 
extended from eight years to 11 years, although the proposal was later 
dropped, they said.

The council then imposed a quota system for their citizenship application, 
they said.

The government also launched an interview policy in recent years to screen 
Chinese spouses with questions that were considered to infringe upon their 
privacy, the group said.

In June, the Ministry of the Interior published a demographic white paper 
that reduced quotas for Chinese spouses settling in Taiwan, they said.

Since Sept. 1, Chinese spouses intending to enter Taiwan after marriage have 
been required to produce health certificates from state-run hospitals, 
licensed private hospitals or university-affiliated hospitals and certified 
by a Chinese notary agency, they said.

The clean bill of health must then be certified by the Straits Exchange 
Foundation to prove the document's validity, they said.

The association said that of the 250,000 Chinese spouses living in Taiwan 
only about 30,000 have ROC identity cards.

In response, the National Immigration Agency said it would conduct a 
thorough review to address the grievances.

Regarding a suggestion by association members that the agency revise the 
regulations on the interview system and the waiting period, the agency said 
that draft revisions were sent to the Executive Yuan for approval in 
October.

On the provision of a financial statement, officials said that all Chinese 
spouses of Taiwanese nationals have to be interviewed, but the requirement 
to provide a financial statement is decided on a case by case basis.

They said that when Chinese spouses enter Taiwan, they do not have work 
permits issued by the Council of Labor Affairs, meaning that Taiwanese 
nationals have to provide their living expenses.

http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=11..231207.dec07

Sit-in-protest
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 22: In protest against the act of shooting Executive 
Engineer of IFCD Division I Soubam Dhanabir of Thangmeiband Sinam Leikai at 
his residence yesterday by some unidentified persons grievously injuring the 
engineer, a sit-in-protest was staged today at Thangmeiband Sinam Leikai.

During the protest sitting held under the aegis of Thangmeiband Sinam Leikai 
Nupi Marup, the protesters held placards which read as, "We condemn armed 
assault against the IFCD engineer", "We hate gun culture", "We want peace" 
etc.

The women protesters while observing that the attack has caught the local 
people in a panicky situation, demanded that the perpetrators should give an 
explicit explanation for the armed assault.

Meanwhile, a press release issued by the Employees' Union of Irrigation and 
Flood Control Department has strongly condemned the act of shooting and 
grievously injuring EE Dhanabir.

It also appealed to all concerned not to repeat such brutal acts in future.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/21/content_7289228.htm

Venezuelans protest at U.S. embassy over allegations relating to Argentine 
elections


www.chinaview.cn  2007-12-21 12:52:34                      Print


    CARACAS, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Johnny Yanez, governor of the Venezuelan 
province of Cojedes, protested Thursday at the U.S. embassy against U.S. 
charges that Venezuela has sent a suitcase stuffed with greenbacks to help 
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez win her campaign.

    Yanez headed a parade to the U.S. embassy located in the Valle Arriba 
neighborhood in eastern Caracas and handed over a letter repudiating the 
charges he said were not true.

    Venezuelan-U.S. entrepreneur Guido Antonini Wilson was seized in August 
with a suitcase containing 800,000 U.S. dollars at the Argentine customs.

    The suitcase was taken on Dec. 12 to a court in Miami, Florida, where 
three Venezuelans and a Uruguayan were accused of trying to cover up a 
"scheme" to bring 800,000 dollars in cash to Argentina.

    According to U.S. prosecutors, the money was aimed to help her win the 
presidential poll in October.

    Yanez in return said the United States has violated their legitimate 
rights by holding the Venezuelans under arrest.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/05/AR2008010501678.html?hpid=topnews

S. Africa's Teens Give New Law the Kiss-Off
Anti-Intimacy Measure Sparks Online Outrage

Bianca Secchia, 14, and Attie Nortje, 17, joined an ice-rink protest against 
the strict "kissing law." (By Craig Timberg -- The Washington Post)

By Craig Timberg
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, January 6, 2008; Page A12

JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 5 -- The lights dimmed. Couples skated purposefully onto 
the ice. And at the command of an unseen deejay, teenage lips touched in 
defiance of what even authorities here have grudgingly come to call "the 
kissing law."

"The law to me is nothing. I don't think it's going to stop anyone," said 
Bianca Secchia, 14, who participated in the demonstration Saturday and 
shared another, less political smooch afterward with her boyfriend, Attie 
Nortje, 17, at the darkened Northgate Ice Arena.

The protest on the northern suburban fringe of Johannesburg was hardly a 
signal moment in South Africa's storied history of liberation politics. Most 
of the two dozen young demonstrators settled for scattered group hugs that 
prosecutors would have struggled to deem criminal even under the new law, 
which prohibits physical romantic contact involving anyone under 16, 
regardless of consent.

But the controversy generated by news of the looming event -- first on the 
social networking site Facebook, then in radio and newspaper reports -- led 
authorities to announce that they had no intention of arresting or 
prosecuting anyone for violating a law enacted just three weeks earlier. It 
amounted to quite a victory for legions of cyberlinked high school students 
not yet old enough to drive themselves to their own protest.

Strictly speaking, the law criminalized for those under 16 a remarkably 
broad range of behavior, including mouth-to-mouth contact and any other form 
of touching that could cause sexual arousal.

In fact, actual prosecutions of consensual encounters between teenagers 
under 16 are unlikely under the law, requiring explicit approval from the 
country's top prosecutor. Authorities said the measure was intended to make 
it easier to prosecute sexual liaisons between adult men and much younger 
girls, and assaults on the mentally disabled.

Yet news of the law triggered a backlash among thousands of students armed 
with little more than computers, Facebook accounts and an acute sense of 
outrage at what they regarded as the clueless behavior of repressive adults. 
Many teens also posted pictures of themselves engaged in amorous, but 
largely PG-rated, exchanges.

"We're young. We need to experiment," Natalie Winston, 12, said before the 
protest here. "When you're 21, you're old already, and ugly."

The organizer, or at least instigator, of the movement was Frances Murray, 
14, an exuberant denizen of online-networking sites who has long, dark hair 
and wears braces and black nail polish. Shortly before Christmas, with just 
a few weeks to go before she started 10th grade under South Africa's school 
calendar, she learned about the law from a friend while instant messaging, 
she said.

"When I checked it out, I thought 'Okay, how am I going to go out and break 
this law?' " recalled Frances, who dreams of becoming a rock star or, in 
light of recent events, a political organizer.

After downloading a few news stories, Frances created a Facebook group 
called "Everybody Against the New Kissing Law." The description of the group 
included information on the law's effect and a passionate call to action: 
"Lets band together and stop this law!!!!! It's takin away our freedom of 
choice and is against Our Human Rights."

Frances said she messaged many of her friends, urging them to take up the 
cause. After one day, 166 people had joined the group. By the second day, 
there were 664, and she soon began suggesting in her postings a mass action 
of some sort.

A couple of news reports took note of the burgeoning outrage on Facebook. As 
the New Year arrived, postings by other teens began calling for public 
kissing demonstrations at malls across the nation, at noon every Saturday in 
January. Frances's group, meanwhile, now has more than 14,000 members.

Many of the protest plans fizzled. One group organizing an event at a mall 
in a nearby suburb postponed its action for a week. Elsewhere, teens posted 
messages expressing regret that they could not arrange transportation or 
were traveling abroad. Amid rumors of teens being fined for breaking the 
law, some would-be protesters got cold feet.

Armand Stoop, 17, who has a crew cut and a faint goatee, said his 
15-year-old girlfriend had called off all kissing since hearing the news.

"She's really law-abiding," Stoop said with a hint of sadness mingled with 
frustration. "She doesn't want to get me in trouble."

In interviews, authorities said most teens had little to fear. A Justice 
Department spokesman said of kissing by those under 16, "Technically it is 
illegal, but obviously those children are not going to be charged."

Assistant Police Commissioner Tertius Geldenhuys said that the reported 
demonstrations merited no special deployment plans and that officers would 
take complaints but not initiate action even if they came across necking 
14-year-olds. "Your innocent children will not be prosecuted, and the police 
will not take note of it," he said. "We have much bigger issues to concern 
ourselves with."

Yet at Northgate Ice Arena, redolent with the heady scent of old socks and 
young love, the protesters girded themselves with brave words.

"The police are here! The police are here!" Frances exulted when two police 
officers appeared shortly before the demonstration was due to begin at 1 
p.m.

But the officers took no apparent notice of the dimly lit maneuverings on 
the ice, where Frances grabbed a platonic friend for a symbolic protest hug. 
Then, as a couple of news cameras trained on her as she stood rink-side 
afterward, she put her arm around a second platonic friend, Joe Tewson, 14, 
and kissed his cheek.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/12/09/politics/fromtheroad/entry3596224.shtml

Paul Supporters Protest Giuliani
Posted by Joy Lin| 33

(CBS)
>From CBS News' Joy Lin

MIAMI -- "Fascist! Fascist!" shouted a handful of Ron Paul supporters at 
Rudy Giuliani as he left a hotel and got into his car.

Giuliani donned his signature grin while someone screamed at him and his 
staff, calling them "traitors to the constitution, all of you!" Another guy 
yelled, "Pathetic!"

"Sell-outs! Got to war, you hypocrites! Cowards! Where's your support? You 
don't have anybody!" one protestor continued.

That man was Frank Gonzalez, who noticed Giuliani's "suits" at the hotel 
entrance earlier while he and others picketed along the South Dixie Highway 
in Miami. Gonzalez, a self-proclaimed "Ron Paul Democrat" has unsuccessfully 
run for Congress three times.

What's the difference between a Ron Paul Democrat and a Ron Paul Republican? 
If there's no difference, is Ron Paul a Republican?

"Good question. What addresses that more than anything is the underlying 
philosophy," explained Gonzalez. "Ron Paul is, what they were calling until 
now, a Goldwater conservative, or a Ronald Reagan conservative, but the real 
definition of what Ron Paul is all about is libertarianism... By that 
definition, anyone can run, really, in either party - Ron Paul can run as a 
Republican, I ran as a Democrat, but our issues are identical, with very, 
very, very few exceptions." He listed abortion as one area of difference, 
although that could be resolved because Ron Paul believes the federal 
government "has no business" deciding whether abortion is legal or illegal.

By 3 p.m. - four hours before the debate was scheduled to begin - about 25 
Ron Paul supporters were baking under the sun, holding up signs across the 
street from where the Univision debate would be held. Every minute or so, a 
car would honk as it passed by.

John Bulten and his wife Penny brought their two children - ages 2 and 7 - 
to the gathering, which had been organized via a MeetUp group.

Their daughter, Hannah, was wearing a Ron Paul t-shirt she had made as, her 
father said, "a home school project." Among the many Ron Paul tenets she had 
painted on the t-shirt were pictures of flowers, grass, and sunshine.

Bulten asked his daughter why Americans should vote for Ron Paul.

"Lower taxes, less government, more protection for our borders, and um.get 
our troops home" she said.