[WCUSP] pakistan - marieme

Fri Nov 9 15:29:27 CST 2007

> re pakistan-----  
> From: mahl 
> 
> 
> to whoever wants to know about pakistan see the
> various sites on South Asian Citizens Web (sacw)
> 
> love
> marieme
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Women's Action Forum - Lahore
> 
> Press Release
> 
> 
> 
> 7 November 2007
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Women's Action Forum Rights demands:
> 
> ·        the immediate withdrawal of the emergency,
> 
> ·        restitution of the Constitution and full
> fundamental rights,
> 
> ·        the release of all those arrested and
> detained, and
> 
> ·        the removal of all curbs on the print and
> electronic media.
> 
> 
> 
> The Women's Action Forum (WAF) Lahore condemns the
> imposition of emergency and the promulgation of the
> Provisional Constitutional Order and the suspension
> of fundamental rights, the unlawful arrest of
> peaceful human rights activists and concerned
> citizens from the HRCP office, the arrest of
> journalists, the brutal attacks and arrests of
> hundreds of lawyers across the country who are being
> charged under the Anti-Terrorist Act 1997, and the
> blackout of TV channels.
> 
> 
> 
> Having imposed emergency under the pretext of
> dealing with armed extremists, the state has instead
> chosen to arrest peaceful, unarmed human rights
> activists and the legal fraternity.
> Independent-minded judges have been removed and
> placed under house arrest, transmissions of all
> independent news channels have been blacked out and
> journalists arrested. In sharp contrast no action
> has been taken against armed extremists who continue
> to expand their areas of control and are being
> offered negotiations.
> 
> 
> 
> Clearly the attempt is to silence all of civil
> society and sane voices while giving full freedom to
> those who have been flouting the law and challenging
> the writ of the state. Muzzling civil society will
> only serve to exacerbate the already grave situation
> prevailing in Pakistan.
> 
> 
> 
> WAF demands
> 
>   a.. the immediate withdrawal of the emergency, 
>   b.. restitution of the Constitution and full
> fundamental rights, 
>   c.. the release of all those arrested and
> detained, and 
>   d.. the removal of all curbs on the print and
> electronic media.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> For
> 
> The Working Committee
> 
> 
> 
> Farida Shaheed
> 
> Khawar Mumtaz
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >From journalist Beena Sarwar
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2007 17:37:55 +0500
> From: Beena Sarwar <beena.sarwar at gmail.com>
> Reply-To: beena-issues-owner at yahoogroups.com
> To: beena-issues at yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [beena] update re: human rights activists
> arrested in Lahore; PFUJ
>    rejects media curbs, emergency
> 
> Police rangers surrounded the Human Rights
> Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) office
> this afternoon, where a meeting to discuss the
> current political situation was
> underway organised by the Joint Action Committee.
> Police broke the hall windows
> and disrupted the peaceful meeting and asked the
> participants to come out. All
> the participants were bundled into the police vans
> and driven to the Model Town
> Police Station.
> 
> Some activists who were a bit late for the meeting
> found the office cordoned off
> by 12.45 and the road blocked towards the office
> blocked. "We stayed outside the
> hall for half an hour to asses the situation. We
> contacted some friends in
> present in the meeting on moble and apprised them
> about the situation outside.
> More contingents of police were pouring in. It was
> all a threatening scenario.
> Gun totting police men on red lighted vehicles and
> bikes were all around. The
> police ordered all the people waiting ousite the
> hall to leave the place," said
> one of the activists.
> 
> They remained in contact with some participants on
> phone and learnt that after
> police entered the hall and stopped the meeting
> "they offered the women
> participants to leave the venue while all the men
> were told that they are
> arrested. The women participants refused to go so
> they were also arrested along
> with men. later they werte all taken to police
> station. Police has refused to
> tell them the nature and period of their detention."
> 
> Over 70 people have been detained and taken to the
> Model Town (Block A) police
> station. They include eminent journalist & director
> HRCP I.A. Rehman, economist
> Shahid Hafeez Kardar, lawyer Iqbal Haider, HRCP's
> Rao Abid Hameed, Dr Mubashir
> Hasan (later released because of his age), artists
> Salima Hashmi & Lala Rukh,
> educationist Samina Rehman & other Women Action
> Forum members, SAFMA's Imtiaz
> Alam.
> 
> Their families are not being allowed to meet them,
> although some were able to
> get medications etc through to them. There are about
> 150 family members and
> friends gathered outside the police station. Police
> are saying that under
> Sections 3 & 16 of the MPO 1960 (maintenance of
> public order) they have the
> right to detain for up to 30 days without charge.
> 
> Meanwhile, about 50 people gathered at Karachi &
> chalked out a plan to keep
> information flowing. Anoher 50 or so just met at
> Karachi Press Club at a
> meeting called by the Peoples Movement for Justice.
> Prominent Fakhruddin G.
> Ebrahim, Hafeez Lakho, Yusuf Mastikhan and others
> was also there.
> 
> Other updates coming in thru various sources, some
> already published on
> newspaper & TV channel websites:
> -Sindh lawyers are defying the replacement of the
> judiciary. They've sent out a
> text msg saying: "Sabihuddin in our Chief Justice.
> All judges continue to hold
> office. We do not recognise Afzal Soomro!"
> -Sindh High Court Bar Association president Abrar
> Hasan has been arrested and
> taken to Karachi Central Prison (source - his
> daughter in law)
> -Asma Jahangir is under house arrest.
> -Other prominent lawyers like former president SCBA
> Munir Malik are also under
> arrest
> -Judges being pressurised to take oath
> - All news channels still blocked by cable
> operators, but cell phones and
> internet working (at least in Karachi)
> - In a press release today, the Pakistan Federal
> Union of Journalists (PFUJ)
> rejected the promulgation of "mini-Martial Law" in
> the cover of emergency,
> "strongly condemned late night police raids on
> private tv news channels, two FM
> radios following the virtual ban on news channels
> for the last two days and
> decided to resist these action with the cooperation
> of other media
> organisations including International media
> watchdogshas. They have called an
> emergency meeting on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Other
> journalist unions have already
> held meetings in different parts of the country.
> - PFUJ has condemned the ordinance-2007, to amend
> Press, Newspapers, News
> Agencies, and Books Registration Ordinance, 2002 and
> the Pakistan Electronic
> Media Regulatory Authority, PEMRA, 2002 - the
> amendment has 'added to already
> existing "black laws," against media and its a
> direct attack on freedom of
> expression and freedom of the Press.'
> 
> Earlier some ideas were floated about peaceful
> protest against the emergency:
> - Wiki site being set up for info
> - Wear white with a black armband or black ribbon.
> - Put a black flag on your car or motorcycle and
> wear black arm bands in
> peaceful protest against martial law.
> 
> 
> Scott Long
> Director, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
> Rights Program
> Human Rights Watch
> Tel +1 212.216.1297
> E-mail longs at hrw.org
> 
> Sprach der Knabe: "Daß das weiche Wasser in.
>    Bewegung
> Mit der Zeit den mächtigen Stein besiegt.
> Du verstehst, das Harte unterliegt."
>             --Brecht, "Legende von der Entstehung
> des Buches Taoteking auf dem
> Weg des Laotse in die Emigration"
> 
> ----- End forwarded message -----
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  
> Curbs on media condemned
> Rights bodies demand immediate
> withdrawal of emergency proclamation
> Press Release
> PESHAWAR: The Alliance for Protection of Human
> Rights (APHR), a group of civil society
> organizations, has demanded an immediate withdrawal
> of proclamation of emergency; re-instatement of the
> Constitution and lifting of the curbs on media.  
> 
> In a press release issued here on Monday, the
> 8-member alliance comprising Human Rights Commission
> of Pakistan, Aurat Foundation, Shirkat Gah,
> Strengthening Participatory Organization, Human
> Resource Management and Development Center, Noor
> Education, Khwendo Kor and Sungi Foundation termed
> the imposition of emergency and promulgation of
> Provisional Constitutional Order an insult to 160
> million people of the country, democracy and the
> civil society at large.
> 
> Severely criticizing the move, the APHR said the
> grounds cited by the General Pervez Musharraf for
> taking the extreme action were totally hollow. "None
> else but the present rulers and their unwise
> policies are responsible for the state of affairs
> that is prevailing in the country. Musharaf has
> already amassed all the powers in the capacity of a
> president, chief of the army staff and supreme
> commander of the armed forces. What more power does
> he want?" questioned the rights organizations.
> 
> Terming the emergency a step taken solely to
> throttle the independent judiciary and free media,
> the APHR recalled that the judicial activism had
> revived the hopes of the down-trodden people of the
> country so much so that the rulers took it as a
> threat to their power base. "The imprudent policies
> of the regime pursued in the last 8 years and not
> the judiciary is responsible for the worsening law
> and order situation in the country," said the press
> release while demanding the re-instatement of all
> the judges of the superior judiciary, including
> Supreme Court and high courts.
> 
> Pointing to the mala fide nature of the emergency
> step, the APHR said: "A military ruler slapped
> emergency in the country on November 3, 2007 after
> fearing that a revitalized apex court is a challenge
> to his unlawful actions and is set to hand a verdict
> against his eligibility for the president slot." The
> press release called for re-instatement of the
> 11-member Supreme Court bench to continue hearing of
> Musharraf's eligibility case and give a judgment at
> the earliest.
> 
> The alliance condemned the restrictions placed on
> the free media after the imposition of emergency
> with the promulgation of two ordinances. "What
> message the rulers are sending to the outside world
> by banning the telecasts of a dozen independent TV
> channels and broadcasts of free FM radios. The Press
> is the fourth pillar of the estate and any curbs on
> it would ultimately hurt the interests of the state
> and no patriotic citizen can endure that," said the
> press release.
> 
> Criticizing the curbs on free media, the alliance
> said there was no need to amend the Press,
> Newspapers, News Agencies and Book Registration
> Ordinance 2002 and the Pakistan Electronic Media
> Regulatory Authority, 2002. "These ordinances have
> been amended just to gag the free media which cannot
> be tolerated in a civilized society," said the Press
> release, adding sentences such as discontinuation of
> publication of a non-compliant newspaper for one
> month and Rs 10 million fine and jail up to three
> years for the non-submissive TV channels are the
> steps that must be condemned by all conscientious
> people,'' said the Press release.
> 
> The rights bodies alliance also flayed the arrest of
> lawyers, political workers and civil society
> activists in Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan,
> Karachi and other parts of the country and advised
> the government to stop such draconian actions
forthwith.>
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