Group 48 Newsletter - March 2009

Legislative Update This has already been a very exciting year for policy and human rights, and another big step has just been taken. There has been a lot of talk about accountability and transparency into the violations that occurred during the last 8 years. Many good points have been made about finding out how it got so bad so quickly, and what needs to be done to prevent it from happening again. During the last week of February, Senator Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, scheduled a committee hearing on for the 4th of March titled “Getting to the Truth Through a Nonpartisan Commission of Inquiry”. The intent is an ambitious invistigation to really learn what went wrong. One of the most striking parts of the announcement of the hearing was the following section: ”While many are focused on whether crimes were committed, it is just as important to learn if significant mistakes were made, regardless of whether they can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury to be criminal conduct. We compound the serious mistakes already made if we limit our inquiry to criminal investigations and trials. Moreover, it is easier for prosecutors to net those far down the ladder than those at the top who set the tone and the policies. We do not yet know the full extent of our government’s actions in these areas, and we must be sure that an independent review goes beyond the question of whether crimes were committed, to the equally important assessment of whether mistakes were made so we may endeavor not to repeat them.” Personally, I am very excited and even surprised that action of this degree has happened so quickly. It is important that we make sure our voices are still heard, and that our Senators know that we expect them to speak out. We expect them to act to support the creation of this commission and speak out about the need for accountability for the abuses of detainees in custody of the USA. AIUSA has set up a nice web page that can help you make the call to the DC Senate offices, and provides a summary of talking points to make your call nice and easy. You can find this at the address below: http://www.amnestyusa.org/stoptorture/ accountability.php?sid=91231479&st=OR If you would prefer to call their local offices, that would be great as well. It’s important that they know that their constituants are thinking about these issues. Senator Wyden (Portland): (503) 326-7525 Senator Merkley (Portland): (503) 326-3386

Amnesty International Group 48 Newsletter March 2009

www.aipdx.org 503-227-1878 Next Meeting: Friday, March 13, 2009 First Unitarian Church, 1011 SW 12th Ave

This month's meeting will feature a panel from the Democratic Republic of Congo starting at 7:30pm. Room setup begins at 7:00pm. Volunteer help is welcome.

“Conflict in Congo” speaker event Amnesty International USA Group 48 and the Congolese Community of Oregon (CCO) will present a panel discussion about the conflict in the Congo on Friday, March 13, 2009 at 7:30 PM at the First Unitarian Church, 1011 SW 12th Avenue, Portland, OR. Led by Portland area residents from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the panel will highlight the human rights abuses from the ongoing conflict in the DRC, such as displacements of thousands, violence against women and children, and the role of natural resources in the conflict. The program, co-sponsored by the First Unitarian Church, is free and open to the public. For more information, call Amnesty International USA Group 48: 503-227-1878 or the Congolese Community of Oregon: 503-954-1656. See full details on page three of this newsletter. Additional event details are at: http://aipdx.org/2009/03/01/conflict-in-congo AI Group 48 Contact Info

Phone Guy Marty Fromer 503-227-1878 [email protected] Concert & Event Tabling Will Ware 503-227-5225 ww_ware at yahoo.com

Legislative Coordinator Dan Johnson, 503-310-4540 [email protected] China RAN Joanne Lau, 971-221-5450 [email protected]

Treasurer Janan Stoll, 503-282-8834 [email protected]

Philippine/Indonesia RAN Max White, 503-292-8168 [email protected]

Central Africa RAN Christine Glenn, Terrie Rodello 503-452-8087 [email protected]

Central American RAN Marylou Noble 503-245-6923 [email protected]

OR State Death Penalty Coordinator Terrie Rodello, 503-246-6836 [email protected]

Newsletter Editor Dan Webb (503) 253-3491 [email protected]

As always, feel free to contact me with any questions. Dan Johnson [email protected]

China Regional Action Network Urgent Action 42/09

Imminent Execution: DuYimin 2/13/09 Businesswoman Du Yimin was sentenced to death in March 2008. Her appeal was rejected on 13 January, and her sentence will now be reviewed by the Supreme People’s Court. If it upholds her sentence, she could be executed within days. She was convicted of “fraudulent raising of public funds.” According to the verdict, she had illegally raised approximately 700 million Yuan (US$102 million) from hundreds of people investing in her beauty parlors. According to the Chinese press, she had obtained the money between 2003 and 2006 by offering investors monthly returns of up to 10%. According to her lawyer, Du Yimin should have been convicted of the lesser offense of “illegally collecting public deposits,” which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 Yuan (US$73,000). Du Yimin argued that she had had no intention of keeping the money, but had rather put it into her companies, and obtained it without using fraudulent means. Du Yimin’s death sentence has caused a debate about consistency in application of the death penalty. The day before she was sentenced to death, an official who used 15.8 billion Yuan of public funds to cover his personal spending was sentenced to fixed term imprisonment. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The death penalty is applicable for 68 offenses in China, including non-violent ones. China executes more people every year than any other country in the world. There is likely to have been a significant drop in executions during 2007, after the Supreme People’s Court resumed authority to review all death sentences. That year, Amnesty International recorded 470 executions, but this is an absolute minimum, based on publicly available reports. A USbased NGO that is focused on advancing human rights in China, the Dui Hua Foundation, estimates that between 5,000 and 6,000 people were executed that year, based on figures obtained from local officials. The official statistics on death sentences and executions are classified as state secrets. China provides no clemency procedures for condemned prisoners after they have exhausted their appeals through the courts. A joint directive issued by Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Justice in March 2007 urged judicial departments to ensure that prisoners under sentence of death were able to meet their families after their sentences were confirmed. Despite this, Amnesty International has received several reports of families being given so little warning of executions that they have had no chance of a final meeting. No one who is sentenced to death in China receives a fair trial in accordance with international human rights standards. Many

have had confessions accepted despite saying in court that these were extracted under torture; have had to prove themselves innocent, rather than be proved guilty; and have had limited access to legal counsel. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible: - urging the authorities not to execute Du Yinmin; - urging the National People’s Congress to introduce a legal procedure for clemency; - calling on the authorities to ensure that Du Yimin has access to her family - urging the National People’s Congress to eliminate the death penalty for all non-violent crimes; - urging the authorities to establish an immediate moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, as provided by UN General Assembly resolution 62/ 149, of 18 December 2007. APPEALS TO: President of the Supreme People’s Court WANG Shengjun Yuanzhang, Zuigao Renmin Fayuan 27 Dongjiaomin Xiang, Beijingshi 100745 PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Fax: 011 86 10 65292345 Salutation: Dear President Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress WU Bangguo Weiyuanzhang Quanguo Renda Changwu Weiyuanhui Bangongting 23 Xijiaominhang, Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100805 PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Fax: 011 86 10 63097934 Email: [email protected] Salutation: Dear Chairman Minister of Justice Wu Aiying Buzhang Sifabu 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020 PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Fax: 011 86 10 65292345 Email: [email protected] Salutation: Dear Minister COPIES TO: Ambassador Wen Zhong Zhou Embassy of the People’s Republic of China 2300 Connecticut Ave. NW Washington DC 20008 Fax: 1 202 328-2582 Email: [email protected]

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Central Africa Regional Action Network

Join Amnesty International USA Group 48 and the Congolese Community of Oregon to Raise Awareness about the Conflict in the Congo February 27, 2009 Amnesty International USA Group 48 and the Congolese Community of Oregon (CCO) present a panel discussion about the conflict in the Congo on Friday, March 13, 2009 at 7:30 PM at the First Unitarian Church, 1011 SW 12th Avenue, Portland, OR. Led by Portland area residents from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the panel will highlight the human rights abuses from this conflict, such as displacements of thousands, violence against women and, children recruited for the conflict, and the role of natural resources in this conflict. This presentation launches a campaign of the Congolese Community Organization of Oregon (CCO) and Group 48 to raise awareness of the human suffering in the Congo and to educate members of Portland community about how they can help bring peace to the region. The program is co-sponsored by the First Unitarian Church and is free and open to the public. For information, call 503-227-1878 or 503-954-1656. ABOUT THE PANELISTS: Vincent Chirimwami, a native Congolese, is the secretary and spokesperson for the Congolese Community of Oregon. A student at Portland State University, Mr. Chirimwami will address the role of natural resources and economics in the conflict. Jeremy Ruvunangiza, a native Congolese and a student at the College of Legal Arts, will discuss the effect of the conflict on individuals and families. Masikini Maguy Kavira, a native Congolese, is a health and human rights professional and co-founder of Amani, a Portland-based NGO devoted to the promotion of peace and global citizenship internationally. A former medical doctor in the Democratic Republic of Congo, who recently returned from the region, she will discuss the effect of the conflict on civilians, especially women and children. WHY: The human toll of the ten-year conflict in the Congo has been the loss of more than 5 millions innocent lives, more than 250,000 women raped with some brutally killed after, 1.2 millions children dead, and about 2 million people displaced from their homes. Early in 2009, there was a dramatic turn of events in the conflict in eastern DRC. The DRC government reached agreements with its often-hostile neighbors, Uganda and Rwanda, to conduct joint military operations to pursue mutual enemies on Congolese soil. Hundreds of civilians were killed, and thousands displaced. The situation in the eastern DRC is very dangerous. Systematic abduction of women and children and attacks on civilians and peacekeepers remain widespread. Such attacks are war crimes and can constitute crimes against humanity. They are punishable under international law. The decade-long ongoing war in the Congo has been misinterpreted as a civil war, ethnic conflict, or a tribal war. The Portland public needs to recognize that this war is about Congo’s natural resources and minerals. ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS: Organized in 1973, Group 48 is a local chapter of Amnesty International USA, an international human rights organization headquartered in London, UK. Its work began with a focus on civil and

political violations of the rights of individuals and expanded to generate awareness for human rights abuses in regions of the world. Its current focuses are the death penalty in Oregon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes region in Africa, China, Central America, Indonesia, East Timor, and Darfur. Individual cases include Shi-Tao of China and Guantanamo detainees. Phone: 503-227-1878. Website: www.aipdx.org. Congolese Community of Oregon (CCO) is a non profit organization of former Congolese natives in the Portland area organized to raise awareness of the suffering of the people of the Congo and to help bring peace and stability to the region. Phone: 503-954-1656 Email Address: [email protected]. Website: www.voicesforcongo.org.

Amnesty International Condemns Sudan, Demands that Aid Agencies Be Allowed to Continue Life-Saving Work in Darfur (New York 3/5/09) — Amnesty International today condemned Sudan’s decision to expel humanitarian aid agencies in response to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against President Omar al Bashir and warned that 2.2 million people face starvation and disease, if aid is halted. “The population of Darfur is now being punished by its own government in response to the arrest warrant”, said Tawanda Hondora, deputy director, Amnesty International’s Africa Program. The Sudanese government is effectively holding the entire civilian population of Darfur hostage; an aggressive act that must be condemned in the strongest possible terms by the African Union, the League of Arab States, and the international community as a whole. Sudan expelled more than 10 aid agencies, including Oxfam, Care, Save the Children and Medecins Sans Frontieres, soon after the ICC announced the arrest warrant against President Bashir for atrocities committed over the last six years. More than 2.2 million people depend on aid to survive. Amnesty International demanded that Sudan reverse its decision and allow the aid organizations to continue their life-saving work. “The alternative is simply unthinkable”, said Hondora. The African Union today held an emergency meeting to discuss the arrest warrant. The League of Arab States convened yesterday and expressed its solidarity with President al Bashir. Amnesty International urged the Peace and Security Council of the AU to hold a special hearing on access, to support the return of humanitarian agencies to Darfur.denied. Please visit www.amnestyusa.org for more information. (page three)

Central America Regional Action Network RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Spanish or your own language: - calling on the authorities to take steps to ensure the safety of witnesses to the abduction, Guadalupe Castro Morales, other relatives of Manuel Ponce Rosas and Raúl Lucas Lucía and other members of the Organization for the Future of Mixtec Indigenous MEXICO Manuel Ponce Rosas (m) Raúl Lucas Lucía (m) Peoples s as well as human rights organizations supporting the Guadalupe Castro Morales, other relatives and other members of families; - calling on the authorities to initiate an immediate, thorough the Organization for the Future of Mixtec Indigenous Peoples and impartial investigation into the killing of Manuel Ponce Rosas Manuel Ponce Rosas and Raúl Lucas Lucía were found dead late and Raúl Lucas Lucía and to ensure all the evidence is collected and at night on 20 February in Tecoanapa municipality, Guerrero State. properly preserved in accordance with international standards; - calling on the CEDH to monitor the investigation Their families,members of the Organization for the Future of Mixtec - calling for a full and thorough inquiry on why police and prosIndigenous Peoples (Organizacion para el Futuro de los Pueblos Mixtecos, OFPM) and other human rights activists supporting the ecutors refused to initiate an immediate investigation into the men’s abduction and apparent enforced disappearance despite the comfamilies may be at risk of reprisals. The bodies of the two men were unearthed in Las Cazuelas, plaint filed by witnesses. thirty minutes drive away from where they were abducted by armed men on 13 February. Both of the bodies have been identified APPEALS TO: by their families who report that the bodies show clear signs of torture. Raúl Lucas was found with a bullet in his head and severe Governor of Guerrero bruises and blows to his nose, cheeks and mouth and severe burns on his neck and chest Lic. Zeferino Torreblanca Galindo area. Manuel Ponce’s Gobernador del Estado de Guerrero body showed signs of Palacio de Gobierno, Edificio Centro, piso 2, Ciudad de los severe bruises on his Servicios, CP 39075, Chilpancingo, Guerrero, MEXICO face and head, his teeth Email: [email protected] were shattered. Both bodies were discovered Fax: +52 747 471 9956 Salutation: Señor Gobernador/Dear Governor buried in plastic bags. Manuel Ponce Rosas and Raúl Lucas’ Attorney General of the Republic families have received a series of threats since Lic. Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza the two men’s abduc- Procuraduría General de la República, tion. On 13 February, Av. Paseo de la Reforma Nº 211-213, Piso 16 Guadalupe Castro Morales, Raúl Lucas’ wife, received a phone call Col. Cuauhtémoc, Del. Cuauhtémoc, saying “Don’t make trouble, stay quiet” (“No empieces a chingar, México D.F., C.P. 06500, MÉXICO quedate calladita”). On 18 February Raúl Lucas’ sister received a phone call telling her to tell Guadalupe Castro to stop making such Fax: +52 55 5346 0908 (if they answer say: a fuss or they would kidnap her daughter (“dile a Guadalupe que “me da tono de fax, por favor”) deje de estar haciendo tanta mamada porque si sigue así vamos a Salutation: Dear Attorney General/Señor Procurador levantar a su hija”). Amnesty International believes that the relatives of the two Attorney General of Guerrero deceased men and local human rights organizations supporting them may be at risk of reprisals and further threats. This is due to Lic. Eduardo Murueta Urrutia their belief that the two men may have been abducted by police, and Procurador del Estado de Guerrero murdered as a consequence of their work as human rights defend- Carretera Nacional México-Acapulco Km. 6+300, Tramo Chilpancingo-Petaquillos ers. Over the years, Amnesty International has documented a pat- Chilpancingo 39090, Guerrero, MÉXICO tern of harassment and intimidation against members of Indigenous rights organizations in Guerrero state such as the Me’ phaa Fax: +52 747 472 2328 Indigenous People’s Organization (Organización del Pueblo Email: [email protected] Indígena Me’ phaa, OPIM) and the Organization for the Future of Salutation: Dear Attorney / Señor Procurador Mixtec Indigenous Peoples (Organizacion para el Futuro de los Pueblos Mixtecos, OFPM). OPIM members have been attacked and threatened on numerous occasions. Currently, five members of PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. OPIM are in detention and Amnesty International has adopted all Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if of them as prisoners of conscience and believes that the charges sending appeals after 8 April 2009. against them are politically motivated on account of their efforts to campaign for improvements in the economic, social and cultural Marylou Noble , Central America Ran Coordinator (page four) rights of their communities. PUBLIC AI Index: AMR 41/010/2009 25 February 2009 Further Information on UA 41/09 (AMR 41/007/2009, 16 February 2009) Fear for safety

Ma Khin Khin Leh Released From Prison We are happy to share the news that Ma Khin Khin Leh was released from prison on Saturday, February 21. Her release follows an announcement by the Myanmar government that it would release 24 political prisoners. We celebrate their release, but remember that many more political prisoners remain jailed in Myanmar. Ma Khin Khin Leh’s case was a focus of our Global Write-a-thon last December. Over 7,000 of you wrote letters to the Burmese government on her behalf. Your letters truly make a difference for the lives of individuals around the world. A school teacher and young mother, Ma Khin Khin Leh, was serving a life sentence simply because she and her husband tried to organize a peaceful demonstration. Days before the demonstration was to take place, authorities moved to prevent it. Security agents arrested Ma Khin Khin Leh and the couple’s threeyear-old daughter. Although her daughter was released after spending five days in detention, Ma Khin Khin Leh was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1999 under vaguely-worded security legislation. We thank all those who campaigned for Ma Khin Khin Leh’s release, and remind you that we continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other prisoners of conscience in Myanmar.

Up to 1,000 Amnesty International Activists to Convene in Boston ForAnnual National Conference, March 27-29 (New York) — Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) members, staff and activists from across the country will tackle some of the most pressing human rights issues facing the world today at the organization’s 2009 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Boston, March 27-29. The conference, “Seizing the Moment, Building the Movement”, will be held at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers. The public is invited to attend. Registration is $100 for the weekend and $25 for Saturday. “The United States has entered a new era with a crippling financial crisis and a marred international reputation as its backdrop”, said Larry Cox, executive director of AIUSA. “Amnesty International members recognize the importance of making human rights the centerpiece of reform and positive leadership. Our activists shine during times of adversity, and the 2009 annual conference stands to bring a bold, dynamic energy to our critical mission” said Cox.

Amnesty International USA Group 48 Portland, Oregon USA

Conflict in Congo presentation at the March Meeting see page five for complete details

Amnesty International Group 48 Newsletter March 2009