Category Archives: Transhuman News

Margareth S. Aritonang

The Jakarta Post

Publication Date : 07-05-2014

Political parties in Indonesia have agreed that the countrys next president must uncover past human rights violations, with the first step being the establishment of a Commission on Truth and Reconciliation (KKR).

However, most of the parties have balked at the proposal to form an ad- hoc human rights court.

The limited support for the establishment of an ad-hoc court will, however, affect any efforts by the next president to bring cases of gross human rights violations to court.

Only the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and its coalition partner, the NasDem Party, have publicly declared via PDI-P presidential candidate Joko Jokowi Widodo their commitment to employing legal mechanisms to solve gross human rights abuses from the past, such as by setting up the KKR and ratifying all the international human rights covenants.

We previously passed a law on the KKR. Pak Jokowi is committed to kick-starting the process toward its establishment. His commitment will also include the ratification of international conventions on human rights because the issue of human rights is a trans-border issue. All countries around the world must work together to uphold them, Andreas Parera of the PDI-P said.

Andreas said the PDI-P was such a strong advocate of human rights as the partys own members had been subjected to human rights abuses in the past.

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Next Indonesia president must uncover rights abuses, parties agree

A Chinese human rights advocacy group has established a database of political prisoners in Mainland China.

China Political Prisoner Concern (CPPC), run by volunteers, set up a Chinese-language website recently to collect, verify, and publish the status of political prisoners in China.

Since its inception on Feb. 1, the group, consisting mainly of human rights activists in mainland China, has already published a list of 100 political prisoners. They include democracy activists, dissidents, human rights activists, as well as Tibetan, Uyghur, Christian, and Falun Gong prisoners of conscience, and others. Among them are Xu Zhiyong (No. 54), founder of the New Citizens Campaign, and Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti (No. 59).

Some of CPPCs volunteers are past political prisoners. During the past three months, they have collected and categorized large amounts of data and thousands of photos and have produced the first 100 prisoners profiles. More profiles and updates will be added on a continuous basis, according to New Tang Dynasty Television, based in New York.

The aim of the project is to effect the release of every one of the prisoners. By highlighting their cases, the group hopes to draw greater international attention to the issue. Another goal is to boost Chinas social progress.

Chinese human rights lawyer Tang Jingling has already been collecting data on prisoners of conscience since 2008. He also called on Chinese Internet users to send postcards to the prisoners.

Tang told NTD that there are many Chinese prisoners of conscience. If since the June 4, 1989 massacre someone had collected information on these prisoners and systematically launched rescue actions, including sending postcards, it would have put huge pressure on the Chinese communist regime. At the same time, it would have also encouraged those imprisoned for reasons of conscience.

The prisoner list is likely to become very long, should the CPPC volunteer staff be able to collect all of the prisoners identities.

The World Uyghur Congress websitelists dozens of Uyghur political prisoners, many of them writers, journalists and webmasters who are imprisoned on lengthy terms on charges related to freedom of speech, freedom of association, and religious charges.

The real number is likely much higher, but due to the restrictions imposed by the Chinese authorities to reveal details on imprisoned Uyghurs, it is impossible to determine the exact number.

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New Grassroots Database Tracks Chinas Political Prisoners

A post-mortem at the Centre for Forensic Sciences in Toronto has confirmed that human remains found late in the afternoon of April 30 in the area of Big Sand Bay on Christian Island are those of missing pilot Wilfred Oscar Burnside, 64, of Owen Sound, say OPP.

Burnside was well known in various circles in the Owen Sound area, including as a teacher, principal, realtor and businessman.

Burnside, 64, was flying in his single-engine Cessna plane back from Stowe, Vermont, Nov. 7. He'd stopped at Cornwall airport, then made his way back to Owen Sound about 5 p.m.

When he didn't arrive at Owen Sound airport, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre out of Trenton was notified and a search of the bay began almost immediately. His last cellphone signal placed him in the Midland area.

Pieces of airplane consistent with his plane and bits of clothing began washing up on shore north of Wasaga Beach late the next day. He had been with his wife, Lynne Parsons, for 30 years. There are no children.

* With files from QMI AGENCY

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Human remains found on Christian Island belong to Oscar Burnside: OPP