ZAGREB, Nov 18 (Hina) - The fight against terrorism should not be an excuse for further violations of human rights in the world, reporters were told in Zagreb on Sunday after a three-day annual assembly of the International Helsinki
Federation (IHF). During the three day session, representatives of 38 Helsinki committees from regions covered by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe discussed the situation of human rights in the world, and a possible future strategy of Helsinki committees. Special attention was paid to the relations between human rights and terrorism, considering the current global fight against terrorism, Terrorists must be brought before justice, but any state violating human rights in the fight against terrorism would mean a kind of victory for terrorism, IHF executive director Aaron Rhodes said. So that the fight against terrorism would not be used for further viola
ZAGREB, Nov 18 (Hina) - The fight against terrorism should not be an
excuse for further violations of human rights in the world,
reporters were told in Zagreb on Sunday after a three-day annual
assembly of the International Helsinki Federation (IHF).
During the three day session, representatives of 38 Helsinki
committees from regions covered by the Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe discussed the situation of human rights
in the world, and a possible future strategy of Helsinki
committees.
Special attention was paid to the relations between human rights
and terrorism, considering the current global fight against
terrorism,
Terrorists must be brought before justice, but any state violating
human rights in the fight against terrorism would mean a kind of
victory for terrorism, IHF executive director Aaron Rhodes said.
So that the fight against terrorism would not be used for further
violations of human rights, Helsinki committees will be watching
what is being done in the fight against terrorism, Rhodes said.
IHF vice-president Ulrich Fischer said the assembly participants
had decided to found a working group to supervise the respect of
human rights in the global fight against terrorism.
The IHF sent an open letter to US President George Bush, voicing
great concern about Bush's decision to establish special military
commissions which would have the authority to try foreigners who
are charged with being members of international terrorist
organisations.
The IHF believes that all terrorists must answer for their actions,
but under normal legal procedures, the letter reads.
President of the Croatian Helsinki Committee, Zarko Puhovski,
recalled an initiative moved on Saturday for a joint action of
Croatian, Bosnian and Yugoslav governments by which they would
request of the UN Security Council to amend the statute of the
international war crimes tribunal in The Hague so those who had been
detained and later acquitted of charges be given compensation.
Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula has already spoken with his
Yugoslav counterpart Goran Svilanovic about the initiative which
should begin within several days, Puhovski said.
Puhovski also said the participants of the assembly discussed the
situation of human rights in the region of the former Yugoslavia,
and warned about problems in Macedonia and Kosovo, problems
regarding the return of refugees and displaced persons to Croatia,
and the violations of human rights in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
(hina) lml