AIH PROTESTS IN ZAGREB AGAINST VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN US

ZAGREB, Nov 25 (Hina) - The Croatian Amnesty International (AIH) on Wednesday joined in the world campaign of the "Amnesty International" organisation by staging in front of the United States Embassy in Zagreb a silent protest against the violation of human rights in the US, particularly against imposing capital punishment on minors. About thirty protesters held banners and a list of names of 70 minors sentenced to death in the United States. The AIH's activists gathered for the protest despite the Zagreb Police Department's prohibition. According to the city's regulations, no public gathering is allowed in the part of the city where the US Embassy is located. The US Ambassador to Croatia, William Montgomery, refused to receive a three-member AIH delegation. The delegation unsuccessfully tried to submit a petition with their demands to the US Embassy officials. The AIH demands from US authorities to ratify the UN Convention on Children's Rights, which prohibits capital punishment for minors, and demands the cancellation of capital punishment and the introduction of a moratorium on capital punishment performed on minors, said Valerija Barada, AIH coordinator for public relations. She noted that the United States, besides Somalia, is the only country which did not ratify the Convention on Children's Rights. The AIH coordinator for campaigns and actions, Ines Bulic, expressed disappointment that nobody from the US Embassy wished to receive the delegation, and stressed that the AIH intended to continue to organise similar actions against the violation of human rights in the US. Barada said that capital punishment existed in 38 American states, and about 3,400 persons were on death row. She added that capital punishment was also being performed on mentally challenged persons. (hina) it jn/lml