Annan Warns on Iraqis' Civil Liberties

[True_Blue]

UNITED NATIONS - With violence in Iraq (news - web sites) returning to pre-election levels, the U.N. secretary-general warned the Iraqi leadership and American military Thursday to take care not to step on the civil liberties of an increasingly frustrated population while fighting to crush the revitalized insurgency.

Kofi Annan (news - web sites) also said in his report that the scale and sophistication of insurgent attacks were increasing, worrying signs as Iraq's new leaders prepare to take power. Earlier Thursday, a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque killed at least 47 people, and on Feb. 28, a suicide car bomber killed 125 people, mostly Shiite police and National Guard recruits.

Iraqis will expect security and living conditions to improve now that their elections are complete, but the government and multinational forces must tread carefully, Annan said.

"Particular care should be taken by those responsible for ensuring security to see that their actions do not adversely affect the civilian population," Annan wrote in the report.

more....
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=2&u=/ap/20050311/ap_on_re_mi_ea/un_iraq

[metisnation]

1. geneva convention violations.

the whole escalation is because of a video tape of a few soldiers kicking a handcuffed prisoner on the ground.

[beam me up scottie]

4. uh, hardly.

I heard the comments and interviews on npr.
Little human rights violation called holding prisoners forever without charging them with anything or letting them have access to council or even talking to their families.

[struggle4progress]

6. Really? Is that the only problem they've had there? eom

[NNN0LHI]

11. Just a few soldiers kicking a wounded Iraqi, eh? Yea, sure

Kind of like a fraternity prank? Is that the most recent Fox news spin on this?

Don

[Nikepallas]

2. I wish Annan would speak out about the US but I know the UN needs to

tread lightly with this crazy in office.

[struggle4progress]

7. UN's Annan takes veiled swipe at US anti-terrorism tactics

UN chief Kofi Annan on Thursday took a veiled swipe at the United States in a speech in which he said some countries were violating human rights in their fight against terrorism.

International human rights experts "are unanimous in finding that many measures which states are currently adopting to counter terrorism infringe on human rights and fundamental freedoms," he said in the address to a conference on terrorism in Madrid.

http://www.tdg.ch/tghome/tgnews.detailcateg.YWZwLmNvbToyMDA1MDMxMDowNTAzMTAxNTM5MDcua2FlYTAwOXY6MQ==.1.0.html

[Nikepallas]

8. thanks for the info

[beam me up scottie]

9. and more...

<snip
The US-led war on Iraq the curbing of civil liberties under its Patriot Act designed to boost data collection to detect terrorist suspects, and the extra-legal detention of hundreds of so-called "enemy combatants" at a US facility in Guantanamo, Cuba, had all been criticised by several speakers at the conference.

Annan said that "compromising human rights cannot serve the struggle against terrorism.

"On the contrary, it facilitates achievement of the terrorist's objective -- by ceding to him the moral high ground, and provoking tension, hatred and mistrust of government among precisely those parts of the population where he is most likely to find recruits."
>snip

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050310/wl_afp/spainattacksyear_050310183108

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. And that's a swipe at Blair's tactics in the UK too

even as Annan spoke (and still now), Blair is trying to get a law through the UK parliament to allow the house arrest of suspects on just the suspicion of terrorist involvement. The opposition (Conservative, Lib Dems, and various retired Labour lords, many involved in the law) says it's a crap law, and wants (a) to make it last only 12 months, while a proper law that takes account of civil liberties is crafted (b) make it that the balance of probability is that the suspect is plotting terrorism, not just a suspicion.

Blair is playing Bush's "fear and terror" card, and claiming that terrorists willl target the UK if we look weak by retaining our civil liberties. Our civil liberties are being defended by the House of Lords (they only got about 4 hours sleep last night, because there's a conintuous fight between the Commons, where the Labour back-benchers have largely caved into Blair, and the Lords).

[Hobarticus]

3. What if...

...the UN ended up having to go into Iraq to keep the peace?

What is the sound that 50 million exploding GOP heads make?

[wtmusic]

5. well

some country on the UN Security Council would have to write the resolution, and suddenly you have a ready-made international crisis

all because of the nutcase we call Mr. President

[Frederik]

12. The UN

wouldn't be able to muster enough troops to enforce the peace, even if America would maintain its current troop level. At least if the estimate of 400,000 troops required is accurate, a number that has been cited by numerous retired generals and other presumably knowledgeable people.

[Moderator]

13. kick to combine

[cthrumatrix]

14. Annan Warns on Iraqis' Civil Liberties

Annan Warns on Iraqis' Civil Liberties

Thu Mar 10, 8:45 PM ET Middle East - AP


By NICK WADHAMS, Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS - With violence in Iraq (news - web sites) returning to pre-election levels, the U.N. secretary-general warned the Iraqi leadership and American military Thursday to take care not to step on the civil liberties of an increasingly frustrated population while fighting to crush the revitalized insurgency.

Kofi Annan (news - web sites) also said in his report that the scale and sophistication of insurgent attacks were increasing, worrying signs as Iraq's new leaders prepare to take power. Earlier Thursday, a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque killed at least 47 people, and on Feb. 28, a suicide car bomber killed 125 people, mostly Shiite police and National Guard recruits.


Iraqis will expect security and living conditions to improve now that their elections are complete, but the government and multinational forces must tread carefully, Annan said.

snip

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=10&u=/ap/20050311/ap_on_re_mi_ea/un_iraq

Kofi must be confused ..Iraq is now a democracy

[malaise]

15. Isn't it a bit late

for the civil liberties of over 100,000 Iraqis?