Stray Bullets - Economics Vs Human Rights And Protests In Chile

Annual Report on Human Rights To Be Axed:
The Foreign Office’s annual assessment of human rights across the world could be scrapped, according to sources at The Observer [1]. The paper claims that civil servants have been told to stop working on the next edition of the report, which guides MPs and business leaders regarding ethical trading.

Last year’s report highlighted human rights concerns in 22 countries, including China, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe and Sudan; and “saved lives” according to David Miliband, the shadow foreign secretary. A Foreign Office spokesperson has denied that the report will be cut [2], saying they are looking at alternatives to the “expensive glossy publications of the past”, and that “it is not in our character as a nation to have a foreign policy without a conscience or to repudiate our obligation to help those less fortunate”.

Allegations of the cut have come alongside concerns voiced by NGOs that the coalition government is placing commercial interest before a commitment to human rights [3]. Referring to MP Henry Bellingham’s remark [4] that trade should be increased in Sudan [5], Tom Porteous, director of Human Rights Watch in London, has accused the coalition government of rewarding human rights-abusing regimes in order to increase revenue.

Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, said: “Our fear is that this is the latest step in putting economics before human rights…the human rights responsibilities of UK companies must not be overlooked in the rush to secure trade. There will be pressure on UK missions to deliver on trade, but it must not be at the expense of human rights.”

Worldwide Protest For Mapuche Political Prisoners:
Protests against the imprisonment of Mapuche political prisoners [6] in Chile (18 August 2010) have led to demonstrations and arrests across the world. Protests occurred in Chile, Argentina, England, France and Norway. London saw a demonstration take place in front of the Chilean embassy, while in Temuco, Chile, a protest led to the arrest of 56 people.

32 Mapuche activists are in prison for protesting seizures of their ancestral land [7]. The activists were arrested using anti-terrorism laws created by the former dictator Pinochet and are currently on hunger strike. Fernando Lira, the head legal aid at NGO Liberar, said the hunger strike is a product of “the desperation of the Mapuche community [8] members, who see all of the doors closing and that there is no political will to engage in talks and recognise the existence of conflict”.

Reynaldo Mariqueo, general secretary of NGO Mapuche International Link, said: “The universally accepted standards for democratic rights and civil liberties remain denied to the Mapuche nation, by means of shrouding the routine application of illicit and inhumane policies against the indigenous people.”

Students In Chile Protest Private Education:
More than 3,000 protesters in Chile [9] have marched (18 August 2010) through the streets of Santiago to protest the right-wing government’s education reform [10]s. The protesters were met by Chile’s Carabineros [11] - special riot police - who arrested 15 people and used tear gas and water canons to disperse the protesters.

Julio Sarimento, president of the student association of the University of Chile, told reporters that students are demanding:

• fairer access to quality education
• a drop in the cost of university tuition fees
• and that education is subsumed by private, commercial interest.
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Gabriel Iturra, a protester from a high school group, told reporters on national television that the government isn’t “letting us express ourselves freely”. This protest is part of an ongoing movement to protect Chile’s educational system, with protests occurring in June and at the beginning of August.

Climate Change Activist Glues Herself To RBS HQ Desk:
A climate change activist has been arrested (21 August 2010) for gluing herself to a desk [12] at the Royal Bank of Scotland’s head quarters at Gogarburn. The activist was part of a group of a 150 Climate Camp protesters [13] who evaded security to dance around the perimeter of the building, holding a banner declaring “We won’t pay for their crisis”.

The glued protester was detached [14] by an ambulance crew and taken from the premises by police. A Climate Camp spokesperson said: “This is a call to action because RBS is financing fossil fuel projects around the world. They are knowingly displacing and endangering communities, destroying ecosystems and leading us towards climate chaos.”

An RBS spokesperson said: “We are very willing to engage with any of the protest groups about climate change issues.”

Words: Richard Lemmer

Photos: Flickr user World Development Movement