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A European Civic Commission will be established in order to monitor Turkish compliance with the EU accession criteria. This is a concrete result from the European Parliament Conference on The EU, Republic of Turkey and the Kurds, hosted by Rafto Foundation (Norway), Kurdish Human Rights Project (UK) and Medico International (Germany) The conference´s findings will be published and presented to the European Commission. In December 2004, the European Union (EU) will decide if Republic of Turkey is to be granted a specific date to begin accession talks. (30-NOV-04)
 

According to RFA Uyghur service, Authorities in China´s northwestern Muslim region of Xinjiang have sentenced more than 50 people to death this year in what government officials say is a war on terrorism.”Due to the fact that the activities of international terrorist forces are rampant, we believe our fight against the crime of violent terrorists will continue for a long time to come,” Xinjiang Communist Party leader Wang Lequan told reporters visiting the region. (30-NOV-04)
 

The peace talks initiated by the Russian Soldier´s Mothers Committee have been halted. The Chechen separatist envoy was denied a visa.  According to Valentina Melnikova (picture) from the Soldier´s Mothers Committee, the peace talks were scheduled to take place last week in Brussels. (30-NOV-04).
 

Freedom of expression suffered considerably in Ukraine during the recent rounds of presidential elections on 31 October and 21 November. Article 19 reports (25-NOV-04)

While several hundred thousands of Ukrainian democrats made their demands clear for the fifth consecutive day in Kiev, some fifty Ukrainians joined by representatives from approximately ten different organisations did the same outside the Ukrainian Embassy in Oslo today. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights House Foundation were among those who gave weight to the demand for Victor Justshenko to be declared winner of the elections and thus the next President of Ukraina. (26-NOV-04)
 

The impact of the HIV pandemic on electoral processes was illustrated in a report issued last week by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa). The figures speak volumes. Between 1999 and 2003 almost 1.5 million of about 20 million registered voters in South Africa were removed from the voters´ roll because they had died; most, it appears, from AIDS-related diseases. (29-NOV-04)
  

The Zanu-PF old guard has awoken from its slumber ahead of the party´s crucial congress in Harare this week and achieved what many world leaders, including President Thabo Mbeki, have been unable to do: summons President Robert Mugabe and get him to act on their advice. (29-NOV-04) 
 

Four years after the murder of Mozambican journalist Carlos Cardoso, his legacy in investigating corruption has cast a shadow over the campaign for next week´s election. Almost no matter the outcome of the elections, corruption is likely to be allowed to continue. The risk of fighting it, recent history shows, is too high. (29-NOV-04) 
 

Burundi and Rwanda were assured last Friday that their long desired admission to the East African Community was a matter of time. President Mwai Kibaki of Republic of Kenya told the sixth Summit of the EA Heads of State that the two countries should not consider themselves outsiders in the East African integration process. There is hope that this might help integrate the region´s human rights policies also. (29-NOV-04)