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“We were able to obtain a copy of the original hand written letter that was sent by fax by a high ranking North Korean government official when he was visiting the People´s Republic of China to South Korea´s largest newspaper, Chosun Ilbo”, says Suzanne Scholte from Defense Forum Foundation in a newsletter published today. The letter, that was published in the Chosun Ilbo on December 29, 2004, is translated by DFF´s special assistant, Mary Gohng.  It is consistent with everything we have heard from defectors and recent refugees about the situation inside North Korea. (09-FEB-2005)

In cooperation with Bergen Kunsthall, the Egil Rafto Human Rights House arranges seminars, lectures and film screening. The topic of these events is in different ways tied to one of this spring’s main exhibitions at Kunsthall, “Time Suspended”. The exhibition, “Time Suspended”, explores the time perspective of refugees’ lives, focusing especially on long-lasting conflicts. (02-FEB-2005)

Washington, Jan 27 – The United States will press Beijing to free jailed Uyghur businesswoman Rebiya Kadeer, a U.S. senior official said Jan. 26 at a ceremony at Capitol Hill in which Kadeer was honored in absentia with Norway’s Rafto Prize for Human Rights. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Randall Schriver said that Washington’s concerns over Kadeer, 58 and a prominent member of China?s Uighur ethnic group in the largely Muslim Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, would be raised with the Chinese government.  (02-FEB-2005)
 

The Thorolf Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, the Uyghur American Association and the National Endowment for Democracy, in conjunction with the Congressional Human Rights Caucus organize an award ceremony and reception in honor of 2004 Rafto Memorial Prize laureate Ms. Rebiya Kadeer on January 26, 2005 at Capitol Hill, Washington. (22-JAN-05)

In a press release, published on 14 Jan, The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and the Uyghur American Association/Uyghur Human Rights Project (UAA/UHRP) strongly condemn China´s recent arrest of a Uyghur man for speaking to an American reporter and demand the Chinese authorities to release him immediately. (22-JAN-05)

A new series of seminars on freedom of expression will be held in the Rafto House in 2005, organized by the Department of Information Science and Media Studies at the University of Bergen and the Rafto Foundation. Three topics are to be viewed from different perspectives: Freedom of expression in a global perspective, the framework for freedom of expression in Norway, and the overall ?fitness? of the Norwegian public generally. (31-DEC-2004)
 

The third volume in the Rafto Human Rights Series has recently been published. The title of the book is “Prospects for Peace, Security and Human Rights in Africa?s Horn”. This volume deals with the prospects for peaceful change, human rights and state-building in the Horn of Africa.  (30-DEC-2004)
 

Burma?s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has had her house arrest extended, her party said on Monday. The reported extension comes after Burma?s ruling junta pledged to release 9,000 prisoners and appointed a new Prime Minister, Soe Win. It was not clear how long Aung San Suu Kyi?s detention had been extended for. Aung San Suu Kyi has been held since May 2003, after clashes between her supporters and pro-government forces in northern Burma (Republic of the Union of Myanmar). (01-DES-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)