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The Norwegian Tibet Committee is in cooperation with Amnesty International Norway and the Human Rights House Foundation today hosting the newly released political prisoner from Tibet,  PHUNTSOG NYIDRON. Since she participated in a peaceful demonstration in Lhasa in Tibet in 1989 she has spent 15 years in prison. Today, on the 15th of December, from 11 to 1230, she will be at the Norwegian Human Rights House to share with us her experiences, but most of all her hopes for a peaceful settlement of Tibet. (15-DEC-06)
  

The Norwegian Human Rights House will on the 7th of December arrange a seminar that focuses on whether we in Norwegian media have hidden xenophobia and if so: of what does it consist? Which consequences may it have? Do the media contribute to an unnecessary polarization between “us” and “the others”, meaning those of another colour, religion or set of values? These and many more are the questions that The Norwegian Human Rights House wants to raise with well-known media personalities and investigators who are invited to the seminar. (05-DEC-06)
  

On January 2, 15 years ago, the Norwegian Burma Committee was established to channel Norwegian support to the Burmese democracy movement. It was just a short month after Aung San Suu Kyi’s son Alexander Aris received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of his mother. No one ever believed that in 2006 Burma would still be under the rule of a military dictatorship. Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest. The situation is grave for her and the people of Burma (Republic of the Union of Myanmar). The need to support and strengthen the Burmese democracy movement is as urgent as ever. (01-DEC-O6)
 

Two months ago, on 19 September, the well-known Norwegian film director Anja Breien published her first book. ´Kaniaw´ is a photographic essay about a young Norwegian-Kurdish woman. When the book was launched at the Nobel Peace Centre, the sociologist Rasool Awla said that it brings some of the worst aspects of Kurdish culture, but also an undisputable love for Kurdistan, to the reader. (20-NOV-06)
 

On September 30, a group of over 70 Tibetans were attempting to cross the Nangpa Pass into Nepal from Tibet when they were fired upon by China´s People´s Armed Police. Eyewitness reports confirm the death of Kelsang Namtso, a 17 year old Tibetan nun who was shot in the back. Video footage of the shooting shows that at least two other Tibetans were shot during the incident, but the injuries do not appear to have been fatal. (20-NOV-06)
 

A briefing paper published by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) yesterday documents how governments in Europe, Central Asia and North America have called into question and circumvented the prohibition on torture and ill-treatment in their efforts to counter terrorism. (15-NOV-06)
 

Norwegian PEN today awards the author Ebba Haslund, right, the Ossietzky award for her outstanding contribution to freedom of expression. Haslund, born in 1917, publishedher first book in 1945, is translated into 16 languages, and has received several awards for her authorship. She has also been the leader of the Norwegian Author’s Association. (15-NOV-06)
 

The Norwegian Council for the Rights of the Kurds (RKR) invites to an open meeting on 15 November with Ahmet Turk, right, and Aysel Tugluk, both leaders of the Democratic Society party (DTP) in the Republic of Turkey. DTP is a legal party, which since 2001 has had 55 mayors in municipalities in the Kurdish regions of Republic of Turkey. DTP will run for parliamentary elections in the Republic of Turkey in November 2007.  (13-NOV-06)

To mark the release of the book ´To be a Chechen – testimonies from the children of war,´ the Norwegian Helsinki Commitee and the publishing House Humanist forlag invite Wednesday 22 November to a seminar on this topic at the Human Rights House in Oslo. The editors of the book, Irina Stsjerbakova and Grigorij Sjvedov from the Russian human rights organisation Memorial, will be present to tell about the project that lead to the making of the book. (13-NOV-06)