A special GLAD meeting will be held to discuss this report on Monday, December 6 at 7:00 PM at the Western Regional Office, 9000 W. Washington Blvd, Culver City.

Atlantic Monthly: THEWRONG MAN

http://www.theatlantic.com/cgi-bin/o/issues/99nov/9911wrongman.h tm

Check out the November 1999 issue of The Atlantic for an article by Alan Berlow, "The Wrong Man" in which the author argues that innocent the likelihood that innocent people will be executed is very high.

Group 22 works to oppose Prop 21

The "Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Initiative" or Prop. 21 which will appear on the March 2000 California primary ballot, directly attacks nearly all of Amnesty's concerns in our Juvenile Justice report, "Betraying the Young" and because it expands the death penalty to "gang-related" murders will be the focus of our death penalty work in the coming months. More info: www.noprop21.org.

Prop 21 would:

• Give prosecutors (instead of judges) the power to send many juvenile cases to adult court

• Push more 16-17 year olds into state prisons

• Expand the definition of gang membership and require gang "offenders" to register with police like sex offenders

• Make it much easier to incarcerate children for non-criminal probation violations

• Impose mandatory secure lockup for many juvenile offenders regardless of treatment need

• Impose mandatory 180 day jail time for misdemeanor gang offenses

• Extend adult "three strikes" laws, adding longer sentences and life terms for new offenses

• Create a death penalty for certain gang offenses

Please join us at our next monthly meeting to learn more and plan outreach for our opposition to this initiative. Also see Up-coming Events for an opportunity to learn more on Nov. 17.

CHINA: Rebiya Kadeer

AI Concern: prisoner of conscience

Abdulahat Abdurixit Zhuxi

Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu Renmin Zhengfu

(Chairman of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regional People’s Government)

2 Zhongshanlu

Wulumuqishi 830041

Xinjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Dear Chairman:

As you may know, Uighur businesswoman Rebiya Kadeer was detained by police on August 11, 1999, while on her way to meet visiting representatives from the U.S. Congressional Research Service in Urumqi. She was charged in September with "illegally offering state secrets."

The independent human rights organization Amnesty International considers the charge against Rebiya Kadeer to be politically motivated. She is not known to have been involved in any political activities or to have had access to information that could legitimately be described as "state secrets." Her son, Ablikim Abdiryim, and her secretary, Kahriman Abdukirim, are also being detained. It is believed that Rebiya Kadeer is being held at Liudaowan jail in Urumqi, notorious for its torture and ill-treatment of prisoners. Both Ablikim Abdiryim and Kahriman Abdukirim are reportedly being held in the Urumqi

Public Security school jail.

Amnesty International believes that the accusations against Rebiya Kadeer relate to her attempts to meet with the foreign visitors and to her communications with her husband, Sidik Rouzi, a former political prisoner who now lives abroad. Sidik Rouzi has publicly criticized China for its treatment of the Uighurs - the majority Muslim ethnic group in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Rebiya Kadeer has suffered police harassment and travel restrictions apparently in connection with her husband’s activities and her own attempts to promote the advancement of Uighur women by forming the "Thousand Mothers Movement," which encouraged women to run their own businesses. I join with Amnesty International in urging your government to drop all charges against Rebiya Kadeer, Ablikim Abdiryim and Kahriman Abdukirim and to release them immediately.

Sincerely,

TOGO: Komlan Edoh and Kodjo Kouni

AI Concern: "disappearance"

His Excellency General Gnassingbe Eyadema

Président de la République

Palaise Présidentiel

Avenue de la Marina

Lomé

TOGO

Your Excellency:

I am writing to express my concern for Komlan Edoh, aged 18, and Kodjo Kouni, aged 19, who were arrested by the Togolese armed forces in August 1998 in the Agebévékopé district of Akato, a village north west of Lomé. They were beaten by soldiers at the time of their arrest and subsequently transferred to the gendarmerie in Lomé. The youths have not been seen since the date of their arrest, and gendarmerie officials deny holding the youths.

It is believed that Komlan Edoh and Kodjo Kouni were arrested on suspicion that they may be members of the armed opposition. The "disappearance" of the young men is not an isolated incident. The Akato village has been the subject of numerous attacks by the security forces. The young people of Akato, by the mere fact of their youth, are often suspected of being members of the armed opposition and are often the targets of military or police action.

I respectfully ask you to set up an independent and impartial inquiry into the "disappearance" of Komlan Edoh and Kodjo Kouni. I urge you to see to it that those responsible for this example of arbitrary detention, torture and "disappearance" are brought to justice. I further urge you to take all necessary steps to prevent future occurrences of such human rights violations.

I thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Prisoner of Conscience

Ngawang Pekar

It's 9pm on Thursday 11th November here in Pasadena and 1pm in the afternoon of Friday 12th November in Lhasa as I sit down to write this months contribution to the newsletter about Ngawang Pekar. Ngawang Pekar, whose lay name is Peljor, is a prisoner of conscience in Tibet Autonomous Region Number 1. He was arrested over 10 years ago for taking part in a peaceful demonstration against the Chinese occupation of Tibet, Autonomous region Number 1. We have been campaigning for his release for over 2 years now and will continue to do so until he is released. Whilst we enjoy an unusually warm November in Pasadena, in Tibet the sun is also shining but instead of 70 to 80 F during the day it's 20 to 25 and at night the temperature is around 0!!! Hope they have heating in Drapchi prison (Prison Number 1)!

In August, we requested that Congressman Rogan’s action be followed up by writing on behalf of Ngawang Pekar to Chinese President Jiang Zemin. Then in October we requested that you direct your letters to Premier Zhu Rongji. This month please write to President Jiang Zemin again, informing him that you, and the U.S. Congress, are aware of Pekar's case and urging him to see to it that Pekar is unconditionally released in a timely manner. Please keep the tone of your letter respectful and remember that Amnesty International takes no official position on Tibetan independence from China. You may also want to send a copy of the letter to Congressman Rogan (jer@mail.house.gov) to let him know that we are following up and appreciate his efforts on Ngawang's behalf. Thanks. Below is a sample letter that you can either copy verbatim or, preferably, use as a guide in composing your own letter:

Your Excellency:

Following my previous letters to you I am writing again out of concern for NGAWANG PEKAR who is being held in Tibet Autonomous Region Prison Number 1. As a firm believer in the principles delineated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I am concerned that NGAWANG PEKAR was imprisoned solely for his beliefs and the peaceful expression of them

As you will be aware, U.S. Congressman James Rogan wrote to you to express his concern about Ngawang Pekar's case. In line with Congressman Rogan's concerns, I respectfully urge you to request that Pekar's case be reviewed and that he be immediately and unconditionally released in accordance with the international laws to which China is signatory. I further request that he be allowed access to independent non-governmental agencies so that his current state of well-being may be determined and made known.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Any further information that you or your office may be able to provide about Ngawang Pekar will be greatly appreciated.

Yours Attentively,

Address your letter to:

JIANG Zemin Guojia Zhuxi

Beijingshi

People's Republic of China

For postage, use a 60-cent airmail stamp. Include your name and mailing address at the top of the letter to enable a reply, and please notify theGroup 22 coordinator if a reply is received.

HUMAN RIGHTS DISCUSSION GROUP

Borders Books & Music

475 South Lake Avenue

Pasadena, California

Sunday, December 5, 7:30 PM

Amazon Journal : Dispatches from a Vanishing Frontier

by Geoffrey O'Connor

Blending reportage, history, anthropology, and personal memoir, Amazon Journal is a unique and critical look at how cultural differences in the Amazon have resulted in incidents ranging from comic misunderstandings to blatant exploitation, environmental disaster, and even genocide. Beginning by revisiting the period in the late 80's when the "save the rainforest" campaign, the indigenous rights movement, and the assassination of Chico Mendes became the focus of a media storm, O'Connor stuck with his story long enough to tell us what happened when the world turned its attention elsewhere. Peopled by a colorful cast of real-life characters, O'Connor's startling narrative is a journey into a contemporary heart of darkness, a compelling and compassionate look at a vanishing people, and a blistering account of the forces of destruction, both human and environmental, at work within the greatest forest on earth.

Book lovers take note: There will be no book group meeting in January due to the holiday, however the February selection will be Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Edward Humes’ No Matter How Loud I Shout: A Year in the Life of Juvenile Court. Humes takes a look at a year in the life of Los Angeles Juvenile Court, profiling its judges, lawyers, probation officers, and children and focusing on five specific troubled minors to reveal the system's impact on their lives and their prospects. Must reading for our work on juvenile justice and Prop. 21.

Holiday Card Action

Each year during the winter hoidays, Amnesty International asks you to send words of support to those who have suffered human rights violations. Come to the December letter-writing meeting to take part in all our "Gift of Hope" actions or send a non-religious card with a simple message ("We are thinking of you" is fine.) Do not mention Amnesty or discuss politics as it will lesson the chance that the prisoner will receive the card.

Mexico: Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera

Rodolfo Montiel Flores and Teodoro Cabrera Garcia, members of the Organization of Campesino Ecologists, were detained by Mexican soldiers in May 1999. The Organization of Campesino Ecologists was formed to protect the areas of the Sierra de Petatlan and Coyuca Catalan against deforestation; the group has faced harassment and intimidation as a result of its activities. Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera were reportedly beaten and severely tortured following their arrest, and the men claim they were forced to confess to being members of an armed opposition group and to possession of drugs. Their arrest comes amidst increasing allegations of extrajudicial executions, torture, rape and arbitrary arrests by the military against the indigenous community in Guerrro state.

[prisoner’s name]

CERESO Iguala de laIndependcia

Carretera Iguala

Tuxpan, sin numero

Codigo Postal 40101

Iguala, Guerro

MEXICO

Annual General Meeting in Providence

Plan now for the Annual General Meeting, March 10-12, 2000 in Providence, Rhode Island. The March dates, present an opportunity for AIUSA to recognize International Women's Day on the scale of a full AGM. Among other prominent speakers, AGM 2000 will present distinguished international human rights attorney Hina Jilani, who stands witness to the brutal potential of gender discrimination in the form of "honor killing" and continues to raise awareness about tribal systems of justice and violence in her country, Pakistan. Join us at this year’s AGM in Providence and raise your voice to protect and promote the human rights of girls and women! Call the regional office: 310-815-0450 to request registration materials.

Editor's Last Word:

Read us on line: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~aigp22

Martha Ter Maat, 626-281-4039 / mtermaat@hsc.usc