Date: 25/08/2008
Since 9 August, members of Peru’s indigenous population had been occupying oil installations and blocking roads in protest at the decrees · Only Alan García’s governing party backed the new laws, which violate indigenous rights and international agreements signed by Peru.
Date: 13/08/2008
Paraguayan organizations call for linguistic rights of Guaraní-speakers to be respected
Days before Fernando Lugo is sworn in as Paraguayan President, Guaraní-speakers call for an end to ‘linguistic discrimination’ · Although the language is spoken by more than 80% of the population and has official status, Spanish is the predominant language at every level.
Date: 05/08/2008
Chinese authorities criticized for reaction to Monday’s attacks in East Turkestan
Uyghur organizations abroad believe the Communist regime wants to use the attacks to step up its repression of the Uyghur people · Chinese police beat two Japanese journalists covering events · Authorities cut internet access in the city of Kashgar
Date: 30/07/2008
Radovan Karadzic arrives in The Hague to answer accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity
Belgrade insists that Serbian cooperation with the International Criminal Court over the Former Yugoslavia is “more than satisfactory.” The body has processed more than 160 people in 14 years · There remain two fugitives: the former head of the Bosnian Serb army and a political leader of the Serbians in Krajina
Date: 25/07/2008
Ecuadorian constitution makes Quechua and Shuar official in “intercultural relations”
Spanish will retain its status as the official language of the republic · The remaining native languages will have official use for the peoples who speak them · The magna carta establishes that Ecuador is a “plurinational state” and provides for the creation of autonomous governments with legislative and executive powers
Date: 23/07/2008
Population census of Gypsies underway in Italy despite criticism
International agencies call the collecting of fingerprints “discriminatory” · The Italian government wants to count all inhabitants of the camps this fall · UN experts say Berlusconi's policy generates “hostility” against the Gypsy community
Date: 27/06/2008
Azerbaijan’s marginalized peoples battle against discrimination
Date: 25/06/2008
Russia’s ‘dirty war’ in Ingushetia increasingly similar to Chechen conflict
According to Human Rights Watch, Russia’s counter-insurgency tactics include killings, torture and disappearances · Several sources suggest that a new war in the North Caucasus may be imminent.
Date: 09/06/2008
Australian Aborigines demand autonomy after 20 years of promises
Date: 04/06/2008
European Court of Human Rights says Russia responsible for Chechen disappearances
