Freed: Min Ko Naing (left), a leader of Burma's 88 Generation students, sitting together with a political prisoner. The 88 Generation Students group took its name from the 1988 uprising, when troops opened fire on mass student demonstrations in Rangoon, leading to the deaths of thousands of people. Photo: Burma Campaign

Pacific Scoop:
Analysis – By Simon Scott and Naing Ko Ko

For a long time, it was easy for us to hold an opinion on Burma. It fitted neatly into the classic dichotomy of good and evil. The regime – made up of cruel, despotic military generals – was bad, and Aung San Suu Kyi and the huddled masses of Burmese people she led were good.

The country seemed like an iron-clad monolith to the durability of repression – a case study in how totalitarianism and suffering could continue despite the odds.

When Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in late 2010 there was much cause for celebration, yet we remained sceptical. Read more »

Indonesian troops prepare for last month's deadly crackdown against Papuans taking part in the Third Papuan People's Congress. Photo: West Papua Media

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Pacific Media Centre news desk

Amnesty International has called on the Indonesian government to act immediately on the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) findings that human rights violations were committed by security forces in breaking up the Third Papuan Peoples’ Congress last month.

The Komnas HAM investigation team found a range of human rights violations allegedly committed by the Indonesian security forces on October 19 – including opening fire on participants of the peaceful gathering and beating and kicking them.

Amnesty International’s statement came as a regional media lobby group called on Pacific journalists to “pay more attention” to the human rights tragedy unfolding on Papua New Guinea’s borders in Indonesia’s mineral-rich territory of West Papua. Read more »

Press Release – Amnesty International

14 October 2011 As the Indonesian army continues to commit human rights abuses on the indigenous inhabitants of Papua province, three men have chosen to speak out against the atrocities by capturing their remarkable stories on film. Strange Birds … Read more »

Press Release – Amnesty International

The Pacific Island Forum Communiqué has prioritised sustainable economic development for the region, but until such time as Pacific leaders fully recognise the rights of their women that development will be limited. Read more »

Amnesty International chief executive Patrick Holmes presents the petition to Kiribati President Anote Tong. Photo: Amnesty International

Pacific Scoop
Report – By the PMC news desk

Kiribati President Anote Tong has become the first and only Pacific leader so far to accept a petition of more than 21,000 signatures protesting against sexual and gender-based violence in island states.

“We want to thank and commend President Tong in taking this step forward,”  said Amnesty International Aotearoa/New Zealand’s chief executive Patrick Holmes.

“Every signature is a demand for change in the Pacific. It is imperative that leaders take notice and ‘change the lights on women’s rights’. Read more »

Press Release – Amnesty International

Kiribati President Anote Tong will today take another step forward in recognising the endemic issue of sexual and gender-based violence in the Pacific, when he accepts Amnesty International’s 21,000 plus petition on behalf of his country. To date, … Read more »

Press Release – Amnesty International

Kiribati President Anote Tong will today take another step forward in recognising the endemic issue of sexual and gender-based violence in the Pacific, when he accepts Amnesty International’s 21,000 plus petition on behalf of his country. Read more »

Solomon Islander Joycelyn Lai with a 20,000 signature petition organised by Amnesty International calling on Pacific Island leaders to ensure their countries would be safe for women and their families. Photo: Myles Idoko Ojabo

Pacific Scoop:
A new human rights report has exposed harsh realities for women in the Solomon Islands slums who are denied both sanitation and safety. Victoria Young reports.

Many Solomon Islands women slum dwellers have to walk at least a kilometre a day carrying heavy loads of water back to their families – and risk running the gauntlet with young male predators, according to a new human rights report.

The research says on these journeys women are continually harassed, attacked and raped.

However the alternative – to wash their dishes, their clothes and themselves in dirty water – is exposing inhabitants to disease. Read more »

A new Amnesty International report notes 64 percent of women and girls in the Solomon Islands experience physical or sexual violence. The suffering for those living in Honiara slums is particularly acute. Photo: Amnesty International

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By the PMC news desk

Regional leaders in New Zealand for the annual Pacific Islands Forum summit were today called on by Amnesty International to take urgent steps to end “endemic violence” against women.

Launching a damning new report about the plight of women in the Solomon Islands, chief executive Patrick Holmes of Amnesty International Aotearoa said the rates of violence against women were some of the highest in the world – affecting two out of three female Pacific Islanders.

“A majority of women experience abuse in the Pacific,” he said. “Yet, shockingly, there are few effective mechanisms to protect them.” Read more »

Press Release – Amnesty International

Pacific leaders meeting in Auckland this week must take urgent steps to eradicate endemic violence against women in the region, Amnesty International said today. Rates of violence against women are some of the highest in the world, affecting two out … Read more »