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`War On Terror' Blamed For New Patterns Of Disappearances

Dow Jones International News
August 29, 2006

LONDON (AP)--The international "war on terror" has spawned new patterns of disappearances in South Asia, where authorities are removing suspects secretly and without explanation, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

In a new report, the human rights group said Pakistan had overseen the "enforced disappearance" of several hundred people as part of the "war on terror," and that the country was broadening its sweep to detain other opponents.

In Sri Lanka, the report said, there was a new pattern of state agents seizing opponents, after new emergency regulations giving security forces new powers were introduced a year ago as part of the "war on terror."

"Enforced disappearance is a gross violation of international human rights and humanitarian law. It affects not only the victims, but also takes a heavy toll on their families," said Catherine Baber, deputy Asia Pacific director at Amnesty International.

"Relatives are left to agonize over the fate of their loved ones in the face of official denials and contradictions," she said.

Amnesty and other human rights groups have previously criticized governments of South Asia, Africa and elsewhere for secretly arresting, detaining and questioning civilians, under whatever pretext.

Amnesty said that, of those arrested in Pakistan in the "war on terror," some eventually were found to be held by U.S. authorities in GuantanamoBay, but others were still missing.

"In at least one case, the body of a victim of enforced disappearance was found six months after he had been captured," the report said.

In a new development, disappearances of Baloch and Sindhi nationalists are now being reported, said Amnesty researcher Anjelika Pathak, who has toured Pakistan to gather information.

"This is not an easy subject to investigate because the authorities are secretive about it," said Pathak, who has interviewed relatives, victims, lawyers, journalists and human rights groups in Pakistan.

"We feel the fact that there was no outcry over the 'war on terror' arrests made it easier for Pakistani authorities to pick up others."

In Sri Lanka, the report said, the Human Rights Commission has registered 62 enforced disappearances in the north of the country over the past year, and is investigating the status of 183 other individuals who are still missing in unknown circumstances.

For example, on May 6, eight men from the Tamil minority didn't return home after going to decorate a Hindu temple for a religious festival. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

In Nepal, a government committee announced in July that it was investigating more than 600 cases of enforced disappearance, but local activists say more than 1,000 individuals remain unaccounted for.

In the disputed Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, an estimated 8,000-10,000 enforced disappearances have been reported since 1989.

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