BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

Jun 16, 2005, 20:40 GMT

Belarusian TV pours scorn on UK's human rights record

Belarusian television questioned the United Kingdom's human rights record in its weekly programme "Human Rights: A Glance at the World" on 16 June. The programme's anchor, Yawhen Novikaw, said that "the pride the UK takes in its human rights record is misplaced and is belied by the most recent report penned by Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Alvaro Gil-Robles".

Novikaw pointed out that "80 per cent of human rights watchdogs are based in either the USA or Great Britain and have entered into a pact with the governments and security agencies of these countries not to criticize their behaviour".

He stressed that "the report unveiled by Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Alvaro Gil-Robles has dealt a severe blow to the British government and all UK-based human rights organizations".

Novikaw added that "the facts set forth in the report paint a dismal picture of the situation in the UK". He quoted Gil-Robles as saying that "Great Britain tends to regard human rights as a hindrance to the administration of justice and protection of the country's national interests."

Novikaw stressed that "the anti-terrorism legislation passed in the UK has in effected created a parallel judicial system whereby ordinary British citizens have been deprived of their recourse to law".

The programme lasted for 10 minutes. No further processing is planned.

Source: Belarusian television, Minsk, in Russian 1800 gmt 16 Jun 05

BBC Mon KVU 160605 gk/ms

Source:

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/mediamonitor/article_1015098.php/Belarusian_TV_pours_scorn_on_UKs_human_rights_record