‘Giant of human rights’

THE Chinest ctivist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo has died at the age of 61, the government has said. The country’s most famous political prisoner was being treated for terminal liver cancer in a heavily-guarded hospital in north-eastern China. Liu had been transferred from prison last month where he was serving an 11-year term for “subversion”.

Liu might be a name rarely uttered in the West, but many argue the unsung hero must be remembered alongside the other big name dissidents of the 20th century.

The human rights activist, who took part in the 1989 pro-democracy Tiannanmen Square demonstrations, was arrested in 2008 after writing a pro-democracy manifesto titled Charter 08 in which he demanded an end to one-party rule and called for improvements in human rights. It was signed by thousands of people in China.

After a year in detention and a two-hour trial, he was sentenced in December 2009 to 11 years imprisonment for “inciting subversion of state power”.

Colleagues and democracy activists say he was held incommunicado since – in an attempt to do away with any memory of him.

Liu was awarded the Nobel Prize back in 2010 while imprisoned but his family was barred from travelling to Norway to accept the award. Instead the award was bestowed to an empty chair, which later became a symbol of China’s repression.

Upon hearing the news of his passing, the Nobel committee has said the Chinese government bears “heavy responsibility” for Liu’s “premature” death.

In the weeks ahead of his death, his case gained increasing international attention. World leaders such as German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-Wen called upon China to permit the democracy activist to travel abroad to receive palliative care which supporters argue could have extended his life.

At the time, critics argued China’s reluctance to let him travel overseas was prompted by fears he would voice his frustrations with the one-party state from his deathbed. Born in December 1955, in Jilin Province, in north-east China, Liu is the son of a professor who remained a loyal Communist Party member despite the fact his son dedicated his life to actively disobeying the party line.

Liu’s life was punctuated by detention. On top of this, the police have kept his wife, Liu Xia, under house arrest and heavy surveillance. She has been barred from speaking out about Liu’s death and his cancer treatment.

Along with countless others, Amnesty International USA has paid tribute to the dissident.

Salil Shetty, secretary-general of Amnesty International, said in a statement: “Today we grieve the loss of a giant of human rights. Liu Xiaobo was a man of fierce intellect, principle, wit and above all humanity.

“For decades, he fought tirelessly to advance human rights and fundamental freedoms in China. He did so in the face of the most relentless and often brutal opposition from the Chinese government. Time and again they tried to silence him, and time and again they failed. Despite enduring years of persecution, suppression and imprisonment, Liu Xiaobo continued to fight for his convictions.

“The greatest tribute we can now pay him is to continue the struggle and recognise the powerful legacy he leaves behind. Thanks to Liu Xiaobo, millions of people in China and across the world have been inspired to stand up for freedom and justice in the face of oppression.” LONDON: Charlie Gard’s parents stormed out of a high court hearing yesterday over new evidence on whether their terminally ill son should be allowed to receive experimental treatment.

Chris Gard and Connie Yates’ angry departure from the courtroom followed outbursts over comments they had made three months ago that were brought up by Justice Nicholas Francis.

The judge said in a previous hearing the parents had told the court they were not “fighting for what he had now” and were seeking an improvement in quality of life for Charlie, who has a rare genetic disease. “I didn’t say he’s suffering,” shouted Yates angrily before leaving the room with Gard, leaving Charlie’s toy monkey on the court bench.

This came during a tense court hearing before which the couple were given 48 hours to provide new evidence for why baby Charlie should receive nucleoside therapy.

Lawyer Grant Armstrong, representing the parents, presented the judge with a letter on the potential benefits of the unproven treatment written by Dr Michio Hirano at the Bambino Gesu hospital in Rome.

In the letter, Hirano said there was a 56% chance the treatment, given as an oral solution, could pass the blood-brain barrier in Charlie and lead to potential improvement in his condition. “These nucleosides exist in the human body,” said Armstrong, adding that unlike many cancer treatments, the therapy is non-toxic and has not been shown to cause worse side effects than diarrhoea. “They are part of DNA.”

Consulting more medical evidence from Italian researchers in a letter to Great Ormond Street Hospital, where Charlie is being cared for, Justice Francis raised concerns that tests on mice of the new therapy could not be extrapolated to Charlie’s condition. “It’s an absolutely fundamental issue that we’ve all got to grapple with,” he said.

Armstrong said Hirano’s view was that “this is the appropriate treatment” for Charlie, born on August 4, last year. It was rare that a court case had to tackle “the cutting edge of science”.

The judge asked: “Who has been treating Charlie for the past 12 months?” Doctors at Great Ormond Street have argued it is kinder to turn off life support for the baby, who cannot move or breathe unaided. – The Independent HARARE: Zimbabwe’s first lady, Grace Mugabe, denies she has taken over one of Zimbabwe’s best known and most beautiful dams 30km west of Harare.

Privately-owned Zimbabwe newspaper The Independent reported last week that poor fishermen and others who regularly use the iconic Mazowe Dam, built in 1918, had been consistently chased away by police in previous weeks.

The dam is near Grace Mugabe’s vast agricultural estate which is mostly built on land taken from white farmers from 2003. Others who visited the dam last week said it was “deserted “and they noticed police nearby.

But provincial minister, Martin Dinha, in a statement to state-controlled daily The Herald this week, said the dam was a national monument and anyone with a permit from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority could use it.

He said the report published last week was “false and depicts the level of journalism of so-called independent journalists, who are in fact opposition mouthpieces” inwspired by “Western” interests”. There was “no attempt, let alone any deed or act the first lady has done… Mazowe Dam remains a public dam”.

A sailing club which holds functions on Mazowe Dam said it had not had any problems there so far, “And we are hopeful that will continue”.

There is usually no way for Zimbabwe’s non-government journalists or foreign media to secure response from the government, especially from the first family. Most cabinet ministers, particularly since the end of the inclusive government in 2013, also refuse to respond to questions from non-government media.

Earlier this year police, sometimes working at night, knocked down many make-shift houses built by scores of poor families on land in the Mazowe district once owned by Zimbabwe company, Interfresh.

This company, established more then 50 years ago, used to produce substantial citrus. Grace Mugabe took over its land in the last few years. One section of land she took was previously used as a wildlife conservancy and the government said it intended to restock it. – Independent Foreign Service