Continue efforts against impunity, Amnesty tells government

Amnesty International (AI) has urged Senegal to continue efforts recently undertaken to end impunity in the country, AI said on Tuesday. The government of President Abdoulaye Wade, since its election in March 2000 has shown signs that it is willing to fight human rights violations and to bring those responsible to justice, it added. The sacking of a police auxiliary who killed a university student in 2001, the government's willingness to extradite former Chadian leader Hissene Habre, and orders not to attack civilians in Casamance were some of the "encouraging signs of a new approach by the Senegalese authorities", the human rights body said. In the last 20 years, it added, most violations have been committed in the context of the conflict between state security forces and the Mouvement des forces democratiques de Casamance (MFDC). The government should ensure that violators on both sides, are punished according to the law, and their families get financial compensation, AI said. The rights body called for more concrete efforts "such as independent inquiries which result in the conviction of those responsible so as to build confidence in the judicial system and solidify the rule of law". The MFDC, an armed opposition group, has been fighting since 1982 for independence for Casamance, the southern region of Senegal. [For more details, please go to http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/recent/AFR490032002!Open]