Over 1 lakh Hutus killed since ’94: Tens of thousands of Rwandan Hutu civilians have been massacred since the Tutsi dominated Rawandan Patriotic Front (RPF) seized power in Kigali in July 1994. said the French dally Liberation.

The RPF "Is to blame for Very large scale massacres. Which according to a conservative estimate, have cost the lives of more than 100.000 Hutus." said the paper. It said It based its figures on reports from withness cross checked against lists of victims. However, a unofficial said the organisation did not have any proof of such large scale killings and could not say if the figures were correct.

Human rights issue a major divide between Asia and Europe

BANGKOK? Feb 29: When Asian and European leaders meet for their first economic summit..there are two words many of the Asian ministers don't want on the agenda human rights, reports AP.

Views on civil rights and child labour differ markedly from Asian -to Western Europe. Indonesia's annexation of the Portugese colony of East Timor — still unrecognised by the United Nations 20 years.

A New York-based group, Human Rights Watch Asia, called on lenders participating in the summit to curb trafficking in women, protect labour rights, guarantee freedom of association and ban forced labour.

To ignore these problems for fear of offending Asian leaders is an abrogation of responsibility at best and a capitulation to the call of the dynamic Aslan market afworst." Sidney Jones, executive director of the group, said in a statement released in Hong Kong.

The group called for controlling weapons sales to countries with serious human rights violations.

Leaders of some Aslan countries — particularly Singapore. Malaysia. Indonesia and China — have emphasized the Importance of economic prosperity for society as a whole. A free press, aggressive parliamentary opposition and Western style civil liberties are seen as potential hindrances to development.

Not ail Asian countries embrace such philosophies, however. Thailand and the Philippines continue to nourish multi-party democracies: Japan actively promotes human rights.

Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. leader of Burma's democracy - movement, told Associated Press Television that the very idea that Asian values intrinsically favour collective societal rights over Individual freedom is Insulting.