December at Malecon

DUBAI - December 5, 2003 Malecon, Dubai's first and finest Cuban restaurant located within the Dubai Marine Beach Resort and Spa will be having a special Christmas Menu during the festive season and New Year celebrations. The ultimate Extravaganza Celebrations night will begin with champagne to celebrate the old and the new, together with the classic dishes of Gustavo Agreda, one of the region's top Nuevo Latino chefs.

Guests can enjoy the total Cuban Experience at the 'Mambo Lounge', which is a chill out zone for relaxation and listen to Rapture Trio, a new live band playing music. Throughout December, guests can continue enjoying the Salsa nights on Saturday's evenings, social nights and the new Malecon moods with the trendy regular patrons.

Enjoy dishes prepared by Gustavo, an Award Winning International chef has a natural flair for Latin American and Cuban cooking and has cooked for celebrities like Gloria Estefan and Jean Claude Van Damme. There will be an extensive tapas menu as well to complement Malecon's wide range of classic and contemporary range of cocktails.

Pakistan: Threats to Journalists Escalate
Musharraf Comments Bode Ill for Press Freedom

(New York, December 3, 2003) -- Pervez Musharraf's military government is
becoming increasingly intolerant of press freedoms in Pakistan, Human
Rights Watch charged today in a letter to the Pakistani president.

In the letter, Human Rights Watch highlighted the case of Amir Mir, Senior
Assistant Editor of the monthly magazine Herald, whom Musharraf reportedly threatened at a November 20 reception for Pakistani newspaper editors.

Musharraf is reported to have condemned the Herald for being "anti-army"
and working against the "national interest," and argued that the time had
come for the Herald and Mir to be "dealt with." Musharraf's comments
reportedly included specific references to stories filed by Mir for the
magazine. Two days later, unidentified persons set Amir Mir's car ablaze
outside his house. Mir later received a message purporting to be from the
Pakistani intelligence services (ISI) claiming responsibility for the
attack and warning that this was "just the beginning."

"General Musharraf should publicly disassociate himself from the commentsabout the Herald and order an investigation into the attack on Amir Mir's car," said Brad Adams, executive director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch. "Instead of creating an environment hostile to the press, it is the responsibility of the Pakistani authorities to protect journalists."

Human Rights Watch also raised the case of Rasheed Azam, a journalist and political activist from Khuzdar in Balochistan province, who was arrested on charges of sedition in August 2002 for publishing a photograph of Pakistan army personnel beating a crowd of Baloch youth. Human Rights Watch has learned that Azam was abused and tortured by members of the Pakistani military, including beatings while hung upside down and sleep deprivation. Azam remains in jail after his bail application was rejected by the district judge. His colleagues have filed a bail application in the Balochistan High Court that awaits hearing. Human Rights Watch wrote a letter to General Musharraf about Azam on October 10 this year, but to date has received no response.

Since Musharraf's 1999 coup, the Pakistani government has systematically
violated the fundamental rights of members of the press corps through
threats, harassment, and arbitrary arrests. Many have been detained without charge, mistreated and tortured, and otherwise denied basic due process rights. The government has sought to, and in several cases succeeded in, removing independent journalists from prominent publications. Meanwhile, the arrest of editors and reporters from local and regional newspapers on charges of sedition is becoming increasingly commonplace.

Human Rights Watch urged General Musharraf to demonstrate a commitment to genuine press freedom by releasing journalists arrested on trumped-up charges, and to bring to an end the use of coercion, intimidation and torture in his dealings with the national and regional Pakistani print media.

"It is time for General Musharraf to show the world whether he is a
reformer -- or no different from other military rulers," said Adams. "How
he deals with press freedoms is a big test. As of now he and his government are failing." (keralamonitor.com)