By Bruce Loudon in Islamabad
September 06, 2008 12:00am

DESPAIR among human rights workers in Pakistan over a rash of so-called "honour killings" intensified yesterday when it was disclosed that a girl forced into marriage with a 45-year-old man at the age of nine had been killed by her parents because she asked for an annulment.

The girl, 17, who had been fighting a lonely but successful legal battle, was coming out of court in the Punjabi city of Sahiwal after being granted the annulment by a judge when she was surrounded by a group of men and shot in view of police.

The death of Saira Nusrat Bibi has added further to concerns among human rights campaigners already outraged over the case of five women - among them three teenage schoolgirls - buried alive in the province of Baluchistan because they wanted to marry men of their choice in defiance of the wishes of tribal leaders.

The Baluchistan case was worsened by an attempt by a member of the country's national parliament, senator Israr Ullah Zehri, to defend it, telling colleagues that "these are centuries-old traditions and I will continue to defend them", The Weekend Australian reports.

Members of the religious Jamaat-e-Islami party rounded on Senator Zehi, declaring: "We condemn this barbaric act. This is against Islam, against humanity and against civilised culture."

Yesterday, the Government bowed to pressure and ordered an inquiry into the killings.

Details that have emerged from the village of Baba Kot in Baluchistan indicate that the three girls -- aged between 16 and 18 - and two of their elderly relatives were "shot at" before being buried alive.

"When the fuming elders of the Umrani tribe came to know about the intentions of these girls, they picked them up from their homes along with two of their elderly relatives," one account said.

"The crying girls were pushed into official cars and driven to a deserted area. There they were pushed out of the cars, made to stand in a queue, and volleys of shots fired at them. As the bleeding girls fell to the sand, the tribesmen dragged them into a nearby ditch and levelled it with earth and stones.

"As the two shocked elderly women tried to rescue the hapless girls, they too were gunned down and buried in the same manner. The killers after burying these women returned to their tribe like conquerors without any action taken against them."

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24302102-401,00.html

Recently they have contacted the Amnesty Group that I am involved in to collaborate with a performance connected with Human Rights Day (December 10th).  There has been a lot of information flying around relating to this, so being me I decided to go and check out the group and find out more about them.  I think they were impressed that someone from the group turned up, and I guess I wanted to show that we were interested in working with them.  I was going to be covert about it, but eventually had to fess up to who I was as they had this item on their agenda.  They are really excited and enthusiastic about it and I got to find out more about what they wanted to do and achieve.  They have a workshop scheduled in November for members to write poetry around the subject, so I think it is only fair that I attend that armed with some literature to get the creative juices flowing.

There is only one problem...we don't have a venue and I'm kinda struggling to come up with suitable ideas. Our budget is also very limited.  We can get some funding from regional Amnesty coffers but this may only amount to £100.  Writers Without Border said they will try and match it but I have a feeling that isn't going to go very far.  If anyone can help us out in anyway or knows of any suitable venues in Birmingham, please let me know!

Related links

Writers Without Borders

A nota de prensa leva por título "Egypt: No justice for 49 facing trial before emergency court". Copio un extracto do seu contido:

The trial of 49 people before an emergency court for alleged involvement in the violent protests of 6 April 2008 in the city of Mahalla is due to resume on 6 September.

Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the Egyptian authorities to stop trying individuals before special emergency courts that flout basic guarantees for fair trial.

On 5 April 2008, the government banned all demonstrations in advance of a general strike planned for 6 April in support of industrial action by textile workers in the city of Mahalla north of Cairo. Thousands of members of the police and security forces were deployed in Mahalla, Cairo and other cities.

The industrial action was called off after negotiations with officials and under pressure from the government, but violent protests broke out in Malhalla against the rise in the cost of living. At least three people, including Ahmed Ali Mabrouk, a schoolboy, died after being shot by the security forces and dozens were wounded due to excessive use of force. Around 258 people were arrested during the clashes and later released without charge.

The 49 defendants are being tried for a wide range of charges, including: assembly of more than five people with the aim of disturbing public order and security; deliberate destruction of public and private property; ransacking and theft; violent resistance and assault on police officers during the exercise of their duties; and illegal possession of firearms. If convicted they face up to 15 years’ imprisonment.

The defendants are the first to be tried by an emergency court following the Egyptian authorities' renewal of the state of emergency in May 2008. Emergency courts regularly use evidence obtained under torture and other ill-treatment to secure convictions, and their procedures routinely fall short of the basic guarantees for a fair trial. Judgments by emergency courts cannot be appealed against and become final after ratification by the President.

The trial, which started on 9 August before the (Emergency) Supreme State Security Court in the city of Tanta, north of Cairo, has been postponed upon the request of the defence lawyers in order to allow them to review the case files. The court also acquiesced to order expert examination of the damage to property allegedly caused by the defendants, and ordered the arrest of those defendants previously released on bail by the public prosecutor. When police officers later went to proceed with the arrests, they arrested relatives of the defendants who were not at home and took them into custody as “hostages” so as to force those wanted to surrender.

Torture and threats of sexual abuse

The 49 people who are facing trial were arrested after the clashes, between 13 and 18 April 2008. After their arrest they were blindfolded for up to nine days. Many of them said that while they were being held at the State Security Investigations offices in Mahalla and later in Cairo they were beaten, tortured with electric shocks and threatened with the sexual abuse of their female relatives.

When they were brought before the Public Prosecutor on 21, 22 and 23 April, their lawyers complained about the torture and other ill-treatment inflicted on their clients. No independent investigation is known to have been opened as a result. The main evidence used against the defendants are the confessions, allegedly extracted under torture, that they had thrown stones at the police, as well as the testimonies of members of the security forces and government officials. Some of the defendants stated that they had not even participated in the protests, this being confirmed by witnesses. These witness statements were dismissed by the Public Prosecutor.

All the defendants remained in detention until 2 June when the Public Prosecutor ordered the release on bail of 20 of them, including a 58-year old woman. Nine of those released were immediately rearrested under emergency legislation by orders of the Minister of Interior. All those in custody are currently held in Borj al-Arab Prison, near Alexandria. On 6 June, the Public Prosecutor referred their case for trial before the emergency court in Tanta.

Amnesty International is urging the Egyptian authorities to:

• rescind the decision to refer the defendants to the emergency court and order a retrial before an ordinary court and ensure they receive a fair trial.
• release immediately and unconditionally those protestors found not to have used violence; the others must be given a fair trial in accordance with Egypt’s obligations under international human rights law and standards.
• open a full, independent and impartial investigation into the killings of the three people in Mahalla. In particular the investigation should focus on the circumstances in which police used lethal fire and ensure that any officers or other officials responsible for using or ordering excessive force should be brought to justice.

[...]

From Amnesty International USA:

Amnesty International
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, September 3, 2008

GEORGIA ATTORNEY GENERAL’S DECISION TO ISSUE DAVIS DEATH WARRANT ‘AN APPALLING DISPLAY OF INJUSTICE,’ SAYS AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
----
Human Rights Organization Demands Stay of Execution

Contact: Wende Gozan, 212-633-4247, wgozan@aiusa.org
or Jared Feuer, 404-876-5661 x14, jfeuer@aiusa.org

(Atlanta, GA) – Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is shocked that the State Attorney General’s office today has issued a death warrant for Troy Anthony Davis. Given that Mr. Davis has not been able to see justice served, the human rights organization maintains that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles must prevent the execution.

“The Attorney General's decision to issue the death warrant is an appalling display of injustice,” said Larry Cox, executive director for AIUSA. “Given the Georgia Supreme Court’s failure to order an evidentiary hearing for Mr. Davis, it is all the more essential that the Georgia Board step in. We are disappointed by the Attorney General’s decision to short-circuit justice.”

The death warrant is dated for September 23, signifying that his execution could occur anywhere from the 23rd to the 30th of this month.

“Last year the Georgia Board stated that they will not carry out this execution unless there is no doubt as to Mr. Davis’ guilt,” said Jared Feuer, Southern regional director for AIUSA. “Throughout his legal appeals, the courts have relied on technicalities to ignore essential evidence as to Mr. Davis’ guilt. Not only do doubts remain, but they are pervasive. Letting this execution go forward simply should not be an option.”

Mr. Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing off-duty police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. His conviction came despite police failing to produce a murder weapon or any physical evidence linking Mr. Davis to the crime. Since his conviction, seven of nine state witnesses have recanted or changed their testimony in sworn affidavits, during a time in which convictions relying solely on eyewitness testimony have come under scrutiny. One of the remaining two state witnesses is alleged to be the actual killer, but this lead was not investigated by police.

Support for Mr. Davis has been far-reaching. To date Amnesty International has collected more than 100,000 letters and petition signatures for Mr. Davis from Georgians as well as concerned citizens across the United States and around the world. Groups ranging from the NAACP and European Parliament have passed resolutions calling for Mr. Davis’ sentence to be commuted.

• I believe that no one -- including the President -- is above the law.
• I oppose all forms of torture, and I support both closing the Guantánamo Bay prison and ending indefinite detention.
• I oppose warrantless spying.
• I believe that government officials, no matter how high-ranking, should be held accountable for breaking the law and violating the Constitution.
• I believe that the Constitution protects every person's rights equally -- no matter what they believe, how they live, where or if they worship, and whom they love.
• I reject the notion that we have to tolerate violations of our most fundamental rights in the name of fighting terrorism.
• I am deeply committed to the Constitution and expect our country's leaders to share and act on that commitment -- every day, without fail.

If you agree, click here.

Take a refreshing look at the Constitution here.

The Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution, and limits the powers of the federal government of the United States, protecting the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors on United States territory:

• First Amendment: addresses the rights of freedom of religion (prohibiting Congressional establishment of a religion over another religion through Law and protecting the right to free exercise of religion), freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition.

• Second Amendment: defines the right of States in keeping and maintaining militias and the right of individuals to possess firearms.

• Third Amendment: prohibits the government from using private homes as quarters for soldiers during peacetime without the consent of the owners. The only existing case law regarding this amendment is a lower court decision in the case of Engblom v. Carey.^[15]

• Fourth Amendment: guards against searches, arrests, and seizures of property without a specific warrant or a "probable cause" to believe a crime has been committed. Some rights to privacy have been inferred from this amendment and others by the Supreme Court.

• Fifth Amendment: forbids trial for a major crime except after indictment by a grand jury; prohibits double jeopardy (repeated trials), except in certain very limited circumstances; forbids punishment without due process of law; and provides that an accused person may not be compelled to testify against himself (this is also known as "Taking the Fifth" or "Pleading the Fifth"). This is regarded as the "rights of the accused" amendment, otherwise known as the Miranda rights after the Supreme Court case. It also prohibits government from taking private property without "just compensation," the basis of eminent domain in the United States.

• Sixth Amendment: guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal offenses. It requires trial by a jury, guarantees the right to legal counsel for the accused, and guarantees that the accused may require witnesses to attend the trial and testify in the presence of the accused. It also guarantees the accused a right to know the charges against him. The Sixth Amendment has several court cases associated with it, including Powell v. Alabama, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Crawford v. Washington. In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled that the fifth amendment prohibition on forced self-incrimination and the sixth amendment clause on right to counsel were to be made known to all persons placed under arrest, and these clauses have become known as the Miranda rights.

• Seventh Amendment: assures trial by jury in civil cases.
• Eighth Amendment: forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.
• Ninth Amendment: declares that the listing of individual rights in the Constitution and Bill of Rights is not meant to be comprehensive; and that the other rights not specifically mentioned are retained elsewhere by the people.
• Tenth Amendment: provides that powers that the Constitution does not delegate to the United States and does not prohibit the States from exercising, are "reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."  ~ From Wikipedia

Know your rights. Protect them by voting accordingly.

Got Hope??

It's a difficult day to sum up: while the talks were interesting they were of little relevance to the SRA and it's work.  This was partly due to the political nature of the talks and, while the NUS is a party-neutral organisation, politics is very much at the forefront of it's events.  A quick look at their previous presidents shows several people who are prominent politicians in the UK.

In particular, 2 of the talks didn't really have much to do with student media other than fairly flat statements in the final minute of a 45 minute presentation along the lines of, "now we've told you about what this is, go and tell everyone about it."  Not exactly the best way to sell events of publications!

On a more beneficial note was the breakout session, with the other people from radio stations.  While all bar one of the people were from an existing SRA member station, very few know anyone from the exec or how we can help, so it was useful to be able to provide that and talk about what we're doing.

Unsurprisingly, some of the questions I regularly hear cropped up, such as what does the SRA do and is it fair that some stations win more because they broadcast for more time during the academic year... well:

1. Along with providing national representation for student radio stations to OFCOM, PPL, PRS/MCPS, Global Radio, Bauer, the BBC and other radio organisations we hold the annual conference, awards and now arrange the Student Radio Chart and Hearing fundraising events.  We also do significant amounts of work behind the scenes that isn't obvious until its completed: more on that in November...
2. Quality is always the most important part of entering the awards.  This year we received a record breaking number of entries for the SRA awards.  However, the quality is usually variable and the judges are usually able to find the best ones fairly quickly.  Obviously having more time does allow entrants to select their best from a significantly greater pool of material but if you're good enough to win an award you won't need more than a few hours of material to have a potential winning entry.

Generally speaking it's always good to meet our members: without doing so it's difficult to know exactly how we're perceived by our members and if they think we're not doing something that we should be.  Having said that, usually we don't hear about problems or concerns until we actually meet the membership: part of the reason behind this blog, as the Development Officer position in particular is difficult to show my achievements until I've completed them.

There'll be another update in a few days: plenty has happened in the last month...

Six Israeli warplanes flew over South Lebanon and broke the sound barrier twice over the port city of Tyre on Wednesday, a security official said. "Six Israeli warplanes flew all over southern Lebanon and the city of Tyre at low altitude for more than an hour and broke the sound barrier twice over Tyre," the official told AFP. The overflight prompted scared shoppers to flee Tyre's main market, witnesses said.

That is what "peace" looks like to the Zionist state. The more papers you look at, think about signing, agree to sign, the more under siege and the more terrorized you will be. This is the post-Oslo legacy. American readers, of course, see such statements and think that I'm the one who is nuts. They think Israel is a democracy; that they are somehow more moral than other people. Ah, yes, the spread of Jewish supremacy has spread to your brains: go now and seek treatment at your nearest hospital. Here are some examples, just from today showing you all just how "humane" and "moral" the Zionist state can be (read: racist, terrorist):

Amnesty International said on Thursday it feared for the safety of 91 African migrants deported by Israel to Egypt last month, saying they risked being held incommunicado and then sent on to unsafe countries. Those deported by Israel in late August include migrants of Sudanese and Eritrean origin who slipped across the sensitive Sinai desert border into the Jewish state, Amnesty said.

You see, all of those young, white Save Darfur activists, who are not aware that they are under the spell of the Zionists in the U.S. who control the discourse on what constitutes racism or genocide don't realize that the Israelis deporting refugees has a very long history--sometimes they are refugees who are Palestinian and whose land the Zionists stole, sometimes they are refugees seeking refuge from other places. But they are brown, not Jewish, and therefore removed. It's not that I don't think that the cause of what is happening in Darfur is not a worthy one; certainly it is. But you must ask yourself: when and how did it come about (what role did the U.S. Holocaust Museum and Elie Wiesel play in this)?; why is it dependent upon a completely inaccurate perception of Sudan as Arab against Black African?; who would have something to gain from that lie and what?

Is there any doubt that similar such intertwined interests between American and Israeli racism is responsible for the imprisonment of Dr. Sami Al Arian for the last 5.5 years? There is a great interview with his daughter, Laila, on Democracy Now! today. It does a great job of showing just how racism and Islamophobia, played a huge role in jailing a man whose life has been (and hopefully will be again) devoted to Palestinian resistance. Yes, Americans have learned well from the Zionist state (and vice versa).

Which brings me to my daily kidnapping count by the ITF in Palestine during their daily, nightly incursions into the West Bank. But first I think it is useful to read a brief report based on findings about Israeli prisons (better described as torture chambers) and their kidnappings of late:

The Israeli forces carried out more than 250 raids in the West Bank during July, and detained more than 420 Palestinians, including children and members of local government councils, statistics released by the Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs in Gaza show.

According to the ministry, Israel has detained 3,900 Palestinians so far this year. 40 children under the age of 18 were detained during August.

900 prisoners from the Gaza Strip have been denied the right to family visits for more than 15 months on the pretext that Israel will not coordinate the visits with the de facto government in Gaza. The International Committee of the Red Cross normally facilitates such visits.

41 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council are still in Israeli prisons.

Over the course of the last month, Israel issued 150 administrative detention orders, under which Palestinians can be held without charge or trial.

So I'm wondering, especially among American readers: what exactly about the above report sounds "democratic" or "moral"? I fear that the U.S. has gone so far down the rabbit hole that at this point it is difficult to see right from wrong any more. I can just imagine my former students in the U.S. reading such a report and expecting that "they deserved it" and thinking that this is just what we ought to be doing in Iraq and Afghanistan (and they would likely argue in Pakistan, Iran, take your pick).

But on this blog I try to bring a dose of reality and I try to educate people about what their U.S. tax dollars are being spent on. Normally, this includes rounding up innocent Palestinians every day and kidnapping them away from their families, where they can be held without trial, tortured, and essentially disappeared. Here are some of the newest such cases from the last 24 hours:

Wednesday, Septmeber 3rd in Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem: Israeli troops invaded the West Bank cities of Nablus, Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarem kidnapping 7 civilians on Wednesday dawn as reported by local sources. In Nablus, a number of Israeli military vehicles invaded the city, centered in the streets and surrounded several houses. Troops searched and ransacked several houses before kidnapping 6 civilians taking them to an unknown detention camp for investigation. Israeli military claims that these 6 are wanted for allegedly being members of the Palestinian armed resistance. In addition, Israeli troops invaded the West Bank city of Jenin and 3 nearby cities, kidnapping a civilian. Troops centered in several streets in the area, they shot sound bombs and heavy gun fire at random before surrounding a number of houses and kidnapping a civilian.

Wednesday, September 3rd, Nablus: Border Police troops manning the Hawara checkpoint south of Nablus on Wednesday evening uncovered seven handguns in a vehicle attempting to cross the checkpoint. The concealed firearms were confiscated and the five Palestinians traveling in the car were taken for questioning by security forces.

Wednesday, Wednesday, September 3rd, Nablus: Israeli forces on Wednesday morning seized ten Palestinians during raids in the West Bank. According to Israeli sources, the arrestees were from Nablus and Qabatiya in the northern West Bank as well as Halhul in the southern West Bank. Palestinian security sources said that Israeli military vehicles invaded the old city of Nablus and forcibly searched several homes before they arrested 6 young men. The sources identified the arrestees as, 16-year-old Ra’id Hamdan, 17-year-old Nasr Mabroukah, 21-year-old Ramiz Jum’ah, 20-year-old Eyhab Al-Arboudi, his brother 23-year-old Tha’ir and 19-year-old Zahi Fatayir.

Thursday, September 4th, Beit Lahem: The Israeli military forces invaded the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Thursday dawn kidnapping 7 civilians, as reported by local sources. Israeli military vehicles invaded the city and 2 nearby villages in addition to Aida refugee camp. Eyewitnesses reported that 10 Israeli military vehicles invaded the village of Beit Ta’mar southern the city of Bethlehem. Troops searched and ransacked 4 houses with the help of dogs after forcing the civilians out of their houses for couple of ours. Moreover, 5 Israeli military vehicles invaded the village of Tqu’, kidnapped Kamil Al Badan aged 39 after searching his house, troops took him to an unknown detention camp for investigation. The Israeli military forces also invaded Aida refugee camp, located north of Bethlehem, and kidnapped Imad Ayyad aged 35 taking him to an unknown destination.

Thursday, September 4th, Khalil: The Israeli military forces invaded the West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday dawn kidnapping 2 civilians local sources reported. Troops searched and ransacked Mahmud Jamjum aged 22, and Salamah Abu Hadeed aged 40 before kidnapping them. The two were taken to an unknown destination.

So that brings my count up to 194 from yesterday. That means just 5 more and we're back to where we started before the Zionists released Palestinian political prisoners a week and a half ago. Who'd like to bet how long this will take? How many more days? The winner will receive a box of Nabulsi soap.

Oh, but there is some good news to report. More Palestinians are getting organized and realizing that 22% of historical Palestine, with no right of return for Palestinian refugees, is NOT A STATE! An article in the Guardian newspaper today reports on a Palestinian Study Group that has released a new report detailing how damaging the road to Oslo and back has been for Palestinians. For those of you who wish to read it in English or in Arabic they have the 52 page document posted on their website. One of their initial arguments is that there needs to be a change in discourse from the internationally-imposed state-building or peace-making to decolonialism. Here are some excerpts:

There is no space to pursue this in detail further here, except to note the importance of combating a central idea in the peacemaking discourse that what is at issue is two equivalent ‘Israeli’ and ‘Palestinian’ ‘narratives’. No doubt there are Israeli and Palestinian narratives. But what is centrally at issue is not a mere Palestinian narrative, but a series of incontrovertible facts - facts of expulsion, exclusion, dominance and occupation bitterly lived out by Palestinians day by day over the past 60 years and still being endured at the present time. This is not a narrative. It is a lived reality. Finding the best strategy for ending this lived reality is the main purpose of this Report. Transforming the discourse within which it is discussed is a major part of that effort.

In November 1988 the Palestine Liberation Organisation, recognised by Palestinians as their sole representative, made the extraordinary sacrifice of accepting the existence of the State of Israel and determining to establish an independent Palestinian state on the remaining 22% of historic Palestine in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 (PNC Political Communique, Algiers, 15 November, 1988). Has a national movement ever made a concession on a similar scale? To this day this remains the basis for official Palestinian strategic objectives. Yet for twenty years these objectives have not been realised. Why? In negotiations Israelis repeatedly say ‘we do all the giving and the Palestinians do all the taking’. This is the opposite of the truth. Palestinians continue to demand no more than 22% of their historic land. It is Israel that has done all the taking through continuous government backed settler encroachment on this remaining 22%. The aim has been to create ‘facts on the ground’, now reinforced by the ‘security wall’, in order to reduce the land left for a future Palestinian state below even 22%.

It is not surprising that, under the intolerable pressures of occupation, deep internal divisions have surfaced, particularly since the passing away of the charismatic national leadership of Yasser Arafat. It is also true that external powers - particularly Israel but also others - have adopted a deliberate policy of ‘divide and rule’. But this is all the more reason for Palestinians to rise above such rivalries, pressures and provocations when formulating a strategy for national liberation. The future in this respect is in our own hands.

For Palestinians there are three main linked strategic objectives. These aspirations are unanimously shared by all Palestinians. These strategic objectives guide everything that follows.

The first strategic objective is to end occupation of Palestinian lands.

The second strategic objective is to establish a fully independent and sovereign Palestinian state.

The third strategic objective is to honour the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

These strategic objectives are often misunderstood by non-Palestinians, and are also deliberately misrepresented.

The one state scenario is now daily gaining momentum among Palestinians. What had counted against it, namely its relative unavailability given relative power distribution (see next section), is being progressively reduced as prospects of a two state outcome recede, and more thought is given to as yet barely explored possibilities such as the reconfiguration or even abolition of the Palestinian Authority (see below). Highly informed Palestinian strategists are now actively advocating such scenarios in preference to what is perceived to be the alternative - a permanently frozen and deteriorating status quo or other scenarios into which the two state option is currently seen to be collapsing (see below). Many Palestinian citizens of Israel in particular favour a one state outcome. In other words that Palestinian citizens in the State of Israel and Jewish citizens in the State of Palestine both enjoy full individual and collective rights (the State of Israel becomes a democratic state rather
than a Jewish and democratic state). But the one state solution also receives good support among Palestinian citizens of Israel. These views are strongly represented within the Palestine Strategy Study Group.

The second main category of means of implementation is national resistance. Here threat power predominates. The range of options open to Palestinians under the general heading ‘resistance’ is great, reaching from noncooperation, through various forms of boycott and economic measures, and on to more active forms of resistance. This broad category of implementation can be deployed in support of all the strategic options so long as the tools are selected and applied with strategic precision. Again there is no room to do justice to this here. The distinction between civilian resistance and armed resistance is critical, and, within the latter, the distinction between armed attack on Israeli military assets and armed attack on Israeli civilians raises additional moral issues. Members of the Palestine Strategy Study Group were clear that in choosing means of implementation Palestinians must make sure
that the overwhelming justice of their cause is implemented by means that are also seen to be just.

Those are just a few highlights from the report; I don't agree with all of it, but I think it is one of the more sound documents to be circulated of late. I wholly support the shift to a discourse of decolonization and especially a resistance movement that seeks to dismantle that colonialism. This is something we have not read in a long time in official Palestinian discourse. I was reading some statements Yassir 'Arafat made in the 1970s and he was so much more powerful then. So much stronger as a leader. Oslo killed his discourse like it killed everything else.

1.5 hours until iftar. I'm starving.

Thailändische Martial-Arts-Filmsets sind mitunter seltsame Orte. Hier werden Fragen wie „Können wir euer Dorf mit unserem Truck plattwalzen?“ oder „Kannst du bitte frontal mit dem Gesicht gegen diesen Baumstamm knallen?“ lapidar mit „Ja, natürlich!“ beantwortet.
Spätestens seit Ong-Bak (2003), weiß auch ein internationales Publikum, dass thailändische Schauspieler mit ihren Körpern Dinge anstellen, die normalerweise ein Fall für Amnesty International wären. Aber keine Angst liebe Menschenschützer, es ist nur Dreharbeit und nachher stehen auch fast alle wieder auf.
Der Vater dieser Stunt-Extravaganzen ist Panna Rittikrai, Allroundtalent und Entdecker des famosen Tony Jaa. Rittikrai drehte bereits an die 50 Low-Budget-Reisser, bevor ihm der Erfolg des Jaa-Vehikels Ong-Bak die Möglichkeit gab, sein bisheriges „Magnum opus“ zu verwirklichen. Mit „Born To Fight“ hat er einen Streifen fabriziert, wie ihn sich die Gangster in einem Tarantinofilm angucken würden: Absurde Handlung, amateurhafte Darsteller, aber haarsträubend krude Action und Zerstörung ohne Ende. Eine Art „Stirb langsam“ auf Speed, mit einer Bande von Terroristen die Osama & Co. wie Waisenknaben erscheinen lassen. Der Held muss aber nicht nur verhindern das die grausamen Schergen ein ganzes Dorf ausradieren (sie schaffen nur die Hälfte!), sondern diese Typen haben Atomwaffen und wollen Bangkok damit bombardieren. Wow. Was für eine Prämisse für einen Film dessen Produktionskosten wahrscheinlich bei einem Bruchteil derer eines hiesigen Tatorts liegen. Aber nicht nur storytechnisch geht Rittikrai deftig in die Vollen, denn der eigentliche Sinn seiner grotesken Gewaltopern ist es natürlich Schauspieler zu quälen und ihre Körper mit allen erdenklichen Materialien Bekanntschaft machen zu lassen. Und so fallen die Armen nicht nur von fahrenden LKWs, sie knallen unterwegs auch noch mindestens kopfüber gegen das Dach eines vorbeifahrenden Autos um anschließend im Dreck zu landen. Alles ohne Schnitt versteht sich. Auch bei den Martial-Arts-Szenen wird man den Verdacht nicht los, dass sich hier Menschen wirklich ziemlich wehtun. Oder wie ging noch mal der alte Trick, wenn einem die Beine weggetreten werden und man mit dem Kinn auf einer Holzkante landet? Bei all dieser Freakshowqualität sollte aber nicht vergessen werden, dass Rittikrai in Zeiten in denen anderorts sogar das Anzünden eines Streichholzes von teuren Computereffekten besorgt wird, mit seinen Filmen dem Kino eines seiner essentiellen Schauwerte zurückbringt. Von Buster Keaton, Douglas Fairbanks und Lon Chaney über Jean-Paul Belmondo und Bruce Lee bis zu Michelle Yeoh und Jackie Chan ging die eigentliche Unwiderstehlichkeit des actionorientierten Unterhaltungsfilms immer von den erstaunlichen Fähigkeiten des menschlichen Körpers aus. In dieser Hinsicht liefert „Born To Fight“ ein kaltblütiges Spektakel ab, bei dem einem gerne mal der Mund scheunentorartig offen bleibt. Und das ist beileibe mehr, als einem so manch anderer hirnlose Spaß bieten wird.

Thailand 2004

R.: Panna Rittikrai; B: Morakat Kaewthanek, D: Dan Chupong, Santisuk Promsiri, Somrak Khamsing

In the 25th anniversary year, which was marked recently, the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances reported 41,257 pending cases across 78 countries.

In the first year of the Day of the Disappeared, the Working Group reported 1,733 cases of disappearances across 11 countries.

The worst national statistics referred to the Working Group last year were in Sri Lanka where 5,516 are currently registered as disappeared and 30 new urgent action cases were identified in relation to alleged disappearances, said the London based human rights group.

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance was adopted by the UN general assembly on December 20 2006.

AI calls upon all states to ratify the convention without delay and to enact effective implementing legislation in accordance with their international obligations, thereby joining together to put an end to enforced disappearances.

Source : LankaDissent

Statement by Amnesty International

In observance of the International Day of the Disappeared (which falls on August 30 each year), Amnesty International issued on Aug. 28 a report entitled: "Asia Pacific: Enforced disappearances in the Asia Pacific region must end". Below are the Sri Lanka entry and the recommendations from the report.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- In an effort to bring attention to treatment of prisoners, Amnesty International has brought a replica of a cell from the prison at Guantanamo Bay to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Members of Amnesty International from around the country have come to St. Paul to bring awareness to detainee treatment issues.

The stop in St. Paul is just one of many on the Guantanamo Cell Tour that is traveling around the country. Previously, the cell made a stop at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. The cell measures 10 ft x 7 ft x 8 ft and weighs 1650 pounds.

The cell consists of a steel toilet, floursecent lights and a sliding metal door. After being closed into the cell as a mock "prisoner" I must say, the space is unusually small, but not much different than what comes to mind when I think of a prison cell.

[wpvideo E6gYoH56]

It's worth mentioning that there's no way I would have found this event if I had not seen the street crews around the Xcel Center sporting orange jumpsuits.

Peter Gabriel e' da decenni un attivista per i diritti umani. E' stato accanto ad Amnesty International nel ‘Conspiracy of Hope Tour' del 1986 e nello ‘Human Rights Now! Tour' del 1988. Successivamente, ha fondato ‘Witness', una video-community che svolge campagne per i diritti umani e, da ultimo, ‘The Elders', un gruppo di personalita' autorevoli che cerca di risolvere per via diplomatica i problemi piu' intricati del pianeta.

Il Premio Ambasciatore della coscienza, giunto alla sua sesta edizione, e' un riconoscimento alla straordinaria leadership e partecipazione alle campagne per proteggere e promuovere i diritti umani. Ispirato a una poesia scritta per Amnesty International dal Nobel per la Letteratura Seamus Heaney, intende promuovere l'azione di Amnesty International associandone il nome alla vita, al lavoro e all'esempio dei suoi Ambasciatori. Nelle precedenti edizioni, il riconoscimento e' andato a Nelson Mandela, U2, Mary Robinson e Vaclav Havel.

Nello stesso giorno della consegna del premio, Amnesty International lancera' ‘Small Places Tour 2008', il piu' ambizioso progetto musicale promosso dall'organizzazione per i diritti umani negli ultimi vent'anni. Informazioni sugli artisti che vi prenderanno parte saranno rese note dopo il conferimento del Premio a Peter Gabriel.
Per ulteriori notizie sul progetto ‘Small Places Tour 2008':

www.myspace.com/smallplacestour

www.myspace.com/smallplacestour_italia

www.smallplacestour.it
Per approfondimenti e interviste:

Amnesty International Italia - Ufficio stampa

Tel. 06 4490224 - cell. 348-6974361, e-mail: press@amnesty.it

Hamas has responded with an unprecedented crackdown, arresting hundreds of doctors, threatening many others and attacking clinics.

The attacks have been expanded into shootings and threats also against ambulance drivers, nurses, lab techs, clerks and other health-care workers.

Although this has been happening for a week now, I can find no mention of these events in the Human Rights Watch or Amnesty sites. Nothing at the Doctors Without Borders website. Not even the PCHR, which normally does a decent job on stories like this. Certainly no words of condemnation from the "Free Gaza" volunteers who stayed behind.

Læs det hele hos Elder of Ziyon

Tip: GG

Er der nogen, der har hørt det mindste kvæk om dette i de danske medier?

Building a More Secure Environment for Human Rights

Despite an international agreement in 2003 to end the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and two further agreements at the beginning of 2008 to end fighting in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, DRC remains a combat zone. Millions of Congolese have perished, and over a million more have been displaced.

As in the past, fighting is fueled by the vast mineral resources of DRC. Armed groups control mines and export minerals illegally, using the minerals or the cash obtained for them to buy more arms. A further problem concerns contracts with foreign mining companies, often granted during the war at a time when the Congolese government was strapped for cash. The government now is attempting to renegotiate some of these contracts, in order to retain a larger share of the mining operations.

Conflict in DRC can be seen as “war against women,” in which women and girls were and are being raped in great numbers, as a means of destroying their families and communities. All sides have committed these offenses. In recent months the Congolese armed forces have been responsible for the greatest number of rapes.

All or nearly all of the contending military forces in DRC made heavy use of minors, as combatants, as porters, as cooks, and as sex slaves. More than two years after DRC launched a countrywide program to release and reintegrate child soldiers into civilian life, at least 11,000 children are still with armed groups or are unaccounted for. The majority of girls are either abandoned or misidentified as "dependents" of adult fighters. In some areas girls make up less than two percent of the children released from armed groups and passing through the DRC's disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration program (DDR), despite the fact that they make up approximately 40 percent of the children used by armed groups. The government has taken no steps to trace and recover these missing children. Implementation of the demobilization program has been hampered by a lack of political and military will, serious management and technical problems and continuing insecurity in eastern DRC.

Throughout the war and the election campaign, human rights defenders have faced threats, violence, and even murder. To date, few of those responsible have been punished. Unchecked impunity reflects both a lack of will and the ineffectiveness of the Congolese criminal justice system.

The United Mission in DRC -- MONUC -- plays essential roles in restoring order, particularly in eastern DRC, and in providing professional training (including training on human rights) to Congolese security forces. At the same time, some MONUC personnel have been accused of participation in human rights abuses against women and girls, and of involvement in illegal trafficking of minerals and arms.

http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/congo-dem-rep-of/page.do?id=1011136&n1=3&n2=30&n3=886

Suivant des militants d'Amnesty international, Paul Moreira et David André ont pénétré cette zone grise du commerce des armes pour en comprendre les rouages.

Ils ont également filmé des citoyens, unis dans la campagne Control Arms, qui vise à faire ratifier aux Nations Unies un traité international interdisant l'exportation d'armes vers des régimes coupables de violation des droits de l'homme.

Ce documentaire sera suivi d'un débat  "Des armes à abattre" avec Angelika Beer (députée européen, groupe vert), Benoît Muracciole (responsable de la campagne "Contrôlez les armes" pour Amnesty international France), Paul Moreira, Pascal Boniface (directeur de l'Institut des relations internationales et stratégiques).

Comment freiner le commerce des armes ? Pourquoi certains pays occidentaux ferment-ils les yeux sur ce trafic de la mort ?

En compagnie des ses invités, Annie-Claude Elkaim mène le débat sur la question.

Women police beat peaceful demonstrators in Tehran, June 2006

© Arash Ashoorinia

On the second anniversary of the launch of the Campaign for Equality on 27 August, Amnesty International is renewing its demand that the Iranian authorities cease harassing and imprisoning women’s rights defenders and to restrict their campaigning activities for the repeal of laws and policies which discriminate against women in Iran.

Read More

Iran: End pressure on women’s rights defenders campaigning for an end to discrimination (Public Statment, 27 August 2008)

Iran: Women's rights defenders defy repression (News, 28 February 2008)

Surprisingly, I am finding new strength in the words of Justice MN VENKATACHALLIAH.

Here is the judgment again, reformatted and presented anew:

Joginder Kumar Vs State Of UP - 1994

Original link to Judis: http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/qrydisp.asp?tfnm=11479

Given below is the 3rd report of the National Police Commission that this judgment draws on:

Third Report Of The National Police Commission (From BPRD)

Also given below is a fragment of the First Police Commission:

First Report Of The National Police Commission (Fragment From BPRD)

Compliance orders:

• Mumbai Police Compliance Orders With Joginder Kumar Vs State Of UP

• Maha Dpty Home Secy Orders Complying With Joginder Kumar Vs State Of UP -1994

____________________________________________________________

In marking the 25th International Day of the Disappeared on Aug. 30, rights activists in a number of countries across the world are holding rallies and sit-ins to press their governments for immediate ratification of the U.N. Convention against Enforced Disappearance.

The 2006 treaty was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in December 2006. It has been signed by 73 nations, but not ratified. So far, only four countries -- Albania, Argentina, Mexico and Honduras -- have ratified it.

"Enforced disappearance", according to the treaty, is the "arrest, detention, abduction by agents of the state or by persons, groups or persons acting with the authorisation, support or acquiescence of the state, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person."

The treaty contains an absolute prohibition on forced disappearances in both peacetime and wartime, and enshrines measures such as the registration of detainees, their right of access to a court and the right to contact their lawyers and families.

Recently, the U.N. Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances reported over 41,000 pending cases across 78 countries. Since its creation in 1980, the Geneva-based group has submitted more than 50,000 individual cases to governments in more than 90 countries.

According to the London-based rights watchdog Amnesty International, the worst national statistics referred to the Working Group last year were in Sri Lanka, where 5,516 people are currently registered as disappeared, and 30 new urgent action cases were identified in relation to alleged disappearances.

The Working Group and the Day of the Disappeared started at a time of mass disappearances during authoritarian rule in Latin America. Experts on international human rights laws note that today, disappearances tend to occur in nations suffering from internal conflict.

The group has documented a number of cases. To cite an example, Jorge Alberto Rosal Paz "disappeared" in Guatemala on Aug. 12, 1983. The 28-year-old agronomist was kidnapped by armed military personnel in a jeep, while driving between Teculutan and Zacapa. He was never seen again.

When he "disappeared", Jorge Rosal was married and had a daughter. His wife was expecting their second child. It is believed he had no political or religious affiliations. Despite reported sightings of him in detention after his kidnapping, the Guatemalan authorities denied all knowledge of what had happened.

According to Amnesty International, Jorge's family took his case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In 2000, the Guatemalan government issued a statement acknowledging its institutional responsibility in Jorge Rosal's case and others. In 2004, a settlement was reached between the state and Jorge Rosal's family.

The rights group says in the past two decades, hundreds of thousands of people have become victims of enforced disappearances around the world. Their family members and friends are still left without any knowledge of their fate.

The Day of the Disappeared was started in 1983 by the Latin American non-governmental organisation FEDEFAM (Federación Latinoamericana de Asociaciones de Familiares de Detenidos-Desaparecidos) at a time when disappearances arose from authoritarian governance by military rulers.

But, as human rights researchers point out, enforced disappearances are taking place in all parts of the world. In September 2006, U.S. President George W Bush publicly acknowledged that the CIA was running prolonged incommunicado detention in secret locations. This practice has involved governments around the world.

Those being held in secret locations have no clue about where they are and what is going to happen to them. It is feared that most of them are at risk of torture and death. Bush reauthorised the programme in 2007.

After the Abu Ghraib prison torture scandal in Iraq in February 2004, the Bush administration ordered a number of investigations and reviews of its detention and interrogation practices.

The leaked reports of the probe by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba and Maj. Gen. George Fay, among others, documented the existence of so-called "ghost detainees," who were held in secret and moved around the prisons where they were being held to hide them from visits by Red Cross members.

In scrutinising the Bush policy on secret detentions, the Amnesty International identifies Pakistan as one of the chief collaborators. The rights group says that in that country there are many cases of enforced disappearances linked to the so-called U.S. war on terror.

The group also points to Iraq as another major source of concern regarding the issue of enforced disappearances. The Asian Federation against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) says this Saturday, family members of the disappeared will gather in Baghdad to give public testimonies of what occurred to their relatives.

"Aug. 30 is very important for the families of the disappeared," said Mary Aileen Bacalso, the secretary-general of AFAD. "It is the day wherein the families can collectively honour their memory. It is an insistence of their moral and spiritual presence despite their physical absence."

Events are being organised in more than 20 countries to pay respect to disappeared persons as well as to campaign for the new convention on enforced disappearances. Among those countries are Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Philippines, Nigeria, Morocco, Belarus, France, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina and Spain.

(END/2008)

Included were photos from Phil Borges latest book, Women Empowered: Inspiring Change in the Emerging World.  Borges partnered with CARE “to bring attention to the necessity of empowering women in the global campaign to alleviate poverty.” He profiled courageous women, including a teacher who continued teaching girls in secret in Afghanistan during the Taliban rule; a young woman from Ethiopia who not only refused female circumcision herself, but ended it in her community by video taping a circumcision and showing it to the male leaders who had never actually seen the procedure at the time and were horrified, voting 15 to 2 a couple weeks later to end female circumcision in their village; and a woman from Bangladesh sold into a brothel by her aunt at age 13, fighting for the rights of her fellow sex workers.

Jackie Renn’s exhibit, Portraits of Conscience: Celebrating the First Amendment During a Time of War 2002–2007 included both photos of Seattle’s protests of our current war and video interviews of conscientious objectors from WW II to the Iraq War.

Nina Berman’s photos, Purple Hearts: Back from Iraq & Marine’s Wedding were very compelling and disturbing.  All photos of young men (and at least one woman) who served in our military and came back from the Iraq severely injured, some with faces disfigured, others missing limbs. We hear all about the “surge” and how the war in Iraq is all right again now from the Republicans, but at what cost, even to our own soldiers? 

The photos of the Marine’s wedding, in a separate alcove (with a video of soldiers/veterans talking about the war) were especially haunting, with a wedding photo of the disfigured groom and his scared bride.  I picked up a flyer that told how former Marine Sgt. Ty Ziegel had been seriously injured in by a suicide car bomber in 2004 in Iraq and how his family and his fiancee Renee Kline supported him during his recovery. They asked anyone who wants to help to send donations to Fisher House, an organization which aids military families including Ty’s.

I saw a couple of Katharina Mouratidi’s photos, The Other Globalisation inside at the entrance to the main exhibit in the Olympic room.  When I left (or thought I had left) the Power of One exhibit, I discovered there were a lot more of the globalization photos outside, at the other end of the Northwest Rooms (and that people are likely to be seeing a lot just roaming around Bumpershoot between music).  Mouratidi has photographed those fighting for the rights of people and the planet against the corporate dominated, “race to the bottom” globalization, including photos of people like Rigoberta Menchú , José Bové and others not so famous.

An amazing exhibit.  As the card at the entrance noted: “Power of One was created to inspire and empower our inner-hero” (emphasis from original). 

Here locally in Seattle, our next Amnesty International meeting is coming up Tuesday, September 2 (6:30pm at the Mosaic Coffee House). Our featured speaker will be Kathleen Morris of the Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Network and the Anti-Trafficking Program Manager at the International Rescue Committee.

More information on our meeting, including directions to the Mosaic at:

http://www.scn.org/amnesty/current.html

If you don’t live in Seattle, consider finding a local or student group near you or taking action online at either Amnesty International or Amnesty International USA (or your country’s section).  I’ve also included an rss feed of AI’s most recent Urgent Actions right beneath the calendar on the left of this blog, as well as a feed for the most recent AI press releases.

Or consider one of the multitude of other activist or humanitarian groups, even if all you have time or money to do is write a suggested letter or e-mail action online every now and then or donate a few dollars.  It all adds up.  You do have the power.

The book, The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals, published in mid-July, is written by US journalist Jane Mayer, whose specialty is writing about counter-­terrorism for The New Yorker.

The book has particularly peeved the CIA and its boss in the White House for, apparently, Ms Mayer has had access to a secret report by the International Committee of the Red Cross issued last year labelling the CIA’s interrogation methods for "high-level Qaeda prisoners" as "categorically" torture. In consequence, the Bush administration officials who approved these methods would be guilty of war crimes.

The book says the Red Cross report was shared with the CIA, President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

It would not be the first time of course that US authorities (civil, intelligence or military) have indulged in or turned a blind eye to torture or other forms of horrifying brutality.

One thinks of their blood-soaked activities to thwart the former Communist Resistance leaders from gaining political power in Western Europe after WW2, or their even more bloody destruction of democracy in Guatemala or Chile, El Salvador and pre-Castro Cuba.

The many atrocities by US forces in Korea and Vietnam were far too numerous to be the work of "rotten apples"; they were clearly the result of US government and military policy, just like the actions of the US military in charge of the Abu Graib prison in Iraq.

A society that bases itself on force and brutality, on state terrorism, while simultaneously indulging in the most hypocritical lip-service to the ideals of humaneness and justice, cannot but find excuses for torture.

Only last year or the year before, Amnesty International — an organisation not noted for being hostile to the USA — stated that the procedures in many US civilian jails amounted to torture. Military prisons operated by the US in other countries must surely be hell on earth.

Red Cross representatives were only permitted to interview high-level "terrorist" detainees in late 2006, after they were moved to the military detention centre in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Until then, while the prisoners were being "interrogated" in the CIA’s secret prisons, the Red Cross was not given access to them.

It is now well known that these secret prisons are located in US client states, some in Eastern Europe where anti-Communist regimes are all too willing to co-operate with their US backers, and some in states like Egypt that are equally dependent on US support. Significantly, they all practice torture.

We have all seen the images from Guantánamo Bay of prisoners, shackled and manacled, stumbling along with a guard on either side. But all the time, the particularly frightening threat hangs over them of being taken from there and returned to one of the secret prisons away from any prying eyes.

In testimony to the Red Cross, Abu Zubaydah, the first major Al Qaeda figure the United States captured, told how he was confined in a box "so small he said he had to double up his limbs in the foetal position" and was one of several prisoners to be "slammed against the walls".

The CIA has admitted that Abu Zubaydah and two other prisoners were water-boarded, a form of torture in which water is poured in the nose and mouth of the victim to simulate the sensation of suffocation and drowning.

The Pentagon and the CIA have both defended water-boarding on the same grounds: "because it works", the torturer’s classic justification. Jane Mayer’s book says Abu Zubaydah told the Red Cross that he had been water-boarded at least ten times in a single week and as many as three times in a day.

The Red Cross report says that another high level prisoner, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged chief planner of the attacks of September 11, 2001, told them that he had been kept naked for more than a month and claimed that he had been "kept alternately in suffocating heat and in a painfully cold room".

A New York Times article on the report says the prisoners considered the "most excruciating" of the methods was being shackled to the ceiling and being forced to stand for as long as eight hours. This is a well-known torture technique that has severe physical effects on the victim’s body.

According to The New York Times article, eleven of the 14 prisoners reported to the Red Cross that they had suffered prolonged sleep deprivation, including "bright lights and eardrum-shattering sounds 24 hours a day".

The New York Times reported that a CIA spokesman had confirmed that Red Cross workers had been "granted access to the detained terrorists at Guantánamo and heard their claims".

The same CIA spokesman said the agency’s interrogations were based on "detailed legal guidance from the Department of Justice" and had "produced solid information that has contributed directly to the disruption of terrorist activities". There’s that justification of torture again.

Bernard Barrett of the International Committee of the Red Cross declined to comment on the book when asked by The New York Times. He did not deny any of the book’s claims, but regretted "that any information has been attributed to us" because, it seems, the International Committee of the Red Cross "believes its work is more effective when confidential"!

He went on to say: "We have an ongoing confidential dialogue with members of the US intelligence community, and we would share any observations or recommendations with them."

So that’s OK then.

Jorge Alberto Rosal Paz "disappeared" in Guatemala on 12 August 1983. The 28-year-old agronomist was kidnapped by armed military personnel in a jeep, while driving between Teculutan and Zacapa. He was never seen again.

When he "disappeared", Jorge Rosal was married with a daughter. His wife was expecting their second child. It is believed he had no political or religious affiliations. Despite reported sightings of him in detention after his kidnapping, the Guatemalan authorities denied all knowledge of what had happened.

Jorge’s family took his case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In 2000, the Guatemalan State issued a statement acknowledging its institutional responsibility in Jorge Rosal's case and others. In 2004, a friendly settlement was agreed between the State and Jorge Rosal's family.

Jorge Rosal is just one of hundreds of thousands of people who have been victims of enforced disappearances around the world in the past 25 years. And hundreds of thousands of family members and friends are still left without any knowledge of their fate. They will all be remembered on Saturday 30 August, on the 25th anniversary of the International Day of the Disappeared.

Read full story @ http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGNAU200808295834&lang=e

This particularly painful legacy of the Musharraf era has subjected hundreds, if not thousands, to enforced disappearances — the practice under which people are kidnapped, held in secret locations outside any judicial or legal system, and often tortured, sometimes to the point of death.

Pakistan not only helped fill the wire cages at Guantanamo Bay’s Camp X-Ray and CIA’s secret prisons by handing detainees to the US authorities but also incarcerated many secretly in Pakistan itself. Held out of sight and without charge, with no word to their families and loved ones (much less lawyers), the fate of many of them remains unknown to this day.

In September 2006, after Amnesty International published its first report on the disappeared in Pakistan, I wrote to President Musharraf and in January 2007 met the then Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to urge the government to investigate and end the appalling practice of abduction and secret detention. I did not receive a satisfactory response.

If the leaders of the ruling coalition want to demonstrate they are serious about changing Musharraf’s policies, they should immediately reveal details of where the hundreds of disappeared are being held. And then they must begin the process of establishing some control and accountability over the country’s notorious security agencies, chief among them the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), which, allegedly, carried out these enforced disappearances.

Amnesty International’s recent report ‘Denying the Undeniable: Enforced Disappearances in Pakistan’,used official court records and affidavits of victims and witnesses of enforced disappearances to show how government officials, especially from security and intelligence agencies, obstructed attempts to trace the disappeared. The report reveals a pattern of security or other forces arbitrarily detaining people (even children, in one case a nine-year-old boy), blindfolding them, and moving them around various detention centres so they become difficult to trace.

Take the case of Dr Imran Munir, a Malaysian citizen of Pakistani origin, who wasarrested in July 2006 and whose whereabouts remained unknown until Pakistan’s Supreme Court demanded information from Pakistani authorities. After the Supreme Court took up regular hearings of cases about the disappeared in late2006, around 100 disappeared persons were traced, having either been released or found in recognized detention centres. Dr Munir was among those lucky ones; during the course of hearings on his case, it became apparent that various security agencies had tried to hide him even after the Supreme Court had ordered his appearance in court.

The Supreme Court under Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry became impatient with such obfuscation and denial and announced in October 2007 that it would summon the heads of the intelligence agencies to explain their role in enforced disappearances and would initiate legal action against those found responsible.

Dr Munir was set to record his statement regarding his enforced disappearance, as well as information about others subjected to enforced disappearance, when the hearing was disrupted by Musharraf’s imposition of the state of emergency in November last year and the independent-minded judges were conveniently deposed.

Musharraf’s declaration of emergency expressed his indignation succinctly when it spoke of ‘judicial interference’ in the government’s fight against terrorism. The sacking of the judges, clearly and crucially in anticipation of a negative decision with respect to Musharraf’s eligibility to the office of the presidency, got rid of this irritant.

Not surprisingly, the new judges of the Supreme Court have not found it necessary —or opportune — to resume hearings about the hundreds of petitions relating to the missing. A confrontation with those responsible for enforced disappearances apparently takes more determination, grit and political will than one appears able to muster.

Thus the fate of the disappeared has become closely entwined with that of Pakistan’s higher judiciary. It seems unlikely that the disappeared will receive appropriate judicial scrutiny for the time being, given the controversy over the reinstatement of deposed judges.

But the new government need not await judicial pressure to shed light on the fate of the disappeared. The government can use its executive authority to demand that the ISI and other security agencies provide information about those subjected to enforced disappearance. As a first step, the government should immediately gather and publicize a list of all those in government detention. It’s good record-keeping; it’s basic law enforcement; it’s also the law.

In April 2008, shortly after the elections, Law Minister Farooq Naek stated that the government was collecting details of disappeared persons and pledged that all would be released. Now is the time to go public with that information.

Providing information about the fate of the disappeared would bring some solace to hundreds of families — thousands of people — who continue to fear for the lives of their loved ones; aware that torture and other ill-treatment are routine in Pakistani places of detention.

By abducting and detaining terrorist suspects in secret hiding places, or failing to investigate and reveal the fate of the disappeared, the government violates human rights and does little to counter terrorism. Only by arresting and prosecuting suspected terrorists in accordance with the rule of law can the government show its commitment to both human rights and fighting terrorism.

It would also send a clear, immediate signal of a radical break with the Musharraf era, and at very little cost — something very important to the fractious new government as it faces the many woes besetting the country such as a slumping economy, high fuel costs and a growing Taliban insurgency in the areas bordering Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s new government has a clear choice: it can continue the bankrupt and brutal anti-human rights practices of the Musharraf regime or it can counter terror with justice and put the country on the path to the rule of law and human rights.

By Irene Khan, Secretary General Amnesty International

Where are the disappeared?

WASHINGTON - August 29 - Amnesty International today called on the government of the U.K. to give the lawyers for Binyam Mohamed, a former U.K. resident imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, information which it holds and which might help him to show that he has been a victim of torture and other ill-treatment in the U.S.-led program of renditions and secret detention.

"Providing this information would be a first step towards accountability for the U.K.'s involvement in the U.S. program of rendition and secret detention, as well as in the torture and other ill-treatment of terrorist suspects," said Halya Gowan, a spokesperson on Europe at Amnesty International.

Binyam Mohamed was arrested at Karachi airport in April 2002 and transferred to U.S. custody three months later. In July 2002, he was transferred on a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-registered plane to Morocco, where he was held for about 18 months. There, Binyam Mohamed reports he was tortured, including having his penis cut by a razor blade. He was allegedly subjected to further torture after his further rendition to the "dark prison" in Kabul, Afghanistan, in January 2004. After five months, he was transferred to the U.S. airbase in Bagram, and suffered further alleged ill-treatment there. Binyam was transferred in mid-September 2004 to Guantanamo where he has remained ever since.

"Statements that Binyam Mohamed made in the course of his unlawful detention will form the basis of charges against him if he is tried before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay - a trial which would be unfair, and could involve charges which could be punishable by death. Any information the U.K. authorities have which relates to violations of his human rights or could affect Binyam Mohamed's defense should be disclosed to his lawyers without any further delay," said Gowan.

Following last week's ruling by the High Court of England and Wales, that the United Kingdom has a duty to disclose this information to lawyers for Binyam Mohamed, today the High Court postponed its decision on an application made by the U.K. Foreign Secretary to be allowed to withhold this information. The Foreign Secretary claimed that its disclosure would damage the U.K.'s intelligence-sharing arrangements with the United States, and thus threaten the United Kingdom's national security. The Foreign Secretary has been given another week to provide the court with a fuller explanation for continuing to withhold this information.

Binyam Mohamed's lawyers need the information now, before a decision is taken about whether he should be tried by a military commission in the United States. It is essential to their claim that the information on which the charges against him are based was improperly obtained.

Recent revelations of secret detainee transfers through Diego Garcia, and around the Untied Kingdom's involvement in the rendition and secret detention of U.K .residents Bisher al-Rawi and Jamil el-Banna, show that the United Kingdom can no longer hide its involvement in these human rights violations.

"Secrecy with the excuse of protecting diplomatic relations can no longer be used to justify the failure to investigate the involvement of U.K. agents in human rights violations," Gowan said.

Amnesty International calls on the U.K. authorities to immediately instigate a genuinely independent and impartial public inquiry into all allegations of U.K. involvement in the renditions program.

BACKGROUND

Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian national, claims that he was subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in Pakistan, Morocco, Afghanistan and Guantanamo. The detainee claims that statements he made--which, as the High Court affirmed, will form the basis of evidence against him if he is tried by a military commission -were the products of his unlawful detention, torture and ill-treatment.

In August 2007, after a sustained campaign by human rights activists and lawyers in the United Kingdom, the U.K. government requested the release from Guantanamo Bay a number of former U.K. residents, including Binyam Mohamed. Although three men were returned in December 2007, the U.S. authorities refused the request for the release and return of Binyam Mohamed. The U.K. authorities say that they are continuing to request the release and return of Binyam Mohamed.

The U.K. government has disclosed the information that it holds about Binyam Mohamed to the U.S. authorities; and the U.S. authorities have given the U.K. a promise that this information will be given to Binyam Mohamed's military lawyer in the event that his case should be sent for trial before a military commission. But to date neither the United Kingdom nor the United States has disclosed that information--relevant to the rendition of Binyam Mohamed and his subsequent treatment in detention--to his lawyers.

Amnesty International believes that the military commission procedures at Guantanamo Bay are fundamentally unfair, and has called for the military commission system to be abandoned, and for all those still held at Guantanamo Bay to be released or given a genuinely fair trial before federal civilian courts without delay.

For more information, please visit Amnesty International's website at www.amnestyusa.org or contact the AIUSA media office.