Human Rights

Popular comedian Zarganar faces 45 years in jail for organising aid runs to victims of Cyclone Nargis which hit in May. He is the latest in a string of opposition activists to be jailed by the military government for

The people of Sarajevo call for an end to recent homophobic brutality.
In an open letter to the international community, a group of progressive citizens of Sarajevo have called for support in condemning the recent brutal attacks against gay, bisexual and lesbian people.

“We, the citizens of Sarajevo, call upon the representatives of the International Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina to raise their voices against the escalation of violence in the Capital, especially with regards to the recent events that increased the feeling of insecurity among law-abiding people. Namely, the events that followed
the opening of the Queer Festival in the night of the 24^th September, when eight people were injured and other participants and visitors verbally and physically harassed in the very heart of the city, are
only the continuation of violent crimes that we have been witnessing over the past year, the most horrific one being the brutal murder of a young boy, Denis Mrnjavac back in February. We believe that the failure of the authorities to take responsibility for prosecuting and punishing the perpetrators in an efficient manner led to this shocking
surge of crime.”

“This is why we ask you to demand from the representatives of the authorities to condemn the violence that occurred on 24^th September and to apprehend and punish the perpetrators. If they fail to do so, we fear that the promotion of fascism and homophobia will spread to the other spheres of social life of the wider community. We, the citizens of Sarajevo, have the right to freedom, without fear of persecution because of our personal beliefs or sexual
orientation.”

“Please help us fight discrimination and violence!“

Activists and indigenous groups condemn Gordon Brown’s offer of military help for Shell in the Niger Delta.

At the G8 Gordon Brown promised to send equipment, trainers and ‘advisors’ to the Nigerian military to “ensure oil production can bring prosperity” and to make sure that there’s a ‘sustainable peace’ in the area.It’s very hard to make an obscene profit when locals keep attacking your oil platforms, as the oil giants have been finding out to their cost since the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) began its campaign in 2005.

MEND responded by saying their ceasefire with the Nigerian government was over, and that British interests would “suffer the consequences.” And they’re not known for making idle threats.

This Thursday, the 47,000 barrels-per-day Eni pipeline was blown up by attackers in what the company, in a rare candid moment, called a ‘community dispute’. The dispute in question is pretty clear; one between the community and the oil industry. Within 24 hours of this attack more than 30 militants attacked the naval boat protecting oil facilities belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company.

Report by SchNews.

Join the call for Zimbabwean exiles to be allowed to work and acquire skills in the UK. The British government can help exiled Zimbabweans by allowing them to acquire the skills they need to rebuild their country when the opportunity comes. Instead, thousands of Zimbabwean exiles in the UK live in limbo – de-motivated and de-skilled, and prevented by law even from working as volunteers.
The Strangers in Citizens campaign is calling for the Home Office to enable Zimbabweans resident in the UK to have:

• Temporary access to work
• Job placement and training

On Friday, 11th July, the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu will lead a service at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey at 12.00. This will followed by a rally and walk to the Home Office; Parliament Square and the South Bank at 1.30pm

More bloggers than ever face arrest for exposing human rights abuses or criticising governments, says a recent University of Washington report.

Since 2003, 64 people unaffiliated with news organisations have been arrested for publishing their views on a blog, according to the 2008 World Information Access (WIA) report. And last year, three times as many people – 36 – were arrested for blogging about political issues than in 2006, the report revealed.

More than half of arrests since 2003 were made in China, Egypt and Iran, but British, French, Canadian and American bloggers have also been detained. The average prison sentence for blogging was 15 months, while the longest sentence recorded was eight years.

Arrested bloggers exposed corruption in government, abuse of human rights,or suppression of protests. The report said the rising number of arrests indicates blogging’s growing political importance, especially in times of political uncertainty such as around general elections or large protests.

This year, the report predicts the number of bloggers arrested will exceed 2007 numbers thanks to greater popularity of blogging as a medium, greater enforcement of net restrictions, and elections in China, Pakistan, Iran and the U.S.

Join the Zim Human Rights Forum on 26 June – the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has been documenting political violence since its inception in 1998 and, since July 2001, has been issuing Monthly Political Violence Reports. In addition, the Human Rights Forum has issued a total of 34 special reports, many of these concerned with violence during elections. The Human Rights Forum has consistently indicated that the majority of violence recorded has been undertaken by both state agents and supporters of the ZANU (PF) party. The Human Rights Forum has been vindicated in its allegations, both by reports of independent human rights organisations and bodies as well as by the decisions of the Zimbabwean courts.

Join the call for Primark to take responsibility, not cut and run.
Labour Behind the Label is calling on Primark to reverse its knee jerk reaction to the Panorama documentary which exposes the widespread use of subcontracting in the manufacture of embroidered goods, including the employment of home workers under extremely bad conditions and possible instances of child labour. Primark has now severed contracts with the three Indian suppliers in advance of the screening of the BBC Panorama investigation. This action will undoubtedly result in those workers who were brave enough to speak about their conditions, being punished.

You can help to put pressure on Primark to change its policy in support of garment workers by

• Emailing Primark telling them not to cut and run at Labour Behind the Labour
• Writing to to George Weston, Chief Executive of AB Foods, owners of Primark,expressing your concerns.

...is the government. Support Burma Campaign’s call to bring human rights and democracy to Burma.

In the wake of the devastating Cyclone Nargis that hit Burma on 2 May, more than one million people are homeless, up to 128,000 killed.

This natural disaster was turned into a man-made catastrophe by Burma’s brutal regime. They blocked international aid and left thousands without food, shelter or medicine. The real disaster in Burma is the government.

Burma is ruled by one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world. It ruthlessly persecutes, imprisons and tortures human rights and democracy activists. Thousands of men, women and children are used as slave labour. Out of sight in the jungles of Eastern Burma, more than 3,000 villages have been destroyed, rape is used as a weapon of war against ethnic women and children. Countless civilians have been killed in the regime’s war of ethnic cleansing.

The people of Burma have asked for our support. Every day they live in fear of arrest, torture and imprisonment. The Burma Campaign UK is answering their call but they urgently need your help. Please join the campaign or make a donation.

Sign the petition to protest the arrest of nine women campaigning to end discriminatory laws.

Nine women’s rights activists were arrested outside of the Rahe Abrisham Gallery just prior to a small, peaceful assembly planned to commemorate the National Day of Solidarity of Iranian Women on June 12th.

June 12th has been chosen by Iranian women’s rights activists as their national day of solidarity to object harmful actions which attempt to silence Iranian women. Women’s rights activists are continually denied the right of freedom of association and assembly. Even meetings in private homes are often broken up by security forces.

After the brutal suppression of popular demonstrations against South Korea’s new US beef import deal, the government is requesting that portals delete dissident blog postings. The Internet is playing a key role in mobilising public opinion around the issues. People are using blogs and online forums to share their experiences in marches, expose police brutality, and debate the issues and effective ways of protesting. Netizens, media activists, and online newspapers provide live coverage on the internet using cameras, mobile phones and notebooks. Police are now threatening to ‘manage’ opinion on the internet and investigate activist users.