In a message of encouragement to Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, South African Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu said he looks forward to traveling to Rangoon “to join you in your celebrations when you, my sister, are inaugurated as the true, freely elected leader of Burma.” Tutu addressed his fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate in an interview with The Irrawaddy, in which he also dismissed the planned 2010 general election as a “charade.” Read the interview here. Also- In the latest sign that this year’s vote will be neither free nor fair, Burma’s ruling junta has ordered censors to ban reports on new election laws and other controversial election-related issues, according to Rangoon-based journalists. “Soon after the...

Judge agrees with human rights watchdog that British National party's rewritten criteria for joining are still racistThe British National party's membership rules were declared illegal today, despite a party decision last month to remove whites-only provisions from its constitution.Judge Paul Collins ruled that the party was "likely to commit unlawful acts of discrimination within the race relations act". The decision follows weeks of wrangling over the legality of the far-right party's membership criteria as defined in its constitution.The BNP agreed last year to remove its whites-only policy following a legal challenge by the government's Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) under race relations laws. BNP rules had stipulated that only "indigenous caucasians" and people from...

Teachers in England should not be banned from membership of the British National Party or any group which may promote racism, a review has concluded. The government commissioned the report after a leaked list identified 15 BNP members as teachers. Yeah because institutions full of young impressionable minds at the mercy of authority is just where you want fucking Nazis. How the hell is the parent of any child who is not white and straight (and let’s face it, male, don’t recall a lot of positive feminism from the BNP unless it is- outbreed the immigrants you chattel bints) trust a teacher who not only supports the BNP but loves fascism and racism so much they join the frickin’ party. And- any group which may promote racism- together with folding on faith schools is...

Which may or may not be a regular posting type thingy, anyways… I do wonder if the vitriol against Kucinich by Kos & co. was also indulged in to distract from the Afghanistan debate, this being the good Obama war etc. Questions from Scotland Against Criminalising Communities in regard to the triple suicide of the Serykh family- 1. What level of cooperation does the YMCA afford to the UKBA enforcement removal team seeking to remove asylum seekers from the YMCA flats? 2. How much money does the YMCA receive per asylum seeker for its UKBA contract at the Red Road flats? 3. We suspect many asylum seekers are being driven to desperation by the combination of inhumane practices being perpetrated by the UKBA and the YMCA to the point they have said firsthand that they fully understand...

That smoothly orchestrated ‘election’ might not be the PR win Than Swhe was hoping for- A senior UN official has called for Burma’s military rulers to be investigated over allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated against Burmese civilians, in a move that will sharply increase pressure on the isolated regime ahead of controversial national elections due later this year. In a draft report to the UN Human Rights Council [pdf] in Geneva, Tomás Ojea Quintana, special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, described “a pattern of gross and systematic violation of human rights” which he said has been in place for many years and still continued. “There is an indication that those human rights violations are the result of a state policy...

Special rapporteur on human rights details 'pattern of gross abuses' as junta unveils restrictive electoral lawsA senior UN official has called for Burma's military rulers to be investigated over allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated against Burmese civilians, in a move that will sharply increase pressure on the isolated regime ahead of controversial national elections due later this year.In a draft report to the UN Human Rights Council [pdf] in Geneva, Tomás Ojea Quintana, special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, described "a pattern of gross and systematic violation of human rights" which he said has been in place for many years and still continued."There is an indication that those human rights violations are the result of a state policy that involves...

Laws drawn up by the Burmese junta will prohibit detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from taking part in a controversial election due to be held later this year. If her party wants to participate in the poll it may even have to formally expel her. The so-called Political Parties Registration Law, published today in state-run newspapers in Burma, prohibits anyone convicted by a court from joining a party and participating in the polls. Ms Suu Kyi, who has spent 14 of the last 20 years either in jail or else under house arrest, was last summer convicted of violating the terms of her detention after an uninvited American swam across a lake to her house. In what was widely seen as a staged trial and conviction, her detention was extended until November and many analysts believe the...

The Pope has direct legal and moral culpability in the covering up, enabling and facilitating of the rape and abuse of thousands of children. Below is a small taste (I would recommend also reading Colm O’Gorman’s Beyond Belief) Added to the now usual platitudes condemning individual acts of child rape and abuse as “heinous crimes” and expressing the hurt and shock of the Pope upon hearing of such crimes, we are now told that the ‘failures’ are the result of governance issues in the Irish national church. This is a blatant deceit. Right across the global church, the only governance structure is one of individual dioceses reporting directly to the Vatican. Failures in governance within the Roman Catholic Church are Vatican failures, not those of any illusory ‘national...

Former MI5 head Eliza Manningham-Buller denies knowing about mistreatment of detainees. Didn't she read the papers?To be fair to Britain's security services, the gathering of intelligence can be the most difficult of jobs.The claim on Wednesday from the former head of MI5, Eliza Manningham-Buller, that the US hid from the UK security services the torture they were meting out to the Muslim men they had labelled terrorists, comes as a bit of surprise. In a lecture given in the Palace of Westminster, she related:"I said to my staff, 'Why is he [Khalid Sheikh Mohammed] talking?' because our experience of Irish prisoners and terrorists was that they never said anything …"They said the Americans say he is very proud of his achievements when questioned about it. It wasn't actually until after...

This is an important article because it sounds a warning, a liberal Western woman & Muslim writing in a mainstream newspaper feeling this way tells us some very rotten things are afoot Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: British Muslims are running out of friends The establishment has surpassed its previous disgraceful record in its attitudes to Islam I am but Muslim lite, a non-conformist believer who will not be told what and how by sanctimonious religious sentinels for whom religion is a long list of rules to be obeyed by bovine followers. Readers know I am often critical of Muslim people and nations. Bad things that happen to us cannot all be attributed to “Islamophobia”, a nebulous and imprecise concept that, like anti-Semitism, can be used to besmirch and sully and silence...

Some food for the eye & the mind from half the world’s population- Lillie Langtry, Memory in Latin America- 1325 mujeres tejiendo la paz is a project presenting biographical sketches of women peace activists from all over the world with images by graphic designers. The ‘1325′ refers to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. A sampling below, see more here. Demands that really should not seem radical at all- INVEST IN CARING NOT KILLING! Women & girls do 2/3 of the world’s work, most of it unwaged. $1 trillion/year is spent on the military worldwide, more than half by the US. 10% of this would provide the essentials of life for all: water, sanitation, basic health, nutrition, literacy, and a minimum income. The Global...

It’s interesting this case also involves Moazzam Begg the focus of the recent campaign against Amnesty by Decent types. The government will attempt today to have a case about torture heard entirely behind closed doors in a move that some lawyers say would extend secrecy to a new area of hearings, overriding ancient principles of English law. This morning a case will come before three appeal judges in London in which seven men are seeking damages against the government for mistreatment during what they say was their “extraordinary rendition” and torture facilitated by the British security services. The men include former Guantánamo Bay detainees Binyam Mohamed and Moazzam Begg. But the government is seeking to have the case held in secret, less than two weeks after the...

FT.com:- The world’s largest oil traders have quietly stopped supplying petrol to Iran in a clear sign that the threat of sanctions and Washington’s behind-the-scenes efforts to convince companies not to sell to Tehran are paying off. However, the decision by Vitol, Glencore and Trafigura is unlikely to cut Tehran off completely from the global petrol market as traders said Iran’s long-standing suppliers were being replaced by small Dubai-based and Chinese companies. Although Iran is one of the world’s biggest oil producers, its refineries are dilapidated and it suffers from runaway petrol demand because of generous subsidies. Energy executives said Vitol, Glencore and Trafigura, which have hitherto sold Iran half of its petrol imports of 130,000 barrels a day, stopped supplying...

Shaker Aamer is basically a hostage because he is a witness to events behind the murder of three other detainees, he is being held in order to protect murderers in the US detention forces and because he also has been tortured which both the US & UK govts want to cover up. A hostage held by criminal gangs who also run an empire and an empire’s poodle- Send a letter to David Miliband calling for the return from Guantánamo of Shaker Aamer By Andy Worthington Throughout 2010, former Guantánamo prisoner Omar Deghayes and I are touring the UK, showing the new documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (directed by Polly Nash and myself). The film focuses on the stories of three British residents — Shaker Aamer, Binyam Mohamed and Omar — and throughout the...

House of Representatives committee approve resolution describing massacre of more than a million Armenians during the first world war as genocideTurkey tonight recalled its ambassador to the US after a House of Representatives committee approved a resolution describing the massacre of more than a million Armenians by the Ottoman empire during the first world war as genocide.The non-binding measure passed despite objections from the Obama administration, which had warned the house foreign affairs committee it would harm relations with Turkey – a Nato ally with about 1,700 troops in Afghanistan – and could imperil fragile reconciliation talks between Turkey and Armenia.Turkish President Abdullah Gul called the resolution "an injustice to history and to the science of history."However,...

Supermarket giant will require its suppliers to stop practice of paying migrants less than native workersThe supermarket group Asda announced today that it has reached agreement with the union Unite to tackle discrimination against migrant workers in its UK meat and poultry factories.Under the deal Asda will require its suppliers to stop the practice of paying migrants less than indigenous employees for the same work and to eradicate the culture of bullying and harassment that has characterised much of the industry.The move comes as the leading supermarkets brace themselves for the results of an inquiry by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into conditions in the UK meat sector.The EHRC's report, due this month, is expected to be highly damaging to the reputation of both the...

Information on price of rice passed to defector in South KoreaA North Korean factory worker has been executed by firing squad for sneaking news out of the country on his illicit mobile phone, Seoul-based radio said today.The armaments factory worker was accused of divulging the price of rice and other information on living conditions to a friend who had defected to South Korea years ago, Open Radio for North Korea reported.The man, surnamed Chong, made calls to the defector using an illegal Chinese mobile phone, according to an unnamed North Korean security agency official cited by the report.The execution took place by firing squad in late January in Hamhung, according to Open Radio for North Korea. The station broadcasts into North Korea, which tightly controls news.South Korea's...

Similar to stop and search, it seems that Elidor's privacy before boarding a plane can only be protected with a legal challengeElidor asks:"What are my rights when I refuse to submit to a recorded electronic strip search at an airport? Do they have any right to detain me? Could they single me out for scanning a second time, or are they forced to stick to their alleged "random" sampling?I'm not going to put up with this sort of harassment from the authorities, but as long as they're still at the low-level random sampling stage of it, I'm willing to attempt to fly knowing I've got a 95%-odd chance of making my flight. I just want to know where I stand if I get unlucky on the day."The introduction of body scanners in the wake of the failed Christmas Day attack was clearly a rushed attempt...

Another petition this time by Avaaz that makes little mention of the Chagos Islanders (a simple ‘work with Chagossians‘ without mention of their current dispossession by the UK) who were forcibly removed by the UK government so it could rent the islands (primarily the largest one Diego Garcia) to the US military that uses it to launch bombing raids on the Middle East and transit renditioned captives. This marine conservation proposal is greenwashing a historic ethnic cleansing by the UK on the behalf of the US military, worse is the conservationist lobby are aware of this, the prioritising of their pet project above the rights of the islanders is obscene- Chairman of the Chagos Refugee Group, Olivier Bancoult, has had a letter published in the influential Science in...

Daily Times Saeed Minhas:- ISLAMABAD: During efforts to trace Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s missing 11-year-old daughter Mariam, international organisations have stumbled upon nearly a dozen juvenile girls who have been languishing in several Afghan jails, sources privy to the search told Daily Times on Tuesday. Not much is known about these girls, and most are referred to by the numbers allotted to them, just like Dr Aafia was. Sources said that during their visits to some of the jails, they requested the authorities to transfer these girls out of captivity to a safer place because the harsh environment in these prisons might “ruin their lives”. Daily Times also learnt that DNA tests of three girls aged between 11 and 12 – who did not appear to be Afghans – were conducted in an attempt...

I just learned of this from Naj, Jafar Panahi an acclaimed filmmaker and his family have been detained- Iranian security forces have detained Jafar Panahi, one of the country’s most internationally celebrated film-makers, as part of a continuing crackdown on supporters of the opposition Green movement. Panahi was held with his wife, daughter and 15 guests on Monday evening, according to Kalame, the website of Mir Hossein Mousavi, who claims he won last June’s disputed presidential election. In the first official comment on the high-profile arrest, Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi was quoted as saying that Panahi’s detention was “not political” and was linked to another case that was already under investigation. The manner of arrest and all the...

Not content with keeping them detained in Yarl’s Wood where they have suffered violence and racist abuse (now minus five who were bum rushed out in an attempt to stop the strike, see below) she has launched a propaganda assault. She sent a letter (pdf) to every MP claiming everyhting there is just peachy keen, however her fellow Labour MP Dianne Abbot has written in the Guardian a refutation of her claims- Meg Hillier may deny the extent of the poor conditions at the asylum detention centre, but I have seen them for myself- further to this here is another answer to her propaganda, her points with corresponding correction from Women Against Rape and Black Women’s Rape Action Project-who are in contact with the hunger strikers- Meg Hillier, Parliamentary Under-Secretary, has...

“[The record of security service officials] regrettably, but inevitably, must raise the question of whether any statement in the certificates on an issue concerning such treatment can be relied on … Not only is there an obvious reason for distrusting any UK government assurance based on SyS [security service] advice and information, because of previous ‘form’, but the Foreign Office and the SyS have an interest in the suppression of such information.” Original unredacted judgement This is the original Paragraph 168 written by Lord Neuberger: “The Security Service [MI5] were making it clear in March 2005, through a report from the Intelligence and Security Committee that ‘they operated a culture that respected human rights and that coercive...

Supreme court gave no reason for rejecting her latest bid to end more than a decade of house arrestThe Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi failed in her latest bid to end more than a decade of house arrest today after the country's highest court threw out an appeal against her sentence.The supreme court's decision was widely expected but her lawyer said he would launch a final special appeal to the supreme court after establishing the reasons why the latest attempt had been rejected. "The court order did not mention any reasons," he said.The British ambassador Andrew Heyn attended the court session along with diplomats from Australia, France and the US."Although the decision comes as no surprise, it is deeply disappointing," he said. "We continue to believe that (Aung San Suu Kyi)...

I got a press release today from some video sharing site called winkball (hmmm) which announced Goerdon Borwn was the latest ‘celeb’ to video a message of support ‘faces for the Forces campaign aims to collect a million messages of support for the troops serving in Afghanistan‘ there was also a list of celebs who had already done this, winkball also proclaim with a Union Jack ‘Made in Britain’, I can’t wait for their videos supporting UK oil exploration in Las Malvinas… Anyway this is some mischievous PR for war, it is not for example campaigning for better pay and conditions, or for lifelong aftercare for people who are tricked into killing by military training and then left to rot when the inevitable consequences of that play out over...

As Debbie Purdy's lawyer, I welcome Keir Starmer's new guidelines on assisted suicide. But unresolved issues remainThe new policy for prosecutors in respect of cases of encouraging or assisting suicide, published today by the director of public prosecutions (DPP), was issued in response to last year's House of Lords ruling in favour of campaigner Debbie Purdy. The law lords required the DPP "to clarify what his position is as to the factors that he regards as relevant for and against in cases of assisted suicide". The DPP had no option but to comply with the ruling.The consultation provoked an intense public debate, with 4,710 individuals and organisations moved to express their opinions on this deeply emotive subject. The DPP also had to take into account a Commons early day motion...

The Organisation of American States (OAS) has accused President Hugo Chávez of endangering democracy, intimidating opponents and curbing freedom of speech in Venezuela.In a 319-page report published this week, the body's human rights branch – the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights – painted an alarming picture of repression and intolerance in Venezuela."The commission finds that the state's punitive power is being used to intimidate or punish people on account of their political opinions," it said. "Venezuela lacks the conditions necessary for human rights defenders and journalists to carry out their work freely."The report said there was a "troubling trend" of harassment, violence and judicial action to deter and criminalise protests, leaving Venezuelans cowed.It detailed...

Charity survey reports: 'Forced retirement has spiralled out of control as employers use low-cost shortcut to shed jobs'More than 100,000 people were forced to retire against their will last year as employers used the default retirement age to cut back on jobs, according to Age Concern and Help the Aged.The charity said its research suggested employers had used forced retirement as a cheap and easy alternative to redundancy during the recession.Michelle Mitchell, Age Concern and Help the Aged Charity director, said: "Our survey clearly shows the use of forced retirement has spiralled out of control, offering some employers a low-cost shortcut to shed jobs during the recession."The default retirement age has stamped an expiry date on hundreds of thousands of older workers. It's the most...

This is from a report in the Guardian on Sunday, so this is a good three days old- Doctors warned that around 20 detainees, who say they have not eaten for 17 days, are entering a critical phase of their protest and risk doing long-term damage to their health. The strike goes on and now John McDonnell & Jeremy Corbyn are calling for the inspector of prisons to launch an inquiry into the abuses the women are protesting about- Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington John McDonnell has tabled a House of Commons motion, calling on the Inspector of Prisons to hold an investigation. Mr McDonnell wants an inquiry into reports of violence, mistreatment and “racist abuse” which the centre denies. He claims some of the women involved in the protest were held in a hallway for more than...

• Abortion ban prevents any action which may harm foetus• Campaigners say woman will die unless treatedNicaraguan authorities have withheld life-saving treatment from a pregnant cancer patient because it could harm the foetus and violate a total ban on abortion.A state-run hospital has monitored the cancer spreading in the body of the 27-year-old named only as Amalia since her admission on February 12 but has not offered chemotherapy, radiotherapy or a therapeutic abortion, citing the law.The decision has ignited furious protests from relatives and campaigners who say the woman, who has a 10-year-old daughter and is 10 weeks pregnant, will die unless treated. The cancer is suspected to have spread to her brain, lungs and breasts. They have petitioned the courts, government and the...

By Waking Up Now via Black Looks. A superb dissection of the bill that reveals it is basically a potential blueprint for a genocidal sanction on all LGBT people and their friends and families by fundamentalist Christians. Here is the bill as shown in the video that is now before the Ugandan Parliament. And some opposition moves and ripples of homophobia. Obama condemns the bill but still breakfasts with ‘The Family‘ who helped get it to this stage (once exposed they all pretended to look the other way and whistle unconvincingly). (US) Physicians For Human Rights Action Center against this bill World-wide petition against the bill Tell the Ugandan High Commission in London what you think- High Commissioner Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary H.E. Mrs. Joan...

Human rights group says ministers 'failed adequately to ensure that UK intelligence personnel refrain from acts and omissions amounting to complicity in torture' of detainees abroadThe government today faced an unprecedented legal challenge to its policy relating to the torture and ill-treatment of detainees held abroad, including guidance given to MI5 and MI6 officers who have interrogated prisoners in secret.In a statement to the high court, the legal charity and human rights group Reprieve said ministers "failed adequately to ensure that UK intelligence personnel refrain from acts and omissions amounting to complicity in torture".The organisation says it has "compelling evidence" that British intelligence agencies have been engaged in the practice of "systemically providing information...

An important post @ Earwicga, Irene Khan was on Woman’s Hour and inevitably was asked about Gita Sahgal and Amnesty, despite Sahgal saying she has been brining up these issues internally at Amnesty repeatedly (although she changes these details from interview to interview) Khan says- I hired Gita and she worked with me for six years. While I was therethose concerns did not come to light.  She didn’t ever express them to me so I can’t comment on her specific case or what’s happened since I left. Its is also worth noting Khan is hated by the decent/neocon axis, those same people (pro-war and to varying degrees soft on torture, pro torture and who for a while have viewed Moazzam Begg as a prime target) who are taking full advantage of Sahgal’s campaign to attack...

Your chance to ask about your civil liberties and human rights – post queries here to be answered by Liberty's lawyersIn this week's Liberty Clinic, Emma Norton gives Douglasphil some advice about the Criminal Records Bureau system, hopefully addressing some of the queries he had about his and his wife's own case.Elsewhere, politicalactivist and stuartrobo both had interesting tales of their own experiences with the law – do please post your queries again in this open thread. We're also interested in hearing from anyone else with similar accounts.For those of you who haven't visited the Liberty Clinic before, each week we invite readers to post their civil liberties and human rights queries. Whatever they may be, share your queries in the comments thread below, keeping your posts as...

Britain is braced for a diplomatic row after a senior Israeli politician warned that she was preparing to travel to the UK, where she faces an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes. Tzipi Livni, the former Israeli Foreign Minister and now the leader of the Opposition, said that she wanted to test promises by David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, that he would change the law to ensure that she was not arrested for her role in last year’s Gaza offensive. Amnesty- The UK Government are planning changes to the law that would stop attempts to prosecute suspected war criminals. The move follows media reports that Israeli officials fear possible arrest if they visit the UK. Universal jurisdiction is the law that allows national courts to prosecute serious human rights violations committed...

This is an interview- CBC The Current 18/02/10 with Anna Maria Tremonti with Gita Sahgal and then Claudio Cordone, available here and as a podcast. Sahgal is upping the ante, yet presenting no evidence and the interviewer is repeating assertions that are not factual but seem to be becoming ‘accepted wisdom’. I also note how the CBC show chose small excerpts of Begg’s speeches that both refer to prayer rather than excerpts specifically detailing torture in Guantanamo, interesting choice… Transcript below courtesy of keyboard Ninja Earwicga. 1. CBC Hello, I’m Anna Maria Tremonti You are listening to The Current. 2. Moazzam Begg And people ask me this question all the time: ‘Brother Moazzam, did the Americans ever let you pray?’ 3. CBC That...

This latest article by Moazzam Begg is well worth reading and I do hope he does not withdraw from the wider public sphere, people such as him provide engagement as points of nexus, it is not necessary to agree with all he has to say but it is necessary to communicate, the smears against him remain unfounded and are designed to close down communication, that only benefits extremists of all kinds- Hatred and Another Agenda: A Response by Moazzam Begg In the Name of Allah Most Compassionate Most Merciful I had not imagined that the poorly researched Sunday Times article last week with the suggestion that it promised to expose a tangible link between Amnesty International, the Taliban and I was actually a prelude to something far more sinister against Cageprisoners and I in the days to come....

SOAW:- Martha Giraldo, a Colombian human rights activist and a featured speaker at the 2009 November vigil to close the SOA (video), was subjected to a chilling death threat earlier this week in Cali, Colombia. Two SUVs with tinted windows — the vehicle of choice of Colombian assassins — tried to run her car off of the road. As they pulled up beside her, they pulled out guns and pointed them at her. They never fired a shot, but the message was clear: we can kill you, and if you don’t keep quiet, we will. Martha Giraldo and her family continue to tell the truth about how the Colombian army killed her father, a campesino, and dressed him up in guerrilla clothing to make the murder look like a “combat kill.” Colombian human rights organizations report that...

Big Brother Watch Newsletter – 19th February 2010 please consider adding info@bigbrotherwatch.org.uk to your safe senders list The past seven days have seen a slew of stories involving baffling regulations and ludicrous decisions from health and safety officers in councils around the country. The absurdity began last weekend, when a 67 year-old man was prevented from...

Sensationalism around Binyam Mohamed's case sullies spies – and their parliamentary scrutinyThe headlines attacking the intelligence and ­security committee grow ever more lurid – "MI5 kept watchdog in the dark", "MPs were misled over torture", and so on. The committee has been in existence for almost 16 years. I have served on it throughout. I have neither been a poodle of any prime minister in that time, nor "gone native" as alleged.But it is not easy to explain to a ­public grown increasingly cynical about ­parliament why the committee ­functions as it does. Misunderstandings, exaggerations and errors in reporting how we operate make it more difficult. That is why we must show that we are independent and forthright in the way we go about our work, secretive as much of it...