Founder of Amnesty International Dies
Peter Benenson the founder of Amnesty International died on February 25th, 2005. He was 83. He had already been successful in building a world-wide organization for human rights, but "civil society" is far from being universally established. We should never rest in fighting the forces of darkness, to bring dignity, liberty and better living conditions to all human beings. Benenson is among those giants who changed our humanity for the better, because he gave hope to all prisoners of conscience and showed us that, through a collective effort, our humanity can triumph.
Let's honor his memory by tending the light of freedom for as long as we live. Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle! It's in our own interest.
Labels:
Civil Liberties-Democracy
Posts
4 comments:
The US State Dept just issued its annual report on human rights... very bleak situation all over the world...
Curiously, it said nothing about the US stance on torture...
and the violation of civil rights of our citizens.... not to mention that the Bush administration recognizes NO rights for non-citizens!
Andrew, NH
Read an op-ed piece in the New York Times by Bob Herbert (2/25/05)
www.nytimes.com
THROWN TO THE WOLVES
How the US gov. arrested a Canadian citizen on suspicion of being involved with AlQueda, never charged him but promptly shipped him to Syria where he was severely tortured for a year....
Later, when the Syrians were satisfied that he was innocent, he was sent to Canada, where remains free, but traumatized from his experience....
So, how does the US measure up when it comes to torture? The Bush gov. has done this before, that is, send people to countries where torture is widely practiced....
In other words, aren't you guilty for torturing people even if you don't actually do it yourself (and we know the US has done this, especially to non-citizens), by sending them somewhere that you know they'll be tortured?
Oh, yes, our ally Egypt has been a US "facilitator" ...
Today, I received an alert from the ACLU. I like the bold action:
>>>>>>>>>>>>
Dear Friend,
This morning, the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit charging that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld bears direct responsibility for the torture and abuse of detainees in U.S. military custody. The lawsuit seeks a court declaration that Secretary Rumsfeld violated the U.S. Constitution and international laws.
Officials at the highest levels of government bear the ultimate responsibility for the actions of the U.S. military. I urge you to join us in our call for accountability by viewing a two-minute Web movie and calling on the Attorney General to appoint an outside special counsel to investigate how our government's torture policies took such a misguided path.
This landmark lawsuit was filed by a coalition of human rights advocates on behalf of eight former detainees who were incarcerated in U.S. detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they were subjected to torture and other cruel and degrading treatment. None of the men was ever charged with a crime. <<<
Go to www.aclu.org for more details.
Oh, yeah. Even if this won't result in Rummie's trial... it's great that we keep the spotlight on those ogres who have highjacked the US gov.
Talking about values, but these criminals don't really care about the moral standing of OUR country....
We have a moral obligation, indeed, to save our country, and show the world that America is not what the Bushies want to turn this country into....
Check this out:....
What the ACLU lawsuit against Rumsfeld says:
Widespread abuses did not spring from the spontaneous acts of a couple of soldiers. Secretary Rumsfeld personally authorized the military to abandon our nation's historic prohibition against torture and cruel and degrading treatment.
Secretary Rumsfeld and other high-ranking military officials failed to stop the torture and degrading treatment of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo even after credible reports of abuses began to emerge in the media and in military documents.
Although Secretary Rumsfeld knew of wrongdoing, and even ordered investigations into the torture of prisoners, he knowingly limited those investigations in a way that blocked high-ranking civilian or military officials, including himself, from being held accountable.....
Grant, NY
Post a Comment