Salem-News.com Human Rights articles Page 42

Conscientious Objector Omar Saad Sentenced to Prison for Refusing to Join Israeli Army

"I refuse that because I am pacifist, and I hate any kind of violence, and I believe that the army institute is the top of physical and psychological violence..." - Omar Saad

(TEL AVIV) - Omar Saad, 18 years old from Mghar, a village in the Galil, arrived, Wedensday 4/12/2013, to the Induction Base in Tiberias, where he declared his refusal to serve in the Israeli Army.

He arrived with many supporters and objectors to the mandatory military service imposed on Arab-Palestinian Druze Comunity in Israel. On 5/12/2013, Omar was sentenced to 20 days of imprisonment for his refusal, in the military prison No. 6 near Atlit.

Never Has A Government Investigated Itself And An Admission of Genocide

Under any circumstances, there is absolutely no credibility for domestic mechanisms to address “accountability” issues for these alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka as called upon by UNHRC resolutions...

(LONDON) - The language of the most recent and prior resolutions against Sri Lanka at the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) introduced by the U.S. call upon the government of Sri Lanka to implement the LLRC or other domestic mechanisms for “accountability.”

This is what many other nations including China have requested the government of Sri Lanka to address recently.

Police Attack on Kyiv`s EuroMaidan Demonstrators Draws International Outrage

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who has not been afraid to speak his mind about Yanukovych’s recent decisions, wrote on Twitter that the attacks in Kyiv were “worrying” and that Sweden was following events closely.

(KYIV, Ukraine) - After riot police stormed Kyiv's Independence Square early today and used violence to remove 400 peaceful demonstrators, Western diplomats quickly condemned the brutality.

Berkut, Ukraine’s feared riot police, raided the EuroMaidan camp at Maidan Nezalezhnosti just after 4 a.m. Dozens were reportedly hospitalized, while many others sought sanctuary at nearby St. Michael's monastery.

Does a Bengali Automatically Become Bangladeshi?

I believe that Myanmar will see true democracy if it would choose the path of love, trust, education, multi-nationalism, communal interaction by openness of freedom of wishes of the people.

(KUALA LAMPUR) - There is a saying or belief in people of Bangladesh that ‘all Bengalis are Bangladeshi but all Bangladeshi are not Bengalis’(Eade, 1994). It has been assumed that Bengalis are the sons of the soil of Bangla. On the other hand, Bengalis refer to Muslim population of Bangladesh uniquely and specifically and they are superior to other ethnic minorities.

According to this theory, all those Bangladeshis who are not Muslims, they are not Bengalis but they are Bangladeshis.

Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) Begins 2nd Parliamentary Term

The Inaugural Session on December 6th.

(LONDON) - ransnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) is a new political concept, formed after the mass killing of Tamils in the final months of the war in 2009.

It is a new political formation based on the principles of nationhood, homeland and self-determination. The raison d’etre for the TGTE is lack of political space inside the island of Sri Lanka for the Tamils to articulate and realize their political aspirations fully due to Constitutional impediments, racist political environment and military strangulation; and the coordination of diaspora political activities based on democratic principles and the rule of law.

Lebanon: Criminalize Torture

Human Rights Ambassador William Nicholas Gomes Said Torture is widespread in the Lebanon.

(WASHINGTON, DC) - The police torture and ill-treatment are grounded in inadequate or badly implemented legal protection, a judicial emphasis on confessions over other types of evidence, a culture of impunity, and lack of proper oversight mechanisms.

Lebanese authorities should establish an independent complaints mechanism to investigate torture allegations, and donor countries should ensure that aid to the Internal Security Forces supports the establishment of real accountability mechanisms.

What Would You Tell Netanyahu?

Opposition to the Prawer Plan is coming from every corner — over a thousand youth in Haifa last weekend, hundreds of rabbis in the US, tens of thousands of people of conscience across the world.

(OAKLAND) - What if you could deliver a direct message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the same week that a Knesset Committee was voting to forcibly relocate over 40,000 Bedouin citizens of Israel? What would you tell him?

Our friends in the Jewish Reform movement will have that opportunity next week—and they need a firm but supportive push from you to show some courage.

What Does Latest Dead Afghan 2-Year-Old Have in Common with Paul Robeson, John Wayne, Ernest Hemingway, Bob Marley, the Kennedys

Remember the millions of nameless forgotten dead, the victims of the industrial-scale "signature strikes" that have been our biggest public investment.

(WASHINGTON, DC) - This is the season of death, when we celebrate the dying of the sun with an orgiastic burst of consumption and environmental destruction. This is the season of rebirth when we spend time with loved ones and reach out to help others we don't know.

Now would be an appropriate time to come to grips with public murder and make a public investment in peace. If I were summoning back ghosts of governments past for a press conference at the National Press Club, my first inclination -- lasting only a split second -- would be to bring the Filipinos, the Vietnamese, the Native Americans...

Egypt: Physical Assault and Arrest of Human Rights Blogger Mr Alaa Abd El Fattah

Ensure that the treatment of Alaa Abd El Fattah while in detention adheres to all those conditions set out in the 'Basic Principles for Treatment of Prisoners, adopted by General Assembly resolution 45/111 of 14 December 1990' -William Nicholas Gomes,Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com

(Washington, D.C) - Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com, William Nicholas Gomes is deeply concerned at the arbitrary arrest and detention of human rights defender Alaa Abd El Fattah, and the physical assault he and his wife were subjected to.

William Nicholas Gomes is further concerned by the new legislation criminalising peaceful protesters and on-line activism.

Zimbabwe: Martha Tholanah summoned to stand trial on charges of running an

Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com,William Nicholas Gomes is deeply concerned by the ongoing mistreatment of GALZ members and the shrinking space for civil society in Zimbabwe in light of similar charges being brought against other human rights defenders, such as Abel Chikomo.

(Washington, D.C) - On 4 December 2013, human rights defender Ms Martha Tholanah was summoned to appear in Rotten Row Magistrate Court. She has been charged with running an “unregistered” organisation under Section 6 (iii) of the Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) Act and will appear in court on 12 December 2013.

Martha Tholanah is Chairperson of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ).