Salem-News.com Human Rights articles Page 49

Protesters Stop Journalists from Traveling in Sri Lanka

Foreign Secretary William Hague has expressed his concern over UK journalists being blocked from going to north Sri Lanka by protesters.

(COLOMBO ITV) - A team from Channel 4 News were escorted away by police after a group of people blocked their train.

Channel 4 News editor Ben de Pear tweeted: "It seems it is mob rule in Sri Lanka, albeit orchestrated by the authorities to prevent free press access to the north of Sri Lanka.

The Chaos in Sri Lanka

The role of Britain & the Commonwealth...

(BRISBANE) - It is not widely appreciated that the current chaos in Sri Lanka is partly due to the damage done by colonial Britain, and later by the failure of the Commonwealth, to act when all the Commonwealth ‘core values’ had been systematically and blatantly violated by a succession of Sri Lankan (Sinhalese) governments.

The result is a Totalitarian State where human rights have taken a bashing, democracy has been dismantled...

Sri Lanka Hosting CHOGM 2013 - A Serious Problem

CHOGM is not a farce. Hosting this event is an opportunity for the host country to make a lot of money.

(BRISBANE) - This paper was written a month ago under a different title: “Sri Lanka hosting CHOGM is a joke. Is the (British) Commonwealth relevant any more?”

I argued that the Commonwealth was a farce, and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) a joke. That is not correct. I have re-written it to draw attention to an entirely different ‘event’ associated with CHOGM, the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF).

Just How Real is Hamas`s Transformation?

And is new spokesperson Isra on a 'mission impossible'?

(LONDON) - I wish 23 year-old Isra al Modallal all the luck in the world in her new and important job as the media face of Hamas - important, that is, if Hamas allows it to be. It's a courageous move on her part... and a curious innovation by Hamas.

Some reports say Isra is not even a member of Hamas and she'd be happy representing bitter rival Fatah and the Palestinian Authority as well. If she plans to freelance like that, I wouldn't mind betting it will end in tears.

Why, Really, Has Netanyahu Put Settlement Expansion on Hold?

Given that an Obama showdown with the Zionist lobby is a possibility, (not a probability), it’s worth recalling what Eisenhower said when, from the bully pulpit, he took on the Zionist lobby and won.

(LONDON) - His own explanation was that he wants to avoid or minimise the prospects for an “unnecessary confrontation” with the international community, for which read President Obama and the European leaders who would follow his lead (with the arguable exception of the French whore).

I think it’s more than reasonable to believe that Netanyahu was concerned, possibly even alarmed, by the explicit nature of U.S. Secretary of State Kerry’s condemnation on 6 November of Israel’s on-going colonization of the occupied West Bank.

Solutions Needed in Sri Lanka

To secure lasting peace and stability, Sri Lanka needs a durable and equitable political system that ensures all citizens are fairly represented and afforded equal rights and protections.

(WASHINGTON, DC) - More than four years after Sri Lanka’s ethnic-fueled internal conflict came to an end after 26 years, the country has yet to implement a viable plan for lasting peace and reconciliation.

In March, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a U.S.-led resolution calling for the “establishment of a truth-seeking mechanism as an integral part of a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to transnational justice” in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka: People `Putting Themselves at Risk`

Our story of reporting in Sri Lanka is totally insignificant compared to that of the countless thousands who have been killed, tortured or disappeared...

(LONDON ) - In the media pack given to all arriving journalists at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) being held in Sri Lanka next week is a 222 page book called "Corrupted Journalism".

It is an out and out attack on Channel 4 and our journalism. As we only received our visas this week (our accreditation process took 8-10 weeks as opposed to the 2-3 weeks it took everyone else) I do not have this weighty tome in my hands, so I can't react to everything it says.

Thailand: Human Rights Ambassador Condemns Continuing Attacks and Intimidation of Southern Peasants` Federation Members

Human Rights Ambassador gravely concerned by the recent attacks and acts of intimidation against Khlong Sai Pattana community...

(Washington, D.C) - On 8 November 2013, shots were fired in the air by unidentified men to intimidate members of the Khlong Sai Pattana community, which is affiliated with the Southern Peasants' Federation of Thailand (SPFT).

This is part of an ongoing series of attacks and intimidation targeting human rights defenders affiliated with SPFT.

TKMaxx Stop Selling Products That Fund Apartheid & Occupation In Palestine

Apartheid was not acceptable in South Africa so what makes it right in Palestine ?

(LONDON) - We urge TKMaxx who claim to be an ethical high street retailer to take a look once more at its ethical and moral values when trading with Israel.

Israel a state which profits from the land it seized back in 1967 through its large scale ethnic cleansing and ongoing occupation in Palestine. We as customers deserve the right to buy products without a guilty conscious. Dead Sea products made by companies being boycotted are labelled “ made in Israel” most are likely sourced directly or indirectly through illegal Israeli colonies on Palestinian land.

Netanyahu`s Two State Mask has Slipped

Kerry's effort to re-launch the peace process was based on the illusion that Netanyahu is committed to a two-state solution; its failure means that it's only a matter of time before the Palestinians fight back.

(TEL AVIV Ha'aretz) - No one familiar with Secretary of State John Kerry’s many years of service to the nation would dare underestimate his intelligence or diplomatic skills.

Yet no one familiar with the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the failure of half a century of negotiations to produce anything other than Israeli measures intended to create irreversible facts on the ground in order to prevent a two-state outcome, can believe that the peace process Kerry managed to relaunch against all odds can succeed.