Amnesty International Group 22 Pasadena/Caltech News --- Volume XIV
Number 10, October 2006
UPCOMING EVENTS
Thursday, October 26, 7:30 PM. Monthly Meeting Caltech Y is located off
San Pasqual between Hill and Holliston, south side. You will see two
curving walls forming a gate to a path-- our building is just beyond.
Help us plan future actions on Sudan, the War on Terror, death penalty
and more.
Tuesday, November 14, 7:30 PM. Letter-writing Meeting at the Athenaeum.
Corner of California & Hill. We meet downstairs in the cafeteria. This
informal gathering is a great way for newcomers to get acquainted with
Amnesty!
Sunday, November 19, 6:30 PM. Rights Readers Human Rights Book
Discussion Group. Vroman's Book Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd.,
Pasadena. This month we read Mark Abley's Spoken Here: Travels among
Threatened Languages (More below.)
Note: The November Monthly Meeting has been moved to November 30 due to
Thanksgiving.
COORDINATOR'S CORNER
Hi everybody! Long time no write column-Martha did the honors the last
couple of times... (Thanks for the break, Martha!)
Robert and I attended the Western Regional Conference in Tucson, Arizona
last weekend. The title was "Human Rights Have No Borders". Veronica
Raymond, another Group 22 member, also attended with a friend of hers.
We caught glimpses of each other in passing! There were several great
speakers and workshops-we couldn't attend them all, but did pick up lots
of literature, flyers, etc. We sold 3 tee shirts and 1 pack of holiday
cards! Rob attended workshops on Video, Film and Human Rights Education,
and Globalize Justice: An Insider's Guide to the International Criminal
Court's Investigations. I went to Prevention, Not Execution: Prohibiting
the Death Penalty for Severely Mentally Ill Offenders and Human Rights
at the Border. We both attended a discussion on Amnesty's new draft
policy on sexual and reproductive rights, and voted on resolutions.
Guess who's back! Our "no-circ" friends made another attempt to get
their resolution on MGM (male genital mutilation) passed. It failed in
the working party as did a resolution to delay Amnesty formulating a
policy on reproductive rights issues.
There were many organizations and speakers from immigrant rights groups,
addressing the conditions of Mexican migrants. The border is only a few
hours away from Tucson and concerns re border patrol mistreatment of
migrants in custody, border patrol intrusion and harassment of Indians
on reservation lands (the route from Sonora goes thru the Tohono O'dham
lands), criminalization of humanitarian aid (the 2 defendants from No
More Deaths had their felony charges recently overturned) and other
issues were discussed. Amnesty is trying to develop a policy statement
on immigration. To contribute your opinion, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/us.
In the group sales and display room, we saw photographs of an exhibit on
Eritrea put on by ASU students called "One Heart Betrayed". They have a
website-http://www.west.asu.edu/amnesty/events/images/eritrea06/ that
has pictures of the display and information re Eritrea.
Remember Helen Berhane? She's a young Eritrean gospel singer who has
been imprisoned in a shipping container. She has been tortured and was
recently taken to hospital. See below for an action AI sent out an
urgent action on her behalf.
Kathy aigp22@caltech.edu
PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE
Eritrean Estifanos Seyoum
Instead of writing on behalf of Estifanos Seyoum this month, we offer
this action on fellow Eritrean Helen Berhane. We also encourage you to
watch a short film about torture in Eritrea which you can find at
http://rightsreaders.blogspot.com.
We have received reports that Helen Berhane was hospitalized at Halibet
Hospital in Asmara following severe mistreatment. She has not been
allowed any visits by relatives and Amnesty International is concerned
she was tortured.
Helen Berhane is a gospel singer and a member of the Rema church, one of
several minority churches persecuted by the Eritrean government. She was
arrested on 13 May 2004 as part of a government crackdown on Evangelical
and Pentecostal churches. She was taken to Mai Serwa camp and detained
in a metal shipping container until early 2006. Shipping containers
offer little ventilation, are boiling hot during the day and freezing
cold at night. Furthermore, there are no washing or toilet facilities in
the containers. Helen was recently moved out of the container into a
cell in the camp. Helen has refused to abandon her faith and gospel
singing, despite promises of release if she does.
Torture is used regularly by Eritrean authorities as a punishment for
prisoners such as and the pattern of harsh detention condition and ill-
treatment has not changed over the years, despite multiple appeals by
Amnesty International and other NGOs.
Please write to the Eritrean authorities and to the Eritrean ambassador
in your country,
- Expressing concern at reports that Helen Berhane was hospitalized due
to severe mistreatment
- Calling for her be given adequate medical care
- Calling for her to be allowed visits from relatives
- Calling for her she be released once she has received adequate medical
care if she is not to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence
and brought to trial in accordance with international standards of
fairness, and without recourse to the death penalty.
APPEALS TO:
Mr Mohamed Omar
Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
PO Box 190
Asmara
Mr Semere Beyene
Director, Department of Religious Affairs
Ministry of Local Government
P O Box 225, Asmara, Eritrea
Scott DeLisi, Ambassador
US Embassy
179 Alaa Street, Asmara (PO Box 211)
LETTER COUNT
Postcards/China 5
Eritrea POC 6
Urgent Actions 14
Total: 25
To add your letters to the total contact lwkamp@sbcglobal.net
RIGHTS READERS
Human Rights Book Discussion Group
Vroman's Bookstore
695 E. Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena
Sunday, November 19, 6:30 PM
Keep up with Rights Readers at http://rightsreaders.blogspot.com
Spoken Here:
Travels among Threatened Languages
by Mark Abley
Within the next couple of generations, most of the world's 6000
languages will vanish, due mainly to the unstoppable tide of English.
With an open mind and a well-worn passport, award-winning journalist and
poet Mark Abley tells entertaining and vital stories about why languages
matter. From Oklahoma to Provence, aboriginal Australia to Baffin
Island, the cultures are radically different, but the problems of
shrinking linguistic and cultural richness are painfully similar.
Abley's investigation provides a stunning glimpse of the beauty and
intricacies of languages like Yiddish and Yuchi, Mohawk and Manx,
Inuktitut and Provençal. More importantly, it offers a sympathetic and
memorable portrait of the people who still speak languages under threat.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST POVERTY
Justice for Forced Evictions in Zimbabwe
Across Africa, hundreds of thousands of people each year are forcibly
evicted. They are removed from their homes without notice or
compensation, and in many cases are stripped of their possessions and
left homeless. Often they are displaced far from sources of clean water,
food, sanitation, livelihood or education.
Forced evictions violate international law, yet many governments justify
them on the grounds that they are essential for the development of
infrastructure or in preparation for the hosting of international
events. The tragic outcome in most of these cases is that the poorest
and most vulnerable members of society are placed at even greater risk.
In 2001, the African Commission on Human and People's Rights adopted a
resolution condemning the practice of forced evictions, and last year it
issued a report condemning Operation Murambatsvina as a violation of
international law.
Forced Evictions in Zimbabwe. During May-July 2005, an estimated 700,000
people lost their homes, their livelihoods, or both when the Zimbabwe
government forcibly evicted them and demolished their homes and
businesses as part of Operation Murambatsvina ("Drive Out Rubbish"). The
forced evictions and demolitions were carried out without any advance
notice, in violation of standing court orders, and without any
provisions for temporary shelter, access to food and clean water. In
addition, police used excessive force against dislocated residents,
including beatings caught on videotape. The vast majority of the victims
have received no assistance with replacement housing since the
demolitions, and because they were among the poorest of the poor in
Zimbabwe, they have experienced hunger, sickness (including thousands
with HIV/AIDS), and psychological trauma.
Five weeks after the mass evictions began, the government of Zimbabwe
launched Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle ("Better Life"), describing it
as a program to build houses for victims of the mass evictions.
Amnesty International research has found that, far from being a
solution, the program has not assisted virtually any of the victims of
Operation Murambatsvina. Few houses have been constructed, and even
those which have been built are too expensive for victims to afford.
Most of the houses designated as "built" are unfinished, do not have
access to adequate safe water and sanitation, and are uninhabited. At
least 20 per cent of the houses that have been built are officially
earmarked for civil servants, police and soldiers. In reality, far more
than 20 per cent of the houses have been allocated to people who did not
lose their homes during Operation Murambatsvina.
Despite having destroyed many of the victims' livelihoods during the
evictions, the government demands proof of their income before they are
considered for new houses. Many informal vendors and traders who were
supporting themselves and their families before Operation Murambatsvina
have lost their only source of income, and thus cannot provide any proof
of income, even if they were offered the chance to purchase a house.
Un-serviced land plots (residential areas of land without access to
water or sanitation facilities) have been allocated to some victims --
but there is no assistance for construction of houses. People who lost
everything during Operation Murambatsvina are expected to somehow find
building materials and rebuild houses on their own.
Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle is the only government response to the
gross human rights violations perpetrated under Operation Murambatsvina.
No other assistance or remedy has been offered by the government to the
hundreds of thousands of victims. Amnesty International considers
Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle to be a wholly inadequate to the abuses
commited against the victims of Operation Murambatsvina.
Visit AIUSA's Economic, Social and Cultural Rights resource page:
www.amnestyusa.org/escr.
Please write a letter to the Parliament of Zimbabwe urging immediate
relief for the victims of Operation Murambatsvina. A sample letter has
been provided, but we encourage you to add your own thoughts:
To: Hon. Zinyemba, MP
Chairperson, Portfolio Committee on Local Government
Parliament of Zimbabwe
P. O. Box CY298
Causeway, Harare
Zimbabwe
Dear Honorable Zinyemba,
I write to you today to express my deep concern over reports that an
estimated 700,000 people lost their homes, their livelihoods, or both
when the government of Zimbabwe forcibly evicted them and demolished
their homes and businesses between May and July 2005. I was alarmed to
learn that these evictions were part of a government program (Operation
Murambatsvina) which targeted poor urban and surrounding areas nationwide.
Amnesty International reports that the forced evictions and demolitions
of Operation Murambatsvina were carried out without any advance notice,
respect for due process, in violation of standing court orders,
mechanisms for individual redress, and without provisions for
appropriate relocation measures. The vast majority of the victims have
received no help from the government and have been left to find their
own alternative shelter. Many are now living in overcrowded and often
squalid conditions, and thousands of the victims are still living in the
open under makeshift shelters.
I consider the government's response to the mass evictions wholly
inadequate, having been implemented five weeks after the evictions
began, and ultimately having failed to reach the majority of victims of
Operation Murambatsvina. It is tragic that those targeted by Operation
Murambatsvina were among the poorest of the poor, and now, as a direct
consequence of the operation, have been driven deeper into economic and
psychological distress.
In honor of World Poverty Day, I urge you to do everything in your power
as a member of the Portfolio Committee on Local Government to demand
that the government of Zimbabwe upholds its obligation to respect,
protect, and fulfill the right to adequate housing, as recognized by the
African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
In particular, your committee should urge the Ministry of Local
Government to revise Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle in order to ensure
that it:
- provides security of tenure;
- prioritizes the provision of relief to the most vulnerable;
- addresses the housing needs of the poorest who cannot afford the cost
of a stand or building materials; and
- includes plans to ensure adequate access to safe water and sanitation
for all housing and stands.
Please give this matter your urgent attention. I thank you in advance
for taking action to protect the human rights of all people in Zimbabwe,
including the poor and most vulnerable.
Sincerely, Your NAME and ADDRESS
CORPORATE ACTION NETWORK
10 years in prison for sending an email
The Western Region of Amnesty International USA has adopted Shi Tao as
its "Special Focus" case. We've highlighted his plight before, but
here's a refresher on this journalist's plight.
In April 2004, the Chinese journalist Shi Tao used his Yahoo! email
account to send a message to a U.S.-based pro-democracy website. In his
email, he summarized a government order directing media organizations in
China to downplay the upcoming 15th anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on
pro-democracy activists. Police arrested him in November 2004, charging
him with "illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities."
Authorities used email account holder information supplied by Yahoo! to
convict Shi Tao in April 2005 and sentence him to 10 years in prison.
China's vaguely-worded legal definition of what constitutes a "state
secret" gives authorities broad discretion to detain people who
peacefully exercise their right to free expression. In a similar case,
authorities arrested government worker Li Zhi in August 2003 for
allegedly using email accounts through Yahoo! and another company to
make contact with a banned political party. Jailed on charges of
subversion, Li Zhi is currently serving an eight-year sentence at
Chuandong Prison in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
China has constructed an extensive system of Internet censorship to
silence activists and journalists like Shi Tao. All Internet
communications pass through government-controlled routers, and
authorities are able to block access to many sites, to filter content,
and to delete links or web pages considered "dangerous" or "subversive."
No list identifying what information is filtered or blocked is publicly
available, but a study done by Harvard Law School in 2002 found that
more than 50,000 of 204,000 websites tested were inaccessible from at
least one location in China. Websites using banned words such as
"democracy," "freedom," and "human rights" are regularly blocked, as are
the websites of international human rights groups (including Amnesty
International) and several foreign news services.
Shi Tao (pronounced "shur taow"), a 38-year-old published poet and
essayist, is held at Chishan Prison in Yuanjiang, Hunan Province, where
he is reportedly forced to labor under harsh conditions. His family has
been harassed by authorities. His wife underwent daily questioning by
security officials and was persistently pressured to divorce Shi Tao,
which she eventually did. His uncle and brother have been under
surveillance and harassed both at work and at home, and his mother is
reportedly monitored and harassed as she petitions for his release.
Amnesty International considers Shi Tao and Li Zhi to be prisoners of
conscience, imprisoned for peacefully exercising their right to freedom
of expression, a right protected in international law and the Chinese
constitution.
BACKGROUND. China currently has the largest recorded number of
imprisoned journalists and cyber-dissidents in the world. As of July
2006, Amnesty International had documented at least 54 Chinese Internet
users believed to be imprisoned for such acts as signing petitions,
calling for an end to corruption, disseminating health information, or
planning to establish pro-democracy groups. For more information, see
Amnesty's report, "Undermining Freedom of Expression in China"
The crackdown on Internet users is part of a broader deterioration in
China's human rights policies. Government authorities have demonstrated
heightened intolerance of public criticism in recent years, resulting in
the detention, "disappearance," imprisonment, beating, intimidation and
harassment of human rights defenders and others seeking justice.
China is the world leader in executions, with thousands of people
sentenced to death and executed each year. The Uighur minority in the
Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region face intensified repression under the
guise of China's "war on terror." Freedom of expression and religion
continue to be severely restricted in Tibet. Christians not belonging to
officially recognized churches must practice their religion underground.
Members of banned spiritual groups, including the Falun Gong, face harsh
persecution.
Please send politely worded letters to China's Prime Minister, urging
him to bring about the immediate and unconditional release of Shi Tao,
Li Zhi, and all those imprisoned solely for the legitimate exercise of
their right to freedom of expression. Encourage the authorities to amend
or repeal vaguely-worded laws or regulations that can be used to
persecute individuals who exercise their right to freedom of expression.
Write to:
Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China
Wen Jiabao Guojia Zongli
The State Council
9 Xihuangcheng Genbeijie
Beijingshi 100032
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
via email: gazette@mail.gov.cn
SUDAN
Fear for Safety/Torture/Detention
Mohamed Ismail, an internally displaced farmer from the Masalit ethnic
group, was arrested by security forces on 25 September with 12 other
people near Al Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. Ten are believed to
have been released on 3 October. At least one man, Ibrahim Birzi, and
possibly a second detainee, are said to have died in custody after being
tortured. Amnesty International has grave fears for the safety of
Mohamed Ismail, who is held incommunicado in Al Geneina.
The 13 people arrested are all said to have come from Foro Baranga,
200km south of Al Geneina, and to have been arrested on suspicion of
being members or supporters of the Sudan Liberation Army/Movement
(SLA/M), one of the rebel groups who took up arms against the Sudanese
authorities in Darfur. All those arrested are believed to have been
tortured by being severely beaten with bicycle chains and leather whips,
and by having their heads plunged in water. Ibrahim Birzi reportedly
died as a result of torture, and is thought to have been buried secretly
in a dried up watercourse (wadi).
Relatives of the detainees, and UN human rights monitors, who reportedly
tried to visit the detainees several times, were not permitted to meet
with them.
BACKGROUND. Since the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the SLA/M
took arms against the Sudanese government in Darfur in 2003, the
Sudanese government armed and supported local militias, known as the
Janjawid, as a proxy force against the rebels. The Sudanese government
and the Janjawid deliberately targeted civilians of the same ethnicity
as the rebel groups, as a counter-insurgency strategy. More than 85,000
have been killed, 200,000 have died as a result of conflict-related
hunger or disease, and over two million have been displaced. Rebel
groups have also committed human rights abuses, including targeting
humanitarian convoys and workers.
In large parts of West Darfur, the Janjawid have almost complete control
and are gradually occupying the land which was depopulated in 2003 and
2004. The people displaced by the conflict fled either to Chad or to the
nearest urban centres, which quickly developed into massive internally
displaced persons (IDP) camps. The displaced people are virtual
prisoners in the camps; they risk being killed, tortured or raped by
Janjawid militia if they venture outside of the camps.
The Darfur Peace Agreement, signed on 5 May 2006 by the government of
Sudan and one faction of the SLA/M, states that the parties to the
agreement "shall unconditionally release all persons detained in
relation to the armed conflict in Darfur" (paragraph 364). However, the
Sudanese authorities continue to detain many people on suspicion of
supporting groups which did not sign the peace agreement. Detainees are
frequently held incommunicado for long periods, and the use of torture
is widespread.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- calling for Mohamed Ismail to be immediately given access to his
family, lawyer and independent medical care;
- calling for United Nations human rights monitors to have immediate
access to Mohamed Ismail and all other detainees in Darfur,
- calling for the immediate release of Mohamed Ismail if he is not to be
brought to fair trial on recognizably criminal charges;
- calling on the government immediately to set up an inquiry into the
death in custody of Ibrahim Birzi and the torture of the 13 men, and to
ensure that anyone who is suspected of participating or ordering torture
is brought to justice in a fair trial.
APPEALS TO:
Lieutenant-General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan
People's Palace, PO Box 281
Khartoum, Sudan
Salutation: Your Excellency
Prof. Al-Zubair Bashir Taha, Minister of Internal Affairs
Ministry of Interior
PO Box 281
Khartoum, Sudan
Mr Muhammad Ali al-Maradhi, Minister of Justice
and Attorney General
Ministry of Justice
PO Box 302
Khartoum, Sudan
Email: info@sudanjudiciary.org
COPIES TO:
Dr Abdel Moneim Osman Taha
Rapporteur, Advisory Council for Human Rights
Khartoum, Sudan
Email: human_rights_sudan@hotmail.com
Ambassador Khidir Haroun Ahmed
Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan
2210 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Email: kahmed@sudanembassy.org