Newsroom

Update

President Obama is due to arrive in Cairo on Thursday to give a hotly anticipated speech to the Muslim world during a five day trip to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Germany and France. His speech is said to be similar to his previous one in Turkey, in which he will reiterate that the US wishes to foster warm relations with Muslim nations and will not, in his words, “simply impose… values on another country with a different history and a different culture.” He also told the BBC he plans to engage in “tough, direct diplomacy”. This tough and direct diplomacy, though,…

June 3, 2009

Update

With the execution of Terry Lee Hankins last night, Texas Governor Rick Perry has reached a pretty apalling benchmark: 200 executions in his eight and a half years as governor.  As in other states, the death penalty in Texas has proven to be ineffective as a deterrent, racist in its application, and extremely costly. Not to mention that Texas does not have a strong reputation for considering all of the evidence before going forth with an executuion: there have been at least eight executions in the last twenty years where there was strong evidence of the defendant’s innocence – five…

June 3, 2009

Update

On Friday, a ghastly execution took place in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, involving the decapitation and subsequent public crucifixion of Ahmed bin 'Adhaib bin 'Askar al-Shamlani al-'Anzi, who was executed on a number of charges, including murder, abduction and homosexual intercourse.   This comes right before President Barack Obama’s trip to the Middle East and Europe, set to begin in Saudi Arabia tomorrow.   While the main goal of the President’s visit to Riyadh may be to garner King Abdullah’s support for a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and to discuss regional policy towards Iran, Obama’s trip COULD also be…

June 2, 2009

Update

As I'm sure many of you know, June 3-4, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the 1989 military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. Two decades after the crackdown, about 50 people who were involved in the demonstrations are believed to remain in prison. The Chinese authorities continue to refuse to carry out an open, independent and impartial inquiry into the events of 1989, and no one has been brought to justice for their role in the crackdown. Attempts to mark the anniversary of the crackdown have been suppressed, and public debate or discussion of the events is banned.…

June 2, 2009

Update

Zimbabwe political party Movement for Democratic Change headed by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC-T) held an annual conference this past weekend. The party, which turns 10 this year, split in late 2005 over divisions with Arthur Mutambara over the direction of the party. The newer splinter group, MDC-M, together with the MDC-T, holds a majority of seats in Parliament but the Presidency remains with ZANU-PF, the ruling party in Zimbabwe since liberation. At the MDC-T conference, Tsvangirai wasn't exactly uplifting regarding life in Zimbabwe since a unity government was sworn in this February following severe violence and discord after disputed elections in…

June 1, 2009

Update

Guinea-Bissau (GB) is a tiny little country on the western coast of Africa. It is a nation ravaged by grave health concerns, drug trafficking and an abundant access to weapons. It is racked by political instability. Elections originally scheduled for March 2008 were postponed. In August 2008, then-President Vieira dissolved Parliament and a new Prime Minister was appointed. Relatively peaceful elections occurred in mid-November, however, mutinous soldiers, apparently not happy with these governmental maneuvers, attempted to assassinate the former President in what is considered to be a coup attempt. This year started with a bang, literally, when General Tagme Ma Wai, army Chief of…

June 1, 2009

Update

Take a look at this article in The Times of London newspaper and tell me why we shouldn't demand an immediate international investigation into the war crimes and human rights violations that occurred during the recent fighting between the Sri Lankan security forces and the opposition Tamil Tigers.  The U.S. and other governments should press for one at the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council as soon as possible.

May 30, 2009

Update

Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 9. That sounds like the name of a rock star or pop music group, no? Well, to me, human rights activists and environmental defenders are rock stars. And I have no doubt that Ken Saro-Wiwa would still be touring and drawing huge crowds if he were alive today. Ken Saro-Wiwa was more of a prolific indie rocker. He was a recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, primarily for his work as president of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP). MOSOP grew out of the concerns of indigenous peoples in the Niger Delta…

May 29, 2009

Update

Yesterday, I wrote on this blog about how the UN Human Rights Council failed to protect human rights with its recent resolution on Sri Lanka.  If you want to learn about the violations that the Council should have addressed, read the Sri Lanka entry from the Amnesty International 2009 Report, which has just been released.  It details the abuses committed during 2008 by the Sri Lankan security forces as well as the opposition Tamil Tigers. On a separate note, if you're a constituent of U.S. Representative Heath Shuler (11th District, North Carolina) or know someone who is, you should know that the Congressman has just…

May 29, 2009

Update

President Obama has added Saudi Arabia to the list of countries he will be visiting this June.  He reportedly will meet with King Abdullah to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Iran and terrorism.  The Arab Peace Initiative, designed by King Abdullah, would grant Palestinians an independent state, settle the issue of Palestinian refugees and create a more peaceful environment between Middle Eastern states. It has also been embraced by the Obama team. The trip reflects a new commitment by the US government to work more closely with Arab countries on issues of peace and power. Peace in the Middle East…

May 28, 2009

Update

Amid the global economic crisis, who stole the spotlight?  The Big Three car makers?  The bigwigs and their bonuses? The big banks that caused all the trouble? That's where all of the attention has been focused.  But what about the little guys, people whose individual stories we won't hear, but who will be living in poverty, due to the global financial crisis. Well, according to the World Bank, there will be 53 million more of them because of the economic collapse. This kind of massive deprivation for basic needs - not luxuries like the Palm Beach condos lost in the…

May 28, 2009

Update

I can't tell you how disappointed I am.  The UN Human Rights Council concluded its special session on Sri Lanka yesterday by adopting a resolution proposed by the Sri Lankan government.  The Council's session should have been used to examine the reports of human rights violations and war crimes occurring during  the recent fighting between the Sri Lankan security forces and the opposition Tamil Tigers.  On May 17, the Sri Lankan government had announced that it had defeated the Tigers, recapturing all the territory controlled by them and killing their leaders.  The Tigers had been fighting over the past 26 years…

May 28, 2009