Newsroom

Update

(As originally posted on Daily Kos) 100 days have come and gone with all the accompanying media hoopla but it increasingly seems like President Obama’s first 24 hours represented the high water mark of his commitment to rolling back the human rights abuses committed by the Bush administration. The past week has seen still further blows to campaigners’ hopes that the Obama administration would place traditional American values of accountability and the rule of law at the heart of their response to the ongoing terrorist threat. Leaks from the Department of Justice suggest that former Bush administration lawyers Jay Bybee,…

May 6, 2009

Update

Israeli President, Shimon Peres, flew to the United States to give a speech at the 2009 AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) annual conference in Washington DC Monday and to meet with President Obama Tuesday at the White House.  YouTube already has a video of his speech. Although George Mitchell, Special Envoy to the Middle East who was appointed by President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has met with Israeli officials, this will be the first meeting between President Obama and a high ranking official from the newly established Israeli government under Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu which is considered 'right-wing'.  AIUSA asked President Obama to…

May 5, 2009

Update

In his May 1 statement in honor of World Press Freedom Day, President Obama singled out for recognition a few journalists unjustly imprisoned for their work: In every corner of the globe, there are journalists in jail or being actively harassed:  from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe, Burma to Uzbekistan, Cuba to Eritrea.  Emblematic examples of this distressing reality are figures like J.S. Tissainayagam in Sri Lanka, or Shi Tao and Hu Jia in China. Tissainayagam remains in prison today, solely for the "crime"  of being a journalist.  Please write to the Sri Lankan government today and ask that he be released…

May 5, 2009

Update

Last Friday, I watched the Al Jazeera video, "Sri Lanka admits military bombed 'no-fire' zone," in which the Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary denies, then admits, then denies again that the Sri Lankan military bombed in the government-designated "no-fire zone" in northeastern Sri Lanka.  Recently released U.N. satellite photos show craters that the U.N. said were most likely created by bombs dropped from planes since March 16. Later that night, I found myself thinking of some lines from one of John Lennon's songs:  "All I want is the truth/Just gimme some truth." Then, one of the songs from the soundtrack for the…

May 5, 2009

Update

Just five days after the execution of child offender Delara Darabi in Iran, the government there is set to kill two more juvenile offenders tomorrow. This news comes despite widespread international consensus that because of children’s immaturity, impulsiveness, vulnerability and capacity for rehabilitation, their lives should not be written off so permanently – regardless of the severity of the crimes they are convicted. Amir Khaleqi and Safar Angooti are set to be executed early Wednesday, May 6, at 4 a.m. local time in Evin prison.  The scheduling of these executions, just days after killing Delara Darabi, show that the Iranian…

May 5, 2009

Update

As some people have alluded to in the comments to this post by the Editors, bloggers are most definitely in need of press freedom just as much as "regular" journalists. Just take a look at Shi Tao, a blogger who's been in prison in China since 2004 for sending an email. Every time I read a blog, or post to one, I think about how lucky I am to be able to say what I want in those posts and comments, and how glad I am that those other bloggers whose thought-provoking words I read have not been silenced or…

May 4, 2009

Update

UNOSAT released new satellite images of the Sri Lanka war zone. Conclusion: Within the northern and southern sections of the Civilian Safe Zone (CSZ), there are new indications of building destruction and damages resulting from shelling and possible air strikes. (...) An additional 5 permanent buildings within the CSZ have been destroyed between 29 March & 19 April bringing the total estimate within the CSZ to approximately 60 main buildings destroyed. This count does not include potential damages to or destruction of IDP tent shelters. (...) Over five thousand of IDP shelters were relocated within the CSZ during April under…

May 4, 2009

Update

...and they're still waiting. Yesterday and today mark the third anniversary of the police operations in San Salvador Atenco that resulted in the arbitrary arrests of more than 45 women. At least 25 of those women filed complaints of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the police who arrested them. However, none of those responsible for the events at Atenco have been brought to justice. The women of Atenco continue to wait for justice. This past week, the swine flu outbreak has caused terrible problems for Mexico.  Unfortunately, on the third anniversary of those events at Atenco, several campaign actions that…

May 4, 2009

Update

If we're to believe the Sri Lankan military, they've killed no civilians during their offensive against the opposition Tamil Tigers in recent months.  They claim that the security forces have only killed Tiger fighters.  However, the military itself admitted that it's become harder to distinguish between civilians and the Tigers, since the Tigers have, according to the military, shed their uniforms for civilian clothes.  AI has reported that the military has used heavy artillery in indiscriminate attacks causing civilian casualties.  The Sri Lankan government doesn't help its credibility in making these kinds of claims. The Tigers can't exactly lay claim to great credibility…

May 3, 2009

Update

Perhaps the most oppressed people in history, Roma - commonly referred to as Gypsies - have been persecuted since they arrived in Europe in 1300 C.E. The New York Times reports that institutionalized and societal prejudice against Roma is enflaming violence in Europe: [...] Prejudice against Roma — widely known as Gypsies and long among Europe’s most oppressed minority groups — has swelled into a wave of violence. Over the past year, at least seven Roma have been killed in Hungary, and Roma leaders have counted some 30 Molotov cocktail attacks against Roma homes, often accompanied by sprays of gunfire.…

May 2, 2009

Update

Yesterday, the U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes told a press conference in New York, following his two-day visit to Sri Lanka, that "both sides are pursuing their military logics, if I can put it that way."  He was referring to the Sri Lankan government's refusal to agree to a humanitarian pause in hostilities and the refusal by the opposition Tamil Tigers to let the civilians trapped in the war zone in northeastern Sri Lanka leave the area.  Will continued fighting in a shrinking war zone, combined with tens of thousands of civilians being held captive by the Tigers, inevitably mean…

May 1, 2009

Update

Amnesty International learned today about the tragic and very unexpected execution of Delara Darabi this morning in Iran. Delara had been given a two month stay of execution by Ayatollah Shahroudi, the head of the Iranian Judiciary, just two weeks ago.  Her lawyer and her family had not been informed of the execution, despite the law requiring that. Any execution is unacceptable, but Delara Darabi was convicted of a crime she allegedly committed when she was a juvenile.  Iran is the only country in the world that still executes juvenile offenders.  Delara Darabi had been arrested in 2003 and charged…

May 1, 2009