The Voices

Blogging For Human Rights Day

2009-12-10T00:47:00.000-05:00

61 years ago today, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In all there are thirty rights that are in the declaration. I am only going to show the first ten. Out of the first ten there are only two I did not add an atrocity to. Even my own leader of the United States is avoiding the issue of human rights in countries such as China.* If a world leader will not speak up then it falls to the people to stand against the offenders of these rights. I add my voice to those who cry for justice.

Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Baad - Giving away a girl as “compensation” to settle a dispute between tribes or families
Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Tell that to Sitara Achakzai, a Kandahar Provincial
Council member, who was shot dead on 12 April 2009, or Malalai
Kakar, the highest-ranking female police officer in Kandahar killed in September 2008,
Sitara Achakzai had consciously decided to keep fighting to end the abuse of Afghan women.
Article 3.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Afghan women are subjected to an increasingly insecure
environment. Women participating in public life face threats, harassment and attacks. In extreme cases, women have been killed for holding jobs that are seen to disrespect traditional practices or are considered “un-Islamic.”
Article 4.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Although most people may not be aware that in the 21st century slavery still exists, reports declare that the number of slaves at present is the highest it has ever been (Free the Slaves). Presently, about 700,000 children and women are trafficked around the world annually. The UN says that profits for this trafficking amount to approximately $7 billion a year (Anti-Slavery International).

Article 5.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
“And then he turned to us, Croats, and he started speaking to us. ‘Listen you guys, we are going to kill all of you. We are going to burn you all. We are going to throw your ashes into the Danube, to destroy your Croat seed.’ I remember that sentence and I shall never forget it.”
A Croat from Vukovar, relating what he heard a soldier say to him and other prisoners, in the case against Slobodon Milosevic.
Article 6.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Carrie Shelver, an activist with People Opposing Women Abuse, said: "Generally there's a deficit of understanding and commitment to women's rights by the leadership of this country. It's simply not on people's agenda."
A report published by the trade union Solidarity earlier this month said that one child is raped in South Africa every three minutes, with 88% of rapes going unreported. It found that levels of child abuse in South Africa are increasing rapidly.

Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
What does Aung San Suu Kyi think of this right? She has been under house arrest for most of the last 19 years.
Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Reporting from Bogota, Colombia, and Sao Paulo, Brazil -- The police killing earlier this year of 22-year-old clerk and expectant father Jose Carlos Barbosa in a Rio de Janeiro slum was anything but an isolated incident. He is one of more than 11,000 people slain at the hands of authorities in that city and Sao Paulo since 2003.

* Story here

Zimbabwe's Diamond Mines

2009-11-06T00:02:00.001-05:00

Zimbabwe faces the threat of being suspended from the international diamond trade after allegations of brutality from it's soldiers. Rights groups are lobbying members of the *Kimberly Process, the body that regulates trade in rough diamonds to halt exports from Zimbabwe. Activists say Mugabe's soldiers massacred about 200 people when the troops moved in last year. Witnesses told of how tear gas was thrown from helicopters, policemen opened fire on the diamond mine and raped the women who were caught at the field. Activists say local people are being forced to search for diamonds, with all the profit being taken by Zanu-PF. Human Rights Watch insists the Kimberley Process should ensure diamonds are not mined in areas where human rights are being violated.

Mugabe sympathizers argue that the Kimberley Process is meant only to ensure the profits are not used to fund conflict, so Zimbabwe should not be banned. Namibian MP Bernhard Esau, the current chairman of the Kimberley
Process, told the BBC's Network Africa programme that Zimbabwe had"really serious problems" and needed help to remain "part of the family".

*
The Kimberley Process (KP) is a joint governments, industry and civil society initiative to stem the flow of conflict diamonds – rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments. The trade in these illicit stones has fueled decades o fdevastating conflicts in countries such as Angola, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone.The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of
rough diamonds as ‘conflict-free’. As of November 2008, the KP has 49 members, representing 75 countries, with the European Community and its Member States counting as an individual participant. For more information on the Kimberley Process here is the link.

Dona Nobis Pacem. Peace For All, Lift Your Voice

2009-11-04T18:25:00.000-05:00

Peace- (n) 1: Freedom from public disturbance or war. 2: Agreement and harmony among persons.

A very simple prospect don’t you agree? People who are in agreement or harmony. People who are free from war. How do you personally solve issues you may have with your friends, co-workers or family? Do you start hitting the one who disagrees with you? Do you start stabbing each other over who your leader should be? Or do you hear the others side and weigh all your options?

If you have seen any news in the past few years then you have heard about gangs who are killing each other because the other side is in their neighborhood. Men who kill their wives because she wants to be free to make her own choice. Mothers who kill their children because they want to be unencumbered and party with friends. Don’t you wish they could see what people in other countries live with daily?
There are people dying every day because one group has decided for all how their life should be lived. Here are people in this country who do not see what is in front of their own nose, freedom. The freedom to choose what they want to be in life. The freedom to practice their faith no matter what that faith is. The freedom to work where they want, to live where they want. The freedom to vote for the person they feel will do the best by them in running their country.

Then there are those who are not so lucky, because of being born where they were born. In countries where a leader kills them because they would dare to disagree or just because they belong to a different sect. Where the simple act of getting water for a thirsty child results in death. Where leaders care more about the shopping trips in far away ports then the starving people they govern.

I as a blogger pray for peace and understanding, but if someone who is free does not care then how can I expect the rest of the world to care? To have the gift of choice, the gift of freedom is a precious thing that must be treasured, for there are millions who do not even have the option of choice.

World Food Day

2009-10-15T23:01:00.000-04:00

Every 6 seconds a child dies of malnutrition. In some of Africa's poorest countries, families are cutting school, clothes and basic medical care just to give their children one meal a day. A record one billion people throughout the entire world are hungry and this will only increase if more is not spent on agriculture. The U.N. food agency reports 30 countries now require emergency aid, including 20 in Africa alone.

Somalia, ravaged by violence and anarchy for almost two decades has seen the monthly expenditure for food and other basic needs rise 85% in the past two years. A family of 6 spent $92 in March 2007 while the same amount of food in September 2009 cost $171.

In Kenya,
herders have seen scores of their animals die and crops have withered
because of drought. Today, 3.8 million people in Kenya need food aid,
up from 2.5 million earlier in the year. The world's most populous region, Asia and the Pacific, has the largest number of hungry people — 642 million — followed by Sub-Saharan Africa with 265 million.

Jacques Diouf, director general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, said world leaders
are starting to understand that investment in agriculture must be
increased. He cited the goal set by the Group of Eight summit in
L'Aquila, Italy, in July to raise $20 billion to help farmers in poor
countries produce more — a shift from previous emphasis on delivering
food aid.

However, more investments will be needed to fulfill pledges like the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, which aim to halve the number of those living in hunger and poverty by 2015.

The FAO says global food output will have to increase by 70 percent to feed a projected population of 9.1 billion in 2050.

To achieve that, poor countries will need $44 billion in annual
agricultural aid, compared with the current $7.9 billion, to increase
access to irrigation systems and modern machinery as well as build
roads and train farmers.

I think today is the end of all things conventional,

Whatever had been predictable yesterday, is no more.

Forks and spoons are too rusted to use,

Jutting out of us like some perished nightmare.

Dining room tables are being used for makeshift mausoleums,

(Leave the dead, don’t waste precious energy.)

Electricity went out this morning, water this afternoon.

It reaches everywhere; the world reeks of a decomposing.

There’s a deafening silence ticking down like a giant clock;

Nothing can be heard, save the monstrous, shrieking echo of silence

That swims over our heads like crop-dusters spitting flesh.

We are so goddamn frightened! Is this the end of the world?

Has our greed and apathy finally made its way back to us?

Have our closed hands and open mouths at last climbed inside our minds?

Where are all the loud children skipping home from school?

What day is this? What time is it? What has happened?

At night there will be fireflies and the moon to feebly reassure us.

Everything we’ve ever been told about death and hunger and this moment

Sounds stupid.

All the times we’ve been told of it or witnessed such present horror

Is now speechless.

Everything is so horrifyingly quiet! The mask of life itself is waning

Like leaves falling upon autumn’s sword.

To our hands, the children. To our feast, the world

Now shaking off its parasites with winter’s cold harmony.

Of our hands, the stillness. Of our hunger, the stench

Masking any good that has ever been grown in the field

Or expressed with the sustenance of any true and decent love.

© 2009 mrp/thepoetryman

Ghosts of War, Rwanda's Living Dead

2009-08-16T08:14:00.000-04:00

In Rwanda and the neighboring Kivu provinces of the DR Congo, ghosts wander above the Great Lakes. These ghosts are survivors of a horror they will never manage to forget-those that the Rwandans call "bapfuye buhagazi" or "the walking dead." These are the young girls who had abortions after being raped by the interahamwe or Hutu militia. These are the widows, the mothers who saw their children slaughtered before their eyes, children who grew up after seeing their parents die, the killers haunted by remorse and the killers who feel no remorse at all.

They are also the bystanders who pretended there was nothing they could do, the innocents later unjustly accused of murder, the guilty harbingers of death who are afraid of being discovered. These are the ones who are known and who are being blackmailed, the Hutu refugees who never came home, the Tutsi refugees from the Congo who ran from the massacres and still linger in Rwandan camps, the madmen and the broken women.

In many ways the genocide has succeeded, managing to encase the whole country in a huge airless bubble, pretending life goes on but in too many ways it actually stopped on April 7th, 1994.

The sad thing is no one has ever apologized, no truth and reconcilitation commission has been offered them, where the real perptrators are actually present and can be cross-examined. Instead there isa stricture of the gacaca curts-set up by the Rwandan governments based on a system of community justice, where the deninciators themselves are often guilty and those attending seem more interested in staying on the good side of the present regime, rather than digging into the black past.

The new regime has made using the words Tutsi or Hutu strictly forbidden by law. How can a clear examination of the relationship between Tutsi and Hutu be made? How can you talk about disease without mentioning germs or contagion?

What about the ghosts that walk in the Western world?

Has guilt kept the West fixated on the genocide? Guilt of the Belgian colonizers who were vaguely suspected of having contributed to this mess through their old colonial policies. The guilt of the French government which had supported some of the worst excesses of the Hutu regime beyond the normal limits of political alliance. Guilt of the Americans who refused to use their military intervention when it was called for and finally guilt of the international community when the United Nations compounded it's initial blindness by displaying a massive case of multilateral cowardice.

Suu Kyi, A True Hero

2009-08-12T14:16:00.000-04:00

The world stood by and watched the sham trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, hoping for the right thing to happen but knowing in their collective hearts what the outcome would be. It could have been worse. She could have been given many years of hard labor in prison. Many think the outcome is just a way to appease the world and make it look as though they are giving her a lighter sentence, while in reality it is one way to keep her silent during the elections next year.

The Burmese regime had a miracle fall into their laps in the name of John Yettaw. It solved the problem of how they were going to keep Suu Kyi quiet while the regime was elected in 2010. In 1990 they ignored the fact that her party, the National League for Democracy won the election and Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest for violating the laws that were hastily put in place to silence the dissenters. She has been under house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years. It is funny how a tiny 64 year old woman has the Junta shaking in their boots.

While the world has cried foul and demanded her release, there is one major player who will not take her side and that is China. They say we should respect Burma's laws. How do you respect laws that were made to keep someone in power, with no hope for the people of Burma to voice their opinion. How do you respect laws that only are in place for the military regime while they are being propped up by China and India? I say shame on the leaders of those countries. China is trying to prove they have improved human rights, yet continue to back the rulers of Myanmar.

Than Shwe is the head of the ruling junta and controls the army. A very hard-line leader, he is strongly opposed to allowing any political role for opposition leader Suu Kyi. He at first was thought to be more lenient than his predecessor, General Saw Maung, releasing some political prisoners and allowing human rights groups to visit Burma. but he continues to suppress all dissent.

Maung Aye is the second most powerful man in the country and is believed to have made many strong ties with Burma's drug lords in the Golden Triangle before he joined the military leadership in 1993. He is ruthless and xenophobic and is also staunchly opposed to any future political role for Suu Kyi.

To me Suu Kyi is a hero of the largest proportion. She was inspired by US civil rights leader Martin Luther King and India's Mahatma Gandhi for their non-violent campaigns. There are more heroes than her, but their voices are being silenced all over the world. I want the world to hear them!

Mugabe and the Diamond mine; A story of death and greed

2009-07-06T03:29:00.000-04:00

It is like I said in my last post, why does Zimbabwe cry for money from the western countries when it has a diamond mine that could enable the country to raise $200m a month. Thank you Human Rights Watch for calling attention to the death that has occurred in Zimbabwe's diamond mine. Mugabe is a cold hearted evil man whose soldiers he so desperately needed, systematically took over the mines to give Mugabe access to the riches the mine has afforded.
Now it is quoted that the minister in the unity government is saying "soldiers will be withdrawn in "phases". The army claims it descended on the gold fields to prevent illegal mining but rights groups claim they were involved in forced labor and an alleged massacre of diamond diggers. An investigation is currently underway to investigate the allegations of abuse.
Only time will tell if Mugabe does what is needed to help the country fight back from poverty by using the diamond fields to pave the way to a better future.

Twitter for the World Today July 4th

2009-07-04T00:45:00.000-04:00

I want to share this video with you. I may not be able to do much and this is my effort. I hope it touches you in some way.

Does Zimbabwe really need China's money?

2009-06-30T15:05:00.001-04:00

How can Zimbabwe be rising from the economic collapse when death is all around and children are being forced to be slaves for the soldiers of the ZANU PF party? When soldiers in helicopters using mounted machine guns shoot panners in the fields of Marange. Tsvangirai and the MDC are trying to convince Western donors that Zimbabwe is improving and Mugabe can be trusted. How can Mujuru's daughter attempt to sell uncertified gold and diamonds on the international market in Spain? Mujuru is a senior ZANU PF official and Zimbabwe's vice president and is a major stakeholder in the field. Why are Tsvangirai and Mugabe not setting right the diamond mine and using the money to help their own country. Why should only those in power get rich and the poorest in the country have nothing but misery, rape, torture, death, and child slave labor? Mugabe needs to see the blood on his hands and turn the black hatred in his heart to helping his own people stand up and be proud once more for Zimbabwe.

Human Rights In Iran. Are There Any?

2009-06-25T14:32:00.000-04:00

What are human rights? What do they mean to you? Do you have the right to practice a religion no matter what others think about that religion? Do you have the right to vote in matters that affect your country. Do you have the right to demand that election be fair and just? Do your rights include your children be provided with an education? Do you have the right to voice your opinion no matter your sex, creed, ethnicity, political ideals? I do have rights where I live as I am sure many others do. What of those who are not given the smallest bit of human dignity, those who are owned by their government, thrown in prison for voicing their displeasure, killed for believing in something different. Women being raped because some men believe it is a male bonding ritual. Where are their rights, that they can openly accuse their tormentors and knowing they will be heard and the unjust punished?

What has happened in Iran smacks of no rights of human beings. It tells the world that Khamenei cares not one bit what the people of Iran want, just a power hungry little man, who puts his robes on the same as every one else. Look what happened to Neda. Where were her rights? Where are the rights of those who were killed during a protest? Khamenei throws his words at the United States and what happened at Camp Davidian, it was wrong, yes it was tragic, but Khamenei look at your country. How many have died, how much blood is on YOUR hands? I am posting a letter that appeared in the latimesblogs that shows human rights at their worst. I can do this because of the rights I have in my country. I want the world to know what is happening behind the curtain of oppression.

I first met
Shahriar when I was writing for my school paper and covering student
government. He was in charge of the clubs on campus and could always be
relied on for information. His upbeat attitude was contagious, and we
quickly became friends.

Shahriar moved to the U.S. from Iran to pursue his bachelor’s
degree. His determination has been nothing short of inspirational. When
I learned a few days ago that he went back to visit Tehran, I was
shocked. Immediately, I emailed to ask how he was doing and what it was
like over there.

Here is his unedited account, which he agreed to share with our
readers. To protect his safety, the Times is not publishing his full
name.

I am scared and worried about this turmoil in Iran.

No body knows what is going to happen, I even believe the top
politicians from both sides have the same situation. They may predict
based on their analysis but Iranian people are very unpredictable in
political views and actions.

midnight chantings are very energetic and a great sign of unity

among people and they chant (Allah Akbar) which means The god is great
and its the same chant during the past revolution and its not something
against the Islamic values of this government.

during the day when I go out it seems that everything is calm but everyone is waiting to see what is gonna happen at night.

The government has a lot of anti riot forces that havent used all of
them so far, so if that happens it could create more violence.

I personally did voted for Mousavi not because he was my ideal
reformist candidate but I didnt want Ahmadinejad anymore as my
country's president.

I am all for reform in Iran and not revolution and violence.

People want a reelection and believe Mousavi should have won. But
losing life and any other sacrifice for this goal is not worthy (from
my point of view.)

Special forces who are armed civilians (supported by the government)
called Bassij is very involved in this situation and they do most of
the attacks to demonstrators. They are bunch of of young people brain
washed by radical clerics and only listen to the supreme leader. They
have bases in every mosque and basically in every neighbourhood, very
unified and willing to sacrifice they lives whenever the supreme leader
orders?? at least this is what they claim.

getting news about this situation is very hard at this time. so rumors are going around and around.
Internet
websites are blocked (but we use anti filter programs and easily pass
that) but getting news for example websites that are belong to
Mousavi's supporters are not trustworthy as before because of several
attacks and hack attempts to these websites. so we should be very
careful about the source of our news.

Satellite channels are attacked by the government with sending
noises so BBC Persian TV which was a main news source for people is now
almost unreachable. SMS service is blocked so people cant inform each
other about demonstrations. cell phones also get blocked in certain
areas of Tehran during night and evening. local newspapers get censored
even for details of their front pages and articles.

calling to the US and UK is almost impossible because they dont want
people to contact news agencies and satellite TVs to report about
demonstrations. But still this young generation recording and sending
out news from Iran. They also united to attack governmental websites
and kinda like a cyber war.

Demonstrations are not happening all over Iran and not even all over Tehran (capital city)
Its
almost from city center to north (where middle and upper class people
live) but that is even a huge number of people (Tehran has around 10
mil citizens.)

I expect a very strong attack and more violence from security forces
in short term and for the long term I predict a very police/security
controlled atmosphere for Iran. A complete dictatorship maybe like
Syria, Egypt and Cuba, specially when I see all these arrests of
opposition leaders in Tehran.
I did go to the first huge demonstration called by Mousavi and shocked by the number of people who showed up. HUGE turnout.

On the other side I know that Ahmadinejad and supreme leader also can call for the same size demonstration.

I really dont know if I ever answered ur questions but just tried to
express my feeling and concerns. Please let me know if u have any more
or specific questions.

Good luck and cheers,

Shahriar

— Amber Smith in Los Angels

Complete coverage of the Iranian elections and aftermath.

Photo: In this photograph posted on the Internet, an
Iranian protester flashes the victory sign from behind a public trash
bin set on fire at an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Saturday
June 20, 2009. Credit / AP Photo

Human beings have rights, where are theirs?

There but for the grace of God go I

2009-05-30T20:39:00.000-04:00

I found this video on a wonderful web site that tells what Doctor's without Borders are doing to show the world what is happening in Darfur. They are trying to help women who have been raped and beaten to heal and put some of the pieces back together. This is but a small portion of what they do. Please watch this moving story and then go to DarfuriWomen.org and see how you can help.

Suu Kyi, A story of bravery

2009-05-14T16:06:00.001-04:00

The Lady was in court, but with the trial being closed to the public, few knew if she wore her trademark flowers in her hair. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, known to Burmese simply as "The Lady" was dragged to the infamous Insein Prison on Thursday morning to face charges of disobeying the terms of her house arrest. On May 3rd, according to Burmese state press, an American man illegally swam across a lake to Suu Kyi's waterfront villa and snuck into her compound for two nights. Foreigners are not allowed to stay overnight in Burmese houses and she is no ordinary lady. The leader of Burma's crushed democratic opposition, she has been confined to her crumbling home by the ruling junta for much of the past two decades.

Suu Kyi's trial is due to begin on May 18th, according to her lawyers.Two housekeepers who have lived with Suu Kyi since her latest stint of jail time began in 2003 were also arrested. Even though her lawyer said she was upset to discover the uninvited guest in her home she still could face up to 5 years in prison. After much stonewalling by the Burmese regime an American diplomat was allowed to meet with the swimmer, a 53 year old former military serviceman John William Yettaw. His motives for the midnight swim remain unclear.
The health of the 63 year old is watched anxiously not only by Burma's democratic opposition but by many other Burmese who revere her with a singular-if hushed- devotion. On sensitive dates related to the doomed democracy movement, some women put flowers in their hair, a subtle show of support for the silenced activist. Now with the Lady in jail those flowers may yet bloom again.

Aung San Suu Kyi born on June 19th, 1945 Her mother Daw Khin Kyi becomes a prominent public figure, heading social planning and social policy bodies. In Jan.1948 the Independent union of Burma is established and in 1960 when Suu Kyi was 15 her mother was appointed Burma's ambassador to India. Suu Kyi accompanied her mother to New Delhi. She attended high school and then went to Lady Shri Ram College in New Delhi. In 1964 she attended Oxford University and recieved a B.A. in philosophy, politics and economics at St. Hugh's College.

Her British "parents" are Lord Gore-Booth, former British ambassador to Burma and High Commissioner in India, and his wife, at whose home Suu Kyi met Michael Aris, student of Tibetan civilization.

In 1969 She went to New York for graduate study, staying with family friend Ma Than E, staff member at the United Nations, where U. Thant of Burma is Secretary General. Postponing her studies Suu Kyi joins U.N. secretariat as Assistant Secretary, Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. In the evenings and on week ends she volunteers t hospital, helping indigent patients in programs of reading and companionship.
In 1972 she married Michael Aris and joins him in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, where he tutors royal family and heads the Translation Department. She became Research Officer in the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 1973 they returned to England for the birth of their son Alexander in London. In 1974 Michael assumed the appointment in Tibetan and Himalayan studies at Oxford University.
In 1977 she gave birth to her second son at Oxford. While raising her children she began writing, researching for biography of her father, and assisted Michael in Himalayan studies. In 1984 she published Aung San in series of University of Queensland Press. In 1985 she published a book for young people Let's Visit Burma, also books on Nepal and Bhutan in the same series for Burke Publishing Company in London. In 1987 the family returns from Simla where Michael had fellowship at Indian Institute of Advance Studies,and where she published Socio-Political Currents in Burmese Literature1910-1940 in the journal of Tokyo University.

Back in London Suu Kyi enrolls at London School of Oriental and African Studies to work on an advanced degree. In March of 1988 she moved the family to Rangoon to take care of her mother after she had a severe stroke. In July of that year General Ne Win, military dictator of Burma since 1962 resigned. In August there was a mass uprising throughout the country and violent suppression by the military kills thousands. On August 15th Suu Kyi, in her first political action sends open letter to government asking for formation of independent consultative committee to prepare multi-party elections. On August 26th in her first public speech addressed several hundred thousand people outside Shwedon Pagoda, calling for a democratic government. On September 18th military establishes State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Political gatherings of more than four persons is banned with arrests and sentencing without trial reaffirmed. On September 24th the National League for Democracy formed with Suu Kyi general-secretary.There was a policy of non-violence and civil disobedience.

Defying the ban Suu Kyi makes speech-making tour throughout the country to large audiences. In December of that year her mother Daw Khin Kyi died and at her huge funeral procession Suu Kyi vows that as her father and dead mother had served the people of Burma, so too would she, even unto her death. January 1989 through July of same year Suu Kyi continues her campaign despite harassment, arrests and killings by soldiers. On February 17th she was prohibited from standing for election. April 5th in the incident in Irawaddy Delta she courageously walked towards rifles that soldiers were aiming at her. On July 20th Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest, without charge or trial. Her sons were with her and Michael flew to Rangoon and finds her on her third day of hunger strike. Michael asked to be jailed to join students who were arrested at her home. She ended the strike when good treatment of students was promised.
In May of 1990 despite detention of Suu Kyi, NLD wins election with 82% of parliamentary seats. SLORC refused to recognize the results of the election. In October of 1990 Suu Kyi was granted the 1990 Rafto Human Rights Prize. In July of 1991 European Parliament awarded her Sakharov human rights prize. In 1991 Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In December of that year Freedom from Fear was published in New York, England, Australia, and New Zealand. It was also translated to Norwegian, French and Spanish. On Dec. 10th Alexander and Kim accepted their mother's prize in an Oslo ceremony. Suu Kyi remained in detention having refused an offer to be freed if only she would leave Burma and withdraw from politics. Now world wide appeal is growing for her release. In 1992 she announced that she would use her $1.3 million prize money to establish health and education trusts for Burmese people. In 1993 a group of Nobel Peace Laureates, having been denied entry into Burma visited Burmese refugees on the Thailand border calling for Suu Kyi's release. Their appeal later was repeated at UN Commission for Human Rights in Geneva.
In February of 1994 she has her first non-family visitors, a UN representative, a U.S. congressman and a New York Times reporter. In September and October SLORC leaders meet with Suu Kyi, who is still asking for a public dialogue. On July 10th, 1995 the SLORC releases Suu Kyi from house arrest after 6 years of detention.

On March 27th, 1999 Michael Aris died of prostate cancer in London. He had petitioned the Burmese authorities to allow him to visit Suu Kyi but his request was denied. He had not seen his wife since Christmas 1995. The Burmese government always urged her to visit her family abroad, but she knew once she left she would never be allowed back into Burma. This separation she regarded as one of the sacrifices she had to make in order to work for a free Burma.
All in all Suu Kyi has been detained on and off for the last nineteen years.

From Nobel Lectures, Peace 1991-1995, Editor Irwin Abrams, World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 1999
This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures.

Ten Worst Dictators

2009-05-10T11:41:00.042-04:00

1.Robert Mugabe- Zimbabwe

Age 85
In power since 1980

In Zimbabwe you can now buy a loaf of bread for a $50 billion Zim note. Unemployment is at 85% and in 2008 Mugabe agreed to hold an election, knowing he would only accept the result if he won. Launching attacks, his supporters killed 163 people who opposed him and tortured or beat 5,000 more. Signing a power sharing treaty did nothing since he then put his own people at the head of every ministry. All the while his countrymen and women have died by the thousands from cholera since August.

Although U.S. leaders have called for Mugabe’s resignation, imports from Zimbabwe, primarily nickel and ferrochromium, rose in 2008. Both are used in the production of stainless steel.

2. Omar al-Bashir-Sudan

Age 65
In power since 1989

In March the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his contributions to the tragedy in Darfur. He was charged by the ICC with “murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing, and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians, and pillaging their property.” Bashir’s military campaign has been accused of driving 2.7 million people from their homes since 2003. Since the warrants were issued Bashir has kicked out the aid workers who were in the country to help with water, food and medical help the refugees so desperately need.

Both former President Bush and President Obama have spoken out strongly against Bashir’s actions, even while the U.S. still supplies the country with substantial amounts of sorghum and other food products. The U.S. also purchases from Sudan millions of dollars worth of gum Arabic, used in soft drinks, candy, and shoe polish. In 2008 trade actually increased to $148 million.

3. Kim Jong-Il-North Korea

Age 67
In power since 1994

Kim is believed to have had a stroke and has been absent from important public events, but his regime continues to be one of the world’s most oppressive. Hundreds of thousands of citizens, including children are imprisoned in labor camps for such “crimes” as hoarding food and “anti-socialist activities.”

Relations with North Korea have been dominated by Kim’s development of nuclear weapons. Secretary of State Clinton recently expressed concern over a possible succession struggle and signs that North Korea was preparing to test a long-range missile. Which they did on April 7,2009

4. Than Shwe-Burma( Myanmar)

Age 76
In power since 1992

When Cyclone Nargis slammed into Burma on May2, it left some 140,000 dead or missing and more than 2 million homeless, Than Shwe delayed access to stricken areas by aid groups as he held a rigged election to approve a new constitution.

The U.S. has condemned the military regime for 21 years and called fort he release from house arrest of Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

5. King Abdullah-Saudi Arabia

Age 85
In power since 1995

Despite King Abdullah’s talk of reform, Saudi women still need permission from male guardians to work, study, travel, marry, or even obtain an ID card. The government opened a woman’s branch of it’s Human Rights Commission but, too bad there are no women allowed to serve on the board. There is no Saudi penal code and trial defendants often cannot question witnesses.

Dependence on Saudi oil, of which the U.S. imported $50 billion worth in 2008 has caused our leaders to overlook the royal family’s abysmal human-rights record.

6.Hu Jintao- China

Age 66
In power since 2002

Hu and the communist party won the right to host the 2008 Olympics by promising to improve human rights but instead tightened restrictions on freedom of speech and religion. Repression of Tibetans and other minorities have increased dramatically and political and religious dissidents can be held in “Re-education Through Labor” camps for up to four years without trial.

In September, China passed Japan as America’s #1 foreign creditor. In 2008, we imported $340 billion worth of goods from China.

7.Sayyid Ali Khamenei-Iran

Age 69
In power since 1989

Ayatollah Khamnenei has increased arrests of non-violent opponents of his regime, women’s- rights activists, ethnic and religious minorities and journalists. In 2008 Khamenei’s government was the only one in the world to execute juveniles. Iranina law consider boys eligible for the death penalty at age 15 and girls at age 9.

Despite the war of words between leaders of the U.S. and Iran and the possibility of Iran developing nuclear weapons, trade between the two nations skyrocketed in 2008, highlighted by America’s sales to Iran of wheat, corn and pharmaceutical products.

8. Isayas Afewerki-Eritrea

Age 63
In power since 1991

Afewerki announced in May 2008 that elections would be postponed for “three or four decades” or longer because they “polarize society.” All forms of media are controlled by the government and at least ten local journalists remain in prison since their arrests in 2001.

In October 2008, the U.S. government banned the sale of arms to Eritrea, accusing Afewerki of not fully cooperating with anti-terrorism efforts.

9. Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov-Turkmenistan

Age 51
In power since 2006

Since he took power two years ago he stopped the ridiculous cult like personality trait of his predeecessor of naming the months after himself and his mother. He should have stopped the repressive politics that are in place. Political prisoners are still behind bars, all media is controlled by the government, opposition parties are not allowed, and the practice of religion is restricted.

The U.S. continues to import oil ($100 million in 2008) from Turkmenistanand Boeing provides airplanes to the Turkmen government. Chevron recently opened an office in Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat.

10. Muammar al-Qaddafi-Libya

Age 66
In power since 1969

Sept 1, 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of his coup. Among nonroyal leaders, only Gabon’s Omar Bongo has been in power longer. Anyone who spreads any information that is believed to tarnish Libya’s reputation is punishable by life imprisonment. Reports of torture are common.

The U.S. imported $4 billion worth of Libyan petroleum in 2008. Condoleeza Rice became the first Secretary of State to visit in 55 years. (2008)

Information was gathered from Parade.com

Happy Mother’s Day

2009-05-09T11:21:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers of the world. Women who hold their families near to them provide and nurture them.

To those who struggle daily to feed the little belly’s, who soothe the scared cries from the dreams of devils on horseback, who have kissed a skinned knee and wiped a tear away.
Mothers who gather the wood to keep their children warm at night, who have taken a gift and passed it on, helping others in time of need.
To all the women who nurture their men and stand by their side, who have buried their young, for they live on in your heart and memories. Women who have taken the motherless and made them whole, who have survived terror and fear and gone on.

I wish all women who have mothered a child, a family, a tribe, a village, a house or a tent Happy Mother’s Day. You are the women of the world.

World Hunger Day

2009-04-29T14:55:00.000-04:00

Today is world hunger day and we at bloggersunite are blogging about this as one voice for the hungry of the world. I hope by my contribution I bring some awareness to this difficult subject.

Rape: A Toll of War

2009-04-26T14:42:00.000-04:00

Rape is the most dehumanizing thing thing that can happen to a women. Our world is run by men for the most part and how can they understand what happens to women mentally when she is taken against her will? When our soldiers come home from war they receive treatment for PTS or Post Traumatic Stress. What happens to the women in Darfur when they too suffer the same thing? Nothing unless she is found by one of the relief agencies that are trying to essentially put their fingers in a dike. Now that NGO's have been forced out even the small number of women that were getting help now get none.

Social isolation is one of the effects of rape. These women are shunned for something they had no control over, for as we know rape is not a sexual crime. It is an act of dominance and anger. A way to hurt the enemy and cause dissent among civilians for what once the center of the family she is now driven away. If she does claim to have been raped and cannot produce four male witnesses she faces prosecution for adultery, is whipped and then imprisoned.

Most women are beaten as well as raped and suffer from internal injuries and broken bones. A women who becomes pregnant from rape must now face the hardest dilemma of all. Abandon her baby or risk community rejection or even legal prosecution for caring for it. This is why rape is used by the Janjajaweed as a way to "pollute" blood lines and undermine family bonds.
Because rape victims are very often afraid to tell what is done to them, this remains a silent crime.

Darfur Slide Show

2009-04-01T21:53:00.001-04:00

What Would You Do Without? Water?

2009-03-23T14:39:00.003-04:00

Here is a video for World Water Day of which I am a day late.

International Women's Day. Stop Female Genital Mutilation!

2009-03-07T23:53:00.001-05:00

March 8th we celebrate International Women's day. Women have influenced life since the dawn of mankind, whether anyone wants to admit this or not. We have been suckled, nurtured protected and loved at one time or another in our lives. We are influenced every day by women. Be it our Mothers, sister, friends, neighbors or strangers. So let us think about the women in our lives and what they have done for us and what they bring to our world.

FGM. Do you know what these three letters stand for? Female Genital Mutilation. A horrible mutilating disfiguring of women done because it is believed by many to ensure a man's progeny was his and also to insure women were not sexual beings. This is not known to be truly the whole reason and is open to speculation.

Female Genital Mutilation is usually done to girls between the ages of three and six, although the age can vary, and are done by the women of the family and village. It is performed in secret and leads to disfigurement and problems for the girl later in childbearing years. In order for a girl to have sex most often surgery is needed. In order to give birth more surgery is needed. More than 100 million women and girls are estimated to have had FGM.

What does this say about the women of the world? Are they so expendable? Are they worthless in the eyes of so many? Some say uncut women are considered more likely to be promiscuous, unhygienic and prone to diseases such as Aids. Attempts have been made to justify this horrific practice on religious grounds. Some die hard Muslims insist that women must undergo genital cutting to remain faithful to the purest teaching of Islam, even though it not mentioned in the Koran and only in uncertain expressions in the Hadith (a collection of oral traditions about the life of the prophet Mohammed).

It is known by a variety of names, the most common being female genital mutilation (FGM), female circumcision, or simply "cutting". It involves removing part or all of the clitoris, the surrounding labia, and then sewing up of the vagina, leaving only a small opening for urine and menstrual blood. There are no anesthetics involved, just a little girl held by her legs, spreading them apart and then using a piece of glass, a rusty razor blade or filthy knife and then cutting off the clitoris and labia and ending by sewing the raw edges together. A pack of mud and herbs are then put on the wound and the girl is held in isolation until she has healed, usually several weeks.

The real unsettling story is the fact that this practice is still happening in Britain today! By conservative estimates there are 66,000 women and girls living in Britain that have been mutilated. Because of the secrecy, finding and punishing the cutters, who are often flown in from their home countries is extremely difficult. The families have had the ways of cutting in their cultures for hundreds of years and to eradicate this belief is damn near impossible.

I cry as I write this because of the complete ignorance in this matter. You hear of it, possibly you have seen pictures but who has any idea of long term results of this practice. Genital mutilation may leave a lasting mark on the life and mind of the woman or child who has undergone it. The psychological complications may be submerged deep in the child's subconscious and may trigger behavioral disturbances. In the longer term,
women may suffer feelings of incompleteness, anxiety, depression, loss of trust, chronic irritability and frigidity. Many women and girls, traumatized by their experience but with no acceptable means of expressing their fears, suffer in silence. I urge all women to stand up and say enough is enough!

This year lend your voice. Help educate these women and help them see what they are doing and how wrong it is. If this is their choice then let them choose as adults, not be forced as very young children who have no say so in this cruelty. There are charities out there who are trying to stop this barbaric custom. Stopfgmc is one such site that warrants a look.

Here is a petition that you can sign.
This website has some good information.
More info here.
Another source of info

A Charity Worth Looking, At Freedom from Hunger

2009-03-04T19:10:00.002-05:00

Freedom from Hunger remains one of my favorite charities. They do not just give food or money to people, they do so much more. They give dignity where there was none. They give chances to people who thought they had none. They give a hand to those who need support.

Founded in 1946, Freedom from Hunger brings innovative solutions and helps in the fight against chronic hunger and poverty. Freedom from Hunger is funded by a grant from Bill and Melinda Gates of $5.6 million dollars. This is only one of a handful of organizations experimenting with health care microfinancing. When looking into the impact on these loans it was discovered that people were not using the loans to grow a business, but were using the money to pay for a sick kid. In 2007 FFH started it's microfinance and health protection program at institutions in five nations and offers discount doctor visits, health care savings accounts, affordable medicines and emergency health care loans. In most cases, customers were required to attend health care classes in order to get the small business loan.

The theory is the healthier the borrowers, the better bank customers they will be. Loans will be repaid and they will come back for bigger loans making their business start ups better and their families will thrive. 15,000 families are now getting basic medical care. When doctors were first approached about offering discounted care only 7 signed up. Now there are 51.Women are attending health seminars and using health care loans to pay for eyeglasses and minor surgeries Freedom from Hunger will continue it's experiment in 2009. Think of how the money you give can impact one families life.

Here are some of the ways you can help.

Genocide In Rwanda Part 3

2009-03-02T21:07:00.002-05:00

Politics in Rwanda were dominated by the Tutsi which was just 17% of the population and virtually all the rest of the population was Hutu with 1% aboriginal Twa. Starting in 1959 during the transition to independence the Tutsi were abandoned by their Belgian colonial sponsors, which allowed the Hutu to seize control, setting in motion the idea of throwing off hundreds of years of Tutsi oppression.

The new Hutu rulers targeted former Tutsi officials and their supporters for retaliation forcing several thousand Tutsi to flee the country. The first refugees left Rwanda in 1959 for neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire. Sometime in 1969 some of these Tutsi refugees started calling themselves inyenzi ("cockroach" to signify their persistance) and attempted to return to power in Rwanda and reinstall the Tutsi mwami or king. Attacks were launched from bases in Uganda and Burundi which in turn caused Rwanda's hard line Hutu nationalist government to retaliate by escalating oppression of, and attacks against, Tutsi within the country.

The most successful attacks occurred in 1963 when Tutsi from Burundi came within ten miles of the Rwandan capital, Kiqaali. This then triggered the most intense outburst of reprisal killing against Tutsi in Rwanda. Though horrific, this proved effective in reducing the inyenzi attacks, which stopped in 1967. All told from 1959 to 1967, 20,000 Tutsi were killed and 200,000 were driven from the country as refugees. The Tutsi population now dropped from 17% to 9%. After the inyenzi invasions the remaining Tutsi of Rwanda were spared major outbursts of violence for over two decades, with the exception of one minor occurrence in 1973 when the failing regime of Rwanda's first president tried to win popular Hutu support by scapegoating the Tutsi. This was quickly cut off by the overthrow of the regime in July of that year by a Hutu army officer from northwestern Rwanda, Juvenal Habyarimana.

Once Habyarimana seized power, Hutu from his northwestern region came to dominate Rwanda garnering resentment from both the Tutsi and other Hutu. The Tutsi were also given quotas for education and other government benefits as part of an affirmative action program on behalf of the historically deprived Hutu. Habyarimana also blocked the return of Tutsi refugees which he saw as a potential threat to his power. In the absence of any further invasions by Tutsi refugees, the Rwandan Tutsi were spared any organized violence for 17 years.

Genocide In Rwanda part II

2009-02-27T20:47:00.001-05:00

The existing literature on the Tutsi rebels in several aspects, is actually misinformation or disinformation put out by the rebels or their enemies during this conflict to garner international support in their respective reasons for the conflict. Does it explore the capacity if any, of the rebels' anticipation about the costs of their challenge or the hope for forthcoming international intervention? If anything the information at hand focuses solely on the rebels first invasion, not looking at their later actions on the battlefield or peace negotiations that incited the genocidal retaliation.
These succeeding actions include: launching military offensives in 1991 and 1992; refusing to compromise during peace negotiations in 1992 and 1993; breaking a cease-fire and launching an offensive in early 1993. This angered even their allies within Rwanda; refusing to renegotiate the terms of an existing peace agreement in late 1993 in spite of increasing signs that such refusal would lead to massive retaliation against Tutsi civilians. Refusing to accept cease-fire offers during the first two weeks of the genocide and pursuing a war plan during the genocide giving greater priority to military victory than to protecting Tutsi civilians.

This comes from former senior Tutsi rebels who are more than willing to speak openly more now than during the war or it's immediate aftermath. These include the following:

Founding coordinator and later constitutional commission chairman, Tito Rutaremara

Vice-chairman at the time of the invasion and later electoral commission president, Protais Musoni

Director of external affairs and top peace negotiator during the war and later foreign minister, Patrick Maimaka.

Deputy peace negotiator and later cheif of cabinet, Theogene Rudasingwa.

Top delegate to peace talks in 1991 and director of war operations during the genocide and later chief of army operations, Karenzi Karake.

Top delegate to the first peace talks in 1990 and later deputy police commissioner, Dennis Karera.

Head of finance from it's founding through the genocide and later prefect of the capital area, Aloysie Inyumba.

Washington representative during the war and later foreign minister, Charles Murigande.

Personal physician and right hand man of it's leader Paul Kagame and later national security advisor, Emmanuel Ndahiro.

Member of the executive committee and later minister of information, Wilson "Shaban" Rutaysire.

An anonymous top rebel and later senior official in the ministry of defense.

An anonymous senior moderate Hutu officer in the Rwandan army during the genocide.

All quotes and historical accounts are from interviews made by Alan Kuperman except where otherwise noted.

Some historical background in colonial and pre-colonial next time.

Genocide In Rwanda

2009-02-22T08:20:00.001-05:00

What starts genocide? I have looked at the wars taking place in Africa and have asked why? What would cause people to kill massive amounts of others for what they consider is their right to practice control of a region. I will be writing several posts helping explain what the reason may be behind the senseless slaughter of thousands of innocent people. *This is the first post.

In the early 1990's Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) threatened Rwanda's Hutu regime to such an extent that it retaliated with genocide. Do policymakers appreciate how genocide may stem from the interaction of ethnic groups and the international community? Until that happens there will be very little chance of preventing these tragedies.

In 1994 Rwandas' genocide was a retaliation by the states Hutu regime to a violent challenge from the Tutsi rebels. The Tutsi rebels invaded Uganda in 1990 and fought for over three years to seize effective control of Rwanda. As the war raged on the rebels were warned that there would be a retaliation against Tutsi civilians. It did not matter and the RPF persisted in it's military offensive and demands for political power. The RPF refused to make any compromises with the Hutu government and consequently when the Hutu government was defeated, the Hutu government had already retaliated killing more than thre-quarters of Rwanda's Tutsi population in barely THREE MONTHS. The Tutsi's gained control of a country whose Tutsi population had been devastated.

* Sources- allacademic

Grameen Foundation. Helping Women One Loan At A Time

2009-02-21T09:46:00.002-05:00

The Grameen Foundation has been around since 1977 and one of the things they focus on are microloans to poor women and their families. Some of these people live on less than $1 per day. With microloans, no collateral is needed to receive loans, unlike traditional loans from banking institutions. As the money is repaid it is recycled to others and in this way loans multiply the value of each dollar in defeating world wide poverty.

Much of Grameen Foundation's work is done by a network of volunteers who are committed to the Foundation's mission. In just seven years GFUSA has a global network of 50 partners in 20 countries and has impacted an estimated 5.5 million lives in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East.

Screaming At The TV

2009-02-15T09:53:00.000-05:00

Screaming at the tv, is a blogging friend of mine. I enjoy going to his site and screaming with him. We are both good screamers I think. He promote a very worth while cause, Kiva This great charity gives micro loans to people who need the money to start up a vendor program to help others in their community. Some families ask for money to buy seeds to plant and raise a crop to feed their families and to sell at market. We all know how this works and all we need now is your help to make this goal. Click on the link to see what monies are still needed to help.