'No Legal Rights' for Detainees
U.S.: 'No Legal Rights' for Detainees
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/081404B.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/081404B.shtml
Starmail - 14. Aug, 12:03
Menschenrechte - Human Rights
14
Aug
2004
12
Aug
2004
Ein schwarzer Tag für die Menschenrechte in Großbritannien
Gestern entschied die Berufungskammer des High Court, dass ausländische Terrorverdächtige ohne Anklage unbegrenzt festgehalten und durch Folter erpresste Geständnisse als Beweismittel für den Verdacht verwendet werden können...
http://www.telepolis.de/tp/deutsch/inhalt/co/18104/1.html
http://www.telepolis.de/tp/deutsch/inhalt/co/18104/1.html
Starmail - 12. Aug, 22:17
10
Aug
2004
Promoting Eugenics in America
http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/
http://www.africa2000.com/ENDX/aepage.htm
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/29/60minutes/main614728.shtml
http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/exhibits/treasures/aes.htm
http://www.ferris.edu/isar/arcade/eugenics/movement.htm
Informant: Evil Grin
http://www.africa2000.com/ENDX/aepage.htm
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/29/60minutes/main614728.shtml
http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/exhibits/treasures/aes.htm
http://www.ferris.edu/isar/arcade/eugenics/movement.htm
Informant: Evil Grin
Starmail - 10. Aug, 15:52
5
Aug
2004
Prisoners' Dilemma
How the administration is obstructing the Supreme Court's terror decisions...
http://slate.msn.com/id/2104715/
From Information Clearing House
http://slate.msn.com/id/2104715/
From Information Clearing House
Starmail - 5. Aug, 15:18
The spread of racial profiling since 9-11
Civil Rights Rollback; The spread of racial profiling since 9-11
http://www.sikhcoalition.org/news.asp?mainaction=viewnews&newsid=526
Informant: Malaika Kambon
http://www.sikhcoalition.org/news.asp?mainaction=viewnews&newsid=526
Informant: Malaika Kambon
Starmail - 5. Aug, 13:58
27
Jul
2004
Presenting the Akha Case at the UN in Geneva
Forward this document to all your lists, this is our work for the Akha people. Now more than ever!
Dear Friends:
I am here in Geneva, at the UN, the second UN appearance I have made in two months regarding the Akha people of Thailand.
The Working Group for Indigenous Peoples is going fairly well, we have made a number of presentations to the General Forum and also specific agencies.
Matthew McDaniel
Working Group For Indigenous Peoples 2004 -- Conflict Resolution
Matthew McDaniel -- The Akha Heritage Foundation -- Akha Governing Council
Thank you Mr. Chairman:
My name is Matthew McDaniel.
I am with the Akha Heritage Foundation. I have lived and worked with the Akha people of Thailand for 13 years. I am here to represent numerous Akha communities in northern Thailand who live in a defacto state of siege. Very few Akha have passports. We hope to sponsor several Akha to this forum next year. Numbering 70,000 people in Thailand, the Akha are some of the poorest people in the region. Their total population in China, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand is only 400,000 souls.
But it is hard to discuss conflict resolution when conflict is resolved with gunfire, the Akha people ending up dead, their land taken, at the hands of the Thai army, police and forestry departments. The US sponsored Drug War saw many of the Akha killed in extra-judicial executions during 2003. This purge in Thailand saw more than 2274 extra-judicial killings from all groups. This policy has continued since then, in the distracting shadow of the Iraq war, mostly un-noticed and un-challenged by the outside world.
I was deported from Thailand in April of this year by the Thai government after filing a 1503 report with the UNOHCR in January of this year citing 47 cases of extra-judicial killings and torture. Since my deportation there have been numerous Thai activists murdered for opposing the government’s will. For the Akha people to protest their treatment or attend sessions like this one is therefore quite dangerous.
The world is at war, for the indigenous the world has been at war for hundreds of years, yet the murder of indigenous people is hardly recognized. There is the need for conflict to be resolved by mediation on the part of the United Nations BEFORE people are being killed. How many people came to the UN from Sudan, from Rwanda before the mass killings? Had there been effective mediation, these events would not have occurred. The same goes for the Akha. Will the Akha of Thailand have to starve to death before discussions can take place? Who should they go to in order to get mediation, protection?
Will the UN listen now and ACT, or will the Akha be ground into the sands of time, hardly noticed or known, while Thailand can sit on this and that Human Rights Commission, with the UN being none the wiser to what the government of Thailand is doing to the Akha people in the north of Thailand. A trade partner with much of the world, while running progroms against the Akha people which are impossible for the Akha people to survive.
We are also very concerned with countries which send missionaries to Thailand. In cases of the abuse of Akha children who are removed from their villages to mission residential schools, the missionaries are not brought to accountability. In a recent case we repeatedly made request to the police of Sweden that they investigate, but they did not do so. The Swedish missionary had already been arrested by the Thai police in what was a substantial case, but was allowed to get bail and continue moving about in Thailand. He currently remains at large.
We have asked the World Health Organization repeatedly to stop the forced vaccination of Akha women during pregnancy. The Thai authorities tell the Akha women that they will not receive ID cards for their babies if they do not receive the vaccine. However many women miscarry after the vaccine. The WHO would not act. Nothing changes.
To resolve conflicts the UN and other agencies must respond to the concerns of the indigenous and live up to their responsibilities to protect human rights for all peoples, not just western peoples. And I would like to ask that the UN provide better support, especially travel, visa and technical support to the indigenous people who must make great sacrifices to come to the UN.
On behalf of the Akha people,
Thank you Mr. Chairman
The Akha Heritage Foundation
Akha Governing Council C/O
PO. BOX 6073, Salem, OR. 97304 USA
http://www.akha.org – akha@akha.org
Dear Friends:
I am here in Geneva, at the UN, the second UN appearance I have made in two months regarding the Akha people of Thailand.
The Working Group for Indigenous Peoples is going fairly well, we have made a number of presentations to the General Forum and also specific agencies.
Matthew McDaniel
Working Group For Indigenous Peoples 2004 -- Conflict Resolution
Matthew McDaniel -- The Akha Heritage Foundation -- Akha Governing Council
Thank you Mr. Chairman:
My name is Matthew McDaniel.
I am with the Akha Heritage Foundation. I have lived and worked with the Akha people of Thailand for 13 years. I am here to represent numerous Akha communities in northern Thailand who live in a defacto state of siege. Very few Akha have passports. We hope to sponsor several Akha to this forum next year. Numbering 70,000 people in Thailand, the Akha are some of the poorest people in the region. Their total population in China, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand is only 400,000 souls.
But it is hard to discuss conflict resolution when conflict is resolved with gunfire, the Akha people ending up dead, their land taken, at the hands of the Thai army, police and forestry departments. The US sponsored Drug War saw many of the Akha killed in extra-judicial executions during 2003. This purge in Thailand saw more than 2274 extra-judicial killings from all groups. This policy has continued since then, in the distracting shadow of the Iraq war, mostly un-noticed and un-challenged by the outside world.
I was deported from Thailand in April of this year by the Thai government after filing a 1503 report with the UNOHCR in January of this year citing 47 cases of extra-judicial killings and torture. Since my deportation there have been numerous Thai activists murdered for opposing the government’s will. For the Akha people to protest their treatment or attend sessions like this one is therefore quite dangerous.
The world is at war, for the indigenous the world has been at war for hundreds of years, yet the murder of indigenous people is hardly recognized. There is the need for conflict to be resolved by mediation on the part of the United Nations BEFORE people are being killed. How many people came to the UN from Sudan, from Rwanda before the mass killings? Had there been effective mediation, these events would not have occurred. The same goes for the Akha. Will the Akha of Thailand have to starve to death before discussions can take place? Who should they go to in order to get mediation, protection?
Will the UN listen now and ACT, or will the Akha be ground into the sands of time, hardly noticed or known, while Thailand can sit on this and that Human Rights Commission, with the UN being none the wiser to what the government of Thailand is doing to the Akha people in the north of Thailand. A trade partner with much of the world, while running progroms against the Akha people which are impossible for the Akha people to survive.
We are also very concerned with countries which send missionaries to Thailand. In cases of the abuse of Akha children who are removed from their villages to mission residential schools, the missionaries are not brought to accountability. In a recent case we repeatedly made request to the police of Sweden that they investigate, but they did not do so. The Swedish missionary had already been arrested by the Thai police in what was a substantial case, but was allowed to get bail and continue moving about in Thailand. He currently remains at large.
We have asked the World Health Organization repeatedly to stop the forced vaccination of Akha women during pregnancy. The Thai authorities tell the Akha women that they will not receive ID cards for their babies if they do not receive the vaccine. However many women miscarry after the vaccine. The WHO would not act. Nothing changes.
To resolve conflicts the UN and other agencies must respond to the concerns of the indigenous and live up to their responsibilities to protect human rights for all peoples, not just western peoples. And I would like to ask that the UN provide better support, especially travel, visa and technical support to the indigenous people who must make great sacrifices to come to the UN.
On behalf of the Akha people,
Thank you Mr. Chairman
The Akha Heritage Foundation
Akha Governing Council C/O
PO. BOX 6073, Salem, OR. 97304 USA
http://www.akha.org – akha@akha.org
Starmail - 27. Jul, 09:01
23
Jul
2004
UNICEF: Sudanesische Kinder in "tödlicher Falle"
Frankfurt/Main (dpa) - Das Kinderhilfswerk der Vereinten Nationen UNICEF sieht die Flüchtlinge in der sudanesischen Bürgerkriegsprovinz Darfur ohne massive zusätzliche Hilfe in einer tödlichen Falle. Mit dem Beginn der Regenzeit drohten Durchfall...
mehr:
http://www.netdoktor.de/nachrichten/index.asp?y=2004&m=7&d=24&id=113478
mehr:
http://www.netdoktor.de/nachrichten/index.asp?y=2004&m=7&d=24&id=113478
Starmail - 23. Jul, 18:26
Human Rights Emergency in Darfur, Sudan
(excerpt)
As you read this, more than two million innocent Sudanese men, women and children face dislocation, disease and starvation. They are victims of unspeakable state-sponsored crimes against humanity and abuse.
In this day and age, it is hard to believe that ethnic cleansing still exists.
Right now, more than 1.2 million people have been uprooted in the Darfur region of Sudan with over 150,000 refugees living - barely - along the border between Sudan and Chad, their homes, possessions and livelihoods destroyed by government-backed militias.
Amnesty International was the first human rights group to call the world's attention to the horrific crisis. I call upon all people of compassion to help by making an emergency donation to support our efforts.
Omega see also:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=23FE42969B6C168A80256EC900529ED0
AMNESTY'S EMERGENCY CAMPAIGN
From the beginning, Amnesty has mobilized its credibility, worldwide diplomatic contacts and unique moral force to focus attention on Darfur. Amnesty has been on the ground in the region four times in the past year and a half - most recently in Chad in May.
Here is what Amnesty has done and will be doing to alleviate the massive suffering and restore law and order:
-- Securing UN Intervention: Amnesty has helped spur UN action. A Security Council resolution is in the drafting stage calling on the Sudanese government to reign in the militias. But we need to go farther. The UN must deploy monitors in sufficient numbers to oversee the protection of refugees. Right now, the Sudanese government is acting with impunity and blatant disregard for the law.
-- Pressuring Secretary of State Powell: The US government considers Sudan a state sponsor of terrorism and has sanctions in place. Amnesty has asked Secretary Powell to demand an immediate cessation of government-sponsored violence, and to continue pressing for UN action.
-- Activating the African Union: Through our long-standing relationships with African leaders and diplomats, Amnesty has been able to help organize their concern about the apparently deliberate slaughter and dislocation of the black African population of Darfur.
-- Involving the Government of Chad: More than 150,000 refugees from the violence are living in desperate conditions. Disease is rampant. Food and water are in acute shortage. Our greatest near-term concern must be for the masses of refugees in camps inside Chad or huddled desperately along the border.
THE SITUATION IS GETTING WORSE
Even worse, in the midst of their desperate struggle to survive, the refugees continue to be attacked. This is particularly true for the women who must foray from the mass of refugees to fetch water or food. Men lie in wait. Rape and other forms of violence have become commonplace leaving these women with horrific physical, emotional and psychological scars.
The disaster in Sudan is growing worse daily now that the rainy season has begun, making roads impassable and increasing the risk of civilian deaths by starvation and water-borne illnesses like malaria. Still, the Sudanese government continues to impede and restrict access to the Darfur region by humanitarian aid groups. This includes repeated requests by Amnesty for visas to allow our monitors to document first-hand a tragedy that is ballooning into a terrible humanitarian catastrophe.
Omega see also:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=23FE42969B6C168A80256EC900529ED0
With your immediate help and continued participation, Amnesty will be better able to sustain what may be a long struggle in Sudan. I will report to you from time to time on our progress in halting and reversing this heartbreaking chain of events.
With much gratitude and respect,
Sincerely yours,
William F. Schulz
Executive Director
As you read this, more than two million innocent Sudanese men, women and children face dislocation, disease and starvation. They are victims of unspeakable state-sponsored crimes against humanity and abuse.
In this day and age, it is hard to believe that ethnic cleansing still exists.
Right now, more than 1.2 million people have been uprooted in the Darfur region of Sudan with over 150,000 refugees living - barely - along the border between Sudan and Chad, their homes, possessions and livelihoods destroyed by government-backed militias.
Amnesty International was the first human rights group to call the world's attention to the horrific crisis. I call upon all people of compassion to help by making an emergency donation to support our efforts.
Omega see also:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=23FE42969B6C168A80256EC900529ED0
AMNESTY'S EMERGENCY CAMPAIGN
From the beginning, Amnesty has mobilized its credibility, worldwide diplomatic contacts and unique moral force to focus attention on Darfur. Amnesty has been on the ground in the region four times in the past year and a half - most recently in Chad in May.
Here is what Amnesty has done and will be doing to alleviate the massive suffering and restore law and order:
-- Securing UN Intervention: Amnesty has helped spur UN action. A Security Council resolution is in the drafting stage calling on the Sudanese government to reign in the militias. But we need to go farther. The UN must deploy monitors in sufficient numbers to oversee the protection of refugees. Right now, the Sudanese government is acting with impunity and blatant disregard for the law.
-- Pressuring Secretary of State Powell: The US government considers Sudan a state sponsor of terrorism and has sanctions in place. Amnesty has asked Secretary Powell to demand an immediate cessation of government-sponsored violence, and to continue pressing for UN action.
-- Activating the African Union: Through our long-standing relationships with African leaders and diplomats, Amnesty has been able to help organize their concern about the apparently deliberate slaughter and dislocation of the black African population of Darfur.
-- Involving the Government of Chad: More than 150,000 refugees from the violence are living in desperate conditions. Disease is rampant. Food and water are in acute shortage. Our greatest near-term concern must be for the masses of refugees in camps inside Chad or huddled desperately along the border.
THE SITUATION IS GETTING WORSE
Even worse, in the midst of their desperate struggle to survive, the refugees continue to be attacked. This is particularly true for the women who must foray from the mass of refugees to fetch water or food. Men lie in wait. Rape and other forms of violence have become commonplace leaving these women with horrific physical, emotional and psychological scars.
The disaster in Sudan is growing worse daily now that the rainy season has begun, making roads impassable and increasing the risk of civilian deaths by starvation and water-borne illnesses like malaria. Still, the Sudanese government continues to impede and restrict access to the Darfur region by humanitarian aid groups. This includes repeated requests by Amnesty for visas to allow our monitors to document first-hand a tragedy that is ballooning into a terrible humanitarian catastrophe.
Omega see also:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=23FE42969B6C168A80256EC900529ED0
With your immediate help and continued participation, Amnesty will be better able to sustain what may be a long struggle in Sudan. I will report to you from time to time on our progress in halting and reversing this heartbreaking chain of events.
With much gratitude and respect,
Sincerely yours,
William F. Schulz
Executive Director
Starmail - 23. Jul, 17:53
22
Jul
2004
Case Filed in Geneva against US State Department
Since it has long been obvious that I have been targeted for delay and abuse by the US State Department and the US Embassy in Bangkok and Consul in Chiangmai I have filed a petition 'Retaliation Against A Human Rights Defender' with the UNOHCHR in Geneva stating that it was due to my whistle blowing activities in Thailand that I was singled out for persecution by the State Department and Embassy personnel.
An update on the 1503 form siting abuses of the Akha.
In a visit with the UNOHCHR today here in Geneva they stated that the UN has taken this case very seriously, and that Thailand has been asked for a response which they have sent in. The details of the murders were so accurate and exacting from years of work in the mountains there that there was no way for the Thai government to side step the issue.
This is very encouraging.
And we will be filing more cases.
The experience in Geneva to find out how to best help the cause of the Akha has also been rewarding.
On the family note, the Embassy and Consul are not very helpful with many delays.
I encourage you to contact them on the matter of my wife and children getting out of Thailand.
Sincerely,
Matthew McDaniel
An update on the 1503 form siting abuses of the Akha.
In a visit with the UNOHCHR today here in Geneva they stated that the UN has taken this case very seriously, and that Thailand has been asked for a response which they have sent in. The details of the murders were so accurate and exacting from years of work in the mountains there that there was no way for the Thai government to side step the issue.
This is very encouraging.
And we will be filing more cases.
The experience in Geneva to find out how to best help the cause of the Akha has also been rewarding.
On the family note, the Embassy and Consul are not very helpful with many delays.
I encourage you to contact them on the matter of my wife and children getting out of Thailand.
Sincerely,
Matthew McDaniel
Starmail - 22. Jul, 23:57
21
Jul
2004
The Struggle for Sovereignty
"Native Lands: The Struggle for Sovereignty"
July 21, 2004
Broken treaties, contested land, reservations, loss of resources. Land sovereignty is a key issue for indigenous peoples. On this edition, we take a look at the Mapuche people in Argentina, the Shuswap Nation in the British Columbia province of Canada, and the Oglala Sioux in the state of South Dakota in the United States.
Featuring: Atilio Curiñanco, Mapuche resident of Esquel, Argentina; Mauro Millan, 11 de Octubre; Doña Candelaria and Maximilliana Otico, Mapuche residents of Leleque, Argentina; Mauricio Mateo; Manolo Macayo, attorney, 11 de Octubre; Tony and Ernie Two Bulls, residents of Stronghold Table protest camp; Peter Capacella, attorney for the Oglala Sioux Tribe; Bill Supernaugh, superintendent of the Badlands National Park; John Yellowbird Steel, Oglala Sioux tribal president; Flo Six, assistant regional director for communications for the National Park Service.
Listen Real Audio (29:00)
http://www.radioproject.org/sound/040721.ram
Download 128k mp3 (broadcast quality)
http://www.radioproject.org/sound/040721_Ax.mp3
Download 64k mp3 (faster download)
http://www.radioproject.org/sound/040721.mp3
Informant: Heidi Chesney
July 21, 2004
Broken treaties, contested land, reservations, loss of resources. Land sovereignty is a key issue for indigenous peoples. On this edition, we take a look at the Mapuche people in Argentina, the Shuswap Nation in the British Columbia province of Canada, and the Oglala Sioux in the state of South Dakota in the United States.
Featuring: Atilio Curiñanco, Mapuche resident of Esquel, Argentina; Mauro Millan, 11 de Octubre; Doña Candelaria and Maximilliana Otico, Mapuche residents of Leleque, Argentina; Mauricio Mateo; Manolo Macayo, attorney, 11 de Octubre; Tony and Ernie Two Bulls, residents of Stronghold Table protest camp; Peter Capacella, attorney for the Oglala Sioux Tribe; Bill Supernaugh, superintendent of the Badlands National Park; John Yellowbird Steel, Oglala Sioux tribal president; Flo Six, assistant regional director for communications for the National Park Service.
Listen Real Audio (29:00)
http://www.radioproject.org/sound/040721.ram
Download 128k mp3 (broadcast quality)
http://www.radioproject.org/sound/040721_Ax.mp3
Download 64k mp3 (faster download)
http://www.radioproject.org/sound/040721.mp3
Informant: Heidi Chesney
Starmail - 21. Jul, 18:48
