::: The May18 Memorial foundation :::

Update from POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti

Feb, 02 2012 02:28:07 GMT

UPDATE FROM PPSS (POSCO) Christopher - NCCI
Subject: Update from POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiiti as on 4th January 2011
Dear Friends,
On the 2nd of January 2012, around 2000 villagers gathered at Balitikiri, Govindpur village boarder in protest against the illegal arrest of our leader Mr. Abhaya Sahoo, Mr. Narayan Reddy and Mr. Jayant Biswal. We demanded that all the false cases against our leaders should be immediately withdrawn. This protest was organized in view of the Prime minister��s recent visit to Odisha on 3rd January 2012.
In gathering on 2nd January, the peaceful democratic protestors gathered to reiterate that our area is not meant for industry. This is fertile agricultural land with a self reliant economy that feeds urban India which cannot be put to any other use. Let the Prime Minister and Chief Minister come and see it for themselves.
The police have now virtually cordoned our area and are now hunting innocent people for the ��crime�� of democratic peaceful protest. Our people cannot even access the nearest market for the medical treatment. Our people are in dire need of doctors and medicines and we need your help as the health conditions in our area continue to deteriorate. We earnestly request that all of our supporters consider arranging to send medical teams to the area through donations or direct assistance of medical personnel, equipment, supplies and medicine.
We repeat, we will continue to fight against the forceful usurpation of our land and livelihood. Attached herewith is the resolution of the all party meeting held on 30th Of December 2011 at Lohia Academy, Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
We shall inform you the ongoing development here. Looking forward to your kind support.
Kindly circulate this mail widely.
In solidarity,
Prashant Paikary
Spokesperson, POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti
Mobile no - 09437571547 E -Mail- prashantpaikray@gmail.com

Resolution of the People��s Convention at Lohia Academy, Bhubaneswar, Odisha on 30th December 2011
On behalf of the POSCO Pratirodh Co-Ordination Committee, a people��s convention was organised at Lohia Academy in Bhubaneswar, The leaders and representatives of different political parties and civil societies made following resolutions in the convention.
For the last six years the state government under the aegis of Navin Pattnaik, has been carrying out repression and atrocities on the people of the region. Government repression has been compounded by the anti-people policies. This convention condemns these illegitimate practices of the government. In the supposed name of national interest the POSCO project will cause destruction of the regions flora, fauna and will eliminate community resources shared by the inhabitants of this area for millennia.
It is a shame to sabotage the peaceful democratic resistance of the people to protect their livihood. In this process the government machinery is working hand in glove with corporate actors and using violent means to thwart the democratic process.
The most recent condemnable violent incident on 14/12/2011- a peaceful demonstration against the construction of the coastal road, was marred by violence perpetuated by government sponsored private militia. The anti-posco protesters were attacked with arms and bombs. As a result of this incident, one person was killed. The irony of this murder is that instead of charging the goons and lumpen and militia, government officials have framed charges against the innocent villagers and their leaders. In the same incident, Narayan Reddy and Jayanta Biswal have been arrested and charged with false cases of instigating violence. This convention strongly resents this move of the government and demands for the immediate release of the detainees.
This convention also demands that the government will take immediate action against the real culprits who staged the violence on 14th of December 2011 and the withdrawal of all false charges framed on the villagers of the region.
In the six years of the peoples struggle to save their own homeland and culture, the region has seen every violation of human rights by the state and the corporate actors. Thus the convention has made a call to everyone who stands in solidarity with the people of the region to work collectively.
The committee has also taken a strong resolve to organise ��peoples conventions�� across the state of Odisha, to build the peoples collective consciousness on the issues and bring out a collective voice.
The convention also demands for the immediate release of Abhay Sahoo the PPSS leader who has been put in detention with false charges.
The convention also demands a detailed enquiry into all past and present cases under the supervision of the Director General (DG) of Police. All political crimes surrounding the POSCO project under the superintendent of police (SP) of the Jagatsinghpur district should be transferred to the supervision of the Director General (DG) of Police.
The committee has also decided to meet the Home secretary and the DG of Police at the earliest. Represented by,
Abani Boral
Gobardhan Pujari
Panchanan Kanango.
Bijay Nayak
Rabi Das.
Pradyumna Satpathy.
Prafulla Smathray.

Petition For Indian Rights Defenders

Jan, 30 2012 05:56:28 GMT

Dear All,

As you are all aware, there's a greater need for all concerned about human rights abuses in India to come together. To this goal, AID (Association for India's Development) is launching a larger campaign against human rights violations, particularly focusing on custodial torture and prisoner abuses with an implicit support from elected representatives.

On this Martyr's day, let us come together and send a message that we are on the side of the justice. Please consider signing the petition below as an individual or endorse as an organization.

Petition link: http://aidindia.org/main/content/view/1483/1/

Thank you,
Asti
on behalf of AID

Uphold the Indian Constitution!
Defend Human Rights Defenders in India!

Free Soni Sori! Free Lingaram Kodopi!

26th January, 2012
Read the Petition Below | Sign Petition | View Signatures
To

Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh,
Chief Minister of Chhattisgargh Raman Singh,
President of India Pratibha Patil.

Every year on the 26th of January, we celebrate the Constitution of India [1]. Every 30th of January, we remember the martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi, who led India to freedom. However, for the vast majority of the people of India, even the most basic of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution - the right to life and personal liberty and due legal process if these rights are to be abridged - remain unrealized promises. And the ideals of the independence struggle, as articulated by Gandhi, stand indelibly tarnished.

One of the most shocking recent instances of this trampling upon the Indian constitution is the torture and sexual abuse of prisoner Soni Sori [2,3]. An adivasi school teacher from the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, Sori had exposed evidence of police misconduct in the framing of several cases against her [4]. Police intimidation forced her to flee, and she reached Delhi seeking legal assistance, but was arrested before she could file a petition in the Supreme Court. Fearing for her life in Chhattisgarh, she asked to be held in custody in Delhi, despite which she was handed over to the Chhattisgarh police [5]. In custody, Soni Sori was brutally tortured by the Chhattisgarh police, because of her refusal to corroborate their false statements. A subsequent independent medical examination found sizable stones lodged in her vagina and her rectum and severe damage to her spinal cord [6].

Another instance is the case of Lingaram Kodopi. In 2009, Kodopi was locked up by the police in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh for 40 days, tortured and pressured to join a vigilante force [7]. After the High Court ordered his release, Lingaram went on to complete a course in journalism, and later documented villagers�� accounts of arson, murder and rape during a three-day police operation in March 2011. In September 2011, Lingaram was arrested on charges of collecting 'protection' money for the Maoists from Essar, a large business conglomerate. Sori, his aunt, came under pressure from the police to persuade Lingaram to accept the charges. She refused, saying the charges were false and ended up being an accused herself. Amnesty International has pronounced both Sori and Kodopi, Prisoners of Conscience [8].

Sori��s and Kodopi��s are not isolated cases. Authorities in various parts of India have a record of imprisoning innocent people, including human rights workers, on false charges, the most notable case being that of Dr. Binayak Sen. Dr. Sen was convicted of ��sedition��, and sentenced to life imprisonment, but released by the Supreme Court on bail, pending appeal [9]. Many other innocent people, mostly from marginalized sections of the society, continue to languish in India��s jails; Adivasi activist Kartam Joga [10] and labor leaders, Bhagwati Sahu [11] and Abhay Sahoo [12], are just some of them. Others like Kopa Kunjam [13] and documentarian Ajay TG [14] were released on bail and are awaiting trial. Arun Ferreira, a social and human rights activist, was acquitted in 11 different cases for lack of evidence, but re-arrested each time on a fresh set of charges, until he was finally released on bail on the 4th January [15].

In custody, Soni Sori was pressured by the police to implicate many prominent human rights activists as Maoists [16]. Though Sori resisted the pressure, other news reports indicate a concerted attempt on the part of the state to stigmatize human rights defenders [17]. This was a serious concern placed on record by Margaret Sekaggya, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, after the completion of a mission to India a year ago [18].

The gross misconduct of the police is enabled by several draconian laws of questionable Constitutional validity, such as the law against sedition in the Indian Penal Code [19], the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act [20], the Armed Forces Special Powers Act [21] and state-specific laws such as the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA) [22]. These laws are intended to help the police to bring charges against anyone on no or the flimsiest of evidence or to arrest and detain people for extended periods without charges or evidence. This process of filing false charges and detention based on them, is being used as a punitive tool in itself.

Where there are credible reports of torture or of other grave misconduct by the police, rarely have the police authorities been investigated, or the democratically elected representatives sanctioning systemic abuses held accountable [23].

Therefore, we demand that:

Torture and other prisoner abuses must stop
Intimidation of Human Rights Defenders must end
The practice of filing false charges, extended detentions without trial, and arrest, detention and trial as punishment must end
The law against sedition (Section 124A of Indian Penal Code) be abolished
Laws which give unconditional and unchecked power to the authorities, such as UAPA, AFSPA and CSPSA, be abolished
Soni Sori and Lingaram Kodopi be released immediately and unconditionally
Police and higher level government officials responsible for torturing and pressuring Soni Sori be prosecuted

Sign Petition | View Signatures

References

Gwangju Prize Winner Attacked

Jan, 26 2012 02:24:17 GMT

Dr Lenin Raguvanshi, Gwangju Prize for Human Rights winner, attacked and beaten on 22nd January 2012.

http://www.pvchr.net/2012/01/attacks-on-human-rights-defender.html

On 22nd January, 2012 around 11:30 pm while Dr. Lenin was returning to his home after meeting with his advisor in Hotel Kamesh Hut, Varanasi. In a way near to Shubham hospital he was stopped. He was hit by hard stick from the back and after falling down from the motorbike, the attackers hit and kicked him in his back and head. Incidentally this interception took place where their used to be permanent police till last night. Few times he ranged on 100 number for help but police did not respond to his call. Around 1 am when again Dr. Lenin went to the place of Incident and again ranged on 100 number hunter (police squad) came and noted down his name and mobile number. He sent the SMS through his mobile to Focal person on Human Rights defender, National Human Rights Commission. On 23rd January, 2012 early morning Sri Anil Parasar, focal point on human rights defender call on Dr. Lenin mobile phone. The commission took cognizance and took facts and detail on phone. Dr. Lenin with his associates went to the Shiv Prasad Gupt hospital for the medical investigation. He also sent letter to DIG to lodge FIR. On 24 January, 2012 around 10:05 am in the morning he received call from DIG of Varanasi Shri Ram Kumar Ji on his mobile +91- 9935599333 and after that S.O cantt and Pandeypur police outpost incharge and took the application. FIR has lodged FIR no. 17/012 dated 24 Jan,2012 at 14:30 under section 323, 504, 506 IPC. It is noted that recently Dr. Lenin recived death threat. http://www.pvchr.net/2011/12/renewed-death-threat-against-human.html
Medico - legal report and FIR

--

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.
--The Buddha

We are what we think. With our thoughts we make our world. - Buddha

May 18 PeaceJam Ambassadors Curriculum

Jan, 20 2012 02:16:44 GMT

May 18 PeaceJam Ambassadors Curriculum

The PeaceJam Ambassadors Curriculum is designed for youth ages 14-19 and explores issues related to peace, violence, social justice, and oppression. Youth study the lives and work of 12 Nobel Peace Laureates and the strategies they use to address pressing global issues. Participating youth create and implement their own Global Call to Action Projects, becoming creative leaders who are committed to solving the most difficult problems facing our world. The program also includes an annual PeaceJam Youth Conference where selected youth spend a weekend with a Nobel Peace Laureate giving them an unprecedented opportunity to share with, learn from, and be inspired by a world leader for peace. Participants in the May 18 PeaceJam Ambassadors Curriculum will also get a chance to share with, learn from and be inspired by the 2012 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights laureate.

The May 18 PeaceJam Ambassadors Curriculum is a partnership between The May 18 Memorial Foundation (Korea) and PeaceJam Foundation (USA).

The program will be delivered in 2012 only in English language medium, giving youth a chance to brush up on their English skills while becoming young leaders and learning important leadership skills as young ambassadors for the Nobel Peace Prize winners.

For more information for those interested in joining the program please contact: adambreasley@gmail.com

The Parents Circle Familes Forum - From Media

Jan, 17 2012 01:36:24 GMT

http://www.theparentscircle.org/MediaPage.aspx?ID=229

Engaging Grandmothers: Israeli and Palestinian Women Share Their Stories

15/01/2012
Jillian Slutzker

In a small office in the West Bank town of Beit Jallah, just 10 minutes by car from Jerusalem, Tamara Rabinowitz and Siham Abu Awwad sit sipping thick Arabic coffee and finish each other's sentences. To many in their communities they would seem a very unlikely pair of friends. Tamara, who immigrated to Israel from London in 1960, lost her son Ido in 1987 when he was serving in the Israel Defense Forces in Lebanon. Siham's brother Youssef was shot and killed by an IDF soldier at a checkpoint near their village. Her mother was a Palestinian political activist who served time in Israeli prison, along with three of Siham's brothers.

Tamara and Siham are members of the Parents Circle-Families Forum, a group of 600 bereaved Israeli and Palestinian family members meeting face-to-face and working toward reconciliation and peace since 1995. Through dialogue groups, educational high school programs, public events, media campaigns and more, the organization works to humanize the other side of the conflict, change attitudes and improve each group's understanding of the other so that a durable peace can ultimately be possible. The Parents Circle-Families Forum was recently commended as a model voice for peace and reconciliation by President Barak Obama in his Middle East speech on May 19, 2011.

The Parents Circle Women's Group has held three meetings annually since its launch five years ago, creating the space for women to speak candidly with one another about their thoughts and experiences in the conflict. Through facilitated workshops as well as activities such as art, dance and cooking, the women of the forum are able to engage in fruitful dialogue and build bonds of friendship.

Tamara and Siham laughed as they recounted a past meeting of the Parents Circle Women's Group at Tamara's home that entailed an exchange of Israeli and Palestinian recipes and a lesson in sushi-making. Siham, who claims to hate the taste of fish, threw up her hands in mock exasperation. "The things I do for peace!" she joked.

Tamara joined the Parents Circle early on. "As soon as my son was killed I knew I wouldn't allow my children to think every Arab was an enemy," she said. "The easiest thing is to be angry. It is a harder choice to choose peace. But once you've made your choice you can breathe again."

After the death of Siham's brother Youssef, Siham's mother became very active in the group but could never persuade her daughter to join. It was not until Siham met Tamara at her mother's memorial service and felt what the two describe as an instant chemistry that Siham also made the difficult choice to work toward peace and reconciliation instead of revenge. Siham gave Tamara, who reminded her of her mother, a dress her mother had embroidered during her four years in an Israeli prison.

The Narratives Unfold

The pair jointly facilitated a series of workshops over six months in 2010 between 16 Israeli and 16 Palestinian grandmothers as part of the Parents Circle's History Through the Human Eye Program. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded program centers on reconciliation through the use of personal narratives with the aim of building trust, empathy and mutual understanding of each group's parallel narrative. The grandmothers group is one of 12 different groups, including students, educators, the media, farmers and politicians.

"The basis is storytelling," Tamara explained. "We wanted to hear the narrative of the other side, which isn't always easy to listen to since we are so-called enemies. Narratives don't have to meet though. We don't have to agree - just to listen and to try to understand."

Participants in the "Grannies Project" included women who were members of the Parents Circle as well as women who had never before come face-to-face with someone from the other side. For some of the Palestinian women the only Israelis they had ever met were soldiers, while for some Israeli women their knowledge of Palestinians came primarily from the media.

Prior to the project, a few of the Israeli participants had spent time monitoring checkpoints with Machsom Watch (Checkpoint Watch), a group of Israeli women peace activists who document the treatment of Palestinians at Israeli checkpoints, yet they had never gotten to know a Palestinian on a personal level.

After decades of segregation, mutual vilification and dehumanization, several participants from both sides were initially reluctant and defensive prior to meeting the other group. "The idea of the other having their own narrative was not acceptable," Siham said, recounting the tone of the Palestinian group's first meeting in preparation for the first joint meeting. "For many of them this is the first time you meet someone as a human with a real life. You see they are normal people. They get married, raise children and have a life."

At one point, Tamara recalled, one of the Israeli women walked out of the session in tears, overwhelmed by the stories of hardship from her Palestinian counterparts, which she had never before heard. Reaching that level of understanding and empathy, however, took time.

The project featured four components in its series of meetings and workshops. In addition to hearing lectures on each group's collective narrative, participants engaged in personal storytelling, sharing their own individual narratives of pain, hope and the stories of their lives as women. "We can look at each other as humans, as mothers, as grandmothers, as women," Tamara explained. "It doesn't matter what our heritage or our narrative is. We have so much in common."

As co-facilitators and dear friends, Tamara and Siham served as a model for the group in communication and coexistence. "We are like yin and yang when we work together," Tamara said. "There could be tension in the group but never between Siham and me."

Despite the physical and psychological walls that initially divided the two groups of women, by relating to one another on a personal level the women of the Grannies Project were able to chip away at those walls until ultimately they came tumbling down.

"Without men around, the women were empowered to tell their story. They didn't need permission from anyone. This strengthened them as individuals, as a group and as women," Tamara explained. As the meeting progressed the women developed friendships and empathy for one another. "It is part of our DNA as women to relate to other women and ask what we can do for each other," she said.

Together the group visited the Holocaust memorial museum Yad Vashem and the Arab village of Ein Karem, abandoned in 1948 when its inhabitants were forced to flee. The family of one of the Palestinian participants was among those who fled the village in 1948. This was the first time she had ever been able to visit. Hearing the stories of the Nakba, Israeli women learned the significance of the old keys to the abandoned or destroyed houses that so many of the Palestinian women still held onto.

At both sites, the women confronted the tragedies that shape each group's collective narratives. For some, this was their first encounter with these dark events in the other's history and a pivotal moment of understanding the origin of the other's fear and pain.

"You cannot compare between the pain," said Siham. She recounted the story of one Palestinian woman in particular who left the Yad Vashem museum distraught. Pouring water over her face she kept repeating the words "I did not know. I did not know." Another Palestinian woman asked for copies of the photographs she had seen in the museum so that she could tell her family about what she had witnessed.

The Ripple Effect: The Impact of Humanizing the Other

Tamara and Siham describe what they call "the ripple effect" of this type of face-to-face encounter with the other and the other's narrative. This effect is especially powerful in a women's group since women, and particularly grandmothers, in Palestinian and Israeli society command tremendous respect and influence over their families. These grandmothers return to their communities and recount what they have experienced and people listen. The Grannies Project paints a whole new picture of who the other side truly is and empowers them to refute the idea that everyone from the other side is the enemy.

During the last session of the Grannies Project participants were divided into small groups of Israeli and Palestinian women together. They were handed a large piece of paper with the outline of a house sketched on it and nothing but a roof filled in. The groups were told to draw their dream house, one that would accommodate all of them, regardless of their nationality. The women drew vibrant pictures and symbols of their lives - children, olive trees, water wells and, notably, not one symbol of hatred or violence.

Although the Grannies Project has formally ended, the women have been paired up across groups and will carry their friendships and dialogue well beyond the project. Their stories, along with the other narratives collected through the History Through the Human Eye Program, will be transformed into a book and a film, extending the impact of the project far beyond its participants.

Meanwhile, through the Parents Circle Women's Group, Tamara and Siham continue to work tirelessly for peace and reconciliation between their societies, supporting each other as colleagues and friends and proving that the psychological barriers constructed between Israelis and Palestinians can in fact be overcome.

"There are two types of people you cannot stop," Siham explained. "The suicide bomber and the peacemaker.... They can talk about a two-state solution, a one-state solution, a thousand-state solution. I say I don't care about states. I do not want a state for graves. I want a state for my kids. I don't want to be the mother of a dead body."

Tamara nodded in agreement. "Some things are right and some things are wrong," she added. "You just have to be human to know that."

PALESTINE-ISRAEL JOURNAL Vol. 17 No. 3 & 4, 2011

www.pij.org Page 92-96

Jillian Slutzker is a graduate student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. She studies Human Security and International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution.

Photography by Bella Rubin

Release of Burma's Political Prisoners: One Step Among Many Needed for Democracy in Burma

Jan, 17 2012 01:28:02 GMT

Release of Political Prisoners: One Step of Many Needed for Democracy in Burma

By Burma Partnership | January 16, 2012 In its most substantive gesture to date, Thein Sein��s government released 651 prisoners on Friday 16 January. Among those released are ethnic leaders, leaders of the 88 Generation Student movement, and other prominent political prisoners. We applaud their release and recognize the importance of this step but further reforms are necessary in order for freedom and democracy to truly come to Burma.
The most crucial step that must be taken is the amendment or repeal of existing repressive laws, such as the Electronics Transactions Law, which subjects individuals to up to fifteen years in prison for the dissemination or receipt of information considered a threat to national tranquility, and the Unlawful Associations Act. Such repressive laws have long been used to imprison political opponents. As long as these laws remain on the books, the people of Burma will continue to risk arrest solely for expressing their opinion. This is something many of the recently released political prisoners know well, having been arrested, sentenced, released in an amnesty, and then subsequently rearrested multiple times. The concern that these political prisoners could be returned to prison should they seek to speak out against the government is of particular concern given that their release was based upon Article 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows for prisoners�� sentences to be suspended or remitted, but not cancelled as in previous amnesties. This means that should they be rearrested they could be forced to serve the remainder of their original sentence.
While Burma��s recently established National Human Rights Commission hailed the release of political prisoners, it said nothing about the brutal conditions these prisoners were subjected to while in jail, nor did it mention the fact that up to 1,000 political prisoners remain imprisoned. As Nilar Thein, an 88 Generation activist, said upon her release, ��But we have to work harder for our remaining colleagues who are still in prison. If all of them are released, that will be a beautiful image for all of us.��
In addition to the remaining political prisoners, the ongoing armed conflict in ethnic areas currently represents one of largest obstacles to national reconciliation. Immediately upon his release, Min Ko Naing, a leader of the 88 Generation Student movement, stated that ��I am very concerned about achieving peace in ethnic areas because when I hear the news about the armed conflicts, particularly in Kachin State, it makes me very uncomfortable �� That��s why we need peace across the country immediately. Then we can work toward building national reconciliation.��
The recent agreement between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the regime represents a positive step towards peace. However, it is important to recognize that this is not yet a ceasefire but rather ��an initial agreement �� towards a ceasefire agreement.�� Subsequent discussions are necessary about how various points in the agreement would be operationalized before the parties can enter into a final ceasefire agreement. Additionally, a ceasefire, while a key step in the process of national reconciliation, will address only the issue of armed conflict and will not, on its own, address the underlying issue of ethnic equality or give a voice in the government to the Karen people. As Karen Communities Worldwide explained in a press release last week, ��All Karen want peace, but not peace at the price of surrender that leaves us defenceless against human rights abuses and oppression. There must be a political solution which guarantees ethnic rights and protects ethnic culture. There must be a political solution where the people of Burma can live peacefully side by side, different but equal.��
Many in the international community have responded to recent developments in Burma by calling for the lifting of sanctions on the regime. However, as momentous as these developments are, it is clear that much more needs to be done before the sanctions can be removed. When discussing the announcement that the United States would begin the process of exchanging ambassadors with Burma, a US government spokesperson explained that importance would be placed on ��Burma taking steps to unconditionally release all remaining political prisoners, end violence and human rights abuses in ethnic areas, and address international concerns about Burma��s military ties to North Korea.��
It is crucial that, before sanctions are lifted, Thein Sein��s government takes these steps as well as changing the laws that restrict freedom of expression, assembly and opinion. As blogger Nay Phone Latt stated after his release, ��We express ourselves freely by writing and posting it on our blog or facebook. So, I will keep writing even if it means I get arrested again. Then we will know whether or not we have real freedom.��

Gwangju Prize Laureate Freed!

Jan, 16 2012 05:11:14 GMT

PROFILE: Myanmar's Min Ko Naing - "Conqueror of Kings"

Jan 13, 2012, 13:09 GMT
Bangkok - Min Ko Naing was tenacious and always true to his principles, even when his life was in danger.
That is how fellow activists described the 49-year-old Myanmar dissident, who was freed from prison on Friday.
'For many, Min Ko Naing is the most respected leader of Myanmar's democracy movement after Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi,' according to the exile Irrawaddy magazine.
Min Ko Naing was born in 1962 as Paw U Tun. He later took on the pseudonym Ming Ko Naing, which translates to 'conqueror of kings.'
'I will never perish,' he told Asia Week magazine in 1988. 'I may die one day, but others will take over in my spot.'
Min Ko Naing studied zoology in Rangoon. As president of the nationwide student union, he opposed the military regime.
He organized demonstrations and pamphlets and was forced underground, although he only succeeded in evading the regime for a couple of months.
The army repressed the student uprising of 1988, killing an estimated 3,000 people. Min Ko Naing was sent to prison in 1989 and released 15 years later. Despite being tortured and kept in solitary confinement, he remained loyal to his goal of ending the military dictatorship.
The activist was arrested again in 2006 for inciting unrest. In 2007, he helped to launch the 'Open Heart Campaign.'
'Everyone has the right to freedom of expression,' he told Irrawaddy magazine, knowing that the military junta did not heed human rights. Still, Min Ko Naing encouraged individuals to write to the junta leader and to tell him how their lives were under the military regime.
The letters were supposed to be published - but never were.
Fury over rising prices drove people to the streets that summer, and Min Ko Naing was again a ringleader. He was arrested, and sentenced to 65 years in prison.
His family worried about his health as he suffered from numbness in his hands, high blood pressure and eye infections in the damp prison cells.
Min Ko Naing has received a number of prizes for his non-violent opposition against the regime. They included the Student Peace Prize in Norway in 2001, the American Civil Courage Prize in 2005 and the 2009 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights

Australia Involved in Military Operations in West Papua

Dec, 21 2011 04:24:29 GMT

http://westpapuamedia.info/2011/12/21/australia-involved-in-military-operations-in-paniai-west-papua/

Australia Involved in Military Operations in Paniai, West Papua

EXCLUSIVE REPORT FROM WEST PAPUA MEDIA
21 December 2011
Alex Rayfield
Human Rights Defenders in West Papua accuse the Australian Government and an Australian-owned mining company, Paniai Gold, of being involved in ongoing military operations in Paniai, West Papua.
Mr Ferry Marisan alleges that the Australian-trained Indonesian counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88 (also known as Densus 88 or D88), is involved in ongoing military operations in Paniai. According to Marisan, the Director of Elsham Papua, the Institute for the Study and Advocacy of Human Rights in West Papua, the joint police and military D88 have been embedded in the Second ��Coconut�� (Kelapa Dua) paramilitary Police Force (Brimob) sent from West Java for military operations against suspected members of the West Papua Liberation Army (or TPN), based at Eduda, Paniai.
According to Mr Yones Douw, a human rights defender based in Paniai, D88 are currently being deployed against members of the TPN in a jungle warfare operation. John Yogi – the Paniai based commander of the TPN – and his men, believed to number a few dozen, fled into the jungle following an attack on his base in Eduda by the Indonesian military and police between the 12-15 December.
Marisan says that in total 30 people have died during the latest round of violence in Paniai Seventeen people were shot dead during the military operations in Eduda. Only ten of these victims were members of the TPN, according to Marisan. Between the 9th and 14th of December a further three people died, all from exposure related sickness. Amongst the dead were two children aged two and four. Prior to the military operations Brimob also shot dead eight Papuans. Yogi��s men responded by killing two Brimob soldiers, an event that triggered the recent military operations.
In addition Elsham Papua reports that the following six villages were burnt to the ground: Toko, Badawo, Dogouto, Obayoweta, Dey, and Wamanik. As a result of the violence Marisan says that up to 20,000 people have fled their homes. ��They are living in government care centres, or staying with family and friends. Many have also fled to the forest�� says Marisan.
SBS Radio reported that a spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says that the ��Australian Government does not train or fund Indonesia��s security forces to counter separatism.��
Irrespective of the training that both the Australian and U.S government��s say they provide to D88 , both Douw and Marisan claim that group is being used in military operations against so-called separatists. ��Many of the victims in these operations�� says Marisan, ��are not members of the TPN, they are ordinary Papuan villagers who are supposed to be protected by the state��. D88 was also allegedly involved in the killing of six Papuans at the conclusion of the Third Papuan Congress on October 19.
D88 is not the only link between Australia and the recent wave of violence.
According to both Douw and Marisan, helicopters used at the Derewo River Gold (DRG) project were utilised by the Military and Police in these latest military operations. DRG is operated by Paniai Gold, a fully owned subsidiary of Melbourne based gold mining company West Wits Mining. A local source, requesting anonymity, told West Papua Media that the helicopters are those used by the mining company. ��They are white with blue and red markings�� the sources said. ��They are defiantly mining company helicopters.��
The person responsible for Paniai Gold��s operations is Mr Vincent Savage, a Non-Executive Director of West Wits. According to publicly available company documents ��Mr Savage has been intimately involved in all governmental and regulatory issues involving the Derewo River Gold Project as well as working closely with the Company��s local Indonesian partners.��
These same documents state that ��security [for the DRG Project] will be provided by the local Paniai police and Brimob (Indonesian paramilitary police) under the supervision of a Company Security Officer��.
West Papua Media attempted to contact Mr Savage for comment, but he was not available.
The 2011 November-December military operations are not the first military operations in the area. Paniai was the scene of widespread military operations between 1963-1969, 1977-1978, and again in 1981-1982. During this period U.S. supplied Bronco aircraft were used to bomb villages while helicopters strafed Papuans with machine gun fire.
��People don��t forget these things easily�� says Douw.

PCFF Attend 4th United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

Dec, 21 2011 04:23:08 GMT

http://www.theparentscircle.com/SingleEvent.aspx?ID=213

4th United Nations Alliance of Civilizations - Doha 2011

19/12/2011
Robi Damelin

Who would have imagined a more surrealistic trip for an average Israeli Grandmother and a Palestinian partner than the adventure we just experienced at the 4th United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Forum which took place in Doha in Qatar. The journey started in Tel Aviv, and then on to Amman with Jordanian Airlines, one of the last bastions of the peace agreement. Then by Qatar Airlines to Doha. Arriving in Doha in the company of several Israeli Journalists, NGO's and a musician, we were met by many veiled women with beautiful eyes who greeted us and did I must admit look somewhat alarmed to see the symbol embossed on our Passports.

We were whisked off to 5 star Hotels, and left to admire the view of more high rise buildings, and buildings in the making than you can imagine. I felt a little like 'Alice in Wonderland' . Not too many pedestrians, but the traffic jam and the many cars made up for the no legs on the pavement.

Day 1- Opening Session....The Plenary session focused on a critical issue. Why does culture continue to be the stepchild in development while everyone claims it should be central? This was held in a hall which holds more than 2,500 people. After much pomp and ceremony there were many breakout sessions / The rest of the day was spent networking passing out the special post card for "Blood Relations " and generally spreading the message of the Parents Circle.

Robi Damelin with Gordon Brown

The Grand opening of the Forum was held under the patronage of H.H. the Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar at the Katara Amphitheatre. What an incredible venue for the famous Vangelis to give a special concert and for Jeremy Irons to compare. I could not help thinking that this amazing spectacle could have supported our education project for the next 100 years and that we could open our "History
Through the Human Eye" project to the whole of Israel and Palestine. Nevertheless this was an unforgettable evening.

Day 2 . Ali and I had the special honor of responding to a panel which included Gordon Brown, Former Prime Minister, UK, HRH Prince El Hassan Bin Talal, Jordan, Jo Beall , member of the executive Board of the British Council, Rabbi Arthur Schneier, United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Forum Ambassador, USA and Mr. Besir Atalay, Deputy Prime Minister, Turkey. This was a unique opportunity to share the Parents Circle - Families Forum with more than 2,000 people, from all over the world with representatives from every Arab country. We made many connections from this opportunity and I do hope that we will to follow up with these new friends. We attended many smaller workshops during the day and met a host of people working to create a better world.

Ali Abu Awwad

Day 3. Was spent discussing new strategies for intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation. This opened new ideas from the smaller workshops on how to create a better environment for the future. Ali and I were thrilled to see that we were included in the final ceremony clip.

Robi Damelin with Prince Prince El Hassan of Jordan

We cannot end without thanking the Emir of Qatar and it's people for the wonderful experience and hospitality, and of course a very special thanks to Mr. Jorge Sampaio the High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations for inviting the Parents Circle-Families Forum to such an auspicious occasion.

Doha 2011 - Website

2012 Olympics - Dow Not A Sponsor

Dec, 21 2011 04:19:17 GMT

2012 Olympics, the perpetrators of the Bhopal disaster will not sponsor the Games
by Nirmala Carvalho
The plastics multinational Dow Chemicals will not appear on the billboards of the Olympic stadium in London, whose value is circa 7 million pounds (8.3 million euros). Satisfaction of athletes, politicians and NGOs opposed to the sponsor. According to Lenin Raghuvanshi, human rights activist, it is important to create consumer awareness, the true agent of change in the event of unethical policies.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - The organizers of the Olympic Games have announced that plastics multinational Dow Chemicals linked to the disaster in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) is no longer a sponsor of London 2012. Indian and British human rights groups, politicians and athletes had strongly attacked the initial decision of the Games Committee to accept the funds of the company. Dow, in fact, is the current owner of the chemical plant responsible for the 1984 industrial accident that killed at least 20 thousand people, with still visible consequences for the local population.

The brand of the corporation would have appeared on the billboards around the Olympic stadium, 900m long and 20m high, to the value of 7 million pounds (8.3 million euros). As per contract, Dow still had the possibility to of a further five panels for advertising, but made known it did not wish to accept out of respect for the anti-pollution policies of the Olympics. The company has always rejected the accusations, pointing out that it has acquired the former Union Carbide plant in 2001.

According to Lenin Raghuvanshi, human rights activist and director of Pvchr (People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights), this protest has been positive and symbolic, because the Olympics attract the attention of the entire international community. However, the organizers of the Games should be careful not to go to sponsors that, in some way, may have been involved in genocide.

He also emphasizes that every time you target business from the negative or unethical aspects, it is essential that activists involve consumers, because they are a powerful force to achieve a real change of political and economic mechanisms. For this reason, Raghuvanshi says, First we should start a campaign in the Indian civil society, given that Dow India has a turnover of 500 million dollars.

Regarding the Bhopal tragedy, the activist recalls that for the victims - who are mostly Dalits, tribals and other minorities - there is no systematic form of rehabilitation, or appropriate compensation. This causes still huge frustration.

Caused by a leak of 40 tons of methyl isocyanate (cyanide) from Union Carbide pesticide plant, the Bhopal disaster is considered one of the worst environmental tragedies in history. At least 3,500 people died in the early hours of the incident and a further 20 thousand in the months ahead. The permanently disabled were put at over 150 thousand. Even today, hospitals in the area account for about 6 thousand people a day with respiratory, motor and brain problems associated with the contamination of the territory. However, the Government of Madhya Pradesh, considers the area out of danger.

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/2012-Olympics,-the-perpetrators-of-the-Bhopal-disaster-will-sponsor-the-Games-23493.html