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Dark Magician
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 21 May 2006
Posts: 488
Location: Middle east
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 Mon Mar 05, 2007 17:29 pm Is war really a joke? |
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Hi Dark magician
thanks 
I've seen war, people dying ,crying ,dead bodies lying on the ground and many awful things happening.. I wish I could throw away these memories from my head but unfortunately that’s impossible
I'm sure Jamie (K) hasn't seen war , that's why he approves he's President's decision..
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Bombing for peace is like f.. for virginity |
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Che Gevara
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 409
Location: Tbilisi, Georgia
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| Tue Mar 06, 2007 1:59 am Is war really a joke? |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: | | Christians from Syria and Lebanon tell me that they've often been told by Muslims in their countries, "First comes Saturday, then comes Sunday." Please explain the meaning of this expression. |
Hey K
do you want to see some of truth !  and maybe you like to tell this truth to your virtual friends (Syria and Lebanon )
So, look this article for Bishop Selwanos Butros al-Nameh
| Quote: | In Homs, Syrian Orthodox volunteers also care for people with mental handicaps, and a Syrian Orthodox association gives financial assistance to poor families. Bishop Butros says that these and other social ministries are important to the religious life of his churches.
"This is the essence of Christianity, to be involved in the community all the time," he says. "What are we going to do, sit around and pray and talk theology all the time? No. The church is to be involved in the community."
Most Syrian Christians belong to Orthodox and Catholic denominations that trace their history in Syria to the first decades of Christianity. Celebrating this heritage, the Syrian Orthodox Church conducts its services in the ancient Syriac language, which is believed to be very similar to the language Jesus spoke.
Syria has nearly 2 million Christians, according to some estimates, although it is a predominantly Muslim country. Bishop Butros says that Syrian Christians are not persecuted, but there are some boundary lines between faiths. For example, social custom requires that Homs Orphanage only accept children from Christian families, while children from Muslim families go to a Muslim orphanage in the city.
However, Bishop Butros says that some Muslims do benefit from his churches' work. During the Christmas season, the churches give financial assistance to poor families regardless of their faith.
"Whether they're Muslim or Christian, we don't ask," he says. "We give them what we have."
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agian ....Open your eyes  that not moslam's talk but that talk to man can't tell else truth
Hey Jamie I don't finish my talk
LOOk .. LoOk this article for William Dalrymple is the author of From the Holy Mountain
William Dalrymple in Damascus
Saturday September 2, 2006
The Guardian
| Quote: | | Wander through the streets of Damascus this week, and you will see signs everywhere of the conflict in Lebanon. The bearded, black-turbaned Hassan Nasrallah stares out from every shop window, even in the Christian quarter. |
Ask your virtual friends ( Why Syrian Christians do that?)
| Quote: | | Middle East you don't have to hate western culture, or even be a Muslim, to relish the bloody nose given to ill-judged Israeli and American attempts at imposing their hegemony in the region by force of invasion and cluster bombs. |
this is your peace's message for us
| Quote: | | Before the war there was no separation between Christian and Muslim," I was told by Shamun Daawd, a former liquor-store owner who fled after he received Islamist death threats. "Under Saddam no one asked you your religion, and we used to attend each other's religious services and weddings. After the invasion we hoped democracy would come; but instead all that came was bombs, kidnapping and killing. Now at least 75% of my Christian friends have fled. There is no future for us in Iraq." |
do you ask yourself ( why they went to Syria If syrian people hate Christians?)
| Quote: | | Now there are worries that Syria, one of the last countries in the region without an Islamist movement, |
we Islamic country ,but we haven't any hate to any religion all people live in peace
| Quote: | | would be tragic if the British now assisted the US in destabilising not just Iraq and Lebanon, but also Syria. As Sabah Mansur Nesco put it: "Bush brought nothing but killing, violence and mass emigration - not just to Iraq but to Afghanistan and Palestine also. Now we just pray he leaves Syria alone. For us it is the last place of refuge |
you see, Syria country to all religions
in the end you must Now all moslems Love Christ
read it...carefuly.... and if you want I have more
Jan  Don't worry in next post I'll write the truth too.
take care
Mba
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Right is always stronger than iniquity. |
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Dark Magician
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 21 May 2006
Posts: 488
Location: Middle east
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| Tue Mar 06, 2007 3:12 am Is war really a joke? |
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Dark Magician
Although I may not agree with Jamie (K).
I think it may be of interest to you to do what I did I thought back to the unrest in Syrai in 1964 and just googled those two words. It was an interesting result.
Syria maybe a country of "all religions" but so you could say that for Britian but it does not mean there is complete tolerance.
To make such claims is to be binkered by pride. I do have strong feelings of association with my Englishness but I think pride makes us see things how we want to.
I realise that Britian has many immigrants but I would be a fool to think that it is a place for "all religions".
To criticise the USA or Cyria is not to get the point.
How can you criticise a country if you have not a in depth knowledge of the history or lived there, exposed yourselves to the country.
Even after living in Germany for 6 years I would not hold myself as an authority on Germans or Germany and my suggestion to you guys is to do the same.
War is really a joke is a loaded statement and I am not suprised about the reaction but do not turn this forum into a joke.
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Stew.t.
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 515
Location: Leipzig, Germany
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| Tue Mar 06, 2007 9:33 am Politics is a language, and everyone speaks it by his own tongue |
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Politics is a language, and everyone speaks it by his own tongue.
Politics derive from its surrounding environment, by which everyone must be influenced actively or passively, therefore his view is fixed within it. When a new thing enters his view, he judges it subjectively by his experience and knowledge background, or objectively by his ‘coordinates’.
An environment contains many social, religious, historical, geographical dimensions, and so on. All dimensions compose a unique coordinates; and one uses it to measure, compare, assess, and judge everything.
Let’s take an example of the situation of human right During the Balkan War. In Balkan Express, the Croat author condemned Serb army’s invasion, but ignored the violence imposed on Serb civilian by Croats. She was right, in her view. But a Serb author would have condemned Croat army’s genocide. The difference between them is a conflict between their coordinates actually.
As for the situation of religion in Syria, I have no idea because I am unfamiliar with the nation, but your articles can not clarify it for me. I dare say, both of you were right, on each one’s standpoint. |
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Bennie
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 22 Feb 2007
Posts: 16
Location: Hangzhou, China
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| Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:40 am Is war really a joke? |
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My Dear Dark ...,
You have mentioned some UN material to proof that my Encyclopedia is not good.
You my be interested to read the last annual report about Syria
from Amnesty International - UN Agency as far as I remember.
Is it not true that in Syria a private person can not own a car?
I like driving and I can't believe in this.
Could you please write some comments
I like Your comments .
You said in Syria you have 1/3 part of population Christian, so much really ?
Middle East And North Africa : Syria
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
Head of state: Bashar al-Assad
Head of government: Muhammad Naji ‘Otri
Death penalty: retentionist
International Criminal Court: signed
UN Women’s Convention: ratified with reservations
Optional Protocol to UN Women’s Convention: not signed
Overview - Covering events from January - December 2005
Human rights defenders under threat : ‘Disappearances’ : Torture and ill-treatment
Discrimination against Kurds : Discrimination and violence against women : Death penalty : UN Human Rights Committee : AI country visits
Syria
Syria
Archive information
Syria: Kurds in the Syrian Arabic Republic one year after the March 2004 events
(AI Index: MDE 24/002/2005)
All documents on Syria
Freedom of expression and association remained severely restricted. Scores of people were arrested and hundreds remained imprisoned for political reasons, including prisoners of conscience and others sentenced after unfair trials. However, about 500 political prisoners were released under two amnesties. Torture and ill-treatment were common. Human rights defenders continued to face harassment. Women and members of the Kurdish minority continued to face discrimination.
Background
Syria became increasingly isolated after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri in Beirut on 14 February.
You government is blamed for killing him??
In May the UN confirmed that Syria had withdrawn its forces from Lebanon. The state of emergency imposed in 1962 remained in force. The Association Agreement between Syria and the European Union, which was initialed in October 2004 and contains a human rights clause, remained frozen at the final approval stage.
Releases of political prisoners
Up to 312 political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, were ordered to be released on 30 March under a presidential amnesty. Most were Kurds who had been detained following violent disturbances in north-eastern Syria in March 2004.
Some 190 political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, were released under a presidential amnesty on 2 November. They included: ‘Abd al-’Aziz al-Khayyir, arrested in February 1992 and sentenced after an unfair trial before the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) in August 1995 to 22 years’ imprisonment for membership of the Party for Communist Action; Haythem al-Hamwi, Muhammed Shehada, Yahya Shurbajee and Mu’atez Murad, community activists from Darya arrested in May 2003 and sentenced to between three and four years’ imprisonment after unfair trials before Field Military Courts; and Mus’ab al-Hariri, who was arrested on 24 July 2002, aged 14 or 15, shortly after he and his mother returned to Syria after living in exile in Saudi Arabia. Mus’ab al-Hariri had been sentenced by the SSSC on 19 June 2005 to six years’ imprisonment for alleged membership of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Imprisonment for political reasons
Scores of people were arrested during the year for political reasons, including tens of prisoners of conscience. At least several hundred people, including prisoners of conscience, remained imprisoned for political reasons. Scores were brought to trial before the SSSC and Military Courts, all of which suffer from a gross lack of independence and impartiality. Many of those facing trial were suspected members or affiliates of banned political parties such as the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hizb al-Tahrir, and the pro-Iraqi Arab Socialist Democratic Ba’th Party.
Prisoners of conscience included:
* Six men, who were arrested in 2001 and sentenced to up to 10 years’ imprisonment after unfair trials in 2002 for their involvement in the “Damascus Spring” pro-reform movement, remained in prison.
* Former “Damascus Spring” detainee Kamal al-Labwani, who was released in September 2004 after three years’ imprisonment, was rearrested on 8 November upon arrival in Damascus after several months in Europe and the USA. Charges against him, which related to his peaceful activities promoting democracy and human rights, included “weakening national morale”, “inciting strife” and “belonging to a secret organization”.
* ‘Ali al-‘Abdullah was arrested on 15 May, a week after he read a statement on behalf of the exiled Muslim Brotherhood leader at the unauthorized Jamal al-Atassi Forum. The Forum was then closed down by the authorities. He was charged with “promoting an illegal organization”. He was released under the presidential amnesty on 2 November.
* Riad Drar was arrested on 4 June after he made a speech at the funeral of Islamic scholar Sheikh Muhammad Ma’shuq al-Khiznawi. He faced charges before the SSSC of “inciting sectarian strife”, a charge commonly used against people promoting the rights of Syrian Kurds. He remained held in solitary confinement.
‘War on terror’ detentions and torture
Scores of Syrians remained in detention and were being tried before the SSSC for alleged membership of a Salafi Islamist organization and for alleged plans to carry out acts of terrorism, including in Iraq. The detainees included 16 men from al-’Otaybe, who were arrested in April 2004, and 24 men from Qatana, aged between 17 and 25, who were arrested in July 2004. They were reportedly tortured and ill-treated during long periods of incommunicado detention. There were widespread concerns that the arrests and trials were attempts by the authorities to portray the country as under threat from terrorism.
According to unconfirmed media reports emanating from government sources, in 2005 the Syrian authorities arrested up to 1,500 people allegedly seeking to fight alongside anti-US forces in Iraq. Many were reportedly returned to their country of origin. Saudi Arabian media and human rights activists stated from July that Saudi nationals had been detained and tortured in Syria, from October 2003, before being returned to Saudi Arabia.
* Pregnant sisters Heba al-Khaled, 17, and Rola al-Khaled, 20, and Nadia al-Satour and her baby, were arrested on 3 September and held hostage by the authorities to put pressure on their husbands, alleged Islamist militants, to give themselves up. They were first detained in the town of Hama, then transferred to the Palestine Branch of Military Intelligence in Damascus where they remained at the end of the year.
* Muhammad Haydar Zammar, a German national of Syrian origin, remained detained incommunicado, at an unknown location and without charge, for a fourth year, apparently on account of alleged links to al-Qa’ida. The US security forces were reportedly involved in his arrest and interrogation in Morocco in 2001, and in his secret transfer to Syria one or two weeks later. He was reportedly interrogated in Syria in November 2002 by agents of German intelligence and criminal investigation agencies.
In August and October, information was released during an inquiry in Canada on the actions of Canadian officials in relation to Syrian/Canadian national Maher Arar. It indicated that, like him, at least three other Canadian nationals of Arab origin had been detained, interrogated and tortured in Syria in previous years with the possible complicity or involvement of Canadian and other foreign intelligence agencies. All three claimed they were forced to sign statements without being permitted to read them. They were:
* Ahmed Abou El-Maati was detained for 11 weeks after he arrived in Syria on 12 November 2001. He alleged that during this time he was beaten with electric cables, burned with cigarettes and had ice-cold water poured over him. He was then transferred to Egypt where he suffered further torture.
* ‘Abdullah Almalki said he was beaten on the soles of his feet, hung in a tyre and beaten, and suspended by his hands from a metal frame and beaten while detained at the Palestine Branch of Military Intelligence in Damascus for 22 months from May 2002.
* Muayyed Nureddin said he was beaten repeatedly on the soles of his feet with a cable and had cold water poured on him while detained in Syria from 11 December 2003 to 13 January 2004.
Human rights defenders under threat
Syrian human rights defenders became increasingly active, but faced arrest and harassment. Several unauthorized human rights organizations were operating. At least 10 human rights defenders were forbidden from travelling outside the country.
* Nizar Ristnawi, a founding member of the unauthorized Arab Organization for Human Rights-Syria (AOHR-S), was arrested on 18 April. He remained in detention on unknown charges at the end of the year.
* Muhammad Ra’dun, head of the AOHR-S, was arrested on 22 May in connection with statements he had made about human rights in Syria. He was charged with “spreading false news” and “involvement in an illegal organization of an international nature”. He was released under a presidential amnesty on 2 November.
‘Disappearances’
The government provided no information about thousands of Syrians, Lebanese and other nationals who “disappeared” in the custody of Syrian forces in previous years. These included some 17,000 people, mostly Islamists who “disappeared” after they were detained in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinians who were detained in Syria or abducted from Lebanon by Syrian forces or Lebanese and Palestinian militias. In September, however, the government named one judge and two generals as its representatives on a joint Syrian-Lebanese committee intended to address the “disappearances” issue. Local human rights groups welcomed this but questioned the lack of independence and the limited powers of the committee.
Torture and ill-treatment
Torture and ill-treatment of political and criminal detainees continued to be widely reported, particularly during incommunicado, pre-trial detention. At least two deaths as a result of such treatment were reported.
* Ahmad ‘Ali al-Masalma, a Muslim Brotherhood member, died at the end of March, two weeks after he was released from four weeks in detention. He was arrested on his return from 26 years’ exile in Saudi Arabia. He was allegedly tortured in detention and denied essential medication.
* Sheikh Muhammad Ma’shuq al-Khiznawi, an Islamic religious leader and outspoken figure within the Kurdish community, died on 30 May, 20 days after he “disappeared”, apparently in the custody of Military Intelligence agents. His nose and teeth were broken and there was a wound on his forehead.
* Seraj Khalbous became seriously ill probably as a result of torture while detained incommunicado in September at al-Mezze and al-Fayha Political Security Branches in Damascus. He was beaten, stamped on, struck with large sticks, threatened with anal rape, subjected to extreme cold, sleep deprivation and humiliation, and witnessed others being tortured with electric shocks. He was released on 25 October.
Most allegations of torture were not investigated. However, in June it was reported that two senior officials at the Ma’dan Court building in Raqqa were each sentenced to two months in prison for torturing Amna
al-‘Allush in March 2002 to force her to “confess” to a murder. Despite this, Amna al-‘Allush continued serving the 12-year prison sentence she received in April 2004.
Discrimination against Kurds
Syrian Kurds continued to suffer from identity-based discrimination, including restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language and culture. Tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds remained effectively stateless. As a result, they were denied full access to education, employment, health and other rights enjoyed by Syrian nationals, as well as the right to have a nationality and passport. In June, at its first meeting for 10 years, the ruling Ba’th Party Congress ordered a review of a 1962 census which could result in stateless Kurds obtaining Syrian citizenship.
Discrimination and violence against women
Women remained subject to discrimination under a range of laws including in the areas of marriage, divorce, the family, inheritance and nationality. They were also inadequately protected against domestic and other forms of violence. For example, men who commit rape can escape possible punishment if they marry the victim, and men who murder a female relative on grounds of her alleged “adultery” or “extra-marital sexual relations” can also escape punishment or be treated more leniently than other murderers.
The scale of violence against women remained poorly documented and few cases were publicized during the year.
* At her wedding party in al-Suweida in August, Huda Abu ‘Assali, a Druze, was reportedly killed by her father and brother for having married a Kurdish man while away from home at university in Damascus. No prosecution was known to have been brought.
Death penalty
The death penalty remained in force for a wide range of crimes but the authorities disclosed little information about its use. It was not known how many people were sentenced to death or executed in 2005. However, the government informed the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) that 27 executions were carried out during 2002 and 2003, although it was unclear whether this was the total or it excluded executions carried out after trials before the SSSC or military courts. In an interview published in August, former Defence Minister Mustafa Tlas claimed that he had authorized the hanging of 150 political opponents a week throughout the 1980s and that he had signed execution orders for thousands of detainees whose families were not notified.
UN Human Rights Committee
The HRC, commenting on Syria’s third periodic report, criticized the government’s failure to implement human rights reforms recommended by the HRC in 2001. It expressed concern about the continuing state of emergency; restrictions on freedom of expression and other basic rights; discrimination and violence against women; the targeting of human rights defenders; and Syria’s use of the death penalty.
AI country visits
AI and the Syrian authorities discussed the possibility of an AI visit to the country but no decision was reached. AI has not been permitted into Syria since 1997.
Best Regards
Jan :  |
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Jan
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 01 Apr 2006
Posts: 297
Location: At sea
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| Tue Mar 06, 2007 14:19 pm Is war really a joke? |
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| Mr.(K) wrote: | I don't completely understand your English here, but
I can tell you that...... |
| Mr.(K) wrote: | | The English in this quotation is so bad that I don't understand it all ..... |
| Mr.(K) wrote: | | I'm sorry, Che, I didn't understand what you said in this part.. |
hahaha
Hi Mr (K)
Nice to see again , and be sure that I am laughing at you especially when you try to make us think that you can't understand these ideas , or at least the general idea of these articles . I've read your latest words and I'm sure now that you are like the wall ... yes like the wall , do you know why ? You can understand when you want to understand the words , and on the other hand you can't understand when you don't like understand the sentence .
| Mr.(K) wrote: | | Herc, you're using a typical propaganda trick that the Arabs use constantly. Display a picture that will arouse emotion in the viewer, but don't explain what happened before or after or even what the picture really shows.. |
Do you remember your writing ??? and now you use the same way that you tell us that " Display a picture that will arouse emotion in the viewer "
I was so sorry when I've read that you are a tricker person like your government or your handsome president G.B ( the stupidest person in the world ) , but Now , unfortunately , I'm sorry to say you that you are a big trickster. 
| Mr.(K) wrote: | | In other words, Islam spread to Georgia in the usual way -- by violence and force. |
and How american democracy does spread to Japan ,Afaghanistan , Iraq, Somall ?? How many people ( women and children and old people ) have you killed there by your soldiers every day???
Do you think that it spreaded in the peace way ??
at least , If the Islam has spreaded by violence and force like your silly talking , Islam has the greatest value for all people white or black and Islam respects all religions and thoughts .
| Mr.(K) wrote: | | These Georgian Muslims sound like many Albanian Muslims. Those Albanians say to me, "We're bad Muslims, because the religion was forced on us. |
You make me laugh.. man ... realy
well , I swear by Allah that you don't know anything 
, and you like to pretend that you know everything , but your talking doesn't even need to any comments ...
Herc
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I Can Go the Distance...
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Hercules
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 17 May 2006
Posts: 339
Location: Syria
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| Tue Mar 06, 2007 14:57 pm Is war really a joke? |
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Hi Salmon
First of all , I have to present you
Jan ( I have to call you Salmon )
your enamy are : Sharks and fishmen
and
your end : ( not so bad , and not so delicious )
Location: at sea ( but be careful ,at sea there are a lot of fishermen , and in the sea there are a lot of sharks , and both of them like to eat you and hunt you )
| Jan(K) or Salmon wrote: | When I was in Syria one of my friends was trying to convince me that it is forbidden to own a car in your country.
I fought about this as a joke.
Is it true?
If it may cause any trouble for you, just ignore it, if you are one of this people
who come in the night... as it was in Poland before 1990 God forgive You. |
Are you Mr.(K)'s cousin ? , and you like to tell us the same laughing talking and untruthes ?? unfortunately , your talking isn't right ...
so , look at this , My salary is 8000 S.P and I have my own car , and it kind is Skoda Fabia Combi , so , How can I have a car if it is forbidden to own a car in Syria ?
| Jan(K) or Salmon wrote: | Middle East And North Africa : Syria
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
Head of state: Bashar al-Assad
Head of government: Muhammad Naji ‘Otri
Death penalty: retentionist
International Criminal Court: signed
UN Women’s Convention: ratified with reservations
Optional Protocol to UN Women’s Convention: not signed
Overview - Covering events from January - December 2005
Human rights defenders under threat : ‘Disappearances’ : Torture and ill-treatment
Discrimination against Kurds : Discrimination and violence against women : Death penalty : UN Human Rights Committee : AI country visits
Syria
Syria
Archive information
Syria: Kurds in the Syrian Arabic Republic one year after the March 2004 events
(AI Index: MDE 24/002/2005)
All documents on Syria
Freedom of expression and association remained severely restricted. Scores of people were arrested and hundreds remained imprisoned for political reasons, including prisoners of conscience and others sentenced after unfair trials. However, about 500 political prisoners were released under two amnesties. Torture and ill-treatment were common. Human rights defenders continued to face harassment. Women and members of the Kurdish minority continued to face discrimination.
Background
Syria became increasingly isolated after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri in Beirut on 14 February.
You government is blamed for killing him??
In May the UN confirmed that Syria had withdrawn its forces from Lebanon. The state of emergency imposed in 1962 remained in force. The Association Agreement between Syria and the European Union, which was initialed in October 2004 and contains a human rights clause, remained frozen at the final approval stage.
Releases of political prisoners
Up to 312 political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, were ordered to be released on 30 March under a presidential amnesty. Most were Kurds who had been detained following violent disturbances in north-eastern Syria in March 2004.
Some 190 political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, were released under a presidential amnesty on 2 November. They included: ‘Abd al-’Aziz al-Khayyir, arrested in February 1992 and sentenced after an unfair trial before the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) in August 1995 to 22 years’ imprisonment for membership of the Party for Communist Action; Haythem al-Hamwi, Muhammed Shehada, Yahya Shurbajee and Mu’atez Murad, community activists from Darya arrested in May 2003 and sentenced to between three and four years’ imprisonment after unfair trials before Field Military Courts; and Mus’ab al-Hariri, who was arrested on 24 July 2002, aged 14 or 15, shortly after he and his mother returned to Syria after living in exile in Saudi Arabia. Mus’ab al-Hariri had been sentenced by the SSSC on 19 June 2005 to six years’ imprisonment for alleged membership of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Imprisonment for political reasons
Scores of people were arrested during the year for political reasons, including tens of prisoners of conscience. At least several hundred people, including prisoners of conscience, remained imprisoned for political reasons. Scores were brought to trial before the SSSC and Military Courts, all of which suffer from a gross lack of independence and impartiality. Many of those facing trial were suspected members or affiliates of banned political parties such as the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hizb al-Tahrir, and the pro-Iraqi Arab Socialist Democratic Ba’th Party.
Prisoners of conscience included:
* Six men, who were arrested in 2001 and sentenced to up to 10 years’ imprisonment after unfair trials in 2002 for their involvement in the “Damascus Spring” pro-reform movement, remained in prison.
* Former “Damascus Spring” detainee Kamal al-Labwani, who was released in September 2004 after three years’ imprisonment, was rearrested on 8 November upon arrival in Damascus after several months in Europe and the USA. Charges against him, which related to his peaceful activities promoting democracy and human rights, included “weakening national morale”, “inciting strife” and “belonging to a secret organization”.
* ‘Ali al-‘Abdullah was arrested on 15 May, a week after he read a statement on behalf of the exiled Muslim Brotherhood leader at the unauthorized Jamal al-Atassi Forum. The Forum was then closed down by the authorities. He was charged with “promoting an illegal organization”. He was released under the presidential amnesty on 2 November.
* Riad Drar was arrested on 4 June after he made a speech at the funeral of Islamic scholar Sheikh Muhammad Ma’shuq al-Khiznawi. He faced charges before the SSSC of “inciting sectarian strife”, a charge commonly used against people promoting the rights of Syrian Kurds. He remained held in solitary confinement.
‘War on terror’ detentions and torture
Scores of Syrians remained in detention and were being tried before the SSSC for alleged membership of a Salafi Islamist organization and for alleged plans to carry out acts of terrorism, including in Iraq. The detainees included 16 men from al-’Otaybe, who were arrested in April 2004, and 24 men from Qatana, aged between 17 and 25, who were arrested in July 2004. They were reportedly tortured and ill-treated during long periods of incommunicado detention. There were widespread concerns that the arrests and trials were attempts by the authorities to portray the country as under threat from terrorism.
According to unconfirmed media reports emanating from government sources, in 2005 the Syrian authorities arrested up to 1,500 people allegedly seeking to fight alongside anti-US forces in Iraq. Many were reportedly returned to their country of origin. Saudi Arabian media and human rights activists stated from July that Saudi nationals had been detained and tortured in Syria, from October 2003, before being returned to Saudi Arabia.
* Pregnant sisters Heba al-Khaled, 17, and Rola al-Khaled, 20, and Nadia al-Satour and her baby, were arrested on 3 September and held hostage by the authorities to put pressure on their husbands, alleged Islamist militants, to give themselves up. They were first detained in the town of Hama, then transferred to the Palestine Branch of Military Intelligence in Damascus where they remained at the end of the year.
* Muhammad Haydar Zammar, a German national of Syrian origin, remained detained incommunicado, at an unknown location and without charge, for a fourth year, apparently on account of alleged links to al-Qa’ida. The US security forces were reportedly involved in his arrest and interrogation in Morocco in 2001, and in his secret transfer to Syria one or two weeks later. He was reportedly interrogated in Syria in November 2002 by agents of German intelligence and criminal investigation agencies.
In August and October, information was released during an inquiry in Canada on the actions of Canadian officials in relation to Syrian/Canadian national Maher Arar. It indicated that, like him, at least three other Canadian nationals of Arab origin had been detained, interrogated and tortured in Syria in previous years with the possible complicity or involvement of Canadian and other foreign intelligence agencies. All three claimed they were forced to sign statements without being permitted to read them. They were:
* Ahmed Abou El-Maati was detained for 11 weeks after he arrived in Syria on 12 November 2001. He alleged that during this time he was beaten with electric cables, burned with cigarettes and had ice-cold water poured over him. He was then transferred to Egypt where he suffered further torture.
* ‘Abdullah Almalki said he was beaten on the soles of his feet, hung in a tyre and beaten, and suspended by his hands from a metal frame and beaten while detained at the Palestine Branch of Military Intelligence in Damascus for 22 months from May 2002.
* Muayyed Nureddin said he was beaten repeatedly on the soles of his feet with a cable and had cold water poured on him while detained in Syria from 11 December 2003 to 13 January 2004.
Human rights defenders under threat
Syrian human rights defenders became increasingly active, but faced arrest and harassment. Several unauthorized human rights organizations were operating. At least 10 human rights defenders were forbidden from travelling outside the country.
* Nizar Ristnawi, a founding member of the unauthorized Arab Organization for Human Rights-Syria (AOHR-S), was arrested on 18 April. He remained in detention on unknown charges at the end of the year.
* Muhammad Ra’dun, head of the AOHR-S, was arrested on 22 May in connection with statements he had made about human rights in Syria. He was charged with “spreading false news” and “involvement in an illegal organization of an international nature”. He was released under a presidential amnesty on 2 November.
‘Disappearances’
The government provided no information about thousands of Syrians, Lebanese and other nationals who “disappeared” in the custody of Syrian forces in previous years. These included some 17,000 people, mostly Islamists who “disappeared” after they were detained in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinians who were detained in Syria or abducted from Lebanon by Syrian forces or Lebanese and Palestinian militias. In September, however, the government named one judge and two generals as its representatives on a joint Syrian-Lebanese committee intended to address the “disappearances” issue. Local human rights groups welcomed this but questioned the lack of independence and the limited powers of the committee.
Torture and ill-treatment
Torture and ill-treatment of political and criminal detainees continued to be widely reported, particularly during incommunicado, pre-trial detention. At least two deaths as a result of such treatment were reported.
* Ahmad ‘Ali al-Masalma, a Muslim Brotherhood member, died at the end of March, two weeks after he was released from four weeks in detention. He was arrested on his return from 26 years’ exile in Saudi Arabia. He was allegedly tortured in detention and denied essential medication.
* Sheikh Muhammad Ma’shuq al-Khiznawi, an Islamic religious leader and outspoken figure within the Kurdish community, died on 30 May, 20 days after he “disappeared”, apparently in the custody of Military Intelligence agents. His nose and teeth were broken and there was a wound on his forehead.
* Seraj Khalbous became seriously ill probably as a result of torture while detained incommunicado in September at al-Mezze and al-Fayha Political Security Branches in Damascus. He was beaten, stamped on, struck with large sticks, threatened with anal rape, subjected to extreme cold, sleep deprivation and humiliation, and witnessed others being tortured with electric shocks. He was released on 25 October.
Most allegations of torture were not investigated. However, in June it was reported that two senior officials at the Ma’dan Court building in Raqqa were each sentenced to two months in prison for torturing Amna
al-‘Allush in March 2002 to force her to “confess” to a murder. Despite this, Amna al-‘Allush continued serving the 12-year prison sentence she received in April 2004.
Discrimination against Kurds
Syrian Kurds continued to suffer from identity-based discrimination, including restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language and culture. Tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds remained effectively stateless. As a result, they were denied full access to education, employment, health and other rights enjoyed by Syrian nationals, as well as the right to have a nationality and passport. In June, at its first meeting for 10 years, the ruling Ba’th Party Congress ordered a review of a 1962 census which could result in stateless Kurds obtaining Syrian citizenship.
Discrimination and violence against women
Women remained subject to discrimination under a range of laws including in the areas of marriage, divorce, the family, inheritance and nationality. They were also inadequately protected against domestic and other forms of violence. For example, men who commit rape can escape possible punishment if they marry the victim, and men who murder a female relative on grounds of her alleged “adultery” or “extra-marital sexual relations” can also escape punishment or be treated more leniently than other murderers.
The scale of violence against women remained poorly documented and few cases were publicized during the year.
* At her wedding party in al-Suweida in August, Huda Abu ‘Assali, a Druze, was reportedly killed by her father and brother for having married a Kurdish man while away from home at university in Damascus. No prosecution was known to have been brought.
Death penalty
The death penalty remained in force for a wide range of crimes but the authorities disclosed little information about its use. It was not known how many people were sentenced to death or executed in 2005. However, the government informed the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) that 27 executions were carried out during 2002 and 2003, although it was unclear whether this was the total or it excluded executions carried out after trials before the SSSC or military courts. In an interview published in August, former Defence Minister Mustafa Tlas claimed that he had authorized the hanging of 150 political opponents a week throughout the 1980s and that he had signed execution orders for thousands of detainees whose families were not notified.
UN Human Rights Committee
The HRC, commenting on Syria’s third periodic report, criticized the government’s failure to implement human rights reforms recommended by the HRC in 2001. It expressed concern about the continuing state of emergency; restrictions on freedom of expression and other basic rights; discrimination and violence against women; the targeting of human rights defenders; and Syria’s use of the death penalty.
AI country visits . |
blab ... blab .... blab ... blab ...blab ... blab .... blab ... blab blab ... blab .... blab ... blab blab ... blab .... blab ... blab blab ... blab .... blab ... blab blab ... blab .... blab ... blab ....etc 
Where are you Torsten? can I send a big article like him ? Why don't you remove it ??
do you remember that ???
| Torsten wrote: | Dear Hercules,
Please understand that I had to remove the three newspaper articles you had copied and published here. Our forum is a place where you can exchange thoughts and ideas. If you want to communicate with other forum members and tell your opinion on any subject, you are free to do so. Posting long winded articles you have copied from Internet newspapers is a different story.
We want to know what you think. So if YOU have something to say then please let us know. You can also comment on a newspaper article you have read. You can even post part of an article here as long as you share your own thoughts on that article.
Thanks for your understanding,
Torsten. |
Fainally , Mr Salamon
I want to repeat this post , maybe you have forgotten it , but I will be kind and post it for you again :
| Hercules wrote: | Hi Salmon ...
until now there isn't any discussion with you .you should pick your location and be proud of that ,then come on to have a decent discussion ..
PS . Are you shy to pick your location ???
and I think I've warned you about sharks .. be careful .. ..Sharks like eat you ...Mr Salmon . |
See you Guys
Herc
_________________
I Can Go the Distance...
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Hercules
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 17 May 2006
Posts: 339
Location: Syria
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Hercules
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 17 May 2006
Posts: 339
Location: Syria
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| Tue Mar 06, 2007 20:02 pm Is war really a joke? |
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Hi my friend Hercules,
I am really sorry to read that you are not happy with my posting
Could you Please say what is wrong with at sea I am a seaman and eight months
a year I am sailing on board a ship.
My location is Poland, I thought this is funny to say "at sea" because our live is
our job and so on... I never done from this a secret.
I want to ensure You I like You very much even if you confuse me sometimes.
I will tell You the story
in 1990 I have been asked to give an interview in local radio station, the reporter said
to me before going alive "One thing Mr Jan we can't talk about Church"
OK do we have a deal?
I said something like this in that case "I can't authorized it". laughing Ok.
We go alive and than first question Mr X why don't you give us your name
Why You have decided to stay in shadow ha ha very funny.
I answered something like why You said we can talk about everything except
church....
silence
but ... Ok well ... what you want to say ?
I think it is quite normal to make some deals but we have to keep promises as well.
USA is very beautiful , and President Bush is not so stupid as you said.
Best Regards
Your friend Jan
Hercules Disney Movie is done in USA isn't this funny. |
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Jan
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 01 Apr 2006
Posts: 297
Location: At sea
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| Wed Mar 07, 2007 0:43 am Is war really a joke? |
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Ok ...Jan as you like
Take it
most countries have some bad things and it's interior concerns and we in syria try hard for repair these things.
But Look MR.Salmon
these some reports for AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL around what happen In USA (country the rights and freedoms of the individual.)
before read these Use your mind and Ask yourself Syria worst than USA OR USA worst than Syria 
| Quote: | When U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld charged in March that Iraq had violated the Geneva Conventions by parading captured U.S. soldiers on television, the U.S. media were awash with stories about the fine-points of international law. Article 13 of the Geneva Conventions does in fact state that prisoners "must at all times be protected ... against insults and public curiosity." But there is something else that the Geneva Conventions prohibit: torture. And on this score, Rumsfeld and others in the Bush administration have been notably less attentive to the letter of the law.
Recent revelations in the media suggest that torture is becoming acceptable in some quarters of the U.S. government, with terrorism replacing communism as the official rationale. And as during the cold war when U.S. trainers taught torture techniques, Washington's tolerance of such practices could have a ripple effect around the world.
Processing suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees at Camp X-Ray at Guant?namo Bay, Cuba, January 2002. © AFP / Shane T. McCoy
A Washington Post story on Dec. 26 detailed allegations of torture and inhumane treatment of some of the thousands of suspects the U.S. has apprehended since the Sept.11 terrorist attacks. U.S. Army Special Forces often "soften up" — that is, beat up — Al Qaeda captives held at the CIA interrogation centers overseas before interrogating them, according to the front-page report. Interrogators have also thrown suspects against walls, hooded them, deprived them of sleep, bombarded them with light, and bound them with duct tape in painful positions. Referred to by officials as "enemy combatants," the prisoners have no access to lawyers, reporters, and most outside agencies, including Amnesty International.
Such methods, at the least, constitute cruel and inhumane treatment and may rise to the level of inflicting "severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental," the official benchmark of torture set forth in the U.N. Convention Against Torture.
The U.S. government insists it is conforming to international law, but one unnamed official told the Post, "If you don't violate someone's human rights some of the time, you probably aren't doing your job."
At least two prisoners have been killed in U.S. custody. In March, the story broke that death certificates for two Al Qaeda suspects at the Bagram base in Afghanistan showed both to have been killed by "blunt force injuries." A military doctor listed the deaths as homicides.
At the Guant?namo detention center, where detainees undergo frequent interrogations, about 25 prisoners have attempted suicide and dozens are being treated with anti-depressant drugs.
In some cases, Washington prefers to distance itself by outsourcing interrogations. The Post also reported that since 9/11 Washington has transferred approximately 100 suspects to U.S. allies, including Saudi Arabia and Morocco, whose brutal torture methods have been amply documented in the State Department's own annual human rights reports.
"We don't kick the [expletive] out of them," one official told the Post. "We send them to other countries so they can kick the [expletive] out of them."
In at least one case, a suspect was sent to Syria. According to a State Department Annual Report, torture methods in Syria include "pulling out fingernails; forcing objects into the rectum; ... using a chair that bends backwards to asphyxiate the victim or fracture the spine."
Other captives have been sent to Egypt, where, according to the State Department, suspects are routinely "stripped and blindfolded; suspended from a ceiling or doorframe with feet just touching the floor; beaten with fists, whips, metal rods, or other objects; subjected to electric shocks."
A former CIA official told Newsday about one detainee transferred from Guant?namo Bay to Egypt: "They promptly tore his fingernails out, and he started telling things."
The capture last March of Al Qaeda leader Khalid Shaikh Mohammed prompted some U.S. officials to suggest that such practices are warranted. An unnamed official told the Wall Street Journal that U.S. interrogators may authorize "a little bit of smacky-face" while questioning captives in the war on terrorism. Said another, "There's a reason why [Mohammed] isn't going to be near a place where he has Miranda rights or the equivalent. You go to some other country that'll let us pistol-whip this guy."
U.S. complicity in torture goes back at least to the 1970s when police and military forces trained by Washington engaged in the widespread torture and ill-treatment of leftists in countries such as Brazil and Uruguay. It was one of the cold war's most sordid (and hidden) chapters. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, hopes arose that such abuses would be relegated to the past.
Reports on the re-emergence of the practice have met with a strong response by a coalition of organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The coalition fired off a letter to Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, calling on the Bush administration to unequivocally denounce torture and clarify that the United States will "neither seek nor rely upon intelligence obtained" through such practices.
Yet, in these jittery times, some commentators have suggested reconsidering the absolute prohibition on torture codified in the 1975 international "Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment." The U.S. is bound by the agreement, which it signed and ratified. After September 11th, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz famously proposed allowing U.S. judges to issue "torture warrants" to prevent potentially catastrophic terrorist attacks. Writing in The New Republic last fall, Richard Posner, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, expressed reservations about Dershowitz's proposal, but he argued that "if the stakes are high enough, torture is permissible. No one who doubts that this is the case should be in a position of responsibility."
The rationale behind such comments is the "ticking bomb" scenario, in which a captive knows of an imminent, catastrophic attack. Some argue that torture is justified to extract potentially lifesaving information. And even staunch opponents of torture acknowledge that the hypothetical scenario makes relaxing the prohibition seem appealing. "I don't think any sensible moral position would deny that there might be some imaginable situations in which torture [of a particular individual] is justified," wrote Martha Nussbaum, a professor at the University of Chicago, an expert on ethics and human rights.
But in the real world, as Nussbaum notes, governments don't just torture ticking time bombs. They torture their enemies under circumstances that routinely stray from the isolated, extreme scenario because nobody can know for certain whether a suspect really is a ticking bomb.
"There's an inevitable uncertainty," explains Georgetown law professor David Cole, the author of Terrorism and the Constitution and a forthcoming book on September 11th and civil liberties. "You can't know whether a person knows where the bomb is or even if they're telling the truth. Because of this, you end up going down a slippery slope and sanctioning torture in general." So while Cole and Nussbaum can imagine instances when torture might constitute a lesser evil, both favor a "bright line," in Cole's words, banning the practice.
Their warnings are based in history. Oxford professor Henry Shue, a specialist in international relations, describes how torture spread "like a cancer" through the French security apparatus as it tried to suppress the Algerian anti-colonial struggle in the 1950s. French officials justified torture as a rare measure to prevent imminent assaults on civilians, but Shue says, "The problem is that torture is a shortcut, and everybody loves a shortcut."
The Algerian experience recurred in Israel, where, until the Israeli Supreme Court formally banned the practice in 1999, the "ticking bomb" scenario was used as legal justification for hooding, beating, and abusing hundreds of Palestinians. In both countries, the governments cited terrorism, suicide bombings and violent attacks as their rationale.
For the United States to blur the line on torture at this particular moment seems particularly short-sighted. "When you are conducting a war in the name of the rule of law and at the same time violating the most fundamental rule of law, you are clearly handing fodder to your adversaries, who will then say, 'Look, all this talk about freedom and ideals and justice is just wind,' " says William Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA.
Although some conservatives counter that such talk is overly idealistic, nobody has insisted more adamantly than George W. Bush that the war on terrorism is, at root, a conflict about values. In his most recent State of the Union address, he catalogued the torture methods administered to prisoners in Iraq. "Electric shock, burning with hot irons, dripping acid on the skin, mutilation with electric drills," Bush said. "If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning."
By denouncing torture while softening the rules when its own interests are at stake, the United States sends a disturbing message: that it applies a different standard to its enemies than to itself.
One standard shared by those who practice terrorism and those who torture is a belief that the ends justify the means. They both explain away violence by framing it as a necessary "last resort." And they obscure the human impact of that violence by refusing to recognize the humanity of their victims.
"For the torturers, the sheer and simple fact of human agony is made invisible, and the moral fact of inflicting that agony is made neutral," writes Elaine Scarry in her powerful book The Body in Pain. But those facts are neither invisible nor neutral to the victims. "Whoever has succumbed to torture can no longer feel at home in the world," observed Holocaust survivor (and torture victim) Jean Am?ry in his searing memoir At the Mind's Limits. "It is fear that henceforth reigns. ... Fear — and also what is called resentments — [that] concentrate into a seething, purifying thirst for revenge."
Those who insist that the ban on torture should be absolute accept that the position comes with certain costs. Israeli security forces may, indeed, have prevented some suicide bombings by beating and shaking Palestinians. But there is a trade-off between freedom and security; in a democracy, as the Israeli Supreme Court noted in its 1999 decision that banned torture, "not all means are acceptable." Outlawing torture, in this sense, is like establishing rights to free speech, privacy, and freedom of assembly: It entails potential costs by limiting how governments can ensure order.
Those who advocate relaxing the ban on torture frequently invoke Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson's 1949 warning that, however much we value our liberties, the Bill of Rights should not become "a suicide pact." But as real as the danger of Al Qaeda may be, few would argue that it constitutes an existential threat to the nation. The United States has enormous resources at its disposal and countless tools with which to wage its war on terror. It's worth asking why brutal CIA interrogation methods should considered necessary for our security?while providing adequate funding for such homeland security essentials as safeguarding nuclear and chemical facilities as well as addressing the socio-economic factors that engender terrorism are not.
As a tool for collecting information, moreover, torture is notoriously ineffective (since people in pain have the unfortunate habit of lying to make it stop), and has done little to solve long-term security threats. In fact, Hafiz Abu Sa'eda, head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, argues that torture can actually promote terrorism. "Torture demonstrates that the regime deserves destroying because it does not respect the dignity of the people," he told the London Guardian. Members of Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood are among those transformed from relative moderates into hard-line fanatics after being tortured, Sa'eda explains. After being tortured in Egypt, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, a surgeon, fled to Afghanistan to join the mujahedeen and eventually became Osama bin Laden's deputy.
The abuses irreversibly transform not only the victims but those complicit in torture themselves. "[T]o this day, when I sleep at night, I hear [the screaming] inside my ears all the time," said an Israeli soldier who stood guard over tortured prisoners. "It doesn't leave me, I can't get rid of it."
Unfortunately, even governments that preach an absolute ban on torture practice it behind closed doors. In a forthcoming article, Sanford Levinson, a professor at the University of Texas Law School and a legal realist, argues that this gap between rhetoric and reality may bolster Dershowitz's proposal that torture should be brought out into the open and regulated. Others counter that legitimizing a practice that is by definition illegitimate will only increase its acceptability and prevalence. They suggest that scholars, politicians and citizens must not only uphold the ideals of international law, they must define permissible methods of interrogation during wartime.
Also needed are national and international safeguards to prevent, expose, and punish violations. Torture, like all governmental abuses, thrives in the absence of openness and accountability. In January the International Secretariat of the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), a coalition of non-governmental organizations from more than 65 countries, urged the U.S. government to allow the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit the Bagram base in Afghanistan, where the practices described by the Washington Post are taking place. The OMCT's recommendation was met with stony silence, not only by Washington but also by the U.S. media.
"For better or worse, the United States sets precedents and examples," Oxford scholar Henry Shue says. "We're very visible. If the most powerful country in the world has to torture, how are we supposed to convince anyone else that they shouldn't torture?"
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HeY I'm not finish yet
take it too
| Quote: | USA campaign: Rights for All
The USA has long seen itself as the champion of the rights and freedoms of the individual. But for many the USA has failed to deliver the promise of rights for all. Across the USA people have been injured and killed by police using excessive force or deliberately brutal treatment. In many prisons and jails inmates have been tortured or ill-treated. Asylum-seekers are detained indefinitely in conditions that are sometimes inhuman and degrading. More than 500 people have been executed since 1990, some for crimes committed when they were less than 18 years old.
Human rights are universal and indivisible; all human rights should be enjoyed by everyone, whatever their position in society, their racial or ethnic origin, their sexual orientation or their level of income. This fundamental and unshakeable belief led to the launch of Amnesty International's year-long campaign against human rights violations in the USA.
The "USA: Rights for All" campaign presented a major challenge to the movement. It sought to puncture the widespread complacency on domestic human rights issues in a country which prides itself on its democracy, individual freedom and its political and legal equality; it had to build collaboration between Amnesty International members in the USA and around the world with the thousands of other organizations in the country promoting a broad range of human rights issues; and it sought to effect some positive improvements in the human rights situation.
Amnesty International sections around the world took on the challenge. They gained widespread press coverage, both in newspapers and on radio and television. "I'd like to share our happiness with the media coverage we had this day ? it is really unbelievable how interested the media is in a campaign on the USA", reported a Dutch section member. In Pakistan, there was coverage in languages including Urdu and Sindhi. In Finland - where a group built a "jailed Statue of Liberty" to publicize the campaign - the largest daily newspaper published front-page articles two days running. Sections organized visits to their own government officials and to US embassies to press their case. Several sections reported that US embassy officials had been unusually willing to talk to them - in Japan, for example, the US embassy contacted the section asking for a meeting to discuss Amnesty International's work.
Media coverage on television and radio in the USA, as well as in the vast array of US national and local newspapers and journals, was excellent, with many publicizing the powerful stories told by human rights victims. For example, former prisoner Warnice Robinson described how she had to give birth to her baby daughter in shackles, and how the experience had degraded her.
An early success in the efforts to prevent such inhumane treatment came in November, when Detroit City Council passed a resolution calling on the State of Michigan to ban the use of restraints on pregnant women before and during labour:
"We call upon the State of Michigan to provide for the swift punishment of prison officials and personnel who violate the human rights of women in Michigan state prisons. We call upon the State of Michigan to end the practice of closing Michigan prisons to investigators such as Amnesty International and other international and domestic NGOs?"
This landmark resolution followed a public Legislative Hearing to debate human rights violations of women and children in Michigan prisons called by Congressman John Conyers Jr at which Amnesty International was invited to present its concerns. Other panellists included a former inmate who has now become a professional social worker and advocate for incarcerated women; attorneys working on behalf of women in prison; and key members of Detroit's City Council. The meeting was well attended by members of the public and was filmed for television.
In early December it emerged that the Illinois Department of Corrections had changed their policy so that, in future, no restraints would be used on pregnant women in transit or in the hospital. One of Amnesty International's contacts in Chicago said: "It seems as if the pressure from Amnesty and local groups has been effective. Chipping away, bit by bit."
A ban on the shackling of pregnant prisoners is one of the campaign's specific goals. Others include increasing the accountability of the police by setting up effective oversight and monitoring mechanisms; establishing enforceable standards for the treatment of prisoners, including steps to prevent sexual abuse of women and a ban on the use of electro-stun belts; an end to the execution of juvenile offenders and the mentally impaired (as a step towards abolition of the death penalty); stopping the inappropriate detention of asylum-seekers in jails; ratifying, in full, international human rights treaties; and adopting a code of conduct to prevent US arms and equipment being used to commit abuses elsewhere in the world.
The campaign against human rights violations by the US authorities was an integral part of Amnesty International's efforts to mobilize support for the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration. The USA is an immensely powerful nation with a key role to play in promoting human rights throughout the world. It has a responsibility to take a lead by living up to its human rights promises; promises to be found in the USA's own laws and in international human rights standards.
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Opss I have some reports about Poland....
in the end I don't hate american people and we want to be friends with them for ever.
all these mistakes is from US government not from american people.
really like this great american people they must have government better than this.
best wishes for american people
Mba
_________________
Right is always stronger than iniquity. |
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Dark Magician
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 21 May 2006
Posts: 488
Location: Middle east
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| Wed Mar 07, 2007 8:45 am Is war really a joke? |
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Hi Dear Dark Magician,
Looks now much more better...
You see to build democracy is very hard almost all
people see it different way...,
Amnesty International is regardless country doing its job.
In my opinion , this is still the huge difference between USA and Syria,
War has blinded them for sure, but in Syria is no war anymore
and if somebody wants to criticize Americans(this is not just government,believe me)it shouldn't be You,you have so much to do in your own country...
17000 people missing in Syrian custody if I would believe in God I could say at least that I would pray for them that I would pray for their mothers.
I don't want You to be in any danger please be careful.
Best Regards
Jan |
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Jan
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 01 Apr 2006
Posts: 297
Location: At sea
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| Wed Mar 07, 2007 16:37 pm Is war really a joke? |
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let's all go drink a Coke
(or Pepsi -- whatever floats your boat)
eat a pizza
etc.
and watch the game
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee. |
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Prezbucky
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2252
Location: Nashville, TN (USA)
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| Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:47 am Is war really a joke? |
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Jan and Dark,
Your argument showed me a picture of intolerance, not only between governments, but also between individuals. That intolerance is affected by media’s opinions and governments’ policy, but it also affects media’s opinion and governments’ policy. Anyway Babel exists actually, although both of you speak the same language, English. Question your own points first, and then manage to tolerate others’. Even your eyes can cheat you! |
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Bennie
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 22 Feb 2007
Posts: 16
Location: Hangzhou, China
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| Grammar Control in Japan | American Dream. |
