GU Amnesty Committee Meeting 14/2/08 – Minutes
Click to read minutes:
You are browsing the Blog for Emma.
Spielberg pulls out of Olympics
So, the latest development on the Olympics, according to the International Herald Tribune is that director Stephen Spielberg has refused to have anything to do with the opening and closing ceremonies because China is not doing enough to help with the crisis in Darfur. Spielberg’s choice to add hisÂÂ name to organisations likeÂÂ Reporters Sans FrontièresÂÂ who, amongst others, areÂÂ boycotting the games has been linked to his 2005 film, ‘Munich’ which looks at the killing of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics.
Read more here: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/13/sports/AS-SPT-OLY-Beijing-Olympics-Spielberg.php
Also, the organisers in Beijing have now commented on the ‘gag’ imposed by the BOA, also in the IHT: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/12/sports/olympic12.php
You can also read more at the Human Rights Watch website: http://china.hrw.org/
And more about the Human Rights situation at the Amnesty site: http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/asia-and-pacific/east-asia/china
[UPDATE]
The Chinese foreign ministry have expressed ‘regret’ over the decision, and (imho) waffled a bit about Darfur:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7244133.stm
While Tessa Jowell, Olympic Minister, says the Olympic boycott has no purpose. Surprise:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7244137.stm
Watch this space.
GU Amnesty Committee Meeting 1/2/08
Minutes of the meeting
Read the rest of this entry →
GU Amnesty Committee Meeting 26/1/08 – Minutes
Minutes of meeting
Pakistan ‘on brink of political catastrophe’
As the situation in Pakistan grows more difficult, President Musharraf is in the UK over the weekend, and Amnesty has issued a press release explaining its concerns over the political difficulties and human rights violations which are ongoing in Pakistan.
Human rights violations are undermining prospect of free and fair elections
Amnesty International delivered a stark warning to Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf today (25 January 2008), stating that the country was on the brink of ‘political catastrophe’. Musharraf begins a four-day visit to the UK today, which is set to culminate with a meeting with Gordon Brown on Monday.
Pakistan is due to hold elections on 18 February, however, an Amnesty International delegation, which spent the last month in the country, has uncovered a worsening human rights crisis despite the lifting of the State of Emergency last month.
The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that Amnesty International believes it represents a serious threat to the political process in Pakistan.
Find the press release here
And Amnesty’s previous statement here
GU Amnesty Committee Meeting 17/1/08
Ceilidh
ÂÂ – Star meeting Monday 6.30
– Sinead and possibly Jonny to go
– Ceilidh planned for March/mid Feb?
Film night
– problem with Boyd Orr?
– Rachel to srot out
Speakers
– SVAW plus one other
– SVAW for valentines?
Ethical investments
– Speaker?
– public declaration of interest?
Raise off – Helen to look at Raise off financing stuff.
Website – Robert to change members
New Internationalist – ?promotion
GUU – possibility of affiliation
Brown pushes for 42 day detention
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7198837.stm
Prime Minster Gordon Brown is pressing ahead with controversial plans to extend the time terror suspects can be held without charge to 42 days.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is due to meet backbench Labour MPs on Monday to try to win over opponents.
But Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has said his party will join forces with the Tories in the Lords to defeat the move.
Mr Clegg predicted Mr Brown would suffer the first defeat of his premiership on the issue.
But the prime minister said he believed it was still possible to reach a cross-party consensus when the government publishes its Counter Terrorism Bill later this week.
He claimed all the main parties accepted there could be circumstances in which suspects would need to be detained beyond the current 28-day limit.
It’s good to see that people are resisting, at least. Keep up the fight, guys! www.unsubscribe-me.org
‘Torture states’ list published by Canadian Foreign Minister includes USA
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7198435.stm
The Canadian foreign minister has apologised for including the US and Israel on a list of states where prisoners are at risk of torture.
Maxime Bernier said the list, which formed part of a manual on torture awareness given to diplomats, “wrongly includes some of our closest allies”.
Mr Bernier insisted the manual was not a policy document and did not convey the official views of his government.
The listing was criticised by the US and Israel, who demanded it be changed.
“We find it to be offensive for us to be on the same list with countries like Iran and China. Quite frankly it’s absurd,” said the US ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins.
…
The manual lists US interrogation techniques such as forced nudity, isolation, sleep deprivation and the blindfolding of prisoners under its “definition of torture”.
It also refers to the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, where a Canadian man, Omar Khadr, is being held. Critics say it ridicules Ottawa’s claims that he is not being mistreated.
Other countries on the watch list include Afghanistan, China, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Syria.
The document was mistakenly provided to the human rights group, Amnesty International, as part of a court case it is bringing against the Canadian government over the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan.
Forgive the bias of opinion, but I would have applauded Canada for recognising the risk posed to prisoners in the US, if only they had not been so quick to back down.
Raise Off Stall
Hello everyone, and happy new year!
We’ve had a great start to the new term, our Raise Off stall on Friday raised around £130, which is a great kick off! Thank you to everyone who helped with that.
The aim for this month is £200, so we are hoping to have a film night, possibly next Wednesday, showing Taking Liberties and hopefully running a stress position challenge. It’ll be fun, so come along! More details to follow.
GU Amnesty Committee Meeting 7/1/08 – Minutes
Guantanamo anniversary stuff
– stall with stress position challenge
– organise help at meeting tomorrow
EGM
– 15th Jan
– mailing list
Reply to politicians?
Ceilidh
– Star meeting – Sinead to go along
Sleep out
– Star involved too?
– kelvingrove park, cloisters?
Zoe Graham
– ask to write for qmunicate
Rector campaign
-can we/should we support someone?