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Shanghai activists rescue 800 cats destined for the dinner table
About 800 cats were rescued from Guangdong dinner tables this weekend when activists from the Shanghai Animal Protection Association managed to free them from local 'cat dealers'. The animals were already caged and loaded into a truck ready for delivery, but the activists released about 800 of the 1500 in the truck before they were stopped.
The article doesn't say whether they were just released or actually rescued (as in, to a rescue centre) - could that mean a huge cat plague in the area..? They'd only be caught again and eaten by the locals - or dessimate the local wildlife... About 800 cats were rescued from Guangdong dinner tables this weekend when activists from the Shanghai Animal Protection Association m... more -
Over 300 Arrested at RNC
Beginning Saturday with a guns-drawn assault on a protester meeting space and continuing through the weekend with raids on houses of known activists in St. Paul, Twin Cities police have arrested over 300 anti-RNC demonstrators. At least 120 of them are accused of felonies, including trumped-up “conspiracy to riot” charges. Police have used concussion grenades, tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets against unarmed protesters.
For more news on the demonstrations in St. Paul, check out the Twin Cities Independent Media Center’s coverage of the RNC. http://twincities.indymedia.org/)
To support those who were unjustly arrested, visit the Coldsnap Legal Collective’s Web site to find out what you can do.
http://coldsnaplegal.wordpress.com/ Beginning Saturday with a guns-drawn assault on a protester meeting space and continuing through the weekend with raids on houses of k... more -
AIDS activist’s wife under surveillance, denied freedom
Zeng Jinyan, wife of imprisoned Chinese AIDS rights activist Hu Jia, is currently under the surveillance of Chinese authorities and unable to contact outside media. It is believed that authorities may have also transported Zeng out of Beijing during the Olympics.
On August 25, Boxun.net reported that authorities took Zeng Jinyan to Dalian City after she visited her husband at the Chaobai prison near Tianjin City on August 7. Zeng was not allowed to return to Beijing until August 23. According to Hu Jia’s mother, Feng Juan, Zeng is under surveillance and unable to accept interviews.
Feng Juan told Radio Free Asia that Zeng was not in Beijing during the Olympics, but she did not know the details of her whereabouts at that time. Regarding the details of Zeng’s current situation, Feng said, “We live in mainland China, so it is not convenient for us to talk about these things.”
Hu was sentenced to three and half years imprisonment in March. His family is allowed one visit a month, but authorities forbid the family from bringing him food and medicine. Feng said, “He still looks very thin…the prison doesn’t allow us to send [him] medicine. The medicine from the prison hospital doesn’t include antiviral agents.”
Feng also said that the prison officials screen all incoming letters and only deliver the letters that meet their guidelines to the prisoners. When Zeng sent Hu a copy of International Convention on Human Rights and Protection of Chinese Prisoners’ Human Rights, the book was confiscated by prison officials and returned to the family.
Boxun.net also reports that the spokesperson from Chaobai prison’s public relations office said that Hu recently caused trouble by objecting to the prison’s decision to put some inmates on trial. Hu believed the officials’ actions violated prisoner rights. He publicized his criticism to the prison staff and other prisoners. As a result, the prison ordered Hu to seven hours of daytime yard work every day as punishment.
According to an open letter written by Zeng, Hu usually writes letters to his family once a week. However, no one has received a letter from him since August 1. Zeng Jinyan, wife of imprisoned Chinese AIDS rights activist Hu Jia, is currently under the surveillance of Chinese authorities and un... more -
Thousands of mink freed in Canada in apparent act of 'eco-terrorism'
Animal-rights extremists are being blamed for the release of around 6,000 mink from a Canadian fur farm. Early on Sunday morning, trespassers broke into the Rippin Fur Farm, freeing about 6,000 black mink from their pens before opening the farm gate, of which 500 were able to break free.
Sadly such attacks are often done without much knowledge of the ability of domesticated mink to survive in the wild, and it is thought most of the released mink will die after about 3 days if they're not found.
'Rippin Fur Farm'?? Is this a joke? What a horrible name... Animal-rights extremists are being blamed for the release of around 6,000 mink from a Canadian fur farm. Early on Sunday morning, tre... more -
DNC Police Bulletin: People With City Maps Could Be Planning Violence
The ACLU has obtained a leaked copy of a Denver Police Department bulletin which advises officers that violent protesters at the upcoming Democratic National Convention may be identified from their use of hand held radios, bikes, maps and “camping information.”
The bulletin provides a “watch list” of items that police are to associate with violent protesters, describing some items as “caches of supplies that could be used by violent demonstrators.”
Other items on the list include baseball catch protectors, football helmets, plastic shields, gas masks and protest sign handles.
The Bulletin warns that violent protesters may “stockpile” supplies and suggests:
“While most of the activity will be peaceful and take place in the city of Denver, past practices of demonstrators show that they will use outlying buildings, homes, camping facilities, secluded woods and farm field to store their supplies.”
The bulletin suggests that visitors with “camping information” should be considered violent protesters, specifically:
“information concerning the camping, boarding or housing of potential violent protesters that have rented campaign spaces, rented farms or land for the time period around the DNC.”
Visitors with “Large numbers of city maps” are also considered suspicious because maps are “frequently used by violent protester [sic] to plan direct actions against conventioneers.” according to the instructions. The ACLU has obtained a leaked copy of a Denver Police Department bulletin which advises officers that violent protesters at the upcom... more -
Doctors Protest Aafia's Detention
A large number of doctors Wednesday staged a protest outside the Lahore Press Club for the early release of Dr Aafia from the US custody. The protest was organised by the Pakistan Medical Association Lahore.
The protesters were carrying placards and banners inscribed with anti-US slogans. They protested for about half an hour. The protesters demanded the government ensure immediate release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui and her children.
They also deplored the role of the Pakistani government on the issue of Dr. Aafia and demanded the government highlight the issue at the international level.
Dr Yamin Rashid, Dr Zulfiqar Baig, Dr Izhar Chaudhry, Dr Azeem-ud-Din Zahid, Dr Aleem, Dr Shahid Malik, Dr Zahid and Dr Tanveer Anwar were prominent among the protesters A large number of doctors Wednesday staged a protest outside the Lahore Press Club for the early release of Dr Aafia from the US custo... more -
Activist Perseveres to Defend the Rights of the Cuban People (update on Iris)
Placetas. Cuban Democratic Directorate. August 20, 2008. Cuban opposition activist Iris Tamara Pérez Aguilera reported today that she intends to appeal a decision reached today by the People’s Municipal Tribunal of Placetas concerning an incident ocurred on August 6, 2008.
“I have no reason to pay a fine if I have committed no crime… My only crime, according to them, was to have defended Melquíades Hernández, a young man who was bleeding profusely, and on top of that, they were beating him,” stated Pérez Aguilera today by telephone to the Cuban Democratic Directorate.
Pérez Aguilera is maintaining her complete innocence of the charges of “resistance” and “contempt” with which she the National Revolutionary Police (NRP) intends to punish her for having interceded to defend the rights of Melquíades Hernández, the young victim of a brutal beating by the NRP on the streets of Placetas on August 6.
During a trial held this morning at the People’s Municipal Tribunal of Placetas in Villa Clara province, the activist was supported by Yaité Diaznegui Cruz Sosa, a resident of Placetas and eyewitness to the events of August 6. Cruz Sosa, who is not a member of any opposition organization, testified that Pérez Aguilera had been the victim of repression, and had not committed any crime.
According to the sentence imposed by the tribunal today, Iris will be forced to pay a total of 500 Cuban pesos or serve 250 days in prison (8 months and 10 days) under articles 143.1 and 144.1 of the penal code*. The tribunal that handed down the sentence was presided over by Hugo Benavides Díaz. The day of the incident, Major Vilmariño of the NRP responded to Pérez Aguilera’s humanitarian effort with physical attacks, racist insults, arbitrary detention, and the leveling of these charges.
The opposition activist also enjoyed the support of about forty human rights activists from several parts of Cuba who managed to gather in Placetas to hold a peaceful march to the tribunal and to attend the trial.
The day of the incident, PNR officers slammed Pérez Aguilera against a police vehicle, calling her a “f------ black,” a “black monkey,” and later told her that what they needed was "an order to kill all these f------ blacks who stick their noses into everything," according to Pérez Aguilera’s husband, former political prisoner Jorge Luis García Pérez “Antúnez.”
*Editor’s note (unofficial translation from Law 62, Cuban penal code):
Resistance- ARTICLE 143.1. One who offers resistance to an authority, a public functionary or their agents or auxiliaries in the course of the exercise of their functions incurs the penalty of imprisonment for three months to one year or a fine of 100 to 300 installments [of 2 Cuban pesos].
Contempt- ARTICLE 144.1. One who threatens, libels, defames, insults, slanders or in any other way outrages or offends, whether verbally or written, the dignity or decorum of an authority, a public functionary, or their agents or auxiliaries in the course of the exercise of their functions, or on occasion or by cause of them, incurs the penalty of imprisonment for three months to one year or a fine of 100 to 300 installments [of 2 Cuban pesos] or both. Placetas. Cuban Democratic Directorate. August 20, 2008. Cuban opposition activist Iris Tamara Pérez Aguilera reported today that she ... more -
British girl from London visits the Angola 3
An 11-year-old girl from London has become the youngest ever British person to visit two members of the so-called Angola 3, who remain incarcerated in Angola prison, Louisiana more than three decades after they were convicted of the murder of a prison guard.
Poppy met Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace, found guilty in 1973 and 1974 respectively of the 1972 murder of Brent Miller at the notorious Angola prison.
“Meeting Herman and Albert was surreal yet amazing. It was incredible just to sit with them and listen to everything they had to say”
She began writing to the two men in 2007 after learning about their cause through her mother, Carrie Reichardt , a 41-year-old artist and activist, aka The Baroness, who has become known for her mosaics infused with social and political commentary that cover the exterior walls of her London home and studio. In June, she unveiled an extensive work depicting the Angola 3 and Kenny ‘Zulu’ Whitmore – also at Angola and the focus of a new, international campaign mounted by Richards and other artists and activists.
Carrie said about her daughter’s trip - ‘I feel it is important for me to pass on an awareness of some of these injustices to my daughter. These men have been held in horrible conditions, in tiny cells for years on end, convicted with little or no evidence. They deserve our support, and I’m thrilled my daughter had this fantastic opportunity to visit Angola and our friends Herman and Albert.’
Woodfox and Wallace have always maintained their innocence, claiming they were framed for the crime due to their political activism; both were members of the Black Panther Party and had spoken out about the horrific conditions at the prison.
The third of the Angola 3, Robert King, also a member of the Black Panther Party, was released in 2001, after his conviction for the murder of a fellow inmate at Angola was overturned. He recently visited the UK to raise awareness of the global grassroots movement for the release of Wallace and Woodfox and launch the ‘Free Zulu’ campaign.
Poppy spent four hours on 9th Aug at Angola prison talking with the men, who, until recently spent a minimum of 23 hours a day in their cells.
“When I first saw Herman and Albert I ran up to them and gave them a huge hug. It was weird to think that this is a rare treat for them, just to have a hug from another human being”
In March this year, following increased media attention and a visit to the prison by chair of the US House Judiciary Committee John Conyers, Woodfox and Wallace were moved from solitary confinement, after almost 36 years, to a maximum-security dormitory. Campaigners say they are likely to have spent longer in solitary than anyone else in US history, a belief that has prompted Amnesty International to highlight their cause.
The precocious 11-year-old, who says she intends to become a human rights lawyer to help abolish the death penalty, also visited New Orleans during her two-week stay in the US, visiting and documenting sites still devastated after Hurricane Katrina. An 11-year-old girl from London has become the youngest ever British person to visit two members of the so-called Angola 3, who remain... more -
Citizen Journalists,Videobloggers, and Activists detained in Beijing; six detained...
Beijing - Brian Conley, creator of the well-known videoblog “Alive in Baghdad” was detained with his friend, Jeffrey Rae, early Tuesday, August 19th in Beijing. Their detention appears to have taken place at the same time as that of international artist James Powderly, whose detention was reported Tuesday. Three other bloggers and activists, Jeff Goldin, Michael Liss, and Tom Grant, have also been missing since Tuesday morning. Conley, 28, Rae, 28, Goldin, 40, Liss, 35, Grant, 39 are all American citizens.
The five “citizen journalists” and activists were in Beijing to support and promote human rights, freedom of expression, and freedom for the Tibetan people. They and numerous others have acted as an independent media centre for the dozens of pro-Tibet activists in Beijing who have sought to draw attention to the Chinese government’s occupation of Tibet during the Olympics. Rae and Conley shot and released online high-resolution photographs and footage of the recent protest by Students for a Free Tibet supporters at the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park.
According to hotel staff, Rae and Conley checked out of their hotel in Beijing before dawn Tuesday morning. At 12:30pm Beijing time on Tuesday, Conley’s wife in Philadelphia received a text message from him reading “In Jail. All fine.” A “twitter” message to Students for a Free Tibet suggested that they were being held with James Powderly, the artist and co-founder of Graffiti Research Lab who was preparing to debut a new work and technology of protest, the L.A.S.E.R. Stencil. (See http://freetibet2008.org/globalactions/jamespowderly/)
The detention of the citizen journalists comes amidst reports Tuesday and Wednesday that iTunes has been blocked by China’s internet firewall, likely due to its sale of a pro-Tibet album, “Songs for Tibet – the Art of Peace.” The producers have encouraged Olympic athletes to download the album free of charge as a gesture of support for Tibet and freedom of expression.
Students for a Free Tibet has staged seven protests in Beijing over the last two weeks, placing the issue of Tibet’s occupation front and centre as China hosts the Olympic Games. The protests have included a dramatic banner hang near the Bird’s Nest Stadium, a display of Tibetan flags near the Bird’s Nest just before the opening ceremony began, a symbolic die-in at Tiananmen Square, a protest by a Tibetan woman with flags outside Tiananmen Square, a blockade of the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park, and “Free Tibet” banner hang outside the CCTV headquarters. Thirty-seven members and supporters have been detained and deported, not including those detained today. Beijing - Brian Conley, creator of the well-known videoblog “Alive in Baghdad” was detained with his friend, Jeffrey Rae, early Tuesda... more -
Big stink as Israel unleashes 'skunk' on protestors
The Palestinian protestors massed at the fence expected tear gas and rubber bullets; what they got instead was a putrid yellow wind, Israel's newest weapon against West Bank demonstrators.
The noxious mist, which Israeli police refer to as "skunk," was used for the first time earlier this month, when a truck-mounted cannon sprayed it over the heads of protestors, sending them racing down the hillside, retching and tearing off their shirts to try to escape the stench.
Dozens of Palestinians from the village of Bilin, along with international and Israeli activists, had marched to a nearby segment of Israel's controversial separation barrier to demand its removal, just as they have done every Friday for the last three and a half years.
"No, no to settlements; no, no to the wall!" they shouted, as they waved Palestinian flags and posters of Yusef Amira, a 16-year-old shot dead by Israeli police at a protest in a neighbouring village last month.
The Israeli border police called on them to disperse through loudspeakers, warning them they were near a "closed military zone."
Then the skunk truck arrived, spraying a cloud of yellow mist and filling the air with the suffocating stench of faeces and urine.
More than one demonstrator said he preferred the tear gas Israeli troops usually use for crowd control, which sears the skin, nose, throat and eyes.
Israeli police say "skunk" is more effective at dispersing crowds than tear gas or the more lethal rubber-coated bullets, which killed Amira.
"It's the start of a change in tactics in dealing with crowd control and dispersing violent demonstrations and violent instances," Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.
"It protects the protestors because it doesn't require us to use tear gas and rubber bullets."
It was inevitable, perhaps, that Israel would unveil the skunk in Bilin. The small West Bank village has recently spawned a growing protest movement pitting local farmers and international activists against Israeli police on a weekly basis.
border "They use all kinds of violence against us but we have to get our land back. We are willing to sacrifice ourselves," says Ahmed Abu Rahma, a Bilin resident who has marched in the protests since they began more than three years ago.
The farmers have been galvanised by Israel's controversial separation barrier, a projected 723 kilometre (454 mile) stretch of concrete walls, barbed wire fence, and closed military roads that snakes across the West Bank.
Israel says the barrier is necessary to prevent attacks on its cities and Jewish settlements while Palestinians say the fence, most of which is built on occupied territory, undermines the viability of their future state.
The protest organisers say their aims are purely local. They ban the carrying of the flags of any Palestinian faction and have steered clear of the increasingly toxic internal politics in the occupied territories.
"Anyone who wants to can live in this country. The problem for us is that they took our land," Abu Rahma says, adding that his family has lost some 400 hectares (988 acres) of olive orchards to the barrier.
In September 2007 Israel's high court ruled in favour of village residents and ordered the barrier to be re-routed, but the military has yet to act, and the protests have since spread to neighbouring villages.
In the nearby village of Nilin, demonstrators clash with Israeli troops weekly, with local youths bounding through the terraced orchards near the fence construction site, hurling rocks and scattering before tear gas grenades.
But in late July the violence spiked, with Israeli troops shooting dead a 12-year-old boy, Hamad Musa, and 16-year-old Amira within a few days.*continues* The Palestinian protestors massed at the fence expected tear gas and rubber bullets; what they got instead was a putrid yellow wind, I... more -
Sea Shepherd Activists Put On International Wanted List
Japan today said it would take legal action against three members of the Sea Shepherd conservation group, including one Briton, whom it accused of obstructing its whaling fleet during clashes in the Antarctic in February 2007.
In a further sign of Japan's hardline stance against anti-whaling activists, police will place the men, a Briton named by sources as Daniel Bebawi, 28, from Nottingham, and two Americans on an international wanted list as soon as arrest warrants are issued.
"It's only natural to seek an arrest warrant as we've determined that a crime was committed," Nobutaka Machimura, the government's chief spokesman, told reporters.
"Regardless of the differences of opinion, it is unacceptable that those involved (in whaling) get injured … or have their lives put in danger."
Sea Shepherd was unavailable for comment this afternoon.
Last month, police charged two Greenpeace activists with stealing a consignment of whale meat. The protesters intercepted the meat to support allegations that Japanese whalers were selling it on the black market.
Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, both members of the group's Japan branch, are accused of stealing a box containing 23kg of whale meat from a postal company warehouse in April.
Japan claims the three men involved in the Sea Shepherd case illegally obstructed the whaling fleet by jamming the propeller of the Kaiko Maru with a rope and throwing flares on to its deck.
Police will not pursue allegations that two whalers were injured by containers of butyric acid - rancid butter - hurled by Sea Shepherd activists.
The environmental group says the Kaiko Maru twice rammed one of its ships, leaving gashes in its hull, and denies whalers were hurt in the acid attacks.
Japan's recent hunt in the southern ocean was frustrated by protests from Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace. The country had planned to catch 850 minke whales but returned with 551.
Sea Shepherd has vowed to disrupt the next whaling expedition, due to start at the end of the year.
The International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986 but allows Japan to conduct "lethal research" into the cetaceans' migratory and breeding habits.
The moratorium requires that meat from the hunts be sold on the open market, although domestic consumption is at an all-time low. Japan today said it would take legal action against three members of the Sea Shepherd conservation group, including one Briton, whom i... more -
Japan seeks to arrest anti-whaling activists
Japanese police have sought arrest warrants for three anti-whaling activists after their heated clashes with Tokyo's whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean last year, the government said on Monday.
"It's natural to seek an arrest warrant after determining that there was a crime," Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told a news conference.
Two Americans and a Briton from the hardline Sea Shepherd group are suspected of having obstructed Japan's whale hunt through protests such as jamming a ship's propeller with a rope. Tokyo's Metropolitan Police is looking to place the three on an international wanted list once the arrest warrants are obtained.
Protests last year against the whaling fleet outraged Japan, which called the activities "piratical, terrorist acts". Activists had poured acid on the deck of a whaling ship, slightly injuring two crew members. Japanese police have sought arrest warrants for three anti-whaling activists after their heated clashes with Tokyo's whaling flee... more -
Gitmo On The Platte’ Set As Holding Cell For DNC
DENVER - CBS4 News has learned if mass arrests happen at the Democratic Convention, those taken into custody will be jailed in a warehouse owned by the City of Denver. Investigator Rick Sallinger discovered the location and managed to get inside for a look. The newly created lockup is on the northeast side of Denver.
Inside are dozens are metal cages. They are made out of chain link fence material and topped by rolls of barbed wire.
“This is a secured environment,” Capt. Frank Gale of the Denver Sheriff’s Department told CBS4. “We’re concerned about how that’s going to be utilized by people who will be potentially disruptive.”
In past conventions, mass arrests have taken place.
With Denver’s jails already overflowing, new space had to be created and officers trained.
Each of the fenced areas is about 5 yards by 5 yards and there is a lock on the door. A sign on the wall reads “Warning! Electric stun devices used in this facility.”
CBS4 showed its video to leaders of groups that plan to demonstrate during the convention.
“Very bare bones and very reminiscent of a political prisoner camp or a concentration camp,” said Zoe Williams of Code Pink.
Williams was one of those arrested at the Republican Convention in New York in 2004.
“That’s how you treat cattle,” said Adam Jung of the group Tent State University. “You showed the sign where it said stun gun in use and you just change the word gun for bolt and it’s a meat processing plant.”
Gale would not discuss the facility at this time.
“We want to make sure we got our game plan set,” he said, “We want to make sure the entire procedure is laid out all the personnel know what they are supposed to do.”
The plans were to keep this lockup a secret, at least for now.
The American Civil Liberties Union says it will ask the City of Denver how prisoners will get access to food and water, bathrooms, telephones, plus medical care, and if there will be a place to meet with attorneys.
The protesters have already given this place a name: “Gitmo on the Platte.” DENVER - CBS4 News has learned if mass arrests happen at the Democratic Convention, those taken into custody will be jailed in a ware... more -
Nepal breaks up Tibetans' rally
Nepalese police have arrested at least 1,100 Tibetans protesting near Chinese embassy buildings in Kathmandu, in advance of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Protesters shouted anti-Chinese slogans on Friday and tried to break through a police cordon outside the Chinese visa and trade section before being hauled away in police vans.
The Tibetans, including scores of monks and nuns, shouted "Shame shame, Hu Jintao", referring to the Chinese president, and "Tibet belongs to Tibetans," as they were rounded up.
More arrests were expected as organisers said they would try to keep up their protests throughout the day.
"The Tibetans continue to try and protest in small groups and as long as they keep coming we will detain them," a senior police officer said.
"The total number of detainees has reached 1,100. They are being held at various police stations and will be released later on Friday."
Some protesters scuffled with police, who kicked and hit the Tibetans with bamboo poles as they tried to break through the police cordon.
Other protesters shaved their heads and painted their faces and scalps with the flag of the Tibetan government-in-exile. They also wore headbands calling for a "Free Tibet".
Highest alert
Authorities in China are on their highest alert in the final hours before the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, guarding against anyone who might try to take the shine off the curtain raiser that would be watched worldwide.
Tiananmen Square was sealed off. Many foreigners who were detained after protesting have been deported, and Chinese who did the same were in custody.
In Hong Kong, a British man was arrested on Friday after climbing on to the city's largest bridge and unfurling two protest banners.
Matt Pearce, 33, climbed on to a narrow girder in the centre of the bridge wearing a horse costume - alluding to the Olympic equestrian events being held in Hong Kong - and carrying a guitar, a witness said.
The large red banners read: "The People of China want freedom from oppression" and "We want human rights and
democracy."
Police closed the bridge to traffic and set up a giant inflatable safety mattress beneath the girder before climbing after Pearce and arresting him.
Hong Kong enjoys much greater freedoms than mainland China, including the right to protest.
However, three prominent Chinese activists were blocked from entering Hong Kong on Wednesday amid a tightening of the city's immigration and security measures days before Olympic equestrian events.
Protests set to coincide with the opening ceremony of the Beijing games are due to take place in London, Paris and Berlin. Rallies were held in Australia and planned in the Philippines and India.
Exiled Tibetans have been protesting virtually daily after deadly unrest erupted against Chinese rule in the Himalayan region in March.
On Thursday, around 600 Tibetans were arrested in Kathmandu, several hours after 1,500 monks, nuns and supporters who had been praying and chanting mantras refused to disperse.
Nepalese officials have repeatedly said no anti-China activity will be allowed as they seek to preserve friendly ties with their giant northern neighbour.
The country is home to about 20,000 exiled Tibetans who began arriving in large numbers in 1959 after the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, fled Tibet following a failed uprising against the Chinese. Nepalese police have arrested at least 1,100 Tibetans protesting near Chinese embassy buildings in Kathmandu, in advance of the openin... more -
Myanmar crackdown remembered
The people of Myanmar are marking exactly 20 years since a military crackdown on a student-led democracy uprising left an estimated 3,000 dead.
But after last year's large-scale rallies that were also brutally crushed, the ruling generals were taking no chances on Friday and the only protests were likely to be outside the country.
Extra police and government supporters that critics call thugs, have been stationed at strategic points and Buddhist monasteries around Yangon, the country's biggest city.
Most of the surviving leaders of the seven-month long 1988 uprising - the biggest challenge to army rule stretching back to 1962 - were arrested last August at the start of fuel-price protests that grew into anti-government demonstrations.
They remain behind bars along with an estimated 1,100 political prisoners.
Protests
Outside the South-East Asian nation, however, human rights groups and activists who fled the crackdown on the 1988 protests planned demonstrations at Myanmar and Chinese embassies.
The latter are being targeted on what is also the opening day of the Beijing Olympics because of China's commercial and diplomatic ties to the generals, gate-keepers of Myanmar's plentiful reserves of natural gas and other resources.
But protests were likely to be muted in Singapore, which has also been accused of supporting Myanmar's military government for business opportunities.
Myo Myint Maung, a Myanmar national, said at least three activists who were involved in an illegal protest last year against Myanmar's military government, had been forced to leave Singapore after their visas were not renewed.
A Singapore interior ministry spokeswoman said "foreigners who work or live here are expected to at least respect the law and local sensitivities".
On Thursday, George Bush, the US president, used a visit to neighbouring Thailand, home to more than 100,000 Myanmar refugees and more than a million migrant workers, to call again for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader and Nobel laureate.
"The American people care deeply about the people of Burma and dream for the day the people will be free," he told dissidents and former political prisoners at an hour-long lunch.
However, Bush also heard criticism of Washington's stance towards Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, for forcing the generals into isolation.
Aung Naing Oo, a former student activist who fled for his life 20 years ago, said he asked Bush "to engage with the Burmese military".
"It's only Than Shwe and a few other generals who want to isolate Burma, so I told him engagement was very important," he said.
Cyclone devastation
Meanwhile, The Associated Press reported that conditions in Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta that was devastated by Cyclone Nargis in May, were far worse than the government and even the UN said.
Three months after a disaster that claimed nearly 140,000 lives, thousands of villagers are still getting little or nothing from their government or foreign aid groups, AP reported. The people of Myanmar are marking exactly 20 years since a military crackdown on a student-led democracy uprising left an estimated 3,... more -
Alternative Opening Ceremony
The Darfur Olympics is a protest to keep the spotlight on the people of Darfur during the Beijing Games. If you do not want to watch China glorify itself during the Games, we have created an alternative opening ceremony -- a one-minute celebration of Darfurian children. And, every day for the first week of the Games (August 9 to 16) we will show a new daily webcast report from Mia Farrow from a Darfurian refugee camp. Visit darfurolympics.org to take action and learn more. The Darfur Olympics is a protest to keep the spotlight on the people of Darfur during the Beijing Games. If you do not want to watch C... more
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Anti-War Protesters Freeze In Place
As 5:30 p.m. drew near yesterday, it was a busy, typical evening rush hour at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal in Manhattan.0807 03 1Until Elaine Brower blew her whistle, prompting close to 50 anti-war protesters scattered around the waiting lounge to freeze in place — and become the center of attention.
Activists, most of them clad in orange T-shirts reading “NO ATTACK ON IRAN” and some holding and wearing white and orange sheets with the same message, each “froze” for five minutes in front of dozens of ferry travelers.
After the silent message, they expressed their beliefs vocally, chanting, “No attack on Iran!” for two minues.
Those in the crowd waiting for the ferry applauded the group for speaking — and displaying — their position. Prior to the act, some even took white sheets from the activists to join in.
Then, minutes after the quick event, the doors opened for people to board the ferry, and the audience was gone.
Ms. Brower, whose 27-year-old son James is about to serve his third tour in Iraq as a U.S. Marine, used her hands to make peace gestures during the period of protester silence.
“It’s good. It makes a point. And it’s not illegal,” said Ms. Brower, who’s also a member of the National Steering Committee.
The anti-war activists hope their message gets people to reconsider the state of America and what can be done to better our society.
Rich Marini, a 33-year-old from Great Kills, said he previously participated in similar political protests at Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station. “It makes people think,” he said. “It’s not a thought they have on their commute home.”
St. George resident Sally Jones, 59, former chairwoman of Peace Action Staten Island and current chair of Peace Action New York State, said the creative action by the group should help people realize what’s going on.
“A lot of people are ready for more diplomacy and fewer attacks. Actually, no attacks,” said Ms. Jones, who participated in the protest. “Any kind of military action will have a negative effect on the economy.”
One woman who watched the protest offered her approval.
“I think they feel very strongly,” said Rebecca, 29, of Mariners Harbor, who said she’s not much of a fan of the current war in Iraq. “Too much money being wasted on this.”
Deanna Gorzynski, 50, of Bergen Country, N.J., who took part in what she called “political street theater,” has friends who have children serving overseas in the military.
“It was clear that we got their attention, and that was the idea,” she said.
When asked why she chose to participate, her response was simple: “Because I’m a human being,” she said. “This is a matter of life.” As 5:30 p.m. drew near yesterday, it was a busy, typical evening rush hour at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal in Manhattan.0807 03 1Until... more -
Plans to send elephant to Mexico stirs debate
"Zoo officials plan to send Jenny, who became the zoo's lone elephant when her companion died in May, to a drive-through wildlife park in Mexico because African elephants become unhappy when left alone. Activists call the idea terrible and say Jenny is a nervous 9,000-pounder who fears cars and would be miserable there.
"It would be inherently cruel to move her to Mexico," said Margaret Morin, who leads a group called Concerned Citizens for Jenny. "We've grown up with Jenny. She's our family. She deserves better than getting sent to a drive-through tourist attraction in Mexico."
The group and dozens of other activists gathered in front of the zoo last weekend to protest the possible move, which City Councilwoman Angela Hunt criticized this week in a commentary in The Dallas Morning News. They want Jenny to go to a much larger park in Tennessee.
Hunt said she's concerned because the Mexican facility is not subject to annual inspections and regulations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and because elephants in Mexico are not protected by the U.S. Animal Welfare Act." "Zoo officials plan to send Jenny, who became the zoo's lone elephant when her companion died in May, to a drive-through wil... more -
Candlelight Vigil Ahead of Beijing Olympics
Over 200 Falun Gong practitioners and supporters gathered outside the Chinese Consulate yesterday for a candlelight vigil for the thousands of Falun Gong practitioners arrested in China since December of last year.
According to the Falun Dafa Information Center (FDIC), 8,037 Falun Gong adherents from 29 provinces have been jailed, some for up to 2.5 years. The mass arrests are part of the Chinese Communist Party’s attempt to silent dissidents and those who the Community Party thinks might disrupt the “harmonious Olympics.”
Among the thousands jailed in China are the parents of New Yorker Shuangying Zhang.
“When they [the police] forced into my parents house, my mother asked them: ‘Why do you confiscate my property? What reason do you have?’”, said Zhang during the vigil. “They said, ‘Because you practice Falun Gong. There are no reasons, this reason is enough.’ So I think today’s police are so evil, we cultivate Falun Gong’s principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. How can that be a threat to the society?!” said Zhang.
Zhang added that after the Chinese Communist Party started to persecute Falun Gong she was worried for her parents’ safety.
Falun Gong adherents sit in meditation. (Edward Dai/The Epoch Times)
Falun Gong practitioner Jane Dai, whose husband was tortured to death by Chinese police for his belief in Falun Gong, attended the vigil with her 8-year-old daughter Fadu.
Holding a picture of all three family members, Dai told of her mourning process after her husband’s death.
“When I found out that my husband was killed, my hair turned white overnight,” said Dai. “When I look at my daughter, she reminds me of my husband. Through her, I can see my husband. I completely broke down; I locked myself at home and I didn’t want to see anyone else.”
Dai added that the Chinese Embassy refused to give her a visa to go back to China to collect the ashes of her husband.
About a week from the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, the vigil comes as a reminder that the Olympics hasn’t improved human rights, as Beijing promised, but rather has worsened them, especially for Falun Gong practitioners.
“A large percentage of people have already been sent to labor camps. The dozens currently filling Beijing’s detention centers are at grave risk of wrongful sentencing and torture,” said FDIC spokesperson Erping Zhang.
“It is now imperative that the international community leverage real pressure and stop these deplorable actions. The legacy of the 2008 Olympics must not be thousands of Chinese citizens languishing in labor camps.” Over 200 Falun Gong practitioners and supporters gathered outside the Chinese Consulate yesterday for a candlelight vigil for the thou... more -
Hannah's Socks
If you think one person can't make a difference, you'll be inspired by the story of six-year old Hannah Turner. After a visit to the Cherry Street Mission to serve food with her family one Thanksgiving day, Hannah was concerned about a man she saw who had no socks. Within two years time, Hannah's Socks became a full-fledged charity organization, distributing 1400 pairs of socks in NW Ohio, with plans to go nationwide. If you think one person can't make a difference, you'll be inspired by the story of six-year old Hannah Turner. After a visi... more
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