Amira Hass documents in Haaretz yet another atrocity committed by the IDF in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.
Showing all posts tagged human rights
We should support Bradley Manning part 8753
Land of the free? Earlier today Jane Hamsher and David House visited the Quantico Marine Corps Base to visit accused WikiLeaks leaker Bradley Manning and deliver a petition protesting the conditions of his confinement. David House is on Quantico’s visitation list, and both he and Jane have been there before. Before today’s visit, Jane called…
Engaging Palestinian doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish
Palestinian doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish is a disarming figure. Born in Gaza and living for years in Israel – he’s now in Canada with his children – his recent tour to United States unleashed a tirade of abuse by The Angry Arab (“he is not very bright” etc). After spending time with the Dr yesterday here…
Reporting the occupation; voices in Jaipur
Today I chaired a session here in Jaipur, India at the literature festival with three men who know something about war and conflict. Brit Rory Stewart, New Yorker’s Jon Lee Anderson and the Washington Post’s David Finkel. We faced a packed audience – hundreds in an outdoor tent with overflowing crowds hanging out as far…
Latest on Galle issues
Visa issues? Human rights a concern? Indian government ineptitude? Suffice to say, I’m very pleased that the statement we released this week that outlined the gross human rights abuses in Sri Lanka continues to resonate and launch a much-needed discussion worldwide (including here in Jaipur, India, where many people seem uncomfortable even hearing the compromises…
America doesn’t want to be on the side of democracy
So the US government is caught out lying about the supposed threat posed by Wikileaks. In many ways, the damage to Washington is more far-reaching. Maybe not in a practical sense but it’s image around the world. Suffice to say, it’s worsening. For example: Confidential US diplomatic cables from 2005 and 2006 released this week…
Orhan Pamuk refuses to visit Galle, Sri Lanka post statement
So this is getting big. Following a call by a handful of writers this week, including yours truly, to highlight the gross human rights abuses in Sri Lanka and the Galle Literary Festival’s relationship/relative silence about it, the story has truly taken off. Here’s the AFP story, Hindustan Times and Indian Express. And the big…
When racism isn’t seen as abnormal at all
The Middle East’s Glorious Only Democracy Inc: Three weeks after the publication of a petition calling on Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar to take action against racism spreading within schools and the general public, teachers told Ynet about the harsh reality they are forced to face daily. In one case, a 12th grade student of a…
Questioning Sri Lankan cultural events is right moral decision
Following the release this week of a major international statement calling on writers going to Sri Lanka’s Galle Literary Festival to understand the political ramifications of doing so, controversy has exploded. Here’s the Hindu newspaper: Organisers of the Galle Literary Festival have ridiculed attempts to portray the festival as one that legitimises repression and asserted…
Galle Literary Festival appeal to not ignore human rights
I was recently asked to sign the following statement about the upcoming Galle Literary Festival in Sri Lanka. I am honoured to appear in such company to highlight the ongoing abuses taking place in a supposedly terror-free country: Reporters Without Borders and Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS), a network of exiled Sri Lankan…