The beginnings of something positive in Sri Lanka (maybe). Accountability and transparency for human rights abuses is vital if the country is to have any chance of being respected again as a viable democracy. Right now, it’s a tawdry police state that tortures and murders with impunity: The Sunday Leader recently reported on a new,…
Showing all posts tagged human rights
The Catholic Church finds a link between the poor Pope and Jew hatred
Anti-Semitism is a hatred that tars all Jews for the actions of a few, a virulent strain of irrational ideology. There is utterly no comparison between anti-Semitism and reasonably demanding that the Catholic Church, an organisation that has spent decades hiding child rapists and torturers, finally takes responsibility for its actions. The Pope is complicit:…
Britain cares so deeply about human rights in Sri Lanka (it sells them weapons)
A clarifying fact that underscores the real killer in Sri Lanka: Britain licensed …£7 million worth of weapons and military equipment for export to Sri Lanka this year alone, it was revealed during a debate in Parliament Wednesday. The sum matches the amount of British aid provided in the wake of December 2004 tsunami. On…
Remembering Palestinians under their own occupation
When writing and thinking about Palestine under both Hamas and Fatah, never forget the gross human rights abuses under their rule (and yes, Fatah is backed, armed, trained, funded and inspired by the US): Last November, Muhammad Al Saba, 36, from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip was sentenced to death by hanging by a…
Taking from the rich and giving to the poor
This week the Robin Hood Tax campaign launches in Australia. Here’s the global campaign video: And the aim? The Robin Hood Tax is a tiny tax on banks, hedge funds and other finance institutions… that would raise billions to tackle poverty and climate change, at home and abroad. It can start as… low as 0.005 per cent…
When Israel locks up a journalist and throws away the key, feel like causing a storm?
A story that should shock us all and yet has received virtually no coverage across the world. If this kind of thing happens in Iran, it’s the sign of a brutal dictatorship. But in Israel? Israel has held a journalist under secret house arrest since last December based on allegations that during her military service…
Being an Iraqi in Lebanon
The Iraq war has produced nightmares for generations: When one mentions refugees in Lebanon, one usually thinks about the estimated 300,000 Palestinians who live here in appalling social and economic conditions. But an estimated 50,000 Iraqis have sought refuge in Lebanon in the last few years, most of them without legal status and in constant…
Do you really know how Arabs are treated in Israel proper?
Adalah is an Israeli organisation that focuses on legal rights for the country’s Arab minority. Its new short film, Targeted Citizen, highlights the inherent discrimination against non-Jews in Israel. The only democracy in the Middle East, indeed: Targeted Citizen – English from Adalah on Vimeo.
Christmas Island ”˜pressure cooker’ could explode after UN review
My following article appears in today’s edition of Crikey: Christmas Island is a “pressure cooker”, according to one recently-returned refugee advocate. And the situation will blow up completely if the federal government is allowed to deport asylum seekers back to strife-torn Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. As more boats arrive at the offshore immigration processing centre”‰—”‰and…
Being a Tamil Tiger does not preclude seeking asylum in the UK
A surprisingly progressive decision in Britain and a healthy precedent for other civil conflicts around the world: Members of a banned terrorist organisation can claim asylum in Britain, the Supreme Court has ruled. The court ruled that being a member of the Tamil Tigers, which has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the government,…