Francis Chartrand for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles: February 2009

Friday, February 20, 2009

South Darfur: MSF team returns to assist people affected by heavy fighting in Muhajariya, by Anne Humphreys

After four weeks of forced absence, a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team has been able to return to Muhajariya in South Darfur, Sudan, where an estimated 35,000 people have been affected by heavy fighting.

In mid-January, clashes between two rival rebel groups forced MSF to evacuate most of its medical team to Nyala, the regional capital, an estimated 80 kilometres away. During the first days of fighting the MSF base was completely destroyed by fire. The MSF clinic was untouched and has remained functional. MSF holds the respective rebel groups responsible for damage to MSF’s goods and premises, during the time those groups were in control of the town.

MSF has begun re-establishing full medical services. By the second day the team was back, the number of outpatients had already doubled. The international humanitarian organization plans to bring in more staff and to restore MSF clinics in the nearby areas of Labado and Um Shegeira.

MSF’s country director in Sudan, Reshma Adatia, currently in Muhajariya, says, “On arrival the newly installed Government of Sudan authorities in town welcomed the restart of our medical activities. We aim to have our services soon back to the same level as before we were forced to evacuate.”

In MSF’s absence people living in Muhajariya and its immediate surroundings have been directly affected by the violence. They were left without sufficient and urgently needed medical assistance and nutritional support. A small team of Sudanese MSF staff remained in Muhajariya and continued to provide basic services.

“It looks like more than half of the town has emptied. We do not exactly know where the people are, but we will try to follow up and assist where needed. It seems people fled rapidly into the harsh environment, with little or no time to assemble and carry provisions. We fear they urgently need assistance,” adds Adatia

Further north, MSF teams have seen an influx of newly displaced people. These people arrived at a camp around Al Fasher where MSF supports other organizations, giving medical assistance to the approximately 5,300 newly displaced people. Further south of Al Fashir, teams have distributed initial kits with basic non-food items to the roughly 1,000 people who had to leave behind all their belongings. As people continue to arrive in the region, MSF plans to continue distributions and to increase the provision of medical care.

Since July 2004, MSF has provided medical assistance in and around Muhajariya. In 2008 MSF provided more than 54,000 consultations in our inpatient and outpatient services, almost 6,500 women received maternity care and 300 babies have been delivered. The MSF nutrition program treated more than 1,000 children. In addition the team conducts mobile clinics in the nearby areas of Labado and Um Shegeira.

Around Al Fasher, North Darfur, MSF provides medical care to about 33,000 displaced people in the Shangil and Shadat camps and to surrounding villages.

Link

Labels: Anne Humphreys, Doctors Without Borders, Sudan

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 11:36 PM 0 Comments

Sri Lanka: MSF scaling up in camps, extra medical staff on stand-by, by Noémie Cournoyer

Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) is preparing to work in all 15 displaced persons camps in and around the city of Vavuniya in Sri Lanka. The camps are home to about 30,000 people who have fled violence in the Vanni, in the northern part of the country. MSF is already distributing food and other basic relief goods in 10 camps. In Vavuniya hospital, an MSF surgeon has operated on 144 patients, assisting a team of local surgeons.

Food supplements

In the past week, more than 2,500 people have received food supplements in the camps. MSF distributes rations of a corn-soya blend, sugar and oil and is focussing on children under five, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers. “People lived under dire conditions while still in the conflict zone, with little food for days on end. Now that they’re in a safer area, we need to give extra food to those people who need it most. These food supplements add an extra 500 calories to their daily diet, which does matter a lot in their situation,” explains MSF head of mission Annemarie Loof.

MSF is helping destitute families in immediate need of basic household and hygiene items. Most people left everything behind in the Vanni, having had to move every couple of days before they could cross the frontline into government-controlled territory.

More medical staff on stand-by

For the moment, the Ministry of Health provides medical care in the camps. To this end, the government has seconded doctors from several health facilities. However, this is a temporary solution only, putting pressure on other health structures. MSF has two doctors and two nurses ready to work in mobile clinics in the camps if more people arrive or in case the Ministry of Health requests further assistance.

144 surgeries in one week

In Vavuniya hospital, the main facility for emergency treatment in the area, 144 people were operated on last week. 107 of these patients needed surgery as a result of injuries sustained during the violence. An MSF surgeon is operating alongside two Sri Lankan counterparts working for the Ministry of Health. MSF is looking into supporting the Ministry of Health with an anesthesiologist and other medical staff. MSF also provided the hospital with 100 mattresses and bed linen, anticipating a new influx of patients.

Less people leaving conflict zone

Whereas the past two weeks saw an increase in civilians who managed to escape the conflict, their number has slowed down considerably in the last couple of days. MSF continues to seek urgent access to the 200,000 people in the Vanni, and urges both parties to the conflict to do their utmost to ensure the safety of civilians who remain trapped in the fighting.

Link

Labels: Doctors Without Borders, Noémie Cournoyer, Sri Lanka

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 11:28 PM 0 Comments

The Rachel Maddow Show, February 19

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Labels: Rachel Maddow

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 10:58 PM 0 Comments

Countdown with Keith Olbermann, February 19

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29254566/

Labels: Keith Olbermann, Obama

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 10:55 PM 0 Comments

Thursday, February 19, 2009

No to national censorship council, by Francis Chartrand

As if Barbara Hall's own crude, broadsword agency were not destructive enough of free speech rights, now the Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) wants a national press council to further chill free expression in the media. And she is not looking just to curtail newspapers, talk radio and television news. Ms. Hall wants any new press council to have jurisdiction over Internet sites and blogs, too.

Of course, using the typically topsy-turvy logic of most modern rights crusaders, Ms. Hall has convinced herself that this thinly veiled censorship board would actually be the ultimate free speech defender. She seems to think the best way to preserve free speech is to limit it.

In a report to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, Ms. Hall's OHRC recommends a national media watchdog to which all publishers, webmasters and radio and television producers would be forced to belong.

The OHRC insists such a body need not "cross the line into censorship," but it is hard to see how it could avoid it. As conceived by Ms. Hall and her activist cocommissioners, a national press council would have the power to accept complaints of discrimination -- "particularly from vulnerable groups" --against any member paper, station or Web site. And while the council, at least initially, would have no power to prevent media outlets from printing, posting or broadcasting what they wished, it could force them to carry the council's decisions, including counterarguments made by complainants.

It's hard not to view these recommendations as a direct response to the OHRC's frustration with its own inability to persecute Maclean's magazine and columnist Mark Steyn for what the commission viewed as the pair's "Islamophobic" views. Last April, the OHRC was forced to drop its investigation of columns and news stories carried by Maclean's because the legislation governing the commission did not give it authority to investigate published work.

Nonetheless, Ms. Hall left no doubt that she sided with the Canadian Islamic Congress and a group of Muslim university students who felt Maclean's discriminated against their faith. Despite having held no hearing, nor hearing any testimony from the magazine or Mr. Steyn, Ms. Hall and the OHRC nonetheless felt justified in concluding that both parties engaged in journalism that was "inconsistent with the spirit" of the Ontario Human Rights Code and which did "serious harm" to Canadian society by "promoting societal intolerance" and disseminating "destructive, xenophobic opinions."

Ominously, at the time, Ms. Hall also stated that all journalists should put their writings through a "human rights filter" before publication. Because she was not able to force such a filter on Maclean's, her current proposal for a national press council is almost certainly an attempt to make such a filter mandatory, in law.

"Media has a responsibility to engage in fair and unbiased journalism," Ms. Hall has said previously. But because no one has god-like powers to discern accurately what is "fair" and "unbiased," then no one -- not even the chief commissioner -- is qualified to sit in judgment of which articles and opinions meet those criteria and which do not. Most people's interpretation of fair and unbiased reporting corresponds very closely with their own opinions on the subject at issue, and Barbara Hall is no different. She has been granted no special powers not given to other mortals to divine the truth; therefore, neither she nor any other pompous purveyor of social concern has the ability to judge which speech should be free and which not.

"Free societies should not be in the business of criminalizing opinion," Mr. Steyn, told members of Ontario's standing committee on government agencies this week. "When you go down that road, all you do is lead to the situation that you have in, say, Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, you can't start a newspaper and print what you think, so if you object to the House of Saud, the only thing you can do is blow stuff up."

Similarly, making all writers, bloggers and broadcasters hostage to a national press council is merely the first step toward letting the Barbara Halls of the world decide what you get to hear, see and read. To that, we say: "No, thanks." And so should every newspaper reader, Web surfer and television viewer in the land.

Link Link

Labels: Francis Chartrand, Freedom of expression

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 7:57 PM 0 Comments

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Solutions for the extension of commuter trains around Edmonton - LRT

Fort Saskatchewan
Victoria Trail
Clareview
Belvedere
Coliseum
Stadium
Churchill
Central
Bay
Corona
Grandin
University
Health Sciences
McKernan/Belgravia
South Campus
Southgate
Greenfield/Duggan/37th Avenue
Century Park
Twin Brooks
Blackburn Creek
Southbrook
Airport
50th Ave
Leduc

Giroux
McKenney
Sturgeon River
Levasseur
Saint Albert Trail
Prince Charles
Prince Rupert
Oliver Square
Corona
Bay
Central
Cloverdale
Bonnie Doon
Avonmore/73rd Avenue
51st Avenue/Roper Road
Milbourne
Mill Woods

West Edmonton Mall
Meadowlark
Parkview
Crestwood
Stony Plain
102nd Avenue/136th Street
Groat Road
Corona
Bay
Central
Cloverdale
75th Street
Capilano
Imperial Oil
Petro Canada
Millshaven
Sherwood Park
Nottingham
Heritage Hills/Baseline

Labels: Alberta, Canada, Edmonton, Public transport

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 9:02 AM 0 Comments

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Solutions for the extension of commuter trains around Calgary - C Train

Rocky Ridge/Tuscany
Centennial
Ranchview
Dalhousie
Northland
Brentwood
University
Banff Trail
Lions Park
SAIT/ACAD/Jubilee
Sunnyside
8th Street SW
7th Street SW
6th Street SW
4th Street SW
3rd Street SW
1st Streert SW
Centre Street
Olympic Plaza
City Hall
Victoria Park/Stampede
Erlton/Stampede
39th Avenue
Chinook
Heritage
Southland
Anderson
Canyon Meadows
Fish Creek-Lacombe
Shawnessey
Somerset/Bridlewood
Chaparral
Cranston

Taradale
Saddletowne
Martindale
McKnight-Westwinds
Whitehorn
Rundle
Malborough
Franklin
Barlow/Max Bell
Zoo
Bridgeland/Memorial
3rd Street SE
City Hall
Olympic Plaza
Centre Street
1st Street SW
3rd Street SW
4th Street SW
6th Street SW
7th Street SW
8th Street SW
10th Street SW
16th Street SW
26th Street SW
37th Street SW
45th Street SW
Signal Hill
69th Street SW

Labels: Alberta, Calgary, Canada, Public transport

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 11:43 PM 0 Comments

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Blasphemer, and proud of it, by Francis Chartrand

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

Introduction

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is related to a Christian doctrine that all sin can be forgiven by God with the exception of words uttered against the Holy Spirit. The basis of this doctrine is strange in Matthew 12:32. While Jesus attends to hunt demons, the Pharisees say that it is itself a henchman of Satan. Jesus replied that many details will be insulted in this way, but the supernatural action should not be blasphémée:

"Those who speak against the Son of man, he will be forgiven, but anyone speak against the Holy Spirit, he or she will be forgiven either in this century or in the next century." (Mat. 12:32)

It is thus faced with an obvious contradiction: Jesus is supposed to forgive all sins, but now he can not forgive the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Christians generally streamline passage by saying that blasphemy means in this case the total and irreversible rejection of the Gospel, forgiveness of Christ so.

Verse 32 is clear. These are the words that constitute blasphemy ( "anyone speak against the Holy Spirit").

Exercise of blasphemy

We always try to address every argument with a minimum of respect. However, it is also important for the Advancement of Truth (tm), to make the occasion a little thought experiment. For example, blaspheme and see what happens.

To participate in the experiment, read this aloud:

For I, reader of this text, said freely and in full possession of all my mental faculties, the Holy Spirit is cursed.

The Holy Spirit, vulgar pigeon magnet knocked virgins, only Santa Claus and the tooth fairy as rivals at the top of the most delusional of the human imagination. Down the Holy Spirit, front cheap attempt to justify the alleged miracles of a supposed messiah. May this blasphemy to me, reader of this text, the damned of the wicked.

Fucking Holy Spirit, non-existing entity and absurd, by far the most ludicrous dogma of Christianity, if not the existence of the Trinity itself. Cursed be the Holy Spirit, cursed is the Holy Spirit, cursed is the Holy Spirit.

Note: dated 19 January 2009, there are no bears came to eat or chasm opened beneath my feet.

Update: as of 12 February 2009, there is no Holy Spirit, who invited me to discuss his existantiality in a topless bar, there was no Madonna or Holy Virgin of 13 years old who try to convince me by sucking penis, Jesus did not give me shit coming at me trying to prover me that "his father is stronger than mine ", my boss at the store did not fuck a crucifix in me ass, and half the girls at the store does not always suck, so God exists, fuckers!

Link

Labels: Creationism, Francis Chartrand

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 2:26 PM 0 Comments

“Tunisia, the courage to inform the public”: Reporters Without Borders meets journalists living under high-level surveillance, by Francis Chartrand

One week after an appeal court upheld a six-year jail sentence against independent journalist Fahem Boukadous, Reporters Without Borders today releases a report showing how independent Tunisian media find it impossible to freely and peacefully do its job of informing the public.

The report, entitled “Tunisia, the courage to inform the public”, follows an on-the-spot investigation in November 2008 in which a delegation from the worldwide press freedom organisation met independent journalists who continue to work despite the relentless pressure from the Tunisian security forces.

Reporters Without Borders also examines the way in which the Tunisian president uses the opposition press as “an ornament” of a bogus pluralism. Journalist Fahem Boukadous’s coverage of social unrest in Gafsa amounted to a negation of this effort and a historic challenge to the authorities’ determination to impose a total blackout on news about the disturbances there. Faced with these problems, some voices continue, despite everything, to condemn the Tunisian regime’s security and totalitarian abuses, accepting the gamble of news-gathering and putting themselves at risk of loss of liberty or of a peaceful life.

Reporters Without Borders ranked Tunisia 143rd out of 173 countries in its world press freedom index for 2008.

Download the report “Tunisia, the courage to inform the public”:

Report

Link

Français

Labels: Francis Chartrand, Reporters without borders, Tunisia

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 11:00 AM 0 Comments

UN: Press Senegal on Habré Trial, by Noémie Cournoyer

(Geneva) – The United Nations Human Rights Council should ask Senegal to move forward on the trial of the exiled former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré, five African and international human rights groups said today. On February 6, 2009, the council will examine Senegal’s human rights record as part of its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) procedure.

Habré, accused of mass atrocities during his 1982-1990 rule, has been living in Senegal since 1990. A Senegalese court indicted him in 2000, but higher courts blocked the prosecution. Belgium sought his extradition in 2005 to put him on trial, but Senegal refused. In May 2006, the United Nations Committee Against Torture found that Senegal had violated the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and called on Senegal to prosecute or extradite Habré.

In 2006, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade accepted an African Union mandate to prosecute Habré in Senegal “on behalf of Africa.” But Senegal has not even begun the legal proceedings, said the Chadian Association for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (ATPDH), the Chadian Association of Victims of Political Repression and Crime (AVCRP), the African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights (RADDHO), Human Rights Watch, and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).

“Senegal has mocked us for 18 years and now it is mocking the United Nations,” said Souleymane Guengueng, founder of the Chadian Association of Victims of Political Repression and Crime, and the lead petitioner in the case that led to the UN ruling. “The Human Rights Council needs to tell Senegal to comply with the UN ruling and bring Habré to justice.”

On September 16, 2008, 14 victims filed new complaints with a Senegalese prosecutor accusing Habré of crimes against humanity and torture, in an attempt to get the case started, but the Senegalese authorities have refused to act on the complaints. In November 2008, the Committee Against Torture met with the Senegalese ambassador in Geneva to express its frustration that Senegal had not complied with its ruling.

Senegal has said that it will not move forward until it receives full international funding for all the costs of the trial, which Senegal puts at €27.4 million over three years, including €8 million to reconstruct a courthouse. The rights groups noted that the European Commission, Chad, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands have already agreed to help fund the trial, but are still waiting for Senegal to present a detailed budget, and that the normal procedure is to fund such trials year by year.

“It’s not the money that is lacking for Hissène Habré’s trial, but Senegal’s political will,” said Dobian Assingar, a Chadian activist with the FIDH.

“For my country to say that it won’t start proceedings until it gets three-years of funding upfront seems a lot like blackmail,” said Alioune Tine, president of the Dakar-based RADDHO.

The Universal Periodic Review is the Human Rights Council’s most innovative and ambitious instrument, with reviews of the human rights situations in all 192 UN member states over a four-year cycle. The February 6 review will be Senegal’s first.

In its May 2006 ruling in the case Guengueng v. Senegal, the UN committee found that Senegal had violated the Convention against Torture twice, first by failing to prosecute Habré when the victims first filed their case in 2000, and then by failing to prosecute or extradite him when Belgium filed an extradition request in September 2005. The committee ruled that Senegal was “obliged to submit the present case to its competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution.” Failing that, it said, it should comply with Belgium’s extradition request, or with any other extradition request made by another country in accordance with the convention.

Background

Hissène Habré ruled Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990 by President Idriss Déby Itno and fled to Senegal. His one-party regime was marked by widespread atrocities, including waves of campaigns against ethnic minorities. Files of Habré’s political police, the DDS (Direction de la Documentation et de la Sécurité), which were discovered by Human Rights Watch in 2001, reveal the names of 1,208 persons who were killed or died in detention. A total of 12,321 victims of human rights violations were mentioned in the files.

Habré was first indicted in Senegal in 2000, but then its courts ruled that he could not be tried there. His victims then turned to Belgium and, after a four-year investigation, a Belgian judge in September 2005 charged Habré with crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture.

After Belgium made its extradition request, Senegalese authorities arrested Habré, in November 2005, but did not extradite him. The Senegalese government then asked the African Union to recommend how to try Habré. On July 2, 2006, the African Union, following the recommendation of a Committee of Eminent African Jurists, called on Senegal to prosecute Habré “in the name of Africa,” and President Wade said that it would.

Senegal has amended its laws and constitution to allow its courts to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, torture, and war crimes committed in the past. At the same time, however, it has appointed the former coordinator of Habré’s legal defense team, Madické Niang, as minister of justice – the government official heading the agency responsible for the organization of the trial.

Link

Labels: Human Rights Watch, Noémie Cournoyer, Senegal, UN

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 10:48 AM 0 Comments

China: Human Rights Lawyer in Arbitrary Detention, by Anne Humphreys

(New York) – The Chinese government should immediately disclose the whereabouts of Gao Zhisheng, a leading human rights lawyer who disappeared two weeks ago, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Human Rights in China said today in a joint statement. The three organizations stressed that Gao was at immediate risk of severe torture and ill-treatment by the Chinese security services and called for his immediate release.

“We are intensely fearful for Gao Zhisheng’s safety at this time, given the security authorities’ long history of abusing him and his family,” said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “He has given detailed accounts of how he was tortured in police custody in the past and he may well be suffering more of the same right now.”

Lawyer Gao, who had been under constant police surveillance, along with his family, since receiving a suspended sentence for “inciting subversion” in 2006, was last heard from on January 19, 2009. According to reliable sources, he was subsequently detained by security forces and is being held at an unknown location.

“On February 9, the Chinese government will undergo a comprehensive review of its human rights record at the UN Human Rights Council,” said Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China. “Coming close on the heels of the scathing review by the Committee Against Torture in November 2008, arbitrarily detaining and torturing a leading rights advocate is no way to show human rights progress.”

In September 2007, Gao was detained for several weeks shortly after sending an open letter to the US Congress denouncing the human rights situation in China and describing his and his family’s treatment at the hands of the security forces.

Gao detailed his illegal detention in 2007 as well as severe and sustained torture at the hands of security agents – including violent beatings, repeated electric shocks to his genitals, and having lit cigarettes held close to his eyes over a prolonged period, which left him partially blind for days afterwards. After he was released, acquaintances described him as seeming to be “a broken man,” both physically and spiritually.

“China should immediately release Gao Zhisheng,” said Roseann Rife, Asia-Pacific deputy director at Amnesty International. “China should demonstrate that its takes its international obligations seriously, in this case specifically the obligations under the convention against torture, which the Chinese government voluntarily took on in 1988.”

In November 2008, the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) reported in its “Concluding Observations” on China that it remains “deeply concerned about the continued allegations, corroborated by numerous Chinese legal sources, of routine and widespread use of torture and ill-treatment of suspects in police custody.”

Amnesty International, Human Rights in China and Human Rights Watch strongly urged concerned governments and intergovernmental bodies to call on the Chinese government to take all necessary steps to ensure Gao Zhisheng's safety and well being while in police custody and to release him at the earliest possible date.

Voted in 2001 as “one of China’s top ten lawyers” by a publication run by the PRC Ministry of Justice, Gao is a self-trained legal professional with a history of representing the victims of some of the most egregious and politically controversial cases of human rights abuses by the police and other government agencies. In October 2005, he wrote a series of three letters to President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao calling on them to halt the continuing torture and ill-treatment of detained Falun Gong practitioners and the ongoing persecution of underground Christians and democracy activists.

After his 2007 detention, Gao expressed fears that he would be tortured again if he was rearrested.

In June 2007, Gao received the Courageous Advocacy Award of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). His memoirs, A China More Just, were published in English the same year.

Link

Labels: Anne Humphreys, China, Human rights, Human Rights Watch

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 9:10 AM 0 Comments

DR Congo: Groups Fear for Civilian Safety, by Marie-Êve Marineau

(Goma) - A coalition of 100 humanitarian and human rights organizations today called on John Holmes, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, to insist that protecting civilians be a top priority of the joint Congolese and Rwandan military operation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Holmes is due to arrive in Goma, the North Kivu capital, on February 7, 2009.

In a public letter to Holmes, the Congo Advocacy Coalition expressed alarm that the joint military operation has to date contributed to the flight of thousands of people from their homes in anticipation of violence, adding to the 1.2 million already displaced in earlier waves of fighting. The coalition further raised concerns about reprisal killings and the use of civilians as human shields by the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), as well as reports of rape and looting by all sides.

"Congolese civilians are always targeted when there are military operations and their fears of being killed, raped, or looted are very real," said Juliette Prodhan of Oxfam. "The Congolese and Rwandan forces and UN peacekeepers should do all that they can to ensure that civilians are protected during the joint operations and are not once again the targets."

On January 20, 2009, the Congolese and Rwandan governments began a joint military operation against the FDLR, an armed group based in eastern Congo, some of whose leaders are wanted on charges of genocide. While there have only been a few skirmishes so far, there is widespread anticipation that the fighting could intensify and spread in the coming days and weeks.

The coalition warned against a repeat of the unimaginable brutality suffered by Congolese civilians in Haut-Uele territory in northeastern Congo following the launch of a joint Ugandan and Congolese military operation to disarm the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan rebel group based in Congo. More than 700 people were massacred by the rebels in less than one month. Minimal protection measures had been put in place to protect those at risk and to halt the killings.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUC, has a strong mandate to protect civilians but has been left out of military planning in both joint operations, in the Kivus and Haut-Uele. It is also still awaiting 3,000 reinforcements authorized almost three months ago. In its letter, the Congo Advocacy Coalition urged Holmes to insist that the peacekeeping mission be given a central role in civilian protection and relief in planning all military operations and that the mission has the resources it needs, as mandated by the UN Security Council, in order to effectively protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access.

The coalition also called on Holmes to urge parties to resume the political process needed to address the underlying issues driving the Congo conflict, such as exploitation of mineral wealth, lack of justice, and representation of minorities.

"All of the armed groups need to disarm," said Kubuya Muhangi, the president of CRONGD-North Kivu. "People in eastern Congo desperately want to go back to their homes and to be able to stay there without fear of having to run again."

The Congo Advocacy Coalition, made up of local and international nongovernmental organizations, was established in July 2008 to advocate for greater protection of civilians and respect for human rights in eastern Congo. Members of the coalition's steering committee include: ActionAid, ENOUGH Project, Human Rights Watch, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Oxfam, Conseil Régional des Organisations Non Gouvernementales de Développement (CRONGD) - North Kivu, Promotion et Appui aux Initiatives Féminines (PAIF) - North Kivu, Institut Congolaise pour la Justice et la Paix (ICJP) - South Kivu, and Association des Femmes Juristes du Congo (AFEJUCO) - South Kivu.

Other Signatories:

International NGOs:

Action Against Hunger/ Action Contre la Faim (ACF) - USA, American Bar Association (ABA) Rule of Law Initiative in DRC, Beati i costruttori di pace/ Blessed are the Peacemakers , CAFOD, CARE International, Centre Lokole/ Search for Common Ground, Global Witness, International Emergency and Development Aid (IEDA) Relief, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Great Lakes, Refugees International, Tearfund, Trocaire, War Child Holland

Congolese NGOs:

ACAEFAD, Action by Christians Against Torture (ACAT)/Sud Kivu, ACPS, Action des Chrétiens Activistes des Droits de l'Homme a Shabunda (ACADHOSHA), ADECOF/Sud Kivu, AFCD, AFCDI, AFECEF, AJERF, Africa Justice Peace and Development (AJPD), ALCM, AMALDEFEA, AMI-KIVU, ANAMEDAPED, APIBA, APRODEPED, ASADHO (Association africaine de défense des droits de l'homme) - Sud Kivu, ASALAK, Action Sociale pour la Paix et le Développement (ASPD), Association pour le Développement des Initiatives Paysannes (ASSODIP), AYINET/DRC, BDENA, Blessed Aid, CADRE, Collectif des Associations des Femmes Pour le Développement (CAFED), Campagne Pour la Paix (CPP), CCJT, CEDAC, CELPA/SK, Centre d'Appui pour le Développement Rural Communautaire (CADERCO), Centre de Recherche sur l'Environnement, la Démocratie et les Droits de l'Homme (CREDDHO), Centre de promotion socio-sanitaire (CEPROSSAN), Centre d'Etudes et de Recherche en Education de Base pour le Développement Integré (CEREBA), Coalition RDC pour la Cour Pénale Internationale (CPI), Collectif des Organisations des Jeunes Solidaires du Congo (COJESKI)/Sud Kivu, Collectif des Organisations des Jeunes Solidaires du Congo (COJESKI)/ Nord Kivu, COPARE, CUBAKA, DYJESKI, EFD, Encadrement des femmes indigènes et des ménages vulnérables (EFIM), Entraide des Femmes pour les Déshérités (EFD) - Uvira Sud -Kivu, Foyer Social de Mogo (FSM/Kabare), GAIDER, GAMAC, GRAM-Kivu, Group d'Etudes et d'Actions Pour un Développement Bien Défini (GEAD) /Nord-Kivu, Groupe de Voix de Sans Voix (GVSV), Groupe Féminine, HEAL Africa, Héritiers de la Justice, Humanitas, IGE/CCD, La Synergie des femmes pour les victimes des violences sexuelles (SFVS), Mamans Umoja, Martin Luther King Non-Violence Group, OCET, PAL, PAMI, Perspectives "Monde Juste", PIDP-Kivu, PRENAO, PRODES, Promotion de la Démocratie et Protection des Droits Humains (PDH), RADHOSKI-Sud Kivu, Réseau Provincial des ONG de Droits de l'Homme (REPRODHOC)/Nord-Kivu, RFDP, SAMS, SARCAF, SILDE, SJPR/EST, Solidarité pour la Promotion Sociale et la Paix (SOPROP), SYNECAT, UCODE, UPADERI, VOVOLIB (Voix de Sans Voix ni Libertés)

Link

Labels: Congo, Human rights, Human Rights Watch, Marie-Êve Marineau

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 9:00 AM 0 Comments

Salman Rushdie, the fatwa and the cowardice of the elite, by Helios d'Alexandrie

I would like to thank Annie Lessard, Marc Lebuis available for visitors to Point de Bascule in depth interview of Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. I could not help but to think of watching it at the risk that he took public in expressing his vision of things. Men hunted and threatened with death, it was long. Although Khomeini's fatwa weighs as much as before, the murderous rage which he is the object remains strong, as evidenced by the manifestations of hatred that greeted his ennoblement by the Queen of England.

With hindsight, it is possible to measure the effects of the fatwa, a veritable sword of Damocles hanging over his head, but also above the head of all the thinkers and writers about Islam. This is the first time in history that a threat to one writer has been felt by all others as if it was addressed personally.

Few were those who from the outset, have approached the long-term consequences of the fatwa. This fear of causing offense, or rather the fear of being punished with death for having offended Islam, has not only lent a hand to political correctness, but it was also internalized by the majority of decision makers in democracies. It is the battered woman syndrome who accuses herself her violent husband. Theo Van Gogh to Geert Wilders through the Danish cartoonists and Benedict XVI, the reaction of the media, politicians and elites was predominantly reproving those who dare to criticize Islam, not that the criticism is unjustified, but because Islam is not critical for fear of consequences.

The role of fear should not be underestimated. This is not respect for the religions that is a barrier to criticism. If so, which denigrate Christianity and the Church are subject to dry up. We observe exactly the opposite. As for compensation, not daring to criticize Islam or Muslims, it multiplies the attacks against all that is Christian.

Practical consequence of these developments, the anger of Muslims was justified and the right to criticize Islam has been de facto abolished. Now, those who dare to exercise that right are subject to stigma or to prosecution for incitement to hatred. It was possible to realize in the case of the Mohammed cartoons. The vast majority of newspapers in Europe and North America had practiced self-censorship and have not published, and the few publications that have violated the bans have been prosecuted.

One can safely argue that history provides no example of a phenomenon equivalent. In the thirties, the fear of the Nazis and the war pushed the democracies on the path of appeasement. However, the criticism against Nazism have continued in these countries until the occupation by the German armies. Contrary to German fascism, Islamic fascism is remote. It raises the fear is internalized, it now determines the behavior of people, it turns them into bonded employees, it makes them dhimmis.

Cowardice is the deliberate choice of fear as motivation. This choice can not be done without shame and bad conscience, and that is why these feelings are repressed and covered by compensation for moral principles. Cowards come to accept and promote unacceptable on behalf of the entity; this is called the inversion of values. As luck would have it, Islamic fascism provides a substantial moral arguments they need: the rejection of racism and "Islamophobia", "freedom" to practice their religion, the right not to be " offended "and not to perform tasks against their religious beliefs.

Out of respect for these "principles" and in the name of "openness" and "living together", the increasing pervasiveness of religion in public space, the full veil, gender discrimination, polygamy, domestic violence, hate sermons in mosques, the praise of terrorism, an anti, anti-Semitism, contempt and rejection of the host society, are increasingly tolerated as to be part of normality.

In Quebec, the event Hérouxville was extremely traumatic for the elite. The quiet courage of the citizens and elected officials of this small rural municipality in all likelihood is up to the surface feelings of shame and bad conscience as well-meaning elite carefully repressed. They have space for a moment aware of their cowardice. It was more than they could bear, it was necessary to stigmatize any price Hérouxville, denigrate its citizens, dragged in the mud, shaming, and breathe the bad conscience in the minds of Quebecers. The aggressiveness and relentlessness whose elites have evidence against Hérouxville is an index that does not deceive the psychological distress that has hit on this occasion.

"I fear more the cowardice of the Western Islamist violence!" This statement of Ibn Warraq is instructive, is a writer who sets out to lift the veil that covers Islam and countless ugly. Like Salman Rushdie, he is tracked down and his head is a price. He provided his reasons to fear the dagger of the assassins, however he sees the cowardice of Western elites as a greater danger.

And he is right. In the Netherlands, political leaders have the same aggressive attitude with respect to Geert Wilders that the elites of Quebec in respect of Hérouxville. The courage of some is unbearable to the cowardice of others, so those who show courage must be absolutely destroyed. It is as if the leaders of the Netherlands Theo Van Gogh murdered a second time. Like Van Gogh said, Islamists have died laughing, they need not lift a finger, the cowards do all the work!

Twenty years ago Khomeini issued his fatwa against Salman Ruhsdie. He knew when he inoculated virus cowardice in the minds of Western elites? Perhaps the fatwa was only reactivate and make it more virulent virus already in place. Since the advent of Nazism in the thirties, the fatwa has set in motion a process of concession and appeasement to avoid confrontation, but it is expected that as in the thirties, the same causes will produce the same effects.

Link

Labels: Canada, Fatwa, Helios d'Alexandrie, Islam, Netherlands, Religion and fanaticism, Salman Rushdie

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 8:39 AM 0 Comments

Monday, February 09, 2009

Interventions Ottawa against Islamic extremism, by Francis Chartrand

The government has resorted to "techniques against-radicalization" to keep Canadian Muslims of extremism, according to a secret intelligence report obtained by the National Post.

The document describes a little-known government-wide strategy aimed at preventing the emergence in Canada to emulate Al Qaeda as those who attacked the London Underground.

The measures described in the report range from meetings with community and religious leaders to urge them to fight against radicalization, to more controversial interventions by police and security officials.

According to the early report of 13 pages of the Canadian Security Intelligence Review: "Manifestations of Islamist terrorism in the West in recent years have raised concerns about the radicalization of Western Muslims."

"The terrorist plots in the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada and other Western countries have been planned or carried out by Muslims born or raised in these countries .... In an effort to prevent future attacks, the response of governments has been to begin to develop strategies to fight against radicalization in these communities."

In general, Canadian authorities have not discussed their initiatives in the fight against radicalization, and there is no obvious indication of this strategy on the official website of the government.

The report lists four techniques against radicalization-employed in Canada:
"Intervention with youth at risk", "arrests and imprisonment," the community closer, "and a" whole of government approach ".

"An important evaluation criterion is universally accepted that people in the early stages of radicalization are more likely to change or to divert those who are at an advanced stage," says the report.

"If beginners are still assessing their interest in joining a group or an ideology, the intervention should, in theory, towards a less dangerous way."

Canada won its first two convictions under the Terrorism Act last fall. A member of the group is called the cell of 18 Toronto and Momin Khawaja of Ottawa were convicted. Khawaja of the sentence to be imposed on 12 February.

Although Canadian authorities have now made several arrests, the government has revealed little about its efforts to fight against extremist beliefs that are the cause of terrorism.

The document offers a rare glimpse of Canada's initiative, while recognizing that it is too early to say if it was successful. The report also recognizes that Ottawa does not involved in the de-radicalization of extremists today described as comparable to the deprogramming members of cults.

Community mobilization is the most notorious of the program. The RCMP, CSIS and other agencies met with community groups to discuss radicalization.

The report states that the goal of bringing community is "to encourage community leaders and religious leaders to take steps to monitor and counter the process of radicalization within their communities."

A tactic less known is that the report calls "disruption / intervention" and he describes as "the active intervention of a security agency or law enforcement, with other partners with a individuals whose activities are a source of concern."

The tactics include interviews with young people identified as being at risk and, occasionally, discussions with their family or their relatives, and, on occasion, evidence of activities deemed harmful to national security are presented to the person, "says the report.

The report said it takes time to determine whether an intervention has worked.

According to the report, "Success is difficult to measure since the initial disturbance can cause a person to cease its activities for a while. Only long-term that we can determine whether the cessation of involvement in Islamist extremism is permanent."

The report did not indicate how often the tactic is used. The Department of Public Safety has acknowledged that he was involved in community mobilization and research on radicalization, but refused to discuss the use of tactical intervention. Jacinthe Perras, spokesman for the ministry, said: "It would be inappropriate to discuss the operational techniques of our partners."

The document, dated December 2007, was drafted by the Directorate of Intelligence Assessment of CSIS. A declassified copy was recently made accessible under the Access to Information.

Although only a small minority of Muslims are attracted by the violent ideology of al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden, CSIS speaks of a "serious problem" and a "direct and immediate threat to Canada."

"There is a process of radicalization of young people and young children in Canada who is currently," says another CSIS report newly released. This report from 2008 is entitled "The radicalization of Islamic youth in Canada echoes."

A third intelligence report, "Radicalization in Canada," notes that in a 2007 Environics poll on Canadian Muslims, 12% of respondents said they believe that terrorist attacks against Canada were justified.

"If the factors behind the radicalization does not improve, including the perception that Islam is attacked, it is expected that the radical, and hence the need for countermeasures against, will increase."

Jack Hooper, who was the deputy director of the Department of CSIS operations until his retirement in 2007, said that there have been debates within the intelligence service on the fight against radicalization. The debate revolved around whether the Service was mandated to carry out against radical-if it was an efficient use of resources and even if it was an appropriate role for the organization.

"I can not believe that most Canadians would like spies go to communities and try to change behavior," said Hooper.

"It disgusts me and I think that would be repugnant to many Canadians. They have no objection to what social workers and possibly other government agencies have such programs, but an intelligence service?"

Under a program-against radicalization, the police tried to build bridges with young Muslims. RCMP officers involved in combating terrorism appended young Muslims to a football match at BMO Field in Toronto last December. Then they met and they talked.

"The game was excellent and the idea is good," said Muhammad Robert Heft, who attended the match. "I think whenever you get to know people personally, you are a little more compassionate towards them as individuals, and this reduces the prejudices of both sides."

But he said that some "individuals more radical" are reluctant to approach the police because they seem to believe that "it is useless, they will continue to attack us they will continue to shape us , "said Heft, who runs the Paradise Forever, a support group for Muslims.

"This is not the only solution because you will not convince people who are determined to do harm to others that playing football will soften. But what you will accomplish is to soften the people around them, those who might be more inclined to cooperate. This is the key."

***

CANADIAN MUSLIMS BY THEMSELVES

Various citations:

"It's a global fight. This is not a single country and a single battlefield ... It is an obligation to attack here ... they expect no doubt what happened in London ... a bomb in the subway, 10 people killed, and everyone is deported. This is not what we do ... our project is a much, much more. You do it once and you make sure that they will never recover."- Fahim Ahmad

Fahim Ahmad, of Toronto, made the comments on 5 March 2006 in a conversation recorded by police, according to the Crown. He was then arrested for his alleged involvement in the terrorist group of 18 in Toronto.

"If there were any planned attacks against Canadian soldiers and American by" Muslim militants' in Canadian soil, I argue ... Canadian soldiers in Canadian soil who are training to go to Afghanistan or Iraq are legitimate targets to kill. ... Now it is POSSIBLE AND LEGITIMATE! ... Believe me, if a sufficient number of our soldiers were killed, then we will be forced to withdraw from Afghanistan. ... I am pleased to see the blood of Western troops."- Salman Hossain

Salman Hossain, a student at the University of Toronto, was the subject of an RCMP investigation after posting these messages on the Internet, but he was never charged.

"Allah is great Allah bless Sheikh bin Laden. That the sword held by the hand of al-Qaeda hits not only Europe but also all our enemies. Whatever they are. I live in Canada and the Government of Canada supports the Americans. The Government of Canada supports Israel. Canadian soldiers are sent to Afghanistan and Iraq. Now is the turn of Canada. I want to drive non-Muslims from Canada. Only their deaths will overcome Islam. Allah is great ". - Altar

A man from Quebec, using the pseudo Altar, posted this message on an Internet forum last year, but he says he now regrets.

"If you ask me to take a truck full of explosives and darken in a military, I will."- E-mail written by a young woman from Toronto, convicted British terrorist Aabida Khan.

"We must understand and accept that Osama Bin Laden has left all the immense comforts and luxuries of life to serve a cause, which is fully in agreement with Islam."- Muhammad Naeem Khan Naeem

Muhammad Naeem Khan Toronto took those remarks in an interview last year after having called Bin Laden a "hero" and a "champion of Islam" in a message on the Internet.

"Imagine if there were 10 September 11th, is it would not fall America, it never rises? Yes, I understand that innocent people are dead, but there is absolutely no other way to achieve the same objective with the same effect."- Momin Khawaja

This was written Momin Khawaja of Ottawa in an e-mail to a British terrorist. Khawaja was convicted last year of five charges under the ATA.

Let's note also one of 18 members of Toronto, said at his trial: "Our goal, on a term of 15 years, to convert the Indians of the Province of Quebec to Islam, so that they can destroy all Quebecers for their crime to be put the Indians in reserve. Of all the Western peoples, the people of Quebec is the most impure and imoral, and so hatered that it is collectively unforgivable, throughout all its sins. Aspen that Quebec will not be spared, and we made his decision. Allah is great ".

Link

Labels: Canada, Francis Chartrand, Islam, Religion and fanaticism, Terrorism

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 7:49 PM 0 Comments

USA - Members of Congress: "Beware of CAIR", by Anne Humphreys

Recently, the FBI announced it was cutting all ties with Cair because of its links with the terrorist group Hamas. The blog American Muslims Against Sharia welcomed this news and was awarded to CAIR's Islamofascism price of the year.

The Canadian division of CAIR, CAIR-CAN, remains active with us where she is known for his efforts of Islamization of society, including through legal jihad. CAIR-CAN was founded by Sheema Khan, a columnist with The Globe and Mail. She recently wrote a column where it calls for the application of Sharia (after perfidiously blamed malice Canadians ...). Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of 170 comments displayed as chronic, if not all, rejected the plea of the Islamist Khan.

***

Incorporated in Bivouac-ID: "Beware of CAIR" write elected U.S. Congress to their colleagues

Washington: In a letter with the letterhead of the U.S. Congress aimed at all members, 5 elected to write their colleagues to invite them to be wary of the organization for the civil rights of Muslims [and terrorists in particular] CAIR with which the FBI has to break all contact because of its proven links with Hamas (click here for evidence of government).

Source : Red Country

Lien

Labels: Anne Humphreys, Hamas, Religion and fanaticism, Terrorism, United States

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 7:38 PM 0 Comments

Subscribe to Posts [Atom]

Francis Chartrand for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles