IMPARTIAL OBSERVERS?

So the Arab League team have begun their task in Syria. In the group is General Mustafa
al-Dabi – a man who has been accused of human rights abuses in the Sudan, a country that does not have a good reputation on human rights itself. Al-Dabi is reported to have said he saw nothing frightening on his visit to Homs – maybe he should take a look at photos taken by Mani, (a pseudonym), a French photojournalist. Having heard an interview with him on BBC Radio 4 programme, PM, it is obvious Mani's work has affected him greatly.
Opposition members in Syria have complained it is impossible to speak to any league members without the authorities knowing. One wonders how balanced the Arab League's representatives will be in their report; after all this is a political game with a fellow member of the Arab League, and doing the right thing politically is, I believe, far more important than concerns about individual groups of citizens.
Meanwhile the UN stands by, as did the crowds at games in the Colosseum in Rome. How many more people need to die before action is taken? Obviously détente is more important than human lives. The reports of torture and killing, even of patients in hospitals, beggars belief.
I worked with a Syrian in Saudi Arabia, and we would meet for coffee in my flat because he was afraid to speak to me outside in case a Syrian government agent was listening, (he feared for the safety of his family should he be heard to make an adverse comment about Bashar Al-Assad or his secret service).
I guess many people are immune to violence and human rights abuses outside their own sphere of experience. How do you arouse them? Empower them to act in what ever way they can? I have no answer to this. All I can do is keep writing and hope someone is spurred in to action as a result. I keep hoping.

APOLOGIES

Long time since I posted anything, and I have no real excuse because there have been plenty of subjects to write about.
26th December her in England, and will be back writing tomorrow

SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY

Here we have our beloved Prime Minister greeting the Vice Prime Minister of China, Mr Li Keqiang. Following talks with our beloved P.M., Mr Li enjoyed a dinner at the Mansion House along with George Osborne, (he of the expensive skiing holiday), and the Lord Mayor of London. It's only recently David journeyed to China, along with a group, (gaggle? horde? herd?), of top British business men in order to drum up business and improve trading links. Trade is the life-blood of the UK, so says David and his cronies in government.

This is Ai Wei, a Chinese artist, (he of the ceramic sunflower seeds exhibited in the Tate last year. His studio in Shanghai was demolished 12th January 2011 on the grounds, (so they say), there was a problem with planning permission. He is under house arrest in Beijing. Could his arrest and the demolition be connected to the fact he supports Chinese dissidents? Perish the thought.

Ai underwent cranial surgery in Germany after he was beaten by police in Sichuan Province when he went to give evidence in support of Tan Zuoren, an activist who was jailed investigating the collapse of thousands of schools in the Sichuan earthquake of May 2008.

This is Gao Zhisheng, a prominent human rights lawyer. "disappeared" thanks to Chinese security agents, surfaced in March 2010. He then "disappeared" again in April. A Chinese official stated "He is where he should be". That's what happens when one of China's top lawyers defends dissidents and speaks out on human rights.

Trade is important, but how far is the British government prepared to go when selling its soul to the devil? Trade is the life-blood of the UK; what about the life-blood of Chinese citizens?

I hope Cameron and his side kicks, (including the Lib dems, who have sold their own souls to the Tory devil), sometimes think of the consequences of their failures. Or maybe, just maybe, they don't give a damn, and pay nothing but lip service to human rights in the face of lucratvie trade deals

OUR BACKWARD AND PREJUDICED ITALIAN OFFICIALS AGAIN

The city that gave us Rossini the composer, and Massimo Ambrosini, the footballer, is also home to a judicial system as unfathomable and xenophobic as other Italian officials and government departments are when it comes to the Roma people.

This is a photo of Roberto Malini, Viktoria Mohacsi, Dario Picciau. Viktoria Mohacsi is Roma, and was an EU parliament member from 2004-2009.

Were the country a third world country, it would be understandable; but Italy is a member of the European Union, and, as such, should follow the rulings and dictats on Human Rights? Yeah? No way!

The hatred shown towards the Roma people has been covered by me before, and that persecution continues, in spite of criticism from the EU, (a toothless tiger in this case if ever there was one).

However the persecution has now been extended towards members of the Everyone Group, (of which I am a proud member).

Two members, Roberto Malini and Dario Picciau, went to the defence of a Roma man being victimised by a Pesarian police officer. This incident took place in 2008. To cut a long story short, the two of them have now been judged criminals and received a heavy fine in place of a prison sentence.

To quote the Pesaro Police Commissioner, "“Seeing the Roma are notorious criminals, I consider EveryOne Group part of a criminal organization and I invite it to cease its activity”.

So I guess I am part of a criminal organisation - and proud to be too.

Persecution of the Roma people at all levels of Italian government is nothing new; but this is the first time my colleagues and friends have been involved at this level - in fact, the first time a judgment has been passed against any members of an acitivist group in Europe.

Matteo Pegoraro, the co-president of Everyone Group, raised the question of the persecution of activists with the Frontline Organisation that works with the UN and European institutions on Human Rights.

Plus ca change plus la meme choses - such is the case with the bigotted, racist politicans and officials in Italy. A leopard never changes its spots - neither do these violently anti-Roma Italian politicians and police.

Contact your European Member of Parliament - ask when this backward Italian government and its supporters are going to be brought to task over their acitivities. Shades of Mussolini's beliefs and principles arise in the minds of these neanderthals - their hatred being aimed at the Roma people and not Jews this time.

MORE TANGLED WEBS!

This is John Hutton, the British Defence Secretary. He has acknowledged today that in 2004 two terror suspects were handed over to U.S authorities. The two men were then transferred to Afghanistan, where they still remain, (sounds like they have a branch of Guantanemo there).

This follows numerous statements from the government about non-complicity in such things. Surprise surprise!

It's reported that"brief" references to the incident were included in papers sent to the then Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Home Secretary Charles Clarke in April 2006.

Hutton said that a review of detainees held by the UK forces in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2003 had uncovered the case of the two men. None so blind as those that will not see.

They are held by our U.S. "brothers" as unlawful enemy combatants.

Previous Defence Secretaries say they knew nothing about this.

Civil liberties campaigners say they are not at all surprised by these latest revelations - neither am I; but then I guess I'm biased because I don't trust politicans anyway.

As someone has said, this is rendition. The claim is that all previous statements were made in good faith - sounds to me like previous statements were either made to cover up the truth, (lies), or the result of what they call dereliction of duty.

Can someone holding such a high government position really be so dumb as to forget? Highly unlikely I think.

This "close relationship" between the U.S. and UK governments, to my mind, stinks.

And Tony Blair? He said in 2005 that rendition had been a U.S. policy for many years. He said, "It is not something that I have ever actually come across until this whole thing has blown up (the row at the time about whether US extraordinary rendition planes had passed through the UK) and I don't know anything about it, and the reason why I am not going to start ordering inquiries is that I can't see a reason for doing it, I am afraid." Yeah!! Right on Tony!!!!!!

I hope some of those involved sleep uneasily at night - I hope their consciences prick them continually, although it seems highly unlikely here or in the U.S.A. because it take a certain type of person to want to take on such roles.

The one man I can think of who seemed to be lying when ever he spoke was Dick Cheney - maybe because he had the one corner of his mouth that always seemed to take on a life of its own - a sort of half sneer. What a pity such giveaways are not part of all politicians; but then, governments would never get anything done if they acted for the people rather than for their own ends,

See ya

A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE IN ORDER TO DECEIVE

Our, (well, your, for my U.S. readers), dear Hilary. Such a caring, considerate lady is the Secretary of State.
She said on her recent trip to China that economic co-operation took precedence over "points of friction", such as human rights. She went on to state that the two sides had held "candid" discussions" on this issue, (human rights), what ever candid discussions matters.
More euphemisms - "points of friction" - lovely way of putting it Hilary.
She is a politician, so one can assume she was speaking with false tongue.
Now the U.S. State department has issued its annual report on human rights. It says that China's human rights record worsened in 2008.

You'd think that the various departments in the government would co-ordinate, wouldn't you? Or am I being naieve?
Telling how it is leads to far fewer problems. No doubt the speech writers are proud of themselves - maybe your Hilary is too.
Try telling the people of Tibet how important the economy is - whisper that in the ears of all those held by Chinese authorities for doing nothing more than telling the truth.
I should not be surprised - Hilary is a politician. She is convincing though - that smile hides all.
See ya

BINYAM MOHAMED

Binyam Mohamed has arrive back in the UK this afternoon, (Monday). His treatment in Guantanamo? Guilty or not is not for me to say; BUT, no matter how bad someone's actions - there is no excuse for the treatment handed out by the American authorities responsible. Two wrongs have never made a right, and I am happy that this hell on earth created by our "brothers" across the pond is to close - it should never have opened, and its existence for so long is thanks to the complicty of the United Nations and member states. How many member states were secretly partners to extraordinary rendition? Another example of the way the U.S. government can make something horrendous sound sort of homely and apple pie like, (not as good as collateral damage).

Binyam Mohamed, I hope, will be granted leave to stay here - more will be revealed over the coming days. But for now, I hope the new president and his staff try to clean up the horrendous mess left by Bush. Only by doing that will they prove , (to me anyway), that the USA is worthy of calling itself leader of the free world. Guatanamo is a dark stain on the pages of their history - a stain it will be very hard to remove - an even darker stain on the man who claimed vehemently to be a Christian - strange sort of Christianity Bush has. Reminiscent of the Dark Ages rather than the 20th and 21st centuries.

And those governments complicit in what happened? I can only hope they sleep uneasily at night.

See ya