· October, 2008

Stories about Human Rights from October, 2008

Trinidad & Tobago: Building Walls

  31 October 2008

As the government of Trinidad and Tobago begins construction on a wall they say is part of a beautification project, but which many view as a tactic for hiding the squalor of a disadvantaged community, Attillah Springer says: “Build walls because, yes, this is what the nation needs. More division....

D.R. Congo: Confusion Reigns in Goma

  31 October 2008

Two months ago fighting resumed in the DR Congo's Eastern province of North Kivu between the rebel group led by Laurent Nkunda and government forces, in violation of a peace accord signed in January. The fighting has intensified during the last 6 days and, although a cease-fire was announced, the situation remains uncertain in Goma. Here are a few impressions from bloggers on the ground.

Haiti, U.S.A.: Death Squad Leader Convicted

  30 October 2008

Both HaitiAnalysis.com and The Haitian Blogger report that a New York court has sentenced former Haitian death squad leader Emmanuel ‘Toto’ Constant to 12 to 37 years in prison for mortgage fraud.

Trinidad & Tobago: The Price of Progress

  30 October 2008

Maximilian Forte, writing at Review of the Indigenous Caribbean Center, posts a video of Trinidadian calypsonian King Austin's song Progress, which he calls “a critique of the ideology and practice of progress, from the vantage points of environmental unsustainability, exploitation, inequality, and the resultant social strife.”

Jamaica: Missing Children

  30 October 2008

YardFlex refers to “some shocking figures that indicate 65 per cent of the 1,112 people reported missing in Jamaica since January 1st 2008 are children.”

Russia: “Help Svetlana Bakhmina” Petition

  29 October 2008

As of now, 71,250 people have signed an online petition appealing to the Russian president to pardon Svetlana Bakhmina, a former senior lawyer for Mikhail Khodorkovsky's oil company Yukos, who was arrested in December 2004 and sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison for embezzlement and tax evasion in April 2006.

Brazil: Grandma Aggie, Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers and the Pope

  28 October 2008

Lou Gold, a North-American blogger and nature-person turned “brasileiro’, blogs about [En] Grandma Aggie and the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, re-telling some of the adventures of these courageous indigenous ladies and their recent efforts to get the Pope to rescind the Papal Bulls that created the “right” to...

Japan: Arrested in Shibuya just for walking?

  27 October 2008

id:inumash comments on news [ja] that three people heading a demo in Shibuya (Tokyo) on Oct. 26th with the intention of going to “see the home of PM Taro Aso” were arrested for not having notified police beforehand [ja]. The blogger points to an article by Amamiya Karin [雨宮処凛] [ja]...

Morocco: Barça Fan Jailed for Superlative Statement

  27 October 2008

Many bloggers were shocked last week to learn that a young Moroccan man had been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for what seemed like such a minor "crime." The young man, a Barça (FC Barcelona, a soccer team) fan, allegedly wrote “God, Nation, Barça” on the blackboard at his school. Morocco's motto is "God, Nation, King."

Guyana: Social Services

  27 October 2008

“Increasing access to social services is among the priorities identified by indigenous women leaders in the region as key to empowerment”: The Voice of the Taino People Online reports on the Conference on Indigenous Women in the Caribbean, being held in Guyana.

China: “Criminal” with Human Rights Award

  27 October 2008

Last week (Oct 23) it was announced that the European Parliaments’ Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought has been awarded to Chinese political activist Hu Jia. On the other hand, China government expressed its anger and disappointment at the European Union decision, insisting Hu was a criminal, and described the...