Brutal reign by South African police claims another victim

Here is the link:

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/reign-brutality-south-african-police-claims-another-victim-2013-03-01

In many countries, Police has high respect because they are considered as fighters against envy and carry out the justice. However, in South Africa, those who should defend the justice turned into the murderer. It is so astonish that a Mozambican man was tied to the back of a police vehicle and was dragged down the road. The man is reported to have died later in a police cell from head injuries. No matter whether the man is guilty, he deserves the respect as a human. He should face a fair judgment. However, he was treated like an animal and was killed without any justification. What is the difference between this type of police and murderers? I can’t tell the difference except that they wear the uniform which help “justified” what they did. I think police should protect people instead of doing whatever they want with the power. Their power is given by their people. If they keep doing that, I believe they can’t be trusted by their people. If the government doesn’t step out to change the situation, it will lose the support from South Africa citizens. Brutal reign may scare people and make them obedient in a short time. However, one day, people will not bear and the eruption of unsatisfaction will end the government. There is no government can survive long without the support from its own people. The brutal reign of South Africa police is a sign for the violation of democracy. At the same time, it is also a dangerous sign for the ending of the government. If the police and government keep doing what they did without thinking about their people, one day, they will face the result by what they did from their people. When that time come, it would be too late for them to regret.

Televised Death March

The question of capital punishment is already a touchy subject by itself. Setting aside this moral dilemma for a moment, the actions recently taken by the Chinese government seem to take this issue to another level. Recently, they televised four foreign criminals being led to their deaths after being condemned for killing 13 sailors. To the government’s credit they did not film the actual executions, or at least they did not publish them. Still this seems to be a step back to days of public executions. That in itself is worrying. Reportedly there was a general feeling of outrage throughout China after the killing of the sailors, and the Chinese government responded by showing its citizens all of the actions of the prisoners up until the lethal injections. In terms of human rights, this seems appalling. I can’t imagine being friends or family of the deceased and knowing that your loved one’s last, humiliating, terror-filled moments are being broadcasted live on national television. The thought is horrifying. Capital punishment is quite possibly a human rights violation in and of itself, but at least let the condemned prisoners die with dignity.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57572127/china-executes-4-foreigners-televises-death-march/

Bangladesh Protesters Seek Death Penalty

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/27/world/asia/bangladesh-protests/index.html?hpt=wo_t3

Jack Zimmermann

Bangladesh Protesters Seek Death Penalty

This article concerns an ongoing story currently occurring in Bangladesh. Protesters of various backgrounds and political backgrounds are congregating at rallies pushing for the death penalty to old Bangladeshi war criminals. The Bangladeshi genocide, which occurred in 1971, led to the death of up to 3 million (numbers vary) people. The grievous crimes committed in this nine-month war went unpunished for years before the International Crimes Tribunal was established. The life-long prison sentences that have been imposed as punishment thus far do not satisfy the masses; nothing short of the death penalty will appease the masses at the rallies. What is interesting to me in this situation is that the majority, or at the very least the leaders, of these rallies are led by a younger generation spreading their words and beliefs through social media. These leaders of Shahbagh, who had either not been born or were very young during the genocide, seek a change in the image of the nation in addition to the death penalty for the war criminals. I like that this movement has opened up the discussion to a variety of topics that they feel they need changed in the country. But now that these topics have been opened up and are not taboo to discuss, I feel as if Shahbagh should now take this into a political battle. As the article states, “Shahbagh is the silent majority.” If they can unite in winning political elections and earning a say in the government then they will be able to start talking about these topics in a place of importance instead of out on the streets at rallies. I also believe that if these rallies continue, violence will arise between the Shahbagh and the Jamaat protestors or they will simply get out of hand and lead to police retaliation. With the swelling numbers, it has the potential to become out of control very easily. I believe that the proposed amendment to the International Crimes Tribunal, although proposed to fix the issue, will only make the ICT’s rulings obsolete and a new system will be have to be put in place to ensure that people are tried fairly. Taking the political path is the best option that the Shahbagh now have in order to follow up their success at these rallies and across social media with actual changes in the inner workings and beliefs of the country as a whole. Without a more civilized manner to discuss these topics, I fear that the rallies will break down into skirmishes and violence will become a reoccurring thing. 

Prison Torture Camps

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/03/01/hell-holes-torture-starvation-and-murder-norm-at-worlds-worst-gulags/

In this article, gulags, or torture prison camps, from around the world are exposed for the truly devastating acts that occur inside them.  There are multiple prisons highlighted, but the worst one, in my opinion, is CAMP 22 in North Korea.  In this prison, some prisoners are forced to stand in tanks filled up to their noses with water for hours or even days on end.  Also, the prisoners are severely malnourished. The human rights violations in all of these camps are horrendous, and something must be done in order to change them.  Unfortunately, we have learned in the past couple months that North Korea is not particularly fond of America, as they have released propaganda videos of major cities such as New York burning to the ground.  Therefore, it would be very difficult to intervene in these human rights violations without condemning ourselves to some very high numbers of deaths in both soldiers and citizens.  In this case, I believe that the U.N. must take some sort of action to lessen the extent of the human rights violations in North Korea.

Also, in the Evin House of Detention in Iran, there was recently an American pastor who was imprisoned there.  He is now facing torture such as fake executions as well as starvation and beatings.  In this case, it might be necessary for American intervention.  One of our own citizens is being held there for a crime that he most likely did not commit or even something he did that should not be considered a crime, such as speaking poorly of the Iranian government.  That does not warrant the brutal torture that this man is facing, and action must be taken against all of these awful torture camps.

Close down of a human rights organization in Pakistan.

Today, March 1^st, 2013, a human rights organization in Pakistan was banned by Muslim extremist groups.

The organization, the Association of Global Humanists and Ethics Pakistan, has been working in the Asian country since it was registered on September, 2005. This organization works on the issues of women rights, girl’s education, child rights, and peace building.

As the association carries and completes its projects to achieve its goals for the above human rights issues in Pakistan, the fundamental Muslim groups give forces the association to stop its activities because the Muslim groups do not appreciate such activities for human rights.

The Muslim groups reacts to the human rights activities with armed force in order to stop educate females and to use children for the Muslim groups’ labors. If Pakistanis do not follow the fundamentalists’ decisions and acts, the group threats the social weak.

 Women’ right to get education has been banned by Muslim groups, consisted of men, in Pakistan.

As the Muslims prevent females and children’s access to get education by physical threats, the extremists want to take control over the social “minorities.”

If the weak group gets education and so becomes aware of such unfair and inhumane treatments by the Muslim fundamentalists, the fundamentalists cannot control the society as well as they wish.

The action of extremists has been “supported” by some Pakistanis provincial governments. Such actions related to the provincial government’s strength the fundamentalist groups who are killing people in the name of Islam.

The current human rights issue is not only on the education problems but also on the rights of living, just living. Physical threats to life should not be happening and so international support for the basic human rights in Pakistan is needed immediately.

http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-032-2013