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Indonesia: First execution in four years “shocking and regressive”

Written By mhharismansur on Sabtu, 16 Maret 2013 | 03.14


The first execution in Indonesia in more than four years is a shocking and regressive step, Amnesty International said as it urged the government to not follow through on promises to put a further nine people to death in 2013.

Last night, Adami Wilson, a 48-year old Malawian national who was convicted for drug trafficking in 2004, was executed by firing squad in Jakarta. It was the first execution in Indonesia since November 2008.
The Indonesian Attorney General Basrief Arief said that the authorities planned to put at least a further nine death row inmates to death in 2013.
“This is really outrageous news. We oppose the death penalty in all circumstances, but Indonesia’s long period without executions and the pledge to put even more people to death, makes this even more shocking,” said Papang Hidayat, Amnesty International’s Indonesia Researcher.
Wilson was first convicted for trafficking 1 kg of heroin in 2004 in Tangerang, south-western Banten province.
Yesterday’s execution is the first in Indonesia in more than four years. The previous one happened on 9 November 2008, when three of the men involved in the 2002 Bali bombings were put to death.
After Wilson was executed by firing squad, the Attorney General today said that at least nine more executions would be carried out this year, and that as many as 20 death row inmates could be executed.
Around 130 people are believed to be on death row in Indonesia – more than half of them have been convicted of drug trafficking. Many are foreign nationals. The use of the death penalty for drug-related offences does not meet the threshold of the “most serious crimes” as prescribed under international law.
“This is an incomprehensible statement from the Attorney General – carrying out even more executions now would be hugely regressive. We urge the Indonesia government to immediately halt any plans to put more people to death,” Hidayat said.
Today’s events are at odds with positive indications that Indonesia was moving away from the death penalty.
In October 2012, after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono commuted the death sentence of a drug trafficker, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the move was part of a wider push away from the use of the death penalty in Indonesia.
At the UN General Assembly in December 2012, Indonesia for the first time abstained from voting against a resolution calling for a global moratorium on the death penalty.
“What makes this so disappointing is that we have really seen the Indonesian government sending progressive signals on moving away from the death penalty in recent years,” Hidayat said.
“The last year has seen many other countries in the region, including Malaysia and Singapore, taking steps to limit the use of the death penalty, including for drug-related offences. We expected Indonesia to be leading this trend – not dragging the region backwards.”
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03.14 | 0 komentar

Satu Tahun Sebelum Olimpiade di Sochi, Rusia Terus "Assault on Kebebasan"

Written By mhharismansur on Kamis, 07 Februari 2013 | 23.24


(WASHINGTON, DC) - Dengan hanya satu tahun tersisa sebelum dimulainya Musim Dingin XXII Olimpiade di Sochi, Rusia memiliki sedikit waktu untuk membalikkan tindakan keras yang semakin meningkat terhadap kebebasan berekspresi, kata Amnesty International USA.
"Dalam lima belas bulan terakhir, telah terjadi serangan melanjutkan hak-hak dasar, termasuk pembatasan meningkat pada kebebasan berekspresi, peningkatan penggusuran paksa, pelanggaran hak asasi manusia selama operasi keamanan di Kaukasus Utara dan bagian dari beberapa tagihan yang berdampak negatif terhadap LSM di Rusia, "kata Michelle Ringuette, petugas kampanye kepala Amnesty International USA.
"Hosting Olimpiade adalah suatu kehormatan yang luar biasa dan kesempatan bagi dunia untuk datang bersama-sama secara damai dalam menikmati saling olahraga universal," kata Ringuette. "Ini juga kesempatan yang sempurna untuk pemerintah Rusia untuk melakukan beberapa pencarian jiwa-serius dan memperbaiki catatan hak asasi manusianya."
Eskalasi Presiden Putin terus represi telah dihasilkan kekhawatiran di kalangan warga Rusia banyak dan kritik di seluruh dunia. Perbedaan pendapat dan protes damai telah bertemu dengan penangkapan dan penahanan, seperti dalam kasus pemimpin oposisi Alexey Navalny dan kerusuhan Pussy - sebuah band yang mendapat perhatian seluruh dunia setelah tiga dari anggotanya ditangkap karena melakukan sebuah lagu.
"Pemerintah Rusia harus menyambut perbedaan pendapat damai sebagai alat formatif, bukannya gerah dengan pembatasan meningkat," kata Ringuette. "Undang-undang terbaru telah menempatkan aktivis hak asasi manusia - atau siapa pun yang mengisyaratkan oposisi politik - beresiko dipenjara, disiksa atau lebih buruk."
Maria Alyokhina dan Nadezhda "Nadya" Tolokonnikova dijatuhi hukuman dua tahun di koloni terkenal Rusia pidana, ratusan mil jauhnya dari keluarga mereka dan anak-anak, hanya untuk melakukan sebuah lagu. Sejak keyakinan mereka, Maria telah menerima ancaman kematian di penjara dan "Nadya" telah dirawat di rumah sakit karena masalah kesehatan. Setelah tuntutan pidana dilontarkan terhadap dirinya satu hari sebelum ia dijadwalkan memimpin anti-Kremlin reli, Alexey Navalny belajar pemerintah Rusia juga menargetkan saudaranya.
"Amnesty International menyerukan pembebasan segera para anggota kerusuhan Pussy, dan untuk semua tuduhan terhadap mereka akan turun," kata Ringuette. "Keluarga di Sochi yang telah diusir dari rumah mereka untuk membuat jalan bagi pengembangan Olimpiade harus dikompensasi atau telah rumah mereka dikembalikan kepada mereka."
"Ke depan, Rusia harus berhenti menganiaya orang hanya untuk mengekspresikan kepercayaan mereka, bahkan jika keyakinan tidak selaras dengan ideologi Parlemen dan Mr Putin," kata Ringuette.
Pada bulan Desember, Amnesty International USA dirilis Pussy Peta Kerusuhan Dunia. Proyek interaktif memungkinkan seniman, penggemar dan masyarakat umum untuk menunjukkan dukungan mereka terhadap anggota dipenjarakan dari kerusuhan Pussy, melalui pesan solidaritas dan foto. Musisi dan seniman yang telah menyuarakan dukungan mereka pada peta sejauh ini termasuk Sting, Roger Waters, Pearl Jam, Flogging Molly, Foster Rakyat, Switchfoot, Fitz dan Tantrum, Milo Greene, Amanda Palmer, Jesse Harris, Escort, Pickups Silversun, Negara Radio dan Jaket Pagi saya.
Masyarakat diundang untuk menambahkan pesan dan foto-foto solidaritas bagi anggota Pussy dua dipenjara Kerusuhan dan / atau melihat tanda kutip penuh dan foto-foto dari semua seniman yang berpartisipasi pada Peta Kerusuhan Pussy Amnesty International USA Dunia.
Untuk informasi lebih lanjut, silakan kunjungi www.amnestyusa.org.
Amnesty International adalah Nobel Peace Prize pemenang akar rumput aktivis organisasi dengan lebih dari 3 juta pendukung, aktivis dan relawan di lebih dari 150 negara berkampanye untuk hak asasi manusia di seluruh dunia. Organisasi menyelidiki dan mengekspos pelanggaran, mendidik dan memobilisasi masyarakat, dan bekerja untuk melindungi orang-orang di mana pun keadilan, kebebasan, kebenaran dan martabat ditolak.

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23.24 | 0 komentar

Iran: Rilis pengacara hak asasi manusia untuk kebaikan

Written By mhharismansur on Kamis, 24 Januari 2013 | 01.07


Sebuah Iran terkemuka pengacara hak asasi manusia dikembalikan ke penjara pada Senin, tiba-tiba membatasi cuti tiga hari sementara untuk mengunjungi keluarganya, yang diharapkan akan diperpanjang.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, yang telah menjalani hukuman penjara enam tahun sejak September 2010, diberikan cuti pertamanya dari Penjara Evin Teheran pada 17 Januari di produksi jaminan yang besar dan kuat.

Amnesty International telah lama berkampanye untuk pembebasan tanpa syarat sebagai seorang tahanan hati nurani, karena dia dipenjara semata-mata untuk bekerja damai sebagai seorang pengacara hak asasi manusia.

Sotoudeh telah membantah semua tuduhan terhadap dirinya, yang meliputi "menyebarkan propaganda melawan sistem" dan milik sebuah organisasi "ilegal", Pusat Pembela Hak Asasi Manusia.

"Nasrin Sotoudeh, yang hak-hak kerja telah diakui secara internasional, termasuk ketika dia diberikan Uni Eropa Sakharov Prize tahun lalu, adalah tahanan hati nurani yang harus dibebaskan segera, tanpa syarat dan untuk selamanya," kata Ann Harrison, Wakil Direktur Amnesty International untuk Timur Tengah dan Afrika Utara Program.

"Tiga hari rilis Nasrin Sotoudeh itu hanyalah sandiwara kejam dan menggambarkan betapa sedikit penghormatan pemerintah Iran memiliki kewajiban internasional mereka untuk hak asasi manusia.

Dampak pada keluarga yang Sotoudeh

Biaya kata-katanya samar seperti yang melawan Sotoudeh tidak berjumlah pelanggaran dikenali kriminal, tetapi mereka umumnya mengarah pada penahanan tahanan hati nurani.

"Hal ini menjadi semakin umum untuk pemerintah Iran untuk menggunakan penolakan akses terhadap kunjungan keluarga sebagai bentuk hukuman bagi dipenjarakan pembela hak asasi manusia. Anak-anak dari tahanan sering sangat dipengaruhi oleh tidak adanya orang tua dan penolakan kunjungan keluarga hanya senyawa penderitaan mereka, "kata Harrison.

Sebelum baru-baru ini ia dibebaskan tiga hari - yang disediakan untuk di bawah hukum Iran - Sotoudeh telah teratur dicegah dari memiliki tatap muka pertemuan dengan suaminya Reza Khandan dan dua anak mereka sejak penahanannya pada 2010. Dia juga sering dicegah berbicara dengan keluarganya.

Sementara itu, pemerintah Iran telah dinyatakan dilecehkan atau diambil langkah-langkah hukuman terhadap anggota keluarganya.

Pada satu kesempatan suaminya ditahan semalam untuk advokasi damai untuk membebaskan istrinya.

Pihak berwenang juga menempatkan larangan perjalanan ilegal pada 13 tahun putri mereka, yang mendorong Sotoudeh untuk menggelar pemogokan 49-hari kelaparan di penjara akhir tahun lalu.

Khandan, bersama dengan aktivis perempuan Iran beberapa hak-hak, bertemu dengan anggota parlemen untuk meningkatkan kekhawatiran tentang kasusnya, yang membantu dalam mendapatkan pembatasan perjalanan mengangkat, mendorong Sotoudeh untuk mengakhiri mogok makan nya pada tanggal 4 Desember 2012.

Seorang juru bicara untuk Komite Keamanan Keamanan Nasional Parlemen Iran dan Komisi Kebijakan Luar Negeri mengatakan bahwa sejumlah anggotanya mengambil bagian dalam pemeriksaan Penjara Evin pada tanggal 21 Januari. Tak lama setelah mereka pergi, Sotoudeh dipanggil kembali ke penjara.

Khandan mengatakan kepada Amnesty International bahwa pengembalian cepat dia datang sebagai kejutan, dan ia berencana untuk menulis kepada anggota parlemen untuk meningkatkan kekhawatiran bahwa pembebasannya mungkin hanya telah menjadi dalih untuk memastikan dia absen ketika pemeriksaan berlangsung.

"Pihak berwenang telah menunjukkan kepada kita bahwa pembebasannya akan lebih dari tiga hari. Itu benar-benar tak terduga [bahwa ia akan kembali begitu cepat] ... dan ketika kita membawanya kembali ke Penjara Evin, di luar pintu gerbang, anak-anak menangis - itu begitu keras pada mereka berdua, "kata Khandan.

Lainnya sementara dirilis

Dalam sepekan terakhir, beberapa aktivis lainnya dipenjara dan wartawan - semua tahanan hati nurani - telah diberikan cuti bersyarat sementara dari Evin dan penjara Iran lainnya.

Di antara mereka adalah Bahareh Hedayat, yang cuti juga mulai pada tanggal 17 Januari, hari yang sama dengan rilis Sotoudeh itu.

Seorang mahasiswa dan aktivis hak-hak perempuan menjalani hukuman penjara 10 tahun setelah penangkapannya pada 31 Desember 2009, Hedayat telah dihukum karena "menghina presiden", "menghina Leader", "mengumpulkan dan berkolusi untuk melakukan kejahatan terhadap keamanan nasional", dan "menyebarkan propaganda melawan sistem".

Pada hari Selasa 22 Januari, empat wartawan dipenjara diberikan rilis sementara dari Penjara Evin dan Raja'i Penjara Shahr di Karaj, sebelah barat Teheran.

Di antara mereka adalah Mahsa Amrabadi dan suaminya, Masoud Bastani. Diadakan di penjara yang berbeda, keduanya telah divonis berkaitan dengan keamanan tuduhan termasuk "propaganda melawan negara" untuk artikel yang mereka tulis mengenai pemilu 2009 yang disengketakan presiden.

Bahman Ahmadi-Amoui (Ahmadi Amou'i), seorang jurnalis yang menerima Penghargaan Hellman-Hammett tahun 2011, juga dirilis sementara. Dia menjalani hukuman lima tahun di Penjara Shahr Raja'i atas tuduhan yang mencakup "menyebarkan propaganda melawan sistem" dan "menghina presiden", sementara istrinya, Zhila Bani-Yaghoub, yang juga seorang wartawan pemenang penghargaan, tetap di Penjara Evin di mana dia menjalani hukuman satu tahun.

Wartawan keempat dirilis pada cuti pada hari Selasa adalah Ahmad Zeidabadi, yang juga juru bicara Asosiasi Lulusan '. Dia dijatuhi hukuman pada bulan November 2009 untuk enam tahun penjara, lima tahun di pengasingan internal, dan larangan seumur hidup pada semua kegiatan sosial dan politik setelah tampil dalam sesi dari "trial show" massal pada bulan Agustus 2009.

Pada tanggal 10 Januari, Iran pembela HAM dan pengacara, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, juga dirilis pada cuti. Dia mulai menjalani hukuman penjara sembilan tahun pada bulan September 2012 setelah dinyatakan bersalah tahun sebelumnya atas tuduhan termasuk "keanggotaan asosiasi [Pusat Pembela Hak Asasi Manusia] mencari penggulingan lembut pemerintah" dan "menyebarkan propaganda melawan sistem melalui wawancara dengan media asing ".

"Setiap rilis, meskipun sementara, para tahanan hati nurani adalah berita baik bagi mereka dan keluarga mereka, tetapi mereka tidak harus dikembalikan ke penjara dan hukuman mereka harus dibatalkan. Pihak berwenang Iran juga harus segera membebaskan tanpa syarat semua tahanan lain hati nurani saat di penjara Iran, "kata Harrison.

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01.07 | 0 komentar

Mengapa Guatemala Memiliki Salah satu Tarif tertinggi Femicide di Dunia?


Maret untuk memprotes kekerasan terhadap perempuan di Guatemala.

Kabar baiknya adalah bahwa kita tahu salah satu penyebab utama kekerasan berbasis gender di Guatemala. Dalam keadaan normal, seperti mengidentifikasi penyebab akan menjadi langkah besar ke depan, karena akan memungkinkan polisi, pengadilan, dan otoritas lainnya untuk membuat kemajuan substansial dalam melindungi perempuan dari kekerasan.

Kabar buruknya adalah bahwa penyebab utama femicide bahwa Amnesty International telah mengidentifikasi adalah kelambanan pemerintah dan mengakibatkan impunitas-hak asasi manusia penyalahguna harfiah bisa lolos dengan pembunuhan di Guatemala, terutama ketika korban mereka adalah perempuan. Amnesty menemukan bahwa kurang dari 4 persen dari kasus pembunuhan menghasilkan keyakinan mereka yang bertanggung jawab. Ini tingkat rendah, pada gilirannya, sebagian besar merupakan hasil dari penyelidikan cukup dan tidak efektif.

Parahnya lagi, orang-orang Guatemala dan organisasi pers untuk keadilan dalam kasus ini menjadi sasaran kekerasan itu sendiri. Rosa Franco, misalnya, telah menghadapi banyak ancaman pembunuhan selama sebelas tahun dia telah dihabiskan untuk mencari keadilan bagi putrinya, Maria Isabel. Sekali lagi, para pelaku tahu bahwa mereka bisa lolos dengan ancaman dan kekerasan.

Pada tahun 2008, Guatemala mengesahkan undang-undang pembentukan pengadilan khusus dan pedoman hukuman untuk kekerasan terhadap perempuan. Di permukaan, seperti undang-undang mengatakan bahwa pemerintah Guatemala menghargai kehidupan perempuan. Realitas kekerasan yang terus berlanjut dan investigasi cacat, bagaimanapun, mengirimkan pesan yang jelas kepada kedua pelaku dan korban yang hidup perempuan tidak penting.

Hukum yang baik merupakan langkah penting, namun otoritas pemerintah harus memiliki tekad dan sumber daya untuk membawa mereka keluar dengan menghukum pelanggar.

Sayangnya, masalah ini tidak unik ke Guatemala. Negara-negara tetangga El Salvador dan Honduras, misalnya, juga menghadapi tingkat epidemi femicide dan impunitas.

sumber : klik disini
00.56 | 0 komentar

letters to President Obama

Written By mhharismansur on Minggu, 20 Januari 2013 | 07.08

07.08 | 0 komentar

Far From New, Far From Over: The Crisis in Mali

Written By mhharismansur on Kamis, 17 Januari 2013 | 17.12


France has deployed some 550 soldiers to Mali© Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty
(For a helpful cheat sheet of armed groups in the north of Mali, see the end of this post.)
The notion that Mali faces crisis is not new. For the better part of a year, Amnesty International has been documenting and reporting the long catalogue of abuses and outright atrocities committed in the country, by the Malian military and Junta government, and the various armed opposition groups in the North: amputations and other gruesome corporal punishment, extra-judicial executions, rape and sexual violence, child soldiering, torture,stoning, disappearances, and arrests and killings based on ethnicity, to name just the most egregious.
Indeed, on this very blog, as early as May 2012, the situation in Mali was described as a “forgotten crisis” and by July, an “urgent crisis.” There are many human rights situations that could be called a crisis, to be fair. But with the catalyzed attention as a result of French intervention at the request of the Malian government last week, recognition of the crisis in Mali warrants an urgent appeal to stave off a disastrous worsening of the conditions and abuses faced by Malians, in the north and south, as well as those displaced to neighboring countries.
International Action
In the North, long-standing Tuareg and other secular armed opposition groups have been heavily supplanted by Islamist armed opposition in the last year. Cynically, it is the threats that these groups posed to the integrity of the Malian state and to broader regional stability rather than any human rights situation that was the impetus for the UN Security Council (UNSC) to invoke Chapter 7 of the UN Charter and mandate an African-led armed intervention in Mali in December 2012.
Cynicism aside, UNSC Resolution 2085—authorizing political support, training and military action to restore control over the north of Mali—contains meaningful reference to human rights and civilian protection. Amnesty International voiced concern, however, recognizing that the pattern of abuses committed by state security forces and armed opposition in the past year suggested a likely increase in human rights violations associated with an armed intervention.
This should be of little surprise—armed intervention and armed conflict in general are associated with increases in human rights abuses. Yet, I was optimistic. The operational timetable put deployment of the African-led intervention force well past summer, which provided not only cushion for securing funding and logistics for military planners, but offered a window to address a few critical human rights protections and compliance needs:
1.      Human Rights Monitors: An absolute necessity for any intervention is the deployment of human rights monitors to observe the conduct of operations, and Mali is no exception. The presence and unfettered access of monitors is a vital part of ensuring compliance with international law and documenting any violations, and the remoteness of much of Mali requires careful planning and support for effective monitoring.
2.      Ending Impunity: Particularly troubling is that among the Malian forces—as well as pro-government militia—are individuals who enjoy impunity for egregious human rights violations. As Amnesty has documented, at the outset of the conflict in the north, security forces responded to the uprising “by bombing Tuareg civilians, and arresting, torturing and killing Tuareg people apparently only on ethnic grounds.” Malian soldiers have been responsible for extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances, including the execution of 16 members of a movement of preachers (the Dawa), after being taken from a vehicle in Diabaly. This small Malian town has been the scene of the most recent, all-night bombing. Participation by culpable individuals in the 2085-mandated operations not only threatens any moral credibility of the civilian protection mandate, but would be a clear threat to civilians already at risk by the operations themselves.
3.      Operational Planning and Training: With the originally-scheduled multi-month run-up to the deployment of the African-led force, there was ample time to develop operational rules to minimize threats to civilians as a result of operations. Most importantly, there was at leastsome time to train (vetted, non-human rights abusing) Malian forces on international humanitarian law and their obligations under the law, in order to further ensure the civilian protection mandate was achievable. And there was time to ensure that children were demobilized and removed from the ranks of militia and pro-government forces, and removed from the increasingly dangerous battlefield.
4.      Humanitarian Response: Finally, though maybe too optimistic on my part, the time granted opportunity to gather resources and develop plans to address the humanitarian effects of intervention and concomitant armed conflict, made particularly challenging as a result of recurrent food crises in the north of the country, and the Sahel more broadly. Well before the planned intervention start window, hundreds of thousands were displaced, and many more in urgent need of assistance. Those already displaced or in need of relief would find themselves exceptionally vulnerable as hostilities increased.
The French Connection
Of course, the French intervention in Mali has accelerated the timetable for the deployment of the force– by a lot. The mandated 3,000+ force and operation originally planned for September or so must now be quickly assembled. Nigeria, one of the contributing states, says it will deploy troops within the next 24 hours.
The other trappings of conflict and intervention have also been accelerated. UNHCR saystens of thousands have been displaced following French-Islamist clashes. Training for Malian security force counterparts on human rights law and the Geneva conventions has not taken place. Children are still at checkpoints, and may find themselves in the midst of hostilities, far from demobilized.
And far from ending the impunity enjoyed by those responsible for reprehensible crimes among the Malian forces, the military ranks remain un-vetted, and we risk soon seeing perpetrators fighting alongside a Chapter 7-mandated force with international support, in the very places and among the very populations of their original victims.
What Must Happen
  • As a matter of utmost urgency, the international community must deploy human rights monitors to Mali, and they must have the material and human resources to do their job.
  • The international community and neighboring states must be prepared to deal with the humanitarian and relief consequences of the accelerated fighting, and ensure those displaced have access to safety, food, shelter, and other basic needs.
  • All necessary steps must be taken by international forces to protect civilians, provide civilians with sufficient warning of offensive operations, and steadfastly resist any indiscriminate bombing and shelling.
  • The international community must ensure that it is not complicit in future human rights violations and atrocities through collaborative or joint operations by international forces with Malian forces who are responsible for crimes. This includes abuses of the sort that have already been perpetrated: indiscriminate attacks on civilians, the targeting of civilians based on ethnic identity, sexual violence, the use of child soldiers, extrajudicial killings, and torture.
  • The international forces, in addition to their steadfast adherence to civilian protection and international humanitarian law must ensure that the Malian authorities investigate and prosecute—in accordance with internationally recognized standards of fair trials—any crimes committed by any armed personnel in Mali. Finally, as mandated in UNSC resolution 2085, the intervention must support fully the work of the International CriminalCourt.
The crisis in Mali continues, and time is not on anyone’s side.
Who’s Who in the North:
Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA)
The MNLA was established in October 2011 from the merger of several previous Tuareg groups. In particular, it includes Tuaregs who had fled to Libya and then returned to Mali after the fall of Mouammar Gaddafi. It declares itself to be “a revolutionary movement fighting for the right to have auto-determination for Azawad.” The MNLA asserts that it is a secular movement.
Ansar Eddin/Ansar Dine
The group Ansar Eddin (which means “Defenders of the religion” in Arabic) was created in December 2011. Unlike the MNLA, the group Ansar Eddin does not challenge the territorial integrity of Mali and declares its intention to impose the Shari’a across the whole country.
Al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
Deriving from the Algerian Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), Al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) was created following its allegiance on September 11, 2006, to Osama Bin Laden. They settled in the North of Mali, encountering no resistance from the Malian government. AQIM has fighters of various nationalities amongst its ranks, in particular Algerian, Mauritanian, Senegalese and Malian. Moreover, reports indicate the presence in the region of Boko Haram combatants (an Islamic group active in Nigeria), which has established links with AQIM.
The Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO)
MUJAO was created, at the end of 2011, from a defection from the ranks of AQIM. The movement claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, at the end of October 2011, in the Tindouf region (Southwest Algeria) of three humanitarian workers (two Spaniards and one Italian) and then the kidnapping of seven Algerian diplomats on 5 April 2012 in Gao.
Arab militias
For years, the Malian government has delegated security tasks to an Arab militia in Timbuktu. In April 2012, a political official of this city told the Amnesty International delegation about the origins of this group: “The Arab militia is ATT’s creation [the Malian President Amadou Toumani Touré] to fight against armed Tuareg groups. It is equipped by the Malian government and trained by members of the Malian army.”
Songhay militias
Moreover, there are two Songhay militias (black populations living along the Niger River) called Ganda Koy (“Masters of the earth” in Songhay) and Ganda Izo (“Sons of the country”). The patriotic movement, Ganda Koy, was created by former members of the Malian army during the Tuareg rebellions of the 1990s. After the peaceful settlement of the Tuareg rebellion in the mid-1990s, most members of the Ganda Koy were integrated into the Malian army or administration or returned to civilian life, but members of these groups continue to harass Tuaregs.
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17.12 | 0 komentar

Indian sex workers are a shining example of women's empowerment

Written By mhharismansur on Selasa, 15 Januari 2013 | 02.11

As the alternative Aids summit in Kolkata has shown, society should start treating women who work in the industry with respect instead of disgust

'If I'd been married, I would have been HIV positive by now,' says Shabana, one of Vamp's members. Photograph: Stephanie Hardt
When the multi-country research programme that I direct, Pathways of Women's Empowerment, began its search for inspiring examples of empowerment, in 2006, few might have imagined it would take us to a collective of sex workers in a town in the heart of Maharashtra in India.
But the stories of empowerment I heard when I visited the Sangli headquarters of the Vamp collective not only summed up some of the most important lessons we were learning in the programme about what works to support women's empowerment, they were also among the most impressive.
Save us from Saviours, a short film by award-winning director Kat Mansoor, gives more of a glimpse into the lives and work of three members of the Vamp collective. Watch it here
"If I'd been married, I would have been HIV positive by now," says one of Vamp's stalwarts, Shabana, reflecting that married women are far more vulnerable than she is as a sex worker, unable to insist on condoms with their husbands as she does with her clients. And her face breaks into a smile as she describes the life she leads: the freedoms she enjoys, her choice of clients, and the autonomy and empowerment she has. "I'm as free as a bird," she says.
It is all too often assumed that disempowerment leads women to sell sexual services – as a last resort, as the ultimate step before destitution, and out of coercion rather than choice. The sex workers I met in Sangli, however, made it quite clear that being in business – they refer to their work as dhanda, meaning business – was not something they did out of desperation.
Some had been married and returned to sex work full of pity for those women who had to put up with the privations and lack of freedom marriage brings. Some had tried other jobs, and found them tiring, exploitative and badly paid, echoing the findings of the first pan-India survey of sex workers. Sex work was, for them, an occupation they spoke of with pride, despite the stigma. And, they say, this is where the problem lies: with the societal attitudes towards them, and the violence, stigma and abuse of human rights they experience as a result.
Vamp's mission is to change society. Rather than treating sex workers as victims to be rescued or rehabilitated, it demonstrates the power of collective action as a force for women's empowerment, mobilising sex workers to improve their working conditions, and claim rights and recognition. And they're yielding results.
Founded in 1997, Vamp now has more than 5,000 members. Weekly meetings bring the collective together to tackle a wide range of issues faced by members. Health work and advocacy for sex workers' human rights are interwoven with Vamp's everyday work in the densely populated alleyways in the red-light districts of Sangli and other towns in the region.
The collective's work includes HIV prevention with those who sell and buy sex – not only sex workers but housewives who engage in clandestine sex work, men who have sex with men, sex workers' clients and lovers, and truck drivers whose routes crisscross the state. Vamp works with doctors, the police and the local authorities to combat stigma and violence, offering support and care to people with HIV and orphaned children, and fighting for workers and their families to be treated with dignity.
Recognised locally for its members' feisty response to the violence and abuse meted out to sex workers on a daily basis, and internationally for the model that its approach to HIV prevention and trafficking has become, Vamp has become a shining example of the power of organisation. Vamp members don't want to be "saved" by foreign organisations; they want to be respected as human beings. To see them as "prostituted women" is to treat them as not fully human, incapable of determining their own destinies or, indeed, of working together to claim justice. It's precisely that kind of attitude that perpetuates the abuse sex workers experience.
It's time that the toxic mist of pity, disgust and moral opprobrium that swirls around the figure of the sex worker was replaced by a willingness to put prejudice aside and listen to and learn from women like Shabana and her colleagues. There are some surprises in store for those who do.
sumber : the guardian
02.11 | 0 komentar

Syrian women and girls allege use of sexual violence in civil war


Women interviewed for International Rescue Committee report tell of attacks involving kidnap, rape, torture and murder


The International Rescue Committee has described reported sexual violence against Syrian women and girls as horrific. Photograph: Muhammed Muheisen/AP
Rape is a "significant and disturbing" feature of the Syrian civil war, with women and girls citing sexual violence as their main reason for fleeing the country, according to a report published on Monday.
Women and girls told the International Rescue Committee (IRC) of being attacked in public and in their homes, primarily by armed men. The rapes, sometimes by several men, often occurred in front of family members.
"The stories we've heard, talking to Syrian women, are truly horrific," said Sanj Srikanthan, IRC-UK emergency field director. "Many of these women have experienced rape and torture in Syria, but as refugees [they] can't find the support they need to heal their physical and emotional scars – let alone provide food and shelter for their families."
During interviews with 240 Syrian women and girls in Lebanon and Jordan, IRC learned of attacks involving kidnap, rape, torture and murder, with Syria's many roadblocks a particular danger.
IRC said it was impossible to give figures, but its report draws attention to the use of rape as a strategy in war. Sexual violence occurs in every humanitarian crisis, notably during the Balkan wars and in conflicts in parts of Africa, and Syria is no exception. In a report in June, Human Rights Watch said Syrian government forces have used sexual violence to torture men, women and boys detained in the conflict.
Last year, British foreign secretary William Hague launched thePreventing Sexual Violence Initiative to highlight these issues. The Foreign Office has assembled a team of 70 doctors, lawyers, forensic experts and psychologists who can be deployed to conflict areas.
Hague told parliament last week that the UK is sending specialists to deal with rape and sexual violence in Syria. "We've deployed experts to the region to provide training in how to respond to reports of sexual violence, to improve the prospect of future investigation and prosecutions, and we will intensify this work as a matter of urgency," he said.
Members of the team will train local health professionals to gather medical and forensic evidence and documentation that can be used in prosecutions. Hague has said Britain will use its presidency of the G8 group of industrialised countries this year to push for a new international protocol on the investigation and documentation of sexual violence in conflict.
The UN estimates the death toll during nearly two years of civil war in Syria at 60,000. More than 2.5 million people, from a population of 22.5 million, have fled their homes, with 612,000 people registered as refugees in neighbouring countries. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said on Friday that harsh winter conditions, including freezing rain, have made life even more difficult for refugees.
The UN World Food Programme has warned that it was unable to deliver food to up to 1 million hungry and desperate Syrians because of spiralling violence across the country and a lack of fuel. The UN has appealed for $1.5bn (£9.3m) for the first six months of this year, the largest short-term UN appeal, but it remains seriously underfunded.
IRC said aid is drastically insufficient to meet existing needs, let alone the barest requirements to respond to a lengthy humanitarian emergency and post-conflict recovery.
Refugee camps have gained much media attention, yet most Syrian refugees are in towns and cities in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey, IRC added. In a grim irony, Iraq and Syria have reversed their previous roles as states of refuge. Iraq now hosts 67,000 refugees whereas, five years ago, Iraqis fled to Syria. Lebanon has received more than 200,000 Syrian refugees, Jordan 176,500 and Turkey more than 148,000.
"While some Syrians are housed by host families in cramped quarters, most are renting small, dilapidated unfurnished apartments that they increasingly cannot afford," said IRC. "Others find shelter in sheds, barns, basements and abandoned buildings unfit for habitation. Some are offered shelter by local authorities in unused public spaces."
Urban refugees are straining the education, health and water facilities of host countries. Rents have gone up for both refugees and locals, and tension is on the rise.
The IRC report also described the deliberate targeting of medical and healthcare facilities by the Syrian government. Doctors told the IRC of a systematic campaign to restrict access to healthcare through strategic bombing, forcing the closure of hospitals.
IRC urged donors to significantly increase bilateral aid to host countries to help offset the strain on their infrastructure and ease tension. The US has given $100m to Jordan, but IRC said donors should give more to Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. IRC said donors must recognise sexual violence as a feature of the Syrian conflict, as well as the threats Syrian women and girls face as refugees and the shortage of quality services available to them, and develop an appropriate strategy to address the crisis.
sumber : the guardian

01.51 | 0 komentar

Lima Pulau Teraneh di Dunia

Written By mhharismansur on Sabtu, 12 Januari 2013 | 05.12


Ada beberapa pantai di belahan bumi yang mengandung keanehan seperti mitos hantu atau pun dihuni fauna paling beracun di dunia.

pulau ular,brasilIlha da Queimada atau dijuluki Pulau Ular di Brasil. (Wikimedia Commons)
Indah dalam dekapan pasir putih menjadi wisata pantai idaman banyak orang. Tapi bagaimana jika pantai dambaan Anda ternyata menyimpan misteri atau menjadi rumah bagi makhluk paling beracun di dunia? Ada beberapa pantai di belahan bumi yang mengandung keanehan ini. Berikut lima di antaranya.
1. Pulau Para Boneka, Meksiko
Xochimilco merupakan nama distrik di Meksiko City yang terdiri dari sistem kanal dan pulau buatan yang kompleks. Salah satunya adalah milik Julian Santana Barrera.
Pasca menemukan jenazah perempuan muda, ia mengembangkan kebiasaan unik menggantung bagian tubuh boneka bekas di pohon sekitar kanal. Tujuannya untuk mengusir roh jahat. Ketika Barrera wafat pada tahun 2001, boneka-boneka tersebut dibiarkan dan pulau ini bisa dikunjungi menggunakan kapal.
2. Miyake-jima, Jepang
Miyake-jima terletak 180 kilometer selatan Tokyo dan didominasi Gunung Oyama --gunung api aktif yang kerap meletus. Sejak letusan pada tahun 2000, terjadi aliran gas sulfur yang beracun bagi manusia. Akibatnya, 3.000 warganya harus selalu menggunakan masker gas setiap saat.
3. Pulau Ular, Brasil
Ilha da Queimada, atau dijuluki Pulau Ular, terletak di lepas pantai Brasil. Julukan pulau ini sesuai dengan nama "penduduk" utamanya yaitu Golden Lancehead Vipers (Bothrops insularis). Ular ini merupakan salah satu yang paling beracun di dunia.
Menurut legenda setempat, setiap meter perseginya terdapat lima ular ini. Saat ini, Pemerintah Brasil melarang penduduk sipil mendiami pulau tersebut.
kucing,peliharaanIlustrasi kucing. (Thinkstockphoto)
4. Tashirojima, Japan
Pulau ini disebut juga Pulau Kucing mengingat penduduknya lebih banyak makhluk berkaki empat itu dibanding manusia. Pesatnya pertumbuhan kucing berkaitan dengan mitos setempat yang percaya memberi makan kucing akan mendatangkan kesehatan dan nasib baik.
5.  Norderoogsand, Jerman
Pulau ini terbentuk secara tiba-tiba di lepas pantai Jerman selama dekade terakhir. Meski baru, pulau ini sudah menjadi rumah bagi 50 spesies tumbuhan dan beberapa burung laut. Kemunculan pulau ini juga mengagetkan para peneliti.
(Zika Zakiya. Sumber: The Daily Telegraph Travel) + NG Indonesia
05.12 | 0 komentar

Tanah Haiti Kurus Kerontang part 2


Sebagai pengganti makanan-makanan impor yang tidak lagi terjangkau, sejumlah warga Haiti yang putus asa beralih ke kue yang terbuat dari lempung, garam, dan lemak––makanan tambahan tradisional untuk perempuan hamil.

OLEH JOEL K BOURNE JR.
FOTO OLEH ARIANA CUBILLOS
Segera setelah kemerdekaan, para spekulator dan pemilik perkebunan kelas atas memaksa kelas petani keluar dari sejumlah kecil lembah subur untuk pindah ke wilayah pedalaman yang terjal dan berhutan, tempat  lahan jagung, buncis, dan singkong mereka yang menyusut berpadu dengan industri arang kayu yang berkembang sehingga memperparah penggundulan hutan dan erosi. Saat ini kurang dari 4 persen hutan Haiti yang tersisa dan di banyak tempat, tanah  telah terkikis hingga ke lapisan tanah keras. Dari 1991 sampai 2002, produksi pangan per kapita secara nyata turun 30 persen. Jadi apa yang Anda lakukan jika hidup di negara termiskin di belahan barat dunia dan harga makanan pokok– “Beras Miami” dari AS--­­meningkat dua kali lipat? Umumnya,  Anda hanya bisa kelaparan dan menyaksikan anak-anak Anda dalam keadaan yang sama.

Namun, sebenarnya yang dipertaruhkan lebih dari sekedar kemampuan tanah Haiti untuk mengasupi sebuah negara yang kelaparan. Negara-negara pengimpor pangan di seluruh dunia juga menderita seiring dengan harga makanan pokok yang melonjak tajam, menimbulkan pertanyaan-pertanyaan kritis menyangkut tujuan dari berbagai program pendampingan pertanian yang selama beberapa dekade terakhir ini lebih berfokus pada menurunkan pajak dan menanam tanaman budidaya untuk ekspor daripada membantu negara-negara miskin untuk memenuhi kebutuhan pangannya sendiri.

Program tersebut sudah tepat, kata para pejabat. “Swasembada pangan bukanlah tujuan yang harus ada,” kata Beth Cysper, wakil direktur dari misi US Agency for International Development di Haiti.  “Saat ini ada pangan di Haiti.  Hanya harganya saja yang tidak terjangkau.  Jika secara ekonomi masuk akal bagi warga Haiti untuk menjual mangga dan mengimpor beras, itulah yang harus mereka lakukan.”

Masalahnya, kata ahli ekologi dan aktivis Sasha Kramer, adalah bahwa saat-saat ini para petani Haiti tidak mampu menjual mangga dalam jumlah yang memadai untuk dapat mengimpor beras.  Untuk mendongkrak produksi pangan, Kramer dan para koleganya mendirikan Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL), sebuah kelompok nirlaba yang membangun jamban kompos—jamban yang buangan kotoran manusianya diproses sebagai kompos—di komunitas-komunitas pedesaan untuk kembali memberikan ladang zat-zat organik dan kesuburan yang sangat dibutuhkannya. “Dengan krisis kelaparan sekarang ini, sangatlah jelas jika masyarakat Haiti memiliki lebih banyak produksi lokal, mereka tidak akan terlalu rentan terhadap harga-harga makanan impor,” kata Kramer, asisten profesor di University of Miami.

Hingga keadaan tersebut tercapai, Haiti tetap menjadi sebuah pelajaran pedih dari apa yang telah dikatakan para ilmuwan pertanahan selama bertahun-tahun: saat kesuburan tanah sebuah negara lenyap, lenyap pulalah negara tersebut.

sumber : NG Indonesia
05.10 | 0 komentar

Tanah Haiti Kurus Kerontang part 1


Sebagai pengganti makanan-makanan impor yang tidak lagi terjangkau, sejumlah warga Haiti yang putus asa beralih ke kue yang terbuat dari lempung, garam, dan lemak––makanan tambahan tradisional untuk perempuan hamil.

OLEH JOEL K BOURNE JR.
FOTO OLEH ARIANA CUBILLOS
“Te a fatige,” ujar 70 persen petani Haiti dalam sebuah survei baru-baru ini saat ditanyai tentang permasalahan utama pertanian yang mereka hadapi. “Bumi sudah lelah.”
Hal itu tidak mengherankan. Hampir selalu sejak 1492, tahun ketika Columbus menjejakkan kaki untuk pertama kalinya di Pulau Hispaniola yang tertutup hutan luas, negeri yang bergunung-bunung ini telah mengalami pengrusakan tanah pucuk dan pertumpahan darah – pertama oleh Spanyol yang menanam tebu, kemudian oleh Prancis yang menebangi hutan guna membuka lahan untuk kopi, nila, dan tembakau yang menguntungkan. Bahkan setelah budak-budak Haiti memberontak pada 1804 dan menyingkirkan jerat kolonialisme, Prancis memungut 93 juta frank sebagai uang pengganti dari negara bekas jajahannya tersebut––sebagian besar dalam bentuk kayu. 

sumber : NG Indonesia
05.09 | 0 komentar

Five Lessons We Should Have Learnt in Afghanistan

04.43 | 0 komentar

“Kuntzkamera” Museum Menyeramkan dari Rusia

Written By mhharismansur on Minggu, 23 Desember 2012 | 10.04


Kuntskamera, St. Petersburg 1

“Kuntzkamera” Adalah sebuah museum di St Petersburg bisa dibilang tempat ini adalah tempat yang angker, didirikan oleh kaisar Rusia Petrus yang Pertama. Dia mengumpulkan berbagai macam benda-benda aneh dari seluruh Rusia yang kemudian menjadi koleksi museum ini salah satu koleksinya adalah orang dan hewan yang diawetkan dalam alkohol, alat-alat penyiksaan, Lukisan aneh dan masih banyak lagi. Berikut adalah foto dari tempat itu.
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sumber : klik disini
10.04 | 0 komentar
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