Category Archives: Human Rights

December 6, 2011 · 11:39 pm

Charge and try – or release

Today’s letter in the Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon went to U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. It included the broad request that detainees at Guantanamo and the detention facility at Bagram in Afghanistan should either be charged and tried in U.S. federal court or be released to countries where their human rights will be respected.

It specifically asked that the U.S. government either either charge and fairly try Guantanamo detainee Shaker Aamer in U.S. federal court, or release him to the United Kingdom (UK), as the UK government has requested.

Shaker Aamer, a former UK resident, has been held without charge at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for nearly 10 years.  The UK government has repeatedly requested that he be returned to the United Kingdom, where his wife and four children live.  February 2012 will mark the tenth anniversary of his detention without charge at Guantanamo.

Aamer may be guilty; he may be innocent. In either case, he has the right to be charged and tried. If the U.S. is not prepared to do that – after almost 10 years – he should be released.

Indefinite detention is a human rights violation.

Sign up to participate in the Write-a-thon.

Find resources for the Write-a-thon, including sample letters to adapt.

Learn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights framework.

See you along the Trail.

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December 6, 2011 · 10:38 pm

Sri Lanka – Ragihar Manoharan

Letter three in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon went last night to the President of Sri Lanka. It focused on  Ragihar Manoharan. Ragihar was one of five students killed by security forces in the city of Trincomalee on January 2, 2006. The letter asks the President to tell his family the truth about what happened to their son. Amnesty International reports that a commission of inquiry examined the killing of Ragihar Manoharan. My letter and the Amnesty International Campaign ask for the release of the commission’s report.

Sign up to participate in the Write-a-thon.

Find resources for the Write-a-thon, including sample letters to adapt.

Learn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights framework.

See you along the Trail.

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December 4, 2011 · 9:46 pm

Jean-Claude Roger Mbede – Cameroon

Letter two in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon was written and sent today. Today’s letter went to the President of Cameroon on behalf of Jean-Claude Roger Mbede.

Amnesty International reports that Mr. Mbede is serving three years in prison on charges of homosexuality based on his perceived sexual orientation. My letter asks for his immediate and unconditional release. It further calls the President of Cameroon to ensure the safety of Mr. Mbede in prison. Finally it urges the President of Cameroon to work for the repeal of the section of the country’s Penal Code under which Mr. Mbede has been imprisoned.

Sign up to participate in the Write-a-thon.

Find resources for the Write-a-thon, including sample letters to adapt.

Learn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights framework.

See you along the Trail.

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December 3, 2011 · 10:29 pm

Shine A Light on Freedom of Expression

I sent my first letter in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon today. I wrote to the President of Azerbaijan on behalf of Jabbar Savalan.

Here is how Amnesty describes Jabbar’s situation:

Hours after posting a Facebook message calling for protests against the government, Jabbar Savalan told his family that he was being followed. The next evening, police brought him to a police station, where they “discovered” marijuana in his outer coat pocket. Questioning him without a lawyer for two days, police reportedly hit and intimidated him to make him sign a confession. Jabbar Savalan maintained that he does not use drugs and that the marijuana was planted on him. Authorities in Azerbaijan have a history of using trumped-up drug charges to jail those seen as critical of the government. Amnesty International believes the charges against Jabbar were fabricated, and considers him a prisoner of conscience.

Sign up to participate in the Write-a-thon.

Find resources for the Write-a-thon, including sample letters to adapt.

Learn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights framework.

See you along the Trail.

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December 2, 2011 · 11:33 pm

Words can save lives

Will you write a letter to save a life?

I will.

Tonight I signed up to participate in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon.

Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world will take part in the Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon; Amnesty International calls it the world’s largest human rights event:

Through letters, cards and more, we take action to demand that the human rights of individuals are respected, protected and fulfilled. We show solidarity with those suffering human rights abuses, and work to bring about positive change in people’s lives.

Words carry great power. Amnesty International helps us put our words to use in the cause of human rights. Our words can bring hope to a prisoner. They can expose the corners of torture chambers. They can offer courage to those who defend human rights. They can challenge the powers that be. They can set the oppressed free. They can save lives.

Sign up now to Write for Rights!

I will post about my writing. I invite you to let me know what you write.

And I will see you along the Trail.

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November 23, 2011 · 10:48 am

Give a gift for human rights

Looking for a stocking stuffer?

Consider a TassaTag.

TassaTags are 4″x6″ bright, hand-woven cotton luggage tags. TassaTags serve a larger purpose than simply helping you spot your luggage.

Each purchase of a TassaTag supports ECPAT-USA (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking), a non-profit children’s rights organization whose mission is to protect children in the US and abroad from commercial sexual exploitation. ECPAT-USA is a partner of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

TassaTags are fair trade products. Women at The Regina Center in Nongkhai, Thailand make the tags. This project enables women to stay in their villages and keep their children in school—two major strategies in reducing sex trafficking.

TassaTags help to raise awareness of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and they send the message that the sexual exploitation of children is not acceptable.

By buying and using a TassaTag you become a human rights worker for children!

Order TassaTags now for everyone on your Christmas list who uses a suitcase.

See you along the Trail (I’ll recognize you by the TassaTag on your bag!).

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November 22, 2011 · 10:04 pm

Moratorium in Oregon

I join Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and other groups around the country in applauding the decision of  Governor John Kitzhaber to halt the scheduled execution of Gary Haugen (scheduled for December 6 – the last execution scheduled for this year). Governor Kitzhaber also called  for a full examination of the Oregon death penalty. Reflecting on this decision, the OADP said:

Governor Kitzhaber has shown great leadership with this announcement.

The New York Times reports:

“It is time for Oregon to consider a different approach,” Governor Kitzhaber, a Democrat elected last fall, said in a news conference in Salem on Tuesday afternoon. “I refuse to be a part of this compromised and inequitable system any longer; and I will not allow further executions while I am governor.”

One of the predecessor denominations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) first went on the record against capital punishment in 1959:

. . . the 171st General Assembly, “believing that capital punishment cannot be condoned by an interpretation of the Bible based upon the revelation of God’s love in Jesus Christ,” called on Christians to “seek the redemption of evil doers and not their death” and noted that “the use of the death penalty tends to brutalize the society that condones it.”

As Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty states:

 It is our contention that when all the facts are known, it is difficult to support a death penalty. It is a failed public policy, extremely expensive, taking valuable resources from other programs that do deter violent crime. In these modern times, when we have the ability to keep violent criminals safely away from the general public, an option like life without parole makes more sense.

I grieve for Mary Archer and all who love her. Haugen was convicted of raping and beating Mary Archer to death in 1981. I grieve for David Polin and all who love him. Haugen was convicted of killing David Polin, an inmate at the Oregon State Penitentiary, in 2003. No questions of his guilt are raised and Haugen has asked to waive his legal rights and be executed.

Still, as I have written before:

I believe the death penalty is wrong. It dehumanizes our society. Repaying violence with violence does not get us anywhere; killing to demonstrate that killing is wrong makes no sense to me. It cuts off any possibility for reform or restoration. My opposition is to the state killing. It does not depend – it cannot depend on the person subject to execution.

I have prayed for the families and friends of Mary Archer and David Polin. I pray for Gary Haugen.

I have written a thank-you letter to Governor Kitzhaber.

I pray for other leaders who are in a position to make decisions and set policy about life and death.

See you along the Trail.

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November 15, 2011 · 9:38 pm

Protesting at the margins

I grieve for Alyssa Maria Vasquez. I grieve for her mother, Diana Berlanga. I grieve for all who mourn for Alyssa. At age seven, in 1999, she was raped and strangled. The crime fills me with revulsion. Children are gifts entrusted to us from God to be cared for well. Such a violation is utterly appalling. Utterly appalling.

Guadalupe Esparza was convicted of this atrocity. According to reports on mysanantonio.com, DNA results indicate his guilt. They further report that a recent DNA test confirmed the earlier test. The State of Texas has scheduled Esparaza’s execution for tomorrow.

I have no sympathy for Esparza. I find it hard even to acknowledge that I grieve for him.

And yet – and yet – I believe the death penalty is wrong. It dehumanizes our society. Repaying violence with violence does not get us anywhere; killing to demonstrate that killing is wrong makes no sense to me. It cuts off any possibility for reform or restoration.

My opposition is to the state killing. It does not depend – it cannot depend on the individual subject to execution. It is at the margins that we are tested.It is at the margins we must protest.

I cannot affirm that “I am Troy Davis” unless I am willing to affirm that “I am Guadalupe Esparza” as much as I recoil from that idea. I cannot protest high-profile cases involving individuals with redeeming qualities and questions of innocence unless I am willing to protest cases involving unsympathetic individuals and little doubt of guilt.

So I have written to Governor Parry and to the Texas Board of Paroles.

This would mark the 42nd execution this year and the 7th since the execution of Troy Davis.

See you along the Trail.

 

 

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November 5, 2011 · 7:57 pm

Why won’t Texas perform a DNA test?

DNA tests have exonerated a number of individuals “convicted” of crimes in recent years.

In Texas, Hank Skinner has asked for a test of DNA evidence that he believes will prove his innocence. So far, his request has been denied.

Now time is running out. On Wednesday, Texas will execute Hank Skinner.

Skinner was convicted in 1995 of the murders of Twila Busby, and her two sons – Randy Busby and Elwin Caler.

Questions have been raised about Skinner’s guilt.

A larger question looms: Why won’t Texas perform the DNA testing?

Individuals can join former judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers, along with current and former elected officials who have called Texas state officials  not to execute Skinner until that DNA testing can be performed.

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty offers the opportunity to sign a petition.

I do not believe the state (any state) should execute individuals. I will continue to call for the abolition of the death penalty. But, I have signed the petition because I also believe that, if there are going to be executions, there should be as much certainty about their guilt as possible.

I pray for Hank Skinner and all who hold his fate.

I pray for Twila Busby, Randy Busby, and Elwin Caler and all who love them.

See you along the Trail.

 

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October 27, 2011 · 2:30 am

Execution scheduled in Texas

I grieve for police officer Hector Garza, for Jessica Garcia, and for all who love them. They were killed more than a decade ago. Officer Garza was responding to a domestic dispute.

Frank Garcia, Jessica’s husband, was convicted of the murders. The State of Texas will execute Frank Garcia today unless a last-minute appeal proves successful. Reports say that Frank Garcia abused Jessica and she was attempting to leave him when the murders occurred. They also suggest that he was a gang member.

The appeal, according to published reports on the San Antonio Express Web page, raise the question of Garcia’s mental capacities.

Little or no doubt. A history of abuse. The murder of a wife. The murder of a police officer acting in the line of duty. Tragic, horrific realities.

Still I wonder. Beyond revenge, what will be served by Frank Garcia’s execution. Texas’ use of  the death penalty  did not deter him. Why do we think it would deter anyone else? It will not bring back Hector Garza. It will not bring back Jessica Garcia. It will remove any possibility, however slim, of Garcia’s rehabilitation. It will send the message that violence is the right response to violence. It will exact an eye for an eye and lead our society further down the road of brutality.

I pray for Frank Garcia. I pray for Jessica Garcia and Hector Garza and those who love them. I pray for our country.

See you along the Trail.

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