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Locked on 06/01/2006 7:13:39 PM PDT by Admin Moderator, reason:
New thread here. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1642083/posts |
Posted on 04/18/2006 11:09:45 PM PDT by nwctwx
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Note: The following text is a quote:
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http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s06040084.htm
ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com
Sunday, April 23, 2006
President Kiir of Southern Sudan calls for retrieval of slaves
President Bush urged by Christian Solidarity Worldwide leader to help eradicate slavery in Sudan
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
SOUTHERN SUDAN (ANS) -- President Salva Kiir of Southern Sudan, in a parliamentary speech delivered in Juba on April 10, declared that his "government remains deeply committed to the retrieval of Southern Sudanese women and children abducted and enslaved in Northern Sudan."
In response, the Executive Director of Christian Solidarity International (USA), Dr. John Eibner, appealed to U.S. President George W. Bush, urging him to back President Kiir's efforts to liberate and repatriate Black Southern Sudanese Slaves who are still in bondage.
According to a media advisory obtained by ANS, the appeal called on President Bush to establish an independent U.S. Commission to Monitor the Eradication of Slavery in Sudan, to make emergency funds available to facilitate the release of located slaves, and to help President Kiir's government establish an effective mechanism for slave liberation and repatriation.
Despite the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005 by Sudan's Islamist President Gen. Omer Bashir, and the late Chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army Col. John Garang, Sudan's slavery crisis remains unresolved. Tens of thousands of Black slaves remain in bondage in Northern Sudan, according to conservative estimates.
During 22 years of civil war, Islamic militias of the Government of Sudan systematically raided Black, non-Muslim villages near the border with the North. CSI interviews with liberated slaves reveal a clear pattern of physical and psychological abuse, including rape, beatings, female genital mutilation, forced conversion to Islam, Arabization, racial and religious insults.
The United Nations once placed high hopes on Gen. Bashir's establishment in 1999 of the showcase Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC). But CEAWC's results have been meager.
CEAWC itself has located and documented over 8,000 Black slaves from Southern Sudan -- just a fraction of the total number of enslaved. But this year it has liberated and repatriated less than 300 slaves.
According to a senior CEAWC official, the Khartoum government has suspended financial support for slave liberation activity. Moreover, Khartoum-backed Janjaweed militias continue to abduct and enslave Black women and children in Darfur (Northern Sudan), as documented in the Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General, dated January 25, 2005.
Five years ago, at the beginning of the United States current Sudan peace initiative, President Bush’s Special Envoy, former Sen. John Danforth, identified the eradication of slavery -- an internationally recognized crime against humanity -- as an issue about which the American people care deeply and as a pre-condition for a just and lasting peace.
CSI has been in the forefront of the campaign to eradicate slavery in Sudan since 1995.
Contact: Rev. Dr. Keith Roderick, Christian Solidarity International (CSI),
202-498-8644 or keith.roderick@csi-usa.org
** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
Note: The following text is a quote:
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http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s06040082.htm
ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Unprecedented call to stop execution in North Korea
Motive Entertainment organizing outreach to equip educators, cultural leaders, and faith leaders to address the issues raised by terrorist attack
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
NORTH KOREA (ANS) -- In an unprecedented move, family and activists have called upon the international community to intervene to abort the execution of a named North Korean man, Mr Son Jong Nam.
According to a media release, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has joined with multiple agencies that protested today outside the government complex in South Korea in calling for "efforts to rescue Son Jong Nam, who has been sentenced to public execution."
The appeal comes after Mr Son’s brother, Son Jong Hoon, received information via a relative. He reported: "My brother is sentenced to public execution and even family members cannot visit him."
CSW says this is the first time that an appeal has been issued to prevent the known execution of a named individual in North Korea from taking place. Five North Korean defector organizations working for human rights in North Korea issued a joint statement on April 4 urging for intervention to stop the planned execution. They have now broadened their activities to ask the international community to intervene to raise the case.
The joint agency statement reports that Mr Son (48) is imprisoned in the basement of the National Security Agency in Pyongyang and is "practically dead from horrible torture."
CSW reports that Mr Son is accused of betraying his country and sharing information with South Koreans.
"It is believed the charges are grounded in his visit to China where he met with his brother and spoke about life in North Korea and, possibly, in his connection to Christianity. He had also received financial assistance for his survival from his brother," CSW states.
At a press conference reported by The Daily NK, his brother, Son Jong Hoon (43), stated: "In China, I only talked to him about how my siblings were doing and what North Koreans think of the Kim Jong Il regime. He shouldn’t be executed for the crime of betrayal or espionage. His execution needs to be stopped."
CSW says Mr Son defected from North Korea in 1997 with his wife, son and brother. He attended Church in China and became a Christian – a serious crime in North Korea. While his brother was successful in reaching South Korea in 2002, Son Jong Nam was repatriated in April 2001 and imprisoned for three years in the Ham-Gyung-Buk area prison camp in North Korea. He was released on parole in May 2004 after the intervention of influential contacts. He was expelled to Chongjin where he worked at a rocket research institute.
The CSW report continues: "In May 2004 Mr Son was able to meet his brother in China and return to North Korea. However the individual in Musan who helped him travel to China informed on him to the Musan National Security Agency. The National Security Office in Musan asked their colleagues in Pyongyang to arrest Mr Son and he was taken in by the secret police in January 2006 as he was leaving his younger sister’s house in Pyongyang. Those close to him have been exiled from Pyongyang.
CSW adds: "Those closest to the situation, including Son Jong Hoon, are now calling for the wider international community to raise its voice to appeal for the life of Mr Son. The statement from the North Korean defector organizations states: 'Organizations including Association of North Korean Defectors, Democracy Network against North Korean Gulag, Free North Korean Broadcasting and 8,000 North Koreans are asking to stop the public execution of Son Jong Nam. … Mr Son is currently facing critical danger. By raising the consciousness of the international community, we may be able to save Mr Son.' "
CSW's International Advocate, Elizabeth Batha, who has gathered extensive first hand testimony from numerous torture victims and eyewitnesses of public execution, stated: "We are deeply concerned for the life and welfare of Mr Son Jong Nam. North Korea practices brutal torture and it is hard to imagine the pain and suffering that will already have been inflicted upon him. We urge the international community to match the bravery and boldness of those who have decided to take this unprecedented step of announcing this to the outside world. We hope that those in a position of influence will be unstinting in strongly urging the North Koreans to abort their plans to carry out this unjust execution."
At the press conference, Son Jong Hoon responded to enquiries about the date of the public execution, which had been suggested might be scheduled for mid-April, saying: "The date for the execution is only announced for murder and other common crimes. For political crimes and treason, the date is usually not announced beforehand because it might have an undesirable impact on the people. They carry out the execution on an arbitrary date." However he said he had heard from a high level source from North Korea that the execution would be carried out sometime in April.
CSW states it is not known whether the execution has happened. Obtaining such information from inside North Korea is obviously a difficult and dangerous business. Although there is uncertainty about the situation it is hoped that the limited coverage of the case that occurred in South Korea will have been effective in delaying final action by North Korea.
Mr Son Jong Nam was born in Sadong, Soryongdong, Pyongyang and served his full military term as a non-commissioned officer at the Security Protection Headquarters from October 1975 – May 1983. On 20th January 1998 Mr Son’s sister-in-law was investigated by the secret police while pregnant. During the interrogation she was kicked in the stomach and she miscarried. Mr Son brought the matter before the Central People’s Committee, but he was put under pressure for his actions and told to leave. This led to his disillusionment with the regime and his decision to leave North Korea followed shortly afterwards.
Background on North Korea's human rights record
North Korea's human rights record is ranked amongst the very worst in the world, CSW says.
CSW continues: "It was the focus of a General Assembly resolution in November, reflecting mounting international awareness and concern over the seriousness of what is taking place behind closed doors in the country. Egregious torture and public executions have been amongst the most serious of these concerns. The first ever footage of North Korean executions was shown last year at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and on BBC and other channels. It showed a typical scene of a North Korean execution: a very brief summary trial with no right of defense and almost immediate pronouncement of the death sentence; the tying of the victims to poles and the shooting of the victims by three gunshots from three marksmen."
CSW is a human rights organization which specializes in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.
For more information and photos, please contact Elizabeth Batha at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on 020 8329 0045 or email press@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk
Further information on human rights and execution can be found in:
CSW’s Human Rights Report: www.csw.org.uk/Countries/NorthKorea/Resources/HumanRightsReportCSW.pdf
CSW’s Testimonies and profiles: www.csw.org.uk/Countries/NorthKorea/Resources/TestimoniesAndProfilesCSW.pdf
** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1620351/posts
"Harrowing September 11 drama to open Tribeca Film Festival"
AFP ^ | April 23, 2006
Posted on 04/23/2006 11:51:40 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
ARTICLE SNIPPET: ""Why are people saying it's too soon?" Greengrass said. "Like the people on that flight, we need to agree about what to do about terrorism. And I think we need to have that conversation now.""
""Why are people saying it's too soon?"
DENIAL -
OPINION: Denial is a luxury we can't afford.
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1620357/posts
US energy secretary calls for more security at oil facilities (Saudi Arabia requests US help)
AFX ^ | April 24, 2006
Posted on 04/24/2006 12:35:36 AM PDT by HAL9000
DOHA (AFX) - US energy secretary Samuel Bodman called for more security at oil facilities around the world and said Saudi Arabia had asked Washington for help after a botched attack at a plant in the kingdom.
'It is important that we enhance the physical security of our facilities,' Bodman told reporters on the sidelines of the 10th Energy Forum in Doha.
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up on Feb 24 outside the world's largest oil processing plant in Abqaiq in eastern Saudi Arabia.
ON THE NET...
http://www.minutemanhq.com
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1620355/posts
"Pictures from the California Border 4/23/06"
4/23/2006
Posted on 04/24/2006 12:10:48 AM PDT by Ladycalif
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1620364/posts
"The Terrorist Round-Up for 4/24/06"
4/24/06
Posted on 04/24/2006 1:16:18 AM PDT by Straight Vermonter
Note: The "Cartoon Jihad" links have been updated here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1582607/posts?page=4#4
Note: The following text is a quote:
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http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1161.html
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Mon Apr 24 2006 02:09:59 GMT-0700.
Worldwide Caution
December 12, 2005
This Public Announcement updates information on the continuing threat of terrorist actions and violence against Americans and interests overseas. This supersedes the Worldwide Caution dated August 2, 2005 and expires on June 12, 2006.
The Department of State remains concerned about the continued threat of terrorist attacks, demonstrations and other violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests overseas. Ongoing events in Iraq have resulted in demonstrations and associated violence in several countries. Americans are reminded that demonstrations and rioting can occur with little or no warning.
Current information suggests that al-Qa’ida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks against U.S. interests in multiple regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics to include assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings and bombings.
Extremists may elect to use conventional or non-conventional weapons, and target both official and private interests. The hotel bombings in Jordan in early November illustrate how terrorists exploit vulnerabilities associated with soft targets. Additional examples of such targets include residential areas, business offices, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, public areas and locales where Americans gather in large numbers, including during holidays.
In the wake of the July 2005 London bombings and the March 2004 train attacks in Madrid, Americans are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems. In addition, extremists may also select aviation and maritime services as possible targets.
U.S. citizens are strongly encouraged to maintain a high level of vigilance, be aware of local events, and take the appropriate steps to bolster their personal security. For additional information, please refer to “A Safe Trip Abroad” found at http://travel.state.gov.
U.S. Government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert. These facilities may temporarily close or periodically suspend public services to assess their security posture. In those instances, U.S. embassies and consulates will make every effort to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens. Americans abroad are urged to monitor the local news and maintain contact with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.
As the Department continues to develop information on any potential security threats to U.S. citizens overseas, it shares credible threat information through its Consular Information Program documents, available on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov. In addition to information on the Internet, travelers may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the U.S. or outside the U.S. and Canada on a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4937730.stm
Last Updated: Monday, 24 April 2006, 09:10 GMT 10:10 UK
"Fresh curfew in Nepalese capital"
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "A new curfew has been imposed on Nepal's capital Kathmandu in an attempt to stop further anti-monarchy protests.
The seven-hour measure came into force at 1100 (0515 GMT) as the country entered its 19th day of demonstrations against King Gyanendra's direct rule.
The next big protest rally is expected to take place on Tuesday.
Meanwhile five Maoist rebels, a soldier and a civilian were reported killed after rebels launched an attack on the town of Chautara.
The US government has ordered all non-essential embassy staff and family members in Kathmandu to leave the country."
TRAVEL.STATE.GOV - TRAVEL WARNING: "NEPAL"
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_927.html
bookmark
Has anyone mentioned this date: 6-6-06?
MD...I have been following the stories on this monsterous crime. IMHO...they may be saying that there were approx. 1000 bodies used...but that is probably a low estimate. These ghouls were making bundles of money selling body parts in conjunction with funeral homes, using false paperwork. Really horrific for those who received what they thought were clean, medical tissue donations.
Here's more:
US orders its citizens to leave Nepal
Kantipur Report ^ | 2006-04-24
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1620392/posts
Thanks.
Welcome to TM; your input will be appreciated.
Thanks Right Wing for the post.
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