Collateral
From an Amnesty International
press release - http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGMDE140472004
/>
Amnesty International is calling for an inquiry into recent attacks inFrom IPS :
which civilians were killed in Iraq in circumstances which may have violated
international law.
"There are worrying reports about the mounting casualties
amongst civilians who find themselves caught in the battle between American troops and
insurgents," said Abdel Salam Sidahmed, Director of the Middle East and North Africa
Program in Amnesty International. "It is time to ask questions about whether these
casualties could have been avoided, and whether needless deaths could be prevented in
the future."
According to press and hospital reports, at least 44 people --
including many women and children -- were killed when US forces attacked targets
allegedly connected to al-Qa'eda near the city of Falluja on Friday . .
.
/>
Patriot LawSo why not here?
Found Guilty of Misuse and Repealed - http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=25525
Ranjit Devraj
/>After snaring thousands of teenagers, politicians, journalists, members of minority
communities but few terrorists, India repealed its 'patriot' law introduced in response
to the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
NEW DELHI, Sep 18 (IPS) -
After snaring thousands of teenagers, politicians, journalists, members of minority
communities but few terrorists, India, this week, repealed its 'patriot' law introduced
in response to the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
A government
statement said the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had at a meeting
Friday decided to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) with a new law.
/>
''It is important to note the intention of the government is to protect the
rights of people vis-a-vis the misuse of POTA,'' the statement said.
The
unpopularity of POTA contributed to the electoral debacle of the right-wing, Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in May by the
communist-backed, Congress-led, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh.
Indeed, the Congress party and its allies had made
misuse of POTA a major election issue and vowed to make its repeal a priority, ignoring
dire warnings from BJP leaders, including former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
that this would be an invitation to increased incidents of bombings and suicide attacks
. . .
From a report - http://globalmarch.org/clns/clns-september-2004-details.html#20-1 staff
by the Child Labor News Service :
ISLAMABAD: Children inFunny, but it seems to
Pakistan are being trained and used in armed conflicts according to a report by the
Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC)
The SPARC
report expressed disappointment over the fact that Pakistan has not yet ratified the
optional protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on
the involvement of children in armed conflicts. Article 38 of the UNCRC states that, “no
child below the age of 15 shall have any part in hostilities or shall be recruited in
the armed forces. States shall also ensure the protection and care of children who are
affected by armed conflicts as described in international laws”.
The report
observed that Pakistani children had suffered worst form of violence after US invaded
Afghanistan in 2001. “Recruitment of children continued despite the government's
attempts to curb the use of madrassas (seminaries) as breeding grounds for jihadis.
Factors including poverty, unemployment, adventure, physical punishment, religious glory
and feeling of being powerful at a young age prompt children to join the jihadi outfits
that manage many of the madrassa networks,” the report said. It claimed that there were
over 70,000 madrassas in Pakistan and some were still involved in recruiting thousands
of children to fight in Afghanistan and Kashmir . . .
me that the US recruits children, too. Isn't a 17 or 18 year old still a child?
/>. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Be at peace
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