January 27, 2004

Collateral

From an Amnesty International 

press release - http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGMDE140472004

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Amnesty International is calling for an inquiry into recent attacks in

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 . .

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From IPS  :

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Patriot Law

Found Guilty of Misuse and Repealed -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communities but few terrorists, India repealed its 'patriot' law introduced in response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communities but few terrorists, India, this week, repealed its 'patriot' law introduced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.

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''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

. . .
So why not here?

From a report - http://globalmarch.org/clns/clns-september-2004-details.html#20-1 staff

by the Child Labor News Service  :
ISLAMABAD: Children in

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 . . .
Funny, but it seems to

me that the US recruits children, too. Isn't a 17 or 18 year old still a child?


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Be at peace