Take Action Now: Expand the Arms Embargo on Sudan

Despite the current UN ban on weapons to Darfur, arms continue to find their way into this conflict-torn region, helping prolong the conflict and contribute to the loss of life and home for thousands of innocent civilians. An October 2007 United Nations’ Panel of Experts report highlighted, for example, the Sudanese government’s use of Russian supplied Mi-24 helicopters for attacks in Darfur. Sudanese armed opposition groups committing grave human rights abuses in Darfur have also allegedly received arms from Chad.

What You Can Do: Call on your representatives to support Senate Resolution 660 and House Resolution 1462, which call for an expansion of the UN arms embargo. Right now, our chapter is urging Senator Feinstein to support this important legislation, because she is not a co-sponsor of the bill. Write a letter to her here... send it online or--even better--print a letter and bring it to the meeting next Tuesday and we'll mail it for you!

Take Action Now: Stop the Execution of Troy Davis (Updated 9/24/08)

UPDATE, 9/24/08: The U.S. Supreme Court stayed the execution for Troy Davis, originally scheduled for Tuesday evening, until Monday September 29. The court will decide on Monday whether or not to hear Davis' appeal. You can still urge the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole to reconsider their decision: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=11288.

In the face of an overwhelming public outcry the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles shockingly refused to grant clemency to Troy Davis on Friday.

Mr. Davis' serious claims of innocence, which include the recantation of 7 out of 9 witnesses, have never been heard in court. Further, no murder weapon was found and no physical evidence linked Davis to the crime.

Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed by the state of Georgia on September 23 at 7pm.

The Board of Pardons and Paroles can still revisit Mr. Davis' case, so take action today: http://www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis.

Something else you can do: go to http://www.ktvu.com/deathrow/index.html to vote in a poll on the death penalty.

Events: First General Meeting

The first general meeting for Amnesty International will be next Tuesday, September 9, at 7PM in 263 Dwinelle. Come to our meeting to learn more about Amnesty, get involved in our current letter writing campaigns, help brainstorm events for the semester, meet other human rights activists, and enjoy free food. I hope to see you there!

Events: Film Festival: Human Rights in South Asia

Hey Amnesty members! Check out a great event that's happening at Berkeley this weekend!

ASSOCIATION FOR INDIA'S DEVELOPMENT (Berkeley chapter)
presents

FILM FESTIVAL: HUMAN RIGHTS IN SOUTH ASIA
http://berkeley.aidindia.org/node/13
FILM FESTIVAL WEEKEND

Saturday, September 6th, 4 - 6 pm and

Sunday, September 7th, 11am - 2 pm

AT: 110 SOUTH HALL, UC BERKELEY
Directions on campus: http://berkeley.edu/map/maps/BC34.html

Panel discussion and pizza!
All films are subtitled in English

Admission is free to all

Even as India celebrates 61 years of freedom from colonial rule, we must remember that the battle for freedom did not end in 1947. Many communities in India, and in the other South Asian countries, continue to struggle for political and economic equality. The films being screened this weekend depict peoples' struggle against forces of economic imperialism, corporate globalization and the state's imposition of neo-liberal models of economic development.

FEATURED FILMS

Saturday, September 6th, 4-6 pm

• Tales from the Margins by Kavita Joshi [2006, 23 minutes]
  Documents human rights abuses in the state of Manipur, India and argues that the use of security personnel to quell public dissent is a violation of democratic norms.
• New State, Old Problems by The Campaign to Release Binayak Sen and Ajay T. G.[10 min, 2008]
  Fifteen months ago, Dr. Binayak Sen, pediatrician, public health specialist and national Vice President of the People's Union for Civil Liberties(PUCL), was arrested on patently false charges of sedition, and charged under the repressive "Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act." Concerned people from around the globe protested this arrest, including Ajay TG, a filmmaker and a colleague from PUCL, who made a movie documenting Dr. Sen's lifelong commitment to issues of community health and human rights. Ironically, almost a year after Dr. Sen's arrest, Ajay T.G. was also arrested under the same repressive laws. Dr. Sen and Ajay, both earned the ire of the government for opposing Salwa Judum. This film provides viewers with some background to the arrests of Dr. Sen and Ajay T.G., including brief introductions to the State of Chhattisgarh, the Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha, the Naxalites and Salwa Judum.
• Anjam (The Consequence) by Ajay T. G.[20 min, 2008]
  A film on the life and work of Dr. Binayak Sen. Traces the evolution of Dr. Sen's life as an activist from his college days, to his involvement in the miners' struggles in the Dalli Rajhara mines, and setting up the Shaheed Hospital, and finally to a human rights activist as he recognized the inalienable bond between human rights and health rights.
• The Other Side of the Boom by Special Broadcasting Services, Australia Reporter: Jonathon Matthews. [22 min, 2008]
  The rural poor in central India feel left out of the financial windfall from India's economic success, and are increasingly turning their support to the anti-government Maoist rebels known as "Naxalites". Video journalist Jonathon Matthews seeks out the rebels – and the government-backed vigilante group, Salwa Judum, that opposes them –to ask whether the terrible cycle of violence that's affecting two thirds of the Indian continent can possibly end. The ongoing violence has pitted neighbor against neighbor, converted the area into a civil war zone, with hundreds of villages burnt, scores of people murdered, entire communities displaced and at least 50,000 people forced into squalid government camps.

Sunday, September 7th, 11 am - 2 pm

• Development Flows From the Barrel of a Gun by Biju Toppo and Meghnath [2003, 55 minutes]
  Questions state-sponsored development that doesn't take into account people's actual needs.
• Resilient Rhythms by Gopal Menon [2002, 65 Minutes]
  An unflinching look at the reality of issue of caste–based discrimination in contemporary India, and the role of the state in perpetuating such discrimination.
• It's A Boy! by Vani Subramanian [2008, 29 minutes]
  Explores the imbalance in sex ratios in Indian society caused by female foeticide and infanticide, and the state's promotion of gender selection technologies as a tool of population control. It presents various perspectives including that of feminist activists, religious leaders, elected officials, etc. Finally, the film offers a portrait of the pressures of patriarchy by interviewing members of a matrilineal community in North-Eastern India, some members of which have begun to demand adherence to norms of patriarchy.

For detailed synopsis of films, visit http://berkeley.aidindia.org/

Organized by: ASSOCIATION FOR INDIA'S DEVELOPMENT (Berkeley and Bay area chapters) & FRIENDS OF SOUTH ASIA