The news at present focuses on the terrible events in Gaza with over 33,000 dead and many thousands injured or missing. Even today, there is news of the death of aid workers three of whom are Britons. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues and there are problems in Sudan with thousands fleeing for their lives. News today seems to focus on one crisis at a time partly because of resources and partly because there is what some call ‘compassion fatigue’.
Burma and the terrible activities of the Burmese military has slipped off the radar somewhat but the latest news from the Burma Campaign has a hint of encouragement in it which is good news.
The situation up to now has been dire. The military, known as the Tatmadaw, have waged war on many of its own citizens and has run an apartheid state. Thousands have been driven from their homes, villages have been bombed and burned. Tens of thousands have fled to Bangladesh to escape the violence. Some of the methods used by the military are vicious beyond belief and include burning people alive.
The British government has not done enough to make life difficult for the regime. For example, the bombing is carried out by jets which need jet fuel to fly. The ships bringing in the fuel are insured in London and there seems little chance that this will cease. Recently, Lord Cameron headed a deputation of people to the far east, including Burma, and was accompanied by several representatives of arms companies. A big source of income for the regime is the export of gems by state owned companies and little has been done to restrict this.
But it seems there is hope. It appears the military is losing more territory as people fight to free their country from military occupation. The Economist has reported that more and more soldiers are deserting the army. There is real hope that the country could be free of the military. The Burma Campaign recently joined others outside the Foreign Office and showed placards with David Cameron’s head on an image of a snail. It was urging the government to act more quickly.
Sources: Burma Campaign, Amnesty UK, The Economist, CAAT.
The Salisbury group was established 50 years ago this year
Jagtar Singh Johal remains in custody in India on trumped up charges
November 2023
Jagtar was abducted off the street in 2017 and held incommunicado for a number of days during which time he was subjected to brutal treatment and was almost certainly tortured into signing a confession. His ‘crime’ as far as the India government was concerned was to represent the Sikh community and because of his human rights activity and his faith according to the UN.
He has now been in custody for 6 years and concerned lawyers have written to the UK Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad, asking him to retract his comments saying that Jagtar will receive ‘due process’ in India. Manifestly he has not.
Many MPs were disappointed that the prime minister Rishi Sunak did not do more at the recent G20 summit when he met the India prime minister on the fringes of the meeting. Shockingly, it was revealed that the British security services MI5 and MI6 gave their Indian counterparts a tip-off which led to his arrest and torture. MPs and human rights organisations have criticised the UK government repeatedly over this affair and arrest of a British citizen. They have said the the government has been reluctant to press the Indian government over his arrest and mistreatment and have repeatedly failed to call for his release. The latest claim that he will be subject to due process flies in the face of all the evidence.
There is the suggestion that the ‘government’s timidity and reluctance to press his case too strongly relates to the desire to secure various arms deals with India. A Foreign Office spokesman is quoted as saying that it was committed to resolving his case ‘as soon as possible’.
Sources:Reprieve; Guardian; Independent; Amnesty International
On 13th June, the Salisbury group and Salisbury Concern for Israel Palestine (SCIP) hosted a talk on the apartheid state established by Israel against its Palestinian citizens. The talk, with slides and film clips, was given by Garry Ettle who is the voluntary coordinator for Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. It was mostly built around the report Amnesty prepared last year.
The speaker went through the main thrust of the report’s conclusions and the evidence compiled by Amnesty over a three or four year period. It is some 280 pages in length and together with similar reports by Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem in Israel (who first used the apartheid term) and the UN, represents a compelling case of how the Israel authorities have created a two state solution where the Palestinians are deprived of land and housing, denied economic and social rights, suffer from the segregation of their communities and they are subject to illegal acts against them including the arrest and mistreatment of Palestinian children.
The denial of rights for Palestinians is enshrined in the 2018 Nation State Law which says that the ‘State of Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people’. This follows years of oppression which started in 1948 with the expulsion of thousands of Palestinians and the destruction hundreds of their villages. Since 1948, 700 new Jewish settlements have been created but no Palestinian ones have been allowed. Palestinians are caught in a kind of Catch 22: their properties are demolished because they do not have permits but permits are almost never given.
The policy of fragmentation means travel around Israel is almost impossible. Gaza is essentially an open prison, with travel out of it almost impossible and there is a 3 mile limit from the coast. It is surrounded by a buffer zone. The most distressing evidence during the presentation was the arrest of children in the middle of the night who are then held, sometimes in solitary confinement and there is evidence of rough treatment.
Response
Despite the huge weight of evidence from several agencies compiled over several years, the Israeli government has not sought to refute it. They have simply accused the agencies, and Amnesty in particular, of being anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. There has been no point by point rebuttal of the evidence.
UK Government
The response by UK governments over many decades has been shameful and continues today even after the compelling evidence of the various reports mentioned above. Rishi Sunak, now the prime minister of the UK in an interview with the Jewish Chronicle in August 2022, praised Israel as “a beacon of hope“. When asked about the Amnesty report in particular said “[it] could only make a solution to the Israel, Palestine conflict more elusive“. He then made the outrageous claim that “those who label Israel an apartheid state also deny Israel’s right to exist”. But arguably the most egregious remark in the interview was “the Amnesty claim is not only factually incorrect but frankly, offensive“. No evidence is provided for these remarks and it simply seems to be an echo of the Israeli government’s own propaganda.
The Foreign Office simply says it is “aware of these reports and does not agree with the terminology used within them” (August 2022). Again, no evidence is provided. The full statement of UK government which follows is considerably one-sided. It is in response to a petition following the various reports.
“[…] As a friend of Israel, we have a regular dialogue with the Government of Israel. This includes encouraging the Israeli government to do all it can to uphold the values of equality for all. Minister for the Middle East, Amanda Milling, emphasised this point in her recent meeting with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Roll during her visit to Israel and the OPTs“.
The response simply does not address the huge imbalance of power between the Israeli’s and Palestinians. It is blind to the fragmentation of territories which make travel for Palestinians almost impossible. To read the weight of evidence in the three reports and compare it with the FCO’s response is to wonder if it is the same country being described.
LabourParty
Labour has had its own problems concerned with alleged anti-Semitism within the party in the Corbyn years. In a video interview a year ago with Sir Keir Starmer by the Jewish Chronicle, Sir Keir was asked about the Amnesty report and did he agree with the apartheid claim made by Amnesty? His response was “No, I’m very clear about that. It is not the Labour party position”. Once again, a simple denial with no explanation. He was very insistent earlier in the interview about his desire to ‘root out anti-Semitism’ within the party.
The accusation of anti-Semitism against anyone who criticises the actions, over many decades, by the Israeli government against its Palestinian citizens seems to have struck terror into our politicians. Terrorist attacks by Palestinian groups against Israeli settlements are rightly condemned. But the numbers of Israelis who have died is but a tiny proportion of the numbers of Palestinians who have died at the hands of Israeli forces.
To criticise Israel and to provide copious evidence of its policy of apartheid, is not anti-Semitic. The evidence shows that it is and it is up to the Israeli government to rebut the evidence presented in the reports.
Jagtar still at risk in India. Shameful involvement of UK security services
August 2022
We have reported on the plight of Jagtar in previous posts. He was snatched off the streets in India in 2017 by plain clothes police and has spent 5 years in gaol. There is evidence that he has been tortured using electric shocks, sleep deprivation and long hours of interrogation.
The latest development is an action by lawyers Leigh Day against the Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Attorney General alleging the involvement of UK security services in his arrest. The security services allegedly, according to Reprieve, tipped off the Indian authorities and the complaint is that they should not do this where there is a real risk of torture being used. The family has campaigned to the Foreign Office but have doubts about how effective or assertive they have been. Liz Truss – currently campaigning to be the next prime minister – has been the Foreign Secretary for much of the time of Jagtar’s imprisonment.
His treatment raises important questions about the involvement of UK’s security services in their dealings with foreign police and security services who are known to use torture.
A judge has ruled that six passages redacted from a policy statement concerning the removals policy to Rwanda must be revealed. Ten passages had been so redacted and the Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, had applied to the court for them not to be released using public interest immunity. Several newspaper groups have applied to the court and today (17 August 2022) they were successful.
The human rights situation in Rwanda is poor. Several human rights groups have described excessive state control, political opposition not being tolerated and the arbitrary mistreatment of children, sex workers and street vendors. Torture is practised and there are suspicions of people being murdered.
The government hopes to use the deportations to Rwanda as a deterrent for the people crossing the Channel, a problem which has increased month on month.
The first flight was planned to go from Boscombe Down airfield a mile or two from where this is being written. The European Court overruled the government and the plane left the following day, empty. It will be interesting to read what the redacted passages contain. It is known that Foreign Office officials raised concerns and recommended that we do not get involved with the country.
While in India for his wedding in November 2017, Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh (pictured), was arrested and accused of involvement in terrorism and in the assassination of a number of Hindu leaders in the Punjab. He is alleged to have faced torture and been forced to sign blank statements and record a video. This ‘confession’ was broadcast on national television, where the political nature of his ‘crimes’ was stressed. He has had no actual trial but faces the death penalty.
Mr Johal’s brother, Gurpreet, who lives in Scotland, says his brother was a peaceful activist and believes he was arrested because he had written about historical human rights violations against Sikhs in India. He has appealed to the British Government to seek his brother’s release and to bring him home.
Picture: BBC
In February of this year, almost 140 MPs wrote to the then Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, asking him to
seek Mr Johal’s release, and a debate was held in Parliament with calls for him to be declared a ‘victim of arbitrary detention. In June, Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, wrote to Mr Raab, urging him to seek Mr Johal’s release. Gurpreet Singh Johal is grateful for her support, but believes direct intervention from the British Government is essential.
Mr Johal is supported by the organisations Reprieve and Redress. He has made numerous court appearances, but his trial has been repeatedly delayed at the request of the prosecution and basic information denied to his defence counsel.
Mr Raab said he was doing all he could and had been in touch with the Indian authorities, but his response was criticised as ‘weak’. With the appointment of the new Foreign Secretary – Liz Truss – there is an opportunity to bring Mr Johal’s situation to her attention, and to call for a more positive and pro-active response.
Action
Please write to:
Ms Elizabeth Truss
Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the
UK has funnelled £2.4m to the Saudis to help them comply with humanitarian law
Last year, there was a political fuss when the Department for International Development was merged with the Foreign Office and subsequently, its budget cut from 0.7% of GDP to 0.5%. David Cameron, when prime minister, had kept to the higher level despite a fierce campaign and a string of exaggerated stories by the tabloid press, principally the Daily Mail. DFID had a good reputation and with broadly favourable audit reports on how and where the money was spent and its effectiveness.
A number of prominent Conservatives, including Andrew Mitchell, Tobias Ellwood and others, opposed the move. The pledge to keep the 0.7% was in the last party manifesto. There were many Conservatives however who were in favour of the cuts saying that the aid was best spent at home especially with the money needed for Covid. The arguments against the aid were that it was wasted and one example quoted was India which can afford nuclear weapons and has a space programme.
It is more than a little surprising therefore to discover that HMG has been quietly funding the Saudi government to the tune of £2.4m over a 4 year period to help them with meeting international humanitarian law requirements. In view of the Saudi regime’s continuing activities, it doesn’t seem like it is money well spent. Opposition to the regime is ruthlessly crushed. The women who argued for the right to drive languish in prison. Executions continue apace with a record 184 in 2019. Torture is routine. And then there is the bombing of Yemen where there have been 8,758 civilian deaths and 9,810 injured. During the period of this funding, the regime murdered and then dismembered the body of Adman Khashoggi.
So while aid will be cut – not just the reduction in the percentage itself but the reduction in our GDP because of the pandemic – money continues to flow to one of the richest countries in the world.
Sources: Human Rights Watch; Guardian; al Jazeera; Yemen Data Project
The following letter from our chair was published in the Salisbury Journal
MOTHER’S Day is around the corner and many people are buying cards and flowers, planning visits and days out with their mothers, and generally making this a special day.
This Mother’s Day we’re [Amnesty International] asking readers to spare a thought for one particular mother – Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian charity worker who’s already spent three years in an Iranian jail after a deeply unfair trial.
For three long years Nazanin has been separated from her young daughter Gabriella, who only gets to see her mother on short prison visits in Tehran.
Recently, the Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced the Government was giving Nazanin “diplomatic protection” status, meaning her case is now officially considered to be the cause of a formal dispute between our country and Iran.
This is welcome. It means the UK is taking her plight seriously and is committing itself to using all its international influence to gain her freedom. Readers can show their support for Nazanin by adding their name to our petition – amnesty.org.uk/nazanin – to the Iranian authorities calling for her release.
Andrew Hemming
Chair, Amnesty International, Salisbury branch
On Thursday, the Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo died of liver cancer. He had been in prison since 2008 mainly because he argued for greater democracy in China and was convicted of ‘inciting subversion’. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 which infuriated the Chinese government and he was not permitted to go to Norway to receive it. He was only the second laureate to have been in prison at the time of the award. Once the cancer was diagnosed he was released to a hospital where he was still under heavy guard. According to Human Rights Watch, even as his illness worsened the Chinese government continued to isolate him and denied him freely choosing his medical treatment.
On Saturday he was hastily cremated and his ashes scattered at sea almost certainly to prevent a grave on land becoming a centre for protest. Activists were reported by the South China Morning Postto be ‘outraged at the humiliating arrangements’. His second wife, Liu Xia, is under house arrest.
Liu was a supporter of Charter 08 which argued for a fundamental change in the one party state, a whole series of reforms that would result in a separation of powers, a new constitution and legislative democracy. It was suppressed by the Chinese government.
This is a sad day for human rights, but Liu Xiaobo leaves behind a powerful legacy to inspire others to continue the struggle for human rights in China and around the world
Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, made the following lukewarm statement:
I am deeply saddened to hear that Liu Xiaobo has passed away. He was a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and a lifelong campaigner for democracy, human rights and peace. His death is a huge loss and our hearts go out to his wife Liu Xia, his family, and his many friends and supporters.
Liu Xiaobo should have been allowed to choose his own medical treatment overseas, which the Chinese authorities repeatedly denied him. This was wrong and I now urge them to lift all restrictions on his widow, Liu Xia. 13 July 2017
This from a man not afraid to be outspoken at any given moment. Focusing on the restricted nature of his medical treatment is the least of the crimes the Chinese government has committed. ‘Has passed away’ gives the impression of a natural death not one hastened by harsh prison conditions, poor medical treatment and confining him right to the last. This is but the latest example of our government failing to stand up to breaches of human rights internationally. This is only set to get worse as the need to augment reduced European markets in the post Brexit world.
Under China’s president, Xi Jinping, there has been a major crackdown on any form of dissent. Restrictions on press freedom are well known and access to the internet is tightly restricted. Booksellers in Hong Kong stocking books detailing the corruption of the Politburo elite have been abducted. Details of this corruption among what are called the ‘Princelings’ has been revealed in the Panama Papers*. President Xi’s brother in law is implicated, along with other senior party people, in squirreling away billions in tax havens using the services of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.
Any discussion of democracy is taboo in China as it is contrary to one of the Four Cardinal Principles one of which is to ‘uphold the people’s democratic dictatorship.’ One can see straight away that ideas of freedom of the press and ideas of running the country on more democratic lines are not going to get far with the government.
The future
China has pursued a policy of economic growth which so far has been successful and has led to the country being second only to the USA. It is expanding militarily most notably in creating false islands in the South China Sea. It is present all around the world where natural resources are to be found. The trick has been to maintain economic growth in return for maintaining its hold on political power. How long this growth can be maintained is open to question.
On the other hand, China wants to be more of key player in the world and is to be seen at G7 and G20 meetings as well as having a seat on the UN Security Council. As it grows in economic and military power, it seeks political recognition as well. This is difficult to achieve if at home it denies basic freedoms and human rights to its citizens; executes more than all the other countries in the world put together; locks up its dissidents; denies access to the internet and treats the people of Tibet appallingly. Using its power it is able to suppress criticism – cancelling contracts with Norway for example after Liu was awarded the Nobel prize – and tells other countries not to interfere in its internal affairs.
Fundamentally Chinese social policy is not progressing indeed, under Xi Jinping, it has regressed. So long as they can maintain their tight grip on power and the levers of power, the CPC will continue. But the lesson of history is that when a crack appears, as with a sheet of ice, it spreads rapidly and unpredictably.
*The Panama Papers, 2017, Bastian Obermayer and Frederik Obermaier, Oneworld, London (3rd edition). Details tax evasion by criminals, dictators and politicians – not just the Chinese – as revealed by a release of papers from Mossack Fonseca
Sources: Human Rights Watch; New York times; The Guardian; Amnesty International; South China Morning Post
Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo has liver cancer
June 2017
Liu Xiaobo who has liver cancer and was serving 11 years for ‘inciting subversion of state power’ which means any activity which seeks to undermine communist power. Liu was seeking reforms in China and improved democracy. He is now out of prison but essentially under arrest. Since his diagnosis, the Chinese did not want a Nobel Lauriat dying in prison, so released him to a hospital where he is expected to die. It is alleged the poor state of medical attention in prisons in China meant he did not get treatment earlier enough and this may have hastened his end.
China is accused of many failings to do with human rights. Activists and lawyers are targeted and frequently arrested. There has been a crackdown on lawyers. People with religious convictions are persecuted. The internet is heavily restricted and press freedom is also extremely limited. The country is a heavy user of the death penalty and executes more of its citizens than all the rest of the world put together. The precise number not known since it is a state secret.
The country is extremely sensitive to outside criticism and were furious when Liu was awarded the Peace Prize. Trade with Norway was curtailed which probably did not concern them too much since they are a wealthy country. The Beijing government summoned the Norwegian ambassador in protest. It called Mr Liu a “criminal”, saying the award violated Nobel principles and could damage relations with Norway. The Norwegian Nobel committee said Mr Liu was “the foremost symbol” of the struggle for human rights in China. It took six years before relations were normalised between the two countries according to the New York Times.
In some respects China is a powder keg. As long as prosperity increases then many people are happy to go about their lives and not bother too much about issues of freedom and human rights. They will not have access to sites or information which discuss or promote such issues (such as Amnesty International) and so the ruling communists need not worry too much about a restive population. Step by step they are securing hegemony over Hong Kong. Some ‘below the line’ comments in the press stories suggest that the Confucian tradition also plays a part and that, unlike Western nations, this tradition of loyalty to the state is more a feature of political life.
Another factor is that it is said by some observers that the Chinese rather resent being subjected to Western moral codes, in which they had no part in formulating, being applied to them. This does have some force except that they were a member of the Security Council when the Universal Declaration was signed in 1948. It does overlook the fact that the Declaration caused the Western nations some discomfort as well: the British and French with their treatment of the colonial peoples and the USA with its treatment of black people.
If China wishes to become a leading world nation then it is going to have to accept the norms the rest of the world tries to live by. The treatment of Liu Xiaobo (and many, many others) has been disgraceful.
And what of our Foreign and Colonial Office? It says:
Minister for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field said:
I am pleased that the 24th Round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue has taken place. Senior officials discussed the full range of our human rights concerns, including freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, access to justice and ethnic minorities’ rights. They also discussed areas where the UK and China could collaborate more closely, including modern slavery and women’s rights.
The UK strongly believes that respect for human rights is vital for growth and stability, and that these regular talks are an important part of our relationship with China. The dialogue has, once again, been held in a constructive and open manner. I am grateful for the valuable contribution made by civil society organisations before and during this exchange. [accessed 29 June]
Post Brexit the emphasis is going to be on trade and the UK government is unlikely to raise difficult issues with the Chines government or risk being treated like Norway.
Sources: Amnesty International, New York Times, BBC, Guardian.
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Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire - 50 this year! 