The Amnesty tree

Salisbury group assembles to mark planting of its tree

March 2025

Last year (2024) marked the fifty years since the group was founded and here we are, still going strong if sadly the only group left in Wiltshire. We had the opportunity for a tree to be planted in honour of this anniversary and today (4 March) some of the local group assembled for a photograph in Victoria Park. We were delighted to welcome two surviving members who formed the group half a century ago.

The need to keep human rights issues on the agenda is needed now more than ever. It was perhaps the belief all those years ago that the need for a human rights group would slowly melt away in the wake of the post war ideal of the new world order following WWII. This has not been the case. Rights are being slowly chipped away at home as governments have not liked protest groups drawing attention to their climate and environment failings and continued arming of Israel for example. The previous government introduced several pieces of legislation reducing rights, increasing police powers and limiting access to justice. The new government shows little inclination to repeal them. Some MPs – including both our local ones – generally vote against human rights matters according to the They Work for You website.

Overseas – well, where to start. China continues to persecute the Uyghurs and western firms continue to buy cotton produced by effectively slave labour. War and destruction continues in Sudan and other parts of sub Sahara Africa. The situation in Burma continues with the military attacking people and villages of minority groups. We continue to sell them jet fuel to enable them to carry on. The terrible death toll continues in Gaza.

So the need to keep the spotlight on human rights is needed today as it was 50 years ago. Power, in whatever form, does not like giving it up and will go to great lengths to keep it for themselves and their supporters.

If you would like to join us you would be welcome. See a list of current and future events where you can come and make yourself known. We welcome people who want to pursue a particular human rights theme – more rights for women for example.

Photo: Salisbury Amnesty

Forthcoming group events

List of events planned

February 2025

NOTE CHANGE OF TIME FOR THE TREE CEREMONY

Although our minutes contain a list, it is still useful to highlight them in a specific post. Any of these are a useful opportunity to make yourself known if you would like to join us. Most join because they care about human rights both around the world and here in Britain. Indeed, we have become more concerned about our rights here with a number of pieces of legislation passed to inhibit protests and demonstrations. There seems to be no hurry by the Labour Government to repeal this legislation.

Forthcoming group events

Vigils continue every Saturday at 5pm in the Market Square by the Library. We had hoped to stop these in view of the ceasefire and exchange of prisoners and hostages, but the future looks uncertain.
Tree. We have a tree! To commemorate our 50 years since formation, there is a tree in Victoria Park and we are planning a group photo. We hope the last two surviving founder members will be able to attend and it will take place on 4th March at 11:00 am. We’d like as many supporters to be there as possible. The Salisbury group is the last remaining Amnesty group in Wiltshire.
A conversation with Nazanin Zaghari at the Cathedral on 8th March. The group took place in a number of signings and events to get her freed. It is free and details are on the Cathedral’s site. The group was not invited to have a role.
South West Conference in Exeter on 22nd March. An enjoyable event with speakers and a chance to meet other groups.
Evensong at the Cathedral. Date tbc.
Market Stall, probably in May. If you have any items for the stall please save them up. We can collect if need be. No electricals please.
People in the Park on 17th May for most of the day.
Coffee Morning, St Thomas’s on 5th July starting at 10:00 or so until noon.
Write for Rights on 4th November. Details idc.

These details will be updated in due course. Hope you can make one of them!

February 15, 2025 1

Anniversary supper

November 2024

Some members of the Amnesty group met last evening to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its foundation. We are, sad to say, the last surviving group in Wiltshire. As we have noted before, the founders in 1974 may have thought that human rights were now a part of the political agenda and that it might naturally wither on the vine especially when the Human Rights Act became law in the UK. That has not been the case and the need for vigilance is ever present.

The world situation is dire for millions in countries like Burma where the minorities such as the Rohingya are persecuted; China where the Uyghurs and Tibetans suffer monstrous persecution; sub Saharan Africa where wars rage and millions flee or are driven from their homes; Syria – although quiet at present – has been a country where large numbers have been killed or driven from their homes and currently, the Middle East where a fearsome death toll and suggestions of ethnic cleansing are taking place in Gaza.

In the UK, hostility to the HRA is ever present and was a fixture of Conservative party policy for some years. Only yesterday we reported on a Daily Mail article which gave its readers only partial details of a report critical of the HRA produced by a secretive think tank. Several of the tabloids and the right wing press generally have maintained a steady stream of anti human rights stories suggesting the act is a get out of gaol card for criminals, terrorists and assorted ne’er-do-wells.

The They Work for You website reveals that both local MPs – John Glen and Danny Kruger – generally vote against human rights proposals. Kruger has written often on this subject and we have reviewed some of his activities on this site. The last Conservative government passed several pieces of legislation to limit protests and giving more powers to the police to arrest people taking part in protests. Indeed, the issue of arrests of journalists was part of the last Salisbury Democracy Café debate on Saturday 9th.

Both internationally and in the UK, the continuing need for a spotlight on human rights issues is vital and the group hopes to carry on with this work in the years to come. We always welcome new members and the best thing is to follow this site or Facebook (salisburyai) to see what we are doing and come along and make yourself known. Oh, and we had a very enjoyable meal!

Pic: Jane Miller

November 13, 2024 0

The Vigils continue

October 2024

Just when you think it cannot get worse, it does. The situation in Gaza, particularly in the northern enclave is dire. Bombing continues and plans to prevent food and other aid entering is underway. The Israeli government plans to ban the UN agency UNWRA. [Update: 29th October. This has been approved by the Knesset]. The Times newspaper in the UK claims that the agency is of value to Hamas and not ordinary Palestinians, a view similar to the Israeli government.

Further, there have been many allegations that UNWRA employees were engaged in the terror attack on 7 October 2023. Seven of the agency’s employees were dismissed after an investigation by the UN. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant alleges 30 of their employees were involved. He said in a Haaretz article that out of 13,000 employees, 1,468 were involved in terror organisations.

A representative of the National Unity Party spoke on BBC World at One today (28 October). They claimed that UNWRA was ‘rotten to the core’. The representative alleged that ‘most [of their staff] were Hamas activists’. Later she said that ‘70% were affiliated to Hamas’. The BBC interviewer tried gamely to interject saying that there was no evidence for these claims. It was admitted that a small number were involved as noted above. The interviewee was sure that the Knesset will vote in the measure today saying there was wide-spread support for it.

The problem as we have noted before is that there is a lack of independent verification for these various claims some of which are extremely wild. Claims that buildings are being used by terrorists are impossible to verify. Gaza is one of the most dangerous places for journalists to operate in. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 131 have died and 69 arrested. They believe 5 have been murdered by Israeli forces. The question is, if Israel is so certain that buildings are used by Hamas and people are being used by them as human shields, why not allow independent verification?

Over the weekend, Israeli forces bombed various military sites in Iran raising the tensions still further.

Meanwhile, in Salisbury the vigils continue and over 35 were in attendance on Saturday. We will gather again on Saturday 2 November when we shall be back to candles. Around 42,000 have died in Gaza according to Le Monde.

October 28, 2024 4

Salisbury group assembles to mark planting of its tree

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List of events planned

Forthcoming group events

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Minutes of the December meeting

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The Salisbury group is 50 this year.

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