Minutes of the group’s meeting this month are attached thanks to group member Lesley for preparing them. There are brief reports on the death penalty (full report in another post on this site) and refugees (ditto). Some our future activities are listed. If you are thinking of joining us the best way is to come along to one of our events and make yourself known. We are at the Saturday Vigils for example in the Market Square at 5pm. You would be very welcome.
We have pleasure in attaching the minutes of our December meeting thanks to group member Lesley for preparing them. They contain details of the group’s recent activities including a schools talk, carol singing and Write for Rights. Future activities are also listed and if you are thinking of joining us, coming along to one of those would be a good place to start. Seasons greetings to our readers!
The minutes of our November meeting are here thanks to group member Lesley for producing them. The contain information about forthcoming events and brief reports on refugees and the death penalty.
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!
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.
We are pleased to attach the minutes of the group’s meeting held on 10 October thanks to group member Lesley for their preparation. They are longer than normal minutes as they double as our newsletter. If you live in the south Wiltshire area you would be welcome to join us and we meet on the second Thursday of each month. A good idea is to make yourself known at an event we’re running. Joining us is free but there is a fee to join Amnesty International.
Salisbury Group was established half a century ago
October 2024
The Salisbury Amnesty group was established 50 years ago this year and some of the current members met briefly for a photo in the Market Square. It was probably not imagined in those distant days that we would still be active. After all, the purpose of a charity is to work itself out of existence. Unfortunately, human rights are in a fairly parlous state in many parts of the world. Almost wherever you look, people are imprisoned for their political beliefs. Media organisations are tightly restricted or banned. Journalists are murdered, with three quarters of recent murders in Gaza alone. Terrible events are taking place in the Middle East. Atrocities continue in Burma, almost completely unreported. Individuals are tortured and justice is denied for millions. The post-war hope ushered in by the Universal Declaration has had only mixed results.
Depressingly, it is not just foreign countries where human rights are under threat. In the UK there has been a prolonged campaign to repeal the Human Rights Act led by a vocal section of the press. Several acts have been passed making protest harder and reducing access to judicial review. Police powers have been increased. Facial recognition technology does not seem to be far away. One of the leadership contenders for the Conservative party wants the UK to leave the European Convention of Human Rights.
Sadly, we are the only extant group in Wiltshire. So the next 50 years begins …
Members and supportersoutside the Guildhall on 3 October. We were particularly pleased that one of the founder members from 50 years ago was able to attend. (Picture: Salisbury Amnesty)
Don’t forget that we shall be in the Market Square, Salisbury today, Thursday, at 2:30 for a photo to celebrate the 50 years since the formation of the Salisbury Amnesty group. If you are able to spare half an hour or so, that would be wonderful. Whether you are a member, supporter or want to celebrate with us – doesn’t matter.
We are pleased to attach the minutes of our group meeting in September 2024 – thanks to group member Lesley for preparing them. The minutes contain a lot of interest including future group actions (see the last page). We are celebrating our formation 50 years ago and we shall be holding a brief photo op in Salisbury market square on 3 October near the Guildhall. All supporters and those with an interest in human rights are welcome to come.
We are 50 this year!
Note that we are no longer on X due to its recent history but we do have a presence on Mastodon with the handle @SalisburyAmnesty
We are pleased to attach the minutes of the group’s meeting on 12 July thanks to group member Lesley for their preparation.
NB: due to several people not being able to come, the Summer social event has been postponed. We will decide on an alternative at our September meeting.
Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire 