Here are the minutes of the January meeting with thanks to Karen for producing them. Notes that copies of this and previous minutes are also in ‘About us’.
Two extras links have been added to the list of organisations at the bottom of the page.
Carol singing
Last night the Salisbury group went carol singing around several streets in the city. The singing was done by members of the
Farrant Singers which meant residents were treated to high quality singing from one of the finest choirs in Salisbury. To fortify us, we started the evening with a glass of vin chaud kindly provided by Michael and Chantal and afterwards, we all repaired to their house for home made soup, cheese and mince pies. A most successful evening and thanks to Michael and Chantal for their hospitality, Jonathan and Thomas for leafleting the houses the evening before and to the Farrant Singers themselves. Also to other group members who played a supporting role.
A happy Christmas to all our readers and followers around the world.
Film, Omar
Last night the Salisbury Arts centre hosted the film #Omar in the fourth of our collaborations with the Centre. The film is a gripping story of love and betrayal in the occupied territories of Palestine and shows the grim realities of life for Palestinians living there. Many people signed our cards at the end of the showing which concerned five individuals at risk of, or who have been, tortured (but not in Palestine). A total of 103 were signed.
Several people expressed interest in the group and may come here to find out about us. Details are to be found in the ‘About Us’ tab and we look forward to seeing you again. ‘Every little helps’ is true and if you are able to help now and again at our events that is always appreciated. From time to time we post urgent actions and if you can find time to write that is also a help.
We are possibly entering a difficult time as far as human rights are concerned with a concerted attack on the Human Rights Act by sections of the media. It is fuelled often by misreporting of cases and the almost complete absence of reporting of the benefits the act has brought for ordinary people. Hence the myth has become established that it helps terrorists, mass murderers and the like and it is all to do with the European Union imposing their beliefs on us. The Conservative government have said they would like to abolish the act and replace it with a new version.
#stoptorture
On Saturday 15 November the group carried out a signing for the #stoptorture campaign. Cards for five
individuals who have allegedly been tortured were available for people to sign and we secured the magnificent total of 267. It was the first time out for the torture wheel which is modelled on the infamous wheel used by the Philippine police. Various forms of abuse are put on a wheel which they spin to decide on what method to use on a victim.
Although we achieved a good response, many refuse to sign and one person ventured the opinion that ‘they must have deserved it.’ Torture is widely used around the world and is practised in 141 countries despite nearly every nation having signed the UN protocol against its use.
The cards will be posted over the net few days to the relevant authority where the victims are held.
Don’t forget the Salisbury Arts Centre film on 4 December.
Korean speaker
Group welcomes speaker on #Korea. On Thursday 13 November, the group was pleased to welcome a Korean speaker as part of our activities to keep the problems in North Korea in the limelight. Bona Shin is a member of a large community of Koreans who live in London, the largest such community in Europe. There are thought to be around 32,000 living in the UK and 691 of whom from North Korea.
Other speakers have mentioned the difference between Pyongyang and the rest of the country. People who live in Pyongyang are the elite and they are reasonably well fed by North Korean standards. It is the rural areas which are impoverished and where people struggle to survive. She said there are no disabled people in the capital either: they are all moved out to the rural areas.
She mentioned the propaganda initiative recently where the North Korean embassy hosted an art exhibition. Developments in the last week or so at the UN where there are attempts to get the regime and Kim Jong un indicted for crimes against humanity.
There are reports of the infamous Yodok camp being closed and prisoners being moved to Camp 14 or Camp 16 as part of the propaganda by the North but this cannot be confirmed at the time of writing. Bilateral talks may begin with the EU on the question of human rights.
There are still survivors from the Korean war which Britain contributed large troop numbers second only to the USA. There is a British Korean Veteran Association
Group meeting
The meeting took place tonight with a speaker from South Korea. A full report will appear soon.
#stoptorture And a reminder that we are running a stall on Saturday 15th in the Market Place to highlight the issue of torture around the world. If you can come along and sign or better still, help for an hour that would be great. It will be the first outing of the torture wheel based on the Philippine’s security services wheel used to decide on how they are going to torture a suspect.
#NorthKorea video
Amnesty group makes YouTube video. The #Salisbury group of Amnesty International broke new ground today when they prepared
a short YouTube video clip to highlight the appalling situation in the North Korean prison camps. Fifteen members held up cards which spelled out the message ‘Close the Camps’ to mimic the huge displays which take place in Pyongyang. It was part of a morning spent collecting signatures which unfortunately had to be curtailed because of the heavy rain which made it impossible to continue. Despite this, in the hour or so we were able to operate, 84 people signed.
Jooil Kim (pictured) an escapee was able to attend and take part and we were pleased to have a member of the South Korean Embassy come and sign as well.
Thanks for all who came and made this a success and especially to Karen (and husband) who did all the work preparing the cards. Now watch the video …!
UPDATE: revised YouTube video
UPDATE II: link to a newspaper interview with Joo il Kim
Link to the New Malden North Korean site
Citizenship day
Jonathan, Fiona and Andrew went to Bishop Wordsworth’s school last month for the annual #Citizenship Day, an event for Year 12 students from the Bishops Wordsworth School and South Wilts Grammar. More than 50 students opted to attend our sessions – about the same number as last year – choosing over other charities, pressure groups and political parties.
Three sessions were held and following an introduction by Andrew, Jonathan got them to work thinking about human rights in general and Fiona finished with a “what you can do” chat. To judge from talking to other presenters, ours was probably one of the more interactive sessions, and the students seemed to respond well, overcoming a natural reticence. Groups had interesting thoughts about what rights consisted of, and one group even came up with a definition, although knowledge of Magna Carta was surprisingly spotty.
We hope some will take up the essay challenge and a good number of forms were taken away. Feedback has been positive, and we are hopeful of encouraging the students to take up Amnesty causes for themselves.
Essay competition
We have re-launched the #essay competition this year and invited members of the 6th forms in the #Salisbury area to contribute. A pdf of the full entry details is here:
The competition details have been sent to the following schools with around 50 copies of the entry leaflet:
Bishops Wordsworth
Burgate School
Godolphin School
South Wilts Grammar School
Sarum Academy
6th Form College
St Mary’s School, Shaftesbury.
The title of the essay is either:
Discuss the relevance of Magna Carta today or
Should the Human Rights Act be abolished?
Closing date is 30 November. There are three money prizes: £60; £30 and £15. We look forward to receiving the essays.
