10 April 2008

help carry the torch for human rights in china...

on the heels of widespread protests all over the world, the olympic torch stopped in san francisco yesterday...and in case you missed my observation yesterday the olympic torch relay was the original bright idea of hitler and the third reich...

and the ioc calls itself a movement...


back in 2001, china promised that it would improve its human rights record for the honor of hosting the 2008 olympics...

yeah, right...

instead, china's human rights violations have increased in the months leading up to the games...their actions have included a crackdown on peaceful dissent in tibet, the rounding up and jailing of prominent human rights activists, and increased censorship of the media...together, the abuses constitute a fundamental violation of the letter and spirit of the olympic charter - and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms...


the current wave of repression runs counter to the promises china made to improve its human rights record...despite some high profile releases, many more have been detained over the last six months...citing "security", china imprisoned individuals for doing nothing more than petitioning the authorities to address their grievances or drawing international attention to ongoing human rights violations...

with president bush's announcement that he will attend the opening ceremony of the 2008 summer olympics, it is critical that he pressures china to clean up its act...


peace out <3

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