Human Rights Archives - Page 226 of 390

Now is the Time to Resist

by John Gershman, Henry Rosemont | Jul 28, 2005

In his April 2005 FPIF Discussion Paper “Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice (RTPV),” John Humphries describes how a group of clergy and lay people—Christian, Jewish, and Muslim—drafted a Call to Resist the War in Iraq, which committed signers thereof to become actively complicit in differing acts of civil disobedience designed to end the illegal U.S. occupation and warfare in Iraq. Humphries describes the RTPV c all as inspired by and modeled after the 1967 Call to Resist Illegitimate Authority, which led to the formation of an organization named RESIST that actively opposed the illegal U.S. war against the South Vietnamese. The model indeed fits, as both calls are grounded in basic ethical principles rather than purely utilitarian concerns: The wars and occupations must be resisted, not because they were and are too costly or might drag on too long but because they were and are morally loathsome.

The U.S. and Iran: Democracy, Terrorism, and Nuclear Weapons

by John Gershman, Stephen Zunes | Jul 26, 2005

The election of the hard-line Teheran mayor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, over
former President Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani as the new head of Iran is
undeniably a setback for those hoping to advance greater social and political
freedom in that country. It should not necessarily be seen as a turn to the
right by the Iranian electorate, however. The 70-year old Rafsanjani—a cleric
and penultimate wheeler-dealer from the political establishment—was portrayed
as the more moderate conservative. The fact that he had become a millionaire
while in government was apparently seen as less important than his modest reform
agenda. By contrast, the young Teheran mayor focused on the plight of the poor
and cleaning up corruption.

A Strategy for Ending the Iraq War

by John Gershman, Tom Hayden | Jul 13, 2005

“When you’re in the middle of a conflict, you’re trying to find pillars of strength to lean on.”

The Left and the Iraq War

by John Gershman, Clive Hamilton | Jul 13, 2005

The left has been snookered by the U.S. invasion of Iraq, for it is deeply opposed to the war yet supports the spread of democracy and civil freedoms. It is in the interests of the world that democracy should succeed in Iraq but that the U.S. has its nose bloodied in the process.

Recent Visit Highlights Double Standards in Bush Administration’s Pro-Democracy Rhetoric

by John Gershman, Ronald Bruce St John | Jul 1, 2005

The recent visit of Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai to the United States highlighted the extent to which Vietnam remains wedded to the Chinese model of reform. Substantial, if often plodding, economic reform continues as an excuse for near nonexistent political reform. His visit also exposed the hypocrisy of the Bush administration which continued to call for widespread political reform in the Middle East in the same week it soft-peddled the need for the same reform in Indochina.

Israeli Human Rights Abuses and the U.S. Attack on the United Nations and the NGO Community

by Foreign Policy In Focus, Stephen Zunes | Jun 30, 2005

The Bush administration, like its predecessors, has frequently taken advantage of the idealism and values of the U.S. citizenry to justify foreign policies that most Americans would otherwise find morally unacceptable. The recent emphasis on justifying Washington’s imperial goals in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East in the name of spreading liberty and democracy is a case in point. The fact that the United States is the world’s principal supporter of autocratic Middle Eastern regimes is conveniently overlooked, as the administration focuses solely on the human rights abuses of governments that challenge U.S. hegemony in the region, such as Iran and Syria. Similarly, repeated emphasis of the fact that Israel has established advanced democratic institutions (at least for its Jewish citizens) and an accountable government (relative to anything that currently exists in the Arab world) makes it possible for most Americans to ignore the pattern of gross and systematic Israeli human rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Attacks Against the World Court by Bush, Kerry, and Congress Reveal Growing Bipartisan Hostility to International Law

by Stephen Zunes | Aug 17, 2004

On July 9, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) determined that the Israeli government’s construction of a separation wall running through the occupied Palestinian West Bank was illegal. Among other things, the ICJ noted that the construction of the first 125 miles of the proposed 450-mile barrier “has involved the confiscation and destruction of Palestinian land and resources, the disruption of the lives of the thousands of protected civilians and the de facto annexation of large areas of territory.” The court called on Israel to cease construction of the wall, to dismantle what has already been built in areas beyond Israel’s internationally recognized border, and to compensate Palestinians who have suffered losses as a result of the wall’s construction.

The New Afghan Constitution: A Step Backwards for Democracy

by James Ingalls | Mar 10, 2004

On January 4, 2004, 502 delegates agreed on a Constitution for Afghanistan , an act many have described as a positive step toward democracy. U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad wrote: “Afghans have seized the opportunity provided by the United States and its international partners to lay the foundation for democratic institutions and provide a framework for national elections.” 1 Judging by who was allowed to participate, their manner of participation, and the document itself, the foundation set by the delegates and their foreign overseers was precisely antidemocratic.

Bush Administration is Undermining Democracy in Palestine

by Kevin Murray | Dec 18, 2003

Aid to Palestinian civil society organizations has always been a tough sell in the United States, but perhaps never as tough as it is today. Images of Palestinians as doctors providing trauma treatment, human rights workers documenting abuses on all sides, or city dwellers planting urban gardens in Gaza seldom appear on the evening news. Palestinians are doing all of these things and more. Their work is central to any vision of a democratic future for the Palestinians, and a just solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.