Thursday, February 11, 2010

Amnesty International's whitewash of 11 February

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=18623

Excerpts:
Contrary to Gita Sahgal’s assertions to the media, she was not suspended from Amnesty International for raising these issues internally. In fact we actively welcome vigorous internal debate. Up to now we have maintained confidentiality in line with our policy but wanted to correct this misrepresentation. This is not a reflection on the organisation’s respect for her work as a women’s rights activist and does not undermine the work she has done over the last few years as the head of Amnesty International’s gender unit.

They go on, but they do not say why she was suspended. I can only presume that she was suspended for exposing AI's hypocrisy externally. Intimidating dissent is the best way I know to debase one's credibility.

Sleazy people, these AI:
Our work with Moazzam Begg has focused exclusively on highlighting the human rights violations committed in Guantánamo Bay and the need for the US government to shut it down and either release or put on trial those who have been held there. Moazzam Begg was one of the first detainees released by the US without charge, and has never been charged with any terrorist-related offence or put on trial.

When President Obama promised to close Guantánamo, Amnesty International hoped that we could wind down our campaign and focus more broadly on human rights abuses related to security and terrorism. However, as that promise remains unmet, Amnesty International continues to work with Moazzam Begg and other former detainees to ask European governments to accommodate those who cannot be returned to their country of citizenship without risk of torture or ill-treatment.

That's how these self-righteous nonentities pin the conduct of Muslims fascists like Moazzem Begg on the United States. If it were up to Begg, every homosexual in Amnesty International would be beheaded. But he serves their Yankee-bashing purpose and that's good enough.

In this complex and polarised world we at Amnesty International face the challenge of communicating clearly the scope of our work with individuals and groups. Amnesty International champions and continues to champion Moazzam Begg’s rights as a former detainee at Guantánamo. He speaks about his own views and experiences, not Amnesty International’s. And Moazzam Begg has never used a platform he shared with Amnesty to speak against the rights of others.

Disgusting self-absolution by these guys. Moazzem Begg incites hate all day every day. His whole agenda is the destruction of all human rights. And that's fine with AI as long as he leaves them out of it.

Toward the end of the piece, Amnesty takes the opportunity to do a little self-advertising, which is habitual for any hypocritical NGO:
Amnesty International has a long history of demanding justice – in the case of our Counter Terror with Justice Campaign we called for both an end to human rights abuses at Guantánamo and other locations, and called for those detained there to be brought to justice, in fair trials that respected due process.


More coming.