Thursday, July 12, 2007

Your Signature is More Powerful than you Think

We would like to share this vlog made by Amnesty International as a way to encourage you to sign up for those petitions: email and post card campaign we are doing for Ms. Malalai Joya (Afghanistan) and Ms. Irom Sharmila (Manipur, India) both are winners of Gwangju Prize for Human Rights Award 2006 and 2007 respectively.

We hope that you appreciate and recognize that life is at stake when freedom, justice, human rights, democracy and peace is trampled upon.


Take few moments to savor the message of this vlog:


Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Email Campaign for Malalai Joya




Reinstate Malalai Joya!


“The Afghan Parliament is worse than an animal stable whose many members are the murderers and enemies of Afghan people,” was a comment made by Malalai Joya in an interview that got the ire of the members of the parliament, prompting her unjust ouster.

Joya criticized the parliament for their failure to legislate laws that benefit the Afghan people. Instead they passed bills like the “Amnesty Bill” that pardons and condones the misdeeds of human rights violators, corrupt officials, drug smugglers and other criminals, as well as creating parliamentary procedures that restrict the freedom of speech.

Malalai Joya is a well known women’s rights advocate who have won several international awards for her work and advocacy among them the 2006 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights Award given by the May 18 Memorial Foundation of the Republic of Korea.

Malalai Joya is in constant danger; she has survived several assassination attempts and remains under threat. But these will not frighten her to continue promoting and defending women and children’s rights and fighting for reforms with the Afghan people against corruption, fundamentalists’ abuses, warlords and drug smugglers.

We call on the Afghan Parliament to respect the voice of its people for electing Malalai Joya! We call for international solidarity to Afghan people’s call for justice and democracy!

Afghanistan deserves a true and dedicated Parliamentarian

Reinstate
Malalai Joya !




Send this email to the following:

President Hamid Karzai
khaleeq.ahmad@gmail.com
president@afghanistangov.org

Supreme Court of Afghanistan
aquddus@supremecourt.gov.af

Afghanistan's Parliament
hasib_n786@yahoo.com

Interior Ministry
moinews@gmail.com
wahed.moi@gmail.com

Justice Ministry of Afghanistan
info@moj.gov.af
hidayatr@moj.gov.af

Check this site to send the Afghan Ambassador of your country
http://www.mfa.gov.af/foreignmission.asp

Forward a copy of your email to
mj@malalaijoya.com
518campaigns@gmail.com


For more information check these sites:

http://www.malalaijoya.com/index1024.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malalai_Joya
http://eng.518.org/english.html

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

518 Launches Campaign for Ms. Irom Sharmila



Repeal The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 (AFSPA)! Release Irom Sharmila! These were unanimous calls among the participants of the Gwangju International Peace Forum and East Asia Human Rights Forum 2007 held this May in Gwangju City, Republic of Korea.

Ms. Irom Sharmila is being held under judicial custody for her campaign for the repeal of the AFSPA with her fast-to-death advocacy for more than 6 years now. For this, The May 18 Memorial Foundation's 2007 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights Committee have awarded Ms. Irom Sharmila together with Dr. Lenin Raguvanshi the 2007 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights.

The committee acknowledges Ms. Sharmila's non-violent advocacy in the repeal of a draconian law that continues to oppress the citizens of Manipur. Ms. Irom Sharmila is given recognition and honor for her indefatigable efforts to improve human rights in India and the noble cause of social justice. Her example is an inspiration to the many people throughout the world who are striving to attain democracy, human rights and peace.

"A letter was sent to the Indian government to allow Ms. Irom Sharmila to receive her prize but it was ignored" said Mr. Chanho Kim, Director of the International Cooperation Team. As a show of continuing support to Ms. Sharmila's advocacy The May 18 Memorial Foundation is launching a post card campaign to create more pressure to Indian authorities and encourage solidarity among nations to stand-up against oppressive laws like AFSPA.

The post card calling for the Release of Ms. Irom Sharmila and the Repeal of AFSPA will be distributed to The May 18 Memorial Foundation networks both domestic and abroad. The post card can be sent individually to the Indian Embassy of any country or it could be sent to the coordinating organization of a particular place who will then send those collected post cards to the May 18 Memorial Foundation.

The public is encouraged to email us at 518campaigns@gmail.com for queries or visit the English website of The May 18 at www.518.org for other information and details.

Please fill out the attached petition-post card and email to the following:


1. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
President of India
President's Secretriat, New Delhi
INDIA.
Tel: +91 11 23015321
Fax: 91-11-23017290 & 91-11-23017824
E-mail: presidentofindia@rb.nic.in


2. Mr. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister's Office
Room number 152, South Block
New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23016857
Email: pmosb@pmo.nic.in

3. The Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi 110001
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23384863
Email: chairnhrc@nic.in

4. Hon. Shivraj Patil

Ministry of Home Affairs,

Secretariat, New Delhi - 110 001
Phone: 23092462/23017256

Fax:23794842, 23793716

23794833(fax)

Email:websitemhaweb@nic.in

6. Foreign Missions (Check the contact details of the Indian Embassy in your country through this site) :

http://goidirectory.gov.in/missions.html



Officials of Manipur to send your Email


A) Ministers and MLAs of Government of Manipur
1. Shri Ved Marwah, His Excellency Governor of Manipur govmani@hub.nic.in
2. Shri O. Ibobi Singh, Chief Minister, Manipur cmmani@hub.nic.in
3. Speaker, Manipur Legislative Assembly man-speaker@hub.nic.in
4. Shri K Govindas govindas@hub.nic.in
5. Shri Phunzathang Tonsing, Minister (Power), Manipur manipower@hub.nic.in
6. Shri Th. Debendra Singh, Minister (Industries) debendra@hub.nic.in
7. Shri W. Keishing, MOS ( Fisheries & Govt. Press) wkeishing@hub.nic.in
8. Advocate General, Manipur ag-manipur@hub.nic.in

B) IAS and MCS Officers of Government of Manipur
1. Chief Secretary, Manipur csecmani@hub.nic.in
2. A R Khan, IAS,Commissioner(S&T) arkhan@hub.nic.in
3. B B Sharma,IAS man-bbs@hub.nic.in
4. Ch Birendra Singh, IAS birendra@hub.nic.in
5. D S Poonia, IAS dspoonia@hub.nic.in
6. Dev Shekhar Sharma, IAS devsharma@hub.nic.in
7. Gyan Prakash, Jt CEO gyan@hub.nic.in
8. Henry K Heni, IAS henry@hub.nic.in
9. Jason A Shimray, Jt Secy jashimray@hub.nic.in
10. L Gangte, IAS lgangte@hub.nic.in
11. L P Gonmei, IAS lpgonmei@hub.nic.in
12. M Lakshmi Kumar, Jt Secy mlkumar@hub.nic.in
13. Md Sajjad Hasan shasan@hub.nic.in
14. O Nabakishore, IAS oinam@hub.nic.in
15. P Bhorot Singh, IAS pbhorot@hub.nic.in
16. P Kipgen, IAS pkipgen@hub.nic.in
17. P Sharat Chandra, IAS pschandra@hub.nic.in
18. R K Nimai Singh, IAS rknimai@hub.nic.in
19. Raikhan Chhibber, IAS rchhibber@hub.nic.in
20. Rajesh Kumar, IAS rjkumar@hub.nic.in
21. RK Angousana Singh, IAS angousana@hub.nic.in
22. S Budha Chandra, IAS budha@hub.nic.in
23. S Jerol, IAS jerol@hub.nic.in
24. S Kunjabihari Singh, IAS kunjabihari@hub.nic.in
25. S Sunderlal, IAS sunderlal@hub.nic.in
26. Saichhuana, IAS saichhuana@hub.nic.in
27. Secretary to Governor, Manipur man-secygov@hub.nic.in
28. Shambhu Singh, IAS man-shambu@hub.nic.in
29. V Chhibber, IAS vchhibber@hub.nic.in
30. V K Thakral, IAS vkthakral@hub.nic.in


C) Departments and other Officers under the Government of Manipur
1. 17th Assam Rifles, Imphal ar17bn@hub.nic.in
2. ADC to Governor, Manipur adc-gov@hub.nic.in
3. AIR, Imphal airimphal@hub.nic.in
4. Board Of Sec. Education, Imphal bsem@hub.nic.in
5. BRTF, Imphal brtf-imphal@hub.nic.in
6. Dept. of Science, and Technology, Imphal dstmanipur@hub.nic.in
7. Deputy Comdt, 33bn BSF, Bishnupur bsf33bn@hub.nic.in
8. Deputy Director, Manipur State Archives, Imphal man-archives@hub.nic.in
9. DGP, Manipur dgp-mnp@hub.nic.in
10. DIG, Police Department, Imphal dig-ops@hub.nic.in
11. Director, Education(S), Imphal diredus@hub.nic.in
12. Director, Information and, Public Relation, Imphal man-dipr@hub.nic.in
13. Director, Minorities and Other Backward Classes, Imphal mobc@hub.nic.in
14. Director, Planning, Imphal dirplg@hub.nic.in
15. Director, Youth Affairs and Sports, Imphal dir-yas@hub.nic.in
16. Doordarshan Kendra, Imphal ddk-imp@hub.nic.in
17. Gauhati High Court, Imphal ghc-imp@hub.nic.in
18. Govt College of Technology, Imphal gct-imphal@hub.nic.in
19. IGP Intelligence igp-int@hub.nic.in
20. J B Negi, IPS jbnegi@hub.nic.in
21. MASTEC, Imphal mastec@hub.nic.in
22. Police wireless, Imphal man-wire@hub.nic.in
23. R Baral, IGP rbaral@hub.nic.in
24. SP, CID (SB), Imphal cid-sb@hub.nic.in
25. T Thanguthuam, IPS thanguthuam@hub.nic.in
26. Kh. Rajen Singh, PSA & SIO sio-man@nic.in
rajen@nic.in




(Note - a word file of this post card is available at 518 website.)

Related link about this issue:

Final Call for Applications!


Have you sent in your application for the Gwangju Asian Human Rights Folk School 2007?

The dateline is just around the corner and the competition is tough…..

Greetings!

The Gwangju Asian Human Rights Folk School aims to contribute to the development of democracy and human rights throughout Asia. Total of twenty-five (25) invitees from all over Asia who have been working for human rights and peace organizations in their own countries shall be given an opportunity to learn and experience the history and development process of human rights and democracy in South Korea.

Participants will be introduced to Korean history, the movements and struggle for democracy, including the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising, both through theoretical and practical experiences such as seminars, discussions and field trips to the sites of democratization movements in Korea. Included in the program design are sessions on administration of cultural events and youth activities; orientation on documentation and record preservation; and building networks and conduct of international cooperation projects.


Basic Criteria

1) Applicants will be chosen and categorized according to the following levels:
a) 5 participants – Senior Manager/Director Level (Total of 3-week of stay in Korea)
b) 10 participants – Middle Manager/Supervisory Level (Total of 2-week of stay in Korea)
c) 10 participants – Junior Staff (Total of 2-week of stay in Korea)

2) Must have more than 2 years of NGO work experience (human rights, democracy and/or peace organizations) for the junior staff. The other levels require minimum 5 years of work experience.

3) Facilities for English language (Korean an advantage) and demonstrate capacity for active participation in discussions and cultural events.

4) Application is endorsed by his/her organization.

5) Must be sensitive to cultural conditions and traditions of Korea/Koreans and co-participants.

Application and Selection Process of the Gwangju Asian Human Rights Folk School

1. Application forms will be released in June 2007 and the deadline for applications will be on 20th July 2007. The final list of folk school participants will be announced in the month of August 2007.


2. The folk school will be conducted for two weeks from September 2-16, 2007.

3. Applicants should fill-out the application form properly and submit via email to The May 18 Memorial Foundation.

4. The May 18 Memorial Foundation - International Committee, (composed of individuals from different organizations) is in-charge of selecting the final list of participants after a careful evaluation and assessment of applicants.

5. Guidelines and other details on the Gwangju Asian Human Rights Folk School will be given to successful applicants.

Important Dates:

1. Application deadline: July 20, 2007

2. Period of event: September 2-16, 2006

Other Information and Details

The May 18 Memorial Foundation will cover round-trip airfare, meals, and accommodation of those successful applicants.

Please download and fill out the application form found at the 518 website and email it to us at: 518folkschool@gmail.com


For information about the past folk schools visit our blog and check the September 2005 archive at - 518folkschool.blogspot.com.

To learn more about the The May 18 Memorial Foundation please visit the English section of our website at – www.518.org


Please help us disseminate this information.

Good wishes.

Chanho Kim
Director
International Cooperation Team
The May 18 Memorial Foundation

Updating our directory


Warm greetings !

We are currently in the midst of updating our database. As such, we hope that you will be able to help us identify the active and inactive e-mail addresses.

If you get this mail, please do send us a mail in reply, identifying yourself. Please include information like:

Name

Position

Organization

Field of work

Mailing Address

E-mail Address

Web/Blogsites

Phone number/s

Fax number

Other relevant contact details.

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to update us. Please email us at 518org@gmail.com

We really appreciate it.

Have a nice day.

Warm Regards,
International Cooperation Team

Irom Sharmila Video


Irom Sharmila is a young woman of Manipur who has been on a fast-to-death for nearly 7 years now. She has been demanding the removal of a brutal law from her land. Manipur is a north-east Indian state (bordering Myanmar), riven for decades by insurgency and armed separatist movements. The Government of India has attempted to control the situation militarily, granting drastic powers to the security forces. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act enforced in the region lets people be arrested, shot and even killed - on suspicion alone. But Sharmila is willing to stake everything -- even her life -- to restore justice and dignity to her people.
http://kavitajoshi.blogspot.com/