The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) engaged in a fact-finding mission to investigate the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla that occurred in late May. The flotilla, which was organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief, was carrying humanitarian aid, medical supplies, and building supplies. They were intending on breaking through Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip in order to deliver these materials to the people of Gaza. Israel had set up this blockade to prevent Hamas from acquiring weapons, although this blockade also prevented supplies from reaching civilians in Gaza. Plus, the legality of this blockade had been disputed. The flotilla tried to break through the blockade, but Israeli forces ended up raiding and seizing the ships (in international waters). On one of the boats, the Mavi Marmara, a clash broke out and nine activists were killed and dozens were injured. Seven Israeli commandos were also injured. After the ships were seized, the passengers were detained in Israel and then released a week later. Both sides placed blame on the other for the attack, and details of the attacks have been disputed.
The recent report from the UN fact-finding mission revealed conclusively that the US citizen Furkan Dogan and five Turkish citizens on the boat were murdered execution-style by Israeli commandos. Forensic and firearm evidence revealed that 19 year old Dogan was filming on top of the deck when he was shot twice in the head, once in the back, and once in the left leg and foot. He was lying on the deck in a conscious or semi-conscious state for some time, and then he was shot in the face at point blank range while lying on the ground. The fact-finding panel concluded that these six killings by the Israeli troops "can be characterized as extra-legal, arbitrary, and summary executions."
The report also refutes the version of events told by the Israeli soldiers and supports the testimony of passengers on board. The report suggests that, from the beginning, Israeli policy viewed the flotilla as an opportunity to use lethal force against pro-Hamas activists. Specific orders were given by the Israeli government "to continue intelligence tracking on the flotilla organizers with the emphasis on the possibility that amongst the passengers in the flotilla there were terror elements who would attempt to harm Israeli forces." When details of the Israeli plan to forcibly take over the flotilla were published in the Israeli press, passengers on the Mavi Marmara realized deadly force might be used against them. As a result, the passengers then began efforts to create improvised weapons from railings and other equipment on the ship. The commission concluded that there was no evidence of firearms on the ship, as Israel had claimed. The report also states that the Israeli military never communicated a request by radio to inspect the cargo on board any of the ships, as Israel also claimed. This contradicts the official justification given by the Israeli government for the military attack on the ships (as they said they were preventing any military contraband from reaching Gaza).
It was confirmed in the report that passengers were initially fired on by helicopters flying above. It was also confirmed that some passengers on the Mavi Marmara were able to subdue ten Israeli commandos that came on their ship. The passengers took their weapons and threw the guns in the sea (though they kept one weapon for evidence and hid it on the ship). The soldiers were briefly sequestered below deck and some were treated for wounds before being released. The report also contradicts the Israeli claim that one or more Israeli soldiers were wounded by firearms. No medical evidence was found to indicate an Israel soldier had a gunshot wound.
The fact-finding mission was chaired by Judge Hudson-Phillips, a retired judge of the International Criminal Court and former attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago. It also included Sir Desmond da Silva of the UK (former chief prosecutor of the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone) and Mary Shanthi Dairiam of Malaysia (founding member of the board of directors of the International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific). The mission interviewed 112 eyewitnesses to the Israeli attack. The Israeli government refused to cooperate with the mission and did not grant interviews with personnel involved in the planning and carrying out of the attack. (Full Story)
Between 1946 and 1948 U.S. government medical researchers intentionally infected hundreds of people in Guatemala with gonorrhea and syphilis without their knowledge or permission. The researchers were trying to determine whether the antibiotic penicillin could prevent early syphilis infection. The experiment involved 696 subjects, which consisted of male prisoners and female patients in the National Mental Health Hospital. The subjects were infected with the syphilis bacteria either through visits with prostitutes who had the disease or through direction inoculation. About one-third of those who were infected never received adequate treatment. The project was co-sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service, the National Institutes of Health, the Pan-American Health Sanitary Bureau (now the Pan American Health Organization), and the Guatemalan government. The records of this study had been hidden after the experiment, and they were recently discovered by a professor of women's studies at Wellesley College.
The recent report from the UN fact-finding mission revealed conclusively that the US citizen Furkan Dogan and five Turkish citizens on the boat were murdered execution-style by Israeli commandos. Forensic and firearm evidence revealed that 19 year old Dogan was filming on top of the deck when he was shot twice in the head, once in the back, and once in the left leg and foot. He was lying on the deck in a conscious or semi-conscious state for some time, and then he was shot in the face at point blank range while lying on the ground. The fact-finding panel concluded that these six killings by the Israeli troops "can be characterized as extra-legal, arbitrary, and summary executions."
The report also refutes the version of events told by the Israeli soldiers and supports the testimony of passengers on board. The report suggests that, from the beginning, Israeli policy viewed the flotilla as an opportunity to use lethal force against pro-Hamas activists. Specific orders were given by the Israeli government "to continue intelligence tracking on the flotilla organizers with the emphasis on the possibility that amongst the passengers in the flotilla there were terror elements who would attempt to harm Israeli forces." When details of the Israeli plan to forcibly take over the flotilla were published in the Israeli press, passengers on the Mavi Marmara realized deadly force might be used against them. As a result, the passengers then began efforts to create improvised weapons from railings and other equipment on the ship. The commission concluded that there was no evidence of firearms on the ship, as Israel had claimed. The report also states that the Israeli military never communicated a request by radio to inspect the cargo on board any of the ships, as Israel also claimed. This contradicts the official justification given by the Israeli government for the military attack on the ships (as they said they were preventing any military contraband from reaching Gaza).
It was confirmed in the report that passengers were initially fired on by helicopters flying above. It was also confirmed that some passengers on the Mavi Marmara were able to subdue ten Israeli commandos that came on their ship. The passengers took their weapons and threw the guns in the sea (though they kept one weapon for evidence and hid it on the ship). The soldiers were briefly sequestered below deck and some were treated for wounds before being released. The report also contradicts the Israeli claim that one or more Israeli soldiers were wounded by firearms. No medical evidence was found to indicate an Israel soldier had a gunshot wound.
The fact-finding mission was chaired by Judge Hudson-Phillips, a retired judge of the International Criminal Court and former attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago. It also included Sir Desmond da Silva of the UK (former chief prosecutor of the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone) and Mary Shanthi Dairiam of Malaysia (founding member of the board of directors of the International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific). The mission interviewed 112 eyewitnesses to the Israeli attack. The Israeli government refused to cooperate with the mission and did not grant interviews with personnel involved in the planning and carrying out of the attack. (Full Story)
Between 1946 and 1948 U.S. government medical researchers intentionally infected hundreds of people in Guatemala with gonorrhea and syphilis without their knowledge or permission. The researchers were trying to determine whether the antibiotic penicillin could prevent early syphilis infection. The experiment involved 696 subjects, which consisted of male prisoners and female patients in the National Mental Health Hospital. The subjects were infected with the syphilis bacteria either through visits with prostitutes who had the disease or through direction inoculation. About one-third of those who were infected never received adequate treatment. The project was co-sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service, the National Institutes of Health, the Pan-American Health Sanitary Bureau (now the Pan American Health Organization), and the Guatemalan government. The records of this study had been hidden after the experiment, and they were recently discovered by a professor of women's studies at Wellesley College.
Today Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius offered extensive apologies to Guatemala and Hispanic residents of the United States for these actions. They added that this study was "clearly unethical". In a joint statement they said, "We are outraged that such reprehensible research could have occurred under the guise of public health. We deeply regret that it happened, and we apologize to all individuals who were affected by such abhorrent research practices." In addition to the apology, the government statement said that the U.S. is setting up commissions to ensure that human medical research conducted around the world meets "rigorous ethical standards". That's great and all, but shouldn't these commissions already have been set up?! (Full Story)
Federal authorities are suing the Fox News Network for allegedly retaliating against a female reporter after she complained about gender and age bias. In 2007, Catherine Herridge filed an internal complaint against the network in which she complained that she received unequal pay and job conditions as a result of her gender and age. The network dismissed her claim and said they found no evidence of bias. But then the network later included language in Herridge's contract that was intended to stop her from making any more complaints. Herridge refused to sign the contract and she complained to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The network agreed to remove the language from her contract after she complained to the EEOC. In regards to the lawsuit, the EEOC is seeking unspecified monetary damages and a court order that would prohibit Fox from retaliating against other employees. (Full Story)
No comments:
Post a Comment