Testing personal protective equipment

A first responder positions for decontamination after testing a simulated suspicious powder during an operational readiness exercise at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, March 11, 2011. Responders were required to wear personal protective equipment during the exercise, which simulated a real world chemical threat. (DoD photo/Airman 1st Class Laura Goodgame, U.S. Air Force/Released)

Shaheed Bhagat singh Memorial 5 km run

Registration for run is start, pl join us soon, registration fee for age up to 14th $ 5 & up 14th $ 10, Prizes for winners, Refreshment also, Funds collected will be given to Surrey food Bank,Registration on 27 th March at bear creek park will start at 8 am to 9.30 am & run will start sharp at 10.30 for up to 14th & right after 5 km run will start, For more information call Jasvir Dusanjh 604-763-4232 or Avtar Gill 604-728-7011 or visit bhagat singh run .ca for download registration form.Location is 
Bear Creek Park 13750 - 88 ave Surrey B C and thge time is Sunday, March 27, 2011 9:00 AM--11:00 AM event si announced by  Avtar Gill                            

Remembring Bhagat Singh at Lahore

Bhagat Singh was an Indian freedom fighter, considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. He is often referred to as Shaheed Bhagat Singh.

Bhagat Singh was known for his appreciation of martyrdom. His mentor as a young boy was Kartar Singh Sarabha. Singh is himself considered a martyr for acting to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, also considered a martyr. In the leaflet he threw in the Central Assembly on 9 April 1929, he stated that It is easy to kill individuals but you cannot kill the ideas. Great empires crumbled while the ideas survived. 

This Announcement came from Diep Saeda. a known revolutionary in Pakistan. Programme devoted to S. Bhagat Singh will be held at 

Shadman Market Chowk Lahore Pakistan on Wednesday, March 23 · 5:00pm - 6:00pm. Please teel your friends about this event. : Rector Kathuria

Amnesty Calls on Yemeni Authorities

Sat, Mar 19, 2011 at 12:45 AM

Amnesty International Calls on Yemeni Authorities to 
Act on Sniper Killings of Protesters 

Washington, D.C.:Friday, March 18, 2011 : The Yemeni authorities must immediately act to bring to justice those responsible for an apparently coordinated sniper attack on protesters in Sana’a today that has left dozens dead. 

At least 40 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in the incident, which took place following Friday prayers as protesters gathered near Sana’a University.   

“This appears to have been a sniper attack with security forces deliberately shooting to kill protesters from strategic vantage points,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Such attacks are deplorable and the Yemeni authorities must investigate and bring to justice those who ordered and carried them out. If they do not do so immediately, this crisis is only likely to deepen further.” 

Protesters were reportedly chanting anti-government slogans at a protest camp near Sana’a University when at around 1.30pm local time, armed men in plain clothes, believed to be members of the security forces, started shooting live rounds from the top of nearby buildings. 

Members of the security forces also shot at protesters at street level around the same time.   

An eyewitness told Amnesty International that “the shooting started from different buildings around the same time and continued for more than 30 minutes.” 

Another eyewitness said that most of those killed were shot in the head, chest or neck, many of them dying at the scene. 

At least 30 of those injured are said to be in a critical state. So far at least 80 people have been killed in protests in Yemen since February 2011. 

“The Yemeni authorities generally appear to be turning a blind eye to killings of protesters by their security forces, raising the question of whether they condone them,” said Luther, “The international community must put pressure on Yemen’s leadership to take action to stop the rapidly mounting death toll.” 

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied. 

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As part of an exercise

French Navy frigate FS Guepratte (F714) prepares to come alongside the USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG 29) as part of an exercise during Africa Partnership Station (APS) East in the Indian Ocean, March 14, 2011. APS is an international security cooperation initiative facilitated by commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa aimed at strengthening global maritime partnerships through training and collaborative activities in order to improve maritime safety and security in Africa. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class William Jamieson, U.S. Navy/Released)

Along the Silk Road

From left, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl W. Eikenberry, Afghan Minister of Information and Culture Makhdoom Raheen and Minister of Mines Waheedullah Shahrani cut a ribbon at the opening ceremony of a new exhibit named “Along the Silk Road-Recent Excavations from Mes Aynak” at the Afghanistan National Museum in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 13, 2011. (DoD photo by S.K. Vemmer/Released)

Amnesty Report Finds “Disturbing, Damning Evidence”

Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 11:07 PM
Amnesty International Report Finds “Disturbing, Damning Evidence” of Bahrain’s Excessive Force Against Peaceful Protesters Including Live Ammunition Fired at Close Range 
American Emergency Room Doctor Examined Wounded and Talked to Hospital and Mortuary Staff in Investigation 

New York: Thursday, March 17, 2011 
Bahrain’s security forces used live ammunition at close range and targeted peaceful protestor’s heads, chests and abdomens during the deadly February crackdown on protests at Pearl Roundabout, according to a new report issued today by Amnesty International. An American doctor examined wounded individuals and interviewed hospital and mortuary staff and eyewitnesses in Bahrain and found “disturbing, even damning, evidence” of excessive force by police and soldiers against protesters and medical workers trying to treat the wounded.


In addition, Amnesty International identified American ammunition collected in the aftermath of the raid on Feb. 17, including U.S.-made tear gas canisters and 37 mm rubber multi-baton rounds, in addition to French-made tear gas grenades, and French-made rubber “dispersion” grenades. Riot police and soldiers fatally shot seven people between February 14-17.


At least 10 countries including the United States supplied or licensed exports of weaponry, munitions and other related equipment to Bahrain.  The U.K. government revoked some licences for arms exports to Bahrain after the violence, and the French authorities have suspended the export of security equipment to Bahrain. 


Amnesty International is calling for all countries including the United States to immediately suspend  the supply of weaponry and munitions to Bahrain that could be used to commit further human rights abuses, with protesters still camped out in central Manama and sporadic clashes reported between members of the Gulf state’s Sunni and Shi’a Muslim communities.


The new report, Bloodied but Unbowed: Unwarranted State Violence Against Bahraini Protesters, documents how security forces used live ammunition and extreme force against protesters without warning and impeded and assaulted medical staff trying to help the wounded.


The report is based on first-hand testimonies given to an Amnesty International fact-finding team in Bahrain that included Dr. Hani Mowafi, who specializes in emergency care and public health, and is affiliated with Boston Medical Center, the Boston University Department of Emergency Medicine and the Harvard University Humanitarian Initiative.


He found a pattern of fatal and serious injuries showing that the security forces used live ammunition at close range, and apparently targeted protester’s heads, chests and abdomens. 


The worst violence took place early on the morning of February 17, when five people were killed. Witnesses told Amnesty International that tanks blocked access to the Pearl Roundabout as police used shotguns as well as tear gas, batons and rubber bullets to disperse protesters, many of whom were camping there.


 They also fired medium-to-large calibre bullets from high-powered weapons on February 18.


Amnesty International is demanding a full and independent investigation of the actions of the security forces.


“Those responsible for ordering and unleashing lethal force against peaceful protesters must be identified and held to account,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa. "The authorities must exercise proper control over the security forces and uphold and protect the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, including the right to peaceful protest," said Malcolm Smart.


International standards prohibit excessive use of force that is disproportionate to the threat posed or the objective to be achieved.


One witness told Amnesty International that riot police were shooting from different angles, including from a bridge over the roundabout, while protesters desperately ran for cover.


Among the injured were people clearly identifiable as medical workers, who were targeted by police while trying to help wounded protesters at or near the roundabout.


Dr. Sadeq al-‘Ekri, a surgeon, who set up a mobile clinic at the roundabout, told Amnesty International that police stopped him, tied his hands behind his back, pulled his trousers down and punched and beat him with sticks, including his genitals.


He suffered a broken nose, an injured left eye, suspected fractured ribs and other bruises.  “These physical injuries will disappear but the psychological damage will not,” he said. “I didn’t believe that this would happen in Bahrain.”


On March 3, Bahrain’s Minister of Social Development, visiting London, told Amnesty International that the Bahraini government was holding an investigation into the killings that will report directly to the King, and that two members of the security forces had been taken into custody.


Amnesty International is also calling for victims of violence by the security forces to receive reparation.


Background 


Amnesty International conducted a fact-finding mission to Bahrain between February 20-26. The delegation included two Amnesty International researchers and the U.S. medical doctor specializing in emergency care and public health. The delegation interviewed witnesses to the violent events of mid-February, victims and their relatives, and hospital and mortuary staff. They also met government officials and human rights activists. 


Amnesty International -- today the largest grassroots human rights organization in the world with nearly 3 million members worldwide -- has helped win the freedom of tens of thousands of individuals jailed for expressing beliefs or defending basic rights, shut down torture chambers, halted executions, and established laws and treaties to protect the freedom and dignity of people around the world -- and in the United States. Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977.