Cherry Bird, Amnesty’s Country Coordinator for India and Nepal, came to talk Human Rights in Kashmir. She reminded us that in 2020 Amnesty’s India office was closed on spurious financial grounds following critical reports from them on India and on Kashmir. She described the increasing violation of human rights, the fears of increasing ‘Indianisation’ of Kashmir. Army checkpoints are increasing, with enforced flying of the Indian flag and increasing requirements of allegiance to India. Kashmir’s attractiveness is its richness in natural resources.
We sent greetings to Alaa on his birthday. Alaa abdel Fattah, a British national, is a writer and father who is unjustly imprisoned in Egypt. He has been an advocate for human rights in Egypt, and has been detained for his human rights work. He has spent most of the last 10 years in prison, most recently for ‘spreading fake news’. He went on hunger strike during COP27 climate meeting in Egypt last year in protest at his unjust imprisonment, cruel detention conditions and denial of consular visits.
There were two cases in the Amnesty Groups’ Newsletter we looked at: ‘the cost of green energy’ as typified by resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo’s cruel disregard of its own people who get in the way of the companies accessing the new mines. And secondly (another story about Indian exploitation) the story of Umar Khalid, a Muslim human rights activist who was active in the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019; he’s now been in prison without trial for 3 years. He’s classified by Amnesty as an Individual at Risk – contact Cherry Bird for more information or actions – cherry.bird@amnesty.org.uk.
Two books for Media of the month, both critical accounts of our own Parliament: Code of Conduct by Chris Bryant and Politics on the Edge, a Memoir from Within by Rory Stuart.
There is no meeting in December but we are running a Write for Rights stall at St Mary Magdalene Church, Hammet Street, Taunton this Saturday 2 December from 10am-1.30pm, encouraging people to send 2023 Write for Rights cards. There’s a coffee shop – it’s warm and welcoming – hope you’ll join us there!
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 9 January 2024, at 7.30pm in the Quaker Meeting House, Bath Place, Taunton.
Amnesty International Taunton Local Group 
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