Video - Inside The Chechnya Prison Where Gay Men claim They Were Tortured.

As international attention narrows on the alleged persecution, torture and killing of homosexual men in Chechnya, VICE News Tonight reports from the conservative Muslim republic - meeting Kheda Saratova, a human rights advisor to the Kadyrov regime, and touring the prison allegedly used to detain and abuse the accused.More here.

Britain’s deputy foreign secretary:"Kadyrov wants the LGBT community eliminated by the start of Ramadan."

Britain’s deputy foreign secretary:"Kadyrov wants the LGBT community eliminated by the start of Ramadan."(Pinknews).

Britain’s deputy foreign secretary revealed the terrifying threat from the Chechen leader while taking an urgent question on the situation in parliament.

Gay men have spoken of horrific beatings and torture in ‘concentration camp’ style prisons.

Sir Alan Duncan, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, told parliament: “Human rights groups report that these anti-gay campaigns and killings are orchestrated by the head of the Chechen republic, Ramzan Kadyrov.

“He has carried out other violent campaigns in the past, and this time he is directing his efforts at the LGBT community. “Sources have said that he wants the [LGBT] community eliminated by the start of Ramadan.”

The minister added: “Such comments, attitudes and actions are absolutely beyond contemptible.”

PinkNews has spoken to the Foreign Office, who verified that President Kadyrov had made the threat in local Russian language media, seen by the UK government.

Ramadan starts on May 26 this year, and is widely celebrated in Chechnya, which is a predominantly Muslim area.

These allegations have been supported by human rights groups, and led to the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights, UK and US governments to call for the Kremlin to investigate.

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson’s deputy, who is gay himself, labelled the reported abuses of gay men as “utterly barbaric” and “despicable” in a strongly worded statement to the Commons.

Mr Duncan revealed that he spoke directly to his counterpart, Russia’s deputy foreign secretary Vladimir Titov, to challenge the Russian Federation on human rights abuses against LGBT people.

Hmmm.....The same people who refuse LGTB Chechnians entry to their countries. See related.

Russian LGBT Network:"At present, we receive a stable number of 4-5 appeals for help per day from Chechnya".

Russian LGBT Network:"At present, we receive a stable number of 4-5 appeals for help per day from Chechnya".(CaucasianKnot).

"35 homosexuals from Chechnya get help under programme of "Russian LGBT Network"

In Northern Caucasus, already 75 members of the LGBT community appealed for help to the "Russian LGBT Network". The assistance was provided to 35 of them, so far only to those people who lived in Chechnya. This was reported to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by the "Russian LGBT Network".

In total, while the hotline of the organization was active, it has got 75 requests. This was reported by Igor Kochetkov, the chairman of the "Russian LGBT Network".

According to the "Russian LGBT Network", in Europe, not only in Sweden and Finland, but also in other countries people raise money to help victims of persecution.

The dynamics of appeals filed by members of the gay community of Chechnya proves that the acute phase of pressure on people has not been passed yet, believe members of the "Russian LGBT Network". They also point out to the difficulties with arrangement of visa corridors.

"At present, we receive a stable number of 4-5 appeals per day, and the main problem is that we cannot so far reach agreements with countries of Western Europe, the United States, and Canada for permissions to enter those countries. 

The difficulty is in the fact that if a person comes to an embassy of the above countries and they understand that he wants to stay in a country and he needs a refuge, then they do not issue a visa for him," explained the leader of the "Russian LGBT Network".

Igor Kochetkov has also added that the organization' hotline receives reports not only from Chechnya, but also from other North-Caucasian republics.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

See earlier reports: Five persons leave Chechnya under programme of "Russian LGBT-network", Fifteen LGBTs ask evacuation from Chechnya, In Chechnya, religious figures condemn publications about persecution of gays.

Source: CK correspondent

Ukrainian Nationalists Promise 'Bloody Mess' As Kiev's LGBTs Prepare To March.

             A video experiment in which a gay couple strolled around Kiev hand-in-hand.

Ukrainian Nationalists Promise 'Bloody Mess' As Kiev's LGBTs Prepare To March. (Rferl).

The battle lines are being drawn in the Ukrainian capital.

Activists supporting the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community are determined to hold a March of Equality on June 12. Many of Ukraine's nationalists and cultural conservatives seem equally determined to stop them -- even if that means violence and bloodshed.
Artem Skoropadskiy, a spokesman for the far-right Right Sector movement, predicted on Facebook on May 29 that "on June 12 in Kyiv there will be a bloody mess."

Mykola Kokhanivskyy, chairman of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), told RFE/RL that his organization feels justified in using violence to prevent "perverts" from marching.

"The majority is categorically opposed to letting these perverts publicly demonstrate their perversion," Kokhanivskyy said. "Since the majority opposes this, they shouldn't do it. We can go through the courts or use other means to ban it. But if this doesn't happen, then upset citizens have the right to use force against this illegal manifestation of perversion."

These are not idle threats.

Moreover, discrimination and violence are a daily reality for LGBT people in Ukraine.
"I have a lot of friends and acquaintances in the LGBT community, and I see how they are discriminated against on a daily basis," says Ian Gubskiy, who is gay and transgender.

"Some people can't even appear on the streets because they might be beaten at any moment. Literally yesterday, they tried to attack a friend of mine and we had to defend him."

This year, the story is shaping up similarly. About 600 people have registered to participate in the event, while some 13,000 people have endorsed a petition calling on the city government to ban the march.

Organizers said 20 members of the parliament and an array of Western diplomats have pledged to join the march.

Police have promised to deploy 6,500 officers to prevent clashes. Read the full story here.

Moscow slams ‘selective’ human rights approach, urges impartial probe of Kurds’ plight in Turkey

Moscow slams ‘selective’ human rights approach, urges impartial probe of Kurds’ plight in Turkey. (RT).

The Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has criticized international human rights organizations’ lack of action and comment as apparently “selective” in light of mass crimes allegedly committed by Ankara against the Kurdish population.

“We presume that all reports, particularly documented ones, about brutal and massive human rights and international law violations should be thoroughly investigated,” Zakharova said in an official statement published on the foreign ministry’s website. “For these purposes, there are special international procedures and mechanisms. Essential is that they have to be used impartially and objectively.”

Zakharova also criticized international human rights groups, HRW and Amnesty International in particular, which are supposed to be spearheading the investigation, for not being active enough and their “lack of comments” on the matter.

“We think that international human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International should be the ones drawing the international community’s attention to the issue as they claim to be experts in this field,” she said.

The foreign ministry “took a close look at materials presented by the RT channel” which showed the aftermath of Turkey’s so-called anti-terrorist operation, Zakharova said, insisting that the absence of comments from human rights organization on this issue demonstrates an “ambiguous and selective approach they take in covering human rights violations.”

While admitting they have not seen RT’s material and petition so far, Amnesty International, however, said that they are actively monitoring the situation in southeastern Turkey and that they have repeatedly urged Ankara to put an end to its aggressive policy in the region. Meanwhile HRW said their Turkish researchers “are still looking into the allegations, but are not available to comment at present.”

RT launched a petition calling for a UNHRC-led investigation into claims of alleged massacre of Kurds by the Turkish military during Ankara’s crackdown in the country's southeast. It is based on materials that an RT crew recorded as it visited Cizre in Turkey’s Sirnak province following reports of a brutal military crackdown in which some 150 civilians were allegedly burned to death.

Zakharova’s statement echoes that of Russia’s FM Sergey Lavrov who also advocated the launch of a probe into Ankara’s military actions. Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he will continue the crackdown on Kurdish communities in the country’s southeast. He insists that such actions are aimed at ensuring peace in the country and countering terrorism with an “iron fist.”

Before the ministry rebuked Amnesty International for inaction, on March 11, the charity simply refused to give any comments on the issue in response to another request from RT International. “We will not be able to comment on this at this time and must decline your offer,” a spokesperson from the organization replied to RT.

Apart from Amnesty International, the footage shot by RT journalists in Cizre has been submitted to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the international and Middle East branches of Medics Without Borders (MSF), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The ICRC told RT they cannot investigate the issue as they do not have an office in Turkey while the OHCHR only offered a press-release from February 1 and MSF gave no reply. Hmmm.......So Turkey has no Red crescent ?

Communist China: "Female teachers preparing to have babies should get pregnant in the second semester".

Communist China: "Female teachers preparing to have babies should get pregnant in the second semester". (Icrosschina).

A contract dispute involving a pregnant teacher in central China has sparked online outrage over job discrimination against women.

A female teacher with Shangbo Primary School in Shangqiu City, Henan Province, posted pictures of a contract she signed with the school on microblog Sina Weibo, according to a report carried this week by the Voice of China.

Weibo user "5838013387" claimed that the school refused her application for maternity leave. After she decided to leave, the school fined her 800 yuan for breaking the contract.

According to the contract, the school "guarantees rest and vacation for its teachers," but any female teacher who "interrupts class schedules" due to pregnancy or other reasons should pay 2,000 yuan (307 U.S. dollars) in compensation for recruiting and paying replacement teachers.

"Female teachers preparing to have babies should get pregnant in the second semester," reads the high-handed provision. "If they get pregnant in the first semester, causing them to stop working or resign, they should pay 2,000 yuan in total."

Liu Zhu, headmaster of the private school, said the restrictive measure aims to "prevent disturbances to general school schedules."

"We will not stop anyone from becoming pregnant as long as their pregnancies do not interfere with the school curriculum," Liu said.

He added that the contract is signed annually, and that none of the 30-plus female teachers demurred when they signed it.

The story has spurred a wave of heated online discussions, with many netizens accusing the school of breaking the law.

"It's ridiculous," wrote Weibo user "Yigexingqiba." "Under such provisions, who dares to have a second baby?"

"This is obviously against the law, the teacher should file a lawsuit," read another comment.

According to China's Labor Law, all women are entitled to maternity leave when they work within the stated period of a contract. The law on the protection of the rights of women and children also stipulates that labor contracts should not contain any items restricting female workers from getting married or getting pregnant.

Local authorities have launched an investigation into the case.
Though unlawful, job discrimination against women still pervades Chinese society.

According to a national survey by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), about 75 percent of women said they were fired after getting married or pregnant. Hmmmm......Two child policy... if it fits with the lessons. Read the full story here.

VIDEO: Footage claims to show unarmed Kurds waving white flags in Cizre being killed by Turkish military

VIDEO: Footage claims to show Kurds waving white flags in Cizre being shot at by Turkish military - @haarunercan pic.twitter.com/yqegVgjVMT

— Conflict News (@Conflicts) January 21, 2016

VIDEO: Dead bodies visible after Turkish security forces allegedly shot at unarmed Kurds - @arahmangok pic.twitter.com/Gkh2SxTeXt

— Conflict News (@Conflicts) January 21, 2016

En yalın gerçek çarpıtıldığı için paylaşıyorum Rahatsız olun istiyorum Halkın taranması İMC'den Refik'in kamerasında pic.twitter.com/dNu9DtRJyc

— A.Rahman Gök (@arahmangok) January 21, 2016

Germany’s Human Rights Commissioner: "Turkey must improve its human rights record before it can justify admission to the EU".

Source

Germany’s Human Rights Commissioner: "Turkey must improve its human rights record before it can justify admission to the EU".(RT).

Turkey must improve its human rights record before it can justify admission to the EU, claims Germany’s Human Rights Commissioner Christoph Strässer, adding that under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the situation in the country has "deteriorated" drastically.

Asked whether the EU will make any concessions for Ankara's membership, Strässer replied: “This concern drives me. There can be no human rights policy discount for Turkey. We must not be generous towards Turkey just because presently we cooperate more with it. The EU must stick to its crystal-clear strict rules with respect to human rights and press freedom,” he told Germany's N24 news website.

Turkey first sought EU membership back in 1987, but its bid has made little progress since then, with key issues like fundamental freedoms and the future of Cyprus proving to be major obstacles.
“It seems to me that Turkey is trying to use the situation in Syria and its geopolitical tussle with Russia in order to bring this potential EU membership back on the agenda,” journalist Bryan MacDonald noted, sharing his opinion on Turkish membership in the EU with RT.

“However, I think it is ‘pie in the sky’ - it is just kind words they are getting from the EU because they are useful to NATO and the EU at the moment. I don’t see any possibility that 80 million Turks who are Muslims in a largely Christian EU will ever be allowed to join the organization,” he added.

According to Germany’s Human Rights Commissioner, Ankara is still far from attaining eligibility for EU membership, however.“We need to repeatedly send a compliance reminder to Ankara. In Turkey, dissenters are punished, and there are attacks against the opposition. As long as there's such a thing, the country doesn't belong in the EU. If we ignore it, it would be a fatal signal,” Strässer warned. Read the full story here.

Related: 

Amnesty International on Turkey’s Worsening Human Rights Record: 11 Key Issues.

Toronto city council agrees to hear appeal from group banned from city square for singing about Jesus.

Toronto city council agrees to hear appeal from group banned from city square for singing about Jesus. (LifesiteNews).

The City of Toronto has agreed to hear an appeal from a Christian group after it was banned last month from using a prominent downtown square for its annual musical festival on account of musicians singing about Jesus.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, the legal group representing Voices of the Nations, will make the appeal to the square’s Board of Management December 10 at Toronto City Hall.

Wynna Brown, manager of media relations and issues management for the City of Toronto, told LifeSiteNews that the appeal process exists for “applicants that do not meet the guidelines, or disagree with permit decisions.”

“Upon written request, the Board of Management will review and consider such matters at one of its regularly scheduled meetings,” she said.

It was almost a month ago when the Christian group was told that it would not be given a permit for its annual event in the City’s downtown Yonge-Dundas Square, where the group had been celebrating Christianity through a live music and dance event without issue for the past five years.

On October 22, Natalie Belman, the manager of events for Yonge-Dundas Square told the group it had violated the City’s policy against “proselytizing” by signing the name of Jesus.

“If you’re praising Jesus, ‘praise the Lord,’ and ‘there’s no God like Jehovah,’ that type of thing, that’s proselytizing,” she told the group in a recording of a phone conversation obtained by LifeSiteNews.

On November 3, the Justice Centre issued a legal warning letter on behalf of the Christian group to the City of Toronto, demanding that the group’s application be approved by Tuesday, November 10, or the City would face “court action.”

On November 9, one day before the deadline, Voices of the Nations delivered petitions with over 40,000 signatures — 30,000 collected by LifeSiteNews and the remainder by TheRebel.media — to Mayor John Tory’s office demanding that the City reverse the decision.

But the City failed to meet the November 10 deadline to reverse the ban, which prompted the Christian group to ramp up preparations for a rally, taking place yesterday Saturday, in support of Christian expression in the public square.

 Hmmmmm.........Apparently the city has no problem with the police services celebration Islamic heritage month in December.....while it is in October that this celebration is sheduled for Canada.

Related:   Toronto police services hold Islamic Heritage month in December (Islamic heritage month in Canada takes place in OCTOBER).

Iranian FM Calls UN Human Rights Resolution against Iran "Dark Humor"

Iranian FM Calls UN Human Rights Resolution against Iran "Dark Humor" (fars).

"The two resolutions issued against Iran at the UN during the past few days are the dark humor of our time," Zarif said, addressing an international forum in Tehran on Saturday to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the UN.

The Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday passed a human rights resolution against Iran.

In relevant remarks on Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari also voiced Tehran's strong opposition to politicizing the human rights resolutions issued by the UN.

"Iran is attaches no value and is against the politically-driven resolutions that have been approved based on political tendencies of countries and clandestine lobbies," Jaber Ansari said.

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said that Iran deplores the UN human rights mechanisms that are being adopted based on the selective policies of certain countries.

Earlier this week, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations Gholamhossein Dehqani, whose country is the rotating president of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), voiced concern over using human rights issues for political purposes.

"NAM reaffirms the need to ensure that human rights are not used for political purposes and adopting politically motivated decisions, and to avoid the problems which plagued the former Human Rights Commission," Dehqani said, addressing the UN Human Rights Council meeting in New York.

Also on Monday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi rapped sponsors of human rights resolutions against Tehran for their double-standard approach.

"The components of the resolution contradict the human rights realities in our country," Araqchi said, addressing a gathering of foreign envoys to Tehran.

He referred to the human rights talks between Iran and a number of countries, and said dialogue is the only way to improve and support human rights.

Araqchi also urged countries to extend support for Iran's positions and show their opposition to the instrumental use of human rights resolutions for political drives.

Video - The 'Stop Bullying Christians Now' rally will be held on Nov. 21 Th. at Toronto's Dundas Square

The 'Stop Bullying Christians Now' rally will be held on Nov. 21 Th. at Toronto's Dundas Square.(Stopbullyingchristians). (Christianophobie).

The ban by the City of Toronto to 'Voices of the Nations', a Christian musical group, to hold its usual festival in this city (see here), caused an outcry of Christians throughout Canada and responsiveness of good quality. 

A petition of over 40,000 individuals was delivered to the municipality ... who ignored this petition.

Voices of the Nations is now considering legal action against the City of Toronto, but will be supported by a large gathering which is convened Saturday 21 November.

The "battle for the rights and freedoms" of Christians has started in Canada. The event will be held on the theme: "Stop anti-Christian bullying now! ". A pugnacious and effective video has just been put online, along with a dedicated website. We will follow all this very carefully .

Related?

Toronto police services hold Islamic Heritage month in December (Islamic heritage month in Canada takes place in OCTOBER).

I'm confused. I thought October was Canada's Islamic History Month. Since when is there an "Islamic Heritage Month" (I could find nothing about it online)? And since when is it held in the same month as Christmas?

Vice News presents: 'Inside the Al Nusra Academy Training the Next Generation of Jihadis'

Vice News presents: 'Inside the Al Nusra Academy Training the Next Generation of Jihadis' HT: ViceNews.

In a classroom in northern Syria's Aleppo province a teacher begins a lesson by saying: "Today we will learn about faith and beliefs."

Abu Baser questions the assembled boys — all in khaki green — on the meaning of the word "faith," before having them repeat: "The war gains belong to God and the messenger."

This is the Lion Cubs Religious Academy, one of several schools run by al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, the al Nusra Front. VICE News filmmaker Medyan Dairieh gained exclusive access to the group earlier this year, spending time with the militia's current leadership and the younger generation being groomed to replace them.

His footage shows children singing songs with lyrics like: "Oh mother, don't be sad, I've chosen the land of jihad. Wipe your tears, I only went to fight the Jews," and "Our leader [Osama] bin Laden who scares America with the power of his faith and his PK gun."

In unison, they later chorus together: "All the Christians and a message to America, your grave is in Syria, our Front is victorious." Read and see the full story here.

Obama 'Admin' State Dep’t: ‘We Would Welcome’ Saudi Leadership Role at UN Rights Council

#SaudiArabia chairing the @UN's #HumanRights Council Panel is like Jack the Ripper guarding a women's shelter. pic.twitter.com/qGFZ4jGTYZ

— ISTANBUL THEMES (@ISTANBUL_THEMES) September 24, 2015

Obama 'Admin' State Dep’t: ‘We Would Welcome’ Saudi Leadership Role at UN Rights Council. (CNS).

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Tuesday that the administration would “welcome” Saudi Arabia’s appointment to a leadership position at the U.N. Human Rights Council, saying that the U.S. and the kingdom were “close allies.”

“We hope that it’s an occasion for them to, you know, to look at human rights around the world but also within their own borders,” he said in response to a question about the appropriateness of the kingdom holding a leadership post.

Asked whether he thought it was “appropriate for them to have a leadership position,” Toner said, “We have a strong dialogue, obviously a partnership with Saudi Arabia that spans, obviously, many issues. We talk about human rights concerns with them. You know, as to this leadership role, we hope that it’s an occasion for them to, you know, to look at human rights around the world but also within their own borders.”

“But you said that you welcome them in this position,” another reporter said. “Is it based on improved record? I mean, can you show or point to anything where there is you know, a sort of stark improvement in their human rights record?”

Saudi Arabia's appointment to chair the HRC panel was brought to public attention this week by the Geneva-based non-governmental organization U.N. Watch. It brought strong criticism from observers who said that with its poor human rights record Saudi Arabia should not even be a member of the 47-member HRC, let alone hold a leadership post. 

U.N. Watch executive director Hillel Neuer called on U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to reverse the appointment.

Repressive regimes have long used their membership on the U.N.’s top human rights watchdog to defend each other, block scrutiny of their own records, and promote agenda items that focus on favored targets like Israel.

Their presence on the council frustrates democracies, but U.N. rules do not disqualify any country from standing for election. They generally have no competition, as regional groups put forward “closed slates” of candidates – the same number of candidates as there are vacancies.

With no mandatory qualification for members and with voting taking place at the U.N. General Assembly by secret ballot, countries with poor records (AND MONEY*) continue to win seats.

Meanwhile in other reaction to Saudi Arabia’s appointment to chair the HRC panel, the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders called the move “grotesque.”

“Saudi Arabia is ranked 164th out of 180 countries in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index,” said Alexandra El Khazen, head of the group’s Middle East desk. “How could anyone image Riyadh making a significant contribution to the fight against human rights violations throughout the world?”

A grouping of liberal members of the European Parliament also slammed the decision.

U.N. Watch earlier launched a petition calling on the U.N. to remove Saudi Arabia from the council. Hmmm.......'The future does not belong to those who slander the prophet' Read the full story here.

Related: Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam.

* And Money

Saudi Arabia pledged $1 million to UNHRC before winning seat: Saudi Arabia pledged $1 million to the UN human... http://t.co/UUMPcu5Jdt

— UN Watch (@UNWatch) September 24, 2015

Related:

UN issues urgent call to save juvenile offender set to be crucified in #SaudiArabia http://t.co/MYb2vtZ0Db pic.twitter.com/Of9bwK09W8

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) September 24, 2015

'Islamist' Turkey: Erdogan gives 700,000 free tablets to students.

'Islamist' Turkey: Erdogan gives 700,000 free tablets to students. (Taz).

Just days before the June 7 elections, the Turkish president has promised further support for Turkish students and teachers across the country Anadolu Agency reported

Addressing a ceremony at the Ankara chamber of commerce ATO Friday, where around 3,000 students and teachers had gathered, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced: "We are now giving out 700,000 tablets in 81 provinces to the students and giving them [as part of the government’s support] for the education system."

The distribution of the tablets began across Turkey after the announcement.

Earlier, the government had handed over 737,800 tablets to teachers and students across the country. The current round of distribution will be for mostly class ninth schoolchildren, the Turkish Education Ministry said on its website.

The president highlighted that the tablets, which would be used as educational tools in the classrooms, had been produced locally and had superior qualities than most other brands in the market.

He added that there would be more such distribution of tablets in the near future.

"We will deliver 10.6 million more tablets after 2016 within four years," Erdogan said. He added that the tenders for the project had already been made.

He also said that the local tablet production would support the domestic information technology sector.

The locally-produced tablets have a multi-core processor with 2 gigabytes of RAM, 32 gigabytes of internal memory, a high resolution 10.1 inch screen, WIFI capability, and front and rear cameras, the ministry website said.
Also, a two year warranty will be provided for the tablets, while the battery life would have a four-year warranty.

The tablet PCs will be loaded with pre-installed educational applications. Teachers will be able to interact with students and design new course works using the tablets, while students will be able to take notes directly on their tablets, the website added. Hmmm........Comes with free 'Islamist intell inside'.

'Empty Barrels make the most noise' - European Parliament 'postpones' voting on key Turkey report.

'Empty Barrels make the most noise' - European Parliament 'postpones' voting on key Turkey report. (Bugun).

The Turkey Progress Report prepared by Turkey rapporteur Kati Piri will be delayed until June to get more time to stir up discussion.

The report had severely criticized Turkey on the subjects of “independence of the judiciary, freedom of expression and the freedom of press," pointing out that the press has reached a level of self-censorship as a result of a number of infringements by the government.

“Attempts to ban social media, later overturned by the Constitutional Court, and pressures on the press leading to a widespread self-censorship, reflect a restrictive approach to freedom of expression. The approach taken in the area of freedom of assembly remains restrictive," the report reads.

The report echoed the criticism against the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) for not tackling corruption allegations which surfaced in the December 17-25 probes and instead exploiting the situation to conduct purges and politicize the police force and the judiciary.

“The response of the government following allegations of corruption in December 2013 has given rise to serious concerns regarding the independence of the judiciary and separation of powers.

The widespread reassignments and dismissals of police officers, judges and prosecutors, despite the government’s claim that these were not linked to the anti-corruption case, have impacted on the effective functioning of the relevant institutions, and raise questions as to the way procedures were used to formalise these."

The Christian Democrats had called for the removal of the items pertaining to the opening of new chapters in the report.

In the meantime, the Green Party MEP’s raised concern stating that they did not want the subject of Turkey’s accession process to the EU be exploited in the internal politics of member states. Hmmmm....Actions speak louder then words, as i said before Europe will sell all Human right values for cheap Gas from 'Islamist' Turkey.

Obama's State Department conveniently delays release of his BFF Iran's Human Rights Report

Obama's State Department conveniently delays release of his BFF Iran's Human Rights Report. (NCRI).

A group of U.S. senators have expressed their concern over the ongoing postponement of the State Department’s Iran Human Rights Report.

“States that routinely oppress their own citizens as a method of survival lack legitimacy and pose security threats to their neighbors,' the senators wrote. 'Accordingly, the question of Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its human rights record are inextricably intertwined.'

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), along with Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) wrote to U.S. Secretary of State on May 12:

“We write to express strong concern over the ongoing postponement of the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, in particular the Iran Human Rights Report. As you are aware, the Department of State is required by law to issue this report every year in a timely manner. Yet after missing the February 25, 2015 deadline, the Department of State announced on April 16th that there would be a further delay. More than two weeks have now passed, and we still have no indication of when this critical document will be available.

“In the context of the Obama Administration’s ongoing negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran over that country’s nuclear program, we believe it is imperative this report be published as quickly as possible.

Although we appreciate your guarantee that human rights sanctions will be exempt from a list of phased-out sanctions in any final deal with Iran, we are concerned the Obama Administration is failing to recognize the inherent danger of engaging in nuclear negotiations with this particular regime given their appalling record on human rights.

That is why we are so eager for this report as it would, for example, be of particular interest to see if the disturbing increase in human rights abuses under President Hasan Rouhani is a continuing trend over the last twelve months.

“Despite your insistence that human rights, including the ongoing detention of American citizens Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati and Jason Rezaian as well as the lack of information on Robert Levinson, are marginal to your negotiations, we strongly believe we cannot treat this issue in isolation from Iran’s potential pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

The history of the twentieth century elucidates a dangerous axis between internal suppression of human rights and external aggression. States that routinely oppress their own citizens as a method of survival lack legitimacy and pose security threats to their neighbors. Accordingly, the question of Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its human rights record are inextricably intertwined.

“Congress therefore expects a prompt release of the report. Indeed, it would be unreasonable to expect Congress to do its proper due diligence on any deal reached with Iran without access to this information.

Given the June 30, 2015 deadline for negotiations with Iran, we ask that the report be published no later than May 15, 2015. In the event that this deadline cannot be met we ask that you provide a thorough explanation for the delay by that date.” Hmmmm......'He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it'. Martin Luther King, Jr.

'Advanced 'Islamist' Democracy' 101 - Father of Gezi protest victim beaten by security forces outside of court

'Advanced 'Islamist' Democracy' 101 - Father of Gezi protest victim beaten by security forces outside of court. (HD).

The father of Gezi protester Mehmet Ayvalıtaş, who died in 2013, was beaten by security forces near an Istanbul courthouse during a scuffle ahead of the sixth hearing into his son’s death on March 25.

The tension was high outside the courthouse before the trial, as police used water cannons against a group of people who came to support Ayvalıtaş’ family. Private security guards in the court house physically prevented the family members from entering the courthouse before the trial on the grounds that the trial had not yet started. Ali Ayvalıtaş, the father of Mehmet Ayvalıtaş, said he was beaten during the scuffle.

“I was battered and beaten. I underwent heart surgery. You took my son away from me and beat me. I am in poor health right now,” said Ali Ayvalıtaş, demanding abatement. Ali Ayvalıtaş was eventually taken to the hospital in a wheelchair after the head of the court demanded an ambulance for him. Hmmm.....Europe should be ashamed to sell out all human rights in exchange for gas coming from this dictatorship. Read the full story here.

Amnesty International on Turkey’s Worsening Human Rights Record: 11 Key Issues.

Amnesty International on Turkey’s Worsening Human Rights Record: 11 Key Issues.(Amnesty).

At midnight tonight, Amnesty International issued its Annual Report, The State of the World’s Human Rights. There is grim reading throughout. This was a tough year for human rights worldwide.

Below I’ll try to outline the main issues that Amnesty has raised regarding the declining human rights conditions Turkey, where, according to Amnesty, “authorities have become more authoritarian in dealing with critics,” undermining the independence of the judiciary, introducing new restrictions on internet freedoms, and “[handing] unprecedented powers to the country’s intelligence agency.”

1. Freedom of Expression: Vaguely written and broadly defined anti-terror statutes, “along with laws on defamation and provoking religious hatred” continue to be employed to limit free speech. Business links with government still serve to undermine the independence of mainstream media, with some journalists forced from their jobs by fearful editors. Gagging orders were used to suppress the reporting of several major news stories and draconian new internet laws were passed. Social media was blocked for lengthy periods by government order.

2. Freedom of Assembly: Peaceful demonstrations were routinely hindered by the government. Authorities issued bans on protests and demonstrations were often “dispersed with the use of excessive, unnecessary and often punitive force by police officers.” Demonstrators were often subject to “trumped up charges of violent conduct.” “The restrictive Law on Meetings and Demonstrations continued to be a barrier to freedom of peaceful assembly, despite superficial amendments in March.”

3. Torture and other ill-treatment: A relative bright spot in the report, Amnesty notes that “reported cases of torture in official places of detention remained far fewer than in previous years. Nonetheless, “[more] than two years after the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture, the required domestic implementing mechanism had not been established.”

4. Excessive use of force: In contrast to Turkey’s improving record on torture, excessive use of force remains common: Excessive and abusive force by police officers during demonstrations, including the firing of tear gas canisters directly at demonstrators from close range, and the use of watercannon and beatings of peaceful protesters, remained common. Ministry of Interior guidelines, introduced in June and July 2013 to combat excessive and unnecessary force,were mostly ignored. In a number of cases, police used live ammunition during demonstrations, resulting in deaths and injury.

5. Impunity: Police and security officials continue to act with almost complete impunity in Turkey. According to Amnesty’s report: “police units were effectively responsible for investigating their own alleged abuses under the instruction of underresourced prosecutors. Police departments routinely failed to provide the most basic items of evidence to investigations.” The report drew particular attention to the appalling case of Hakan Yaman and the more than forty people killed during protests in the predominantly Kurdish area of southeastern Turkey, where “there were numerous reports of the failure to conduct prompt crime scene investigations or to question alleged perpetrators of attacks on rival groups”

6. Unfair Trials: While noting some positive reforms, Amnesty highlighted the fact that “those accused of terrorism-related offenses still risked conviction without substantive and convincing evidence in ordinary courts.” Perhaps even more disturbingly, the government has taken a series of steps which have undermined the independence of the judiciary. In the context of high profile corruption trials, hundreds of judges and prosecutors were transferred to other posts.

7. Housing Rights: In municipalities throughout the country, urban renovation projects failed to uphold the rights of residents. Residents in Sarıgöl, a poor district of Istanbul with a significant Roma population, were forcibly evicted from their homes in a project to replace shanty houses with higher quality residential blocks. The cost of the new houses was vastly higher than the majority of residents could afford and the compensation for those who lost their houses was inadequate. Many of the families threatened with homelessness by the project did not have title deeds for the land despite living in the neighbourhood for generations.

8. Violence against Women: Despite the tough talk about protecting women from violence in recent days, the Turkish government has failed in some basic obligations: The implementation of the 2012 Law on Protection of Family and Prevention of Violence against Women remained inadequate, under-resourced and ineffective in dealing with domestic violence. A number of women under judicial protection were reported to have been killed. The number of shelters for victims of domestic violence remained far below that required by law.

9. Refugees and Asylum Seekers: Amnesty notes that Turkey provides sanctuary for more than 1.6 million Syrian refugees and has borne the lion’s share of the financial burden for their support. According to Amnesty, “while 220,000 were accommodated in well-resourced, government-run refugee camps, but many of the more than 1.3 million refugees living outside camps were destitute and received little or no assistance.” Despite Turkey’s professed “open border policy”, there were persistent reports of unlawful or abusive force by Turkish border guards at unofficial crossing points, including the use of live ammunition, beatings and pushing refugees back into war-torn Syria. An estimated 30,000 Yezidi Kurdish refugees arrived from Iraq in August, but unlike the Syrians, they were not afforded a “temporary protection status”, nor the rights and entitlements it brings. The Yezidi refugees joined an estimated 100,000 asylum-seekers from other countries residing in Turkey, almost all of whom faced severe delays in the processing of their asylum claims.

10. Conscientious objection: Despite rulings from the European Court of Human Rights, Turkey still does not recognize the right of conscientious objection and continues to prosecute objectors under a variety of statutes.

11. LGBTI Rights: Discrimination from authorities is still commonplace in Turkey for Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. A number of murders of transgender women were reported this year. The trial for the murder of Ahmet Yıldız, a gay man killed in a suspected honour killing in July 2008, failed to make any progress during 2014, with his father, the single suspect in the case, remaining at large. The authorities had failed to investigate death threats against Ahmet Yıldız ahead of the murder and to launch a prompt, effective investigation following the killing.

Motherhood is not a career for men: Turkish health minister

Motherhood is not a career for men: Turkish health minister. (HD).

Turkey’s health minister has revisited his New Year’s Day comments about motherhood being the only acceptable career for women, while informing men that they need not apply for the task of being mothers.

The opportunity for Health Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu to continue in his foray into career counseling and gender relations presented itself on Jan. 2 when reporters asked him to comment on the uproar over his assertion that women’s place is to rear children.

“Motherhood is a career, the importance of which can never be [underestimated], and a career which can exist from the coming into being of the human until his end. Motherhood is indisputably a career,” Müezzinoğlu told reporters as he attended an event at Istanbul’s Feshane International Fair Congress and Culture Center.

While visiting the first baby born in 2015 early on Jan. 1, the minister floated his thesis that mothers should not put any career before motherhood. This time, however, he delivered recommendations to men who might have been considering a career in motherhood.

“Hence, motherhood is not a career which every person can have. It is not a career that men can have. It is a career which is never disputable and is sacred,” Müezzinoğlu said. Read the full story here.

"Women's only career should be motherhood" Turkish health minister.

"Women's only career should be motherhood" Turkish health minister.(HD).

Mothers should not put any career before motherhood, Turkish Health Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu has said during a visit to the first baby born in 2015 in Istanbul early on Jan. 1.

Müezzinoğlu and Istanbul Gov. Vasip Şahin visited the baby and congratulated her parents at a hospital in Zeytinburnu while also giving advice to mothers.

“Mothers have the career of motherhood, which cannot be possessed by anyone else in the world. Mothers should not put another career other than motherhood at the center of their lives. They should put raising good generations at the center of their attention,” Müezzinoğlu said.

The minister also urged mothers to have normal deliveries rather than using a C-section, saying medicine should be used for extraordinary situations.Read the full story here.

Hmmmm......Compare with Hitler's Nazi Germany:


Five key points of Nazi approach to women's role:

1. Nazi attitudes toward women reflected the traditionalist, patriarchal views of Hitler and other Nazi leaders. 

2. Through both policy and propaganda, women were removed and discouraged from paid employment. 

3. The Nazis attempted to boost the birthrate by promoting and rewarding motherhood with loans and incentives. 

4. They also restricted abortion and contraception, and attempted to regulate the way women dressed and behaved. 

5. Despite these policies, there was only a slight increase in the birthrate in the first five years of Nazi rule.

“the triumphant task of women is to bear and tend babies”; “men are willing to fight … women must be there to nurse them”

Turkey president Erdogan: Women are not equal to men.

Hitler:

“The granting of equal rights to women, which Marxism demands, in reality does not grant equal rights … it instead constitutes a deprivation of rights, since it draws women into realms of society where they are inferior. The woman has her own battlefield. With every child that she brings into the world, she fights her battle for the nation.”

Makes you wonder where they get their 'ideas'? Not really if you know this!