Amnesty International Voorschoten/Wassenaar

Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights.
 
AI's vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.
 
In pursuit of this vision, AI's mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.
 
AI is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. It does not support or oppose any government or political system, nor does it support or oppose the views of the victims whose rights it seeks to protect. It is concerned solely with the impartial protection of human rights.
 
Over the whole world people exert themselves for the observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on 10 December 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations. This is a large task that requires - apart for much energy, time and endurance - also much money.
 
This site gives information of the local activities of our section of Amnesty International. For the world-wide and nation-wide activities we refer to the site of Amnesty International and of Amnesty International Netherlands.
 
Frequently Asked Questions
 

Contact/Information

Do you want to actively cooperate with the Amnesty-group in Voorschoten/Wassenaar?
 
Our address is: Amnesty International Voorschoten/Wassenaar
Mw. E.J. Mulder
Strauszplantsoen 20
2253 CG Voorschoten
tel 071-5620881
e-mail: liesbethmulder@ziggo.nl
 
If you want to be active for the national organisation, please check the list of volunteers of Amnesty International of the Netherlands.
 
If you want to be passive member/supporter then write to: Amnesty International Nederland.
Antwoordnummer 10840, 1000 RA Amsterdam
Telephone 06-3212250 Both passive and active members pay a contribution of € 28,50 a year (or if this amount is too high due to personal circumstances a minimum of € 10,-) and receive the monthly paper 'Wordt Vervolgd'.
('Wordt vervolgd' means: 'will be continued' as well as: 'being prosecuted')
Those below 19 years pay a contribution of € 8,- a year

Activities

Every year we organise a second-hand market, in December we sell candles, cards etc. in stands in the churches; we organise the monthly writing actions and cooperate in the yearly collection which is scheduled in the third week of February.

Second-hand book-market Amnesty International Voorschoten/Wassenaar.

Every year the group Voorschoten/Wassenaar organises a second-hand book market. The books are sorted by subject and sold for a very fair price. Besides the practical function it has also a symbolical one. Books are already since ages the symbols of freedom of thought and thus, with the distribution of books, freedom is - symbolically - spread.
 
The book-market has already taken place, the next will probably be held in the summer of 2012.
For more information: Huub van Beijnen tel 071- 5768561 beijwent@casema.nl (Voorschoten), of
Kitty Zeelt tel 071-5314656 ezeelt@planet.nl (Voorschoten), of
Wim Ruitenberg / Wieke Alting tel 070-5119208 waalting@xs4all.nl (Wassenaar).
 

Results of 2011.

The proceeds of the book market show an upward trend. In 2008 we achieved a net profit of € 15,068.73.
In 2009 the yield was slightly less in Wassenaar: € 12,046.65. In 2010, however, the yield increased again and we obtained a net income of € 20,482.48.
The final result was lower than in 2010, but still very good: € 18,308.23!
The above amount has been earmarked for a project to freedom of expression and for persecuted writers in China.
 
The performance was for a very large part due to the dedication of the members of the organizing committee of this book-market and the other volunteers. After the transfer of the net proceeds from this book market we receive a very positive response received Amnesty Netherlands.
We owe many thanks to Hoogvliet Beheer, for providing the hall at the Starrenburglaan and to our other sponsor: Felix Bax.
On behalf of the Amnesty group Wassenaar / Voorschoten: thanks everyone for their cooperation and commitment. Until next year!
 

Where are the proceeds used for.

In 2010, half of the proceeds were used to improve the circumstances of political prisoners in general, while the other half was earmarked for improving the condition of prisoners in Myanmar (Burma).
In 2011 the revenue will be spent on a project of Amnesty International in China.
It is used for a technical training of independent Chinese film-makers, who want to become proficient in making documentaries. These documentaries are in the near future contributions to human rights education in China and beyond. Besides the training, we want them - if necessary – to support also with hardware necessary for making documentaries.
This project is related to the big book fair held in China this autumn. The Dutch Amnesty International has made this a spearhead for the Human Rights situation in China. Also Dutch writers will visit this book fair.
 

Collection for Amnesty Third week of February

Every year Amnesty International organises a nationwide collection in the 3rd week of February. As Amnesty is an independent organisation, it does not accept any subsidies from governments and it is therefore dependent on donations. The collection is therefore of great importance for the work of Amnesty.
 
In 2012 the collection will take place from the 11th till the 18th of February. The proceeds of 2011 were as much as € 8.600.
 
Can you spare 2 hours in this period from the 11th till the 18th of February? We will welcome you as a collectioner. You can operate in your own neighbourhood at a time that suits you most.
Information:
For the coördination for Voorschoten there is a vacancy: Information for the collection:
Liesbeth Mulder
tel 071-5620881
e-mail: liesbethmulder@ziggo.nl
Lian van Poortvliet - coördinator Wassenaar
tel: 070-5141826
e-mail: lianvanpoortvliet@casema.nl
 

Christmas activities and the 10 December action.

The 10th of December is the day of the Human Rights.
From the 27th of November till the Christmas-time our group has gathered signatures in a nationwide rally to support the human rights.
Also we sell in that time some Christmas articles (candles, postcard) for financial support of our actions

 

Dining with Amnesty's candlelight.


The 10th of December is the international day of the UDHR, the Universel Declaration of the Human Rights. On this day Amnesty International asks for your attention for the UDHR with a special action.
Thanks to the cooperation of restaurants all over the Nederlands many visitors of restaurants found on Saturday the 10th of December a candle from Amnesty on their table. These candles were accompinied by a card that called for attention for the Human Rights situation in Egypt. With more than 300 candles in 27 restaurants approximately 1500 people in Voorschoten and Wassenaar dined with Amnesty's candlelight.
 
Amnesty Voorschoten/Wassenaar is grateful to: Mas o Menos, De Blauwe Tram, De Mazzel, Het Wapen van Voorschoten, Floris V, De Knip, Ome Niek, Allemansgeest, La Donna Fugata, Zorba, Het Wedde en Ramis in Voorschoten and the Markiezen van Wassenaar, pannekoekenhuis de Schulpwei, Broeders, pizzeria La Scala, Harput, Mie-li, Grand Café Guilia’s, da Italo, Olympia, Rickies feest, pannekoekenhuis s-Gravezande, da Alfio, paviljoen Zonnehof, Grand Café Lien and brasserie het Reghthuys in Wassenaar for their cooperation.

photo: Monika Jordens-Michalski.


 

Writing for prisoners

The writing-group writes every month polite requests to authorities for the sake of victims of suppression. The people we support are all prosecuted for the expression of personal, religious or political convictions. They have neither used nor supported any violence.
For those who want to write these letters, each month three example letters are available online and can be downloaded. Just click here for a complete overview of the writing actions. (The text is in Dutch, the examples of letters mainly in English. Go to "Download hier de voorbeeldbrief")
Coordination Ceciel Lemmens: tel 071-531 55 10, e-mail: fonsenceciel@gmail.com .

Writing to prisoners

There is also the opportunity to write comforting letters or postcards to prisoners. Names, addresses and examples for sentences are provided. E-mail to amnesty for details.

School activities: the youth is the future!

One of the major activities of Amnesty International is offering classes and activities to schools as part of human rights education.
 
School activities in Voorschoten
Since 2007 we offer teaching materials for groups 7 and 8 of primary schools. In some schools, we provide the teachings ourselves, some schools conduct their own lessons using the materials supplied by us. In Voorschoten the school activities are carried out by 4 persons. Coordinator Liesbeth Mulder .
 
School activities in Wassenaar have not yet begun
Of course we want to offer these teachings in Wassenaar too. Unfortunately due to lack of manpower this has not yet materialised. If you are interested in helping with our school activities in Wassenaar, then you are very welcome. In this case, please contact Liesbeth Mulder .
More reading (in Dutch)...

Vera van Kooten wins the Amnesty postercontest.



On Friday September 17 a radiantly happy Vera obtained the award from Alderman Inge Adema. She did win the Postercontest of Amnesty Voorschoten / Wassenaar. The assignment was to design a poster for celebrating the 50th anniversary of Amnesty International. All students of the eighth groups of the primary schools Voorschoten had been invited to participate in the contest.
The jury, consisting of Alderman Adema, photographer Monika Jondense-Michalski and artist Raad Alzobeidi, was very enthusiastic about the entries. Raad expressed the opinion of the jury on the winning poster: Vera has such a beautiful and colorful cartoon drawn, where a lot of aspects of the work of Amnesty were depicted.
Vera, a student of the school The Rainbow, is now planning to a monthly letter to write to a prisoner of conscience. Amnesty International is of course very happy and hopes that this great initiative will be followed.

This year Amnesty International is celebrating its 50th anniversary. On the special website www.50jaar.amnesty.nl is a wealth of information and materials available. Thus, in a nicely formatted timeline (part of) the history of human rights can be found.
In addition, the collection of posters for the past 50 years and Amnesty made a nice historical picture.
Special focus is on the website for the election of the "moment of hope." Here visitors can vote for special moments, like the speech van Martin Luther King, the 'Prague Spring', the abolition of the death penalty in the Netherlands, the student protest at Tiananmen Square or the fall of the Berlin wall.

 

Good news

 •  Good news from Libia
"It is difficult to find the right words to express my gratitude for the support of Amnesty International during my detention", the prominent Libyan prisoner-of-conscience Jamal al-Hajji says during a talk with Amnesty International shortly after his release.
Jamal al-Hajji was kept for seven months in the notorious Abu Salim prison without any contact with the outside world and under very bad hygienic circumstances. He was kept in complete isolation for three month of his detention: "It was not possible to stand erect", he tells.
As a result of these heavy circumstances Jamal al-Hajji has now problems with his back.
Jamal al-Hajji openly criticized colonel Muamar Kadhafi and as arrested several times in the past years. In the beginning of this year he publicized different articles in foreign websites calling for a protest against the Libyan government and was arrested again. He remains convinced that it is necessary to support people in their call for freedom: "When the rights of innocent people are violated, we must all stand up for their defence".
 •  The forced eviction of a Roma-community in the Romanian town of Baia Mare has been cancelled.
The forced eviction of a Roma-community in the Romanian town of Baia Mare has been cancelled for the time being after intervention of the American embassy in Bucharest and protests of Amnesty International and Romanian human-rights-organisations.
Soon after the announcement of the lord mayor of Baia Mare on the 23rd of August that the Roma would be evicted within some weeks an avalanche of protests started. Thousands of activists from the whole world called on the locale authorities and the Romanian government to stop their plans. The American ambassador in Romania visited the town and called to respect the rights of all citizens.
The actions seem to have success; although the local authorities have not given an official declaration, up to now not a single family has been evicted and no house has been demolished down. The realisation of this eviction was planned for the 5th of September.
So there is hope that this forceful eviction has been totally stopped. However there is a chance that in the future Roma will be evicted from their houses. Amnesty International will give the situation in Baia Mare a very close attention.
 •  Azerbaydzian journalist realeased .
The well-known journalist Eynulla Fatullayev has been released under a presidential parole. Amnesty International regards this decision as a step in the right direction for the freedom of speech in Azerbaijan.
Amnesty held an international campaign for Fatullayev, after his 2007 conviction that was based on fabricated accusations. He was allegedly culpable of terrorism and slander. Fatullayev wrote two articles about the massacres on Azerbaijan citizens in the village Khojaly in 1992, during the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. After the publication of his critical articles about the foreign policy of the government he was convicted.
When in 2010 the European Court for Human Rights asked the Azerbaijan authorities to release him, the authorities have fabricated new accusations. Fatullayev would have possessed drugs and was sentenced to 2˝ years in prison.
Amnesty is exhilarated with the release of Fatullayev but we must not forget that many others are held in Azerbaijan on the base of fabricated accusations, for the sole reason that they criticized the authorities. Amnesty calls for the release of all prisoners of conscience and hopes that the unfair treatment of the critics will end.
The campaign for the release of Fatullayevs met a climax on the 24th of May 2011, when an international twittercampaign started. At least eight hundred people have tweeted president Aliyev to ask for the release of the journalist.
"I am very happy with my release. I am very grateful to Amnesty International, that helped me from the beginning. You saved me. Thank you, everybody that has tweeted for my release," told Eynulla Fatullayev members of Amnesty International.
 •  Indian activist Binayak Sen free on parole .
Although the details of the judicial decision has not yet been put out, it was announced that the imprisonment of Binayak Sen was suspended.
The famous Indian physician and prisoner of conscience Sat down one hundred days after he was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiracy and sedition.
The conviction had only political motives: Sen has for years committed to improving the human rights situation in the Indian state Chhattisgarh.
Through an email action Amnesty International campaigned for his release. Ilina Sen, wife of Sen, thanks Amnesty International and other human rights organizations for their support.
 •  Nigerian Authorities disclose their Plans fot the Greater Port Harcourt. There is still Hope for the Victims of Forced Evictions.
Amnesty welcomes the decision of the authorities in Port Harcourt to disclose their building plans for the Greater Port Harcourt to residents, local organisations for the community and ngo's.
Moreover, the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority (GPHDA) will make a recapitulation of the original plan, so that the information will be more easily accessible for the public and for the residents of the slums in the area.
These promises are made as a result of the Amnesty-rapport: Just Move Them: Forced Evictions in Port Harcourt, Nigeria of the 28th of October.
The report and Amnesty's recommendations were discussed on the 29th of October with the GPHDA in Port Harcourt. This report describes the forced evictions in the district Njemanze on the waterfront of Port Harcourt in August 2009. The residents hadn't got any message about the eviction; as a result most of them lost all their possessions.
The local authorities are of the opinion that the eviction of the residents was needed for the development of the town that is part of the projectplan. This Greater Port Harcourt Master Plan contains radical changes for the City that should be realised in the next fifty years. However, these plannen have never been discussed with the residents.
 •  Nigeria: Shell keeps its first promise.
At Shell's last meeting for Shareholders Amnesty still asked for the undertaking of its promises.
On May 18 this year handed Amnesty director Eduard Nazarski 175 000 action cards to Shell CEO Peter Voser at meetings of the chemicals group. Voser then did three promises. The first promise was the publication of an environmental study from 1995, where Amnesty has long been asking for.
A good first step.
Shell has now fulfilled this promise with the publication of a series of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) on its website. This is a nice step.
Firstly, the reports map the risk in many areas for which Amnesty had raised questions. Amongst them are the effects of pollution on the health of the population, the loss of revenue, for example, fishermen and farmers and the role of Shell may have had on local conflicts. Another positive aspect: these reports are now freely available for the local population, for human rights activists and for non-governmental organizations.
Comments
Nevertheless there is still something to be desired. It is not clear how Shell will prevent or remedy the risk that it identifies in the future. Moreover, no specific analysis has been made of the impact of Shell's operations on human rights.
Peter Voser, as a response to the petition campaign, has also promised to investigate with Amnesty International and the Nigerian government, how Shell can help to better remedy the many oil spills in the Niger Delta. Voser third promise was that the environmental impact assessments that Shell performs will be made more accessible to Public

 
Writing really helps! And the more, the better.
To see all the good news that reaches us via AI in the Netherlands (in Dutch) click here.


 

Bad news: Philip Workman executed

Philip Workman has been executed on the 9th of May 2007 after a stay in the death cell for more than 25 years. He was sentenced to death for killing police-officer Lt. Ronald Oliver during an armed robbery.

In these 25 years it became clear that Philip Workman was absolutely not involved in the killing of Lt. Ronald Oliver.
Philip had evidently committed the robbery. After the robbery there was a chaotic struggle between Philip and some police-officers in which Lt. Ronald Oliver died. Philips claimed that he had at that moment already lost his weapon and was struck unconcious.
But there was a witness, who claimed that he had seen that Philip shot the police-officer. Based on the testimony of this witness Philip has been sentenced to death.

It is now clear and beyond doubt that Philip is not guilty as charged and that the authorities have tampered with the evidence:

First it came out that Harold Davis, the only witness that indicated Philip as the culprit, had committed perjury. He was not even present when the fatal shooting took place.
Davis has been put under severe pressure, has even been threatened, when he wanted to retract his testimony.
 
In Lifelines the paper of the Tennessee Coalition against State Killing, a witness is mentioned who was present at the shooting and declared that she saw how Lt. Ronald Oliver was shot by his own white colleague. This witness has never been called to the stand. She is no longer available, but several policemen have confirmed the story about this witness. (See here for the testimonies about this "missing" witness.)
 
Ballistic investigations showed that the bullet that killed Lt. Ronald Oliver did not come from Philip's weapon but from a police gun.
Workman's lawyers stated again and again that this was new evidence for their thesis - that Lt. Ronald Oliver had not been killed by Philips. The investigations were not available in the first case where Philips was sentenced to death. This fact was completely neglected by the authorities for the more than 25 years that Philips stayed on the death row.
 
Up to Philip's death, new evidence has been discovered and the course of the process became grotesque, even Kafkaianesk. There are reliable witnesses that testify that the Police Officer that killed Lt. Oliver had a secret relationship with Oliver's wife. These may just be called rumours, but it is a fact that the Police Officer that apparently killed Lt. Oliver, married his widow shortly afer the funeral.
 
It was very unfortunate for Workman that the autorities decided that all new evidence was not relevant any more, because Philip Workman's possibilities for appeal were exhausted.
 
It seems more and more plausible that the authorities did not want Philip Workman to be acquitted, because they wanted to conceal the fact that during the arrest severe errors have been made. More and more facts suggest that the evidence has been manipulated from the start on, to make Philip Workman the scapegoat for the errors (or worse!) of the policeman that shot Lt Ronald Oliver on that fatal day.
 
This was in no way the only execution in the USA where there are huge doubts on whether the defendant is guilty or not.
However, it was the first execution where it was for as long as 25 years evident "beyond reasonable doubt" that the defendant has not committed the crime for which he is charged.

The Amnesty International Groups Ring gives worldwide information on other local Amnesty groups.
 

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Last change Monday the 25th of December 2011