Marlene Jennings, Federal Liberal Member of Parliament in Canada, is a very attractive person. She is bright, capable and very pleasant. It may sound strange but, in spite of what others are telling me about her character, I really like her.

For a while, I thought Marlene was the person who would finally bring me justice. For a while, I had good reason to believe she was going to be my hero. She had acknowledged twice, publicly, that my rights had been violated three times by the authorities and I believed that she was finally going to help me.

I actually thought Marlene Jennings should be prime minister.

But when she was re-elected in 2008, Marlene Jennings sat at the right hand of the Liberal leader of the opposition, Michael Ignatieff, and she disappeared from my life.

( International appeal to Canadian and Quebec GLBT )

Kiana Firouz, 27 years old, actress and lesbian activist from Teheran, Iran, has long been engaged in the battle against the discrimination and persecution of homosexuals by the Ahmadinejad regime. After photograms of her video documentary on the condition of lesbians and gays fell into the hands of the Iranian intelligence, agents began to follow and intimidate her. Concerned about her safety, Kiana left Teheran and sought refuge in the U.K., where she could continue her work and studies.

She filed for asylum but her application was rejected by the Home Office even though the Ministry recognized her being persecuted for her sexual orientation and despite the fact that the Ministry is well aware that under Islamic law homosexuality is considered a heinous crime punishable by hanging and that gays and lesbians are enemies of Allah. In Iran, punishment for an adult consenting lesbian of healthy mind and is 100 whippings. If the act is repeated three times and punished each time, the death sentence is applied the fourth time (Art. 127, 129, 130).

YOU ARE A LAW-ABIDING CANADIAN CITIZEN.
THERE IS A KNOCK AT YOUR DOOR.
IT'S THE POLICE !
YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU IN MONTREAL, CANADA.

Manuel Tapial
Rebelión

Acabamos de recoger en alta mar a los pasajeros del Challenger II que se ha averiado. Los quince pasajeros son de nacionalidad griega, estadounidense y noruega. Aparte, nos acaban de informar de que ayer la Vicepresidenta del Parlamento Europeo Isabel Durant hizo las sıguientes declaraciones en una rueda de prensa para apoyar a la Flotılla: “Hacemos un llamado para que esta misión humanitaria destinada a aliviar a la población palestina de Gaza pueda llegar a puerto de manera segura”. Desde Noruega tambien ha llegado el apoyo de un alto responsable del Gobierno a la Flotilla.

The hearings in the Montreal Police Brotherhood’s motion to quash the public inquiry called into the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis resumed on May 11th, 2010. The Justice for Anas Coalition organized a press conference on May 10th and called a rally on May 11th to serve as a reminder about the importance and necessity of a public inquiry into the causes and circumstances leading up to Anas’ killing at the hands of Montreal police officer Yannick Bernier on December 1st, 2005, in the neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges.

Two IMPORTANT POINTS worth highlighting from the recent events include:

1. The Quebec Court of Appeal decision in the case of Michel Berniquez (killed during a police intervention in Montreal-North in 2003) stated quite unequivocally that the Montreal Police Brotherhood’s motion to cancel the public inquiry in that case was unfounded. This decision underscores the importance of having a public inquiry to understand the circumstances surrounding Anas’ death.

2. The inconsistency and hypocrisy of the City of Montreal. On the one hand, Mayor Gérald Tremblay wishes that “all light be shed”, and, on the other hand, Mr Tremblay has given a mandate to city of Montreal lawyer, Pierre-Yves Boisvert, to argue in favor of the Brotherhood’s motion to quash the public inquiry into Anas’ death.

Le 11 mai 2010, les audiences portant sur la requête de la Fraternité des Policiers et Policières de Montréal en vue d'annuler une enquête publique sur la mort de Mohamed Anas Bennis reprenaient. La Coalition Justice pour Anas a organisé une conférence de presse le 10 mai ainsi qu’un rassemblement le 11 mai autour de ces évènements, pour rappeler l'importance et la nécessité d'une enquête publique sur les causes et circonstances ayant mené à la mort d'Anas Bennis, tué par l'agent Yannick Bernier du SPVM le 1er décembre 2005 à Côte-des-Neiges.

Quelques FAITS SAILLANTS ressortent de ces évènements dans le dossier de la mort d'Anas :

1. La décision sans équivoque du 5 mai dernier de la Cour d'appel vient rappeler que l'action de la Fraternité n'a aucune légitimité dans le dossier d'Anas, tout comme dans celui de Michel Berniquez (tué durant une intervention policière à Montréal-Nord en 2003), sur lequel porte la décision.

2. L'incohérence et l'hypocrisie de la Ville de Montréal, qui d'une part, par le biais du maire Tremblay, affirme vouloir “toute la lumière”, et d'autre part, octroie un mandat à son avocat Pierre-Yves Boisvert pour soutenir la position de la Fraternité en vue d'annuler l'enquête publique sur la mort d'Anas.

Context : Already on the 27th of April 2010, a humanitarian and human rights convoy of international observers, who was heading to the San Juan Copala community, was ambushed by a paramilitary group. The attack killed Jyri Jaakkola (33 years old), a Finnish human rights activist and Bety Cariño (37 years old), a Mexican activist supporting women community groups and free radios.

Murder of the leader of the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala, Timoteo Alejandro Ramirez and his wife Cleriberta Castro

The Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala emphatically denounces the MURDER of our top leader, Timoteo Alejandro Ramírez (44 years old) and his wife Cleriberta Castro (35 years old). The deplorable deed took place in the Yosoyuxi community, which is part of the Autonomous Municipality. According to witnesses’ statements, an unmarked three-ton truck that was apparently delivering merchandise stopped outside the store where the slain comrades live. An armed commando got out of the truck and executed the victims. This commando was made up of four NON-Triqui individuals. The Autonomous Municipality holds the Movement for Triqui Unification and Struggle (MULT) responsible for the crime.

Contexte - rappel : Déjà le 27 avril, un convoi humanitaire de militants et d’observateurs internationaux des droits humains a été assiégé et pris dans une embuscade par un groupe de paramilitaires sur le chemin de la communauté de San Juan Copala. L’attentat a tué Jyri Jaakkola (33 ans), militant finlandais des droits humains, et Bety Cariño (37 ans), militante mexicaine en soutien aux groupes de femmes communautaires et aux radios libres.

Assassinat du leader de la Municipalité autonome de San Juan Copala, Timoteo Alejandro Ramírez et de sa conjointe Cleriberta Castro

Nous, Municipalité autonome de San Juan Copala, dénonçons énergiquement l’ASSASSINAT du principal dirigeant de cette commune, le compañero Timoteo Alejandro Ramírez (âgé de 44 ans) et de son épouse Cleriberta Castro (âgée de 35 ans). Ces faits déplorables sont survenus dans la communauté de Yosoyuxi, appartenant à notre Municipalité autonome. Selon les déclarations de quelques témoins, un camion de trois tonnes, sans aucune marque d’identification, qui apparemment livrait de la marchandise, s’est arrêté devant la boutique que les compañeros assassinés avaient à leur domicile. De ce camion est descendu un commando armé qui a exécuté les victimes. Ce commando était composé de quatre personnes NON TRIQUI. La Municipalité autonome rend responsable de ce crime le Mouvement d’unification et de lutte Triqui (MULT).

In a society like ours where law and order to the extent we enjoy them help enable our standard of living, it is easy to take the quality of them for granted. When in trouble the first people we think of calling are often law enforcement and we rarely hear of instances when they do not show up or help. We think of them as heroic, strong, brave and possessing above average moral conviction. That’s the picture we really should hope to have even though we are now well aware of the dark side of our nation’s law enforcement.

From switzerland, hemp activist Bernard Rappaz was condemned to 5 year and 8 month of prison, after an unfair trial, in which the charges mix cheerfully the violation of the federal drugs laws, money laundering, violation of the road traffic laws, etc etc. After 50 days of hunger strike to acquire a federal review of his trial, he was placed on probation, then re-incarcerated. He began a new hunger strike. The joint manager had only a suspended sentence and a light fine imposition. Did the Helvetic authorities sentenced him to death??