Mr. Don Wright
Regional Development Coordinator, BC/Yukon
Amnesty International Canada
Dear Mr. Don Wright:
I wish to inform you that I signed last week the on-line petition which has been
circulating to
register a protest against the Amnesty decision to pull out the documentary film, "The
Revolution
will not be Televised" from the festival of films on human rights issues. The said
petition can be
accessed at:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/vendoc/
I signed the online petition in my capacity as President of SANSAD (South Asian
Network for
Secularism and Democracy) and as President of INSAF (International South Asia Forum),
with full
support of the leading bodies of the two organizations.
I was to write this formal note to you earlier; but due to some computer problems and
other
preoccupations it could not be done.
The explanation you provided in your general circular letter (quoted below) is far from
satisfactory. Can there ever be a debate on even Human Rights issues independent of
partisan and
political concerns? Regretfully, Amnesty International's cupboard has too many
skeletons which
remind us of the partisan approach the NGO has taken on very many cases of human
rights violations
in many parts of the world. The decision to withdraw the film "The Revolution will not
be
Televised" must also be seen in the context of AI-Venezuela's own reports (which I saw
on
Amnesty's website), which showed an unabashed support of the US world view, by
charging President
Chavez with crimes against humanity for the bloodshed during the failed coup attempt
against his
administration.
Quote from your circular letter:
I withdrew it on the basis that the partisan, political debate that the film was
attracting
deflected attention from the human rights concerns we wanted to highlight.
I have also read a very detailed interview with Dr. Francis Boyle, professor of
International Law,
and a former Board Member of Amnesty International. I will circulate this interview
widely.
On a personal basis I have been a supporter of Amnesty for some of the useful work it
has done;
and have also been a contributor to its funding appeals. I have yet to decide if I
would continue
with my financial support.
Yours sincerely,
Prof. Hari sharma (retd.)
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