AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MAY MEETING MINUTES
May 3, 2008,
3rd Floor, Amnesty Head Office, 4-6:00pm
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MAY MEETING MINUTES
May 3, 2008,
3rd Floor, Amnesty Head Office, 4-6:00pm
Meeting Theme: Action Planning & Capacity Building
Members in attendance:
Coordinator: Tom Rainey-Smith
Henry
Layne Hartsell
Angela Lytle (plus guest)
Ingrid Potgieter
Michael Solis (plus guest, Dustin Kahler)
Guest speaker: Victor Fic
I. Review of April’s minutes
This past month was not incredibly active, although members did attend the Halmoni protests in front of the Japanese embassy, the play “Hotel Splendid” by Lavonne Mueller, the protests against the Olympics Torch, and the petitioning signing event in Myeongdong. Tom highlighted the importance of translating words into action.
II. Petition signing
There were no petitions to sign, but if anyone has a petition, please send it out to the list. Some Amnesty members are teachers at schools and universities and can easily post up a petition on a wall in order to collect more signatures.
III. Review of last month’s actions
A. China campaign
AI carried out a campaign in Myeongdong in order to raise awareness of Tibetan rights and the current situation in Tibet. We collected over 300 signatures for two petitions, one that highlighted the 4 main concerns of China’s human rights policies and the other calling for the release of the Tibetan monks who were imprisoned by the Chinese government.
B. Hmong refugees in Thailand
Tom and Michael both contributed articles to Korean newspapers and OhmyNews International on issues pertaining to the current situation of the Laotian Hmong in the jungles of Vietnam, as well as the Hmong who are being forcibly repatriated to Laos from refugee camps in Thailand. Tom also began a website called the Hmong Action Network, on which he has posted documents for faxing, videos, contact information, and photos so that others have easy access to the issue.
According to Ann Peters, the Hmong are being financially bribed by the Laotian government to return to Laos. Because the details cannot be confirmed, this is an issue to watch with caution, as it is unfeasible that the Hmong would be willing to return on their own will.
IV. Theme discussion: action planning and capacity building
The group discussed ways to increase the number of and commitment to actions undertaken by Amnesty G48.
l Michael proposed organizing a response to the Chinese mass mobilization during the Olympic Torch Event by coordinating foreign embassies in support of Tibetan rights to cooperate and begin a t-shirt campaign supporting Tibetan rights in direct response to China’s t-shirt campaign.
l Angela proposed participating in a weekly vigil in coordination with the Buddhist order. Friday, 9 May 2008 will mark the day of the Buddha’s birth, and several activities are scheduled that weekend. The event will attract non-warring, peaceful groups who seek to limit and prevent conflict.
l Tom read a message from Ann Peters, who is seeking help from G48 to research companies that are cooperating with the Laotian government. Layne suggested that we be careful with our word choices and discussed his reservations with using a world like “boycott” that has its origins in violent action. The group decided to use, for legal reasons, the term “non-cooperation” rather than “boycott.” G48 also decided that we need to be very careful about which companies to target in order to make non-cooperation effective. Therefore, G48 will research those companies that have direct ties to the Laotian military forces and any companies any companies that are directly or indirectly tied to the refoulement of Hmong refugees – particularly those that can be tied to powerful countries and in turn governments like the US. Tom sent a message to Ann asking for suggestions on how to further refine our targets. Layne, Michael and Tom all agreed to carry out individual research to target those companies discussed above. G48 also decided that it would be worthwhile to mobilize the young, ethnic Hmong in the US after deciding which companies to target.
l Ingrid commented on a recent campaign that involved increasing awareness of the Hmong issue among US senators and asking for them to pressure the Thai and Laotian governments to put an end the forced repatriation and human rights abuses.
V. Coordinator Role
Tom asked if anyone would be willing or able to serve as the G48 Coordinator at the end of June and throughout July, as he will be out of the country. If anyone has interest in serving as the group coordinator, please contact Tom as soon as possible. Tom also discussed ideas for increasing membership, either through other news publications or reaching out to areas outside of Seoul.
VI. “Comfort Women” Betrayed (Victor Fic)
Victor presented on the various sources of betrayal against the Korean “comfort women””
1. The Japanese government
2. The Korean government and business officials who compromised themselves through increased business interactions with Japan
3. Japanese journalists who did not properly investigate the claims
4. Koreans who knew what the Japanese government was doing to their Korean sisters
5. Japanese women and feminists who behaved as if the “comfort women issue did not exist
6. Asian prejudice which excluded outsiders from writing about discrimination. Then the topic was taboo, but now it is semi-open.
Victor proposed 5 ways to address the issue now:
1. Avoiding collaboration and maintaining clean hands as human rights activists
2. Responding with tough-minded reporting; putting the victims first
3. Understanding that victims are not the shameful ones in this situation. The shameful are always the perpetrators of human rights abuses.
4. Overcoming prejudice
5. Understanding the consequences of corruption (ex. Kim Dae Jung)
VII. Upcoming Events
G48 has proposed holding weekly, candlelight vigils in front of City Hall on Thursday events around 6 or 7:00pm. Susie Wigowsky has agreed to take on a leadership role in this capacity. Please let Tom know of you availability to participate on Thursday nights. We will need G48 members to help invite representatives from the local Buddhist community, Tibetan rights groups, and others. Keep posted on the email list for updates on the first vigil.
VIII. Date and Time of Next Meeting: Sunday June 7, Amnesty Head Office, 4pm
Thanks to Michael Solis for these minutes!
