Congo: LRA Conducts Massive Abduction Campaign

New Regional Strategy Needed to Protect Civilians and Rescue Children

This ten-year-old boy was abducted by the LRA in Bamudanga, northern Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 27, 2010. Some weeks later he managed to escape.

 

DR Congo: New Round of LRA Killing Campaign

 

Trail of Death

The Christmas Massacres

The LRA continues its horrific campaign to replenish its ranks by brutally tearing children from their villages and forcing them to fight. The evidence points to Joseph Kony, the LRA leader, as the author of this atrocious campaign.

Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior Africa researcher

(Washington, DC) - The Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has abducted more than 697 adults and children in a largely unreported campaign in the Central African Republic and the neighboring Bas Uele district of northern Democratic Republic of Congo over the past 18 months, Human Rights Watch said today. Nearly one-third of those abducted have been children, many of whom are being forced to serve as soldiers or are being used for sex by the group's fighters.
During the abduction campaign, the LRA has brutally killed adults and children who tried to escape, walked too slowly, or were unable to bear the heavy loads they were forced to carry, Human Rights Watch found in its investigations in the region. The LRA has killed at least 255 adults and children, often by crushing their skulls with clubs. In dozens of cases, the LRA forced captive children to kill other children and adults.

"The LRA continues its horrific campaign to replenish its ranks by brutally tearing children from their villages and forcing them to fight," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The evidence points to Joseph Kony, the LRA leader, as the author of this atrocious campaign."
Human Rights Watch called on the affected governments and their allies to strengthen their protection of civilians and to put greater emphasis on efforts to rescue the abducted children and others.

A month-long Human Rights Watch research mission to the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Bas Uele district of northern Congo from July 12 to August 11, 2010, in which over 520 civilians were interviewed, including 90 former abductees, in individual and focus group interviews, found that the LRA's abduction campaign was similar in both countries and is having a devastating impact on affected communities.

In southeastern CAR, the LRA began large-scale abductions on July 21, 2009, and to date has abducted 304 people, including many children. The LRA first attacked the villages surrounding Obo, before moving west toward Rafai, Guérékindo, Gouyanga, Kitessa and Mboki, along the Congolese border, and north toward Djema, Baroua, and Derbissaka. Most recently, on June 12 and 13, 2010, the LRA abducted 16 people in farms surrounding the town of Rafai, including a mother and her 2-year-old daughter, both of whom the rebels later killed.

A similar LRA abduction campaign is under way in the remote Bas Uele district of Congo. On March 15, 2009, the LRA attacked the town of Banda, abducting some 80 people. In the months that followed, the LRA progressed westward, conducting raids on the towns and villages of Dakwa, Bayule, Disolo, Esse, and further north in Digba, Sukadi, and Gwane, among others.

On May 27, 2010, the LRA attacked numerous villages near Ango, the territorial capital, abducting 23 people, including 16 children. Some abductees who later escaped told Human Rigths Watch that the LRA questioned them about the location of schools in Ango, indicating the rebels may have been seeking specifically to abduct children. The LRA advance was halted when they encountered Congolese soldiers less than 15 kilometers from Ango, forcing them to change direction.

During the LRA's campaign in Bas Uele between March 2009 and June 2010, the rebels abducted at least 375 people, at least 127 of them children, most ages 10 to 15. More recent information indicates that there have been more LRA attacks.
There has been very little reporting of the LRA's numerous abuses in the region because it is so remote and communications are so poor. Few humanitarian agencies are working there, and there is only a small United Nations presence.
Tens of thousands of people have fled the area. In southeastern CAR an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people have sought refuge in the main towns, leaving entire villages abandoned. In the last few months, the government has deployed about 200 troops to the area to help protect civilians, too few to provide adequate protection. The Ugandan army has made some troops available to help protect civilians in the area.

Civilian protection concerns in Bas Uele district are even greater. An estimated 54,000 civilians have been displaced in the district or have sought refuge across the border in CAR. The Congolese army has deployed an army battalion to the area, but it is ill-equipped and has little or no transportation and communications equipment.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUSCO, with 19,000 peacekeepers across the country, has only 1,000 in the LRA-affected areas of northeastern Congo - far too few for the scale and geographical breadth of the problem. No peacekeepers are based in Bas Uele district. In the past two months, the MONUSCO base in Dingila, Bas Uele district, was closed and new MONUSCO bases expected to open in Dakwa and Digba have not yet been established.

"The protection of civilians under LRA attack across central Africa is woefully inadequate, with some communities receiving no protection or humanitarian aid at all," Van Woudenberg said. "National governments, the Ugandan army, and the UN need to take urgent steps to protect people from these LRA attacks."

A Vicious Abduction CampaignHuman Rights Watch's field investigations have found that LRA combatants often attack villages early in the morning or late in the day, when residents are likely to be home. The LRA fighters grab their victims and tie them to one another at the waist in long human chains. The abductions are usually followed by extensive looting of food, clothing, salt, and other items, which are loaded in heavy bundles onto the captives' heads, backs, and shoulders before they are marched off into the forest.

A 40-year-old woman from Guerekindo in southeastern CAR told Human Rights Watch how on March 29, 2010, she watched in horror as the LRA tied up her husband and five young children in a human chain, loaded them with the household's goods, and dragged them out of their home. She was left on her own with twin infants and has had no news of her missing family members.

According to former abductees, once away from a main road, the LRA force their captives to work for hours or days shelling peanuts, a staple crop in the area, or pounding rice or manioc to prepare for cooking. Those who work too slowly are beaten. The LRA rebels prohibit captives from speaking to one another and from eating, drinking water, or going to the toilet without permission.

Once the work is completed, some adults may be released, though they are usually viciously beaten or otherwise humiliated first. In Digba, Bas Uele, on September 27, 2009, the LRA whipped each of the 12 Congolese adult abductees with branches, then with a machete after they had worked all night shelling peanuts, before releasing them. A 41-year-old teacher in the group was punished more severely because he spoke English.

In another case, following large-scale abductions in Banda, the LRA forced their Congolese captives to dance for their freedom, releasing some adults only after they had danced for several hours. A woman who was released told Human Rights Watch: "I still remember the horrors of that night and being forced to look happy while I danced for my life. I am terrified that the LRA will come back."

Adults who are not released may be kept as porters, forced to march at a rapid pace to the LRA's next location, heavily loaded with pillaged goods. Those who cannot keep up are killed. On May 6, the LRA killed a 42-year-old Central African man named Bungu near Meskine, in CAR, who was loaded down with basins of peanuts and bags of rice. When he fell in a swamp area and was unable to get up, an LRA combatant beat him on the head with a heavy wooden club, crushing his skull.

Adults who make it to an LRA camp are often killed instead of released. One 12-year-old Congolese girl told Human Rights Watch that she was forced to participate in killing dozens of adults who had reached an LRA camp to prevent them from revealing its location to government soldiers or the Ugandan army.

"The LRA tied the hands of the victims behind their back, a cord around their legs, and placed the victims face down on the ground," she said. "Then the LRA would give us children a heavy wooden stick and force us to beat them on the head till they died."

Brutalization of Children
Human Rights Watch found that abducted children are usually separated from the adults and kept close to the LRA commanders. They are rarely released. They quickly learn to obey the LRA's rules and to speak Acholi, the commanders' language, and are exposed to immense brutality to integrate them into the group. The LRA forces many children, as part of their indoctrination, to kill other children who try to escape or fail to obey the rules.

Of the 45 children interviewed by Human Rights Watch, most of those who had been with the LRA a month or more had been forced to kill other children. Human Rights Watch received information of at least 42 children killed by other child abductees in 2009 and 2010, though the figure is probably much higher.

Military training begins within months of captivity. Many children as young as 10 or 11, abducted in Congo, CAR, and Southern Sudan in 2008 and 2009, are now armed with guns and participate in LRA attacks. LRA combatants use mind control methods to get children to forget their lives back home and to view other human beings as animals. Witnesses to LRA attacks and those who were abducted told Human Rights Watch that the young LRA combatants are usually the most vicious and are ordered to carry out the beatings and killings.

The LRA assigns abducted girls to commanders for sex or as servants. Refusing sexual relations often results in death. A 17-year old Congolese girl, Osanna, abducted in Banda in March 2009, protested when a commander tried to rape her. The LRA tied her up and forced other children abducted from Banda to kill her by taking turns hitting her on the head with a heavy wooden stick. Her 12-year-old sister was forced to participate.

Children who escape are deeply traumatized by what they have experienced. One 15-year-old boy who had spent eight months with the LRA before he escaped told Human Rights Watch: "I am no longer the same. I often think about how many people I killed and then I can't sleep. I will never forget what they made me do."

Ordered From LRA's Central Command
The available information strongly indicates that the LRA's central command has been ordering these abductions, which have been conducted in a manner consistent with the LRA's well-established practices. Abductees who spent months with the LRA before managing to escape said the abduction campaign was carried out on orders from Kony that LRA commanders should replenish their ranks.

At least four former abductees who spent months or years with the LRA and had learned to speak Acholi told Human Rights Watch that there was a clear order from Kony to his commanders to abduct children. Some indicated that the abduction campaign was to enable the LRA to return to Uganda. Human Rights Watch has also seen transcripts of two oral messages from Kony in May in CAR, indicating that he continues to communicate with a number of his commanders.

Human Rights Watch research found that the campaign in CAR is led by Gen. Okot Odhiambo, the LRA's second in command, and by LRA groups acting under the direct command of Kony. In Bas Uele, the campaign is led by Lt. Col. Kidega, a senior LRA commander who has a number of smaller LRA groups under his command. Human Rights Watch also received reports of abductions and killings by Gen. Caesar Acelam in the areas around Yalinga and Bria in the Haut-Kotto prefecture of CAR.

Three of the LRA's leaders, including Kony and Odhiambo, are sought by the International Criminal Court under arrest warrants issued in July 2005 for war crimes and crimes against humanity in northern Uganda. All three remain at large and continue to commit atrocities.

Long History of LRA AtrocitiesThe recent LRA abductions and killings are part of the rebel force's longstanding practice of atrocities and abuse. Pushed out of northern Uganda by the Ugandan military in 2005, the LRA now operates in the remote border area between southern Sudan, Congo, and CAR.

In December 2008, the governments of the region, led by the Ugandan armed forces and with intelligence and logistical support from the United States, opened a military campaign against the LRA in northeastern Congo, known as Operation Lightning Thunder. The military campaign failed to end the violence or to apprehend the LRA's leaders. Instead, the LRA spread out across the central African region and have continued their campaign against civilians.

Human Rights Watch has previously reported on widespread and horrific killings in the Haut Uele district in northern Congo, including two deadly LRA rampages: one over the 2008 Christmas period, when 865 were killed, and a massacre in the Makombo area in December 2009, which resulted in the deaths of at least 345 civilians.

Human Rights Watch has urged the US government to swiftly carry out the legislation signed by President Barack Obama on May 26 to develop a comprehensive strategy to protect civilians in central Africa from LRA attacks, bring LRA leaders implicated in atrocities to justice, and, together with regional governments, end violence by the rebel group.

Wikileaks plans to release files about deadly U.S. airstrike on Afghan civilians

By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer

Wikileaks.org plans to release as soon as this week documents related to a U.S. airstrike that killed Afghan civilians last year and plans to release combat footage of the incident this summer, the founder of the whistleblower site said in an interview Monday.

Julian Assange said the documents pertain to an attack near the Afghan village of Garani, which killed scores of civilians in May 2009

In April, Wikileaks released video footage of a U.S. Apache helicopter attack in Iraq that killed several civilians, including two employees of the Reuters news service. The release catapulted Wikileaks into global headlines and sparked debate over a site that aims to uncover government and corporate secrets.

Assange said Wikileaks does not try to identify sources. He also said he did not know whether Pfc. Bradley Manning, an Army intelligence analyst, was the source. Manning reportedly claimed to have given the Garani and the Iraq videos to Wikileaks.

"We don't verify sources," Assange said. "We verify documents."

Wikileaks has nonetheless secured three American lawyers, pro bono, to help Manning, 22, who is being held in Kuwait for allegedly leaking classified videos and documents to the whistleblower site. Daniel Schmitt, a spokesman for the group, said those lawyers have not had access to Manning.

"We seem to be stuck at a very early stage, which is that only lawyers representing Mr. Manning are allowed to contact him, but only Mr. Manning could tell what lawyers do represent him," Schmitt said, calling the situation "a bit like a catch-22."

Manning has been assigned a lawyer with the Judge Advocate General Corps, Capt. Paul Bouchard. An Army spokesman said he was unaware whether Manning had retained civilian counsel.

Under law, a service member's detention must be upheld by a military magistrate. The service member may be held as long as an investigation is pending but must be charged within a "reasonable" time, depending on the complexity of the investigation, according to Lt. Col. Chris Carrier, an attorney for the Army Judge Advocate General Corps in Washington

Assange, in his first public appearance since Manning's arrest, voiced concern about Manning's detention without charge and without access to a private lawyer. At a European Parliament panel in Brussels, the Wikileaks founder also took questions about his own security.

His whereabouts had been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks -- he canceled two appearances in the United States -- amid reports suggesting that U.S. authorities were seeking his arrest. Assange said that there had been "uncertainty for a period" but that intermediaries have indicated he is not the target of any manhunt.
The Army has said it is investigating Manning but has not detailed the files that might have been leaked. A former hacker who struck up an online correspondence with Manning has said he turned Manning in to authorities after the 22-year-old confided in him that he had shared sensitive videos and hundreds of thousands of State Department cables with Wikileaks.

Assange said that "as far as we can determine," Wikileaks does not have those cables. "We have tried hard to understand whether we have that material," he said.

According to U.S. officials, the cables Manning purportedly leaked would amount to about half a year's worth. The cables would include political reporting, much of which would probably be fairly innocuous. But State Department officials have expressed concerned about the disclosure of sources, which could be embarrassing or could chill normal diplomatic relations.

Manning's case is but the latest instance in which the government has investigated alleged leakers or whistleblowers. Still, prosecutions in leaking cases are rare.

Schmitt, the Wikileaks spokesman, referred to a challenge for leakers: the difficulty of remaining anonymous. Manning, for instance, was said to have been detained after detailing his actions to a relative stranger, Adrian Lamo, whom he met online.

Said Schmitt: "From a human perspective, it is very difficult for any of our potential sources, if you're contributing to exposing something that is unjust or corrupt . . . you're the only one who is taking any risk in the whole story and you're not paid by anyone, not getting covered, not getting famous for breaking the scoop."

Staff writer Glenn Kessler contributed to this report.

Martyrs of the Green Movement

by MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles

19 Jun 2010 19:3517 Comments

Names of 110 killed in political violence over the past year.

The Iranian year of 1388 ended on March 20, 2010. It was one of the most turbulent years in the country's modern history. Its beginning and end were both marked by much promise, but for completely different reasons. The year had begun with the hope that the presidential election of June 12, 2009, would result in the election of a candidate with a vision for a better Iran -- a more open, more tolerant society, with less corruption, no political crimes, freedom of the press, and freedom of thought. This hope was dashed when the hardliners rigged the election and declared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the "victor."

But precisely due to this antidemocratic fraud, the Green Movement that had arisen before the election gathered strength. It spread its wings and presented to the world a completely different image of Iran: a country with a young, educated, dynamic population that is willing to stand up to the forces of oppression and repression, express itself eloquently, and sacrifice for a better future. Thus, as Iran begins its new year, there is renewed hope.

The past year also recorded the largest number of Iranian people who lost their lives due to political violence since the bloody summer of 1988 (1367 in the Iranian calendar), when about 4,500 political prisoners were executed. The riots that erupted in mid-1992 and, particularly, the Eslamshahr riots of April 1995 did result in many deaths (though still not as many as in 2009), but they had mostly to do mostly with people's anger over rampant inflation and lack of basic services and were not fundamentally political.

How many people were murdered in 1388 due to political violence? No one really knows, and in a nation where there is virtually no independent press to serve as a watchdog, it is very difficult to get an accurate estimate of the total number of casualties. We can, however, distinguish between two groups among those confirmed as dead. In one group are those whose families have declared the martyrdom of their loved ones to the two committees that Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have set up for compiling the list of the killed. In the second group are those whose families have been under tremendous pressure not to report the death of their loved ones to the two committees, and not to speak to the press.

The credible Iranian sources reporting on the number of people killed include Norooz News, the website of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, Iran's largest political party and leading reformist group; Kalame, Mousavi's official website; and Kalameh Sabz, Jonbeshe-Rah-e Sabz, and Aras News, three reformist news sites supportive of the Green Movement. In a few cases, news wires aligned with the hardliners, such as the Fars News Agency, which is controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have also confirmed the deaths of demonstrators or those who were arrested.

Several organizations have also published lists of people whose deaths have been confirmed by multiple credible sources. One is the League for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran. Its list of confirmed murders, containing more than 100 names, was first published in August 2009 and updated on March 10, 2010. A list of 72 names was published by Aseman Daily News in September 2009. Norooz News just published the precise addresses of the graves of 50 people in Tehran's Behesht-e Zahra cemetery.

What follows is the list of 107 confirmed dead collated from all of the credible sources. Their age, if known, is in parentheses. First, a few statistics: 13 of the killed (12 percent) were women; at least 23 of them were university students (22 percent); two were tortured to death; two were journalists. In several cases, there is no information about how the victims were killed -- all we know is the location of their graves.

1. Neda Agha Soltan (27), university student, murdered on June 20, 2009, in Tehran.
2. Kianoush Asa, university student, killed on June 15, 2009, in Tehran.
3. Behzad Aghazadeh Ghahramani, murdered on July 17, 2009, after the Friday prayers in Tehran led by former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
4. Morad Aghasi, murdered on July 17, 2009, in the Kahrizak detention center on the southern edge of Tehran.
5. Mina Ehterami, university student, killed on June 15, 2009, in the attack on the Tehran University dormitory.
6. Hossein Akhtar Zand (32), murdered on June 15, 2009, in Shiraz.
7. Arman Estakhripour (18), beaten to death on July 13, 2009, in Shiraz.
8. Neda Asadi; nothing is known about the circumstances of her death.
9. Amir Eslamian, university student, working for Mousavi's campaign; his body was discovered on November 27, 2009, in Boukan.
10. Saeed Esmaeili Khanbebin (23), hit in the head and killed.
11. Sohrab Erabi (19), pre-university student, murdered in Evin Prison on June 20, 2009.
12. Alireza Eftekhari (29), journalist, killed by hits to the head on June 15, 2009; his body was given to his family the following month.
13. Naser Amirnejad (26), university student in aerospace engineering, killed in Yasouj.
14. Mohsen Entezami, murdered in the Kahrizak detention center on July 14, 2009.
15. Vahed Akbari (34), killed on June 20, 2009, after his arrest in Tehran's Vanak Square.
16. Hossein Akbari, killed by hits to the head on July 26, 2009.
17. Mohsen Imani, university student, killed in the attack on the Tehran University dormitory on June 15, 2009.
18. Fatemeh Barati, university student, killed in the attack on the Tehran University dormitory on June 15, 2009.
19. Mohammad Hossein Barzegar (25), killed by a bullet to his head, after being arrested in Tehran's Haft-e Teer Square on June 17, 2009.
20. Yaghoub Boroayeh, university student, killed by a bullet on June 25, 2009.
21. Jafar Boroayeh, assistant professor at the University of Ahwaz, killed by a bullet to his head on June 28, 2009.
22. Sorour Borouman (58), killed on June 15, 2009, in Tehran.
23. Hamed Besharati (26), blogger and poet; nothing is known about the circumstances of his death.
24. Jahanbakhsh Pazouki (31), killed by a knife on December 28, 2009 (Day of Ashura).
25. Mohammad Javad Parandakh, university student; nothing is known about how he was killed.
26. Dr. Ramin Pourandarjani, physician on duty in the Kahrizak detention center, presumably poisoned on November 10, 2009.
27. Amir Arshaf Tajmir, killed on December 28, 2009 (Day of Ashura) in Tehran.
28. Farzad Jashni, killed on June 20, 2009.
29. Somayyeh Jafargholi, university student, killed by a bullet on September 27, 2009.
30. Bahman Jenabi; nothing is known about the circumstances of his death.
31. Amir Javadifar, university student, arrested on July 9, 2009; died in prison.
32. Moharram Chegini Gheshlaghi (35); nothing is known about how he was murdered.
33. Mohsen Haddadi (24), computer programmer, killed by a bullet to his forehead on June 23, 2009.
34. Ali Hassanpour, killed on June 15, 2009, in Tehran's Azadi Square; his body was given to his family 105 days later.
35. Amir Mehdi Hamzehlouei, killed in Gheyterieh Park in Tehran on October 2, 2009.
36. Hesam Hanifeh (19), killed by a bullet to his chin on June 16, 2009.
37. Mehrdad Heidari, journalist, killed on July 13, 2009, in Mashhad.
38. Masoud Khosravi, killed in Tehran's Azadi Square on June 15, 2009.
39. Sh. Khezri, university student, killed in Tehran's Baharestan Square on June 15, 2009.
40. Abbas Disnad (40), killed by hits to his head on June 20, 2009; his body was given to his family after $15,000 was paid.
41. Mohammad Raeis-Najafi, beaten to death near Tehran's Azadi Square on June 15, 2009.
42. Mohammad Ali Rasekhi-Nia (40), killed by a bullet on December 28, 2009 (Day of Ashura).
43. Fatemeh Rajabpour (38), killed with her mother, Ms. Borouman (number 22 above).
44. Shahrokh Rahmani (26), run over by a car on December 28, 2009 (Day of Ashura) in Tehran.
45. Dr. Rahimi; nothing is known about the circumstances of his death.
46. Hamid Rezaei, killed on January 1, 2010, in Homayounshahr.
47. Ramin Ramazani (22); nothing is known about how he was murdered.
48. Mohsen Ruhol-amini (25), university student, killed in the Kahrizak detention center.
49. Babak Sepehr (35); nothing is known about how he was killed.
50. Fahimeh Selahshour (25), killed by hits to her head in Tehran's Vali-Asr Square on June 14, 2009.
51. Fatemeh Semsarpour, killed by a bullet on June 20, 2009, near Tehran's Azadi Square.
52. Ashkan Sohrabi (18), high school student, killed by a bullet in Tehran on June 20, 2009.
53. Tina Soudi, university student, killed by a bullet on June 20, 2009, in Tehran's Enghelab Square.
54. Hassan Shapouri, killed on July 14, 2009.
55. Ali Shahnazar (41), killed on September 29, 2009.
56. Ali Shahedi (24), killed on June 21, 2009, while detained by police.
57. Kasra Sharafi, university student, killed in the attack on the Tehran University dormitory on June 15, 2009.
58. Kambiz Shoaei, university student, killed in the attack on the Tehran University dormitory on June 15, 2009.
59. Shafi' Nejad, killed on June 15, 2009.
60. Zahed Shekarabi (20), tortured to death in Esfahan on July 21, 2009.
61. Yousef Saleh; nothing is known about how he was murdered.
62. Davoud Sadri (27), killed by a bullet on June 15, 2009, in Tehran; his body was given to his family after $6,000 was paid, plus a $350 charge for the bullet.
63. Seyyed Reza Tabatabaei (30), killed by a bullet to his head on June 20, 2009, in Tehran.
64. Vahid Reza Tabatabaei (29), killed by a bullet to his head on June 26, 2009, in Tehran.
65. Hossein Toufanpour, killed by a bullet to his head on June 20, 2009, in Tehran.
66. Hossein Tahmasebi (25), killed when his head was repeatedly hit by an object on June 15, 2009, in Kermanshah.
67. Salar Tahmasebi (27), university student, killed by a bullet to his head on June 20, 2009, in Tehran.
68. Maysam Ebadi, killed by a bullet to his abdomen on June 13, 2009, in Tehran's Sadeghieh Square.
69. Saeed Abbasi (28), killed on June 20, 2009; his body was given to his family after $8,000 was paid.
70. Abolfazl Abdollahi (21), killed by a bullet to his head on June 20, 2009, in Tehran.
71. Hamid Araghi, killed by a bullet on June 27, 2009; his family, initially told to pay $12,000 for his body, eventually paid $5,000.
72. Kaveh Alipour (19), killed on June 20, 2009; his family paid $3,000 to get his body.
73. Mostafa Ghanyan, university student, killed in the attack on the Tehran University dormitory on June 15, 2009.
74. Reza Fattahi, university student, killed in the Kahrizak detention center on July 14, 2009.
75. Ali Fathalian, killed in Tehran; nothing else is known.
76. Shahram Faraji (30), killed on December 28, 2009 (Day of Ashura) in Tehran.
77. Mehdi Farhadirad (34), killed by a bullet to his face on December 28, 2009 (Day of Ashura) in Tehran.
78. Mohammad Hossein Fayzi (28); nothing is known about how he was killed.
79. Sajjad Ghaed Rahmati; nothing is known about how he was murdered.
80. Salar Ghorbani Param (22); nothing is known about how he was murdered.
81. Rahim Mahmoudpour, killed by a bullet on August 3, 2009, in Tehran.
82. Hamid Maddah Shourcheh, university student, killed after his head was repeatedly hit by an object.
83. Moazzez (27), killed by a bullet to his eye on June 20, 2009, near Tehran's Azadi Square.
84. Pouya Azadbeigi, arrested on June 20, 2009, and died soon after his release.
85. Dr. Moghsoudlou; nothing is known about the circumstances of his murder.
86. Behzad Mohajer (47), killed by a bullet to his heart on June 15, 2009.
87. Maryam Mehraaein (24); nothing is known about how she was murdered.
88. Taraneh Mousavi, murdered on June 28, 2009.
89. Seyyed Ali Mousavi Habibi (42), nephew of Mir Hossein Mousavi, assassinated on December 28, 2009 (Day of Ashura) in Tehran.
90. Mostafa Mirebrahimi (22), killed under torture in August 2009.
91. Mohammad Naderipour, university student and Mousavi campaign worker.
92. Nader Naseri, killed on June 20, 2009, in Tehran.
93. Ahmad Nejati, killed by hits to his head.
94. Ahmad Naeimabadi, killed by a bullet in Tehran's Azadi Square.
95. Iman Namazi, university student, killed in the attack on the Tehran University dormitory on June 15, 2009.
96. Mohammad Ali Nikzadi (22), architect, killed by a bullet to his abdomen on June 16, 2009, in Tehran.
97. Masoud Hashemzadeh, killed by a bullet on June 20, 2009, in Tehran.
98. Iman Hashemi (27), killed by a bullet to his eye on June 20, 2009, in Azadi Street in Tehran.
99. Mostafa Kashani Rasa, Mousavi campaign worker, killed by a bullet at the campaign headquarters in Gheytarieh, Tehran, on June 14, 2009.
100. Mohammad Kamrani (18), died in Tehran's Mehr Hospital.
101. Mehdi Karami (25), killed by a bullet to his neck on June 15, 2009, in Tehran.
102. Mostafa Karim Beigi (27), murdered by a bullet to his head on October 27, 2009.
103. Parisa Kolli (25), university graduate, killed by a bullet to her neck on June 21, 2009, in Tehran.
104. Majid Kamali (23), killed on August 25, 2009.
105. Amir Kaviri; nothing is known about how he was murdered.
106. Mostafa Kiarostami (22), killed by hits to his head on July 17, 2009.
107. Milad Yazdanpanah (30), killed by a bullet in Azadi Street in Tehran.

Three other people lost their lives for the Green Movement. One is Mohammad Asghari, who was a computer expert and worked for the office of computer security at the Ministry of Interior. He leaked a considerable amount of information about the actual vote count after the rigged June 2009 election and mysteriously lost his life in a car accident soon thereafter. It is widely believed that he was murdered.

The other two are Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani (37) and Arash Rahmanipour (19). They had been arrested before the election, but were hanged in early January 2010 in what is widely believed to be a message to the supporters of the Green Movement that they too could be hanged. Neither one had committed any serious offense.
In addition, Dr. Masoud Ali-Mohammadi, professor of physics at the University of Tehran, was assassinated. There is considerable evidence that he was murdered by the hardliners, although this is not a certainty.

These are freedom fighters who lost their precious lives for their ideals. Their place in history is assured. The Iranian people will never forget them.

Mir Hossein Mousavi has declared 1389 the year of patience, resistance against the hardliners, and efforts to achieve citizens' legal rights. Certainly, those who have lost loved ones need a lot of patience. Let us hope that by the end of the year Iran will be well on its way to a democratic society, so that those who lost their loved ones can see the fruits of their sacrifice.

Muhammad Sahimi is a columnist for Tehran Bureau.

Copyright © 2010 Tehran Bureau

New autopsy for Egypt 'police beating victim'

Activists marched in Egyptian cities to demand a new probe into the death

A second autopsy has been ordered for a young man who human rights activists claim was killed by police in Egypt.

Khaled Said, 28, died on 6 June after plainclothes policemen reportedly tried to search him in an Alexandria cafe.

His family and campaigners claim he was dragged out and beaten to death on a busy street in full view of passersby. His death led to angry demonstrations.

Egypt's interior ministry said Mr Said died after swallowing a bag of drugs when police tried to arrest him.

Prosecutor General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud transferred the case to Egypt's most senior coroners on Tuesday.

 

Street protests

The United States expressed concern over the death in the northern port city, and Washington welcomed Cairo's decision to launch an investigation.

"We urge the Egyptian authorities to hold accountable whoever is responsible," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

Campaigners took to the streets of Alexandria and Cairo to demand a fresh investigation after the interior ministry said Mr Said died after swallowing drugs.

Photos of Mr Said's battered face have been circulated in Egypt by human rights activists.

They say his death is evidence that Egypt's emergency law has created a culture of police impunity.

The law, which has been in place for nearly 30 years since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat by an Islamic militant, was recently renewed for a further two years.

Egypt's parliament has said that new legal limits would be introduced, guaranteeing that the law would be used only to counter terrorism and trade in illegal drugs.

But the government's political opponents also claim the legislation is used to target them in the name of national security.

Scott Lively Struggles With Uganda’s Death Penalty

von Box Turtle Bulletin von Jim Burroway

Current TV’s Vanguard reporter Mariana van Zeller has posted some outtakes from her outstanding documentary “Missionaries of Hate“. Already, we saw a six-minute interview with Ugandan MP David Bahati, who introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill into Parliament in October 2009. What follows is an extended clip of her interview with Scott Lively, the American holocaust revisionist who delivered his infamous “Nuclear Bomb” at the March 2009 conference in Kampala that set the stage for the bill.

 

Lively leads off with the boast that he was “one of the people that helped to start the pro-family movement there. … This was all new to them.” And so they asked him to speak. It’s an interesting boast.  Lively claims credit for parachuting into this lost country and setting up a “pro-family” movement. Those poor Ugandan’s couldn’t have done it without him. But criticizing him for firming up the conditions that facilitated the Ugandans who put forth and supported the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, well, that’s racist to suggest Ugandans weren’t capable of doing this all on their own. (Of course, nobody has suggested such a thing. We’ve only noted his active participation in the process.) Yet there’s not even the slightest hint that this glaring contradiction has ever crossed his mind.

This clip also provides clearer context to Lively’s statement in the documentary where he calls the bill the “lesser of two evils,” the two evils being the bill itself or allowing the so-called “gay agenda” to take over Uganda. In the documentary, it wasn’t entirely clear whether the form of the bill he was endorsing as the “lesser of two evils” included or excluded the death penalty. In this clip, he’s more clearly against the death penalty, but he really has to struggle with it for quite a while before he gets there. After mulling over a few possibilities for its inclusion, he finally says, “I don’t believe that it’s… that I could support it that way.” Even still, it looked to me as though he was reluctant to say even this much against the bill. He looks as if he still needs some convincing.

Unofficial Rush Transcript

van Zeller:  Why did you go to Uganda?

Lively: Well, I went to Uganda because I was actually one of the people that helped to start the pro-family movement there. They were finding people there, primarily homosexual men from Europe and the United States coming into the country and working to try to change the social values. And they didn’t know what to do. They had never had a pro-family movement. This was all new to them. If we do nothing then we’re going to end up like the United States and Britain and Canada, you know, with a powerful gay movement just basically overwhelming everybody else’s values and forcing their agenda down everybody’s throats. So they wanted to draft some kind of law. And it wasn’t written at that point. It was just sort of the idea that they wanted to do something. So they invited me to come and speak along with a couple of other people from the U.S., and I did.

van Zeller: So then let me ask you very bluntlty. Dr. Lively, do you condemn this anti-gay bill in Uganda?

Lively: It’s my understanding they’re going to remove the death penalty. But if they keep the death penalty in it, yes, I condemn the death penalty for sexual crimes.

van Zeller: But all the other clauses, do you then support the rest of the bill if you remove the death penalty part?

Lively: I would not have written the bill this way. I said don’t emphasize punishment, emphasize rehabilitation. You could be the first country in the world to have a government-sponsored ex-gay therapy, where someone struggling with this would have the option of being able to go into this instead of being punished for it. And them I said, moreover, and as a separate matter, but within the law, you should emphasize marriage in your country. This is how you can deal with this. Nationwide, proactively, you begin the teach the value and the imports of marriage to every child in your schools from, at an age-appropriate instruction, all the way down to kindergarten, in which you help your children to see marriage as their goal.

van Zeller: Some people would even say it was written by some religious leaders such as Martin Ssempa.

Lively: I don’t think he wrote it. I think it was…

van Zeller: He was the influence of the writing of the bill.

Lively: Oh, I have no doubt. I have no doubt, I mean, politics works the same everywhere. There’s always a constituency that’s more interested than other people in a law being passed.

van Zeller: There have been a lot of American Evangelicals who have distanced themselves from this bill. What do you think of that?

Lively: Well I think that there’s, in the United States, the church is too heavily influenced by media opinion, and unfortunately, even pastors can go running for the hills when they think they are going to be smeared. Like I said, I would not have written the bill this way. But what it comes down to is a question of lesser of two evils, you know like many of the political choices that we have. What is the lesser of two evils here? To allow the American and European gay activists to continue to do to that country what they’ve done here? Or to have a law that may be overly harsh in some regards for people who are indulging in voluntary sexual conduct? I think the lesser of two evils is for the bill to go through.

van Zeller: Even with the death penalty attached to it?

Lively: Even with the death penalty… well, if it’s clearly restricted to pedophiles… I still don’t… No, I’ve told them I won’t support it if it has the death penalty in it. So even with that, I think that would do more harm… It’s, it’s, it’s just that’s the sort of vice that you’re sort of trapped in here. It’s two very extreme positions, and they’re… The Ugandans could have gone the middle course, and they didn’t have to go this far. So you’re sort of… people like myself are sort of stuck. Am I going to endorse something that goes too far to protect the whole society? You know, and I guess I have to say just on my principles I don’t believe that it’s… that I could support it that way.

van Zeller: Martin Ssempa said to us that he thought that all of these American Evangelicals that were now distancing themselves from the bill, and particularly Rick Warren, were “wimpy.” That’s what, the word he used. What do you think?

Lively: Well, I think he’s right. I think there’s a lot of the wimp factor in American Christianity. I wrote an essay on that theme several years ago called “Masculine Christianity” And it bemoans the sort of effeminacy that’s sort of crept into Christianity where Christian men, especially, don’t stand up for right and wrong and they run away when pressed with controversial issues. It’s just unfortunate. It doesn’t mean they don’t have good theology. It doesn’t mean they aren’t doing great things in their churches with the families that are there. But the real problem in American today isn’t what’s happening inside the church buildings. It’s what’s happening in the culture.
If I had been Rick Warren and I had been presented with this situation, I would have defended Martin Ssempa…

van Zeller: So you’re still a good friend and supporter of Martin Ssempa?

Lively: Yes. I think Martin Ssempa is a good man. He’s trying to protect all the children of his country from being homosexualized.

van Zeller: Do you think that your ideas regarding homosexuality are better received in Uganda than they are here in the United States?

Lively: [Laughs] Of course. Yeah, that’s a… well, Uganda is a Christian country and America is really not a Christian country anymore. There’s a lot of Christians still, but the people who are the gatekeepers sitting in the seats of power generally are not. And they’re following a very humanistic value system that is anti-Biblical in many ways.

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Copyright © Box Turtle Bulletin. All rights reserved.

California: From Foster Children to Homeless Adults

State Fails to Prepare Foster Youth for Adulthood

A youth who is homeless sleeps on concrete outside a homeless shelter.

© 2007 Natalie Leimkuhler

Related Materials:My So-Called Emancipation

By failing to prepare youth in foster care for adulthood and cutting them off from support abruptly as they become adults, California is failing in its duty to these young people. These young people are capable of making the transition successfully, but they cannot do it without the state's help.

Elizabeth Calvin, senior advocate for children's rights at Human Rights Watch

(Los Angeles) - California is creating homeless adults by failing to ensure that youth in foster care are given the support to live independently as adults and by ending state support abruptly, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch said that the state should provide financial support, connections with adults, shelter, and other safety nets for young people as they make the transition toward independence.  

The 70-page report, "My So-Called Emancipation: From Foster Care to Homelessness for California Youth," documents the struggles of foster care youth who become homeless after turning 18, or "aging out" of the state's care, without sufficient preparation or support for adulthood. California's foster care system serves 65,000 children and youth, far more than any other single state. Of the 4,000 who age out of the system each year, research suggests, 20 percent or more become homeless.

"By failing to prepare youth in foster care for adulthood and cutting them off from support abruptly as they become adults, California is failing in its duty to these young people," said Elizabeth Calvin, senior advocate for children's rights at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. "These young people are capable of making the transition successfully, but they cannot do it without the state's help."

This month the state is considering dramatic cuts to child welfare services, which would eliminate an existing transitional living program, over 400 social workers, and other programs for foster youth preparing for adulthood.
"These proposed budget cuts would undermine foster youth's main defense against living on the streets," Calvin said. "The state will bear the costs of the predictable result - increased homelessness."

Most children enter foster care because abuse or neglect at home triggers the duty of the state to step in and protect them. The state becomes their parent and must ensure that children have adequate food, clothing, shelter, health care, and education. But the responsibility to provide the guidance and support necessary for children in foster care to grow into independent adults is no less important, Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 63 young people who became homeless after they left foster care in California. Their stories shed light on the complex array of factors that led to their homelessness: missed opportunities to learn skills, lack of ability to support themselves, a shortage of second chances, and the fact that no one cared what happened to them.

Of those interviewed, 65 percent had not graduated from high school when they were forced out of state care; 90 percent had no source of income. These young people were expected to survive on their own, though the state had provided little training for adult living skills and was providing no support during the transition. In these cases, homelessness is a predictable outcome.

California state law requires child welfare agencies to develop, in conjunction with each youth in foster care, an "emancipation plan" for what the young adult will do when leaving foster care. But in practice, plans are often not made or are unrealistic and unlikely to prevent a youth from becoming homeless, Human Rights Watch said. Young people described to Human Rights Watch emancipation plans that lacked arrangements for housing or the income to afford it.

Human Rights Watch called on California to provide foster youth with a variety of options as they make the transition to adulthood, like their peers in family homes enjoy. These could include more time at home before moving out on their own, or somewhere to stay for certain periods, such as during college vacations.

The state should also maintain a spectrum of other options for housing, mentoring, and support for former foster youth, including transitional housing programs, mental health services, services for those with learning disabilities, and services for pregnant and parenting youth, Human Rights Watch said.

"The science of adolescent development shows that childhood does not end abruptly at a certain age," Calvin said. "In most US families, young people continue to receive a spectrum of support -  emotional and financial - as they make the transition to adulthood, and the youth in California's care deserve no less. "

Selected Testimony

The day I graduated from high school my foster mom told me, "You've been emancipated. You can't live here anymore." My social worker showed up - I was still in my little graduation dress and heels, my flowers, my cap on. My social worker had never talked with me. [She just] told me, "I've called around and found a shelter for you. You have a bed for four months."
- Karen D., age 21, San Francisco.

On the day of my so-called emancipation, I didn't have a high school diploma, a place to live, a job, nothing...The day I emancipated - it was a happy day for me. But I didn't know what was in store. Now that I'm on the streets, I honestly feel I would have been better off in an abusive home with a father who beat me; at least he would have taught me how to get a job and pay the bills.  
- Roberta E., age 24, Los Angeles

 "I wish I could have had ... someone to care about me ... like show me how to separate the whites from the darks [for laundry.] I would have hated it at the time, but I wish I'd had that. They never even asked me, ‘Is something wrong? Talk to me."
- Nikki B., age 18, Sacramento

 "If you're going to put kids in group homes, in foster care - at least give them what they need to survive and take care of themselves. [When I aged out of care] I was expected to know how to get a job, buy a car, all that stuff, but ... I didn't have any idea how to go about doing things. So, I ended up on the street."
- Tony D., age 20, Berkeley

Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill threatens HIV/AIDS fight

Wambi Michael

HIV campaigners fear a homophobic bill currently being discussed by the Uganda parliament will lead to further stigmatisation of the gay community in Uganda and could stop HIV positive people from accessing treatment and hamper the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Being gay and HIV positive in Uganda has never been easy. But life is set to get a lot harder for gay people seeking treatment for HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.

Pereza (not his real name) knows better than most the difficulties gay people have in Uganda when it comes to accessing HIV treatment. When the 34-year-old, who works for a private business, first suspected that he was HIV positive he was too scared to go and be tested. "When I finally went to be tested, the counsellor asked me whether I had a partner," he told Panos. "I had to deceive her. If I had risked bringing a fellow man then I don't think I would have been enrolled for treatment."

"It takes courage for any gay person to seek medical treatment in this country," Pereza continued. "Most of us are dying because we cannot access treatment, care and support. You would be ridiculed if you dared to come out to tell a nurse or doctor that you are gay. Everyone would look at you as if you were something dirty."

The difficulties facing men and women like Pereza have recently come to light because of the so-called Anti Homosexuality Bill, a private member's bill currently being discussed by the Ugandan cabinet and which has created a growing climate of fear among the gay community in Uganda.

Already illegal

Homosexual acts are already illegal in this East African country, carrying a sentence of up to 14 years in prison. The bill, which was proposed towards the end of 2009 by David Bahati, an MP for the ruling National Resistance Movement, seeks to up this to life imprisonment. It also proposes the death sentence for a new offence of "aggravated homosexuality" – namely when one of the participants is under 16, disabled, HIV positive or a "serial offender".

An estimated 170,000 people are enrolled in government ARV treatment in Uganda with a further 100,000 expected to enrol by the middle of this year.

Dr. Stephen Watiti, the chairperson of the National Forum of People Living with HIV/AIDS Network, said about 80 percent of Uganda's ARV treatment is funded by foreign donors and any cuts in aid would directly affect HIV positive people. "Removing [any of] that money would be a death sentence to those receiving the treatment," he said.

Watiti said treatment interruptions caused by shortages of the drug could lead to a new drug resistant HIV epidemic. He added that criminalising HIV transmission in both homosexuals and heterosexuals would cause stigma that would fuel the disease, leading to more deaths.

Laban, a university student in Uganda's capital, Kampala, is scared.

"Some of my classmates know that I'm gay," the 23-year-old said. "With this law they are expected to report me to the police. If the bill is passed I will leave my studies and go into hiding."

He is referring to the fact that if the bill is passed anyone who fails to report within 24 hours the identities of any gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered person could be sent to prison for up to three years.

Prominent members of society "outed"

Some of the local newspapers have already "outed" prominent members of society they believe to be gay. Campaigners fear the bill could lead to McCarthy era witch hunts, sending the gay community underground and preventing effective anti HIV teaching.

Laban told Panos the gay community faces a lot of stigma. "You are expected to behave in a certain way which is approved by the culture and morals," he said. "So I have decided to live alone to avoid being ridiculed."

Frank Mugisha, head of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), is one of few gay Ugandans to actively campaign for their rights. As a result he has become a potential target and cannot go out without bodyguards. He told Panos the gay community has been living in fear since Bahati tabled his bill. "If the bill passes into law we will be ostracised by almost everyone in society. Already we can't go to overcrowded places because for fear of being attacked by a mob."

An "odious" bill

The bill has caused outcry, both internationally and in Uganda.

Barack Obama called the bill "odious", while several other leaders, including UK prime minister Gordon Brown, have put pressure on Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni to withdraw the bill.

One of those most strongly opposed to the bill is the Swedish government, which threatened to cut the $50 million in aid it gives Uganda each year if the bill is passed.

There have also been calls from US human rights campaigners for America to cut some of its considerable aid. The US is the biggest donor to Uganda's HIV treatment programmes under The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). From 2004 to the end of 2009 Uganda had received a total of almost US$1.5 billion. The money has helped provide more than 200,000 people living with HIV/AIDS with life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) drugs.

As a result of this pressure, the bill now looks likely to be watered down. Museveni has himself changed tack. Having previously condemned homosexuals, he has distancing himself from the bill, declaring parliament's handling of it "must take into account our foreign policy interests". Meanwhile, David Bahati announced in January that he would be willing to amend the bill - though he did not say how.

Strong support for the bill

However, the voices supporting the bill – and denouncing foreign countries for intervening in Uganda's affairs – remain very strong.

Bahati has the support of Uganda's powerful lobby of Evangelical and Anglican bishops, many of whom have been outspoken in favour of the bill and who have the power to sway public opinion.

Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi of the Church of Uganda, the country's main Anglican Church which claims to represent 30 per cent of all Ugandans, publically confirmed his support for the bill in February at the General Synod, the national assembly of the Church of England, in London.

In a formal statement Orombi said the Church of Uganda "particularly appreciate[s] the objectives of the Bill which seek to... prohibit and penalize homosexual behaviour and related practices in Uganda as they constitute a threat to the traditional family." He also remarked that: "Homosexual practice has no place in God's design of creation, the continuation of the human race through procreation or His plan of redemption" and that "lesbianism, bestiality and other sexual perversions" should also be prohibited.

"State-legislated genocide"

Some members of the Christian community have spoken out against the bill and Ugandan society is divided. Canon Gideon Byamugisha, a prominent member of Uganda's Anglican Church, described the bill as "state-legislated genocide against a specific community".

Christopher Senyonjo, a retired Anglican bishop living in Uganda, said: "The bill will push Uganda towards being a police state. There is lack of understanding about homosexuality – it is not [about] recruitment [of gay people], it is [about] orientation."

Yet it is the feeling on the streets of Kampala and across Uganda that is likely to determine what happens, as MPs will court popular opinion.

Young preachers, encouraged by the churches, preach against homosexuality on Kampala's busy street corners.

One of these preachers is Betty Wanyaka. She told Panos: "I'm a mother and I believe in God, so I'm against homosexuality. The Word says men have to marry woman not man and man."

But not everyone agrees. Calvin Kanyali, a young salesman from Kampala, said there were more pressing issues than attacking the gay community.

"People are dying of cancer, the hospitals have no medicine but they want to spend the little money there is chasing after homosexuals. This shouldn't be the biggest priority for our MPs," he said.

HIV/AIDS' rates could rise on wave of homophobia

Gerald Sentongo, the Administrator of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), told Panos that if the bill was passed it would further complicate efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS among homosexuals in Uganda.

Around 5.4 per cent of Uganda's population is HIV positive, according to official government statistics. Campaigners fear this figure could rise with the rising tide of homophobia.

"No one will come out to seek treatment knowing that the nurse, counsellor or doctor is required by law to report a homosexual and have him arrested by police," Mr Sentongo said.

All our journalism is free to reproduce, unless otherwise noted. Please get in touch with media@panos.org.uk for more information or to let us know that you've reproduced something.

Lt. Dan Choi + Capt. Jim Pietrangelo Plead Not Guilty, Will Go to Trial

Rather than plead guilty and accept fines, White House chain-males Lt. Dan Choi and Cap. Jim Pietrangelo both just plead not guilty and will have a trial. It's been set for April 26. Choi, walking into court in handcuffs and Army fatigues, tells the judge: "not guilty, not ashamed, and not finished." Oh snap! Both men have been uncuffed and are being released.

Statement after their release: "There was no freer moment than being in that prison."

Is this Love?

I cant seem to be able to get time these days. But, I have to.

Today is Friday. That is when we shall see whether or not the government in Kenya will be protecting its gay citizens in Mombasa against anti-gay attacks, which are supposed to occur after the Friday Prayers. 1pm today.

But, here is another, very personal development.

First, it would be instructive to read the whole report at LGBT Asylum news.

And, then you get to the bottom of the report, there is this poster.

David Kuria Mbote happens to be the director of Gays and Lesbians of Kenya. He wrote this article in response to some homophobic insult from a priest justifying the lynching of gay people.

And, for this poster, here is my translation of the Swahili above. It is not perfect, but I know I have it right.

Basically, besides the pic of David, with his full names, email address, GALCK phone number, a verse from the bible is quoted. 

'If a man sleeps with another man like he sleeps with a woman, both men have done something extremely bad. It is a must for them to be killed, and their blood shall be on their own heads' 

My swahili fails at the translation of what verse in the bible it is. Something, maybe Leviticus 20:23

Yeah, Isn't this love?

Just hope and Pray David, that you are safe after this kind of hate thing.

And, according to LGBT asylum news, do you want to know what ProjectSee is?

No. They are not Kenyans.
Ugandans? No, they are not Ugandans.
Then where the hell are these guys coming from who are nakedly threatening a poor Kenyan with death? Here is the answer.

ProjectSee.com, which is based in Kansas City, is raising funds to 'equip our Kenyan Brothers with Cameras, Banners, Fliers, Posters, Bus Fare; the Tools they Need to STOP Exporting Evil'.

Yes, they are Americans. At least that is what I surmise.

Surely, the Culture Wars, America's Culture wars are here in Africa.