Warning over child soldiers

[dArKeR]

Burundi's warlords are recruiting thousands of child soldiers despite a peace accord which was supposed to end a decade of conflict, according to a report published on Wednesday by Amnesty International.

The central African country's brittle peace could crumble unless children who have been used as porters, informants, "wives" and fighters are demobilised and integrated into civilian life, says the report.

A ceasefire between the government and the Forces for the Defence of Democracy, the largest rebel group, has raised hopes of elections and an end to a civil war which has left more than 200 000 dead.

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=33070

I wonder how a Christian Republican sleeps at night?

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Systematic Chaos]

2. Just a guess, BUT

I think what Dark is referring to is how the same Christian Republicans who are all gung-ho for sending our soldiers to Iraq to bomb the hell out of both military AND civilian targets (ergo, children), will do absolutely NOTHING to intervene in a situation in which children are called to fight in a civil conflict that has already claimed 200,000 people.

And in that context, I completely agree with Dark's sentiment.

[dArKeR]

6. And, New Bush administration policy decision retains landmines

Nobel Laureates Condemn U.S. Decision
New Bush administration policy decision retains landmines, abandons plans to join Mine Ban Treaty.
http://www.icbl.org/


VAF's Campaign for a Landmine Free World
http://www.vvaf.org/campaign/index.shtml


Who do you think steps on these most of time?

[JNelson6563]

3. Oh that's easy!

See, Christian Republicans, or more accurately the mutated version we know today as "neo-cons", only care about the people who suffer under tyrranical lunatics if they happen to govern over land that is sitting on oil. Lots and lots of it.

Unless of course they have nukes...

Julie

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[seemslikeadream]

5. Camps 'decolonise' Zim youth

Harare - The Zimbabwean government has defended its youth training camps, saying a recent BBC documentary claiming they are used to train youngsters to attack and torture opposition members is "unfounded rubbish".

Youth minister Ambrose Mutinhiri told a press conference that, contrary to the documentary, the youths who go through the camps learn technical skills, health, entrepreneurship and disaster management. He said they were not subjected to rape, torture and violence.

"The programme focuses on mental decolonisation of our youths and brings back their dignity as a people," Mutinhiri said.

The Panorama documentary, broadcast by the BBC on Sunday, showed interviews with people who claimed to have escaped from the camp.

Torture

They gave grim testimonies of how female inmates as young as 11 were raped in the camps. Others said they were trained to torture or kill members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,,2-11-259_1494172,00.ht...

Zim torture camps unveiled
01/03/2004 08:55 - (SA)

Zim militias taught to torture


London - The Zimbabwe government has set up "secret camps" where thousands of young people undergo violence and brain-washing and are often taught how to torture under a vast plan to keep President Robert Mugabe in power, the BBC reported late on Sunday.

The Panorama broadcast said some of the youths were forced to learn how to torture and even kill opponents of the regime.

Panorama, a key programme of investigative journalism in British public broadcasting, carried out a four-month inquiry during which dozens of exiled witnesses were interviewed.

The BBC said the Zimbabwe authorities described the camps, set up in 2001, as professional training centres.


http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,,2-11-259_1491566,00.ht...

One of the issues, said Ncube, was a BBC report that the Zanu-PF government was running training camps where thousands of youths were being taught to torture and kill.

"We have always said these camps were there. This is the sort of thing we are saying South Africa need to take a hardline stance on to ensure a return to dialogue and that these questions can be resolved."

Talks brokered by South Africa and Nigeria between the MDC and the Zanu-PF broke down in May 2002 after the participants failed to agree on anything more than the agenda.

Last month South African President Thabo Mbeki announced that the two parties had agreed to renew formal dialogue soon to resolve Zimbabwe's socio-economic and political woes. But the MDC denied this was the case.

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,,2-11-259_1491408,00.ht...


Zimbabwe film maker arrested - Torture Camps

24/03/2004 12:23 - (SA)

Harare - An independent film maker in Zimbabwe was arrested and charged under security laws on "suspicion" he helped to make a recent BBC documentary about the country's controversial youth training camps, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Beatrice Mtetwa said her client Simon Bright was arrested last Friday as he tried to board an Air Zimbabwe plane to London. He was detained for the weekend by police and questioned on whether he worked for "outside broadcasters", Mtetwa said.

The lawyer said Bright was asked whether he was involved in making the BBC's recent Panorama programme that claimed thousands of Zimbabwean youths are being trained in special camps to torture and intimidate opponents of President Robert Mugabe's government.

'That' documentary

"The suspicion is that he was involved in that" Panorama documentary, Mtetwa said, but denied any link.

Bright was released on Monday afternoon after being charged under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) for communicating "a statement which is wholly or materially false", Mtetwa added.

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,6119,2-11-259_1502647,0...