Gordon Brown recently offered to help the Nigerian government “fight rebels in the oil-producing Niger Delta“. Niger Deltans and other progressive thinking Nigerians reject any form of military assistance by the British government to Nigeria to be used in the Niger Delta or any part of the country. Please sign the petition calling for the British government to review it’s policy on the Niger Delta.

“We call on Prime Minister Brown to urgently reappraise the reality that is the Niger Delta, vis-à-vis his comprehensive foreign and domestic policies, with a view to positively impacting the search for justice and peace in that region, even as we all work together towards securing the world’s energy resources. After this very necessary and urgent review, Britain should announce her intentions, concerning the Niger Delta, unequivocally and definitely” Continued.…..

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Nigeria
Niger Delta

Sokwanele are calling supporters to take action against Austrian company : Jura JSP

ACTION: We are calling on all our supporters and subscribers today to phone, email and write to Jura JSP and ask them to withdraw the software licence from the Zimbabwean government on the grounds that the cash they print has been used to primarily support a campaign of terror, and on the grounds that preferential treatment is given to the armed forces when it comes to accessing cash…………Continued

Please read the post and instructions on Sokwanele and know that everyone can make a difference as was shown in last month’s campaign against the German company, Giesceke & Devrient………… calling for an end to the “Bavarian blood-money” flowing into Zimbabwe by taking action against German comapany Giesecke & Devrient. The support of bloggers and readers from across the world was a success as the German firm stopped shipping bank notes to Zimbabwe.

What you can do:

Jura JSP is a small company so if we can accumulate as many contact details as possible we can contact individuals directly. Please seek out details and submit them via our form here and we will add them to our database.

* Write to, or telephone, Jura JSP.

* Contact the Austrian and Hungarian media to make sure they are aware of what is happening in Zimbabwe and how software originating from their nations is helping to support it.
* Targetted sanctions against the Zimbabwean government have recently been reviewed by the EU so Zimbabwe is fresh in their minds. Write to European leaders about the responsibility of European companies, and the questionable ethics of their actions. Ask them to review the subject of trade sanctions to include Jura JSP’s software licence to print bloodmoney.
* Write to the press and point out the relationship between the Governer of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and JOC [a reminder of that relatinship can be found here in our Giesecke & Devrientpost here [link].

* If you see an article appearing in a newspaper in your country, discussing the Jura JSP connection to Zimbabwe, respond to it: send a letter to the editor and make him or her aware that this is a topical and important issue. We will add links relevant articles in this post.

* Contact your local MPs and your local press as well.
* If you’re a European citizen, write to your MEP. Find your MEP here -link (please send us links to other resources like this one for other parts of the world).

Tags:

Zimbabwe
Giesceke & Devrient

Tags:

LGBTI
South Africa
Hate Speech
Homophobia

One of the three Ugandan LGBTI activists who was arrested at the
HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Meeting in Kampala on the 4th of June 2008, was
re-arrested and held for an additional four and a half hours today.
In response to demands for his release from his lawyer, the
Chairperson of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), and UNAIDS, Usaam
Mukwaaya was released this afternoon on the condition that he returns
to the police on 10 June 2008.

Despite the fact that accredited cards for attendance at the 2008
HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Meeting were given to all three of the LGBTI
activists by the sponsors of the international meeting, the police
have refused to drop the charge of criminal trespass against the three
activists and have added a charge of forgery against Mukwaaya today,
claiming that he did not have a valid permit for attending the 2008
HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Meeting.

After the release of the three LGBTI AIDS activists yesterday, a
collective decision was made by the co-sponsors of the 2008 HIV/AIDS
Implementers meeting to accredit Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) to
attend the meeting. An official letter accompanied by three
accredited official cards for attending the conference was awarded to
the LGBTI AIDS activists.

Despite this fact, the police have refused to drop the charges of
criminal trespass and forgery. UNAIDS has submitted a statement to
the Ugandan Police indicating that the card was not forged and was
issued officially by the sponsors of the meeting.

NOTE: The charges against the three LGBT AIDS activists HAVE NOT BEEN
DROPPED and their case is still scheduled to be heard on the 20th of
June 2008. Please continue contacting the following people to request
them to drop all charges against the activists:

Via Smug - Sexual Minorities Uganda
Tags:

SMUG
LGBTI
Uganda

Three Ugandan LGBT activists have been arrested in Uganda whilst attending the HIV/AIDS Implementers Conference in Kampala. The LGBT and HIV / AIDS activists were protesting against comments made by the head of the Ugandan AIDS Commission that no funds would be given to AIDS programmes working with men who have sex with men. The meeting is part funded by PEPFAR which ties HIV funding to abstinence only programmes and anti-prostitution clauses.

On 2 May 2008, Kihumuro Apuuli, Director General of the Uganda AIDS Commission, stated that “gays are one of the drivers of HIV in Uganda, but because of meagre resources we cannot direct our programmes at them at this time.” The SMUG activists staged a peaceful protest at the HIV Implementers meeting to protest the Minister’s statements and gross neglect on the part of the Ugandan government in responding to a growing HIV epidemic among the country’s LGBT community. They were arrested and detained at the Jinja Road Police Station immediately after taking the stage at the meeting, distributing leaflets and holding up small placards demanding attention to HIV vulnerability among LGBT.

Ugandan LGBT activists have been at the forefront of the struggle for human rights amongst the LGBT communities of Africa.

Tags:
SMUG
LGBTI
Uganda