R.E.A.L. – Page 28 – Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

Rohingya Muslim Mass Graves in Multiple Countries

Multiple news sources have been reporting updates on the human rights crisis and ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims, including mass graves in multiple countries, as a result of refugees fleeing from oppression in Myanmar to Malaysia, Thailand, and other countries. This includes a new report of the discovery of new mass graves on Monday, June 23, 2015, near the Thailand immigration offices and half a mile from a Thailand police office. Both Thailand government officials and Malaysia police officers have been arrested as co-conspirators.

Australia broadcasting media reported that this human rights atrocity begins with the responsibility of Myanmar government actions to force the Rohingya out of the country by destroying their homes and businesses, burning them down and bulldozing them. “About 140,000 Rohingya were forced away from the city, into an area of dried up mud flats near the sea now known as the Sittwe internally displaced people camp. They live on rations provided by the United Nations and the area has been fenced so they cannot leave.” Australia reporter Mark Davis stated “A Buddhist extremist mob turned on them very violently, their houses were burnt down, their businesses were burnt down, their wealth was taken away from them and they were pushed out of Sittwe and fled to the coast.”

As we have previously posted, the news media has reported on Myanmar Buddhist extremists’ burning alive of Rohingya Muslims within Myanmar, including a March 2013 atrocity at Meikhtila, where 36 Rohingya Muslims, mostly teenagers, who were slaughtered before the eyes of police and local officials who did almost nothing to stop it. The Associated Press reported on such atrocities of burning people alive, including burning 36 children: “Their bones are scattered in blackened patches of earth across a hillside overlooking the wrecked Islamic boarding school they once called home. Smashed fragments of skulls rest atop the dirt. A shattered jaw cradles half a set of teeth. And among the remains lie the sharpened bamboo staves attackers used to beat dozens of people to the ground before drowning their still-twitching bodies in gasoline and burning them alive.” According to Radio Free Asia, seven were arrested for this atrocity. This is the level of persecution and atrocities against human rights in Myanmar which drove these refugees to flee their country.

A man stands among the rubble of a burned building in Meikhtila, where 36 Muslims were burned to death (Source: RFA) — A man stands among the rubble of a burned building in Meikhtila. Myanmar, where 36 Muslims were burned to death in March 2013 (Source: RFA)

New reports have provided details on mass graves found in Thailand and Malaysia, as a result of human trafficking of such refugees who fled from Myanmar. Mass graves have been the result of Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar, and becoming victims of mass murder at the hands of human traffickers. Reports of military atrocities waged against the Rohingya Muslims have included rape and forced labor, and the Post Media network has reported Rohingya Muslim Abdul Hashim saying that men have even been known to be burned alive.

Rohingya Muslim Mass Graves in Malaysia and Thailand (Source: The Guardian)

In Malaysia, the Post Media Network reported on mass graves on June 5, 2015, stating “Thrust under the spotlight this week by the discovery of 139 graves in Malaysian jungle camps used by suspected human smugglers, the Rohingya are stateless in their own southeast Asian nation, denied citizenship, their movements and even marriages severely restricted by the government.” The Guardian reported that “Malaysian police say they have uncovered 28 suspected human trafficking camps located about 500 metres from the country’s northern border, a day after authorities reported the discovery of multiple mass graves.”

Thailand: A child's shoe abandoned at a smuggling camp for Rohingya refugees, with torture facilities and graves (Source: ABC) — Thailand: A child’s shoe abandoned at a smuggling camp for Rohingya refugees, with torture facilities and graves (Source: ABC)

The Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has also sent reporters who have found additional mass graves and torture camps. On June 11, 2015, Australia Broadcasting reported on a smuggling camp where people were put in cages, reporting that “small children are believed to be among up to 1,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled a filthy Thai people-smuggling camp where people appear to have slept in bamboo cages and been punished in a torture chamber.” “The ABC’s 7.30 program visited the camps near the southern Thai town of Padang Besar, where residents knew about the trafficking of Rohingya Muslims but kept quiet for fear of retribution from smugglers. Some locals financially gained from the trade in human misery.”

On Monday, June 23, 2015, Australia Broadcasting had a new report on a mass grave discovered just minutes from the Thailand immigration offices. ABC stated that “As Thai and Malaysian authorities continue their hunt for hidden graves of refugees in a remote border jungle, the biggest gravesite of all may have been discovered hidden in plain sight. Just 800 metres (half a mile) from the front door of the police centre in the Thai border town Padang Besar, and a five-minute stroll from the Thai immigration office, lie dozens of concealed graves of Rohingya refugees who have fled abject persecution in their homeland Myanmar. More than 100 secret graves might lie in the small cemetery, and overlooking the site just metres away is the house of the smuggler believed to have put them there.”

Young Rohingyan man 'Buraq' shows where the bodies of his friends are buried in a mass grave site near the border crossing into Malaysia from Thailand (Source: Australia Broadcasting) — Young Rohingyan man ‘Buraq’ shows where the bodies of his friends are buried in a mass grave site in Padang Besar, Thailand, near the border crossing into Malaysia from Thailand (Source: Australia Broadcasting)

Australia news reporter Mark Davis interviewed Rohingya victims, and stated “If families didn’t pay the men were beaten to death, the women were raped to death in many cases, and the children were not spared.” A former guard of one of the Thailand human trafficking camps reported showed the reporter where additional bodies were buried. “The former guard led Davis to a mass grave in the nearby town of Padang Besar where he had personally buried about 20 Rohingya bodies in a field of about 100 graves. The site was located behind a police station and overlooking this graveyard was the newly built mansion of one of the smugglers.”

Australia news reported “Shockingly, most people around the camps must have known about their existence. Davis said the camps were not that remote. ‘One guard said there were 50 camps that had thousands of people in them, these were surrounded by villages and roads, this has been happening on an industrial scale for the last three years,’ Davis said. Hundreds of people, sometimes 500 in one day, would be transported to these jungle camps in trucks and cars. ‘The idea that someone didn’t know about this is laughable now,’ Davis said. The mayor of Padang Besar and his deputy have recently been arrested for their involvement in the trade and a senior Thai general has also been arrested but Davis said this was just the tip of the iceberg of who was involved.”

In Malaysia, the Rakyat Post met with Rohingya Muslim victims of the camps in Perlis (Malaysia) and Thailand who managed to secure their freedom from their captives. They interviewed one of the camp victims, Aminah Khatu, who stated “Before I left, they started burning down our homes. People kept saying ‘go to Malaysia, there people live happily’. This is why I got on the boat. I got on a small boat for a few days before being transferred to a ferry where we were left at sea for two months. Later on, we were transferred into a small boat to reach Thailand. I was in the Thailand jungles for a month.” According to the Post, “she said the conditions in the camp in the jungle were terrible and the ground they were placed on was always watery.” The Post reported that she stated ” ‘My children felt sick and one of them passed away there after he fell ill. I called my husband who was in KL (Kaula Lampur) at that time and told him that one of our children had passed away so he must get us out of the camp quick.’ She said her husband told her that he did not have money to do so immediately. ‘My husband told me he did not have enough money, but he later managed to gather RM5,000 by borrowing it from his friends. I passed the money to the agent and he took it, but he still refused to let us go. He cheated us and we remained in the camp for another 15 days. After that, my husband had to find another RM6,000 and paid that sum to them before they released us.’ She said her experience at the camp was horrible and they fed them very little. ‘We had nothing there. They fed us a little rice and curry and a little jelly. When someone died, they just threw the body in the jungle. Those who were very sickly were also thrown into the jungle to die.'”

In Malaysia, 12 police officers were arrested in connection with the Perlis, Malaysia mass graves and human rights atrocity. Malaysia Deputy home minister Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar stated that “12 police officers have been arrested, four by the police and eight by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). ”

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) supports the universal human rights of all people, including their right to freedom of religion, security, dignity, as well as their right to protect their nationality, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 15. The Rohingya Muslim refugees must be given human rights, dignity, and a sanctuary from their oppression in Myanmar.

Myanmar Rohingya Muslim Refugees Resettling in USA — World Crisis Continues

In a follow-up from our report last year on Myanmar refugee resettlements, the U.S. Department of State Refugee Processing Center indicates a number of Myanmar Muslim refugees are finding resettlement options.

The U.S. Department of State Refugee Processing Center indicates that 3,000 Myanmar Muslims refugees have been resettled in the United States of America in the past year, with over 13,000 resettled in the United States since 2002. While it is progress that an increasing number have found refuge in the United States, the deep and horrific problems of Myanmar Rohingya Muslims require the attention of the world’s nations, and support for this human rights and refugee crisis. On June 6, we reported that the UNHCR is seeking an additional $13 million to deal with the Southeast Asia boat crisis.

The world must continue to respond to the human rights crisis in Myanmar, and the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (Burma). A year ago, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Resolution 418 urging the Burmese government to end the persecution of ethnic minority Rohingya Muslims. But in dealing with such human rights crises, words are not enough and the Rohingya Muslim refugees must be given human rights, dignity, and a sanctuary from their oppression in Myanmar.

The progress stands in stark relief to magnitude of the ongoing human rights problem, with literally hundreds of thousands stateless refugees seeking safe conditions, who have fled to Asian countries including Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Rohingya Muslims seeking to cross the Naf river into Bangladesh are turned away by border guards. (Source: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images)

As the U.S. Campaign for Burma states, “The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority living in northern Arakan/Rakhine State in western Burma. They have faced severe persecution and violence at the hands of the state and national governments for decades. There are approximately 1.33 million Rohingya in Burma, but the country’s 1982 Citizenship Law denies them citizenship in spite of the fact that Rohingya have lived in Burma for generations.” “On January 13, 2014, Rakhine mobs and security forces entered Du Chee Yar Tan, Maungdaw Township, and slaughtered over 40 Rohingya. A UN report confirms the gruesome deaths – severed heads of at least 10 Rohingya, some children, were found bobbing in a water tank.” “Forced to venture by boat to trafficking camps on remote Thai islands, the Rohingya are faced with violence, lack of food and water (often forced to drink their own urine), and those who have fallen victim to disease are thrown overboard if dead or close to dying.”

As we previously reported in November 2014, the Fortify Rights group did research concluding that, “Myanmar state security forces are complicit in and profiting from the increasingly lucrative maritime human trafficking and smuggling of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar’s Rakhine State, Fortify Rights revealed in a briefing released today. Since 2012, Myanmar state security forces in Rakhine State have collected payments from Rohingya asylum seekers fleeing Myanmar by ships operated by transnational criminal syndicates, according to information obtained by Fortify Rights. In some cases, the Myanmar Navy escorted boats operated by criminal gangs out to international waters.”

“Of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya that have fled to Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia to escape persecution and adversity, approximately 300,000 Rohingya live in squalid conditions in Bangladesh where they are denied access to food supplies, medical aid, and education.”

We lead in human rights solutions with our hearts and our conscience. These suffering Myanmar Rohingya Muslims must have the same universal human rights as as all other people around the world.

American Patriots Must Reject Racism

The United States of America has had for too many years a long standing human rights problem with white supremacist racism. It is a shame and disgrace to a great nation, founded on the ideals of equality and liberty. As the President recently indicated, this human rights travesty is one that has taken generations to change and continues to require our commitment to change. Americans must step up to this human rights challenge to end such racial inequality, discrimination, hatred, and violence, and leave it in the past.

Respect for racial equality, dignity, justice, and liberty remains one of the most important patriotic values for Americans. American patriots cannot hate people because of their race or identity group. Such racial hatred is contempt for the “truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Such white supremacist racial hatred is a denial of the very identity of America itself.

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) Challenge to White Supremacist Racist Groups and Confederate Memorials — Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) Activism and Demonstrations in Defiance to White Supremacist Racist Groups and Confederate Memorials

American patriots must also reject those who have contempt for the Constitution of the United States and our shared national laws. Such racist hatred routinely objects to fundamental Constitutional and legal standards which all Americans have as protections and responsibilities. White supremacist racial hatred has a contempt for the Constitution of the United States of America, and most racial hate groups actively oppose the U.S. Constitution Amendment 13 (ending slavery), Amendment 14 (ensuring citizenship for all people ” born or naturalized in the United States” including former slaves) and Amendment 15 (the right for vote can not be denied “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude”).

Furthermore, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution also provides that those who have taken a vow to support the Constitution, but “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof,” are not to be given the privilege of holding federal government office or state government office positions. Specifically, Constitutional Amendment 14, Section 3 states: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” This clause of the Constitution is still in operation today, and it remains the law of the land.

Racist groups have repeatedly objected to the law of the land, including the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (14 Stat. 27-30), Enforcement Act of 1871 (17 Stat. 13) to defy the Ku Klux Klan (and unreasonable search and seizure used in police brutality cases) – parts which continue under 42 U.S.C. § 1983: Civil action for deprivation of rights, Civil Rights Act of 1957, (Pub.L. 85–315, 71 Stat. 634), Civil Rights Act of 1960 (Pub.L. 86–449, 74 Stat. 89), Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub.L. 88–352, 78 Stat. 241), Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. § 10101), Civil Rights Act of 1968, (Pub.L. 90–284, 82 Stat. 73), and the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (Pub. L. 102-166).

In addition to ensuring the legal right to fair housing, the Civil Rights Act of 1968 law states that it is a federal crime (18 U.S.C. § 245(b)(2)) to “by force or by threat of force, injure, intimidate, or interfere with anyone …by reason of their race, color, religion, or national origin.”

Nearly 400,000 American patriots died fighting against racism, as Union soldiers during the Civil War, which brought the end to slavery. 400,000. So many died, they could not find graves for them all, and many were buried in Arlington Cemetery. Yet even that horrible sacrifice, as many American patriots fighting against racist slavery who died, as all Americans who died in World War II fighting Hitler and the Axis powers, was still not enough. We needed to create law after law to change the United States of America, and we did. Yet we continue the war, not “between the states,” but against white supremacists which still is not yet at an end in this nation. Yet, American patriots must realize that we cannot be truly an effective nation “with liberty and justice for all” until we WIN THIS WAR. We must bring it to an end, and it must be the goal of all American patriots.

If we begin with the starting point that American patriots must by their values, by their law, and in honor of our fallen heroes, defy and challenge white supremacist racial hatred and injustice, then we must ask ourselves why is it taking so many generations to heal this wound of racism on our nation’s soul? Why must we be so patient about it? Why aren’t more patriots incensed and furious over every new racist attack, not only on those victims who are racial minorities, but also on values and standards of our nation? Too many have tolerated parts of this nation to have a twisted nostalgia for Confederate racial hatred. Too many have allowed those with white supremacist activism to go unchallenged.

The idea that all we need to end this contempt for our shared human rights and dignity needs is more time, more generations, must be unacceptable to American patriots.

Is there a greater enemy to the United States of America than the white supremacist racism ideology, which led to as many deaths in a war as all wars combined, with over 400,000 American Union soldiers fighting against slavery? What greater enemy could there be than one that has led to the death of so many, and which actively sought the division of the United States itself? What more clearly defined insurrection could there be than an enemy which sought to secede from the United States itself?

Certainly a starting point would be any member of the American federal or state government who supports or gives aid to white supremacist groups opposed to our Constitution, as well as those who support or give aid to the enemy Confederate States of America (CSA) ideology and its symbols of hatred, which rebelled against the United States government. Any such federal or state government individual needs to be removed from office. They have no place in any role in any part of any government in this nation, as Amendment 14 of the U.S. Constitution clearly states.

Let us end our patience with the injustice and evil of white supremacist racism. Let us expect that any leader of our nation, including any presidential candidate, which does not have such impatience towards ending white supremacist racism, must not be given any leadership role.

Our current President states that the measures of racism are not just one slanderous term, and of course he is right, that the challenge is not only “overt discrimination,” but also every aspect of institutional discrimination in this great nation. But where I believe the President is wrong is in the view that we must be patient, where he states “Societies don’t, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior.”

While we cannot erase the past, we can change the present and build for the future.

American patriots must be reminded not only can we change the racist present, but we must change the racist present. It is our RESPONSIBILITY. But we need to do more than condemn, dismiss, or reject white supremacist racism. We are not a passive nation with a passive culture. We are and always be a nation of action. If anything, perhaps the idea that we can get away with “passively” challenging white supremacist racism is one of our greatest national mistake.

Active Defiance of Racism is our patriotic responsibility as Americans.

This defiance of racism is not just when it is convenient, or pleasant, or when it involves someone we don’t know. Our challenge to racist organizations, leaders, and ideologies must use our voices, our freedoms, and our defense of our nation to defy and challenge the hatred of racial minorities, including removing such racism from every area of public life in government, public organizations, religion, and society, with no exceptions.

While the Civil War ended 150 years ago, we have known for decades that the war against white supremacist racism has not yet ended. We must the finish the struggles of those who came before us, and not let this disease of white supremacist hate spread to yet another generation. Let us end it here. It would be the American thing to do.

Let us be – in every way – Responsible for Equality And Liberty.

The Broken Tree and the Butterfly Garden

We once had a grand tree in front of our home.
It was the source of many years of enjoyment and comfort.
It was a haven for birds and wild creatures.
During holidays, I would decorate it for the neighborhood.

It faced many terrible storms. It had bowed before. But one unyielding heavy weight of a snowstorm was too much. I woke to find broken over my car. I picked up the limbs and pulled it away, and I had no choice but to saw away at the pieces of what was left of my friend the grand tree into pieces. I was saddened at its loss all winter. In the spring, we tried to bring a small piece of it back. There was a small shoot of the tree’s remnant in the roots that we tried to bring back, and we built braces to help it grow. But it too could not survive the struggle of time.

Our grand tree was now gone for good. For years, we left it a dark place, which we mulched over, to conceal its loss. It was a source of daily regret and bitterness as I looked at where it had once been.

But eventually we decided to rebuild. So on the place where the grand tree once stood, we now built a butterfly garden, with all types of tall flowers, and places for the birds to celebrate once again. The butterfly garden stands now where the broken tree was. I still remember the broken tree, but most will not, and our new neighbors and visitors will only remember the butterfly garden.

The butterfly garden is a haven for birds and wild creatures, including our friendly squirrels and rabbits who visit our home. It is a place of joy for the neighborhood.

We can struggle and defy many challenges, but we cannot defy the march of time. We have no choice but to move on with time.

We can wring our hands over the broken trees in our lives, and endlessly try to bring them back. Or we can move forward and build the butterfly gardens where they once stood, and create new ways for joy and comfort in our lives and in the lives of others.

Israel: Terrorist Attack on Sea of Galilee Christian Church

The Times of Israel reported on an another “Price Tag” terrorist attack on a Christian Church of the Multiplication in the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus fed 5,000, according to Christian beliefs. The Times states a “fire broke out at the Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha, on the Sea of Galilee, early Thursday in what police suspect was an arson attack. Firefighting crews successfully doused the blaze and two people who were in the building suffered minor smoke inhalation. In an entrance corridor of the building, which is believed by Christians to be the site of Jesus’s miracle of multiplying two fish and five loaves to feed 5,000 people, Hebrew graffiti was found, reading, ‘the false gods will be eliminated’ — a quote from the Aleinu prayer.”

The church is run by the Catholic Benedictine Order.

The Times of Israel reports “Right-wing Jewish extremists have in the past carried out numerous arson and graffiti attacks against Christian sites, as as well as against Arab property in the West Bank and Jerusalem under the ‘price tag’ slogan. The term ‘price tag’ is used by Jewish extremists to describe vandalism or attacks typically carried out against non-Jews or their property, ostensibly as retribution for Palestinian attacks or Israeli government actions deemed contrary to settler interests.”

The Times of Israel also reported: “Two weeks earlier, ahead of a visit to the country by Pope Francis, suspected Jewish extremists daubed hate graffiti on Vatican-owned offices in Jerusalem. The Hebrew-language graffiti, reading ‘Death to Arabs and Christians and those who hate Israel,’ was sprayed on the walls of the offices of the Assembly of Bishops at the Notre Dame center, a complex just outside the Old City, the Roman Catholic Church said.”

South Carolina: White Terrorist Arrested, FBI Identifies as Dylann Roof

Dylann Storm Room, identified as the terrorist behind the Charleston terrorist attack, has been apprehended in Shelby, North Carolina, in apparent attempt to flee the state. He was captured while driving a vehicle with a Confederate flag licence plate, praising the “Confederate States of America.” This is another in the instances of racial supremacism that R.E.A.L. has reported.

White Racist Terror Suspect Dylann Roof driving car with Confederate Flag License Plate

This is the second terrorist attack reported by R.E.A.L. with a distinct “Confederate States of America” link; the previous attack was a terrorist attack against the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum by James Von Brunn wearing a Confederate cap, killing Stephen Tyrone Johns.

Reuters reports that the white terrorist suspect of the terrorist attack on the Episcopal AM Church, killing 9 people, has been identified as Dylann Storm Roof. “The FBI identified the shooter as Dylann Roof of Columbia, South Carolina. An uncle of Roof’s said he recognized the man in the surveillance photo as his nephew.” Reuters states that law enforcement agents were present at Roof’s home, Cowles said, adding he believed the shooter’s father had recently bought him a .45-caliber handgun as a birthday present. He is identified as a 21 year old white male, 5′ 9″, 120 pounds, driving a Hyundai GS compact, with license number LGF330.

Dylann Roof has a Facebook account where it shows his home in Columbia, SC, and as a person who went to White Knoll High School. He is photographed wearing a jacket with Apartheid-era South African flag and Rhodesia flag.

Dylann Roof - South Carolina man named as terror suspect (Source: Facebook) — Dylann Roof – South Carolina man named as terror suspect (Source: Facebook)

Surprisingly, it shows on Facebook that he had “friends” of different races.

One of Dylann Roof’s friends was part of a Facebook group “rebel americans for the furtherment of our american futures.”

"Need to Identify" Statement from Charleston Police — “Need to Identify” Statement from Charleston Police

White Racist Terrorist Attack on African-American Church – 9 Killed

A terrorist shooter, described by police as a white male, is AT LARGE after a racist terrorist attack on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, in Charleston, South Carolina. There were 9 killed in the terrorist attack: six females and three males. Eight died at the scene, and the 9th died at the hospital. Once the authorities notify families, they will release the full list of names. The authorities are calling this terrorist attack a “hate crime.” This included the death of the churches’ leader Reverend Clementa Pinckney. A report states that the terrorist told one member of the church meeting “I am going to let you live. I want you to tell them what happened.” A five year old child hid during the terrorist’s shooting rampage, by pretending to be dead, according to reports.

NBC reports that the terrorist sought out the pastor.

Sylvia Johnson, a cousin of church shooting victim Pastor Clementa Pinckney says she spoke with one of the survivors “and she said that he had reloaded five different times… and he just said ‘I have to do it. You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.'”

Earlier, Reverend Pinckey, who is also a South Carolina state senator, backed a bill that called for body cameras for police in response to a killing of Walter Scott by a police officer on April 4, 2015 in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Pastor Reverend Clementa Pinckney of the Episcopal AME Church Attacked Wednesday Night (Source: AME Website) — Pastor Reverend Clementa Pinckney of the Episcopal AME Church Killed in Terrorist Attack on June 17 Night (Source: AME Website)

Every Wednesday evening, the church holds a Bible study in its basement. The Emanuel AME church is described as one of the “oldest AME church in the south.” The white terrorist apparently attended the Bible meeting. Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen says the terror suspect attending a meeting and stayed for almost an hour before gunfire erupted.

Reports say the white terrorist shooter is still at large. But they were still describing the terror suspect as a clean-shaven white man, 5′ 9″, in his 20s, with a slender build. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt, blue jeans and Timberland boots. A photo is being circulated of the suspected. The suspect was pictured leaving the scene in a black four door sedan.

The Charleston police state they want people with information to call 843-720-2447.

CCTV Photo of White Terrorist Suspect in Attack on Episcopal AME Church (Source: Charleston Police)

The terrorist attack on the Christian church took place at 9 PM on Thursday, June 17, 2015. It has been reported that 9 people were shot, and that there are “multiple fatalities,” in what is clearly a racist terrorist attack, intended to target African-Americans.

Local Pastor Thomas Dixon: "It's really bad. It's a very bad scene." — Local Pastor Thomas Dixon: “It’s really bad. It’s a very bad scene.” (Source: YouTube)

Local pastor Thomas Dixon told CNN that “It’s really bad. It’s a very bad scene.” “Apparently the person just entered the church and opened fire. That part has not been fully articulated on what happened yet … they are still looking for the suspect.”

The police briefly arrested a white male, David Corrie of Ladson, wearing a backpack as he was coming out of a store, after they heard some popping noises in the area. Corrie had camera and recording equipment.

Episcopal AME Reverend Clementa Pinckey was reported to be one of the victims of the terrorist attack. Reverence Pinckey. Clementa Pinckney is also a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 45th District since 2000,

Responsible for Equality And Liberty denounces this terrorist attack and calls for our supporters of any faith to pray for the victims and their families of this terrorist attack.

Out-of-Control Pakistan Blasphemy Law Used to Oppress Christians, Others

The ongoing imprisonment of Pakistan Christian woman Asia Bibi highlights the ongoing oppression of Pakistan Christian, other Pakistan religious minorities, as well as Pakistan majority Muslims, by the oppressive blasphemy law, used as a tactic to silence unpopular voices and to oppress others. As part of our commitment to our shared universal human rights, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) challenges Pakistan’s blasphemy law and its use to kill, oppress, and intimidate others.

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) chairwoman Katrina Lantos Swett and Mary Ann Glendon have gone to Pakistan to speak to Pakistan government officials to change the Pakistan blasphemy law. These USCIRF leaders state that the Pakistan “blasphemy law on its face flatly violates both freedom of religion and freedom of expression,” and they call for the U.S. State Department to “designate Pakistan a ‘country of particular concern’ for its continued record of failure in protecting religious freedom.”

In Punjab alone, Dawn has reported 262 cases of alleged blasphemous behavior.

We continue to appeal for the medical welfare and release of Asia Bibi, which has also been addressed by other human rights leaders, including the Pakistan Christian Post, Asian Human Rights Commission, Global Dispatch, British Pakistan Christians, and others. The Asian Human Rights Commission has a very useful posting with additional contacts for emails for action, which R.E.A.L. has included in our ACTION posting to get the Pakistan government to act now on her medical condition and to release her from her unjust imprisonment.

Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi accused of "blasphemy" — Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi sentenced to death for “blasphemy”

Noreen Asia Bibi (known mostly as Asia Bibi) was convicted of blasphemy by a Pakistani court in November 2010, receiving a sentence of death by hanging, based on a June 2009 argument with Muslim women who were upset with her for drinking the same water as them. A trumped up charge was made that she subsequently insulted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, which she has denied but was the basis for her arrest, conviction, and imprisonment. Over 400,000 signatures have been placed on petitions calling for her release. Christian minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti and Pakistani government politician Salmaan Taseer called for her release and opposed the blasphemy laws, and they were both killed by terrorists. Her family remains in hiding due to terrorist threats.

Pakisan: Christian Pastor Rashid Emmanuel Gunned Down in Faisalabad Court in Broad Daylight on July 19, 2010. (Photo by Jabran Inayat and GVM Television) — Pakisan: Christian Pastor Rashid Emmanuel Accused of Blasphemy Gunned Down in Faisalabad Court (Source: Jabran Inayat and GVM Television)

We have reported on many other blasphemy cases: Christian pastor Rashid Emmanuel and his brother Sajjad (who were gunned down in the streets in Faisalabad). The two brothers had left a court hearing on on charges of “blasphemy,” when they were gunned down on the court house steps, even when they had a police escort. There were rumors that they might be found innocent and released. Asia IT News reported that for days religious leaders had been “fanning the flame” of hatred against the two brothers.

We have reported on Rehmat Masih, Qamar David, Imran Masih, Robert Danish aka Falish Masih (who died in prison while being arrested for blasphemy), Munir Masih and his wife Ruqiya Bibi, and others.

We have reported on those Pakistan Christians fleeing for their lives, from such false “blasphemy” charges, such as Ms. Saiqa and Jehanzaib Asher.

Pakistan Christian Qamar David Convicted of "Blasphemy" Died in Prison Under Mysterious Circumstances, After Threats — Pakistan Christian Qamar David Convicted of “Blasphemy” Died in Prison Under Mysterious Circumstances, After Threats

With literally hundreds of cases, we cannot imagine how many we do not have specific names, places, and dates, to report on, as shown by the 262 cases in Punjab alone. One of our Pakistan contacts advises us that they are aware of dozens of blasphemy cases against Pakistan Christians with unregistered newspapers giving local coverage to such blasphemy cases, which extremists use to rationalize hatred and violence against the local Pakistan Christian community.

Our source states that people involved in recent Pakistan blasphemy cases have included Naeem Masih, Ejaz Taj, Shokath Haroon, Saiqa Mukthar, Kamran Victor, Nayab Wilson, Javed Joseph, Saima Bibi, all of whom need the support of the international human rights community. Pakistan Christians charged in trumped-up blasphemy cases are also facing fatwas against them declared by extremist Mullahs. The human rights community needs to continue to find ways to protect these people whose human rights are in immediate danger, as well as to find ways to press Pakistan to end its out-of-control blasphemy laws.

Pakistan majorities need to also realize that these blasphemy laws are not just a threat and a problem for Pakistan Christians, but are also used to oppress and threaten Pakistan minority and majority Muslims as well.

Pakistan: Ahmadiyya Muslim man, Masud Ahmad, was falsely arrested and imprisoned for blasphemy

We have also reported on other minority (and majority) Muslims caught up in this oppression, such as Masud Ahmad (Ahmadiyya Muslim), four Ahmadiyya Muslim children arrested for blasphemy, and other Muslims such as British Muhammad Asghar, as a well as 60 year old Muslim woman, Akhtari Malkan, attacked for dropping a receipt on the ground which was built up as “throwing the Qur’an” on the ground, a factory owner killed for taking down a calendar and accused of blasphemy.

Karachi University’s Dean Faculty of Islamic Studies, Dr Shakeel Auj - Murdered after Blasphemy Charge to Pakistan Police (Source: BBC) — Karachi University’s Dean Faculty of Islamic Studies, Dr Shakeel Auj – Murdered after Blasphemy Charge to Pakistan Police (Source: BBC)

Blasphemy charges have been brought against well-known majority Muslim figures out of spite and hate, including Pakistan singer Junaid Jamshed, actress Veena Malik (initially sentenced to 26 years in prison before a Supreme Court stay), and even an Islamic studies professor. Muslim Dr. Muhammad Shakil Auj, a professor of Islamic studies in Karachi, had blasphemy charges filed charges against him with the police for blasphemy by a local seminary for being “too liberal”. He never saw a court room as he was shot to death first. His name was removed from the university website hours after his death.

The out-of-control blasphemy laws in Pakistan are an offense to the universal human rights not only of Pakistan Christians and other religious minorities, but also an offense to all Pakistan people and the people of the world.

Responsible for Equality And Liberty supports and defends the universal human rights of all people, and it reminds Pakistan of its obligations and commitment under international law. We challenge the Pakistan blasphemy law as a direct attack on our shared universal human rights.

Pakistan is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ratified as of June 23, 2010, as well as a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Pakistan Blasphemy Law is in direct contradiction to its international agreement of ICCPR Article 18, which includes “1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” The Pakistan Blasphemy law is in direct opposition to these shared universal human rights for the Pakistan people and for all people. Pakistan needs to decide whether or not it is a member of the nations of the world that respects human rights and dignity, or it is a clear and unquestionably self-declared rogue nation which rejects these global standards necessary for a free people.

R.E.A.L. urges the Pakistan government and the Pakistan people to end the oppressive blasphemy law which attacks the rights of Pakistan Christians and other religious minorities, and which is used as a method to harass and intimidate people with a grudge against a Pakistani in any identity group. These attacks on our shared universal human rights have to end. We urge Pakistan to realize the need for change and to become responsible for equality and liberty.

R.E.A.L. Demonstration/Outreach to Hizb ut-Tahrir at DC Area Conference

On June 14, 2015, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) held a demonstration and human rights outreach in defense of Democracy, Equality, and Universal Human Rights, outside of the extremist convention by the Hizb ut-Tahrir America organization in a Virginia suburb of our nation’s capital.

June 14, 2015 - Demonstration in Support of Democracy and Universal Human Rights by R.E.A.L. at Hizb ut-Tahrir America Extremist Conference in the Washington, DC Suburb of Springfield, Virginia — June 14, 2015 – Demonstration in Support of Democracy and Universal Human Rights by R.E.A.L. at Hizb ut-Tahrir America Extremist Conference in the Washington, DC Suburb of Springfield, Virginia

R.E.A.L. has protested the extremist views of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Chicago at other national conferences and around the world since 2009. R.E.A.L. has challenged Hizb ut-Tahrir and its supporters at such conferences to reconsider their calls to deny universal human rights and equality for other people, and their calls for a global caliphate “Khilafah” to persecute other Muslims and people with different views.

We have seen that ISIS has also promoted such a “Khilafah” and we have seen and documented the violence and oppression that the ISIS terrorist group has used in promoting its “Khilafah” approach to public oppression.

It is and has been R.E.A.L.’s position that we must consistently support the Universal Human Rights for all people of all identity groups around the world, including defending their rights to freedom, equality, dignity, and security.

It is and has been R.E.A.L.’s position that those promoting a global caliphate government will defy such universal human rights and will actively seek to deny human rights for others. As in the case of Hizb ut-Tahrir, they actively reject democracy, they actively reject women’s rights, and they actively reject religious freedom for others. R.E.A.L.’s Jeffrey Imm saw Hizb ut-Tahrir extremist documents being distributed at the first Hizb ut-Tahrir America convention in Chicago suburbs (Oak Brook, Illinois) which called in writing for the death penalty for those who chose another religion and left Islam.

We believe that our Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Article 18, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Part III Article 18, not only gives us freedom of religion, but also gives us freedom of conscience, and the right for those who choose to be religious to change their religion, or to change their views.

We reject the extremist views of Hizb ut-Tahrir and Hizb ut-Tahrir America. We call for others who are passionate to stand up in defense of Democracy and in defense of our universal human rights.

Every day is another good day for all of us to be…

Responsible for Equality And Liberty.

Why We Must Struggle for Democracy – Everyone Matters

Democracy gives us hope for change and a path to defend the human rights for all. In a democracy, everyone matters. Democracy matters.

What would our lives and the next generation’s future be without democracy? Without the democratic ability to make our own decisions as free men and women, how can we defend our universal human rights of equality and liberty?

But the struggle for democracy is not one fight, not a single battle, one war for freedom, where victory is declared, and democracy is secured. It is a continuous struggle and effort to win, keep, and maintain a democracy. We need to continuously work to build a democratic society where the voices of the people can be heard, and where human rights for all are part of the democratic process. A “democracy” which does not respect the inherent human rights of others fails to understand that in a democracy EVERYONE MATTERS.

Democracies are not simply about majority votes. That is what majority oppressors with power would like the world to believe. That is what tyrants with an agenda want to people to believe, so they can deceive into accepting a dictatorship. They will attack the flaws of any individual democratic state and tell the world, “see this is what democracy leads to.”

The tyrants and the authoritarians take failures in democracies out of context. They only show the failures. They are silent about all the people trying to correct the failures. They don’t mention how people use their democratic freedoms to vote to promote change, to march for the rights of all, and how they protest together in the cause of democratic freedoms.

Tyrants particularly enjoy pouncing on the failures of democracy in America, which are widely publicized by Americans themselves (because they denounce such failures), and ignoring what people who love democracy seek to do to correct these failures.

In the tyrant’s propaganda against democracy, there is only slavery in America, without a Civil War; there is only Jim Crow laws, without a 15th Amendment to the Constitution; there is only denying women the right to vote, without a 19th Amendment to the Constitution; there is only Civil Rights challenges, without a Martin Luther King, Jr. and the generation that followed; there is only a failure to provide full Constitutional protection, without the campaign for Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.); there is only police abuse against African-Americans, without a campaign to hold law enforcement accountable and ensure that black lives and all lives matter.

Nor is this propaganda exclusive to denying democratic struggles in the United States of America. Tyrants will have similar half-truths in every other democratic country.

But the tyrants’ half-truths will only tell one side of the story. The goal of tyrants are to entice the discouraged, the disaffected, and those in despair from giving up on democracy altogether, but telling them only about democracy’s failures, and silencing discussion about democracy’s promise. The tyrants want people to give up hope on democracy and submit to their rule.

If there no other reason that compels you to struggle for democracy, take that vision to your heart. Can we be so selfish and heartless that we will not offer outstretched hands to bring back our brothers and sisters in despair on democracy from the clutches of tyranny? No, no. Those who love democracy know that our democratic freedoms and hopes are intended for everyone.

It is our responsibility to continue the struggle for democracy – for the generation today, and the the generations tomorrow.

Many don’t like the word “struggle.” It implies so much effort and work, and less of going with the natural flows in life. That’s right. It does and it is. While equality may be the natural law of humanity, we know that there have always been and will always be tyrants and bullies who seek to defy such natural law. We have seen the Dark Ages of the past, and it is our responsibility to help lead our society to the sunrise of a compassionate tomorrow.

Democracy must be compassionate. If in a democracy – everyone matters, then in a democracy – we must be compassionate to the suffering of our fellow human beings. How we can we believe they matter, if we don’t care about the suffering of others? Those who talk about democratic rights, but do not have democratic hearts, have lost sight of the meaning of democracy itself. They may know the tune, but they don’t understand the words or what they mean.

In our world today, our pace is so fast that we have often lost sight of compassion, of patience, and of kindness. We have forgotten that those too are part of our democratic ideals, if everyone matters. In a democracy, we must lead with our heart first.

We are rightfully an impatient people when it comes to abuses against our democracy and failures of our leaders. We may be frustrated and angry at those who would defy our democratic ideals. But even then, we must work for the democratic values of fairness and human rights for everyone – even those who do wrong. This doesn’t make us weak. It makes us stronger than any tyrant’s iron fist.

In today’s world, certainly there are many discouraged with our practices of democracy. But the greatest sign of the success of democracy are all the books and articles written by those who complain that it hasn’t yet met its goals, and complaining about its failures. Now THAT is democracy at work, that is the democratic freedom of speech, freedom of press, and freedom of expression that free men and women accept as part of their natural lives.

When we are discouraged, that is the most important time to channel our frustration into action. The greatest cure to democracy’s ills is the action by those who know that everyone matters and that democracy matters.

We may think democracy doesn’t need defenders, and that “someone else” will defend democracy. We may think that our individual passions, causes, and campaigns are more productive channels for our time and energy, because after all, everyone understands the need for democracy.

But that is not true. Our struggle for democracy itself is as essential as the air which we breathe. We cannot chose to wait for “someone else.” My brothers and sisters in humanity, when it comes to defending democracy, we are the “someone else” who must struggle to defend it. There is no cause more essential than democracy to freedom and our shared universal human rights.

In a democracy, we love our rights, but we must love our responsibilities even more. We cannot have human rights, without human responsibilities. When you stand for democracy, you are responsible for equality and liberty for your fellow human beings.

Sometimes you will need to take a stand on your own against those who seek the destruction of democracy. Remember you are never alone when you stand for democracy, equality, and liberty. Free man and women of the world stand behind you.

Today will be such a day for me. I need to stand alone against a determined foe of democracy. The extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT) will be in the Washington DC suburb of Springfield, Virginia to recruit minds to persuade them to reject democracy. HuT is openly against democracy with a “No Democracy” campaign, and denial of human rights, rejection of women’s equality, and a goal to subjagate people under a religious dictatorship. But there are plenty of enemies of democracy. If it was not HuT, it would some other extremists against democracy. We must provide a challenge to those who seek the end to democracy.

In our busy, overwhelmed lives, it would be convenient to be silent in the face of the enemies of democracy. But if democracy matters for everyone, then does not democracy matter for those who seek to be recruited by tyrants?

The defense of democracy will not simply be made in air-conditioned conference rooms by people in business suits, and nicely organized meetings, who have their lunch catered.

No the defense of democracy must also be done on our feet, in the streets, when it is hard, when you can’t find a way or the time, and when it seems impossible. Free men and women don’t know the meaning of the word “impossible” in the defense of democracy.

We must continually struggle for democracy – because democracy matters for all of us. It is the foundation to defend our shared universal human rights. Democracy matters.

We must continue our struggle for democracy, because it is not just our rights that matter, it is also our shared responsibilities.

We are all responsible for equality and liberty.

And it is always another GOOD DAY to be Responsible for Equality And Liberty.