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KF5JRV > TODAY 28.05.19 13:42l 9 Lines 2471 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 37109_KF5JRV
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Subj: Today in History - May 28
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N3HYM<KF5JRV
Sent: 190528/1137Z 37109@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.18
On this day in 1961, the British newspaper The London Observer publishesBritish lawyer Peter Benenson’s article “The Forgotten Prisonersö on itsfront page, launching the Appeal for Amnesty 1961–a campaign calling forthe release of all people imprisoned in various parts of the worldbecause of the peaceful expression of their beliefs.Benenson was inspired to write the appeal after reading an article abouttwo Portuguese students who were jailed after raising their glasses in atoast to freedom in a public restaurant. At the time, Portugal was adictatorship ruled by Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. Outraged, Benensonpenned the Observer article making the case for the students’ releaseand urging readers to write letters of protest to the Portuguesegovernment. The article also drew attention to the variety of humanrights violations taking place around the world, and coined the term“prisoners of conscienceö to describe “any person who is physicallyrestrained (by imprisonment or otherwise) from expressing…any opinionwhich he honestly holds and does not advocate or condone personalviolence.ö“The Forgotten Prisonersö was soon reprinted in newspapers across theglobe, and Berenson’s amnesty campaign received hundreds of offers ofsupport. In July, delegates from Belgium, the United Kingdom, France,the United States, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland met to begin “apermanent international movement in defense of freedom of opinion andreligion.ö The following year, this movement would officially become thehuman rights organization Amnesty International.Amnesty International took its mandate from the United Nations UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights, which holds that all people havefundamental rights that transcend national, cultural, religious andideological boundaries. By the 10th anniversary of the Appeal forAmnesty 1961, the organization it spawned numbered over 1,000 voluntarygroups in 28 countries, with those figures rising steadily. In 1977, theorganization received the Nobel Peace Prize.Amnesty International owes much of its success in promoting human rightsto its impartiality and its focus on individuals rather than politicalsystems. Today, Amnesty International continues to work toward its goalsof ensuring prompt and fair trials for all prisoners, ending torture andcapital punishment and securing the release of “prisoners of conscienceöaround the globe.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
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