Amnesty Interational issues rights plea to Rihanna, Shakira before Azeri concerts

[freepalestine]

TOP NEWS
Amnesty issues rights plea to Rihanna, Shakira before Azeri concerts
Fri, Oct 05 16:22 PM EDT


http://mobile.reuters.com/do/getNewsImages?n=topNews&u=USBRE8941DK20121005&i=1


(Reuters) - Human rights group Amnesty International urged pop stars Rihanna and Shakira on Friday to open their eyes to recent arrests of journalists, bloggers and activists in Azerbaijan, before their performances in the former Soviet republic this month.

Amnesty and Sing for Democracy said in a joint letter that it wanted to draw the singers' attention to human rights and freedom of speech issues in Azerbaijan.

"Both singers should be aware of the situation in the country post-Eurovision," the letter said, referring to the singing contest in the Azeri capital of Baku in May, which spurred protests and rallies by Azeris demanding democracy.

Authorities in Baku arrested dozens of protesters in May and have since arrested several journalists and political activists.

"We Found Love" singer Rihanna, 24, is scheduled to perform in Baku on Saturday. "Hips Don't Lie" singer Shakira, 35, is performing in Baku for football organization FIFA's under 17 women's world cup on October 13, and at another venue in the capital on October 14.

International rights groups often have criticized Azerbaijan for curbing public dissent, while the government in Baku says Azerbaijanis enjoy full freedom of speech.

"Amnesty International believes that the Azerbaijani government should afford all artists, journalists, activists and ordinary citizens the right to express themselves freely without fear of reprisal. We hope that you share our belief," said the letter to Rihanna and Shakira.

Representatives for both singers did not immediately return calls for comment.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by Jill Serjeant)


http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE8941DK20121005?irpc=932

[Igor]

i'm kinda annoyed by this kind of shit. of course the situation in azerbaijan is bad but some of these human right activist peoples treat some countries as pretty much solely nothing but bad human right situations, while in reality they are actual countries with actual people in them. it's important to focus on improving human rights in azerbaijan sure but shakira and rihanna concerts have nothing to do with that. they're fucking artists and people in azerbaijan like to listen to their music so it's great they go there and play their music. i have no fucking idea why they in particular should "open their eyes" to the situation.

[Zealot]

Bourgeois media never fails to mention how they were "former Soviet republics" whenever something terrible is about to be added. Amnesty International is pretty much a tool of imperialism now anyway.

[Ostrinski]

Aren't they pretty pro-Israel? That should dispel any serious consideration one might have for who consider themselves a human rights organization.

[Ocean Seal]

Yeah Amnesty is fucked up, and I generally dislike whenever they talk about human rights as if the problem is that they aren't happy go lucky western democracies, and that can change with online petitions.

[Zealot]

Aren't they pretty pro-Israel? That should dispel any serious consideration one might have for who consider themselves a human rights organization.

I'm not sure. But note that the current Executive Director of Amnesty International USA is former State Department official Suzanne Nossel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanne_Nossel) who is credited with coining the term "Smart Power", which Amnesty boasts (http://www.amnestyusa.org/about-us/who-we-are/executive-director-of-amnesty-international-usa) has now been made "a defining feature of U.S. foreign policy".

[Prometeo liberado]

I'm kinda annoyed by this kind of shit. of course the situation in azerbaijan is bad but some of these human right activist peoples treat some countries as pretty much solely nothing but bad human right situations, while in reality they are actual countries with actual people in them. it's important to focus on improving human rights in azerbaijan sure but shakira and rihanna concerts have nothing to do with that. they're fucking artists and people in azerbaijan like to listen to their music so it's great they go there and play their music. i have no fucking idea why they in particular should "open their eyes" to the situation.

I don't give a rats ass about Amnesty Int. But if your job is to reveal the hypocrisy and inhumanity of whatever government seems to be shitting on it's people then I would think that you would target those who wish to profit off the very people who are living under whatever government. Further would not an opportunity such as this give your cause the most bang for the buck? If you choose to go to whatever country and profit then you better be prepared for whatever comes with those paydays. Shit, have we already forgotten how this very tactic worked during Apartheid? Human rights doesn't take a vacation just because rihanna or whoever is in town.