Amnesty International, Eastern PA

Hello all, this is an action to be conducted by ACLU-PA, but it fits in with AI’s focus on immigrants rights. Two hour training (compensated by the ACLU) is on July 7, followed by the 8 day research–choose the hours and days you can participate. Please participate if you can! See details below. Dan Laxar

Thursday, July 7th – Saturday, July 16th: Volunteer for the ACLU of Pennsylvania’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. The ACLU of PA is looking for volunteers to take data for a research study to be conducted outside of Hazleton, the town that attempted to pass an anti-immigrant ordinance that was struck down in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Volunteers will take data about drivers travelling on Route 93, the road that connects Hazleton to Jim Thorpe, between July 8th and July 16th. If you’d like to help please send an email with your name and phone number to Emma Cleveland at ecleveland@aclupa.org as soon as possible.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL GROUP #531
Hope Church U.C.C., 1031 Flexer Ave., Allentown, PA
Group Coordinator: Dan; Treasurer: TBD
Dues: $10/year (or what you can afford)
June 28, 2011, 7-9 PM

Observing International Day in Support
Of Victims of Torture—June 26

Sign in, Introductions, Pass-the-hat for the facility
Successes! There are quite a number!
Letter to Sec. Clinton: detention of opposition figures—Bahrain
Letter on persecution of Ugandan gays
Discussion of cc’ing U.S. ambassadors to target countries
Phone call to Charlie Dent—express disappointment with vote on HR 894—maternal mortality
“Airplane petition” and online action on behalf of Meher Arar (Canadian citizen who was rendered by U.S. authorities, as he passed thru JFK airport, to Syria—to be tortured
Guantanamo letter—can someone help out? Let me know.
Discussion of potential website for both LV AI Groups

Upcoming Events

June 28-July 2—National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Fast and Vigil. U.S. Supreme Court steps

July1—“Budrus” –Documentary film on non-violent protests by Palestinians against Israel’s Separation Wall, which was to slice through the middle of the town of Budrus. (2009) at the LEPOCO Peace Center, south Bethlehem. 7PM. Bring a snack to share.

July 25—Bimonthly meeting of AI Group 347 (Bethlehem), 7-9 PM, Central Moravian Church, Christian Education Bldg. We’ll contribute our letter writing at the meeting to the rest of Pennsylvania’s for the 1st Annual PA Write-a-thon, featuring at least two PA human rights cases, as well as more action on Siti Rupa, Indonesian national facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.

August 21—Lehigh Valley Pride in the Park Festival 2011, Cedar Beach Park, Allentown (can we get some folks to table for AI there?)

August 22—Bimonthly meeting of Group #531 (Allentown), 7-9 PM, Hope Church UCC.

Hello all, we had a terrific time writing letters at our Global Write-a-thon event in Allentown, PA. 9 of us gathered over the course of the evening, including two students from the nascent Liberty High School AI group. The results are: 17 postcards directly to Individuals at risk and 74 letters to government officials in defense of human rights victims. Great going by all those who participated, and thanks to all of you. Dan Laxar, Group #531 Coordinator

On September 25, two of us from Group #531 (Allentown, PA) staffed a table at a “Peace Fair” sponsored by Buckingham Friends Meeting in Bucks County. About 30 or so organizations were represented, including artisans as well as peace and justice-related NGOs. In just a few hours we collected about a dozen signed postcards for AI issues, especially maternal mortality and POC Filep Karma. One fellow who visited our table filled out an AI membership form and paid his dues on the spot. Another man told me he has been a long time member, but lamented there was no AI group in Bucks and Montgomery Counties. I suggested he could start his own and since he seemed really interested, I made sure he had Emilia Gutierrez’s email address. It could be that there will be a new AI group in that area soon. The meeting house was open for tours, and we listened to Cindy Sheehan speak there about her personal journey away from war and its human costs, most poignantly the life of her son in Iraq. We had a good time, and I got a pretty good tan for the first time this summer. Except it is actually Autumn now. Dan Laxar

Hello all, here’s the recap of our June 22, 2010 meeting. Three of us were in attendance. We started the meeting with news of AI successes in the past two months–and there were a bunch of them. The list can be found on the AIUSA website members section. We had received two hardcopies of AI’s 2009 report, which Bill Frederick distributed to the Allentown and Emmaus libraries. For our own use, the MARO sent a flash drive containing a PDF version. We sent individual letters to six different officials, in countries where trade unionists and other labor activists have been unjustly jailed. We then had an open discussion on the subject of Torture Awareness Week, as well as the International Violence Against Women Act, now before Congress. We also discussed AIUSA’s push on Maternal Mortality. These last two will be the subjects of a meeting we have scheduled for July 13 with Rep. Dent’s District Director. In addition, we hope to discuss the case of Siti Rupa, an Indonesian national, who is facing a death sentence after her conviction for the murder, apparently while mentally ill, of her abusive employer. And we hope to discuss HRres 1355, also before Congress, in support of Filep Karma who remains in prison for raising the “Morning Star” flag in Papua New Guinea.

Group #531 (Allentown, PA) met last Tuesday evening with four activists in attendance, including one new member, who was active with Moravian College’s AI group.

We disussed upcoming events, including Death Penalty week, the March 20 gathering of Eastern PA AI activists, the lobbying event beginning the last week of March, and the AGM, April 9-11 in New Orleans. We sent letters invidually to the Prime Minister and President of Haiti concerning the problem of human trafficking, particularly of women and young girls, and will follow this problem with action in regard to other countries in the future. We agreed to support Group #347 (Bethlehem, PA) as they adopt a POC, beginning with their next meeting we hope. And we discussed the US Senate bill, informally called the International Violence Against Women Act, and noted that Sen. Casey is a cosponsor. We hope that Sen. Specter will also get on board with this important legislation. The Senate bill is S.2982 and the companion House bill is HR 4594.

Dan Laxar, Coordinator, Group #531

Group #531 met on Dec.22 for its bimonthly meeting with four members in attendance. We briefly discussed the the newest Secretary General, Salil Shetty, and the upcoming fundraiser at Barnes and Noble. We sent letters in support of PA Senate Bill 1110, the bill that would launch a study of the death penalty in Pennsylvania, and impose a moratorium on executions pending the findings of that study. We also sent two letters each to Iran on behalf of POC’s there, and letters to our U.S. Senators in support of CEDAW. At the suggestion of a member, we will work on the problem of human trafficking, particularly of young girls, in Haiti and elsewhere. Our next meeting will be Feb. 23. Dan Laxar, Coordinator, Group #531 (Allentown, PA)

Group #531(Allentown, PA) met on Oct. 27 with five people in attendance, including one new member. The group reported sending 14 letters in the last two months, not including those of our two, most prolific, letter writers who were unable to attend.

After sharing some of the successes of AIUSA in the last two months, we discussed our upcoming fund-raiser wrapping gifts at Barnes and Noble with Group #347. We also discussed the Global Write-a-thon; it is our understanding that the new Muhlenberg College AI group will be hosting an event for the area.

We each sent letters to the President and our members of Congress reiterating the country’s need for an independant, impartial investigation into the abuses committed by the past administration in its “war on terror.” Finally, we went over the priority campaigns suggested by AIUSA for the coming year.

Group #531 (Allentown) met on Tuesday, Aug. 25, with five members attending. Those present reported sending more than 60 letters in the past two months, on behalf of human rights victims and in support of advancing AI’s human rights goals.

Group Coordinator Dan Laxar reported that the treasury is healthy, but we need to plan for funding for future expenses and to support AIUSA, particularly since our most lucrative fundraiser, the annual Dorney Park “Trick-or-Treat Trial” will not take place this year. In the near term, we agreed to make a big push, with Group #347 (Bethlehem, PA), on our annual holiday gift-wrapping at Barnes and Noble in December.

Dan shared AI successes since our June meeting. We agreed to send individual letters to the DRC and Colombia in support of human rights defenders who are endangered in those two countries. We will also be sending individual letters to Sri Lanka on behalf of five medical doctors who were detained as they left the “no fire zone” at the end of the hostilities there. The doctors had been providing the only medical care available there, and in view of their protracted detention, so far without charge, we will convey AI’s concern for their well-being.

Karen reminded the group of the upcoming screening of “Torturing Democracy,” to be followed by a discussion of the film and the pros and cons of an independant investigation of torture under the last U.S. administration. The discussion will be moderated by a Dr. Christian Rice, professor of Philosophy and Religion at Ursinus College. The event will take place on Sept. 30, at 7 PM, in the Christian Education Bldg. of Central Moravian Church, Bethlehem, PA.

Group #531 (Allentown) met on June 23, with five members in attendance. Those present reported sending 34 letters in support of human rights during the last two months.

Dan gave the treasurer’s report and noted that the Friendly’s Family Fun Night fundraiser netted more than $55 for the group’s treasury.

Dan had received a copy of the 2009 AI Annual Report from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, and Florence Applebaum volunteered to present it to the Allentown Public Library for their reference section.

Tony Marino had letters addressed to the government of Iran expressing concern for human rights violations following the recent elections there, and letters to Sec. Clinton concerning the our government’s delivery of weapons to the U.S. stockpile in Israel, weapons which, in the past, have been released to the Israeli government. The letter noted that, there having been some evidence of human rights violations committed during the hostilities in Gaza, the release of these weapons to Israel would violate the Leahy law. The members present at the meeting will send these individually.

Dan had letters for the group to the government of China in regard to a married couple who have been detained there, apparently for being Falon Gong practitioners. He also had letters to the government of Vietnam which has arrested a lawyer who had questioned the constitutionality of Vietnam’s “state subversion” law. The lawyer had also apparently been targeted for his defense, in the course of his legal profession, of other lawyers who had been arrested under the same law. The group members will also send these letters individually.

Our next meeting will be on August 25. Please join us if you can. Dan Laxar, Coordinator, Group #531