Tag: Amnesty International

Amnesty International berates Bulgaria over so-called “hate crimes” against refugees/migrants

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

What makes groups like Amnesty International not understand that citizens of a country sooner or later won’t tolerate being invaded—sooner in small relatively poor countries like Bulgaria where citizens see the impact of being overrun more quickly?

Heck, I’ll bet Amnesty has been pretty ticked-off at the US for “invading” Muslim countries.  So, why when Muslims invade a Christian country are the citizens to lie down and take it?

Jezerca Tigani of Amnesty International: “Xenophobic and racist violence will not be tolerated.”

For new readers, click here, for our complete archive on Bulgaria being swamped by mostly Syrians flooding across their border with Turkey.

Amnesty beats on Bulgaria.  Here is the latest news about attacks on migrants in Sofia and Amnesty’s demands (emphasis is mine):

Bulgaria’s authorities must send a clear message that they will take all necessary measures to curb the growing spate of attacks against refugees and migrants on the streets of the capital city Sofia, Amnesty International said.

The call comes after two Syrian men in their 20s and 30s were injured in a violent attack in Sofia’s Zaharna Fabrika district. A third man targeted in the attack reportedly escaped unscathed. This was the seventh such assault on the city’s streets since the beginning of November 2013.

“So far, instead of investigating and bringing the perpetrators of these violent attacks to justice, the Bulgarian authorities have sought to downplay them as run-of-the-mill muggings and crimes. Bulgaria is obliged under international law to thoroughly investigate any possible hate motive behind these crimes. Hate crimes are an affront to human dignity,” said Jezerca Tigani, a Deputy Director of Europe and Central Asia Programme of Amnesty International.

“The Bulgarian authorities must take a clear and public stance that xenophobic and racist violence will not be tolerated. Refugees and migrants must be protected from any further harassment and violence.”

Bulgaria is working on Plan B—secure the border, build a fence, slow the flow:

Separately, the Interior Ministry said that there had been a decrease in the number of people entering Bulgaria seeking refugee status, halving in the past month.

In October, there were 3626 illegal entrants, but in November the number dropped to 1652, according to the Interior Ministry.

The reason for the decrease in the number was intensified border controls and new security measures, the ministry said. An additional 1400 police had been deployed in the border area and construction of a fence at the Bulgarian-Turkish border had started.

Maybe Ms. Tigani could yell at Turkey for allowing the migrants to wander across Turkey and slip into Bulgaria.  International refugee law requires legitimate asylum seekers to apply for asylum in the first safe country they enter—that would be Turkey!

Amnesty International: Migrants are getting shafted around the world

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Funny, isn’t it that many of the countries cited by the London-based Amnesty International in a recent report (that you have to purchase to read) are Muslim countries.  Weren’t we told back in 2009, here, that Muslim charity toward the stranger is the root of refugee law to protect the migrants of the world today?  So how come some Muslim countries are listed among those treating migrants like dirt?

Here is the article, but I really would have liked to see the report.  I don’t see any mention here of how horribly Saudi Arabia treats asylum seekers.  I think groups like Amnesty are too chicken to take on the Saudis.  Or, there is a possibility that the Global Post when publishing this story left out Saudi Arabia because they fear the Saudis.

And, sheesh, why isn’t South Africa mentioned—the ‘rainbow nation’ is giving asylum seekers a hell of a time!

The countries mentioned for their maltreatment of refugees/migrant workers are:   Hong Kong, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Greece, Italy, Northern African governments especially Egypt and Libya.  Also, Sudan, Gabon, the Bahamas, and Ukraine.

Whatever the Bahamas are doing it can’t compare to Saudi Arabia!  But, then Amnesty has no fear of any Bahamian arriving in London to chop off some Amnesty worker’s head.