From: aws@iti.org (Allen W. Sherzer)
Subject: Re: "Free elections" indeed
Organization: Evil Geniuses for a Better Tomorrow
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 21:18:30 GMT

In article <1992Aug17.233941.13499@mcshub.dcss.mcmaster.ca> bunker@physun.physics.mcmaster.ca (Alex Bunker) writes:

>Brett this is a falshood. I do not know about americas watch but
>I KNOW Amnesty International had NOTHING NEGATIVE to say about the election.

Man you guys never learn. Here is what AI does have to say:

   Amnesty International's concerns include trials of political prisoners
   which fell short of internationally accepted standards; the detention
   of prosoners of conscience; the detention of political prosoners after
   their sentences has expired; and the prolonged incommunicado detention of
   political prisoners in the cousody of the DGSE, Department of State 
   Security...

   ... However many supporters of legal political parties, trade union
   organizations, and other bodies opposing government policies where
   detained for questioning for periods ranging from several hours to
   over one month in incommunicado detintion, before being released without
   charge. AI believed that a pattern of harassment emerged from the
   detention of  trade union members and other suspected opponents of the 
   government for short periods of quesitoning. Many such detainees 
   subsequently reported being threatened that they would be detained
   again for prolonged periods under the public order law if they did not
   assist the security forces or resign from certain lawful organizations...

   ...some local supporters of lawful opposition groups and independent
   community organizations where imprisoned without trial for six months
   or more after being sentenced for alleged petty offences by police 
   magistrates.... One prisoner sentences by such procedures whose case
   was being investigated by AI vas Vicente Aleman who was detained on 24
   October, 1983 after taking part in a neighbourhood meeting which was
   attacked and broken up by members of a pro-government political
   organization. Although not formally charged, he was apparently arrested
   for trying to defend participants in the meeting. He was then sentenced
   by a police magistrate to six months imprisonment, reportedly without
   having been present at a hearing, without having ahd access to a lawyer,
   and without having been formally informed of the precice charges against
   him.

         -- Amnesty International Report, 1984 page 178 to 181


For now I'll leave out the details of the Sandinista death squads and
the torture. But I can't help but wonder just why people think the
election was fair when this was going on?

>Then the Reagan propoganda machine went
>into full gear spreading lies which were successful since

So I guess Amnesty International is part of the Reagan propaganda machine.

>many such as yourself are either stupid enough to believe them or
>malicious enough to spread. 

So readers and supporters of Amnesty International are stupid and
malicious.

>Amnesty international got on the
>Sandanistas case for acts like exiling priests and shutting down
>the opposition newspaper for a matter of months. 

They did a lot worse than that, but they you would need to actually
READ the reports to hear about them.

>These are the LIMIT of what they did 

So how do you explain the above?

>and are quite understandable (though not
>commendable) considering they were undergoing a foreign backed
>terrorist insurgency on their own soil. 

Hmmm... When the Sandinistas where opposing Somoze THEY where a foreign
backed insurgency. So do you then consider Somoza's actions 'understandable'?

How about El Salvador? They also have one of those foreign backed
insurgencys going on.

>  what bothers me is that if it was not for the few of us who 
>know something about these issues there would be no stopping these

Ah yes your the lone protector of truth. Faithfully reading the Amnesty
International reports and filtering out the facts which should be
ignored.

>I used to work for a Canadian member of parliament maintaining

So he had no greater regard for truth than you do.

I mean this is understandable from Harel. It's a reflex and he can't
help it. But you, who claim to have done research, should know better.

  Allen

-- 
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Allen W. Sherzer | "If they can put a man on the Moon, why can't they     |
|  aws@iti.org     |  put a man on the Moon?"                               |
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