amnesty
international
71‘
-
3
964
No P61,h,c,1
Pv.so,„
141,
PREEN*
/
//
1/
••
7
.in quotes.••
an amnesty international
publication
Amnest International... In Quotes ...
..0 instrumentof Communistterrorism
- Braziliannewspaper
... in a leading positionamong organisationswhich conduct
anti-Sovietpropaganda"
- Soviet newspaper
...0this imperialistbody"
-Ghanaiannewspaper
Amnesty Internationalis none of these, althoughthe subjectof all the
above charges in recent years.
Amnesty Internationalis a worldwidehuman rights movementwhich is independent
lf any government,politicalfaction or religiouscreed. In its work for prisoners
of conscienceit excludesonly those who have used or advocatedviolence- although
it opposes the use of tortureand death penalty in all cases and without reservation.
The men and women throughoutthe world for whom Amnesty Internationalworks
pro:ess
atarietr
of political,social eccnomicand religiousbeliefs - many often
sharplycontrasting. Amnesty Internationalitself,however, is politicallyand
ideologicallyneutral:it does not defend what people say, only their right to
say it freely.
It is,perhaps, inevitablethat this distinctionis often overlooked. Since
its foundationin 1961 Amnesty Internationalhas been the subject of attack from
nearly every band in the politicalspectrum- right to left - from Eastern bloc,
Western and so-calledThird World.
The follovdngis a selectionof some of the statementsmade about Amnesty
Internationalby newspapersof the world and governmentofficials. The selection
is by no means comprehensive,but we believe it reflectsaccuratelythe broad range
of often criticaland occasionallyfavourablethings that have been said about the
organisationin recent years.
The quotationsare arranged alphabeticallyaccordingto the country of origin.
In each instance the quotationis precededby a line or two about the circumstances
which gave rise to it.
A juxtapositionof some of the commentsmight tell its own story.
Page 3
Page 2
BRAZIL
t
por
-re
ed
itl
ent
ort
Rep
or
maj
a
ued
iss
al
ion
nat
ter
Iri
y
est
Amn
2,
197
ber
tem
Sep
In
s
ist
ror
ter
d
ege
all
of
als
tri
t
uen
seq
Sub
".
zil
Bra
in
e
tur
Tor
of
ns
tio
ega
All
on
of
ry
ist
Min
The
l.
ona
ati
ern
Int
y
est
Amn
h
wit
m
the
k
lin
to
ed
tri
have occasionally
y
est
Amn
all
ore
ign
to
s
per
spa
new
ian
zil
Bra
d
ere
ord
o
als
rd
boa
p
shi
sor
cen
e's
Justic
statementson Brazilianissues.
collectingits facts as fully as possible,and by concentrating
the efforts of its membership... Thus a small group of people
can concern themselvesover one particularprisoner. He can
be told of their interest. This gives him the first thing
every such prisonerneeds - hope •.."
- Editorial,"Behindthe Bars",
The Times, London,December 24, 1968
0
..n the famous 'AmnestyInternational',instrumentof Communist
terrorismwhich, from London, aids guerrillasthroughoutthe
world. This 'Amnesty'promotescampaignsaround the world for
Amnesty terroristcriminalsby means of lies and defamations
against democraticgovernments. It has conducteda systematic
campaign against Brazil, inventingtortures,assassinations
and acts of violence,in order to promote communistobjectives."
;
- 0 Cruzeiro,Rio de Janeiro,
September,1972.
0
..0 a campaignhas been organisedby the organisation'Amnesty
which has been organisingits agenciesin
International',
Europe, as well as other multinationalagenciesthat operate
in Western Europe, in order to agitate public opinion against
Brazilianauthorities..."
I
- Report on trial in Fortalezaof
Manuel Conceicaodos Santos, accueed
of guerrillaactivities,Jornal do
Comercio,September21, 1972.
aM.
0
“... Pauline Reichstul 'Silvana',native of Czechoslovakia...
of the terroristorganisationcalled VSRSP ... Was in league
with 'AmnestyInternational',collaboratingactively in the
defamationcampaign against Brazil undertakenabroad by this
foreign association..."
- Report on six alleged terrorists,
Diario de Pernambuco,Recife,
January 11, 1973.
BRITAIN
ld0
wor
the
in
ers
son
pri
cal
iti
pol
of
s
ber
num
ted
ima
est
the
on
ent
tem
Amnesty sta
the prisonerof conscience,as adoptedby an organisation
such as Amnesty International,is a real object of concern,and
the evidence is that governmentscan sometimesbe shamed into
releasingpeople they hold.
"Amnestyhas done this by behg politicallyimpartial,by
The 10th anniversaryof the foundationof Amnesty Internatiomal.
... Amnesty'scontributionmust be reckoned,however, in
more than the arithmeticof freed prisoners;it is more
enduring and subtler;is found in a network of intangibles;
the dilutionof bitter attitudes;the flares of bope lit in
the minds of the prisoners;the residualmemoriesof past
help in the hearts of the new men of power; the permanent
friendshipsbetween releasedprisonersand Amnesty group
members throughout the world ... Amnesty'simpartiality
brings with it a kind of coolness. Hot heads can't last.
There is too much at stake, in terms of other people's lives,
or impetuous publicity ..."
for tub-thumping,sensation-seeking,
- Pat Williamsin The ObserverMA azine,
May 23, 1971
0
MichaelTobin was adoptedby a Swiss Amnesty Group as a Prisonerof Conscience,
after being sentencedto two year's imprisonmentin Britain for possessionof
rs
die
sol
h
tis
Bri
to
ey
mon
ng
eri
off
ts
fle
lea
n
ica
ubl
Rep
ish
-Ir
pro
of
ies
cop
who desertedor handed over their officers to the IRA.
... Tobin, only the second English prisoner to be.adopted
by Amnesty International,is presumablyseen.asa suitable
candidatefor martyrdom. But the organisation'ssympathyis
Monstrouslymisguided ... Tobin might be as much a fool as a
villain. But he is not worth sheddingany tears over. And
if Amnesty Internationalchampions undeservingcauses like his
it can onlydevaluethe organisation'sefforts to help victims
of repressiveregimes like Russia and Brazil. If Amnesty
Internationalis lookingfor martyrs in the United Kingdom
it might considermore than 100 soldierswho have been
killed in NorthernIreland."
- Editorialentitled "The UnlikelyMartyr"
in The Chatham Rochester& Gillin ham
News, Kent, England,December 8, 1972.
Page
Amnesty report 'PoliticalPrisonersin South Vietnam'.
"The motivesof those who claim to be defendinghuman rights
become suspectwhen they resort to selectiveoutrage. Many
of the charges assembledin the Amnesty report on political
prisonersin South Vietnam are pretty wobbly in themselves.
But the most strikingthing about the report is that only
24 of its 36 pages are devoted to the questionof Vietnamese
civiliansin communisthands. Twice as much space is given to
to charges that South Vietnameseinterrogatorshave used
torture,but there is no hint of the well-established
fact
that the Vietcongcertainlyhave too.
"It is not good enough for the compilerstoexcuse themselves on the ground that there is an 'imbalanceof
informationavailable'- although the fact that it is
easier to find out about tiger cages on Con Son Island
than about what happens to Quang Tri villagerstaken
captive by the North Vietnamesesays a lot about the
differencebetween the two Vietnams. To begin with, there
are few signs that the Amnesty investigatorshave bothered
to check their very limited sources ... Second, the Amnesty
team applies a double standardfor evaluatinginformation
coming from each side ..."
Page 5
GHANA
Statementby Amnesty InternationalSecretaryGeneral,Martin Ennals, expressing
concernat large-scaledetentionwithout trial in Ghana and remindingthe present
head of the regime, I. K. Acheapong,of a number of suggestedimprovementsin
the treatmentof prisonerswhich Amnesty Internationalhad sent him three months
earlier.
"...We know of no previouseffort on the part of Amnesty
Internationalto advise any previousgovernmentcn the
best way of treatingpoliticaldetainees. That this
imperialistbody now feels it its duty to prescribethe
manner in which our present Governmentshould treat
politicaldetaineesnot only amounts to a wanton interference in the internalaffairs of Ghana, but also
proves that Kofi Abrefia Busia, busted head of the
previousgovernment)
is pulling stringssomewhere
within
the frameworkof Amnesty International... Ghana does not
frown on advice but advice of such diabolicnature can
only breed confusionand disaffectionand must therefore
be rejectedoutrightwith deservingcontempt ... Imperialists
offer advice and servicesonly when their selfish ends
are at stake. The Governmentmust be aware of the wolves
that come in sheep's clothing."
....
"NumbersGame", The Economist,
London, July 14, 1973
_
0
Allegationswere made in July 1973 that Portuguesetroops had massacredAfrican
villagersin Mozambique. The widespreadpublicity,which came at the time of
Prime MinisterMarcelloCaetano'sofficialvisit to Britain in connectionwith
the 600th anniversaryof the Anglo-Portuguese
alliance,resulted in a debate on
the questionin the House of Lords.
"Lord WADE: My Lords, would the PortugueseGovernmentallow a
body such as Amnesty Internationalto make an inquiry in a
case such as this? It is preciselythis kind of case where
a body known not to be ideologicallybiased, should, if
possible,be called in. I think that that would set at
rest the uneasinessfelt by a great many people."
- From the officialrecord of the
House of Lords debate, July 11, 1973
GERMAN DEMOCRATICREPUBLIC (EAST GERMANY)
Simultaneouspublicationof
series of Amnesty Internationalreports on prison
conditionsin Portugal,East Germany and other countries.
... The report on Portugalis excellent,but it is absurd
to focus on East Germany,as there are no politicalprisoners
in East Germany;anyone lookingfor violationsof human
rights in that part of the world should concentrateon West
Germany ..."
- BerlinerZeitun , East Germany, 1966
- Editorialentitled '.KeepOut Amnesty°,
in The Weekl S ectator,Accra, Ghana,
November 18, 1972.
-
0
Mr. Ennals'official visit to Ghana in May 1973, when he again raised the question
of detainedmembers of the previousregime and discussedrelief paymentsby Amnesty
InternationalGroups to their families.
...One may ask:.What interestis the Amnesty International
serving? If it is a recognisedinternationalorganisation,
as its name suggests,why does it favour a particulargroup
of politiciansand cannot be bothered about the fate of
others and their families? Can the Amnesty International
be correct in its claim that it pays the familiesof the
detaineesbecause the politiciansare 'prisonersof
conscience'? .0. By its action the Amnesty International
has shown a bias for Busia's followersand has thereby
identifieditself as a dangerousinternationalpolitical
organisationwhich pokes its dirty nose in the affairs of
other countries ..."
- Editorialentitled "Amnestyand Detainees",
The Dail Gra hic, Accra, Ghana, May 7,
1973.,
GREECE
An Amnesty Internationalnews release reportedfrom reliable sources in Athens
that at least nine Greek naval officers involvedin an alleged mutiny attempt
had been tortured.
Page 6
Page 7
"Amnestyhas repeatedlylied and does so shamelessly
again.
The matter is an unbridledand maliciousfigment of
imagination."
- Mr. Byron Stamntopolulos,the Greek
Government'sPress Undersecretary,
quoted in The Athens News, June 8, 1973. 1
"more the nature of interferingin internalaffairs;
but
it can be understoodthey never mention a single word
, but
remain 'silentin a thousandlanguages'about the po
litical
detaineesin communistlands ..."
- Editorialin An2LatanBersen ata,
IndonesianArmy Newspaper,Indonesia,
May 29, 1971,,
HONDURAS
0
An unidentifiedAmnesty Internationalpublication.
"Throughoutthe Western world an organisedcampaignof
attack and slander is being organisedagainst three La
tin
American countries:Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. No
w and
then the emphasisand theme change, but the denuncia
tions
and accusationsare levelledagainst one country afte
r
another. The magnitudeof the operations,the langua
geused,
the front organisationsthat do the denouncing,reve
al the
communistorigins of this campaign,which is construc
ted
along
lines spread recentlythrough fellow-traveller
circles or by useful puppets,and which is financedfr
om
funds originatingin Moscow. For some years, an orga
nisation
calling itself Amnesty International'has existed,wh
ose
mission consistsof publishingeach year a report ab
out
torture inflictedon politicalprisoners ... Accordin
gto
Amnesty International'sreport, torture in Brazil is
not
inflictedby police stooges,but by army generalsan
d
colonels. The accuserspresent no proof of this, an
d
their assertionsboil down to curses, insultsand ab
use,
without any manner of evidence to support the truth of
the
truculentstories containedin the report ..."
- Editorialentitled "The CommunistCampaicl
Against Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay", ;
La Prensa, Honduras,March 23$ 1973.
INDONESIA
Memorandumsent by the Chairman of Amnesty Internatio
nal,Sean MacBride,S.C.,
who had visited Indonesiain October 1974 to the Indo
ne
si
an
Go
ve
rn
mentdrawing
attentionto 90,000 politicalprisonersdetained sinc
e the 1967 coup attempt.
"Sean MacBrideS.C. is the Chairman of Amnesty Intern
ational
and the SecretaryGeneral of the InternationalCommis
sionof
Jurists, a front organisationof the new left, which
has
its seat in London. Their work is to defend politica
l
detainees,especiallythe communistswho are imprison
edin
various countriesoutside the Communistbloc, on the
excuse
of humanitarianism,
human rights and the rule of law, norms
which are customarilynot needed by the communiststh
emselves,
Nevertheless,in order not to be too transparent,no
w and
again they also defend politicaldetaineesfrom noncommunist
trends. Even though they make a fuss about the fate
of
politicaldetainees,in various countries,(what they
do) ihas
An Amnesty Internationalstatementon March 14 urging
Indonesiato free 55,000
civiliansstill detainedwithout trial after seven ye
ars.
... Amnesty is an organisationof juristswhich rath
er
obstinatelyand constantlyfocuses attentionon the
questionof politicaldetaineesin Indonesia... (Its
)
reports to the internationalworld on the situationon
Buru or on the correspondents(involvedin the 1967 co
up
attempt) show that Amnesty has its own specificview
accordingto its own norms, without any readinessto
understandthe history and reasons that have given ri
se
to the problem of politicaldetaineesin Indonesia.
"
- Editorialin Pedoman,Jakarta,
Indonesia,March 17, 1973.
0
"The Hague, March 19 (Antara).
IndonesianAmbassadorto the Netherlands,H. Alamsjah
Ratu Perwiranegara,has said in an interviewwith An
tara'
that the efforts and concern expressedby Amnesty In
ternatinnal
towards the IndonesianGovernmenton tha fate of poli
tical
prisonersshould be welcomedand appreciated.
"... It should also be pointed out that the Indonesi
an
Governmentvery)much.appraciatedthst
e ruggleof Amnesty
Internationalfor the upholdingof humanitarianvalu
es, but
this shouid not only be done by criticismbut also by
conceptionaland materialcontributionsfor the Solu
tiOnof
the problem of improvementof politicaldetaineesin
Indonesia.
Indonesiawill appreciateit very much if efforts
and attentionfrom Amnesty Internationalwould not on
lY be
directed to one country only, but her concern and ef
forts should
should also be directed to other countriesin the wo
rld where
there are politicaldetainees ..."
-
- Interviewcarriedby the Indonesian
news agency Antara on March 19, 1973.
0
Page 8
Page 9
Arief Budiman,one of the most active student leaders in Indonesia,publishedan
article in a leadingweekly news magazineon the subjectof the increasingatte
ntion
being paid outside Indonesiato the questionof its politicalprisoners.
...Why has the problembecome popular now? The reason is
of course that there are individualsor groups that campaign
against it. It can be assumed that they are Communistsor
Communist sympathisersbut there are also those who agitate
about it purely on grounds of humanity. The latter includes
Amnesty Internationalwhich campaignsagainst political
prisonersin Indonesiaand also in other countries,including
the Communistcountries
If the Indonesiangovernmentis hostile to this
organisationand regards it as a Communistgroup, then
this attitudewill bolster the Communistgroups which
campaignfor politicalpurposes. In Europe everybody
knows that Amnesty Internationalis a non-political
organisationwhich is viewed with enmity by both the
Spanish and Greek governmentsand the governmentsin
Eastern'Europe.
.
-
Problem of PoliticalPrisonersand
How to Handle It', by Arief Budiman,
Tempo, June 9, 1973.
NETHERLANDS
A specialreport called IndonesiaSpecial publishedby Amnesty Internationa
l's
Dutch Section in March 1973, containinga detailedand illustratedreview of th
e
history and sufferingof the 55,000 Indonesianciviliansdetainedwithout tria
l
for more than seven years.
"AmnestyInternational,a laudableorganisationthat defends
the rights of politicalprisonersall over the world, is doing
great work with its action for the tens of thousandsof
politicalprisonersin Indonesia.
"This action deserves all-out supportbecause the
only chance for improvementlies in the permanentattention
of the public opinion in Indonesiaand the whole world for
this question.
"In its special publicationon the fate of political
prisonersin Indonesia,Amnesty International-Holland
gives useful and generallyreliable information. It is
regrettable,however, that the role the Communistsplayed
in the coup of 1965, is portrayedrather one-sidedly."
- Het Parool, Amsterdam,March 9, 1973.
- 0 -
MEXICO
General article on the whole issue of politicalimprisonment,by one of the be
st
known journalistsin Latin America.
'In as much as these prisonersof consciencewould not be
in jail if governmentsdid not believe that what they say
... Only one organisationfunctionsin order to defend
prisonersof conscience:Amnesty International... It maintains
solidaritywith the voluntarysectionsof the silent masses
who feel representedby those who have voiced their opinions
and been imprisonedfor doing so, have suffered,and frequently
are untried, exiled or held incommunicado.
To donate one's time or money to Amnesty International
does not necessarilymean that one agrees withuilatsuch and
such a prisonerof consciencemay have expressed,but that
one upholds his right to expression....To persecutesomeone
for voicing his opinions is an injustice. It is, possibly,
the great injusticeof our age and the need to speak out is
probably the greatestnecessityof our times.
Many prisonersof consciencehave either been released,
or their prison conditionsameliorated,or their execution
postponed:thanks to the campaignsof Amnesty International.
Torturersof every kind fear publicity. Amnesty International
uses this one weapon: publicity ...'
-
The Idea as a Crime' article by
Victor Alba, Siem re, May 23, 1973
Widespreaduse of torturein the world and what people can
do about it.
...Everycountry that engages in these activitiesfinds some
committeein Holland which wants to use if for publicity.
Thereforewe prefer the worldwidetype of action of Amnesty
International,an organisationworking beyond ideological
frontiers. People often view it as over-zealous. It is
accused of easy protest from a distance. But it is
indispensiblefor a vital democracy...'
- Editorialentitled "Torture.'Tr
, ouw
Amsterdam,June 5, 1973
NORWAY
Amnesty International's10th anniversary.
"Amnestyis a permanentwarning to the tyrannicalregimes of the world. The politicalprisonersare not going to
be forgotten..In the long run this might influencethe
regimes to-make prison conditionsbetter, or release the
prisoners.
"Becausethe organisationdoes not lean towards
the left or right, and clearly acknowledgesthat tyranny
is nQt limited to one or the other areas in international
politics,this makes it able to speak oUt forecfully...- Editorialin Da bladet, Oslo,
June 1, 1971.
Page 10
Page 11
PORTUGAL
in
y
ass
Emb
e
ues
tug
Por
the
of
nt
fro
in
d
hel
was
n
tio
tra
ons
dem
a
2,
In November,197
io
Mar
Dr,
ty,
Par
c
ati
ocr
Dem
ial
Soc
e
ues
tug
Por
the
of
d
hea
the
by
led
ue,
Hag
The
The
al.
tug
Por
in
ers
son
pri
cal
iti
pol
of
ion
ent
det
the
t
ins
aga
t
tes
pro
to
,
Soares
followingis a commentaryon the Reuter'sreport of the incident.
demonstrationswhich took place in
... The anti-Portuguese
y,
ass
Emb
e
ues
tug
Por
the
of
nt
fro
in
,
ago
k
wee
a
ut
abo
ue
Hag
The
gatheredabout 700 people in a simulated,symbolic 'concentration
camp'. The demonstratorscarried banners callingfor amnesty
for the prisoners.
"This sad, inconceivablespectacle,whose 'star'was
Dr. Mario Soares (Professorat the Universityof Rennes),
was dreamedup by Amnesty International,whose headquarters
are in London and whose brains are in Moscow ..."
- Diario de Noticias,Lisbon, November 19,
1972.
SOMALIA
the
of
t
men
ern
Gov
the
to
ups
Gro
l
ona
ati
ern
Int
y
est
Amn
s
iou
var
by
Letters sent
an
is
ing
low
fol
The
.
ers
son
pri
ali
Som
of
alf
beh
on
ic
ubl
Rep
c
ati
Somali Democr
extract of a stencilledreply sent to the Groups.
... I avail myself of this opportunityto express my
personal amazementat the interestshown by your Organisation
e
olv
inv
nly
tai
cer
ch
whi
es
cas
for
ons
uti
tit
ins
r
ila
sim
and
an interferencein the internalaffairs of the Country,
whereas no evidencecan be found of your equally strong
interest in mobilisingthe world opinion against crimes
which by-pass national frontiers,such as in the case of
South African apartheidor in the case of genocide
affecting- like in Vietnam,Laos, Cambodia,for instancethe future of mankind and world people. I wonder how you
could forget, or rather tried to forget, what is happening
in Guinea Bissau9 Angola, Mozambique,French Somaliland,
Rhodesia,where thousandsand ---sandsof civilians
whether aged people, women or children)
(undiscriminately
are being day after day killed by the colonialists,a
synonym of criminals,just because of sdfeguarding
malignantlytheir sinisterinterests,while denying the
rights of the legitimatepeoplesofAfrica. The same
tragic events are taking place in the Middle East to the
Palestinians.
"Why should you thereforebetray your conscience
and give considerationto the politicalissues, rather
than to these human ones.
"To say the.least,the time and resourcesof your
institutioncould find much better investmentand more
profitablereturns in pleadingfor the removal of such
factors of human hatred and of open violationof the
basic human rights, rather than in moving after and
worrying for the future of a few individualswho have been
taking advantageof their politicalpower to betray their
country and to deceive their poeple.
It
'Hopingthat you will give due and right consideration
to these my reactions,I wish you good luck. May God
illuminateyou to the right and just path.
Yours faithfully,"
- Captain Geilani Sufi Mudhir,
Secretaryto Presidentof the Supreme
RevolutionaryCouncil of the Somali
DemocraticRepublic,August 2:),1972.
SOUTH-AFRICA
me
Pri
to
,
als
Enn
tin
Mar
l,
era
Gen
ary
ret
Sec
l
ona
ati
ern
Int
y
est
Amn
by
Letter sent
ent
lem
ett
res
ced
for
the
t
ins
aga
ng
sti
ote
-pr
ica
Afr
th
Sou
of
r
ste
Vor
n
Joh
er
Minist
of Black Africans.
"Dear Mr. Ennals,
I have been instructedby the Honourablethe Prime
Minister to acknowledgethe receipt of your letter dated
27th July, 1972, and to reply as follows:
"It is interesting,although typicalof Amnesty
International,to note that exceptionis taken to the
resettlementof black people in South Africa but that
the murder of 80,000 black people in the Sudan, and
elsewhere,is apparentlycondonedor shruggedoff.
If you are really concernedabout the lot of
underprivilegedand oppressedpeoples, it is suggested
that you approachcertain prominentmember-states
of the Organisationof African Unity and your friends
behind the iron curtain ...
REPUBLICOF SOUTH VIETNAM
m
tna
Vie
on
e
enc
fer
Con
l
ona
ati
ern
Int
the
ing
urg
ent
tem
sta
l
ona
ati
ern
Amnesty Int
uth
.So
in
ers
son
pri
cal
iti
pol
0
,00
100
ted
ima
est
the
ce
pla
to
a
hin
o-C
Ind
and
Vietnam under United Nations control.
"On Thursday,22nd February,1973, Amnesty International
has issued a news release concerningthe questionof
civilian prisonersin South Vietnam. The Embassy of
Vietnam, while it does not question the good faith of
Amnesty International,deems it necessaryto make the
followingreservationsregarding the memorandumpublished
by that organisationon this subject ... Furthermore,by
urging the InternationalConference,which is mostly
made up of foreign countries,to take action regarding
a purely internalmatter of South Vietnam,well before
the expirationof the above mentionedlimit of 90 days,
Amnesty Internationalshows an unexpecteddisregardof the right
of the South Vietnamesepeople
to self-determination
- Press release issued at specially
convenednews conferenceby the London
Embassy of the Governmentof the
Republicof Vietnam on February 23, 1973.
Page 13
Page 12
Commentingearlier on a related statementby BritishForeign Secretary,Sir Alec
Douglas Home.
SPAIN
Tenth anniversaryof Amnesty International.
':Amnesty
was founded ten years ago 1.. Since then Amnesty
has in fact achievedrenown, althoughnot love, in many
countriesthroughoutthe world. But it has also had its
internalproblems:people who have tried to use the
organisationfor obvious politicalmotives. But, generally
speaking,Amnesty'sbehaviourhas been clearly correct
and its denouncementsimpartial:South African and
Israelis,Englishmen and Indians,Spaniardsand
Russianshave all been subjectedto its statements...'
”... Amnesty Internationalhas producedan authoratativeand
carefullydocumentedreport giving evidenceof the torture
of politicalprisonersin Turkey. It does not attack the
politicalmotives of the Turkish Government,but only its
judicialmethods. Sir Alec expressesno concernfor the
victims but insteadhas the effronteryto tell a Turkish
newspaperthat he deploressuch allegationsbecause they
'encouragedisruptivetendencies'..."
- Editorialin The Observer,London
December13, 1972.
- Judice, Madrid, July-August1971
TURKEY
Amnesty Internationaltwice sent missionstoTurkey in 1972 to investigate
allegationsof tortureof politicalprisoners. The second mission reportedto
a news conferencein London in December 1972 that efforts to see all but one of
32 prisonerson a list previouslyagreed with the Turkish Governmenthad failed.
"Ankara,January 25.
"A group of Conservativemembers of Parliamenttonight
tried to beat up the Chairman of Turkey'smain opposition
party on the House floor as he was accusingthe Prime Minister
of lying on the issue of torture of politicalprisonersin
Turkey.
Mr. Ferit Melen, the Prime Minister,had been telling
Parliamentthat allegationsof tortureby Western newspapers,
'Amnestywhat's-its-nameInternational'and some parliamentarians
at the Council of Europe were part of a simder campaignagainst
Turkey. The accusationswere 'all lies, all false',he said.
"Mr. Bulent Ecevit,Chairman of the RepublicPeople's
Party, rose and shouted: 'You are lying'. He was promptly
attackedby about 15 members of the conservativeNational
Reliance and Democraticparties.
'RPPmembers defended their leader,and curses and
punches were exchangedwith Mr. Ecevit in the middle of the
scrimmage.
"It was Mr. Ecevit who first publiclyalleged the torture
of politicalprisonersin Turkey. Continuinghis rebuttal
today after order was restored,Mr. Melen said that a
representativeof Amnesty Internationalwho had seen
leftist prisonersin Istanbul 'has betrayedus'. Such
a mistake would not be repeated.
... Newspapers,Amnesty Internationaland such
members of Parliamentwho alleged torturewere participants
in 'a campaignof slanderdirected againstTurkey'."
•
- Report in The Times, London,
January 26, 1973
Letter sent by a member of a Swiss Amnesty InternationalGroup to the U.S. Solicitor
General,Mr. Erwin Griswold,urging him to investigatethe case of Larry Cleveland
Vann, imprisonedfor refusingmilitaryservice.
... I am familiarwith Amnesty Internationaland have known
about its useful work in many countries. For that reason, I
am rather puzzled about the rather indiscriminatenumber of
letters which have recentlybeen coming from various places
in Switzerland,and which seem rather obviouslynot to be
based upon the sort of careful groundworkwhich I have
come to associatewith Amnesty International.
... It is my understanding,confirmedby a conversation
with an officialof the Swiss Embassy here, that there is no
provisionin Swiss law for exemptionfrom military service
on the ground of conscienciousobjection. In this situation,
it is particularlypuzzlingto me that many lettersabout
cases such as this should be originatingfrom Switzerland.
I wonder it this representsthe policy of the responsible
officers of Amnesty International,or whether it may be
that some of the groups are off on what we call 'a frolic
of their own' ..."
- Letter from Mr. Griswold,dated July 26,
1972.
-_
0
News conference/panel
discussionheld by the AmericanSectionof Amnesty Internationalon April 30, 1973 to launch its nationaldrive in the Campaign for the
Abolitionof Torture.
"While the flowers ' were blooming in Bryant Park on a nice
spring afternoonlast week, a hundred or so grim-faced
people across the street on the third floor of the Graduate
Center of the City Universityof New York were devoting
nearly three and a half hours to a discussionQE torture.
The meeting was called by Amnesty International,a dogooding organisationwe have long admiredbecause it does
good
- Article in The New Yorker, May 12, 1973
Page 14
-
0 -
Amnesty International'spublication 'PoliticalPrisoners in South Vietnam', and
the Campaign for the Abolition of Torture.
... A sort of Red Cross of political warfare
Amnesty
Internationalmakes an almost sanctimoniouseffort to
remain politicallyneutral; individual cases are carefully
investigatedto prevent the organisatbnfrom being used for
essentiallynonpoliticalcrimes ..."
- 'Amnesty for the Defense
July 99 1973.
Page 15
"In order to distract attention, to misinform the
public, Amnesty International,sends numerous petitions,
appeals, and letters into our country. Truly it is not
by chance that the leaders of Amnesty Internationalare
closely allied with the secret services of the USA and
England."
- Article entitled "Wrong Address, Gentlemen-,
Pravda Ukrain , November 1, 1970, reprinted
in the Diaest of the Soviet UkrainianPreps,
December 1970.
Time Ma azine
__
0
U.S.S.R.
Letters sent by Amnesty InternationalGroups appealing on behalf of various political
prisoners in the Soviet Union. The following article called the letters
"provocative"and the senders -do-gooders".
"..„The persons who send such letters are ordinary clerks
in the local organisationsof this so-called 'Amnesty
International',which even according to the bourgeois
press is in a leading position among organisationswhich
conduct subversive anti-Soviet propaganda.
"In order to appear a philanthropicorganisation,
Amnesty Internationalon all its official stationery
stresses the fact that it is not involved in either
politics or parties. But this camoflauge is destroyed
as soon ap one peers into the sanctum sanctorum and
becomes familiar with that stands behind the splendid
words.
"Amnesty Internationalemerged in England in 1961.
At that time the sadly labelled cold war had already made
some breaches. Imperialist circles began adopting the
most subtle methods of anti-Sovietpropaganda,began
searching for channels of penetration into the socialist
camp.
'Theheadquartersof the new orgaisationwere set up
in London, while subordinate sections and groups were
created in 65 countries. They are not at all concerned
with the racist regirreof apartheid in South Africa, nor
the bloody war of the USA against the Vietnamese people,
nor the persecutionof Catholics by Protestant extremists
in Southern Ireland.
"Instead,Amnesty International,is concerned with
former Banderites,Vlasovites, persons who violate
Soviet laws on religious cults.
"Amnesty Internationaldisseminatesfalsified materials in
in capitalist countries which are expected to convince
the public that believers are persecuted in the USSR, that
in our country the church allegedly to be found in the
catacombs, and so on, In addition, the philanthropists
resort to crude slander.
Parcels and letters sent to Soviet prisoners of conscience confined to mental
hospitals, and publicity on the subject. The reference to issue No. 64 of
Izvestia concerns an unfounded allegation that Amnesty Internationalhad used
the signaturesof Danish Communists without their permission.
"Especiallyzealous is the notorious 'AmnestyInternational',
whose unscrupulousmethods we have already related to you
in the pages of Izvestia (no. 64). One of the reports of
the British Section of this organisationstates that
representativesof the intelligensiain the Soviet Union
are sent off to psychiatrichospitals 'withoutany trial'.
Tales of 'psychiatricisolation cells for healthy persons'
are unfailingly accompanied by a hypocriticalrefrain from
'martyrs',condemned, apparently, to spend the rest of their
days behind impenetrablewalls. In reality, we are dealing
with persons who have committed socially dangerous actions
while of unsound mind, or who have, during the course of the
investigation,the trial,or after the sentence has bean passed,
become mentally ill, thus making it impossible for themselves
to take account of their own actions or control them ... The
Western ideological saboteurs who babble all kinds of rubbish
about mentally ill persons, do not even notice what a ridiculous
position they are putting themselves in ...
- Article in Izvestia, entitled -Zealots
of Falsehood in the Slough of Slander",
signed by K. Bryantsev, October241 1971.
_
0
Inquiry by West German Group of Amnesty asking for informationabout Ukrainian
author Taras Myhal who was mistakenly thought to have been arrested. Mynal,
who wrote a number of pamphlets attacking Ukrainian nationalism and who is alleged
to be a member of the KGB, heard of the inquiry and published an indignant reply
in pamphlet form.
"The Amnesty InternationalOrganisationwas founded in the
first place to carry out anti-Soviet propaganda,by means
of treachery and hypocrisy (and) beneath the mask of
Pharisaic charity and humanity, to penetrate with the
Page 16
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53
August 1973