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2024 Suppressed News


nightslantern
suppressed news
concerned with the prevention of genocide
by john bart gerald
graphics by julie maas

               

2025

February 4, 2025

 

     Democratic Republic of Congo: "Congo: do we trace genocide to human hatred or corporate profit?"

 

February 2, 2025

     Belize on January 30, 2025, formally filed a declaration of intervention with an application to intervene at the International Court of Justice in the case of South Africa v. Israel. The government of this small Central American country asserts its intention that "Israel is held accountable for its violations of the Genocide Convention; its interest in ensuring that the authors of genocide do not enjoy impunity; and its interest in the prevention, suppression and punishment of genocide.” The filing follows those of Cuba, Ireland, Nicaragua, Columbia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, Spain, Turkey, Chile, the Maldives, Bolivia. As prevously noted South Africa first filed its case December 29, 2023, substantially verified and affirmed in its Memorial of October 28, 2024..

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January 24, 2025

"Some Political Prisoner Updates"

 

 

January 20, 2025

      U.S.: This is Martin Luther King Jr. day in the U.S.. A tension remains between official "respect" for Dr. King, his words, his wisdom, his intentions, and the hard evidence that he was put to death by Government assassination, as exposed by the King Family attorney, Dr. William Francis Pepper. On one hand in 2015, 8000 Selma to Montgomery marchers from 1965 were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal - one of the two highest U.S. civilian awards, as the "Foot Soldiers" of the people's right to vote. In our family there were three who were there in 1965, Elmer Maas, my wife's uncle [ed. note: Elmer who went south with another group is better known as one of the founders of the Plowshares Movement with the Berrigan brothers - they would hammer in protest on nuclear warheads; a bit in awe of him I didn't presume to include him when I previously mentioned this in 2017], Michael Shields her first husband, and me. I was a Movement march marshal - with orange armbands we 'marshals' were buffers between our fellow marchers and the countryside, and on entering Montgomery a body shield for Dr. King. Then five of us whites heading home were falsely arrested, death-threatened, jailed, which began a pattern of harassments for years, false arrests, beatings, etc..

 

 

January 14, 2025

      Cuba: on January 10th Cuba formally filed a declaration of intervention with the International Court of Justice in the case of South Africa v. Israel. Affirming its particpation in the Convention on Genocide the Cuban filing takes pains to explain at length Cuba's interpretation of the Convention. The filing currently is available only in French at the ICJ website: Déclaration d'Intervention de la République de Cuba à la Cour Internationale de Justice (Afrique du Sud c. Israël) 8 janvier 2025. Cuba's declaration follows Ireland's last week, which followed declarations of or requests for intervention in the case by Nicaragua, Columbia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, Spain, Turkey, Chile, the Maldives, Bolivia (Previous). Belgium and Egypt have declared an intention to join South Africa's case.

 

 

January 9, 2025

      Ireland: Ireland has officially filed a declaration of intervention in South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, joining Nicaragua, Columbia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, Spain, Türkiye, Chile, the Maldives, Bolivia. (See previous ). South Africa first filed its case December 29, 2023, substantially verified and affirmed in its Memorial of October 28, 2024.. Remarkably Ireland's declaration loosens the criteria for proving "intention," which the U.S. has insisted on since signing of the Convention in 1948. "Ireland formally joins ICJ genocide case against Israel," Jan 7, 2025, The Cradle; "Ireland joins genocide case against Israel at International Court of Justice," Max Saltman, Jan. 7, 2025, CNN; "Declaration of intervention of Ireland," Doc. #192-20250106-INT-01-00-EN, Jan. 6, 2025, International Court of Justice.

 

      Montreal: "An Absence of Humanity in Gaza." Some attempts in Canada and the U.S. to stop the genocide by legal means.

 

      New York City: The New York Times has rejected advertising paid for by the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers) calling for an end to Israel's genocide in Gaza. AFSC is currently providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. See AFSC's Gaza Emergency Relief. AFSC was able to present a consistent antiwar resistance throughout the U.S. war on Vietnam. Partial sources: "New York Times rejects Quaker ad for calling Israel's actions 'genocide'," Layne Mullett, Jan. 8, 2025, AFSC; "'Outrageous': NYT Rejects Paid Ad From Quakers That Calls Israeli Attack on Gaza 'Genocide'," Eloise Goldmith, Jan, 8, 2025, Common Dreams.

 

 

 

2024 suppressed news

 

 

A branch that comes from violence will not take root;
for a blighted root is on sheer rock, like reeds by the
banks of a river, which are dried up before any grass; but
kindness, like eternity, will never be cut off, and faithfulness
will be established forever
- from Ben Sira
(Dead Sea Scrolls Bible, Abegg et al)

 

at first posting in 2002 this bulletin board was for emergency protests, attempts to counter
genocide, anti-war information, which were suppressed in the media; my interest remains in
how a society is moved into what have become genocidal wars, and how people are able to
resist... it becomes a kind of history in motion and a way to counter enforced forgetfulness,
the lies that say these things never happened, or that there is nothing wrong with the murders
of hundreds of thousands of innocents in other countries, or the continuing move toward
eradication of the poor by death, in north america; this account is against forgetfulness. - jbg
2008 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


by john bart gerald
graphics by julie maas
guest contributions as noted
February 4, 2025