Lantos Foundation Presents the Film, “Crossing”

A Gripping Glimpse Into Human Rights Atrocities in North Korea

April 22, 2011-The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice along with the University of New Hampshire School of Law’s Social Justice Institute will present the movie “Crossing,” an unforgettable film depicting the ongoing human rights abuses taking place in North Korea.

The film, called a “Schindler’s List for North Korea,” by the Wall Street Journal, will be shown at 6pm on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at Red River Theatres in Concord. Admission is free, however reservations are suggested.

“Crossing,” Korea’s 2008 Official entry for Oscar’s Best Foreign Language film is a riveting film based on true stories concerning the dire human rights situation in a divided Korea. It is a bold, raw and unforgettable story of a young North Korean boy who dares to cross the border in search of his father. It is a story North Korea does not want told.

Prior to the film, a discussion regarding human rights abuses in North Korea and the  impact on international relations will take place with special guests, Ambassador Robert R. King, Special Envoy for North Korea, Chuck Downs, Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, Dean John Broderick from the University of New Hampshire School of Law and Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation.

“The ‘Hermit Kingdom’ of North Korea, goes to extraordinary lengths to hide the shocking truth about the starvation, repression and cruel imprisonment of its own people. There are few countries on the face of the earth, where human rights abuses are as massive and systemic as in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” said Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation. “The Lantos Foundation hopes that this screening and unforgettable movie, “Crossing,” will educate people and inspire them to get involved on behalf of the suffering people of North Korea.”

Both Ambassador Bob King and Chuck Downs will be available after the film for questions.

This important movie presentation is part of the ongoing efforts of the Lantos Foundation to raise the level of consciousness in the local community about human rights abuses in the world.

Lantos Foundation Urges Retraction of Flawed Goldstone Report

April 8, 2011-The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice is urging Richard Goldstone to retract his flawed report to the United Nations condemning Israel’s action during the Gaza War.  In an opinion piece written for the Washington Post last week, Goldstone acknowledged that portions of his report about Israel intentionally targeting civilians during the Gaza War of 2008-2009 were not true.

“Many of us believed at the time that the controversial Goldstone Report was issued, that its conclusions were outrageous, slanderous, and without foundation,” said Annette Lantos, Chairman of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice. “Given the historic mistreatment of Israel at the hands of the United Nations and its auxiliaries, the Goldstone Report stood as one more example of disturbing bias toward the State of Israel by those who claim to speak for the world community.”

Though admitting that the report contains false information, Goldstone, a former South African Judge says he will not ask the U.N. Human Rights Council to dismiss the report.

Annette Lantos, widow of former Congressman Tom Lantos, the only survivor of the Holocaust elected to Congress and former Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says she joins with others calling on the United Nations to cancel the Goldstone Report.

“While I am gratified that Mr. Goldstone has disavowed his earlier report, the damage caused by the fundamentally flawed Goldstone report cannot be so easily wiped clean,” said Lantos.

Lantos Foundation Applauds Release of Popular Cameroonian Singer

April 8, 2011- The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice is pleased to learn of the early release of popular Cameroonian singer songwriter Lapiro de Mbanga, who had been held as a political prisoner in Cameroon for nearly three years.  Mbanga, who was scheduled to be released tomorrow, was released earlier today.

The 52-year old performer is known for his satirical lyrics, which criticize corrupt politicians and address social and economic injustice in Cameroon. It is believed Mr. Mbanga’s arrest was prompted by “Constipated Constitution”, a song he says he wrote to explain Cameroon’s troubles, in which he calls his country “a paradise for corruption”.

With the help of a Front-Line Fund grant from the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice and other human rights organizations, Lapiro was able to travel last month to the capital city of Yaounde and appear before the Cameroon Supreme Court. Though his appeal of the charges against him was denied, the court did set an April 9, 2011 release date. It is unknown why Mbanga was released a day early.

Although Lapiro de Mbanga is little known in the United States, his voice has echoed loud and clear in his native Cameroon as one who is unafraid to challenge corruption and injustice,” said Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice. “We are thrilled to learn of this early release and are gratified to have been able to support his stand on behalf of human rights in his country.”

The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice established the Front-Line Fund grant program to advance the cause of human rights in American foreign policy and to be a vital voice standing up for the nation’s most important values of decency, dignity, freedom and justice throughout the world.

Lantos Foundation Calls For Release of Chinese Dissident

The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice is in agreement with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in demanding the Chinese Government immediately release Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng. A judgment by the U.N. Working Group, issued in July, held that the imprisonment and reported torture of Zhisheng is a flagrant violation of international law. That judgment was made public yesterday by Freedom Now, the human rights legal advocacy organization that filed the U.N. petition on Gao's behalf.
 
In 2001, Mr. Gao was listed by the Chinese Ministry of Justice as one of the top ten lawyers in China. However, when he turned his legal skills to the defense of persecuted religious minorities he became a target of persecution himself.  Mr. Gao has been repeatedly imprisoned and tortured by Chinese authorities, and since April, 2010 he has been held incommunicado.
 
According to Freedom Now, a Lantos Foundation Front Line Fund grant recipient, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has had no response to the U.N. Rights Group’s July judgment.
 
Writing in yesterday's New York Times, Geng He, Mr. Gao's wife, warns that the Chinese government is using the turmoil in the Middle East as an opportunity to further tighten its iron grip on human rights activists while the world’s attention is diverted elsewhere.  Dr. Katrina Lantos-Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice said, "At a time when a historically unprecedented movement for human rights and democracy is sweeping through repressive nations of the Middle East and North Africa, the United States cannot close its eyes to the brutal crackdown by Chinese authorities against brave human rights leaders like Gao Zhisheng. We welcome the judgment of the U.N. Working Group and call on President Obama to ask for the immediate release of a true human rights hero, Mr. Gao Zhisheng.

The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice seeks to strengthen the role of human rights in American foreign policy and to be a vital voice in standing up for our nation’s most important values of decency and dignity. Through our Front Line Fund Program we support human rights defenders across the globe. We are pleased to support the outstanding work of Freedom Now.

Visit Freedom Now's website.

Lantos Foundation Concerned that Hearings Target Muslim Americans

Organization continues work of Congress' only Holocaust Survivor

On Thursday, March 10, the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security will begin hearings on “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response”. Extremism of all varieties is a legitimate concern to all Americans. Individuals obsessed with hatred of other groups pose a threat not only to the targets of that animosity, but also to the fabric of our society. Over the years we have witnessed tragic instances in which such bigotry has led to attacks on the basis of religion, race, national origin, political persuasion, sexual orientation, and the exercise of constitutional rights. A congressional inquiry into this broad recurring problem would have our wholehearted support.

But the proposed hearing is targeted at only a single group. That narrow focus suggests that extremism only warrants congressional attention if it occurs among Muslims. Comments made by the Committee Chairman who organized this hearing suggest that radicalization is running rampant among American Muslims as a group. If a committee chair proposed a hearing on "Disloyalty of Catholics," "Racial Hatred by Evangelical Christians," or "Jewish Bankers and the Financial Collapse," there would be widespread and vigorous condemnation.

We must remember that Muslim Americans are not our enemies. They are our friends, our neighbors, our colleagues, and our children's playmates. They are members of our armed services fighting for the rights and freedom of all Americans. They came to the United States for the same reason that we and our families came to these shores, seeking a better life in a nation where all faiths enjoy religious liberty. They are entitled to the same rights and dignity of all Americans, including the right to be judged on their own conduct, not on the basis of religious prejudices or based on the misdeeds, however heinous, of a handful of fanatics who adhere to a very different view of the Muslim faith.

While it is the constitutional right of any individual to espouse far-fetched sweeping generalizations about Muslims or any other group, Congress should be held to a higher standard. We are concerned that at a time when intolerance toward Muslims is already cause for concern, that our leaders not take actions that reinforce such intolerance. This hearing has the potential of conveying to the public the impression that American Muslims as a group are indeed a radical, disloyal, and dangerous sect. We would urge Chairman King as a member of the Congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission to conduct these hearings in a manner that will not lead to the demonization of millions of Americans based solely on their religious faith. Mr. King’s late colleague Congressman Tom Lantos was the only survivor of the Holocaust ever elected to Congress, and he knew from tragic personal experience the dangers that can result when society singles out a particular religious community for condemnation.

America is a nation founded and built in substantial measure by men and women fleeing religious persecution. Huguenots came here to avoid persecution in France. Catholics, Quakers, and Puritans sought to escape intolerance in England. Jews immigrated to avoid discrimination in many lands. Bahai fled abuse in Iran. We would betray the principles in which they believed, and the promise of religious liberty enshrined in the Bill of Rights, if we were we to permit on our own shores, the sort of invidious religious stereotypes that we know full well will incite religious intolerance. The next time a mosque is burned, or a Muslim is attacked, it will be too late to explain that no one actually intended fear of Muslims to get that out of hand.

Lantos Foundation Mark the Anniversary of International Women's Day

March 8, 2011-On the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice applauds the role that women in Muslim countries are playing on the front lines of the new movement toward democracy in Egypt and beyond.

“It is remarkable that one young woman, 26-year old Asmaa Mahfouz could start a movement on Facebook that would play a major role in galvanizing the pro-Democracy movement that has had such a profound effect on governments throughout the region,” said Dr. Katrina Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice.

Mahfouz made a plea for democracy that was uploaded to YouTube which was shared on Facebook. Within days the video went viral.

“As new democracies are born, the importance of the full and equal inclusion of women must be a priority of American foreign policy vis-à-vis these nations. The Lantos Foundation is committed to the cause of women’s rights in the Middle East, Afghanistan and around the world. Those countries that fail to protect the rights of women and girls cannot be considered full partners in the advancement of human rights,” Swett said.

“In the memorable words of Hillary Clinton during the 1995 Beijing Conference, “Human rights are women’s rights-and women’s rights are human rights.”

Lantos Foundation reacts to events in Egypt

The demonstrations in Egypt are vivid reminders that the United Sates Government cannot afford to ignore and excuse the human rights abuses engaged in by our allies. Unfortunately, that is how we have dealt with Egypt for 30 years.

In 2004, Congressman Lantos offered a crucial amendment to the Foreign Aid bill that would have cut 570 million dollars in military aid to Egypt and instead diverted those resources to economic assistance and support for democratic reform. Tragically, the Administration mobilized all its resources to defeat Congressman Lantos’ amendment. At the time they issued dire warnings about the risk of angering an important Middle East ally.

As we now face the specter of one of the most important countries in the region falling into dangerous and chaotic instability, the wisdom of Tom Lantos’ proposal is clear. The Middle East and the world would be safer today had the U.S. Government used its influence and leverage towards meaningful economic and human rights reforms.

Congressman Lantos understood the hard realities of the world as it is, but he also understood that in the long run, America’s interests would be best served by a foreign policy that reflected our values and stood up for human rights and justice.

We call upon the government of Egypt to respect the rights of its citizens by moving rapidly to respond to their legitimate demands for reform. We also urge our leadership to show strong support for those forces that are seeking responsible democratic and economic change in Egypt. America must not miss this opportunity to be on the right side of history.

History Will Judge Khodorkovsky Innocent, Putin Guilty

Statement from Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice

“The conviction and sentencing of Mikhail Khodorkovsky on false and absurd charges is disturbing evidence of a return to the ‘bad old days’ in Russia. Khodorkovsky is a victim of a political prosecution directed by Vladimir Putin in an effort to punish and silence one of his most fearless and forceful critics.
Many of us had high hopes that President Medvedev would take meaningful steps to reverse the decline in respect for human rights and the rule of law that has been so evident in Russia in recent years. Unfortunately the outcome of the Khodorkovsky/Lebedev trial has dashed those hopes. Furthermore the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement that outsiders should ‘mind their own business’ in the Khodorkovsky matter is reminiscent of the Soviet days when efforts to uphold international human rights commitments were attacked as an intrusion on Russia’s sovereignty.

The Lantos Foundation calls on governments, human rights organizations, and individuals around the world speak up against this legal travesty. Putin needs to know that while he may be able to control the Russian judiciary, he cannot protect himself from being properly convicted in the court of public opinion for this clear abuse of power. The verdict of history will find that Mikhail Khodorkovsky was a man who came to recognize the inestimable value of true democracy, human rights, and transparency, and he was willing to put his freedom and his life on the line to defend these values. As for Vladimir Putin, unless he changes course, his reputation and legacy—like those of others before him—will be found on the ash heap of history.”