Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Amnesty International’s Salil Shetty: Arms Embargo, Human Rights Monitors Needed for Syria Crisis

Democracy Now!

"The death toll in Syria has reportedly topped 7,500 after 11 months of the government’s crackdown on anti-government protesters and armed rebels. Activists say more than 250 people have died in the past two days alone — mostly from government shelling in Homs and Hama province. We speak with the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Salil Shetty, who is due to discuss Syria withU.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. "The Syrian government needs to stop the bombardment," Shetty says, noting Amnesty International has not called for the use of force. "The immediate issue is about allowing unfettered access to independent human rights monitors. It’s [also] to stop the arms flow, because the arms embargo which we’ve been calling for for a long time has not happened." Shetty also discusses the crackdown on freedom of expression in Iran during the run up to this week’s parliamentary elections, human rights in Egypt, and Amnesty International’s campaign for an effective global Arms Trade Treaty....."

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