Arms Trade Treaty - April 2013
For over 10 years the Amnesty Cardiff Goup has supported the campaign for a global arms treaty. Since 2003 we have sent letters, signed petitions and, in my case, worn a Rheolwch Arfau t-shirt (Control Arms in Welsh!) as part of the joint campaign by Amnesty, Oxfam and the other members of the Control Arms coalition.
Successive UK governments have been a strong voice of support and in April 2013, the United Nations finally voted in favour.
Now the battle is on to get 50 countries to sign the treaty to bring it into international law. It really feels like the home straight now!
Ian Cobain talk - February 2013
In February 2013 the Amnesty Cardiff Group joined forces with the Cardiff University Group for our largest ever meeting, with guest speaker Ian Cobain of the The Guardian. Over 150 people filled a lecture theatre in Cardiff University Law School to hear Ian talk about Britain's use of torture from WWII to the present day, based on the research for his book Cruel Britannia: A Secret History of Torture.If you haven't read the book, I recommend that you do!
Lend a Hand for Burma - March 2012
On Saturday 24th March 2012, volunteers from the Cardiff Amnesty Group, university and local schools groups joined forces to call for the release of Burma's political prisoners. We did this by asking the public to give us a hand - literally - by drawing around their hand and signing our petition wall. Hundreds of people signed and our wall and many were photographed showing their support.On May 31st Stuart, chair of the Cardiff Group, took the petition to London, where he met Costa (our former secretary) to present it to the Burmese Embassy. Unfortunately (but not unexpectedly) the embassy refused to accept the petition.
Fortunately we had come prepared with a camera and a letter explaining our visit, so we took some photos and left the petition and letter on the embassy doorstep.
Photos of the day are on our Flickr page.
Where is Djamel? - May 2010
For several years we have worked on behalf of Djameleddine (Djamel) Fahassi, a journalist and married man, with one daughter, who was just 4 months old when he disappeared in Algeria on 6 May 1995. He was arrested outside a café in the district of al-Harrach (suburb of Algiers) by 3 men with walkie-talkies. He was forced into a car and has not been seen since. Our focus has been three-fold:
- to write to the Algerian authorities to try to get information about Djamel, what happened to him, and where he is now;
- to try to draw attention in this country to the situation in Algeria;
- to support Djamel's family in their fight for the truth.
We are in regular contact with
Djamel's wife, Safia, who is a member of a group of people in Algeria
who all have 'disappeared' relatives or friends. Her e-mails paint a picture
of everyday life and tireless campaigning which remain a constant inspiration
for those working on his case. On 8th May 2010, to mark the 15th anniversary of Djamel's disappearance, we held an event in Cardiff city centre to publicise his case. We collected over 650 signatures and 100 photographs of shoppers with a "Where is Djamel banner" which we sent to the Algerian embassy and to Safia to encourage her in her work. Even First Minister Carwyn Jones supported the petition and had his photo taken!
Before the event we received an e-mail from Safia saying:
"What you are planning to do for my husband is wonderful. I'll be doing the same thing in Algeria. I appreciate your help in sending me the petition and all that you will be doing so far in the anniversary."
Safia
Fahassi, May 2010
Click here to see more photos
