Prom Cancelled Over Same-Sex Date Issue

Prom Cancelled Over Same-Sex Date Issue

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MISSISSIPPI, United States – A Mississippi high school canceled their spring formal prom after prohibiting a lesbian student from bringing her girlfriend to the event.  The School Board canceled the prom after the American Civil Liberties Union asked the school to rescind their initial ruling.

Constance McMillen is an eighteen year old high school student at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Northern Mississippi.  The controversy began when McMillen stated that she was going to bring her girlfriend, a sophomore at the school, to the prom and also wear a tuxedo.  After her proclamation, school administrators posted fliers around the school stating the same-sex dates were not allowed at the prom.  McMillen then contacted the Mississippi division of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).  The ACLU asked the school district to reconsider its position on same-sex dates.  The school district then canceled the entire prom.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of McMillen on Thursday.  According to the suit, McMillen argues that by not allowing her to bring a date of her choosing and by canceling the prom, the school district violated her First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

McMillen’s lawsuit and story has gained enormous attention.  She has received great support from many gay-rights activists as well as civil rights groups and supporters.  She was greatly appreciative of the support she has received all around the country.  Some supporters offered to host a prom at their businesses.  For example, Sean Cummings, a hotel owner in New Orleans, offered his hotel as a place to hold the prom free of charge.  He also offered to provide transportation to the students attending the event at his establishment.

Conservative groups supported the school board’s decision.  They believe that the issue is another way in which same-sex couples are trying to become legally recognized.  They disagree with this position. Attorney Stephen Crampton of the Liberty Counsel, a conservative social policy agency, stated; “The district might be motivated by a desire to prevent the ultimate conduct that is presumptively illegal in this state.”  Mississippi is the only state that still has an anti-sodomy law, even though it is not enforced.

For more information, please see:

CBS News – Lesbian Teen Speaks Out on Cancelled Prom – 12 March 2010

USA Today – Prom offers flood in for Mississippi students – 12 March 2010

ACLU – Mississippi High School Insists on “Straights-Only” Prom – 11 March 2010

Christian Science Monitor – Constance McMillen takes fight over same-sex prom date to court – 11 March 2010

Two Million Zimbabweans Need Food Aid

By Kylie M Tsudama

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Red Cross Sees Food Crisis in Zimbabwe

HARARE, Zimbabwe – According to the Red Cross, nearly 2.2 million people are in need of food aid.  That number is set to rise due to expected food shortages caused by the poor harvest this year.

Because of poor rains, many crops did not harvest soon enough.  At least eleven percent of the maize crop planted in the 2009/2010 season has been “declared a complete write-off,” according to agency reports.  Maize is a staple crop in Zimbabwe.

“In some parts of the country, the food situation is as bad as many of our volunteers and staff have ever seen it,” said Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society Emma Kundishora.  “In Masvingo, for example, the rains didn’t come in time and the crops have already died.”

In December 2009, the International Red Cross appealed for 38.4 million Swiss francs (33.2 million US dollars) to continue its food operations.  The group is short, however, nearly $25 million.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe blamed the new farmers for the bad harvest, saying that they failed to obtain the proper irrigation for their crops.  Mugabe’s critics, however, blame the President because of land reforms that took white-owned farm lands and gave them to black people “to resettle blacks kicked off their land during British colonization.”  Critics believe that the reforms caused the best lands to be unharvested and gave farmlands to people who were unprepared to harvest them.

The food crisis is especially hard for those that are sick, especially those with HIV.  People affected with the virus are more needy for the nutrients in food, which keep their strength up.

“Hunger is an especially brutal experience for these people. In recent years, for example, we have seen many people default on their anti-retroviral treatment because the drugs are too toxic without food,” Kundishora said.

Zimbabwe was once called “the breadbasket of Africa,” offering much of the country’s food supply.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Two Million Need Food Aid in Zimbabwe: Red Cross – 11 March 2010

CBC News – Failed Harvest Deepens Zimbabwe Food Crisis – 11 March 2010

VOA – Red Cross Says 2.2 Million Zimbabweans Need Food Aid as Poor Harvest Looms – 11 March 2010

China to Impose News Reporting Mandates

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – China’s top print media censor is to introduce a new qualification exam for aspiring journalists this year in a push to tighten up on control of media. China has limited to an even greater extent, the abilities of journalists to report in an effort to further retrain freedom of the press, and rights of expression China will toughen requirements for reporters by launching a new certification system. Now, the Chinese government has implemented a new training system which requires journalists to be familiar with Marxist and communist theories of news.

Chinese officials already routinely censor journalists, but Chinese media has become less restricted in recent years as they have gained more revenue from independent sources as a result of advertising. Government censors keep a tight grip on news content and routinely ban reporting on issues deemed too politically sensitive or destabilizing, and many media outlets in China serve as mouthpieces for the state. Recent efforts, however, have sought to hamper such an outlet.

One theory of the reporting system advocates that the media serve as communicative reinforcement of the government’s political views rather than as a watchdog to report non-bias news about the country’s leadership and international happenings.

It is believed that the reporting initiative is only directed towards journalists operating on the mainland.

Often times, journalists are not only restricted in what they can cover for news stories, they are punished. For instance, in 2008, Li Changqing, a journalist awarded with the World Association of Newspapers Golden Pen of Press Freedom for reporting on an outbreak of dengue fever in Fuzhou province in 2004 before authorities had admitted it. Chinese authorities imposed Li with a jail sentence, and was forced to spend three years in prison.

According to Li, “Comrades who are going to be working on journalism’s front lines must learn theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics and be taught Marx’s view on news, plus media ethics and Communist Party discipline on news and propaganda.”

Despite the current fury by the government to fully control Chinese culture by limiting news sources to primarily all communist based reporting, several journalists are voicing their opinion before all non-communist communication mediums are closed off.

For more information, please see:

Chicago Tribune – China orders reporters trained in Marxist, communist theory to weed out politically incorrect – 11 March 2010

People’s Daily – Minister: China officials must report assets – 11 March 2010

The Guardian – China orders journalists to retrain in communist theory – 11 March 2010

South China Morning Post –  Journalists must face new exam – 11 March 2010

Afro-Colombian Displacement

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Photo Courtesy of UNHCR
Photo Courtesy of UNHCR

BOGOTA, Colombia-A U.N. independent expert on minority issues has urged the Colombian government to address the displacement, dispossession, poverty, and violence against Afro-Colombian, Black, Raizal, and Palenquero individuals and communities. The expert cited “woefully inadequate” implementation of equal rights legislation.

Collective titles were granted to almost ninety percent of Afro-Colombian ancestral lands, yet many communities are “displaced, dispossessed and unable to live on or work their lands . . . the laws say all the things but still, nothing has happened.”

Investigations by the U.N. Human Rights Council revealed that many Afro-Colombians are displaced by “mega projects,” or large-scale multinational business developments with government promotion. The communities are converned about the encroachment on their lands and environmental degradation. The U.N. expert called these rights “inconvenient rights.”

Other important issues discussed by the U.N. expert include, discrimination against Afro-Colombians, women, the displaced, and the poor leading to “extreme vulnerability.”

The Colombian government has a joint plan with the UNHCR and local aid groups to aid internally displaced people. Afro-Colombians living on the border with Ecuador and in coastal settlements are continuously being displaced. The department of Narino has the highest level of displacement, as indigenous people have been forced out at a higher rate than the Afro-Colombians.

Government estimates indicate that there are more than 140,000 internally displaced people in Narino, with 7,500 forced out last year. Over two hundred people per month register at camps for displaced individuals.

For more information, please see:

Reuters-UNHCR Helps Ease Life for Displaced Colombians in Swampy Shanty Settlement-8 March 2010

Mynews-U.N. Human Rights Expert Soptlights Enduring Plight of Afro-Colombians-16 February 2010

United Nations Human Rights Council-U.N. Expert Calls on Colombian Authorities to Focus on Afro-Colombian’s Plight-15 February 2010

China Tells U.S. to Stop Interfering with Human Rights

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – The U.S. State Department issued its annual survey of human rights on Thursday where it criticized several countries including China.

The annual survey by the U.S. specifically mentioned how China has intensified its control over the Internet and dissidents, as well as increasing repression of Uighurs after last year’s ethnic violence in Xinjiang.

In response, China accused the U.S. of being a hypocrite and issued its own annual assessment of U.S. human rights record. 

In discussing U.S.’s economic woes, the report released by China said, “The United States not only has a terrible domestic human rights record, it is also the main source of many human rights disasters worldwide.”

China blamed the U.S. for the current global financial crisis by specifically pointing a finger at U.S.’s sub-prime mortgage crisis and also mentioned various human rights issues arising out of U.S.’s invasion of Iraq.

In a separate statement by China’s Foreign Ministry, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi was criticized.  Pelosi had made a comment earlier this week praising the brave Tibetans who have sacrificed their lives in a fight for freedom.

China and the U.S. do not see eye to eye since China views Tibetans as “separatists” while the U.S. sees China as violating human rights of Tibetans.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement posted on the Ministry’s website, “We advise the relevant U.S. congresswoman to respect the facts, abandon her prejudices and stop using Tibet issue to interfere in China’s internal affairs.”

In China’s defense, Qin also added that China has achieved steady economic and cultural progress and has made strides in construction of democracy and legal system.

Qin said Chinese citizens have “gained more and more extensive freedom and rights.” 

Lastly, he said that although China is open to dialogues with other countries regarding human rights issues in order to enhance mutual understanding, Beijing adamantly opposes interference by other countries regarding its domestic affairs by invoking human rights issues.

One Chinese newspaper ran an article stating that China prefers a “mind-your-own-business” attitude. 

The author of the article said, “There is much room for improvement in China’s human rights indeed…[b]ut Washington can’t expect to have a grateful audience while randomly passing on moral judgment on others as savior of the world . . . . ”
For more information, please see:

China Daily – US, stop acting as guardian of human rights – 12 March 2010

Reuters – China calls U.S. a hypocrite over human rights – 12 March 2010

Xinhua – China urges U.S. to stop interference by using annual human rights report – 13 March 2010