Amnesty International founder dies

[emad]

IOL
26/02/2005 - 16:15:10

The founder of Amnesty International, Peter Benenson, has died at the age of 83, the human rights organisation said today.

Mr Benenson set up Amnesty International in 1961 after reading an article about the arrest and imprisonment of two students in a café in Lisbon, Portugal who had drunk a toast to liberty.

Irene Khan, secretary general of the organisation, said that “his vision gave birth to human rights activism”.

“Peter Benenson’s life was a courageous testament to his visionary commitment to fight injustice around the world,” Ms Khan said. “He brought light into the darkness of prisons, the horror of torture chambers and tragedy of death camps around the world.

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=135002732&p=y35xx3438

[emad]

2. Scotsman coverage:

“This was a man whose conscience shone in a cruel and terrifying world, who believed in the power of ordinary people to bring about extraordinary change and, by creating Amnesty International, he gave each of us the opportunity to make a difference.

“In 1961 his vision gave birth to human rights activism.

“In 2005 his legacy is a world wide movement for human rights which will never die.”

....

He initially set up Amnesty International as a one-year campaign but it went on to become the world’s largest independent human rights organisation.

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4183461

BIOGRAPHY:
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/action/events/biography.shtml

[bettyellen]

3. wow, that's sad- their main office in London had the tightest security i

ever saw in my life. it was literally like the beginning of Get Smart. They said they were on the hit list for over 150 countries, so..........

[Renew Deal]

4. He was foung hanging from the top of a Syrian prison.

Oh the irony. :silly:

[Benhurst]

5. As much as it hurts me as a loyal American to say this,

I think Mr. Benenson should get the Nobel Peace Prize this year, rather than Colin Powel.

[leftchick]

6. Amnesty International founder Peter Benenson dies at 83

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1504&ncid=1504&e=10&u=/afp/20050226/ts_afp/britainamnestybenenson_050226203456

LONDON (AFP) - Peter Benenson, the founder of Amnesty International, the organization that placed human rights in the global consciousness, has died at the age of 83, the group said.


He was inspired to start the organization in 1961 after having read an article about two students arrested and imprisoned for drinking a toast to liberty in a Lisbon, Portugal, then under a dictatorship.


What began as a one-year campaign to press for the release of six prisoners of conscience has today turned into the world's largest human rights group, with more than 1.8 million members and supporters.


"Peter Benenson's life was a courageous testament to his visionary commitment to fight injustice around the world," Irene Khan, the London-based organization's secretary-general, said in a statement.

[leftchick]

1. God, he looks so much like my Dad...

RIP Peter.... :(

[roguevalley]

7. RIP good man.

[Jack Rabbit]

8. We would hope his legacy would be a just world

We must fight to make it so.

[bobthedrummer]

9. Thank you and farewell, RIP.

[realisticphish]

10. rest in peace

hopefully the day will come when AI won't be needed

:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[Maat]

11. Rest in peace, Mr. B.

I'm sorry we didn't see world torture ended during your lifetime.

I'm sorry you had to witness the U.S. participate in such atrocities as Abu Graib, ghost detainees, transporting people to other countries to be tortured, etc. Before that, I actually thought my country had made some progress in terms of human rights.

[annabanana]

12. He was an honorable man. He did good work.

And he left a road map for those of us who would follow his lead.

[CBHagman]

13. At a time when politicians fling around the word "liberty,"

we mustn't forget someone who really took steps to secure the same for his fellow human beings. When even so-called civilized, developed nations countenanced death squads, torture, imprisonment without trial, and the like, Benenson's organization was taking on the cases, even the unpopular ones, even the ones that never make the headlines.

May Benenson's legacy glow ever brighter, till there is no need to fight for basic human rights.