On June 13th 1814 The Strathnaver Clearances began on the Sutherland estates. Families were given half an hour to remove their belongings before their cottages were set on fire.
Strathnaver was part of the estate of the Countess of Sutherland and her husband the Marquis of Stafford. They had decided to “improve” their lands by turning them over to profitable sheep farming and were intent on moving their tenants to new villages built on the coast.
From 1814, the evicitions were undertaken by the Sutherland Estate factor, Patrick Sellar. He was ruthless in his actions, destroying homes and burning crops to force people from their land. His actions were so extreme that in April 1816 Sellar stood trial in Inverness on a variety of charges including fire raising and culpable homicide. However, he was acquitted and returned to Strathnaver where he had leased a large area of the land to farm sheep.
There are the remains of many abandoned townships throughout the Strath, the best known of these being Rosal. This is mainly thanks to Donald Macleod, a native of that township, who witnessed the clearances and wrote passionately about them. He is remembered in a memorial close to the site of the settlement.
I am so proud to be Scottish right now. A peaceful protest stopped an immigration van from taking away two refugees from their homes in Glasgow, on Eid!! They would not let them take their neighbours away. Today, the people of Pollokshields, Glasgow rejected the inhumane immigration raid ordered by the UK Home Office. The two men who were detained have now been released back into their community.
Fuck the Home Office, and fuck their ‘hostile environment’ policies. These raids are an affront to human dignity!! Thank you to everyone who was able to show up and do their bit, wish I could’ve been there! I hope the two men are okay.
This is just the beginning!
“Stop deportation, no borders, no nations.”
“Let them go-these are our neighbours!”
(Pic isn’t mine, it’s from @MeachRachel on twitter).
On Saturday, Israel bombed the 12-story al-Jalaa Building, which housed the offices of The Associated Press, the TV network Al-Jazeera and other media outlets, along with several floors of apartments.
Netanyahu alleged that Hamas military intelligence was operating inside the building. Such reasoning is routinely given for targeting certain locations in airstrikes, including residential buildings. The military also has accused the militant group of using journalists as human shields, but provided no evidence to back up the claims.
“We have had no indication Hamas was in the building or active in the building,” AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said in a statement. “This is something we actively check to the best of our ability. We would never knowingly put our journalists at risk.
“The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today,” Pruitt said. “We are shocked and horrified.”
That, by the way, is a blatant violation of human rights and is internationally considered a war crime.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin "reaffirmed Israel's right to defend itself," in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Gantz, according to a readout. Austin "strongly condemned the continued onslaught of attacks by Hamas and other terrorists groups targeting Israeli civilians," it said, adding that the secretary had "shared his view on the need to restore calm."
Now, Benjamin Gantz is the one who met with top Facebook lobbyists Nick Clegg and Joel Kaplan and several TikTok executives a couple of days ago over zoom to discuss the spread of misinformation and violent threats on the social network. They are not meant to meet with any Palestinian reps until next WEEK.
Next week.
Let that sink in.
Turning a blind eye to Israel targeting media sources so the world can’t see Israel’s war crimes, is utterly horrifying. And the censorship has certainly already started, multiple hashtags and posts are being deleted and censored from all over, people sharing live feeds are being locked out of their accounts as well. People are literally being denied their rights for freedom of speech and free expression
“The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today”
And then have Netanyahu admitting Israel rejected multiple cease-fire offers from Hamas, and the attacks today alone resulting in 42 Palestinian casualties, 16 women and 10 children were among those killed and over 50 wounded. The airstrikes today hit a busy downtown street of residential buildings and storefronts over the course of five minutes just after midnight, destroying two adjacent buildings and one about 50 yards down the road.
I just... words fail.
Kindly take a few minutes to get educated and more oriented with the situation. Actor Michael Malarky has been sharing resources left and right on his instagram @michaelmalarky . @itsmirastern is a valuable resource as well on instagram. @abgutman on twitter, a jewish journalist from Tel Aviv, journalism as it should be. Oh, and Jewish Voice for Peace on pretty much all the platforms. Look up Abby Martin. And @letstalkpalestine in instagram
“If the Biden admin can’t stand up to an ally, who can it stand up to? How can they credibly claim to stand for human rights?” - Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Beetlejuice the Musical the Musical the Musical will play its last performance on June 6, 2020, after being forced to evict to make way for the revival of “The Music Man” starring Hugh Jackman.
Many are looking for an unoccupied theatre to relocate to, but if it fails there will be West End production of Beetlejuice and a national tour launching in Fall 2021.
Urgent Action Update: 61 people remain homeless after forced eviction in Swaziland
Four families, consisting of 61 people including 33 children, remain homeless after they were forcibly evicted and had their homes demolished in the Emphetseni farming area, Malkerns on 9 April. The families were not given adequate notice of the eviction and have had to find their own temporary accommodation, resulting in most of them having to be separated. The Swazi government has failed to meet the affected families and provide them with alternative housing and they continue to be at risk of further human rights violations.
The four forcibly evicted families have made several attempts to meet with Swazi authorities, including officials from the Deputy Prime Minister’s office, to ask that the government provides them with alternative housing. However, they have not been successful. The families were forcibly evicted from their homes and their houses demolished in Emphetseni, Malkerns on 9 April 2018 in the presence of the Sheriff of the High Court of Mbabane and armed local police officers.
The families were not given adequate notice and were only informed a day before the eviction that an eviction order had been granted by a court on 14 July 2017. As a result of the eviction, individual family members have had to split up due to being unable to find adequate temporary housing. The women and children have been accommodated in temporary rental accommodation. Other family members have remained in the places of shelter in which they were housed following the eviction.
The private farming company that owns the land on which the homes were built and applied for the eviction met with the affected families on 2 May 2018 and gave them 10,000 Emalangeni (approx. 850 USD) and a cow per family, indicating that it was a donation to the families and not compensation for the eviction. The amount provided to the families is insufficient to secure adequate alternative housing. The families remain homeless and at risk of various other human rights violations. According to the parents, their children are traumatised by the eviction and have been unable to focus at school which could affect their performance in school.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Please write immediately in English or your own language:
Calling on the authorities to ensure that the forcibly evicted families are given adequate alternative housing as a matter of urgency in respect of their right to adequate housing;
Calling on the authorities to take steps to ensure that victims of forced evictions do not face further human rights violations resulting from the forced evictions;
Urging them to end forced evictions and ensure that evictions are carried out in strict compliance with international and regional human rights standards.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 11 JULY 2018 TO:
The Right Honourable Prime Minister
Dr. Sibusiso Barnabus Dlamini
Cabinet Offices,
Hospital Hill
Mbabane, Swaziland
Fax : +268 2404 3943
Email : [email protected]
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister
Minister of Natural Resources and Energy
Ms Jabulile Mashwama
Income Tax Building
Fourth Floor
Mhlambanyatsi Road
P.S Office 402
Mbabane, Swaziland
Fax: +268 2404 4851
Salutation: Dear Minister
And copies to:
Principal Secretary
Ms Winile T. Stewart
Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy
Income Tax Building
Fourth Floor
Mhlambanyatsi Road
P.S Office 402
Mbabane, Swaziland
Email: [email protected]
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.
HIS EXCELLENCY MR CHRISTIAN MUZIE NKAMBULE, Kingdom of Swaziland High Commission, 20 Buckingham Gate, SW1E 6LB Tel: 020 7630 6611 Fax 020 7630 6564
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after
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Turkey: Hundreds at imminent risk of forced eviction
Hundreds of residents in neighbourhoods of the Sur district in Diyarbakır province, south eastern Turkey, are at imminent risk of forced eviction. For over a month now, their water and electricity supplies have been cut off, in an apparent attempt to force them out. They have not been adequately consulted or compensated.
Hundreds of residents in the Alipaşa and Lalebey neighbourhoods of the Sur district in Diyarbakır province, south eastern Turkey, are at imminent risk of forced eviction. Since 23 May, during the fasting month of Ramadan, water and electricity supplies to residents’ homes were cut off in an apparent attempt to force them out.
Between December 2015 and March 2016, parts of the Sur district were subjected to round the clock curfews in the context of clashes between the armed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the state security forces. Tens of thousands of residents were displaced and many have still not been able to return. Residents of Alipaşa and Lalebey returned to their homes after being displaced for up to six months. In March 2016, a compulsory purchase order was issued affecting all 16 Sur neighbourhoods as part of a redevelopment project that affects the entire district. Inhabitants began receiving eviction notices in December, demanding that they vacate their homes within one week, but most residents remained. Lawyers and residents told Amnesty International that they were verbally notified that the demolitions would start in April 2017. At the end of April residents reported loud speaker announcements from mosques demanding them to evacuate their homes within seven days. On 23 May, water and electricity supplies were cut off and partial demolition of already evacuated homes started.
Residents told Amnesty International that they had not been genuinely consulted about the plans or offered alternative housing or adequate compensation for their losses. All residents reported deep fear and anxiety as to an uncertain future, whilst expressing their wish to remain in their neighbourhoods where they had strong community and family ties, and depend on the area for their livelihoods and children’s education.
The Turkish authorities have a duty to ensure that no one is forcibly evicted from their homes and that any evictions that are carried out are only as a last resort and in full compliance with international human rights law and standards, including the right of return of Internally Displaced People. Arbitrarily cutting off water and electricity supplies to force people from their homes is also prohibited under international law.
Please write immediately in Turkish or your own language:
Urging the authorities to immediately halt all evictions until genuine consultation with affected residents is conducted to identify all feasible alternatives to evictions and resettlement options, and until adequate alternative housing, compliant with requirements under international human rights law, is provided to all persons affected;
Calling on them to immediately restore water and electricity supplies to the residents;
Calling on them to ensure that adequate compensation is offered to all residents including tenants representing the true value of their loss and the harm they have suffered.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 10 AUGUST 2017 TO:
Minister of Environment and Town Planning
Mehmet Özhaseki
Çevre ve Şehircilik Bakanlığı
Vekaletler Cad. No:1 Bakanliklar / Ankara, Turkey
Fax: + 90 312 418 04 06
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Dear Minister
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. HIS EXCELLENCY MR ABDURRAHMAN BİLGİҪ, Embassy of the Republic of Turkey, 43 Belgrave Square SW1X 8PA, 020 7393 0202, [email protected]
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
In January 2016, a round the clock curfew in the context of armed clashes was imposed on the two neighbourhoods of Alipaşa and Lalebey, lasting for one week. Almost all residents left their homes during the curfew, mostly returning after a period of one to six months. In March 2016, at the end of the curfew in other parts of the district, the authorities issued a compulsory purchase order affecting 16 neighbourhoods including Alipaşa and Lalebey, having announced that buildings in the Sur district would be demolished as part of an urban redevelopment project.
Dozens of residents told Amnesty International that they had not been consulted about the redevelopment plans, any alternative housing or the levels of compensation they would receive. Home owners with title deeds to their properties reported that money had been deposited into their bank accounts without their agreement, and that the amount was wholly insufficient to compensate for the loss of their homes and possessions. Tenants and those without title deeds reported that they had received nothing and were not provided with alternative housing. Notices they received in December gave them seven days to leave their homes, which the vast majority ignored. After the notices were sent to residents, authorities verbally noted that the demolitions would begin after the Referendum in April 2017.
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has emphasized in its General Comment 7 that evictions may be carried out only as a last resort, once all other feasible alternatives to eviction have been explored in genuine consultation with the affected persons. All potentially affected groups and persons, including women, persons with disabilities, as well as others working on behalf of the affected, have the right to relevant information, full consultation and participation throughout the entire process. They also have the right to propose alternatives that authorities should duly consider.
Even when an eviction is considered to be justified, it can only be carried out when appropriate procedural protections are in place and if compensation for all losses and adequate alternative housing is provided. Under international law, forced evictions and housing demolition must not be used as a punitive measure against people who lack residency or other status. States have an obligation not limit access to water services as a punitive measure and arbitrarily disconnecting such services amounts to a human rights violation.
The United Nations Guiding Principles on Forced Displacement were developed by the UN Special Representative on Internally Displaced People in 1992 based on existing standards in international law to address the specific needs of IDPs. The Principles require that persons should not be subjected to arbitrary displacement, and that any displacement should be no longer than required by the circumstances (Principle 6). They require that the authorities ensure that accommodation is provided for displaced persons and ensure that displaced persons have an adequate standard of living (Principle 18). The Principles state that nobody shall be arbitrarily denied of property and possessions and that those that they leave behind are protected against destruction, arbitrary and illegal appropriation, occupation or use (Principle 21).
The UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement (Basic Principles) require states to carry out impact assessments prior to the initiation of any project that could result in eviction and displacement. Impact assessments must provide information about the area; the individuals affected, including information about their relationship with the location (for example their income-generating activities), public services in the area etc.
Further information on UA: 158/17 Index: EUR 44/6626/2017 Issue Date: 29 June 2017
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The Taliban has forcibly evacuated all 25 families from the village of "Rashk" in Panjab, Bamyan, following a land dispute ruling in favor of nomadic groups. 🚨 #Taliban #ForcedEviction #Bamyan #LandDispute #Afghanistan
Protests and Road Blockades Across Kolhan Over Land Acquisition and Other Issues
Social organizations halt traffic in Saraikela-Kharsawan, highlighting forced land acquisition and cultural issues.
Protests erupted in Kolhan on Wednesday, with road blockades set up in response to forced land acquisition, unpaid compensation, and desecration of tribal religious and cultural sites.
SERAIKELA – A blockade was initiated by a variety of social organizations across Kolhan on…
