I Have a Dream

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1732754907698549493

Martin Luther King

For an end to tyranny and the establishment of a constitutional and democratic legitimacy

The National Accord
The National Conference of the Libyan Opposition, London, 26th June 2005

The National Libyan Opposition Conference held its first conference in London on the 25th and 26th of June, 2005.

Different political organizations and several independent figures came together to participate at the conference.

The attendees discussed all agenda items in a democratic spirit characterized by engagement and active debate regarding the devastated conditions back home and ways to overcome the catastrophic calamity that has befallen Libya as a result of the 36 year brutal regime of Mouamar al-Qadhafi.

The Conference emphasizes that returning the constitutional legitimacy to Libyan political life is fundamental for the establishment of a stable, sustainable political environment, through which the Libyan people will be able to freely exercise their productive roles in the development of their society.

The Conference further emphasizes that the only legitimate constitution in Libya is that of 1951 with its subsequent amendments, which was endorsed and approved by the National Founding Committee under the supervision of a special committee of the United Nations. The oppressive action taken by the regime to cancel the constitution of 1951 is neither legal nor legitimate and therefore is fundamentally rejected.

The Conference declares that the return to the constitutional legitimacy requires the following actions:

1. The relinquishing of all Colonel Mouamar al-Qadhafi’s revolutionary, political, military and security powers;
2. The formation of a transitional government run by individuals who are recognized of being trustworthy and have the capabilities to run the country for a period no longer than one year, in order to bring the country back into constitutional life; and
3. Establishment of a constitutional and democratic state built on key concepts such as political and cultural diversity and peaceful transition of government powers; a state that guarantees fundamental freedom and human rights, that establishes the rule of law, equality and equal opportunity to all Libyan citizens without any form of discrimination; that protects and develops national resources, and endows balanced foreign relations built on mutual respect.

The Conference calls for the following political, media and legal actions:

The political solicitation of Libyans to fund the establishment of an effective way to address the Libyan people.

The creation of a legal mechanism to prosecute all members of the Ghaddafi regime who have committed crimes against humanity through the relevant international courts.

The Conference issued several decisions and recommendations pertaining to national Libyan issues.

The National Conference for the Libyan Opposition, as it concludes its sessions successfully, proudly registers its admiration and gratitude for the spirit of cooperation and the high sense of national responsibility, which dominated the discussions.

Therefore, the attendees indicate their intentions and desire to further emphasize this path of national solidarity, which will crystallize in a national democratic block so patiently awaited by our people in Libya.

The Conference, in these moments, recalls and acknowledges with all reverence the sacrifices of the Libyan people, exemplified by the blood of our martyrs, the unknown fate of the disappeared, and the cries of pain and anguish of those in the prisons of the tyrant al-Qadhafi.

The National Conference of the Libyan Opposition, London, 26th June 2005
Conference Agenda - Draft - June 20, 2005
To all participants,
The National Conference of the Libyan Opposition ( NCLO) will convene on Saturday the 25th and Sunday 26th of June, 2005. The following draft agenda is aimed at discussing the following issues:
1. Political issues;
2. Human rights and civil society;
3. Media and information;
4. Post-conference structure; and
5. Final conference statement and recommendations.
Final details of the NCLO agenda will be distributed to all affiliates prior to the convention, along with the conference papers and the proposed recommendations submitted to the conference by the Organizing Committee of the NCLO.

The Organizing Committee of the National Conference of the Libyan Opposition
PRESS RELEASE - May 2005

The Organizing Committee for the National Conference of the Libyan Opposition continues its weekly meetings to discuss the Conference agenda, and follow up on preparations for the coming event. The Committee has received numerous encouraging replies from Libyans inside and outside Libya in support of this proposed national gathering.
The Organizing Committee discussed the timing and the location of the coming conference and it has been decided that it will convene in London, United Kingdom on the 25th and the 26th of June, 2005.
Currently, arrangements are being made to organize participation and attendance at this conference.

The Organizing Committee of the National Conference of the Libyan Opposition
PRESS RELEASE - May 2005

For the first time in three decades, Libyan opposition advocates and campaigners living outside Libya announced plans to hold a general convention this summer for all Libyan political groups and individuals opposing the dictatorship of al-Qadhafi. The meeting is proposed to draw together various Libyan opposition groups, and independent nationals and freedom fighters. The announcement made by the Organizing Committee for the National Conference of the Libyan Opposition confirmed, that a series of talks took place through the National Consulting Assembly (NCA) body in search for an objective understanding of recent Libyan developments, and in an attempt to put together practical approaches for following up on many efforts made by various Libyan political groups and individuals in their challenge of the Libyan dictatorship. Also, to come near a practical and clear definition for the nature of struggle against the regime, all in light of protecting the independent national decision-making against outside interventions, and guarding Libyan national interests in any move aiming at creating a true political change in Libya.
The convention establishes itself as a meeting of national accordance of opinion that is based on a shared political perspective made of the following three demands:
1. The relinquishing of all Colonel Mouamar al-Qadhafi’s revolutionary, political, military and security powers;
2. The formation of a transitional government run by individuals who are recognized of being trustworthy and have the capabilities to run the country for a period no longer than one year, in order to bring the country back into constitutional life; and
3. Establishment of a constitutional and democratic state built on key concepts such as political and cultural diversity and peaceful transition of government powers; a state that guarantees fundamental freedom and human rights, that establishes the rule of law, equality and equal opportunity to all Libyan citizens without any form of discrimination; that protects and develops national resources, and endows balanced foreign relations built on mutual respect.

The Organizing Committee of the National Conference of the Libyan Opposition

By the:

http://www.libya-nclo.com/English/tabid/138/language/ar-JO/Default.aspx

Gaddafi Crimes Against Humanity

http://blip.tv/file/1363665?filename=Abdoellibie-GaddafiCrimesAgainstHumanity540.flv

A documentary about gaddafi’s atrocities and heinous crimes committed in Libya and abroad. He is a bloody terrorist and a dictator ruling Libya since he confiscated power through a coup in 1969. He liquidated all his opponents without trials and imprisoned any one who criticized him. He hung people in public squares and stadiums and broadcasted their hanging on TV in the holy month of Ramadan. He sent his death squads of revolutionary committees to kill Libyans abroad for just running away from his regime or voicing their opinions against it. He ordered the killing of 1200 political prisoners in abusleem prison uprising demanding fair trials and improvement in their miserable living conditions. He committed international terrorist activities by bombing planes over Lockerbie Scotland and Niger desert and engaging in wars against his neighbouring countries, not to mention supporting terrorist groups worldwide and plotting to assassinate arab leaders. Unfortunately, the whole world has ignored gaddafi’s record of widespread human rights abuses and the plight of the Libyan people under his brutal regime. It is sad to see world leaders rolling the red carpet for this terrorist to welcome him back to the international community for the sake of oil and winning huge contracts worth $ billions that serve their own interests rather than the Libyan people most of whom are still living under the poverty line. Gaddafi is opening to the west, not because he is a reformed man but rather seeking allies and putting all Libyan resources in their baskets in exchange for protection and maintaining his grip on power.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#ap

Human rights defender Fathi El-Jahmi dies in mysterious circumstances

Human rights defender Fathi El-Jahmi dies in mysterious circumstances

http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/2049

Libya: Rights at Risk

Libya: Rights at Risk

http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/libya_rights_risk_090808.pdf

http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/libya

Juni 1996 Killings at Abu Salim Prison

Libyen Juni 1996 massaker i Abu Salim-fängelset

Under sommaren 1996, började berättelser om ett massdödande i Tripoli's Abu Salim fängelse, spridas utanför Libyens gränser. Detaljerna var sparsamma, och inledningsvis förnekade regeringen att en massaker hade ägt rum. Libyska grupper utanför landet har sagt att upp till 1200 fångar hade dödats.
Under 2001 och 2002, började de libyska myndigheterna informera vissa familjer med en släkting i Abu Salim att deras familje-medlem hade dött, även om de inte gav dem kroppen eller uppgifter om dödsorsaken. I april 2004 erkände Libyens ledare MuAmmar al-Kadafi officiellt att dödandet hade ägt rum i Abu Salim, och sade att fångarnas familjer har rätt att få veta vad som hände.

I maj 2005 besökte Human Rights Watch Abu Salim fängelset, som drivs av inre säkerhetstjänst. Chefen för byrån Kol. Tohamy Khaled sade att regeringen hade inlett en utredning av incidenten 1996, men har inte lämnat uppgifter om hur eller när undersökningen ägt rum. Human Rights Watch har därefter bett den libyska regeringen om närmare detaljer om undersökningen, men regeringen har underlåtit att svara.


Libya
June 1996 Killings at Abu Salim Prison

In the summer of 1996, stories began to filter out of Libya about a mass killing in Tripoli’s Abu Salim prison. The details remained scarce, and the government initially denied that an incident had taken place. Libyan groups outside the country said up to 1,200 prisoners had died.
In 2001 and 2002, Libyan authorities began to inform some families with a relative in Abu Salim that their family-member had died, although they did not provide the body or details on the cause of death. In April 2004 Libyan leader Mu`ammar al-Qadhafi publicly acknowledged that killings had taken place in Abu Salim, and said that prisoners’ families have the right to know what took place

In May 2005 Human Rights Watch visited Abu Salim prison, run by the Internal Security Agency. Head of the agency Col. Tohamy Khaled said the government had opened an investigation into the 1996 incident, but did not provide information on the manner or timing of the investigation. Human Rights Watch subsequently asked the Libyan government for details on the investigation, but the government failed to reply.
Demonstranterna utanför Libyska ambassaden i Stockholm
30 juni 2009