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Citizens speak out. In countries such as Bahrain, Cambodia, Jordan, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia,
Sudan, Syria, Thailand, US and Yemen, people continue to express fundamental requests for
greater freedoms and human rights as they demand that their governments act in the best
interest of the citizens.
Hundreds of professionals from the largest nurses' union in the US demonstrated in Washington,
DC, calling for a "Main Street Contract for the American People" that would implement
changes such as higher corporate taxation to avoid health care reductions in national
programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which provide medical benefits to the elderly, disabled
and the poor.
Speaking on Friday, June 10, Thailand's newly appointed Ambassador to Cambodia, Sompong
Sanguanbun, pledged to repair relations with Cambodia, which have been strained by disputes
over the rights to several ancient temples near their shared border. The new ambassador
emphasized the two countries' many similarities and shared heritage, saying that his government
wished for Cambodian and Thai citizens to live together in peace and harmony.
Jordanians held more protests in several cities across the country Friday, reiterating calls
for Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit and his government to resign due to their failure to address
corruption and put forward political reforms demanded by the people.
During a funeral Thursday for a young man killed by soldiers, hundreds of Pakistanis
expressed outrage over the violence and brutality of the military as it was discovered that
22-year-old Afsa Shah was shot while pleading for his life during an arrest and left to
die. Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik has denounced the killing, calling it unlawful
and the soldiers responsible have been taken into custody while an inquiry is conducted.
Following a request from the Pakistani government, the US has reduced the number of military
trainers in the country, with various media reporting that the goal of leaving fewer than
40 of an original 130 personnel has been nearly achieved.
The UN announced Friday that between 30,000 to 40,000 people fled the town of Kadugli
in Sudan's oil producing state of Southern Kordofan, with aid agencies in the area estimating
that 146,000 have been recently displaced due to conflict in the border region between
northern and southern Sudan. The UN Security Council expressed deep concern about the violence
as it spoke out against the forceful actions of the north that have caused tens of thousands
to flee their homes. Meanwhile, three people were reported to have died Friday when northern
forces bombed another disputed area.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the international community welcomed a Ugandan-mediated accord
in Somalia that will extend the transitional government and its jobs until elections can
be held in August 2012. However, hundreds of civilians and government soldiers demonstrated
in the streets on Thursday, June 9 protesting a clause in the accord that stated Prime Minister
Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed must go.
A week after approving the return to Bahrain of the Formula One (F1) race this autumn,
the governing body's chief Bernie Ecclestone announced that the race is being cancelled
in response to a protest by F1 drivers, who sent a letter objecting to the decision to
participate. Global citizens' activist group Avaaz.org had also sent a petition containing
450,000 signatures calling for the cancellation of the race due to the government's human
rights abuses.
Five Saudi Arabian women were arrested Thursday as they were practicing driving on an empty
lot a week ahead of a planned protest by women demanding their rights to drive.
On Friday, Libyan government troops attacked Misurata, killing at least 22 citizens and
wounding 60 others. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) airstrikes continued to
shake Libya’s capital Tripoli, as Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade appealed to Colonel
Muammar Gaddafi to step down and offered help in doing so.
As UN Security Council members on Friday discussed a resolution that would speak out against
the Syrian government’s crackdown, Russian special envoy Mikhail Margelov pledged separately
to mediate Syrian peace, saying he planned to meet the country’s activists soon. Also
on Friday, at least 28 citizens were killed when government forces opened fire on pro-democracy
protesters making fresh calls for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in cities
like Busra al-Harir, Damascus, and Maarat al-Numan. Meanwhile, a second teenage boy’s
lifeless and allegedly tortured body was returned to his parents, further uniting activists
in protest over the brutal crackdown on Syrian citizens.
In sorrowful prayers for the lives lost and suffering still being endured, we pray for
all conflicts to cease so that global citizens may choose to live side-by-side in dignified
harmony, peace and freedom�