1988. szeptember (209-245. szám) / HU_BFL_XIV_47_2
i , «K0NGAfUAN 0£T$**JÍ3£ rjj IfceeSS ©Mi Editor: György Krassó * 24/D Little Russell Street * London. WC1A 2HN * Tel. 01-430 2126 (írom abroad 441-430 2126) 226/1988 (E) 12th September, 1988 Violence at the Amnesty International Göncért Against Those Who Stand Fór Humán Rights On September 6th, the same day when the two week continuous protest ended near the Románián Embassy in Budapest, another humán rights protest took piacé. About 100 protesters carrying banners saying "Press Freedomi". "True Democracyl" and "Liberate Conscientious ObjectorsI" marched to the Peoples Stádium where an intemational rock concert entitied "Humán Rights Nowl" was taking piacé. Several thousand leaflets were distributed which reported on the situation of conscientious objectors in Hungary and told the life story of Zsolt Keszthelyi who is imprisoned. The concert which was organised in 16 countries to celebrate the 4-Oth anniversary of the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Humán Rights only took piacé in Hungary after great difficulties. At first Interconcert and the National Peace Council refused to hold it at which point the generál secretary and president of Amnesty International came to Hungary. Finally on September 6th stars such as Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman, Sting, Peter Gábriel and the E-Street Bánd sang from 6 pm until 1.30 am in front of an audience of 80,000. The generál secretary of Amnesty International neg- otiated with several leading Hungárián politicians and János Berecz the ideological secretary of the Hungárián Socialist Workers Party’s Central Committee made an an- nouncement to the Hungárián mass média about the importance of guaranteeing humán rights. While the stars, who performed fór free, demanded an immediate guarantee of humán rights on stage, the organisers equipped with short wave rádiós tried to prevent young Hungarians in the audience from demanding humán rights and the repeal of the death sentence by using karate holds. They even took away the banner inseribed with the title of the concert "Humán Rights Nowl". Two open letters, or rather protests, were sent to the generál secretary of Amnesty International lan Martin in London. The Workers Group of the Young Democr&ts Alliance, after saying how glad it was that the concert took piacé, expressed its shock that the generál secretary of Amnesty negotiated with Dr István Horváth the Minister of the Interior yet did nőt make contact with independent Hungárián groups and that in his statement he had shown official Hungary in the very best of lights. The letter then deals with the events during the concert: "Banners were confiscated at the door although many managed to raise them inside. The organisers paid no attention to those banners about the Románián suppression, in accordance with the Party line, bút they certainly took note of those calling fór the release of conscientious objectors. The audience witnessed the organisers violence towards these protests. At least ten of them ran at the protesters, they held them down, twisted back their arms and confiscated their banners." The other letter was sent by two victims of this violence, Tibor Holczer and Tamás Perlaki, both of whom have fought fór years on behalf of conscientious objectors. They relate the events'as follows: "We the undersigned came to the concert with a banner saying 'Liberate the Conscientious Objectors'.* . After raising the banner several times the organisers asked us to hand it over to them voluntarily;when we did nőt comply they switched off the lights in the auditórium during the break and a great number of the organisers wearing security badges launched an attatek against us, taking our banner by using karate holds and great force." They state that if "the organisation turns a blind eye to infringement of humán rights fór political reasons then it must relinquish the Cardinal principles of Amnesty International". tcr\ Subscribers can use or quote the Hungárián October newsletters in totál or in detail as long as the source is acknowledged. J
