Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.This is Amnesty International's take on free speech:
Amnesty International offered its take on freedom of speech and of the press in a statement earlier this month, saying, "the right to freedom of expression is not absolute - neither for the creators of material nor their critics. It carries responsibilities and it may, therefore, be subject to restrictions in the name of safeguarding the rights of others. In particular, any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence cannot be considered legitimate exercise of freedom of expression. Under international standards, such 'hate speech' should be prohibited by law."Amnesty International apparently has no problem abridging the free speech rights enjoyed by all Americans, and essentially adopting a "free speech only when it's convenient and doesn't bother anyone" standard.
This is yet another example of how a once-important human rights group has totally dumped its original ideals in favor of a pure Left agenda. After all, this new position essentially advocates the imprisonment of folks like Mandela and Tutu because they spoke out against their government.
Oh, and the new position would effectively support Israel's continued efforts to capture terrorists and the mullahs who incite violence towards Israel (though I doubt that AI would ever concede that point since Israel's survival and AI's battle against Israel is a major selling point in contributions).
This new position dilutes AI's longstanding principle to defend individuals against government abuse. It makes no sense and would appear that AI has essentially caved to the Islamist point of view.
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