In article <Pine.SUN.3.91.950623110018.6497L-100000@mundo>, somebody [Harry Cleaver?] wrote: > On Fri, 23 Jun 1995, john rosenthal wrote: > > > I don't know what's in the WWW site. But just a slight (actually kind of a > > huge) correction. While it's true that Iqbal Masih at some point visited the > > US and "then" was shot to death -- it's not true that he was murdered *in* > > the US. Unless I'm very mistaken, I believe he was murdered in Pakistan. > > > > John Rosenthal > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > The story in the NYT said the poor kid was gunned down while playing in > his village. Riding his bicycle, if I remember right. While we're on the > subject, there was a very good investigative report on slave labor in the > carpet industry in South Asia on one of those TV shows (not 60 minutes > but another like it). It showed a raid on a factory that liberated a > whole lot of kids, gave good background, etc. > Radio-Canada broadcast a documentary on Iqbal Masih last night. Apparently the police's story is that he was cycling along a back country road with two friends when they happened on a farmer who was, if you can believe it, engaging in some form of bestiality in a nearby field. According to this version of the story, the farmer was afraid of being denounced to the police and shot at the three, killing Masih. The Pakistan Human Rights Commission, an NGO that apparently usually has a good reputation, sent a lawyer in to investigate and the lawyer confirmed the police version. However, it appears this may be because of a rivalry between the Human Rights Commission and something called the BLLF, the Bonded Labour Liberation Front. Soon after, the police swooped down on the BLLF, seizing their files and arresting several organizers -- including the two friends of Iqbal's who were eye-witnesses to the shooting. London-based Anti-Slavery International seems to believe the BLLF's version of events, that it was all an elaborate plot by carpet manufacturers, and are calling for an independent judicial inquiry with foreign observers. -- Francis Thompson | When one group rules the nation [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Just because they're top of the pile Montreal, Quebec | Doesn't mean their vision is the clearest Canada | -- Billy Bragg
