The Desert Rats - 51st Highland Division

Happy Christmas 2012 Everyone

I thought I would continue to update the story about the Desert Rats because a relative has added some more information, which I have put into the middle paragraphs. With the end of the recent war in Libya many may find it interesting. (Video added to explain the background.)

I can see why it has taken me so long to get down to writing about my Dad and his life in the 51st Highland Division in World War 2. There is in fact very little written about the contribution they made to the wining of the war and like many soldiers he didn't talk about it much as if by his feelings of having a mixture of shame and pride at being involved in some of the carnage of war that is a necessary part of it. However I should not let that stand in the way of thinking about how and what he did in the six years he was part of the 8th Army under the command of General Montgommery.
He got all the medals from six of the campaigns that were pertinent to the Division except the last one, the landing of the French campaign of Dunkirk because by then he was invalided out of action by shrapnel in his neck and also by contracting tuberculosis. He was sad, not to have been around for the victory that was there's in France and the final march of liberation into Berlin in 1945.

He spoke very fondly of his time in North Africa, as if it was the Desert Campaign that was the greatest challenge of his life. Often in rare moments of remembrance he would go back to the Battle of El Alamein and Tobruk commenting on many aspects of the battle tactics or the bitter memories of the deaths that occurred on both sides. He found the worse deaths to witness were those of the Panther Division tank men, who would often emerge from tanks on fire and very quickly die screaming, from the intense burning.

He was in the Armoured Division, so it was his job to load the shells into the modern day cannons called '25 Pounders'. He reached the rank of Corporal after joining the Territorial Army as a private in 1938, signing up for the whole six years before the announcement that war had been declared on Germany. This decision meant he was part of the professional force of the Desert Rats because they were signed into the army for the entire war expected to contribute fighting time on all six campaigns over the period of the war. He had joined early for ideological reasons, like many he was fearful that the rise of fascism would engulf Europe, making the elitism within Nazism an unstoppable force. Once he had signed up, he seemed to enjoy the discipline and commradary of his unit.

More of the background from an original World War 2 documentary about the Desert Rats at this link here

Much was foreign to him because he had to learn how to look after the 25 pounder gun and drag it around with him for six years. He learned how to load the shells with out making them misfire, which though rare could happen with devastating results maiming those, who had placed them into the gun shaft. He became a well sought after gunner, when it was realized his marksmanship in aligning his 25 pounder could successfully inflict a direct hit onto the enemy and he was quickly promoted to the rank of Corporal in charge of a small unit of 25 Pounders.

He remarked that his worst moment on the 25 pounder lines was when the British RAF bombed the lines of the 8th Army by a mistake and because he was in the middle of the line he could not get out of the gun position. He was the only gunner on that portion of the Division to remain at his post during the faulty RAF bombing raid. He fondly told the story of the Major of the Armoured Division who shouted to him in fear 'Sutherland, Bloody 'Well', Get Out of There Now'. I'm sure the Commander did not always use this language but he perhaps seemed to know that Sutherland would NOT have abandoned his post, unless he was ordered to do so. My Dad was amused that his Commander knew him by name, was able to pick him out from the crowd and thought he might have been worth saving that day.

He seemed to have a survival instinct and way of doing things that was commented on because he was known to dig his gun trench much deeper than other soldiers.So much so, that when they were in the heat of the battle many infantry men would dive into his gun trench in favour of other ones closer by. However one fact came to light, which some might find upsetting. Often when they had to clear up, after a battle, it was left to the Gunners to clean the camouflage nets, which would sadly contain unidentified shreds of flesh and body parts, such was the level of pounding on both sides at the battle of El Alamein. I think this would leave a lasting impression on anyone and it certainly left it's mark on my Father.

But war was not without some amusing moments. Again on the lines my Dad made an impression. One morning as dawn rose,  a noice from the tanoy system communicating with the 25 Pounder operators was heard from the very hoarse voice of the Unit Officer. His throat sounded very, very rough. My dad commented,' My goodness he's very hoarse. Due to the silence of early morning, my Dad's voice carried into the Officers head quarters. The 'Tanoy' two way system answered back to the whole unit. 'You'd be hoarse, Sutherland if you'd been up all night shouting commands down this thing.' The unit all laughed and my Dad said a meek 'Yes Sir', but with a grin.

Here is more of the background from Part 2 the World War 2 Desert Rats Documentary here

He told other stories of the immense difficulty of the bombardment he helped to conduct on the enemy at the battle of El Alamien. It is interesting to know that none of the soldiers on the ground of the Desert Rats enjoyed, nor were they proud of the deaths they had to inflict on their enemy and he often spoke of the need to kill in the war, with great deep regret. (I mean proper deep regret)

Here is Part 3 of World War 2 Documentary at this Link

He seemed to understand that the Highland Division was not always up to the mark, because when exhausted in Italy after 4 other campaigns some of the Division succumbed to looting the enemy and at one point ill discipline had made the command consider the threat of decimation on the ranks. He knew about how blood lust was not to be encouraged and must be stamped out quickly in a band of soldiers and that the role of discipline must be established in gunner crews to get things done no matter what happened to them.

Here is part 4 of World War 2 documentary - the Italian Invasion at this Link

He also spoke of the cruelties he saw at Tobruk meted out by both sides, when the lie of the land meant that the Armoured Divsion had to abandon the use of the 25 Pounders in favour of hand to hand combat during the Siege  He was trained, not only to work in the gun team, but also had to learn the art of stalking his enemy, by literally creeping up to them without their knowing he was there. One can only imagine what this skill was used for in combat.

I don't know much about the actual campaigns or the details of the war battle tactics, but what I do know is that war takes it's toll on the human being emotionally and it is certainly not the natural state for a human being to be in at any time in their life. For those who had to endure it, rather than glory in it, many became advocates against war. In the case of my Father, he joined CND and the Ban the Bomb campaign of the 1950's and 60's. He also became a Liberal and SNP politician believing that actively contributing to the community could stave off the elements of corruption which had entered Europe in the form of fascism. His years as a soldier made him realize that change is not an impossible part of the human condition, but that it must be strived for on a daily basis. He said of Politicians that they are, only one thing, and that is 'Public Servants'. They are not, in fact advocates of their own power, like Little Hitler's.

I learned at lot  from him and when Libya was ravaged by its recent war, I was sad that the soil where he fought has yet to find the seeds of Democracy. It seems for any human endeavor towards, freedom and self determination, it is hard won.

I'm sure I could write more about his memories, but that is enough for today. He was a very special person, who would never submit to tyranny of any kind. Later in his life, he was often a defender of those who experienced it.

As way of postscript it is interesting that there is to be a film made again of the Battle of Tobrok and that the opportunity might arise for me to get a peak at the script from the independent commissioners who have asked our production outfit to cast an eye over it. I hope the script will not disappoint and at the very least will have the smell of authenticity about it. The trailer of the old Hollywood movie about the Desert Rats story of the 'Seige of Tobruk' is at this link here
One cant help noticing the melodrama, but the acting of Richard Burton is still superior.

The British Legion are gathering stories about War War 2 and it seemed right after all these years to write down something about the Desert Rats, who may have suffered from lack of recognition because their work was often so very difficult for many to hear. Anyway 70 years have elapsed so now one would hope that what they fought for, is understood or accepted part of society. It is sad that such a similar struggle is emerging for Arab countries again. Let's hope they understand it is a hard, long, dirty, dusty road.

Desert Rats of the 51st Highland Division

I can see why it has taken me so long to get down to writing about my Dad and his life in the 51st Highland Division in World War 2. There is in fact very little written about the contribution they made to the wining of the war and like many soldiers he didn't talk about it much as if by his feelings of having a mixture of shame and pride at being involved in some of the carnage of war that is a necessary part of it. However I should not let that stand in the way of thinking about how and what he did in the six years he was part of the 8th Army under the command of General Montgommery.
He got all the medals from six of the campaigns that were pertinent to the Division except the last one, the landing of the French campaign of Dunkirk because by then he was invalided out of action by shrapnel in his neck and also by contracting tuberculousis. He was sad, not to have been around for the victory that was there's in France and the final march of liberation into Berlin in 1945.

He spoke very fondly of his time in North Africa, as if it was the Desert Campaign that was the greatest challenge of his life. Often in rare moments of rememberance he would go back to the Battle of El Alamein and Torbruk commenting on many aspects of the battle tactics or the bitter memories of the deaths that occurred on both sides. He found the worse deaths to witness were those of the Panther Division tank men, who would often emerge from tanks on fire and very quickly die screaming, from the intense burning.
He was in the armoured Division so it was his job to load the shells into the modern day cannons called 25 pounders. He reached the rank of Corporal after joining the territorial army as a private in 1938, signing up for the whole six years before the announcement that war had been declared on Germany. This decision meant he was to be assigned to the professional force and training of the Desert Rats because they were signed into the army for the entire war expected to contribute fight time on all six campaigns over the period of the war. He had joined early for ideological reasons, like many he was fearful that the rise of fascism would engulf Europe, making the elitism within Nazism an unstoppable force. Once he had signed up, he seemed to enjoy the discipline and commradary of his unit.

Much was foreign to him because he had to learn how to look after the 25 pounder gun and drag it around with him for six years. He learned how to load the shells with out making them misfire, which though rare could happen with devastating results maiming those, who had placed them into the gun shaft. He became a well sought after gunner when it was realised his marksmanship in aligning his 25 pounder could successfully inflict a direct hit onto the enemy and he was quickly promoted to the rank of Corporal in charge of a small unit of 25 pounders.
He remarked on his worst moment on the 25 pounder lines was when the British RAF bombed the lines of the 8th Army by a mistake and it seemed because he was in the middle of the line he could not get out of the gun position. He was the only gunner on that portion of the Division to remain at his post during the faulty RAF bombing raid. He fondly told the story of the Major of the Armoured Division who shouted to him in fear 'Sutherland Bloody 'Well', Get Out of There Now'. I'm sure the commander did not always use this language but he perhaps seemed to know that Sutherland would NOT have abandoned his post, unless he was ordered to do so. My Dad was amused that his commander knew him by name and was able to pick him out from the crowd and thought he might have been worth saving that day.

He told other stories of the immense difficulty of the bombardment he helped to conduct on the enemy at the battle of El Alamien. It is interesting to know that none of the soldiers on the ground of the Desert Rats enjoyed, nor were they proud of the deaths they had to inflict on their enemy and he often spoke of the need to kill in the war, with great deep regret. (I mean proper deep regret)

He seemed to understand that the Highland Division was not always up to the mark, because when exhausted in Italy after 4 other campaigns some of the Divison succumbed to looting the enemy and at one point ill discipline had made the command consider the threat of decimation on the ranks. He knew about how blood lust was not to be encouraged and must be stamped out quickly in a band of soldiers and that the role of discipline must be establised in gunner crews to get things done no matter what happened to them.

He also spoke of the cruelties he saw at Tobruk meated out by both sides, when the lie of the land meant that the Armoured Divsion had to abandon the use of the 25 Pounders in favour of hand to hand combat during the seige. He was trained not only to work in the gun team but also got assigned to learning the art of stalking his enemy, by literally creeping up very close to them without their knowing he was there. One can only imagine what this skill was used for in combat.

I dont know much about the actual campaigns or the details of the war battle tactics but what I do know is that war takes its toll on the human being emotionally and it is certainly not the natural state for a human being to be in at any time in their life. For those who had to endure it, rather than glory in it, many became advocates against war. In the case of my Father he joined CND and the Ban the Bomb campaign of the 1950's and 60's. He also became a Liberal and SNP politician believing that actively contributing to the community could stave off the elements of corruption that had entered Europe in the form of fascism. His years as a soldier made him realise that change is not an impossible part of the human condition, but that it must be strived for on a daily basis. He said of Politicians that they are only one thing above all else 'Public Servants' not in fact advocates of their own power, like Little Hitler's.

I learned at lot  from him and when Libya was ravaged by its recent war, I was sad that the soil where he faught was yet to find the seeds of Democracy. It seems for any human endeavour towards, freedom and self detemination, it is hard won.

Im sure I could write more about his memories, but that is enough for today. He was very special and would never submit to tyranny of any kind and was often a defender of those who experienced it.

As way of postscript it is interesting that there is to be a film made again of the Battle of Tobrok and that the opportunity might arise for me to get the opportunity of a peak at the script from the independent commissioners who have asked our production outfit to cast an eye over it. I hope the script will not disappoint and at the very least will have the smell of authenticity about it.

Rememberance -Battle of El Alamein

70 years ago the 'Dessert Rats' as they were known as won the battle of El Alamein in the World war 2. The battle took place in the dessert in Eyppt close to the border with Libya. It is considered the decisive Battle of World war 2 because it seriously wounded the Nazi Forces, who were intent on creating a Fascist state in Europe. It is to the credit of all the 'Allied' soldiers that died in that war that they stopped Hitler from his goal of controlling the whole of Europe in a Fascist Regime, which based its ideology on an idea of a superior race that would control and exterminate all those who were minorities or who dared to disagree with them. Fascism is the opposite of Freedom.

My father, was a gunner with the 7th Armoured Division, as far as I understand, and he was in the Highland Division of the artillery Units which were known as the 50th. They were the armoured part of the Highland Division manning 25 poinder guns. It is fitting to remember him today on Rememberance Sunday and during the Anniversary of the Battle of the Battle of El Alamein.

Later on this week I will write a small memoir of the things he spoke about the war, when he faught with the Armoured Division for 6 campaigns, in North Africa and Italy. He survived the war, and died in 1997. The memoirs of the war were important to him and throughout his life he continued to work to educate people against the dangers of Fascist ideology. When he died we made sure he wore his Highland Division Tie with a military style funeral and a Scottish piper.

Donald Sutherland 1920 to 1997

Robert Burns -Humanism, God and Social Conscience

Robert Burns was an ‘Everyman’ in the way that he was able to appeal to believers in God and those firmly against Organised Religion. His approach in taking an equivocal position on the human spiritual condition earned him admiration from the Humanist Movement, who considered him their own, but he also gained admirers in the radical and reforming Religious Movements.  An ‘Everyman’ is defined as an ordinary person representative of the human race.

In literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual ^[1][2], with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances. The name derives from a 15th century English morality play called Everyman.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/everyman#ixzz2AmyM16Gf

The New York Times reported a speech by Robert Ingersoll in 1878, one of the founders of modern humanism, on Robert Burns. This is what Ingersoll had to say.

‘The man was a radical a real genuine man. This man believed in the dignity of labour in the nobility of the useful. This man believed in human love, in making heaven here, in judging men by their deeds instead of creeds and titles. This man believed in the liberty of the soul of thought and speech. This man believed in the sacred rights of the individual, he sympathised with the suffering and the oppressed. This man had the genius to change suffering and toil into song to enrich poverty, to make a peasant feel like a prince of the blood, to fill the lives of the lowly with love and light.’

 

The Chair of the Irish Humanist Association, Iain Decoys in an article in the Irish Humanism Magazine of 2009 ,called Robert Burns: A Scottish Sceptic. He makes the case that Robert Burns was a possible follower of Humanism before there was a movement for it. He eruditely defines Robert’s type of Religious perception as one of a sceptic in religious matters, who argued publically for 'tolerance and social justice.’ He robustly argues against the idea the Robert Burns was a supporter of the sectarian Religious Right wing, despite their supporters arguing that he was an advocate of their position.

 

Deboy’s explains how Burns is often mis –represented in his historical place in the scheme of things.  He says that ‘Burns has been called ‘The Ploughman Poet’, but this is somewhat misleading. It implies he was anti –intellectual, that he rejected a cosmopolitan lifestyle in favour of a more primitive, perhaps naïve way of life. But is completely at odds with his position in Enlightenment Edinburgh.’  He goes on to say Burns independence of mind leads him into deep scepticism about Religion when he attacks the Calvinistic hypocrisy of the Church in Holy Willies prayer. He even suggests that Burns may have questioned the Divinity of Christ though this is not substantiated in Burns writings. He correctly, however points out that Burns recognised an’ unbending moral code of seeming righteous religions could be at odds with social justice ‘.

He goes on to say Burns had to be careful about declaring his scepticism openly as this could ruin his reputation. Even his friends found it difficult to guess whether he had faith or whether he was mocking it. But whatever the case, there is a declaration of faith in this statement to Mrs Dunlop.

‘Jesus Christ, thou amiablest of characters, I trust thou art no imposter, and that thy revelation of blissful scenes of existence beyond death and the grave is not one of the many impositions which time after time have been palmed off on a credulous mankind’

But this is of course, a letter to one of the ‘whited sepulchres’, Mrs Dunlop, to whom he would be obsequious because she was an advocate of the Calvinistic views of the Church and a person who had the power to make his life difficult.

Preview of Robert Burns and Women

On the blog the return button is not working so there is no chance of making paragraphs so one must, as it were, read it in one breath. For the Romantics among us this is  my view on Robert Burns and Women (Pre - View of Academic Course Notes)

Robert Burns was a lover of women from the outset, and it almost seems his poetry was just catching up with his passion for them.

In his life he had 6 children out of wedlock and 9 children with Jean. Only 3 of the children survived family life, meaning that 6 of them died before adulthood. It is estimated that he must have had over 10 sexual affairs and countless other unconsummated dalliances with women, who then also became the focus of his poetry. His sexual encounters are legendary because he wrote about them and they are real life affairs making the power of his poetry all the more Romantic because each poem refers to real women in his life at that time. It was as if he was embarking on a theatrical seduction in some cases in that he knew they would become the subject of his poetry but it seems, he also cared for these women at the same time, it was not just mere poetic license.

 

However there is a downside. He seems to have taken most of the women for granted and once they are pregnant he has all but abandoned them. The worse example of this is the pregnancy of Jenny Clow who was the servant girl of Clarinda, known as Agnes McLehose. It is as if he in, not taking Clarinda to bed, takes his sexual frustrations out on the maid. By all accounts when Clarinda points out how ill Jenny is from the baby, Burns just is not interested in helping out with the child or contributing financially. Therefore there is something amiss in his attitude to women. In the case of Clarinda she suffers from immense social pressures because she is related as a cousin to Lord Craig and her upbringing in the social elite in Glasgow where her father was a surgeon, meant that she could not easily shake off the controversy raging in Ayrshire over his latest pregnant love Jean Armour. However Clarinda may have thought that he would choose her over Jean and she expresses bitter disappointment that he bows to social pressure to marry the maid. It is as if Robert Burns is continually living out some higher idea he has of sexual love that he just can’t quite seem to capture in real life, which he seems to easily master in Poetry. He seems to deliberately portray himself as a man seeking love through his muses, but who fails either to find a Women to return his love, or he for her. His poems are always seeking the moment, and when love is found, it slips away. The best example of this is in the poem Ae Fond Kiss, about Clarinda with whom he parts or similarly with Highland Mary who dies in child birth before he can bring her to his heart. Such tragedy is the stuff of poetry and myth but what makes his poetry work is that the verses are about real women, his real loves. Somehow therefore Burns in his literary personality is the epitome of the Romantic Lover, which in Literature has its equivalents in Bronte’s Heathcliff, or in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. But what make Burn’s Romance work more effectively even than these Literary Romances, is that none of the poems are divorced from his real life. These women he writes about are his girlfriends, lovers, and friends to the point that his descriptions of them gave him an ethereal quality creating the international image as a man always in love, always passionate and always rejected – a perfect companion for the Muses, for whom he lusted. Living up to this image was however not easy and it maybe in fact where the fantasy failed to create the reality particularly in his marriage where the sheer struggle to feed the children was taking its toll on both partners. The fact he stood by Jean although she was not his idea of his literary Romantic Love is the measure of the man, in that he stayed with her despite it all, protecting her and making sure she was provided for in life and even after he was gone.

Film shows it's educational potential

I was surprised when I was asked to teach classes about the poet Robert Burns. But I suppose I should not under estimate the amount of research I put into the screenplay, called, Red Rose about the life of the poet. After five years of research it was finally made in 2003 and then it was distributed across Europe by HBO who translated the script into 11 different languages for their TV channels. It was also screened on TV in China where it was translated into Manderin. At home in Scotland the Sun Newspaper distributed the film with 500,000 DVD's in its daily news circulation. The film therefore reached a mass audience. The fact that a Heritage Course can emerge from this shows that films are part of popular culture, effective in education and stimulate the economy.

Above is the Alloway Church made famous by the Robert Burns poem Tam O'Shanter. Today, the film will help create the basis of a six week course on the life of the poet. Im flattered to be a 'Visting Lecturer'. However I must say it wont stop me from producing films because it is only for a few hours a week and I have plenty other films to be getting on with namely another bio pic on the Life of the little known documentary maker Jenny Gilbertson, who made films about the Shetland Islands in Scotland and the life of the Inuit Indians in Canada. (Seriously worthy cultural stuff) But it doesnt stop there because Im developing an array of different script ideas and possiblities...but I must say the Templar script is langishing unfinished. Something to do for those wintery dark nights I suppose.

Alloway Church again with that famous bell tower image. Photos taken by Mairi Sutherland. Sadly the documentaries have alluded me for now, but it is difficult to make them the prime focus with so much else going on. One has to cast ones seeds as it were on all types of ground to see which ones grows first. In the meantime it seems Robert Burns is the focus again at least for the time being. I still await the sound mix of Going Green Movie........

Red Rose Trailer.mov

Final Cut Completed

July and August are practically dead for film makers because the acquisition executives go on holiday until September - trying to raise a cogent statement from anybody on the phone is impossible. So those in the know, carry on with their productions waiting until the distribution community gets back to work. I, in the meantime wait to see when the sound mix of Going Green will come about. I completed the final cut in July and I'm happy to say Going Green lived up to it's intial pitch as a 'feel good road movie'. Here are the lead actors, Darren Enright and Rachael Rath, looking over their lines in between shots, in Spetember last year during the shooting of Going Green.

While I wait for the sound mix, I have turned my attention to the subject of my first screenplay, Robert Burns who is on my mind because I am devising evening classes about his life for the University of Strathclyde. Below are some photgraphs from the making of the film, Red Rose, about Robert Burns.

Above, Jean Armour, wife of Robert Burns played by Lucy Russell along side Robert Burns played by Michael Rodgers.

Above, Jean and Robert Burns in a pastoral scene with newborn child.

Michael Rodgers catches the attention of actress Rebecca Palmer who received an award of best actress for her role as Burn's lover, Maria Riddell.

Always good to have a Redcoat standing by to keep the establisment on their toes. Captain Dodds played by Thomas Hartley.

Red Carpet Ticket

Here I am on the Red Carpet at the Cannes 2012 Festival. It's a bad picture I agree taken on my mobile phone by another Cinema attendee who didn't know how to use the camera and he received lessons there and then. I was attending the Lumiere theatre to see a 'Taste of Money' and I had a ticket for the 'Balcon'. Unknown to me those allocated Balcon tickets are not allowed to walk across the entire carpet, and only get access from the side near the stairs. To my disappointment I did not get the photograph I wanted by my paparazi friend who was working on the centre stage of the Carpet. To get the photo I would have had to make the embarrassing walk through others coming towards me, so I lost my nerve and delicately ascended the stairs with my mobile phone and Cinefil friend. It is quite an acheivement to get centre stage with Red carpet photos. It should not have been that difficult. As a member of the Marche Du Film the commercial part of the Independent screenings I'm supposed to be able to attend any screening except the Lumiere Cinema Competion Films, for which I'm allocated the choice to receive them on a daily basis from the Festival website. However the website is on a timer and many tickets get timed out before the cinema allocations are finished. To get a guarenteed ticket for the Lumiere you have to go on line at 8am and even then depending on your allowance of points given for the whole ten days you might not have enough for your choosen film. So it is a lottery. Many March Du Film professionals complain that they are not even allocated Lumiere tickets on the allocations. One such film producer was Lien Chau Zhang, photographed with me below who decided to see if we could join the local French people of Cannes, with their signs requesting a ticket for the Lumiere screening of the film 'Mud'. I was amused as you can see by the irony of trying this, but we didn't get anyone to give up their pre-arranged tickets. I was not surprised.

Somehow the tickets on a first come first served basis didn't seem to reach the throng of film makers but were dispensed to the Local French glitterati. My paparazi friend used to laugh because he would see the same people walk across the Red Carpet on every screening and he would struggle to find the Movie Stars of the films. As a professional he worked the carpet every day and was guarded about the photos he took. We smiled and laughed together and I told him I promised to get the right tickets for the 'Assenture' part of the Lumiere Theatre for next years Festival. That was it - my one Red Carpet photo. Again Janet Price Ward mentioned in my last blog was irate about how she could never get tickets for the Lumiere despite living locally and also being a member of the Marche Du Film commercial market while holding a registration badge. Her opinion was that they are sold long before the Festival began. I sound like Im moaning but well I had more to moan about like many others it was very noticable that almost all the Competition Films were distributed by the same distributor called Le Pacte. Had they accidentally got lucky and just happened to have choosen almost all the films in Competition. Maybe they had 'good taste' and they knew what they were doing? Either way the film industry doyens saw the Logo film after film and begun to mutter under there breaths again. Eventually Indiewire spoke up by making the observation that Le Pacte had more than an usual number of films in the Awards Line Up if not all. How could this be? Whatever is the case free speach requires diversity in commerce. Nor can commerce applaud such monoplies of product in the hands of only a few because ultimately that one voice will eventually determine the creative voice of the talent while it grows in the market. Democracy also requires a less demanding totalitarian approach by the Captains of Industry because this works both ways. Films that are bought by investors purely to grace an at risk portfolio may not survive the cynical use of of them purely as assets to float Hedge Funds. Producers must beware of such deals because they are only workable if the hedge funders are afloat and the distributors honour their outlays. The case in point is ICAP a commodies brokers who went into film sales without understanding the 15 year turn around of a picture. They went out of business because they did not value the product in the long term, but only as a quick turn around for their investment. A short sighted policy, which only valued the films as if they were like bricks in a one off sale. Not so a film has multiple capacity for sales in different countries over a long time scale. Below Cannes 2012 in celebration at night during a firework display caught in the lamp light of a back street. (Photo by Mairi Sutherland)

Celebrations aside one statistic that none of us can be proud of is that this year saw the percentage of Female Film Directors go down to 5% in worldwide numbers within the film industry. Indiewire listed the following statistics for the overall work force in the film industry where it seems Women are far from being equal citizens. This study analyzed behind-the-scenes employment of 2,636 individuals working on the top 250 domestic grossing films (foreign films omitted) of 2011. • 38% of films employed 0 or 1 woman in the roles considered, 23% employed 2 women, 30% employed 3 to 5 women, and 7% employed 6 to 9 women. • A historical comparison of women’s employment on the top 250 films in 2011 and 1998 reveals that the percentage of women directors has declined. The percentages of women writers and producers have increased slightly. The percentages of women executive producers, editors, and cinematographers have remained the same. • Women comprised 5% of all directors working on the top 250 films of 2011. Ninety four percent (94%) of the films had no female directors. • Women accounted for 14% of writers working on the top 250 films of 2011. Seventy seven percent (77%) of the films had no female writers. • Women comprised 18% of all executive producers working on the top 250 films of 2011. Fifty nine percent (59%) of the films had no female executive producers. • Women accounted for 25% of all producers working on the top 250 films of 2011. Thirty six percent (36%) of the films had no female producers. • Women accounted for 20% of all editors working on the top 250 films of 2011. Seventy six percent (76%) of the films had no female editors. • Women comprised 4% of all cinematographers working on the top 250 films of 2011. Ninety six percent (96%) of the films had no female cinematographers. • Women were most likely to work in the documentary, drama, and comedy genres. They were least likely to work in the horror, action, and animated genres. Report compiled by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, School of Theatre, Television and Film, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, 619.594.6301. If you are a women, please join the film industry, it needs you!

Cannes Film Festival 2012 - Pornography Licensed to Thrill

Here in the rain of Cannes 2012 is from left to right, Calum Johnson, (Director of Little District), actor Darren Enright and Mairi Sutherland outside the Film Screening Cinema. Despite several down pours from an unusual amount of rain in May for the Cannes Film Market, the screenings of the films Little District and Villains, supported by Palm Tree Entertainment, were well attended with a respectable number of film distributors. Stealth Media helmed by the Michael Cowan has taken up handling the sales of these two pictures. Some of the rest of the film catalogue is going on to Screen Media and other trusted sales consultants.

Above Robbie Moffat director of Villains with the actors of the film Darren Enright and Chris Bearne. Whilst Palm Tree Entertainment achieved, its goals for the festival tinged with success garnered from years in the business, I could not help noticing many aspects of the Festival organisation and selection which are often ignored by many film makers in their clamour for recognition. At first it is not entirely noticeable that there is an accepted and increasingly oppressive assumption by the Festival Organizers that women must adhere to traditional social mores of being submissive, non-creative, social appendages, whose sole purpose is to become a sex object or a clothes horse, the two not being mutually exclusive to each other. But how do I substantiate such a claim in 2012 when apparently women have supposedly been liberated? One only has to look at the type of films choosen by the Selection Committee to see that things have not moved along in France for Women. The film in competition Post Tenebras Lux certainly raised the bar on this subject by controversially showing women in a bad light, through a pornographic scene placed gratuitously inside a story about bad parents living in a rural area of Mexico. The scene in question was set in a Turkish bath, not something found in Mexico, where it seems the locals had orgies there regularly. The orgy commenced with the homosexual violent rape of boys in a toilet, though not clearly seen by the audience because this was filmed in the distance, the impact of the action was never the less the same - pornographic. The rest of the scene shows a nubile female being pimped to boys by an older women, who holds her while she has sex with one of them. The girl then thanks the older women for helping her, which is a laughable moment in that any women being taken by a few boys in a public bath is certainly not going to like it. In this sickening moment I realized that this was no better than a sleazy pornography story of the kind one avoided on foreign adult channels. As if the pornography was not enough on its own, the French added insult to injury, by rewarding the film director of Post Tenebras Lux with the Best Director Prize. Their defense is that the story line was pointing out parental corruption, but I would argue that this could have been achieved with a better script and without the pornography. Sadly such a story is not a one off because another film with pornographic content was Korean Film 'A Taste of Money' crafted by the accomplished Hang Sang-Soo. While the film was about the corruption which money brings to a political elite, the film was cheapened by a scene that showed 3 'servants' performing fellatio, while clad in pseudo sadomasochistic outfits. One can only assume that film directors of this calabre know that such sex scenes give their film selling power, but they fail to see the social effects on women. Janette Price Ward a PR consultant for many film companies in Cannes over the years, said that the sexual content of many films 'In Competition' could be judged by the easy availability of tickets for these films, because their box office was not guarded or valued by the French organizers. She went on to say that sexual content was a common prerequisite for films selected for 'In Competition' Section of the Festival. She also had a bee in her bonnet not just about the casual preponderance of pornography in most competition films she had seen over the years but also how the Red Carpet tickets were dispensed. She said the Red carpet was mainly only to a French elite of Cannes, and not the Market Du Film goers who paid for the festival with their badge registrations. ( More about this later in another blog) I began to wonder how many films 'En Competition' had had gratuitous sexual content in them because I had only managed to get Red Carpet Tickets for two of the films, thus confirming Janet's hypothesis. Whatever is the case, any film that has what could be regarded as a legal definition of pornography, should not be honored by the Selection Committee. In that this is ignored, shows how much women's rights are disregarded at the Cannes Film Festival.

Me with wet hair at the Cannes Film festival Oh La La! And just in time to meet Euan McGregor! But it seems many agree about this, and only mutter under their breath, rather than trying to speak out for fear of being seen to criticize the autocratic selection process. Some close to that process this year did seem uneasy about the way women were portrayed. In a chance meeting with the actor Euan Mcgregor who was on the Jury for the Festival, I found him voicing concern that he had not seen enough Female Film Director's Films. In discussing it with him, he suggested that as a female film director I was indeed a rare commodity and he was unsettled about how women were treated generally in the film business, if not just in France. So people like him had noticed something was not quite right about how the selectors had related to Women, so it was not just me then! A few weeks earlier the Guardian Newspaper had also commented on the small number of female film directors selected in Cannes. Considering that only 6 percent of women are working as film directors reveals how much sexual chauvinism exists in keeping this statistic in place while conversely 94 percent of men are holding the position of authority as film directors. Nor has the number of female producers of film increased with only 15 percent making this grade. The most powerful industry in the world perpetuates the most powerful discrimination against women in the world! Few Arab Spring Film Makers! Furthermore the absence of the Arab Spring Film makers except for one Egyptian Film in Competition further showed how completely out of touch the Festival Selection Committee was with the rest of the world. The planet had seen several revolutions since last year but you would never know from the Cannes Film Festival Selection. The Arab voice is strongly needed if only to correct the over insistence and misuse of pornography against women, which is rightly condemned in Arabic settings. Again a chance meeting lead me further to see how Cannes Film festival organizers have fallen into the abusive practices, which maintain the oppression of women. A young girl, on her way back home, had just resigned from her job as a Stewardess on a Yacht in the Harbour of the Cannes Riviera. I asked her why she had done this. She explained that it was commonly expected that as well as serving the guests they might also perform sexual favours for the Yacht owners. She was not going to prostitute herself. She was off to get another job despite the incentive of earning over 20,000 in one season. She was concerned about her friend who had stayed, because she had been threatened for not complying with the 'sexual requirement' of the job. She was a strong girl and she was angered by what she had seen as the wealthy elite forcing hidden forms of 'prostitution' in the guise of a service industry. So this is the under belly of the Cannes Film Festival. Inside the veneer of the glitter and 'gold' the fact is, women are still treated as second class citizens in 2012. Changing this will not be easy unless actors and film directors refuse to participate in the sexual exploitation of their art and stop ignoring the blurred line between sex and pornography. There is also a bigger social message that is being missed in Cannes Film festival by ignoring the impact of pornography on society. The court case involving the 12 year old on the Isle of Skye, who raped 3 girls while accessing internet porn sites, shows how the innocent can be mislead by pornography into believing it is an ordinary form of sexual expression. It falls on institutions like the Cannes Film Festival to take a more responsible approach to the promulgation of pornography by refusing to showcase it no matter how good the rest of a film may appear. What is galling is that a voice which represents only 6 percent of the film industry is hardly likely to be loud enough to drown out the advocates of porn who seem to be in control of the selection process itself.

Mairi Sutherland 'Producer Film Direstor' with Janet Price Ward, Public Relations Specialist

Here is the poster for my film 'Going Green'. I like it, which makes a change. I think it conveys the spirit of the film. Sadly this film will miss the Cannes Film Market next week, to begin it's post production,in July. In the picture the lead characters Nigel and Amber, played by Sean Enright and Rachel Rath look concerned because of a 'scene' unfolding at the New Age Hippy Camp where they end up after their house is re-possessed. It's a film for these times of recession, when people are struggling financially and forced to work together to try to overcome their problems. But at the same time it is a comedy, which I think successfully pokes fun at hippie values, and rat race conformity, then challenges both to change each other to create better lifestyles. I hope it will reach a screen near in the UK, that's the plan anyway. In the meantime the film Little District (directed by Calum Johnson) also starring Sean Enright will debut at the Cannes Film Market along with Robbie Moffat's Villan's. Given these other film's will be coming on stream soon it could mean 'Going Green' will have the time to run on the festival circuit before screening in either Berlin or Cannes next year.

More Pictures of Red Rose Film

Here is the film poster. Red Rose was translated into over 12 different languages including Chinese. Shown in many countries on TV, it has enjoyed screenings in Central Europe on HBO's satalite channel.

I wrote the screenplay during 1997 to 1999, but the film was not made by Palm Tree UK until 2004. As a native of the town of Dumfries I was brought up hearing the local stories about Robert Burns, which were not available in current books of the time.

SYNOPSIS
AD1792. Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, falls in love with an aristocrat's wife. Denounced as a supporter of the French Revolution, four years later he is dead.

Robert Burns overcomes his upbringing as a farm labourer to become the national poet of Scotland. Love comes his way in the form of Jean Armour but his attempts at securing a happy relationship are blighted by Jean's father who disapproves of Burns. Finally, Jean and Robbie are married and Burns tries to settle down to a happy married life, but the success of his literary career brings with it many temptations and he is unable to resist the attention of the aristocratic women who fawn upon him.

Finding difficulties in supporting his growing family of children, Burns seeks work as a local tax inspector in the port of Dumfries while Britain is threatened by the spread of the French Revolution. He falls in love with married aristocrat Maria Riddell, and through this, he is unwittingly exposed to vicious rumors about him. Siding with the sentiments of the revolution, his republican stance provokes retaliation from the aristocracy. Walter Riddell, Maria's husband, circulates false rumours to ruin his reputation. Systematically Burns is ousted from all polite society, then reduced to poverty by his government employers. Only his wife Jean and his friend Lewars stand by him.

Burns, blighted by illness since youth, bids to ease his suffering by giving in to the cures of Doctor Maxwell, who wrongly prescribes mercury. Faced with death, Burns reaffirms his love for Maria, but comes to terms with his powerlessness to right his many affairs in the face of his marriage to Jean while he fights to make sure his work is not destroyed.

Below this picture shows how he got himself into trouble.

This picture shows the reconstruction in the film of an evening at the Theatre Royal, when Robert Burns was reputed to have started a revolt because he refused to stand for the National Anthem. The audience reciprocated his jesture, by singing the C'Ira instead, the song of the French revolution.

The DVD is available to download on Amazon.com
See the trailer here in the video side bar on You Tube.com by searching the channel.

Red Rose the film about Robert Burns finds some photos

This picture is of the actor Michael Rodgers playing the role of the Scottish poet Robert Burns. It was created by the still photographer Chaz Boulton as a modern day teaser copy of the famous Burns original picture by the painter Naismith.

This picture was shot in the very place Robert Burns frequented, the local pub of Mauchline, called Posie Nancies. Here Michael Rodgers, in the historical room of the pub, which remains the same as it did in the 1790's.

This photo was chosen for the A4 poster because it seemed to sum up the film. Here Lucy Russell plays Jean Armour, the wife of Robert Burns. In the coming weeks, with the discovery of these lost pictures I will be revisiting them to explain how the film crew embarked on recreating the 1790's on 35mm.

UN Security Council is dodging the moral question

The UN Security Council are still mulling over a way forward on Syria. In the meantime 300 people have been killed there this week. The moral question still remains that the Geneva Convention is not being implemented there.

The ambush and subsequent death of Chief of the Red Cross of Idlib area of Syria, Dr Abed Razq Jebairo, marks a sinister turn in the events of the Syrian Revolution. It is not likely given the call by the head of the Syrian Free Army for the implementation of Geneva Convention safety zones that his forces would have accomplished such an act of war violation. It therefore falls on the supporters of the Assad regime to take a long hard look at the direction they are moving towards in a country where the absence of the protection of the Red Cross Community exists. Such an event must also be considered very seriously by the international community because their commitment to the Geneva Convention is a stake here. If they fail to come to the aid of innocent civilians killed by this Regime, they are saying that International Law is of no importance. They are also saying that short term political goals of security, wealth and vested interests are more important than peoples lives. It is little wonder that almost every state in the world is experiencing unrest from it's people because current reigning politicians are failing to address principles enshrined in the Charter of Human Rights. It is no longer good enough for politicians just to caretake their own interests. While in power, they must seek ways of addressing the serious problems effecting their people and then try to solve them. Where a conclave of tyranny exists, the spirit of democracy in countries where representatives are elected, can not give the excuse that Human Rights of All is not their responsiblity. Nor can they say that the Geneva Convention is only for one country or one race, but it should be for all people where ever they live on this increasingly failing planet. For a politician to renage on this principle is to betray humanity.

Therefore when it comes to the UN Security council it can not ignore the violations of the Red Cross which amounts to gross war crimes. If they don't view this in that light then they are failing the Geneva Convention's protection of civilians and they are demeaning it to the status of a scrap of paper. It is little wonder that the people of the World are on mass rejecting the stewardship of their Leaders who seem incapable of supporting their aspirations.

It is also not surprising that the Syrian populace have begun a campaign to have the right to self defense in the absence of Geneva Convention Common Law being implemented by their Government or anyone else for that matter. However if the international Community orchestrates the abandonment of the Syrian people in favour of power politics their leaders are sowing the seeds of their own demise because in underestimating the moral code of the common populace they are sealing the fate of their own destruction.

Better then to uphold the Geneva Convention in ALL cirumstances than make it a scrap of paper.

It seems the Geneva Convention is only a scrap of Paper.

The ambush and subsequent death of Chief of the Red Cross of Idlib area of Syria, Dr Abed Razq Jebairo, marks a sinister turn in the events of the Syrian Revolution. It is not likely given the call by the head of the Syrian Free Army for the implementation of Geneva Convention safety zones that his forces would have accomplished such an act of war violation. It therefore falls on the supporters of the Assad regime to take a long hard look at the direction they are moving towards in a country where the absence of the protection of the Red Cross Community exists. Such an event must also be considered very seriously by the international community because their commitment to the Geneva Convention is a stake here. If they fail to come to the aid of innocent civilians killed by this Regime, they are saying that International Law is of no importance. They are also saying that short term political goals of security, wealth and vested interests are more important than peoples lives. It is little wonder that almost every state in the world is experiencing unrest from it's people because current reigning politicians are failing to address principles enshrined in the Charter of Human Rights. It is no longer good enough for politicians just to caretake their own interests. While in power, they must seek ways of addressing the serious problems effecting their people and then try to solve them. Where a conclave of tyranny exists, the spirit of democracy in countries where representatives are elected, can not give the excuse that Human Rights of All is not their responsiblity. Nor can they say that the Geneva Convention is only for one country or one race, but it should be for all people where ever they live on this increasingly failing planet. For a politician to renage on this principle is to betray humanity.

Therefore when it comes to the UN Security council it can not ignore the violations of the Red Cross which amounts to gross war crimes. If they don't view this in that light then they are failing the Geneva Convention's protection of civilians and they are demeaning it to the status of a scrap of paper. It is little wonder that the people of the World are on mass rejecting the stewardship of their Leaders who seem incapable of supporting their aspirations.

It is also not surprising that the Syrian populace have begun a campaign to have the right to self defense in the absence of Geneva Convention Common Law being implemented by their Government or anyone else for that matter. However if the international Community orchestrates the abandonment of the Syrian people in favour of power politics their leaders are sowing the seeds of their own demise because in underestimating the moral code of the common populace they are sealing the fate of their own destruction.

Better then to uphold the Geneva Convention in ALL cirumstances than make it a scrap of paper.

Safety Zones for Syria are a Human Right, but they are threatened by deceit

Update Ribbon Friday 6th Janaury 2012
************************************************************************************************
Large Explosions were reported in Damascus Qaboun districts in the night with another reported in Midan, Domascus this morning. Activists say including the 10 dead from the explosion in Damascus reported by the BBC there are 35 dead in #Syria today, some singled out in other shooting incidents. There are over 100 demonstrations today throughout Syria in line with Dignity strike, which has moved up a notch to be called the Noise Revolution Strike. Over 69 spontaneous demonstrations took place in Damascus city.

A worrying trend which seems to have developed with the Syrian Government regime is the misuse of Red Cross symbol on vehicles used to carry shooting squads. A video has emerged posted by the Red Cross in Geneva on it's website from November 2011 which clearly shows how a vehicle was used by the government army falsely marked with the neutral medical Red Cross emblem. Such a tactic by the Assad regime is devastating to the reputation of the Red Cross but it is also dangerous development, seriously undermining it's attempts to set up Hospital safety zones. Unverified reports say that there may have been more use of false Red Cross vehicles firing into protestors this week. The Red Cross have flagged up the misuse of their emblem in Syria as a violation of the Geneva convention. The crime of falsely displaying the Red Cross symbol with intent to deceive comes with a 25 year prison sentence so it is a serious violation of human rights and international trust for any country to perform.

But with such a serious action, the even more serious consequence is that by undermining the Red Cross, the Assad Government is jeopardizing the creation of neutral safety zones for civilians. It is little wonder that the Military Commander of the Free Army has cast up a warning this week of further reprisals when the military request for a safety zone has been so tarnished. What is even more shocking is that the international community would allow Assad to get away with it. Below is an explanation of civilian SAFETY ZONES
(By the way Goulian head of the Syrian national Council has requested there be Safety Zones as well as a No Fly Zone in a restricted area of the country when he was interviewed by the BBC yesterday)

********************************************************************************************

Syrian National Council launches new Website at the url http://syriancouncil.org/
Red Cross Fail to implement Safety Zones in Syria

When you examine the International Committee for the Red Cross's guidelines on Safety Zones in places of war you have to read it twice, not because it's a hard read but because one's mind races at the thought of a solitary soldier walking through the enemy line trying to organize the correct apparatus to set them up, with the agreement of an enemy, who could fire on him at any moment.

I imagine the vehicle he travels in winding though his own lines, taking the path across his own comfort zone knowing he has cover from his own side, but then entering enemy territory holding his fire, perhaps with a makeshift sign of white and red trying convey he has a message to deliver. Then being fired on, luckily avoiding the fire then reaching the enemy commanders outpost. What do they say to each other? How do they begin the truce if only in selected areas of ground, in hospitals and designated neutralised zones for children, women, the sick, the old, the wounded civilians as well as injured soldiers of both sides? They must speak to each other man to man and say Yes Ok we will do it, we will mark out our hospitals with a 5 mile excusion zone, we will assign towns as neutral zones, we will tape off villages for the wounded an perhaps even allow an aid corridor to feed the children, the women, the old and the dying. They have to agree to do this together, then instruct their troops to abide by this new way of doing things.

But this is not a new idea Henry Dunnat founder of the Red Cross, was the creator of an idea that was to revolutionize war. It successfully reduced civilian casualties, and deaths of soldiers in war whose right it became to be treated for their wounds. He advocated safety zones, neutral, hospitals, and living areas for people caught up in the tragedy of war. In 1870 in the Franco Prussian war he himself walked across the battle field to the enemy side where he began talks with them. When they agreed he put up the Red tape himself around the Hospitals and Villages or even Towns where the wounded were then to be treated. He campaigned for extended neutralised zones therefore allowing food and supplies into these towns. Today we know them as neutralised zones called the Humanitarian Corridor normally campaigned for by the UN when it has successfully secured access to the country at war. His wonderful idea was to become reality in 1938 with the draft constitution of the Geneva Agreement. Later in 1949 it received approval from all countries, after World War 2, to become what is known as the GENEVA CONVENTION. Since then it has become the world wide constitution for the Human Rights of children, men, women, unborn and the dying soldier in war to have dignity in being removed for the battlefield.
Here below are the guidelines from the 1949 4th Geneva Convention word for word, but to enact these simple things there needs to be intermediaries, to make requests to the other side to create space for civilians to remain as human beings in their own homes. The Convention also requests that these intermediaries are the legal right of both sides, to accomplish these zones.


GENERAL 1949 GENEVA CONVENTION 4th PROTOCOL article 14

1. ' Terminology '

The terminology in normal use should first be defined. A distinction is drawn between:

(a) ' hospital zones and localities, ' generally of a permanent character, organized outside the combat zone in order to shelter military or civilian wounded and sick from long range weapons, especially aerial bombardment (1);

(b) ' safety, zones and localities, ' generally of a permanent character, organized outside the combat zone in order to shelter certain categories of the civilian population, which owing to their weakness require special protection (children, old people, expectant mothers, etc.) from long range weapons, especially aerial bombardment (2).

[p.207]
(c) ' hospital and safety zones and localities, ' which are a combination of (a) and (b) above;

(d) ' neutralized zones, ' generally of a temporary character, established in the actual combat zone to protect both combatant and non-combatant wounded and sick, as well as all members of the civilian population who are in the area and not taking part in the hostilities, from military operations in the neighbourhood. END QUOTE


UN's Fails to Act on Syryia

It remains for the UN to act out, it's own bible, the Geneva Convention in Syria where the Opposition have made repeated requests for the safety zones to be set up. It also remains for the Red Cross to enforce its own guidelines in Homs where there are no designated civilian safety zones or neutral hospitals. There instead, the Red Cross have created the dangerous turf war of a compromise that only one hospital is freely available to Opposition fighters or supporters. This arrangement is NOT a safety zone but a poor compromise that bears no relation to the Geneva Convention. The Geneva representative of the RED CROSS is currently unavailable for comment due to leave over the New Year. I await his answer.

The Syrian National Council actively support the need for Safety Zones.

It remains if the International community will swiftly set up the apparatus to do so under the security council or the other processes available to it under the UN charter of Human Rights and Organs. Meanwhile the Syrian People await with their Children under fire.

Safety Zones for Syria are a Human and Military Right

NEWS UPDATE RIBBON *******UPDATE ********UPDATE*********UPDATE********UPDATE*********UPDATE*****
Reports yesterday evening - 6 or more were killed during localized demonstrations in each city and town of Syria. In Damascus alone there were more that 10 district protests against Assad's ruling Government. One nurse was killed in Dumayr, 3 were people were killed in Hama, I in Madayana another in Qamahanah. In Homs a doctor was killed, his name was Imad Sawaf. The Qamahanah death was named as Mohamad Sweden. One Funeral took place in Homs and another in Idlib. There was an explosion near the Rasan pipeline late last night. Blue painted tanks were seen on the outskirts of Homs in an area where shelling had previously taken place from evidence of fallen masonery. Snipers were still seen patrolling rooftops as a deterent for protesters. Many wore white gowns indicating they were ready for martyrdom. Today via Algazeer the Commander of the Syria Free Army, who has been the only one in the Arab Spring, to assert his right for safety zones, said if the killing does not stop he will have no choice but to step up the offensive. He was angry that deaths had not ceased since the Arab League had been on Syrian soil.
************************************************************************************************

Syrian National Council launches new Website at the url http://syriancouncil.org/
Red Cross Fail to implement Safety Zones in Syria

When you examine the International Committee for the Red Cross's guidelines on Safety Zones in places of war you have to read it twice, not because it's a hard read but because one's mind races at the thought of a solitary soldier walking through the enemy line trying to organize the correct apparatus to set them up, with the agreement of an enemy, who could fire on him at any moment.

I imagine the vehicle he travels in winding though his own lines, taking the path across his own comfort zone knowing he has cover from his own side, but then entering enemy territory holding his fire, perhaps with a makeshift sign of white and red trying convey he has a message to deliver. Then being fired on, luckily avoiding the fire then reaching the enemy commanders outpost. What do they say to each other? How do they begin the truce if only in selected areas of ground, in hospitals and designated neutralised zones for children, women, the sick, the old, the wounded civilians as well as injured soldiers of both sides? They must speak to each other man to man and say Yes Ok we will do it, we will mark out our hospitals with a 5 mile excusion zone, we will assign towns as neutral zones, we will tape off villages for the wounded an perhaps even allow an aid corridor to feed the children, the women, the old and the dying. They have to agree to do this together, then instruct their troops to abide by this new way of doing things.

But this is not a new idea Henry Dunnat founder of the Red Cross, was the creator of an idea that was to revolutionize war. It successfully reduced civilian casualties, and deaths of soldiers in war whose right it became to be treated for their wounds. He advocated safety zones, neutral, hospitals, and living areas for people caught up in the tragedy of war. In 1870 in the Franco Prussian war he himself walked across the battle field to the enemy side where he began talks with them. When they agreed he put up the Red tape himself around the Hospitals and Villages or even Towns where the wounded were then to be treated. He campaigned for extended neutralised zones therefore allowing food and supplies into these towns. Today we know them as neutralised zones called the Humanitarian Corridor normally campaigned for by the UN when it has successfully secured access to the country at war. His wonderful idea was to become reality in 1938 with the draft constitution of the Geneva Agreement. Later in 1949 it received approval from all countries, after World War 2, to become what is known as the GENEVA CONVENTION. Since then it has become the world wide constitution for the Human Rights of children, men, women, unborn and the dying soldier in war to have dignity in being removed for the battlefield.
Here below are the guidelines from the 1949 4th Geneva Convention word for word, but to enact these simple things there needs to be intermediaries, to make requests to the other side to create space for civilians to remain as human beings in their own homes. The Convention also requests that these intermediaries are the legal right of both sides, to accomplish these zones.


GENERAL 1949 GENEVA CONVENTION 4th PROTOCOL article 14

1. ' Terminology '

The terminology in normal use should first be defined. A distinction is drawn between:

(a) ' hospital zones and localities, ' generally of a permanent character, organized outside the combat zone in order to shelter military or civilian wounded and sick from long range weapons, especially aerial bombardment (1);

(b) ' safety, zones and localities, ' generally of a permanent character, organized outside the combat zone in order to shelter certain categories of the civilian population, which owing to their weakness require special protection (children, old people, expectant mothers, etc.) from long range weapons, especially aerial bombardment (2).

[p.207]
(c) ' hospital and safety zones and localities, ' which are a combination of (a) and (b) above;

(d) ' neutralized zones, ' generally of a temporary character, established in the actual combat zone to protect both combatant and non-combatant wounded and sick, as well as all members of the civilian population who are in the area and not taking part in the hostilities, from military operations in the neighbourhood. END QUOTE


UN's Fails to Act on Syryia

It remains for the UN to act out, it's own bible, the Geneva Convention in Syria where the Opposition have made repeated requests for the safety zones to be set up. It also remains for the Red Cross to enforce its own guidelines in Homs where there are no designated civilian safety zones or neutral hospitals. There instead, the Red Cross have created the dangerous turf war of a compromise that only one hospital is freely available to Opposition fighters or supporters. This arrangement is NOT a safety zone but a poor compromise that bears no relation to the Geneva Convention. The Geneva representative of the RED CROSS is currently unavailable for comment due to leave over the New Year. I await his answer.

The Syrian National Council actively support the need for Safety Zones.

It remains if the International community will swiftly set up the apparatus to do so under the security council or the other processes available to it under the UN charter of Human Rights and Organs. Meanwhile the Syrian People await with their Children under fire.

A request for a Safety Zone by Syria can't be ignored It's a HUMAN RIGHT

Syrian National Council launches new Website at the url http://syriancouncil.org/
Red Cross Fail to implement Safety Zones in Syria

When you examine the International Committee for the Red Cross's guidelines on Safety Zones in places of war you have to read it twice, not because it's a hard read but because one's mind races at the thought of a solitary soldier walking through the enemy line trying to organize the correct apparatus to set them up, with the agreement of an enemy, who could fire on him at any moment.

I imagine the vehicle he travels in winding though his own lines, taking the path across his own comfort zone knowing he has cover from his own side, but then entering enemy territory holding his fire, perhaps with a makeshift sign of white and red trying convey he has a message to deliver. Then being fired on, luckily avoiding the fire then reaching the enemy commanders outpost. What do they say to each other? How do they begin the truce if only in selected areas of ground, in hospitals and designated neutralised zones for children, women, the sick, the old, the wounded civilians as well as injured soldiers of both sides? They must speak to each other man to man and say Yes Ok we will do it, we will mark out our hospitals with a 5 mile excusion zone, we will assign towns as neutral zones, we will tape off villages for the wounded an perhaps even allow an aid corridor to feed the children, the women, the old and the dying. They have to agree to do this together, then instruct their troops to abide by this new way of doing things.

But this is not a new idea Henry Dunnat founder of the Red Cross, was the creator of an idea that was to revolutionize war. It successfully reduced civilian casualties, and deaths of soldiers in war whose right it became to be treated for their wounds. He advocated safety zones, neutral, hospitals, and living areas for people caught up in the tragedy of war. In 1870 in the Franco Prussian war he himself walked across the battle field to the enemy side where he began talks with them. When they agreed he put up the Red tape himself around the Hospitals and Villages or even Towns where the wounded were then to be treated. He campaigned for extended neutralised zones therefore allowing food and supplies into these towns. Today we know them as neutralised zones called the Humanitarian Corridor normally campaigned for by the UN when it has successfully secured access to the country at war. His wonderful idea was to become reality in 1938 with the draft constitution of the Geneva Agreement. Later in 1949 it received approval from all countries, after World War 2, to become what is known as the GENEVA CONVENTION. Since then it has become the world wide constitution for the Human Rights of children, men, women, unborn and the dying soldier in war to have dignity in being removed for the battlefield.
Here below are the guidelines from the 1949 4th Geneva Convention word for word, but to enact these simple things there needs to be intermediaries, to make requests to the other side to create space for civilians to remain as human beings in their own homes. The Convention also requests that these intermediaries are the legal right of both sides, to accomplish these zones.


GENERAL 1949 GENEVA CONVENTION 4th PROTOCOL article 14

1. ' Terminology '

The terminology in normal use should first be defined. A distinction is drawn between:

(a) ' hospital zones and localities, ' generally of a permanent character, organized outside the combat zone in order to shelter military or civilian wounded and sick from long range weapons, especially aerial bombardment (1);

(b) ' safety, zones and localities, ' generally of a permanent character, organized outside the combat zone in order to shelter certain categories of the civilian population, which owing to their weakness require special protection (children, old people, expectant mothers, etc.) from long range weapons, especially aerial bombardment (2).

[p.207]
(c) ' hospital and safety zones and localities, ' which are a combination of (a) and (b) above;

(d) ' neutralized zones, ' generally of a temporary character, established in the actual combat zone to protect both combatant and non-combatant wounded and sick, as well as all members of the civilian population who are in the area and not taking part in the hostilities, from military operations in the neighbourhood. END QUOTE


UN's Fails to Act on Syryia

It remains for the UN to act out, it's own bible, the Geneva Convention in Syria where the Opposition have made repeated requests for the safety zones to be set up. It also remains for the Red Cross to enforce its own guidelines in Homs where there are no designated civilian safety zones or neutral hospitals. There instead, the Red Cross have created the dangerous turf war of a compromise that only one hospital is freely available to Opposition fighters in the form of the Al-Birr Hospital by hearsay arrangement. This arrangement is NOT a safety zone but a poor compromise that bears no relation to the Geneva Convention. The Geneva representative of the RED CROSS is currently unavailable for comment due to leave over the New Year. I await his answer.

The Syrian National Council actively support the need for Safety Zones.

It remains if the International community will swiftly set up the apparatus to do so under the security council or the other processes available to it under the UN charter of Human Rights and Organs. Meanwhile the Syrian People await with their Children under fire.