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US: Police handcuff six-year-old black child for unruly behavior

Press TV – April 18, 2012

Police in the US state of Georgia have handcuffed a six-year-old black school girl with her arms behind her back because the girl threw a tantrum.

Salecia Johnson was accused of tearing items off the walls and throwing books and toys in an outburst at the principal’s office at Creekside Elementary, police said. According to the police, she also threw a small shelf that struck the principal in the leg, and jumped on a paper shredder and tried to break a glass frame.

She “was restrained by placing her hands behind her back and handcuffed,” police said, defending the action as a safety measure.

Salecia was transported to the Milledgeville Police Department where her handcuffs were removed and she was placed in a patrol briefing room.

A juvenile complaint has been filed against Salecia, accusing the girl of simple assault and damage to property.

The girl’s family demanded Tuesday that their city in central Georgia change policy so that other children won’t receive the same treatment.

“We would not like to see this happen to another child, because it’s horrifying. It’s devastating”, the girl’s aunt, Candace Ruff, said, adding that the girl was terrified by the ordeal.

The girl’s family is also furious that law enforcement officials got involved in a situation viewed as a school disciplinary issue.

“What is the purpose of counselors and other aides in the school system when they just call law enforcement to calm a child when they act out?” her aunt said.

Her mother, Constance Ruff, said the girl has been suspended and can’t return to school until August.

April 18, 2012 Posted by | Subjugation - Torture | , , , | 1 Comment

U.S. Ambassador-Designate: Georgia To Join NATO

Civil Georgia | March 22, 2012

Tbilisi – U.S. Ambassador-designate to Georgia, Richard Norland, outlined priority areas of U.S. cooperation with its “reliable partner”, Georgia, during a nomination hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 21, saying that upcoming elections would be “a very important litmus test” for Georgia’s NATO aspiration. […]

He reiterated the U.S. support to Georgia’s NATO aspirations and said that the Alliance’s upcoming summit in Chicago would provide an opportunity “to highlight Georgia’s progress towards meeting membership criteria, as well as its significant partnership contributions.”

He stressed on importance of Georgia’s contribution to the Afghan operations, where “brave” Georgian soldiers operate without caveats in the Helmand province, noting that Georgia would become the largest non-NATO contributor to ISAF after it deploys an additional battalion in Afghanistan this fall.

Responding to Republican Senator Richard Lugar’s question about Georgia’s NATO integration, the Ambassador-designate said that the Alliance had already declared that Georgia would become a NATO member.

“So the issue really has to do [with] how and when,” Norland said. “There is no single path to NATO membership. As it stands now, I understand, the Annual National Program and the NATO-Georgia [Commission] are the primary mechanisms to which Georgia and the Allies are pursuing the issue of Georgia’s membership.”

He also said that “a lot of emphasis” was also placed on steps Georgia was already taking, including its contribution to the ISAF mission, defense reforms, as well as steps towards democratic and economic reforms.

“These are all part of the package that go[es] into meeting the criteria for NATO membership,” Norland said.

He said that “serious efforts” were being undertaken by the U.S. administration to use upcoming NATO summit in Chicago “to signal acknowledgment for Georgia’s progress in these areas and to work with the Allies to develop a consensus on the next steps forward.” … Full article

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