Draft Deal Reached In Iranian Nuclear Talks

Draft Deal Reached In Iranian Nuclear Talks

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

VIENNA, Austria – On October 21, a draft agreement was made for the export of Iran’s enriched uranium in Vienna. The agreement was formed between Iranian negotiators and representatives from the United States, France and Russia.

A final agreement could not be reached after two days of negotiations as the Iranian negotiators did not have the authority give a final sign-off on the wide reaching deal. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the atomic watchdog of the United Nations, all the countries involved have been given till October 23 to ratify the draft deal.

Under the agreed upon draft deal, twelve hundred kilograms of the low enriched uranium will be shipped out of Iran in order to be processed into fuel. Russian nuclear insiders allege that the uranium will first be sent to the IAEA, who will forward it to Russia for enrichment. Russia will subsequently return to enriched uranium to the IAEA who will send it to France. According to the insiders, France has the “cell elements” needed for Iran’s reactor.

This method of exporting uranium allows Iran to receive the fuel that it needs. At the same time it gives guarantees to countries, such as the United Sates, that the fuel will not be used to produce nuclear weapons.

IAEA Director Mohammed ElBaradei is confident that the agreement will help all sides move forward. He is hopeful that all sides, namely Iran, will agree to the deal negotiated in the Austrian capital. ElBaradei claims that the deal reached reflects “a balanced approach to move forwards” and that it would help normalize Iran’s relationship with the rest of the international community.

Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, claimed that Iran came to the meeting looking for cooperation. Soltanieh said that the talks were successful, but emphasized that Iran’s leaders would thoroughly look over the contents of the agreement.

The United States is urging Iran to act quickly in signing off on the agreement. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said the United States looked forward to discussing “the full range of issues that have divided Iran and the United States for too long.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Draft Deal Agreed On Iran Uranium – 22 October 2009

AP – Diplomats: Iranian Negotiators Back Uranium Deal – 21 October 2009

BBC – Iran Nuclear Fuel Deal ‘Agreed’ – 21 October 2009

Guardian – Iran Nuclear Talks Reach Draft Deal To Export Enriched Uranium – 21 October 2009

Sri Lanka Begins Evacuating IDPs from Camps


By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KATHANKULUM, Sri Lanka – Approximately 6,000 Tamil ethnic minorities have at least been permitted to return home from refugee camps run by the Sri Lankan government.  Over 250,000 internally displaced Tamils were confined to derisory conditions in the government’s supposed sanctuary camp since the end of a 25 year war against the Tamil Tigers rebel group.  The Tamils now being released signify the largest number of liberated persons since the onset of the struggle between the government and the militant Tamil independence movement.  With the release of the encamped Tamils, Sri Lankan nationals finally have the opportunity to repopulate lands once in the control of the Tamil Tigers.  

Government forces dismantled the Tigers in May.  After establishing numerous safe-zones across Sri Lankan territory, the government escorted droves of Sri Lankan Tamils to its camps until the population could be screened for militants among the civilians.  The government also contended that they needed to detonate mines surrounding the vicinity of the camps.  

Although the Tamils were supposedly safe from enemy attack, food, water, and clothing quickly became scarce in the government’s camps.  Also, heavy rains and subsequent flooding raised further health issues as water-borne diseases were feared to spread among the confined Tamils.  Monsoon rains also increased the difficulty of transporting supplies as pertinent routes become submerged, or otherwise impossible to traverse. 

The Sri Lankan government has released statements demonstrating its intent to release nearly 40,000 internally displaced Tamils over the coming weeks.  These seemingly abrupt liberation measures have actually been realized after months of international pressure.  Reports of the subhuman living conditions at the refugee camps and occurrences of civilian mistreatment by military and government agents have garnered the attention of alarmed state and non-government organizations.  The U.N. has repeatedly chastised the Sri Lankan government for confining the Tamil minority citizens and failing to properly maintain and supply their camps.

Although significant evacuation processes are currently underway in Sri Lanka, the government must release approximately 270,000 Tamil internally displaced persons.  The government has not given a specific time-frame as to when it plans on completing the evacuation process.  However, it has suggested that compensation programs will come into effect in order to aid many of those who lost their homes.  However, given the government’s history of unsubstantiated promises concerning the fate of the Tamil IDPs, the projected results of the evacuation and repopulation program remain unknowable. 
For more information, please see:

BBC News – Thousands leave Sri Lankan camps – 22 October 2009 

CDIC – Sri Lanka releases 4,300 ethnic Tamils… – 22 October 2009  

Sri Lanka Guardian – Make Lankan Tamils free: CPI to Centre – 22 October 2009

Civilians Killed in Somali Marketplace

By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa Desk

MOGADISHU, Somalia– Today, close to 30 Somali civilians were killed and 60 injured, after a battle between militant insurgents and African Union peacekeepers ensued in a public market. The fighting began after the insurgents fired mortars toward the airport as the President was taking off for a conference in Uganda.

Somali President, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, who took office earlier this year, was en route to an African leaders meeting in Kampala to sign the first ever convention to protect displaced people. His flight was unaffected by the attacks, however the city was not.

Upon the insurgents’ assault on the airport, African Union peacekeepers and government troops began to fire back. Their response to the insurgents found them firing into main markets in the city where the insurgents were scattered. This resulted in close to 30 civilian deaths and almost 60 injuries.

The insurgent attacks have been claimed by al-Shabab, a group considered to be an al-Quaida proxy. According to some Somali journalists, AU and governmental troops frequently target the market and other al-Shabab sites in the capital. The insurgents have been using congested areas to launch their attacks. The AU and government soldiers have received much criticism for their inability to minimize civilian deaths.

Somalia has been in a state of chaos since 1991, the last time it had an effective national government. Islamist “militants” dominate much of the southern and central parts of Somalia while the President and his UN-backed government have control of only limited parts of the capital. Over three million people are currently in need of food aid, while hundreds of thousands have fled the country.

For more information please see:

All Africa – Amisom Spokesman Denies Shelling Targeted to Bakara Market in Mogadishu – 22 October 2009

BBC – Shelling Kills Somali Civilians – 22 October 2009

VOA – Somalia Peacekeepers Accused of Firing Into Civilian Areas – 22 Octoober 2009

Eighty Five Thousand Reportedly Killed In Iraq From 2004 To 2008

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On October 20, the Iraqi Ministry of Health released a report concluding that eighty five thousand Iraqis were killed from 2004 to 2008. The report marks the first time since the beginning of the war that the Iraqi government attempted to estimate the number of dead. The estimate includes violent deaths of military, police and civilians, but fails to account for foreigners killed violently since the beginning of the war.

Previous attempts to estimate the number of Iraqis killed were controversial. Estimates produced earlier using a number of different methods put the number dead between one hundred thousand and half a million.

According to the ministry’s report, the number of dead includes over twelve hundred children and twenty three hundred women. Also among the killed are over two hundred fifty professors, twenty judges, ninety lawyers and two hundred sixty journalists. It is believed that these professions were specifically targeted when the country descended into chaos. Fifteen thousand unidentified bodies that have been found since 2004 were also included.

The current report does not account for the first few months of the U.S. led incursion into the country. There was no functioning government in the country at the time to count Iraqi deaths. The report additionally does not account from the number of missing Iraqis. Estimates put that number close to ten thousand individuals.

The report comes at a time where there has been a spike in the violence in Iraq. The Iraqi government blamed the increase on their neighboring countries, Iran and Syria. They accused Syria of harboring former Iraqi Baathists while the United States claims that Iran has been funding, arming and training armed groups in Iraq.

The Iraqi foreign minister has urged the countries to cease their operations within the country. Also, the human rights minister, Wijdan Salim, said, “”They need to stop interfering and stop the terrorism from entering Iraq by their borders.”

Despite the report and alleged interference from neighboring countries, Salim remains optimistic that the situation in Iraq will improve. He remains hopeful that “2010 will be better than now.”

For more information, please see:

Los Angeles Times – 85,000 Iraqis Killed In Almost 5 Years Of War, Baghdad Says – 15 October 2009

AFP – More Than 85,000 Iraqis Killed From 2004-2008: Ministry – 14 October 2009

Al Jazeera – Iraq Releases New Death Toll Figure – 14 October 2009

BBC – Iraq Says 85,000 Violently Killed – 14 October 2009

Reuters – Iraq Rights Ministry Says 85,000 Killed In 2004-08 – 13 October 2009

Australia Declines Asylum for Tamil Refugees

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

WEST JAVA, Indonesia – Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, recently made a personal plea to Indonesian migration authorities to capture any asylum seekers headed towards Australian shores.  Following this request, Indonesian authorities intercepted a boat carrying over 260 Sri Lankan Tamil ethnic minorities en route to Australia.  The Indonesian vessel captured the Sri Lankan boat and escorted it to a West Java dock.
 
 
Photo courtesy of AFP

The Tamils, however, refused to leave the boat and began a hunger-strike which effectively ceased after the weekend. 

The Tamils were apparently so afraid of prosecution in Indonesian lands that they made empty threats to ignite or detonate their boat.  Alex, the unofficial spokesperson for the Tamils, however, confirmed that the Tamil boat did not actually carry any explosives.  Despite the threats, Indonesian authorities captured the Tamils’ boat.  The International Organization for Migration provided basic necessities to the Tamils during their stay in the Indonesian dock.    

Rather than go home to Sri Lanka, the Tamils desire to reach the Australian territory of Christmas Island.  Located south of Indonesian territories, Christmas Island has been a popular sanctuary destination for nationals of war-ridden countries such as Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.  The influx of asylum seekers into the area has reached thousands of refugees per year.        

The Tamils left their homes in Sri Lanka to escape social and quasi-sanctioned persecution.  Intense tensions between Tamils and the Sinhalese ethnic majority escalated after the Sri Lankan government’s upheaval of the Tamil Tiger rebel group.  Tamil militants have been fighting desperately for a separate state for over 25 years.   However, with the recent defeat of the sole Tamil fighting force, the Tamil minority essentially lost its power to assert independence, and many Sri Lankan Tamil nationals took flight to avoid the discrimination. 

Many Tamils were captured by Sri Lankan military personnel or law enforcement, then subsequently maimed and tortured.  Alex has related that many of the people on the boat suffer from burns and severed limbs.  The women and children among the group of over 260 Tamils have suffered from displacement and loss of family.  On these humanitarian grounds, they sought asylum in Australian territory. 

However, Kevin Rudd remains unmoved and obstinate.  According to the prime minister’s own statements, he refuses to support the people-smuggling that has been infiltrating Indonesian and Australian territories.  However, the people-smuggling was to ensure a safe escape for Tamil refugees who would have otherwise been persecuted by the Sri Lankan government. 

The fate of the occupants of the captured ship in Indonesia remains to be decided.     

For more information, please see:

The Age – Asylum boat had holes drilled in hull – 22 October 2009 

Al-Jazeera – Sri Lankan hunger strike fails – 18 October 2009   

BBC News – Australian PM seeking migrant help – 13 October 2009