UPDATE – Protests Gain Strength in Yemen and Bahrain

UPDATE – Protests Gain Strength in Yemen and Bahrain

By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain – Tens of thousands of Bahrainis continue to hold Pearl Roundabout in the heart of country’s capital, weeks after small bands of protesters took to the streets demanding political reform.  Anti-government rallies continue to draw large numbers despite last week’s clashes with security forces that left at least seven dead.   Friday’s protests brought out over 100,000 people into the streets of Manama. In a move to appease opposition forces, the King has reshuffled his cabinet and promised to reduce housing loans by 25 percent.   The King pledged “to engage in this new process” and “move away from polarization.”  The military has also been ordered to stand down.  Despite these moves, tensions between Sunni and Shiite groups continue to rise. 

Protests Continue in Bahrain and Yemen (Photo Courtesy of CNN)
Protests Continue in Bahrain and Yemen (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

Moderate Shiites have been at the forefront of the protests in Bahrain. The protests represent a challenge to Sunni minority currently in power.  While pressure from citizens has caused the King to shake up the country’s leadership, opposition leaders contend that the changes were “superficial” and unlikely to bridge the gap between the two groups.  The government also released 308 political prisoners.  Direct talks between Sunni and Shiite parties however, continue to be untenable.  “This change is very superficial and doesn’t send good messages—it’s a case of old habits die hard as they’re patronizing the opposition to accept minimal change. The people are too sophisticated for this now: it won’t work,” states Ebrahim Sharif, director of the National Democratic Action Society.  Until opposition forces realize meaningful reforms, protests will likely continue within Bahrain.

Protests in Yemen rage on in spite of violent crackdowns by security forces as citizens seek the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.  The protests have been led largely by students and 27 people have lost their lives since the protests began in the country.  The President contends that he has received support from sheikhs and local officials and has resisted any move to divest him of power.   The government has been silent about the death of protesters but the President has announced that he will not run for re-election at the end of his term. 

Yemen continues to suffer high rates of unemployment, government corruption and lacks many substantive political freedoms.   And while protesters continue to battle for freedom and political reform, the country faces another battle for survival against Islamic militants and al-Qaeda.  With the government and the population split, the current situation presents a prime opportunity for Islamic terrorists to recruit additional fighters and solidify their power in tribal and less developed regions of the country.   Commenting on this risk, one protestor criticized the government’s propagation of the terrorist threat to acquire foreign aid to combat terrorism stating that “we are here to show the world that [President Saleh] is the terrorist.”

For more information please see:

CNN World – Bahrain King Reshuffles Cabinet As Opposition Leader Returns – Feb. 26, 2011

CNN World- Tribal Groups Joining Protests against Yemeni President – Feb. 26, 2011

International Business Times – Huge Anti-Government Protests Sweep across Yemen – Feb. 26, 2011

The Wall Street Journal – Protests Build Again in Bahrain – Feb. 26, 2011

Venezuelan Students End Hunger Strike

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Venezuelan students on hunger strike (photo courtesy of Latin American Herald Tribune)
Venezuelan students on hunger strike (photo courtesy of Latin American Herald Tribune)

CARACAS, Venezuela – A student-lead hunger strike that lasted for 23 days has finally ended. The hunger strike, which grew from 9 to 80 university students, was in support of people that the protesters argued were political prisoners.

The protesting students had also been calling for a discussion of the cases by the Organization of American States (OAS) and arguing for a visit from that regional body, something that the administration of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has so far blocked.

Lorent Saleh, one of the leaders of the protesters, stated that “today we are completing 23 days since we started a promise we made to fight for liberty and democracy, and for those who find themselves behind bars for thinking differently than this regime.” According to Saleh, the protesters and the Venezuelan government had reached a number of agreements, including medical attention for some prisoners, freedom for other prisoners and the creation of a round-table with authorities to discuss other demands that the protesters have.

According to Juan Pio Hernandez, a member of the Link the Americas organization, which has been a staunch supporter of the protesters, “the regime of Hugo Chavez agreed to free seven of the 27 political prisoners held under false criminal charges.”

The hunger strike drew significant attention from the United States. As the strike continued to snowball to its ultimate number of 80 students, the U.S. State Department called Hugo Chavez’ government to help end the starvation. The U.S.’s interference; however, was not taken kindly by all parties involved.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro rejected the statements made by the U.S. government, accusing them of meddling in Venezuela’s internal affairs. “Venezuela doesn’t need any protective guidance from nobody, of neither instance,” said Maduro.

The students announced that while the hunger-strike is over for the moment, their ‘Operation Freedom’ is not over and that they would continue to keep a vigil at the OAS headquarters in Caracas.

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune – Venezuela Students End 3 Week Hunger Strike – Political Prisoner Released – 23 February 2011

Wall Street Journal – Venezuelan Student Protesters End Hunger Strike – 22 February 2011

Fox News Latino – Venezuela Student Hunger Strike Gains Momentum – 18 February 2011

E.U. Nations Disagree Over Refugee Plan for Libya

By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

Boat of Refugees docks in Lampedusa, Italy on February 21. (Photo courtesy of AFP).
Boat of refugees docks in Lampedusa, Italy on February 21. (Photo courtesy of AFP).

BRUSSELS, Belgium – As violence and revolution continues to rattle nations throughout North Africa, European Union (E.U.) members disagree on how to respond to the crisis.  In particular, there is wide disagreement on how to deal with the prospect of millions of North African refugees setting sail for southern Europe.  The Italian government, in particular,  has been urging other E.U. members to help find a solution to this looming crisis.

On Thursday, E.U. members Italy, Spain, France, Cyprus, Malta and Greece presented a joint proposal calling for a common asylum system to be in place by 2012.  The proposal was presented during a meeting of E.U. interior ministers in Brussels.  The plan also calls for dispersing the asylum seekers around all of Europe and not simply allowing the refugees to stay in the countries that ring the Mediterranean sea.  The Spanish Interior Minister, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba echoed this sentiment when he claimed that “Italy was only the door of Europe”.  Along with establishing this common asylum system, the proposal calls for funding which will be used to help nations like Italy process the refugees that arrive on their shores.

The Italian government and Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni have been sounding the alarm about a potential refugee crisis that could hit Europe.  Mr. Maroni claims that as many as a million and a half Libyan refugees could seek asylum in Europe.  His belief is that E.U. members should deal with this problem collectively. Recent reports suggest that after this proposal was introduced, several E.U. members were still hesitant about providing assistance.

The refugees that are sailing to southern Europe include people who are seeking a better economic situation as well as political refugees.  The political refugees are especially important because the European Union has certain obligations related to human rights agreements which require the E.U. to identify and accept these people.

This migration of both political and economic refugees is also being monitored by the United Nations.  Specifically, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has appealed to E.U. members to help deal with the potential wave of refugees related to the fighting in Libya.  In addition to those displaced by the recent fighting in Libya, Frontex, the E.U.’s border protection agency, estimates that between 750,000 and 1.5 million additional economic refugees are in Libya waiting to make passage to Europe.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Europe divided over Italy’s warnings of Libya exodus – 25 February 2011

BBC – EU urged to share asylum burden amid N Africa turmoil – 25 February 2011

THE GUARDIAN – Is EU serious about supporting human rights across north Africa? – 25 February 2011

VOICE OF AMERICA – Libya Unrest Sparks Migrant Debate in the EU – 24 February 2011

U.S. Firm to Help Fight Colombian Warlords

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia—Colombia has been waging war against powerful drug warlords for many years.  The warlords have been working with relative impunity, frightening many civilians and frustrating government forces.  Now a U.S. firm has jumped on board to help Colombia in its anti-narcotics campaign.

ManTech International Corp. has received a $6.2 million contract to help fight drug warlords who operate between South, Central and North America, trafficking narcotics.  The U.S. firm is a provider of new technologies that deal with mission-critical national security programs.  ManTech has said they plan on operating in Colombia after receiving a task order in line with a Strategic Services Sourcing prime contract.  The multimillion dollar award will allow the mission to operate for at least 12 months, with an option to be extended for another two years.

ManTech intends to provide a bilingual team to work on communications to U.S. air assets that battle narcotics trafficking in Colombian air space.  The firm said the team will help plan air operations and support the U.S. Military Group Colombia with technical and security problems.  ManTech’s strategies have suggested that their operations in Colombia will be diversified.

Louis Addeo, president and chief operating officer of ManTech’s Technical Services Group said, “We are proud to be selected to play a part in the U.S. counter-narcotics mission.  Colombia is a prominent positioning point to battle the illegal drug trade that enters the United States.”  Addeo added that the company’s “extensive experience supporting U.S. military forces overseas” would help it be successful in its mission.

The United States has been aiding the Colombian government in its fight against traffickers who bring illegal drugs into richer areas of the Western Hemisphere.  The U.S. has spent tens of millions of dollars on these endeavors; yet the paramilitary drug gangs have so far been able to expertly use their acquired funds to counter government forces.

Drug lords living and working in Colombia have been powerful enough to command entire regions both within and outside of the country.  They have also been known to rule over towns and villages, run their own air strips, and keep informers who work in a variety of public and private sectors.

On Thursday, the United Nations reported that Colombian gangs drove a 40% increase in massacres last year, murdering human rights defenders, public officials, and civilians.  Christian Salazar, a U.N. representative, said, “These groups have the power to corrupt and infiltrate the state [and] are a strong threat to the rule of law.”

For more information, please see:

UPI-U.S. firm joins Colombia anti-narcotics operation-24 February 2011

Reuters-Colombia crime gangs spur more massacres in ’10: U.N.-24 February 2011

Colombia Reports-ManTech wins $6.2M contract to combat Colombian narco-trafficking-23 February 2011

North Korean Protesters demand food and electricity


By Joseph Juhn
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea – Scores of people caused unrest in Yongchon, North Pyongan Province in North Korea by shouting, “We can’t live! Give us fire [electricity] and rice!”

The event occurred on February 14, two days before leader Kim Jong-il’s birthday, when people fashioned makeshift megaphones out of newspapers and shouted those words.

“At first, there were only one or two people, but as time went by more and more came out of their houses and joined in the shouting,” the source added.

The State Security Department investigated the incident but was unable to identify the people who initiated the commotion when they met with a wall of silence.

“When such an incident took place in the past, people used to report their neighbors to the security forces, but now they’re covering for each other,” the source said.

Such demonstrations are extremely rare in repressive North Korea where information is tightly controlled by the state and people have no access to outside world. But as the regime staggers under international sanctions and failure of currency reform, people are showing signs of discontent.

“Discontent erupted because the regime cut off electricity that had been supplied to them only a few hours a day, and they had hard time putting food on the table due to soaring rice prices,” said one refugee.

In this particular case, the already infrequent electricity supplies were said to be diverted to the capital Pyongyang to light up the night there to mark Kim’s birthday, the paper said.

For two decades, since the collapse of a public distribution system that supplied food rations, Kim Jong Il’s government has neglected to care for its people. In the early and mid-1990s, an estimated 2 million died in a famine.

Despite these signs of people’s anger, analysts, however, doubt the possibility of a popular revolt similar to those in North Africa and the Middle East.

“I don’t see anything in civil society that would lead to a kind of Egyptian phenomenon,” said Stephan Haggard, Professor at University of California San diego, at a Washington presentation last month.

For more information, please see:

The Chosunilbo – N.Korean Protesters Demand Food and Electricity – 23 February 2011

Radio Netherlands Worldwide – N. Koreans protest over power cuts: report – 23 February 2011

The Washington Post – Starving N. Korea begs for food, but U.S. has concerns about resuming aid – 22 February 2011