Syrian Government Accused of Using ‘Barrel Bombs’

Syrian Government Accused of Using ‘Barrel Bombs’

By Emily Schneider
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East Desk

DAMASCUS, Syria – The Syrian opposition has reported that the Syrian government used ‘barrel bombs’ this past weekend.  ‘Barrel bombs’ are large drums that are filled with explosives, oil, and pieces of steel.  The crude explosives are dropped from helicopters or low-flying jets and usually result in craters close to seven meters deep where they fall.  Their purpose is not only to destroy its target, but also to cause terror and permanently maim its victims.

Based on eye-witness accounts and amateur videos, a large number of people were killed on Saturday when a barrel bomb was dropped by a low-flying military aircraft in Aleppo.  Macit Abdunnur, a local activist, claimed that a residential building was destroyed by the blast and several corpses of women and children have been pulled from the rubble so far.

“The sound was like nothing else I’ve ever heard. It was an almighty whoosh,” Mohammed Ibrahim, a rebel fighter who got caught by the explosion, told the Telegraph. He lost his cousin in the blast and his own eardrums were perforated by the noise. He told reporters, “I was lucky I was standing behind a corner, but I was still knocked off my feet.  When I came round my ears were bleeding.”

There have been amateur videos posted online of the bombs exploding in Aleppo, although news agencies have not been able to independently verify the location of the videos. There are also videos of the helicopters and military planes hovering above targets while the crew pushes the barrel bomb out of the door.

The recent use of barrel bombs follows Syrian government’s use of indiscriminate shelling and bombing in an attempt to quell the opposition for the past several weeks.  These recent indiscriminate strikes constituted deliberate targeting of civilians, far from the front lines of the battle. Some opposition members speculated that the recent use of a barrel bomb is in response to the opposition’s attack on the regime’s security buildings in the Aleppo area on Friday.

A spokesman for the Local Coordination Committee in northern Aleppo said that the barrel bombs have been used in at least two areas of the city previous to this incident.

“How long are we going to sit and watch while an entire generation is being wiped out by random bombardment and deliberate mass targeting?” asked Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu.

For further information, please see:

CNN – Syria Accused of Using ‘Barrel Bombs’ – 11 Sept. 2012

Turkish Weekly– Syrian Opposition Says Military Jets Drop “Barrel Bombs” on Aleppo – 10 September 2012

Israel National News – Video: Syria Drops New ‘Barrel Bomb’ on Aleppo – 2 Sept. 2012

Telegraph – Syrian Regime Deploys Deadly New Weapons on Rebels – 31 August 2012

Gambia Will Not Push Through With Death Row Execution

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BANJUL, Gambia – Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh has halted the execution of the 37 prisoners on death row. In a statement issued last week, President Jammeh said that the suspension is a response to “numerous appeals” from various social organizations, at home and abroad. His declaration to execute all death row prisoners last month gained many condemnations including from the European Union, the United Nations and Amnesty International.

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh overturns his decision to execute all death row prisoners. (Photo courtesy of Simon Maina/AFP-Getty Images)

Had the Gambian government carried out the execution, it would have marked the end of an execution-free regime that has been in place for almost 30 years.

The halt, however, is temporary. It will only remain in effect on the condition that violent crime does not rise in Gambia. “What happens next will be dictated by either declining violent crime rate, in which case the moratorium will be indefinite, or an increase in violent crime rate, in which case the moratorium will be lifted automatically,” the President stated.

Nevertheless, foreign governments, non-governmental organizations and human rights groups construe President Jammeh’s decision as a “sign of progress, however small”. According to them, his about-turn decision is an indication that public pressure on the Gambian President was successful. Sherman Nikolaus, an Amnesty International Gambia researcher notes, “for far too long the international and regional community has been far too quiet [on Gambia] – we haven’t been able to test if pressure does indeed work.”

Governments and organizations still think they can persuade President Jammeh to make the suspension of the execution permanent. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “[we just have] to exert more sustained pressure on the [Gambian] government to clean up its human rights act.” After all, Gambia is a signatory to to the 1984 Convention against torture and other cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the 1966 International Covenant on civil and political rights, both of which refer to the death penalty.

The suspension of the execution precedes a series of pardons issued by the President.

5 days ago, President Jammeh pardoned the country’s former secretary general and head of the Civil Service, Ousman Jammeh, as well as the manager of the Kanilai Family Farms in Siffoe, Karafa Sanneh. These two were convicted for negligence of official duty, economic crimes and obtaining money by false pretense. Ousman Jammeh and Karafa Sanneh are also among the second batch of prisoners to be granted a presidential amnesty this week.

The Office of the President said that these pardons were issued “in exercise of [President Jammeh’s] prerogative of mercy”.

 

For further information, please see:

IRIN News – GAMBIA: Stepping up pressure on human rights – 20 September 2012

Jollofnews – Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh Pardons More Prisoners – 18 September 2012

Al Jazeera – Gambian leader halts executions – 15 September 2012

BBC News – Gambia’s President Jammeh halts executions amid outcry – 15 September 2012

 

Germany Debates Banning Anti-Islam Film

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe 

BERLIN, Germany – German politicians and Muslim groups are currently debating whether to prohibit a populist group, Pro Deutschland, from publicly showing an anti-Islam film, The Innocence of Muslims, in November.

A Muslim protester outside the US Embassy opposing “The Innocence of Muslims.” (Photo Courtesy of Spiegel)

This particular film attributed to violent protests in Pakistan to Sudan and has been deemed insulting to the Islamic religion, which has a large presence in Berlin. European officials have grown increasingly concerned in the past decade over the rise of extremism.

However, the German’s government’s potential ban of The Innocence of Muslims has sparked a wide criticism invoking the right of freedom of speech.

Pro Deutschland leader, Manfred Rouhs, states, “The public has a right to see this film and to make up its mind or express an opinion after having seen the film in full.” Additionally, German Social Democrat lawmakers maintain that a ban should be a last resort, and “a purely foreign-policy-related consideration is not enough to warrant limiting basic civil rights.”

Renate Künast, head of Germany’s the Green Party parliamentary group, state, “Freedom of expression is a prized value in German society, we won’t simply throw that away.” She believes instead of a government ban, the people of Germany should simply protest a public viewing.

Conversely, various German government officials refer to the film as an “abuse of free-speak laws.” German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who favors freedom of expression and the press, said that she fears the anti-Islam movie will generate violence, and her fear is a “good reasons” for issuing a ban. She further states, “It’s not about banning the film itself, but about whether the public screening would endanger public safety.”

German’s Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, expresses his concern as to the image of Germany as a country. He says, “Germany wants to send the signal that ‘we remain a tolerant country.’”

German officials have looked to anti-blasphemy laws, which state that anyone who publicly “insults the content of the religious or ideological views in a manner likely to disturb the public order, will be penalized with up to three years’ imprisonment or fined.”

German Interior Minister, Hans-Peter Friedrich, says, “I want more respect for people’s religious beliefs.” He also believes such a screening would be a “political action” that would only serve to “pour oil on the fire”.

For further information, please see:

USA Today — Anti-Islam film controversy hits Europe, Asia – 20 September 2012

Channel News Asia — Germany wrestles with ban on anti-Islam film screening – 19 September 2012

Spiegel — Germany Mulls Ban on Showing Hate Film – 18 September 2012

The Times of India — Germany mulls ban on screening of anti-Islam film – 17 September 2012

 

Decades After Desegregation, U.S. Schools Still Largely Segregated, Report Says

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States — Nearly 60 years after segregation was ruled unconstitutional, a new study released this week claimed students across the United States still are learning in segregated classrooms.

A new study shows U.S. Schools are largely segregated, leaving black and Latino students racially isolated. (Photo Courtesy of Chicago Magazine)

The Civil Rights Project reported on Wednesday that black and Latino students are racially isolated because whites are largely concentrated in schools with other whites.  The Project, based at the University of California, Los Angeles, analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education in drawing its conclusions.

“Extreme segregation is becoming more common,” said Gary Orfield, author of the report and co-director of the Project.

The study showed 43 percent of Latinos and 38 percent of blacks across the country attend schools where fewer than 10 percent of their classmates are white.  Moreover, roughly one in seven black and Latino students go to school where fewer than 1 percent of the class is white.

New York, California, and Texas were states where Latino segregation is most pronounced.  New York, Illinois, and Michigan were states where black segregation is most pronounced.

“Simply sitting next to a white student does not guarantee better education outcomes for students of color,” the report said.  “Instead, the resources that are consistently linked to predominantly white and/or wealthy schools help foster real and serious educational advantages over minority segregated settings.”

In the Chicago area, for instance, 70 percent of all black students attend schools that are more than 90 percent minority.  Nearly half attend schools that are 99 percent minority, making Chicago more segregated than Detroit, New York-Newark, and Los Angeles.

“These trends threaten the nation’s success as a multiracial society,” Orfield said.  “We are disappointed to have heard nothing in the campaign about this issue from neither President Obama, who is the product of excellent integrated schools and colleges, nor from Governor Romney, whose father gave up his job in the Nixon Cabinet because of his fight for fair housing, which directly impacts school make-up.”

The report also targeted charter schools for falling short of equal education promises.

The results come nearly six decades after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which marked the end of legal segregation in public schools.  The case involved a class action suit brought by 13 parents against the Board of Education of the City of Topeka, Kan.

Among states with most integrated schools for black students are Kansas, Nebraska, and Washington, according to the report.

For further information, please see:

Chicago Magazine — Chicagoland Schools: For Blacks, the Most Segregated in the Country — 20 September 2012

The Huffington Post — American Schools Still Heavily Segregated by Race, Income: Civil Rights Project Report — 20 September 2012

The Root — Too Many Black Kids in ‘Apartheid Schools’ — 20 September 2012

The New York Times — Segregation Prominent in Schools, Study Finds — 19 September 2012

Growing up in Yemen Far from Pretty

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANA’A, Yemen – Political upheaval, civil war, and the presence of al-Qaeda have all largely been problems for Yemeni adults. Make no mistake, the existence of such conflicts have surely had a negative impact on the lives of the youth of Yemen.

Malnourished Yemeni children sitting in their slum house on the outskirts of Sana’a. (Photo Courtesy of the Guardian)

Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Middle East. It has a weak infrastructure and a perpetually struggling economy. As a result, Yemen is facing a horrible humanitarian crisis where at least ten million people suffer from chronic hunger, making Yemen the country with the second highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world. Fifty-eight percent of the children there under the age of five experience chronic malnutrition. In an attempt to help, donors led by the British government met earlier this month in Saudi Arabia, where they pledged to donate a funding package of $6.4 billion.

While the children may not have much food, at least they have toys to play with. The truth is though that these toys could make the children just as sick as the malnutrition does. Children’s toys in Yemen have been linked to physical scarring, suffocation, and other invisible hazards that appear with the passage of time, like cancer.  Hazardous toys have infiltrated the Yemeni markets because the importers seek cheap toys and the government really can’t afford to monitor the process.

Abdullah Al-Sharfi, manager of the Identification Certifcate Issuance Unit and Brand in the Yemeni Standardization and Quality Control Organization explained, “The Yemeni importer buys from the Chinese market, contrary to other importers in the region. The Yemeni importer doesn’t directly deal with the manufacturer. The problem lies in lacking the test reports, health or chemical certificates.”

Most of the screening done on toys once they have entered Yemen involves making sure the toys do not offend the morals of Islam. Importers go out of their way to make sure the toys enter the market without being tested, because if the toys must travel to the labs, importers face paying a customs fee which defeats the purpose of buying cheap toys that are exempt from the fees. A “qualities official in Hodeida lost his post because he attempted to apply the law,” said Mustafa Nassar, chairman of Studies and Economic Media Center. Importers lobbied the local council until he was removed.

Although the youth do not get much to eat and their toys are not very safe, at least they can still go to school to learn and peacefully interact with their friends. That was generally true until the 2011-2012 uprising caused government forces and other armed groups to deploy troops into schools. Forces occupied Yemeni schools and used them as barracks, bases, surveillance posts, firing positions, a place to store weapons and ammunition, to detain prisoners, and to torture detainees often while students and teachers were present in the buildings.

Yemeni students ready to leave the Tarim School which had been occupied by at least three different armed groups. (Photo Courtesy of Human Rights Watch)

These occupations were not going to help raise Yemen’s literacy rate which was the lowest in the Middle East or its low enrollment rates. Besides for inhibiting education, these armed forces regularly put children’s lives at danger. Priyanka Motaparthy, a children’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch stated that, “when soldiers and rebels deploy in schools, children and their education get put in harm’s way.”

The occupations also forced children to see things that they shouldn’t yet have seen. Ahlam, a thirteen year old student remembers how scared everyone was as the soldiers tortured an old man at their school. He recalls that, “they beat him [and] electro-shocked him right in the courtyard of the school. It was during recess.”

Many of these armed groups claimed that by using these schools they were also able to better protect the buildings, teachers, and students. International humanitarian law, however, states that in times of war, all feasible efforts are to be made to avoid civilians and that a school or other civilian structure cannot be attacked unless it is being used for military purposes. Motaparthy concludes that, “the moment soldiers enter a school, it becomes a military target and stops being a safe place for students.”

When these children grow a few years older and start attending university, life is still not safer. Security forces in Yemen often target students who engage in peaceful political protests. Theses students are then arbitrarily detained and are often subject to torture and other ill-treatment.

Life is not easy for the youth of Yemen.

For further information, please see:

Yemen Times – Yemen Toy Market Poses Danger – 13 September 2012

Human Rights Watch – Classrooms in the Crosshairs – 11 September 2012

Human Rights Watch – Yemen: Troops Used Schools, Endangering Children – 11 September 2012

Guardian – Donors Pledge $6.4bn to Address Yemen’s Humanitarian Crisis – 6 September 2012

Amnesty International – Yemen Must end Intimidation of Southern Activists – 30 August 2012