Russia Pushes Forward Anti-Gay Law

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – The Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church move forward with a bill that makes it illegal to provide minors with information that is defined as “propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexuality and transgenderism.” The law will also ban holding public events that promote gay rights.

Russian police arrests a homosexual activist during a protest. (Photo Courtesy of DailyMail)

Russia’s new anti-gay bill is part of President Putin’s effort to promote traditional Russian values. The Kremlin and the Orthodox Church believe Western liberalism is corrupting the Russian youth.

Supporters of the bill deem minors unable to critically evaluate “homosexual propaganda”. The bill states, “This propaganda goes through the mass media and public events that propagate homosexuality as normal behavior.”

Pavel Samburov, founder of the Rainbow Association, which unites gay activists throughout Russia, describes the anti-gay bill as the Kremlin’s way to politically, religiously, and sexually control minorities. Furthermore, the bill is designed to divert public attention from growing discontent with President Putin’s rule.

Samburov’s gay rights group joined various anti-Putin marches all over Moscow. During one protest in front of the Russian parliament, Samburov received 30 hours of detention and a $16 dollar fine for kissing his boyfriend. However, if the Russian anti-gay bill becomes a law, such a public kiss could be defined as illegal “homosexual propaganda” and earn a fine of up to $16,000.

Denis Volkov, a sociologist, believes the anti-gay bill fits the “general logic” of a Putin’s government’s intent to limit various rights.

Although many oppose the new anti-gay bill, there are also many others who either view the bill indifferently or with open enthusiasm.

Levada Center, an independent pollster, found that almost two-thirds of Russians find homosexuality “morally unacceptable and worth condemning.” Nearly half are against gay rallies and same-sex marriage, and almost a third believe  homosexuality is the result of “a sickness or a psychological trauma.”

Various lawmakers blame the gay community for the severe decrease in Russia’s already low birth rates and state, “[gays] should be barred from government jobs, undergo forced medical treatment or be exiled.” A Russian executive in a government-run television network company said in a nationally televised show that the gay community should be prohibited from donating blood, sperm, and organs for transplants.

While the estimated number of gays and lesbians that live in Russia is unknown, gay individuals continue to face persistent widespread homophobia. Furthermore, only a few big cities, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, have gay nightclubs and gyms. However, even in these accepting atmospheres, their safety is not guaranteed.

For further information, please see:

Daily Mail – Russia to outlaw ‘homosexual propaganda’ and ban public events that promote gay rights – 22 January 2013

RFE/RL – Protest Against Russian Antigay Bill Turns Violent – 22 January 2013

The Associated Press – Russia moves to enact anti-gay law nationwide – 21 January 2013

Global Post – Russia to move forward with anti-gay bill – 21 January 2013

Colombian Ceasefire Ends, Hostilities Escalate

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTÁ, Colombia – After months of negotiations, and two months of a ceasefire, Colombia’s FARC Marxist resistance army has taken up arms again. While talks have not broken down between FARC leadership and the Colombian government, the ceasefire initiated by the FARC ended on January 20th after the Colombian government refused to lay down their arms.

Colombian negotiators address the media concerning the end to the FARC ceasefire and public concern of the negotiations.  (Photo Courtesy of the BBC)

Generally the Colombian government believed that FARC had complied with their ceasefire, President Juan Manuel Santos stated “The fact is that the number of operations carried out by the group decreased significantly, the number of police and soldiers killed or injured decreased,” showed compliance with the self-initiated cease-fire. While the military registered at least 52 violations of the truce, it was unclear if whether the guerrillas were attacking or defending themselves.

As the ceasefire ended Ivan Marquez, chief negotiator for FARC told the press “With heartache again we must admit the return of the military phase of the war, which nobody wants.” A short time later FARC rebels reignited hostilities. Within hours FARC rebels began assaulting municipalities in Tarra (near the Venezuelan border) with mortars and machine guns. The first assault left 3 soldiers wounded, while the second attack claimed the first FARC attributed death since the ceasefire ended.

Beyond assaults on military targets, Guerrillas have targeted and blew up two oil pipelines in Southern Colombia and attacked a coal train. These attacks are indicative of the FARCs attempts to disrupt the economic infrastructure of the Latin American country.

Some have criticized for not following suit and agreeing to a bi-lateral ceasefire, the government argued that historically the rebels would use the opportunity to rearm. A decade ago when the Colombian government entered into peace talks with the FARC rebels, they agreed to a bilateral military ceasefire. The rebels used this opportunity to rearm and launch a new offensive which took the Colombian military by surprise. This lead to a ten year offensive which has since displaced an additional 600,000 civilians and whittled the Rebels forces from over 16,000 fighters to under 9,000.

While the ceasefire has ended, peace negotiations continue. However until everything is agreed upon, nothing will be solved. Until the government of Colombia and FARC can agree on kidnapping compensation, the political nature of FARC, Redistribution of land , drug trafficking and end to the conflict, the negotiations will continue.

The two sides have been fighting since the formation of the FARC as a communist movement in 1964 in what is now Latin America’s longest-running insurgency.

For further information, please see:

Noticias Terra – FARC Attack Pipelines And Bomb Throwing Coal Train – 22 January 2013

Colombia Reports – FARC Kills 1st Soldier After Temporary Truce Comes To End – 21 January 2013

BBC – Colombia Farc Rebels End Unilateral Ceasefire – 20 January 2013

Yahoo – Colombia’s FARC Rebels End Ceasefire – 20 January 2013

Al Jazeera – Colombia Refuses To Extend Farc Ceasefire – 20 January 2013

BBC – Farc Ceasefire ‘To End’ As Peace Talks Resume In Cuba – 14 January 2013

This Week in Syria Deeply : 18 January 2013

Lithuania Freezes Bank Accounts and Joins Three Other European Countries in Launching Investigation into Magnitsky Case

Press Release
Hermitage Capital

21 January 2013 – The authorities of Lithuania have joined three other European countries in launching money laundering investigations into the funds stolen from the Russian treasury through a scheme exposed by late Hermitage Fund’s lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, according to Business Week magazine.

The Lithuanian authorities have also frozen funds in Lithuanian banks following the complaint filed by Hermitage Capital Management in July 2012, said Business Week in an article “A Russian Lawyer’s Death Triggers a Global Money Hunt” (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-17/a-russian-lawyers-death-triggers-a-global-money-hunt#p2).

The article quotes Donatas Puzinas, a Lithuanian prosecutor, on the investigation currently underway.

“It’s quite complex analytical work,” Mr. Puzinas told Business Week.

“The money generally is split up among several companies. Some of the money, after being transferred, goes back to the original account and then is transferred somewhere else,” said prosecutor Puzinas.

Now authorities in four European countries – Switzerland, Cyprus, Latvia, and Lithuania – are investigating the trail of $230 million stolen money from the Russian budget through a sophisticated scheme involving Russian officials and criminals which has been exposed by Sergei Magnitsky. After Mr Magnitsky testified against officials involved, he was himself arrested and killed in Russian police custody.

Through investigations carried out by Hermitage and a team of investigative journalists from the NGO, Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, $130 million of the stolen $230 million have been traced to eight foreign jurisdictions. That information formed the basis for criminal complaints filed in those eight countries.

For further information please contact:

Hermitage Capital
Phone:             +44 207 440 1777
Email:              info@lawandorderinrussia.org
Website:          http://lawandorderinrussia.org
Facebook:        http://on.fb.me/hvIuVI
Twitter:           @KatieFisher__
Livejournal:     //hermitagecap.livejournal.com/

Demonstrators display the dead bodies of fallen civilians in Peshawar to protest military barbarism

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Peshawar to protest the alleged extra-judicial killings carried out by Pakistani paramilitary forces.

Demonstrators display dead bodies in protest in Peshawar. (Photo Courtesy of The News International)

The Frontier Corps, a division of paramilitary forces in Pakistan, has been blamed for 18 deaths which resulted from overnight raids in the Khyber tribal area.  The paramilitary forces have been fighting Islamic militants in the area and were conducting a late night raid when the deaths occurred.

Human rights groups and local residents of the tribal area say that the operations carried out by the Pakistani military frequently cause civilian deaths.  The bodies of the dead were found by local residents discarded on the side of a road.

The protestors openly displayed the bodies of the dead in Peshawar in public areas and across the street from the governor’s house to mourn the deaths of family members and to demand vengeance for the wrongful actions of the paramilitary forces.

This strategy of displaying the wrapped dead bodies is very rare and used sparsely by protestors to make a point to local governments.  Anti-military slogans were also shouted at army officials and other government officials.  One of the signs displayed by the protestors read, “We are also Pakistanis.  Don’t kill us.”

The protestors called for a stop to the military operations in the Khyber tribal area of Pakistan where frequent military exercises and raids of this type are carried out.  The protestors also called for the government to compensate the victims and their families and to end a five year old curfew still enforced in the area.

Pakistani police in the city of Peshawar responded to the protestors with barrages of tear gas.  The police forces, desperate to keep peace in the volatile city, also used water cannons to disperse the scores of protestors outside of the governor’s house.

Protestors are at a loss as to where to seek justice for these alleged extra-judicial killings.  The locals believe that there is nowhere to turn for help to stymie the growth of barbarism perpetrated by the Frontier Corps and their fellow citizens continue to be murdered in cold blood.

The leaders of the paramilitary forces, however, have privately denied responsibility for the deaths of the 18 civilians that were dumped on the side of the road and used in the demonstrations by protestors in Peshawar.  The paramilitary forces are simply doing their jobs to rid Pakistan of the Islamic militants.

Locals vehemently contend that the tribal people in the Khyber region are being persecuted by both the paramilitary forces and the militants.  The civilians are essentially caught in the middle of the two conflicting groups.  Amnesty International accused Pakistani officials last month of failing to remedy the thousands of human rights abuses prevalent in this area.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Pakistan protests move to Peshawar – 17 January 21 2013

BBC – Pakistan police use tear gas to disperse ‘dead bodies’ protest – 17 January 2013

Global Times – People protest against overnight raid in Pakistan – 17 January 2013

The News International – Protest demonstration ends in Peshawar – 17 January 2013

The Star – Pakistanis pile bodies outside governor’s house in protest – 16 January 2013