Death Toll Over 100,000 in Syria Conflict

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – On Thursday, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that over 100,000 people have now been killed in the conflict in Syria.  The UN Chief appealed to all parties involved to begin new peace talks as he addressed the media before a meeting with United States Secretary of State John Kerry.

Heavy weaponry used in urban in areas has produced a large number of the casualties. (Photo Courtesy of Getty Images)

“More than 100,000 people have been killed, millions of people have either been displaced or become refugees in neighbouring countries,” Ban said. “We have to bring this to an end. The military and violent actions must be stopped by both parties, and it is thus imperative to have a peace conference in Geneva as soon as possible.”

Kerry also addressed the reporters stating that he had recently spoken with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and that both countries remained committed to a peaceful outcome.

“There is no military solution to Syria,” Kerry told reporters. “There is only a political solution, and that will require leadership in order to bring people to the table. We will try our hardest to make that happen as soon as is possible,” Kerry said.

In the past, peace conferences have been delayed because of disagreements between Russia and the US and uncertainty as to whether the all of the Syrian parties to the conflict would show up.

The announcement occurred shortly after a car bomb was detonated in the al-Siyouf Square in the Jaramanah disctrict of Damascus.  Reports have the number of deaths ranging from seven to as many as seventeen with dozens injured.

The UN death toll estimate marked a significant increase from last month’s estimate of 93,000 killed in the conflict.  The UN has stressed that their numbers are an underestimate.

The death toll is not the only startling statistic that has been released by the UN.  In May, it was reported that more than one-and-a-half million had fled Syria and another four million were displaced within the country.

While Ban and Kerry pushed for peace talks, the rebel opposition called for more military support from the US.  Opposition Syrian National Coalition president Ahmad Jarba said that the rebels have a “right to self-defense” and need further support as the situation has grown “desperate” after regime advances.

For further information, please see:

CNN – Opposition presses for weapons as Syria death toll tops 100,000 – 26 July 2013

Al Jazeera – UN: Syria death toll rises above 100,000 – 25 July 2013

BBC – Syria death toll now above 100,000, says UN chief Ban – 25 July 2013

Global Post – Syria death toll tops 100,000 – 25 July 2013

Snowden Stranded in Moscow As US Congress Refuses to Limit NSA Surveillance.

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Lawyers for former NSA contractor Edward Snowden said Wednesday that issues with his requests for asylum are expected to leave Snowden stranded in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Snowden requested temporary asylum in Russia last week after he was stopped from boarding a flight out of the country.

Snowden, 30, sparked a national debate about the legality and morality of secret mass surveillance programs targeted at US citizens. (Photo courtesy of NPR)

Snowden made headlines back in May when he released classified information detailing an NSA program designed to collect phone meta-data from users of Verizon’s phone service.

Snowden arrived in Moscow late last month, expecting only a short layover before traveling to South America. When Snowden arrived in Moscow on a revoked passport, however, bureaucratic measures prevented him from leaving the airport or boarding an outbound flight. Instead, lawyer for Snowden, Anatoly Kucherena, now says that he will remain in the airport until the Russian Federal Migration Services grants temporary asylum.

Back in the United States, Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a measure demanding the State Department coordinate with lawmakers in applying sanctions to Russia and any other country that offered asylum to Snowden. So far Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua have offered Snowden asylum.

The measure passed unanimously through the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday after it was included as an amendment to next year’s foreign operations bill.

This came just one day after the House of Representatives voted on a bill that proposed to curtail the NSA’s ability to conduct mass surveillance programs like the one Snowden exposed. The bill was the first opportunity for members of Congress to take a position on mass surveillance since details of the NSA’s program came to light.

The bill, which fell seven votes short of passing, saw the bi-partisan alliance of libertarian conservatives and liberal Democrats as strong proponents.

For more information, please see:

CBS News – Senate pushes sanctions on nations aiding Edward Snowden – 25 July 2013

Fox News – NSA leaker Edward Snowden stuck in a holding pattern at Moscow airport – 24 July 2013

LA Times – Edward Snowden turned back at Moscow passport control, official says – 24 July 2013

The Guardian – Edward Snowden plans to stay in Russia, says lawyer – 24 July 2013

The New York Times – House Vote 412 – Rejects Limits on N.S.A. Data Collection – 24 July 2013

The Washington Post – Edward Snowden, NSA leaker, could remain in Russia indefinitely – 24 July 2013

 

 

 

Red Cross Denounces Blockage of Humanitarian Aid to Homs

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

HOMS, Syria – Syrian armed forces are blocking the entry of food and medical supplies to civilians trapped in the old city of Homs.  The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revealed last Friday that it has been attempting to negotiate a humanitarian pause to deliver much needed supplies to the city.

The Syrian city of Homs on July 18, 2013 after reported attacks by government forces. (Photo Courtesy of Shaam News Network)

President Assad’s forces have been laying siege to the city in a heavy offensive against rebel forces.  The ICRC has warned that “tragic” consequences are possible should there not be a break in the fighting.

“We have been trying, for close to 20 days now, to bring medical supplies and other aid to the old city of Homs,” Magne Barth, head of the ICRC delegation in Syria, said in a statement issued in Geneva.

“Despite lengthy negotiations with both sides, and three trips back and forth between Damascus and Homs, we have still not received the go-ahead from the Syrian authorities,” he said.

Homs was the birthplace of the revolution against the Assad government and has seen some of the fiercest fighting since that war began in 2011.  It is believed that two thousand people are trapped in the city.

The international laws of war require that the parties to a conflict provide for the rapid safe passage of humanitarian aid to civilians.

“They must also allow civilians in areas besieged by fighting to leave for safer areas, should they wish to do so. Regrettably, these obligations are not always fulfilled,” the ICRC said.

Despite the ongoing struggle in Homs, the ICRC has seen success in other parts of the country.

In what has been termed as the “Food for Freedom” deal, eighty rebels were released from the central prison in Aleppo in exchange for the safe passage of food supplies into the city.

Additionally, over the last two weeks aid deliveries have been permitted to feed the five thousand prisoners held there.  The city had reportedly been facing a severe food shortage.

The agreements were facilitated by the Syrian Red Crescent, an aid organization that works closely with the ICRC.  The two organizations have supplied food to over two-hundred thousand people this month.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Red Cross: Syria regime blocking aid to Homs – 25 July 2013

Arab News –Assad govt blocking access to needy in Homs – Red Cross  – 25 July 2013

Fox News –ICRC condemns Syria blockades – 25 July 2013

Reuters – Syrian authorities blocking access to needy in Homs – 25 July 2013

Myanmar Releases 73 Political Prisoners

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar– In honor of a commitment made to European leaders last week, Myanmar’s President, Thein Sein, ordered the release of 73 political detainees. President Sein’s pledge seeks to have all prisoners released by the end of 2013.

Chit Thura Ko Ko was released from the Insein Prison yesterday. (Photo courtesy of AP)

Shortly after meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Sein promised amnesty for the prisoners as part of a larger transition from half a century of military rule and authoritarianism to democracy. Sein, a reformist who took power with military support late in 2011 from the former junta, said that over a thousand political detainees have already been released from the country’s jails, and that a committee had been established to work through cases of those that remained locked up. Human rights groups confirmed these statements, and noted that of those already released, hundreds were persons who had been held for political reasons.

In a radio broadcast last month, Sein announced that any prisoners serving jail time for holding, expressing, or acting in accord with political beliefs would be set free. “I don’t want anyone who is imprisoned with particular political beliefs in any jail,” he said during the broadcast, adding that a government investigation into cases that had been “confused with criminal acts” was ongoing and had “taken some time.” Sein did not reveal the number of prisoners which the government considers “political.”

Human rights activists welcomed the release, and the government’s pledge to continue freeing political prisoners, but still had some concerns. According to Bo Kyi of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), “we welcome this release, [but] we are very concerned because of the new trials, they continue to send new (political prisoners) to jail.”

Aung Min, a minister in Thein Sein’s office who negotiated the tenuous peace deal between the government and the  Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in May after two years of hostilities, said that more than two dozen of the prisoners released were from the Kachin state.

“The president released about 70 prisoners including 26 from Kachin state,” he said from the regional capital Myitkyina.

Aung Min personally escorted well-known Kachin political prisoner Brang Shawng, who was sentenced to two years in prison last week under the Unlawful Association Act for his alleged role in the KIA, back to his home Tuesday from Myitkyina Prison.

Thousands of political prisoners have been released in batches over the past two years. But human rights activists say the government has to do more to recognize other individuals who are in prison-–specifically whistle-blowers who were former government workers-–as political prisoners and grant them similar amnesty.

For more information, please see:

BBC — Burma frees a further 73 political prisoners — 23 July 2013

Reuters — Myanmar frees 73 political prisoners: government committee member — 23 July 2013

Radio Free Asia — Myanmar Releases Scores of Political Prisoners — 23 July 2013

AFP — Myanmar frees dozens of political prisoners: official — 23 July 2013

Wall Street Journal — Myanmar Releases New Batch of Political Prisoners — 23 July 2013