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Australian PM Blocks Gay Marriage Vote
By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Oceania
SYDNEY, Australia — Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s conservative coalition government on Tuesday blocked its members from voting in favor of gay marriage, a politically risky move that effectively rules out a marriage equality bill passing under his government. Abbott’s ruling conservative coalition all but doomed legislation that would allow gay marriage by refusing to allow its lawmakers a free vote on the issue.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Wednesday that Australians would get a chance to vote on legalizing gay marriage if they re-elect his government next year, a promise his opponents argue is a stalling tactic to sideline the divisive issue ahead of the general elections.
Abbott effectively killed off chances of marriage equality until after next year’s elections, as two-thirds of coalition lawmakers supported his demand they vote as a bloc against such unions. But the six-hour debate exposed a divide even among Cabinet members.
“Abbott’s position is weaker now than it was just a few days ago,” said Haydon Manning, a politics professor at Flinders University in Adelaide. “He’s shored up his political base but at the cost of creating a noisy split in the ranks that may overwhelm his main message of being able to deliver good government.”
Prime Minister Tony Abbott addressed the media Tuesday, outlining his decision and answering questions regarding the meeting of the full coalition party.
“If you support the existing definition of marriage between a man and a woman, the coalition is absolutely on your side but if you would like to see change at some time in the future, the coalition is prepared to make that potentially possible,” Abbott told reporters after the near six-hour meeting, suggesting a public referendum on the matter.
Abbott extended an olive branch to marriage equality advocates, offering to allow the public to vote on gay marriage in a plebiscite if his government retains power at the next election. “The disposition is that it should happen through a people’s vote rather than simply through a parliament vote,” said Abbott.
Australia has become increasingly isolated among English-speaking nations on same-sex marriage. Ireland backed marriage equality in a May referendum and the U.S. Supreme Court in June recognized same-sex unions; Abbott’s conservative allies in U.K. and New Zealand, leaders David Cameron and John Key, support marriage equality.
Despite the ruling party decision, one government lawmaker, backbencher Warren Entsch, plans to introduce a private-member’s bill to Parliament on Monday that would allow same-sex marriage. But Enstch and other supporters concede that any bill will fail because government lawmakers will not be allowed to vote freely.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten, who introduced a same-sex marriage bill in June, has not given up hope that the Parliament will legalize gay marriage before the next election.
“When it comes time, if he gets re-elected at the next election, you can forget about marriage equality,” Shorten said. “The choice in this country is you either have Mr. Abbott or you have marriage equality. But you can’t have both.”
For more information, please see:
ABC News — Australians to Vote on Gay Marriage If Government Elected — 12 August 2015
BBC News — Australian gays ‘will never be able to wed under Abbott’ — 12 August 2015
Wall Street Journal — Australia’s Abbott Under Fire After Gay-Marriage Vote Blocked — 12 August 2015
Bloomberg — Abbott Crushes Gay Marriage Hopes as Party Ructions Exposed — 11 August 2015
Reuters — Australia ruling party blocks members from voting for gay marriage — 11 August 2015
Slain Radio Host Latest in Journalist Murders
By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
BRASÍLIA, Brazil — Two gunmen entered the studio of Radio Liberdade FM in Camocin, Brazil where Gleydson Carvhalo was hosting his radio show live on the air and shot him 3-5 times. He was shot during a musical interlude. They had subdued the receptionist and ordered another in the room under the table. Carvhalo died on the way to the hospital.
Carvhalo was known for criticizing the government on his show and on social media. He gained fame for exposing corruption in the local government.
He is the fourth journalist to have been killed in Brazil this year, and the 16th killed since 2011. Friends say that Carvhalo had received death threats on air for his opinions in the past.
These killings of journalists are often marked by extreme brutality – a Brazilian journalist killed in May was found decapitated. Another was found shortly after with an eye gouged out.
Most of the killings have taken place in smaller towns and villages in Brazil – away from the bigger cities and away from the mainstream media.
Multiple organizations have spoken out against the attacks. Maria Laura Canineu, Human Rights Watch Director for Brazil said that “Attacks against journalists for their work threaten freedom of expression and the very fabric of democracy. It is crucial for authorities to ensure full accountability for the killing of journalists to guarantee that reporters in Brazil can work without fearing for their lives.”
The National Association of Newspapers has called Brazil a “climate of impunity”. The senior Americas program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists has called on the Brazilian government to take measures to prevent this kind of violence. Particularly, the Committee has proposed legislation that would make such crimes fall under federal jurisdiction.
Brazil is ranked as number 11 on the Committee’s 2014 Global Impunity Index. According to the Committee, 65% of journalists murdered in Brazil since 2011 were reporting on corruption. Government officials are suspected in 52% of cases.
For more information, please see:
CTV – Brazilian gunmen kill radio host while on air – 07 August 2015
Human Rights Watch – Brazil: Radio Host Slain – 07 August 2015
Latin American Herald Tribune – Muckraking Brazilian host slain on the air – 07 August 2015
Latin Times – Gleydson Carvahlo dies after being shot five times in radio booth – 07 August 2015
Mirror – Radio presenter shot dead by two gunmen during live show – 07 August 2015
New York Times – Murder of Brazilian Journalist Furthers Alarming Trend – 07 August 2015
Still No Clear Solution for the Rohingya Migrant Crisis
By Christine Khamis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar –
More than a month has passed since the Rohingya migrant crisis made international news headlines, but there is still no apparent progress in finding the migrants a permanent home. There is also no sign that Myanmar will seek to correct the conditions from which the Rohingya migrants fled.
In May, international attention was drawn to the Rohingya crisis after journalists took photos of migrants crowded onto boats and stranded in waters near Thailand and Malysia. The migrants were a mix of Rohingya fleeing from persecution in Myanmar and Bangladeshis fleeing from economic hardship in Bangladesh.
Myanmar did allow over 700 migrants to come back ashore in early June. Two of the migrants told Reuters that 200-300 of the migrants who came ashore were Rohingya. The rest were Bengladeshis. The Rohingya were kept inside a warehouse upon coming ashore and the Bangladeshis were driven away in buses. Journalists covering the story were asked to leave.
Myanmar denies that it discriminates against the Rohingya, despite the fact that it does not grant the Rohingya citizenship rights. In the 1990s, Myanmar began issuing “white cards” that gave the Rohingya temporary residence and other limited rights, but not citizenship. White card holders were permitted to vote in Myanmar’s 2008 constitutional referendum and 2010 general elections. In a constitutional referendum earlier this year, however, Myanmarese President Thein Sein cancelled the white cards in response to pressure from Buddhist nationals.
Myanmar has also stated that persecution of the Rohingya is not the cause of the migrant crisis. Myanmar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wunna Maung Lwin has pointed to the number of Bangladeshis on the ship that was allowed to come aboard in May as proof that the crisis was a problem related to human trafficking in the region.
At an international meeting on the migrant crisis in May, the United Nations raised the issue of citizenship and other United Nations delegates blamed Myanmar for the crisis. Myanmar responded that it could not be singled out in regard to the crisis.
In early June, President Obama stated that Myanmar’s persecution of the Rohingya needed to come to an end in order for Myanmar to achieve its transition to democracy.
So far, Gambia and the United States have offered to help resettle the migrants.
Australia stated that it would not resettle the migrants. While Japan dedicated $3.5 million in emergency assistance to the migrants, it did not offer to resettle any of the migrants.
Neither China nor India, Asia’s two most populous countries, have offered to help the migrants either. Both China and India border Myanmar and are major trading partners with Myanmar. Neither country has put pressure on Myanmar to reevaluate its discriminatory policies against the Rohingya Muslims.
For China, Myanmar is a top source of foreign investment. Also, since the Rohingya do not have Chinese ethnicity, they are not of much concern to China. At a United Nations Security Council meeting last month, China stated that Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya is an internal issue for Myanmar to resolve.
In the past, India has offered aid and resettlement to refugees fleeing from Myanmar, and currently hosts more than 10,000 Rohingya.
Many in India and other Asian countries view the problem of refugees as stemming from Western imperialism. There is therefore a sense in such countries that responsibility for the refugees should be left to the West and institutions like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Not many of the Asian countries are members of international conventions protecting refugees.
For more information, please see:
New York Times – China and India Are Sitting Out Refugee Crisis – 28 June 2015
Council on Foreign Relations – The Rohingya Migrant Crisis – 17 June 2015
Reuters – Myanmar Says Persecution Not the Cause of the Migrant Crisis – 4 June 2015
Reuters – Myanmar Lands 700 Migrants, U.S. Says Rohingya Should be Citizens – 3 June 2015
Report Shows Evidence Of False Positive Killings
By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
BOGOTA, Colombia — Human Rights Watch has released a 95-page report on evidence of false positive killings by Colombian troops between 2002 and 2008. At the time, Colombia was conducting frequent military operations against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
Over 180 battalions and tactical units are thought to have been involved in the killings over the course of six years. The killings were considered a measure of military success and were some times rewarded with cash and vacation time.
The killings sputtered out after the death of 19 young men from Bogota caught international attention and resulted in the Colombian army’s top commander stepping down. Since then about 800 army personnel have been charged with extrajudicial killings, most of them lower-ranking soldiers.
Colombia enacted the Legal Framework for Peace in 2012, a constitutional amendment that may allow impunity for atrocities committed by guerilla groups, paramilitary groups and the military upon the completion of a peace agreement between Colombia and FARC.
Very few of the army’s top officials, who the report alleges knew or should have known about the killings, have been charged with the crimes. Current commander of the Colombian Army General Jaime Laspirilla and commander of the armed forces General Juan Pablo Rodriguez have been summoned by the Attorney General’s office to give evidence. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos defended the two men, saying that he was not aware of any investigation against them.
Those involved who have spoken out or testified about the issue have faced backlash from within the military. Sergeant Carlos Mora reported some suspicious deaths to his superiors in 2006 and soon faced harassment and frequently dangerous assignments. His superiors also implied that his family would be killed if he continued told anyone else. He would later bring his suspicions to high command.
In October 2014, Niixón de Jesús Cárcamo was murdered in the 11th Brigade’s military detention center. Cárcamo had confessed to being involved with the false positive killings and was providing information on his superiors’ actions to investigators.
The International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor has been closely watching the proceedings in Colombia. The Office will consider opening an investigation if it determines that the Colombian authorities are not genuinely engaging in the prosecutions.
The United States has provided Colombia with billions of dollars in military aid because the country was “threatened by an insurgency,” said Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.). Leahy has criticized the aid given to Colombia in the past. Additionally, Human Rights Watch has called for the U.S. to suspend any military aid to Colombia that is subject to human rights conditions.
Colombia and FARC representatives have been in ongoing talks for a peace agreement since November 2012.
For more information, please see:
BBC – Colombia’s top army officials ‘knew of extrajudicial killings’ – 24 June 2015
Human Rights Watch – Colombia: Top Brass Linked to Extrajudicial Executions – 24 June 2015