Egyptian border guards accused of killing Sudanese migrants

Egyptian border guards accused of killing Sudanese migrants

Human Rights Watch recently sent a letter to Egypt’s Minister of the Interior, urging him to investigate the deaths of three Sudanese migrants.  According to Israeli soldiers, Egyptian border guards killed three Sudanese nationals attempting to cross into Israel.  According to witnesses, the Egyptian guards shot one man and beat the other two.  Egyptian authorities deny that the incident occurred.  However, last month Egyptian authorities admitted that they killed one Sudanese woman attempting to cross into Israel.

Currently, Egypt and Israel are in the midst of negotiating an agreement concerning the treatment and return of third-country nationals captured while attempting to cross the border.  Israel estimates that 2,800 people have entered Israel, via Egypt, illegally in recent years.  The number of illegal arrivals increased in the past months; with an estimated 50 arriving each day in the month of June.

The allegations against the Egyptian border guards were accompanied by the release of a report from an Egyptian human rights group.  The report cites over 560 cases of police brutality since 1993.  According to the report, in this year alone there has been 26 cases of torture; resulting in three deaths.  The report suggests that one reason why torture and mistreatment by Egyptian police is so wide spread is because the perpetrators are rarely caught and punished.

For more information please see:
BBC:  “Egypt pressed on migrant deaths”  8 August 2007. 

Human Rights Watch:  “Egypt: Investigate killings of Sudanese migrants attempting to cross intro Israel”  8 August 2007. 

Middle East Times:  “567 police torture cases in Egypt, says rights group”  8 August 2007. 

Middle East Times:  “Egypt ‘must probe’ deaths of Sudan refugees”  8 August 2007.

Somali Conference: False Hope?

By Myriam Clerge
Impunity Watch, Africa

Islamist insurgents are being blamed for the death of a young girl and woman killed after a land mine exploded. The landmine marks the latest incident of attacks targeting a government convoy, official or building.

Francois Fall, the UN Somalia envoy, visited Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, where the National Reconciliation Conference has been in effect since July 15. The Conference, aimed at creating a peace process in Somalia, has been delayed twice due to attacks from Islamist insurgents who opposed the conference. Fall announced his support to the overall purpose of the Conference. Fall also promised that the UN and international community would provide whatever technical assistance is needed to maintain peace.

Fall further encouraged the chairman of the conference to allow all clans in Somalia to attend. Reports say that many of the key players in resolving the violence plaguing Somalia have not attended the Conference nor plan to attend. Some of the most prominent anti-government factions have boycotted the conference.

The most dominant clan in Mogadishu, the Hawiye, and Islamists were invited to attend the conference but rejected the invitation stating that they would not attend the conference until Ethiopian troops leave the country. The Ethiopians have stated that they will leave when the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force is big enough.

The AU has been unable to gain a foothold in the country. So far only 1,600 Ugandans are in Somalia as part of the AU force, Burundi which promised to send 2,000 troops has again delayed their deployment, and communication and transport equipments promised by the US and France have yet to arrive.

Without the key players, critics argue that very little has been resolved. One delegate at the conference has expressed his concern that if those who are fighting the government are not in attendance and not on board he sees nothing tangible will result from the conference. In fact, eight of the eleven point agenda has been discussed.

Despite criticism, the conference has seen some promising advances: elders of the five major clans exchanged copies of the Koran as symbol of forgiveness and the Somali government has promised to accept any resolution established by the conference.

For more information please see:

BBC – Burundi delays Somali deployment – 07 August 2007

Reuters – Somalis still talking, but peace elusive – 07 August 2007

YAhoo – U.N. envoy makes surprise Somalia visit – 07 August 2007

Northern Mariana Islands: CNMI clash with US over immigration escalates

The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands is a dependent territory of the United States, which means that it is bound by U.S. federal law and legislation.  Since it became a Commonwealth of the United States in 1970, CNMI has handled its own immigration.  Recently, the United States has been pushing for CNMI immigration to be federalized, to the consternation of CNMI local government, through Senate Bill 1634 or House Bill 3079.  (See the Impunity Watch report here.)

CNMI governor Benigno Fitial and CNMI’s Washington Representative, Peter Tenorio, disagree over what should be done in the face of the proposed federal legislation.  Fitial told the Saipan Tribune that while the Covenant between the United States and CNMI does allow the United States Congress to apply U.S. immigration laws to CNMI, Congress is not authorized to “preempt all local labor laws and to allow a federal bureaucracy of five departments to make the critical decisions regarding our economic development, our workforce, and our community’s standard of living.”  He criticized Tenorio for failing to propose specific items to allow more local input in the proposed program’s administration.  Fitial said, “The real problem is that the Washington representative and I have different views about our own ability to govern ourselves.  He says we have made too many mistakes in the past so that we cannot be trusted to manage our immigration and labor laws.  I am disappointed that he has these views.  I do not share them.”

Tenorio views the problem differently, and is “disheartened” that Fitial characterizes his stance in that manner.  He says that he is trying to make the federalization of immigration work for CNMI, and that he has not given up.  Tenorio believes that CNMI’s own immigration laws are to blame for both the lack of economic development and the problem of what Tenorio has described as the outsourcing of CNMI’s own home to foreign workers.  Furthermore, he tells the Saipan Tribune, “The Fitial administration has made my job more difficult.  Its attitude, arrogance, gross misrepresentation of the bill, and its unfortunate treatment of those who are trying to help us in Washington are threatening the goodwill and dedication that members of the Senate Energy Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee have toward the CNMI.”  He added, “To the Governor, I say, I am not your problem and the federal government is not your problem.  The problem is the status quo.”

Fitial acknowledges some benefit to CNMI from the proposed legislation, namely that H.R. 3079 calls for a permanent CNMI non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives.  However, he has asked that it be separated from the rest of the bill and be considered first, on its own merits.  He maintains that the rest of the bill has negatively impacted the quality of life in CNMI already, and that he cannot support a federalization of CNMI’s immigration regulations.

Fitial and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs, David Cohen, exchanged press statements earlier this week, highlighting the frustration.  Fitial has accused Cohen of misusing statistics regarding human trafficking in CNMI, while Cohen stands by his statistical analysis.  Cohen said, “Rather than debating statistics, let’s all acknowledge the obvious: We have a problem here, and we should all work together to address it.  Reasonable people can disagree about whether federalization is the best way to deal with this problem.  We won’t be able to address the problem, however, until we are willing to acknowledge that the problem exists.”

Unlike Fitial, Tenorio has found Cohen to be a helpful ally in advocating for CNMI’s needs in Washington.  He believes that Cohen and other federal officials are aware of the requirements of the Covenant and are trying to be accommodating.

Please see also:
“Fitial nixes white flag”  Saipan Tribune (08 August 2007)
“Deal with the problem, not statistics”  Saipan Tribune (08 August 2007)
“It’s not about giving up but making federalization work for us”  Saipan Tribune (09 August 2007)
“Prioritize delegate to Congress”  Saipan Tribune (10 August 2007)

Saudi Religious Police under more scrutiny

    The Muttaween, Religious Police, were recently cleared of all criminal charges involving the death of Ahmed al-Bulaiwi.  Al-Bulaiwi was apprehended by the Religious Police for driving around a woman who was not a relative, which is forbidden under Saudi law.  Under Saudi law a woman cannot drive, nor can a woman go out in public and ride in a car without being escorted by either her husband, brother, or son.  In al-Bulaiwi’s case it turned out that al-Bulaiwi, who had a second job as a driver, actually had been instructed by the woman’s family to pick her up.  However, al-Bulaiwi was not given a chance to respond to his accusers, but instead he died while he was in custody.  Allegedly, he was beaten while being arrested.  Despite the evidence showing that the Religious Police’s actions probably contributed to al-Bulaiwi’s death, the Religious Police were cleared of all charges.

    The Religious Police have faced unprecedented criticism from the government and Saudi Arabian citizens.  However, the fact that Religious Police were cleared of all charges for al-Bulaiwi’s death allows them to continue to enforce Saudi Arabia’s moral codes.   Recently, the Religious Police arrested a Nigerian Islamic convert for assisting his sickly elder neighbor woman to the hospital.  Ibrahim Mohammad Lawal was arrested for his immoral behavior of driving a woman who was not a relative.  His supposedly immoral behavior has put Lawal in jail for more than 50 days.  Additionally, the Religious Police were accused of attacking a group of Shiites in Mecca.  The Iraqi Shiite pilgrims were reportedly called infidels.   Iraqi parliamentarian Ridda Jawad al-Takki said, “[t]hey [the group of Shiites] were beaten up because they were holding Shi’ite-style prayers.”  The Iraqis needed medical treatment after being detained by the Religious Police for 24 hours because of the misunderstanding.  The Religious Police must be checked by the government to avoid future abuses of power by the Muttaween. 

CNSNEWS.  Saudi Religious Police Arrest Man for Helping His Neighbor.  7 August 2007.

BBC News.   Religious police: Saudi readers’ views.  30 July  2007. 

International Herald Tribune.  Saudi religious police acquitted in case involving the death of a man in custody.  31 July 2007.

Manawatu Standard.  Saudi religious police accused of beating Shi’ites.  7 August 2007.

Scotsman.  Man jailed for taking woman to hospital.  7 August 2007.

IC Publications.  Saudi jails Nigerian who helped aged woman: report. 6 August 2007.

Press TV.  Saudi Police beat Iraqi pilgrims.  7 August 2007.

Rasid.   Iraqi nationalities western abused at the hands of the Saudi religious police in Mecca. 8 August 2007.

Many Plea for Release of Sudan Rebel Leader

By Impunity Watch Africa

US legislators and activists are calling for the release of a key Sudan rebel leader and humanitarian coordinator who served as a link between relief organizations and insurgents.   Sudanese officials stated yesterday that they would release the leader, Suleiman Jamous, if they were given guarantees that he would not rejoin armed rebels in Darfur.   Many are skeptical that the government will abide by their pledge not to re-arrest Jamous.  However, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon is expected to be in Khartoum on Saturday, and it is likely that his presence would deter any action.

Jamous, aged 62, is suffering from abdominal bleeding and is in need of a colonoscopy and biopsy, according to a UN medical report.  Jamous was the humanitarian coordinator for the Sudan Liberation Army for three years before being arrested more than a year ago by rival rebel chief Minni Minawi.  Jan Pronk, then the UN special representative to Sudan, negotiated with Minawi to have Jamous moved to a UN medical facility in Kidugli, near Darfur, on June 24.  This was done on the understanding that he would be released in four days.  Sudanese officials then blocked UN requests for Jamous’ safe passage and have kept him under virtual house arrest with a military vehicle parked outside a hospital in Kordofan, since the UN moved him there without permission last year.

Many insist that Jamous’ presence and participation in the wake of peace talks in Arusha, Tanzania, is necessary to keep western rebel groups unified, which has proven to be a major challenge in the past months.   Eric Reeves, an academic who has written widely about Sudan, stated that Jamous’ presence “would be extremely important, and he can play a conciliatory role.  But it is just for that reason that [the] Khartoum [government] keeps him in prison.”  One of the biggest rebel groups, SLA-Unity, threatened to boycott the talks if Jamous was not allowed to attend, however they eventually relented.

American actress Mia Farrow, an advocate for peace in Sudan, wrote a letter to Sudanese President al-Bashir on Sunday offering herself as an alternative prisoner to Jamous.  In her appeal, Farrow wrote: “I am therefore offering to take Mr. Jamous’s place, to exchange my freedom for his in the knowledge of his importance to the civilians of Darfur and in the conviction that he will apply his energies toward creating the just and lasting peace that the Sudanese people deserve and hope for.”

For more information, please see:

Washington Post – Activists Urge Sudan to Release Key Rebel – 08 August 2007

AllAfrica – Rebels Unite for Talks, Key Leaders Still Absent – 06 August 2007

AllAfrica – Mia Farrow Offers Her Freedom for Darfur Rebel – 06 August 2007

CNN – Farrow Offers Jail Time for Rebel – 06 August 2007