Suicide Bomber Kills 1 in Israel

Suicide Bomber Kills 1 in Israel

DIMONA, Israel – On February 4, a Palestinian carried out a suicide bombing in Dimona’s shopping center, killing at least one Israeli and injuring at least 10 others.  A second suicide bomber was killed by Israeli police before he could detonate his explosives belt.  Responsibility for the attack was claimed by al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the militant wing of Fatah, along with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).  This is the first suicide bombing in Israel since January 2007.

This comes a week after the breach of the Gaza-Egypt border and follows Israeli concerns of militants and weapons entering Gaza.  There are conflicting reports of where the bomber came from.  The Telegraph states that al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claims that the bomber came from Gaza.  While, the Associated Press writes that the group stated that the bomber came from Ramallah in the West Bank.

In addition to reports that the suicide bomber entered through the breached Rafah border, James Hider, Middle East Correspondent of The Times, states that there are reports that two busloads of Palestinian militants, who were in Syria and Iran, arrived at the Rafah border and crossed into Gaza.  The bombing and fear, resulting from the border breach and continued rocket attacks, could lead to Israel toughening its stance against militants in the occupied territories.

Arye Mekel, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that Israel will fight terrorism by “all necessary means.”

For more information, please see:
Al Jazeera – Israel Hit by Suicide Attack – 4 February 2008

Associated Press – 1 Killed by Israel Suicide Bomber – 4 February 2008

Jerusalem Post – Woman Killed, 10 Hurt, 1 Critically in Dimona Suicide Attack – 4 February 2008

Telegraph – Suicide Bomber Kills Israeli Woman – 4 February 2008

Times (London) – Suicide Bomber Strike in Israeli Nuclear Town – 4 February 2008

Kenyan Leaders Resume Peace Talks

By Myriam Clerge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Eastern and Southern Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – Following a deadly weekend, which claimed the lives of at least 20 people in various parts of Kenya, parties from both sides met again today to resume peace efforts. Under the leadership of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, mediators for Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga met on Friday and agreed to a 4 point agenda to resolve the crisis.

The negotiations were met with a set-back. Chief mediator Cyril Ramaphosa, a South African business tycoon credited with negotiating the end of the Apartheid in South Africa in 1994, pulled out of the negotiations. Ramaphosa was chosen by Annan himself, but government complaints that he had business links to Odinga has led him to withdraw in order to maintain the negotiation momentum. Ramaphosa has denied such links to Odinga.

Even with this setback, Annan reports that the group dealt with Agenda Two, the humanitarian issues. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described Kenyan’s post election humanitarian state as “unprecedented.” More than a quarter million people have been displaced since the violence erupted and more than 900 people have died.

Tomorrow, the group intends to battle the key issue, the disputed December 27 re-election of Kibaki over Odinga that has triggered political and ethnic clashes. The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), along with many countries from the West, insists the election was rigged but Kibaki claims he won the presidency fairly. Both sides have traded blame surrounding the violence accusing each other of planning and executing the post-election bloodshed.

Annan gave both parties 15 days to stop the violence. Yet, even as mediators agreed to peace, the violence continued.  Several homes were set on fire along with three schools, Koiyet Primary, St Ann Academy, and Ribaita Primary School.

However, there are signs of improvement. In the small town of Sotik, gangs have agreed to disarm according to local parliament member, Lorna Loboso. Also the government has lifted the month long ban on live television broadcasting since the violence has eased and “security is better.”

For more information please see:

AllAfrica.com – Kenya: Talks to End Crisis Resume Amid Continuing Unrest – UN – 4 February 2008

Reuters: Africa – Kenya Rivals Return to Talks but Mediator Pulls Out – 4 February 2008

Yahoo News (AP) – Kenya Ends TV Ban, says Violence Easing – 4 February 2008

AllAfrica.com- Kenya: Hopes and Fears as Talks Enter Key Stage – 4 February 2008

Egypt Seals Gaza Border

By Kevin Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt closed its breached border wall with Gaza on Sunday morning, ending 11 days of shopping expedition for Palestinian residents of the blockaded territory. Egyptian troops allowed Palestinians and Egyptians to cross the border so they can return home on the other side, but prevented any new cross-border movement.

According to Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, Egypt agreed to coordinate with Hamas to seal the Gaza border temporarily while the Egyptians search for a way to reopen the border. Zahar also said Egypt agreed to enable thousands of Palestinians stuck in Egypt to go to third world countries where they already have visas or residency permits.

Hamas blew the wall open on January 23 to end a seven-month Israeli and Egypt blockade of Gaza. Since the border breach, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have crossed the border to stock up on necessities in Egypt and Hamas has thwarted repeated attempts by Egypt to close the frontier.

During the blockade, thousands of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip were denied access to the outside world. The Egyptian authorities have prevented the Palestinians from traveling abroad, including those who have legitimate reasons. Some had already been traveling abroad for medical treatment, or had appointments for treatment, while others were employed or studying in different countries.

Palestinians also lacked food, medicines, fuel and other basic necessities. Right before the border breach in January, the Israeli authorities had tightened their already stifling blockade on Gaza, making food and other supplies scarcer. United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, has said that only 32 truckloads of goods entered Gaza between January 18 and 29 due to the blockade, causing a backlog of some 224 trucks belonging to various UN agencies to build up. Before the tightening of the Israeli blockade, an average of 250 trucks entered Gaza daily.

Zahar said Egypt plans to talk with European officials concerning the border standoff. The EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, was expected to arrive in Cairo on Saturday. The international Middle East envoy, Tony Blair, is also scheduled to come to the region.

For more information, please see:

Wasthington Post – Egypt closes border with Gaza – 3 February 2008

AFP – Gaza border with Egypt sealed after mass exodus – 3 February 2008

The Associated Press – Egypt to seal Gaza border Sunday – 2 February 2008

BBC News – Crossing into Egypt for supplies – 2 February 2008

Amnesty International – Egypt blocks Gazan’s access to the outside world – 31 January 2008

Turkish Police Criticized for its Human Rights Record

By Vivek Thiagarajan
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

STRASBOURG, France- The European Court of Human Rights determined that Turkish police violated the human rights of two prisoners during their interrogation.  The prisoners received scarring from the electroshock that was used on their hands, feet, and genitals.  The prisoners were held by the Turkish gendarme.  The Turkish gendarme is the branch of the Turkish Armed Forces that acts as an extension of the Turkish police force.  (Gulf Daily Times)  Mehmet Ali Kaplan complained that when he was imprisoned he was blindfolded, beaten, tortured by having his testicles squeezed.  (AFP) Listing the allegations, the court noted: “He had received electric shocks through one of the toes on his right foot, his right thumb and his penis for about three hours”. (Gulf Daily Times) The court awarded the victims 8,000 euros ($11,836.80) in compensation. The gendarmes involved in the interrogation were tried and cleared of all liability in a Turkish court.

Also, in another similar case a prisoner suspected to be who was suspected to be a member of the separatist Kurdistan Worker’s Party.  The prisoner complained that the police brutalized him.  He stated that he was struck on the head by a police club and had his genitals squeezed.  The court awarded the prisoner 5,000 euros ($7,398) because of the lack of a sufficient investigation into the claims.

The 2007 European Court of Human Rights annual report stated that there were 319 judgments made against Turkey for its violations of the European Convention of Human rights.

For more information, please see:

Nasdaq (AFP)- European Court Condemns Turkey Over Police Torture- 31 January 2008

Jurist- Europe right court rules against Turkey in police abuse cases- 1 February 208

Gulf Times- European court slams Turkey over police torture – 1 February 2008

Bianet- HRW Report: Human Rights Trend is “Retrograde”- 31 January 2008

Sri Lanka: Poor Human Rights Record Noted on Day of Independence

By Elizabeth Breslin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka- As Sri Lanka prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary of independence, its human rights record is in the spotlight.  Attention is also focused on the country due to a bombing of a bus on Saturday and then the bombing of a train station on Sunday by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (also known as the Tamil Tigers or LTTE), killing a total of 29 people and wounding over 100.

In its recently-released World Report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) found that in the conflict between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lanka government, little consideration is shown for civilians.  HRW reported that the two sides “violate international humanitarian law… by indiscriminately firing on civilian areas and unnecessarily preventing the delivery humanitarian aid.”

In 2007, Sri Lanka enacted further Emergency Regulations giving the government broad powers to arrest and detain citizens without charge.  The government has used this power to arbitrarily arrest ethnic Tamils, journalists, and political activists.

Furthermore, HRW reported that “[g]overnment security forces are implicated in extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, forcibly returning internally displaced persons… to unsafe areas, restricting media freedoms, apparent complicity with the abusive Karuna group, and widespread impunity for serious human rights violations.”

HRW found that the world community was concerned over the situation in Sri Lanka during 2007, but that action was “slow and lacked cohesion.”

Many countries have recently suspended aid due to concerns over Sri Lanka’s human rights record.  The US government has suspended over 110 million USD, the UK has suspended over 3 million USD, and Sri Lanka’s top donor, Japan, threatened to cut off aid as well if the violence continues.

Ethnic turmoil has affected the country for more than 30 years, and the separatist struggle has taken over 60,000 lives.  The civil war has emerged as Asia’s longest ethnic conflict.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – S Lanka anniversary amid tensions – 4 February 2008

AFP – Sri Lanka marks freedom day amid bombs and bloodshed – 3 February 2008

Nidahasa – Global Concern Over Worsening Human Rights Record of Sri Lanka – 1 February 2008

AFP – International action slow to stem Sri Lanka bloodshed: HRW – 1 February 2008

Human Rights Watch – World Report 2008: Sri Lanka Events of 2007 – 31 January 2008