El Salvador and Cuba Re-establish Full Diplomatic Ties

El Salvador and Cuba Re-establish Full Diplomatic Ties

By Nima Nayebi

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – El Salvador and Cuba have restored full diplomatic ties on the eve of the inauguration of new leftist Salvadorian President Mauricio Funes.

El Salvador originally cut its diplomatic ties with Cuba under pressure from Washington D.C. following the Cuban Revolution 50 years ago. As his first presidential act, former President Funes, a former journalist, announced that he was restoring diplomatic ties with Cuba, making El Salvador the last Latin American country to do so.

“The government that I preside will normalize relations with all the Latin American countries; this means that we will immediately re-establish diplomatic, commercial and cultural bonds with the sister nation of Cuba,” said Funes at his inauguration. In attendance was a Cuban delegation headed by Vice-President Esteban Lazo. Also in attendance was US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

According to new Salvadorian Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez, this will be one of the main foreign policy decisions of the new government. The policy aims to facilitate trade, as well as educational, cultural, and health exchanges between the Salvadorian and Cuban peoples.

Guantanamo Detainee Refused New Lawyer After Accusations of Severe Misconduct and Infighting

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – On June 1 the first war crimes hearing under the Obama Administration took place as Canadian born terror suspect, Omar Khadr, lost his bid to fire his lawyers. Khadr, a Canadian national and only remaining westerner in Guantanamo, was shot and arrested at the age of fifteen in Afghanistan after a firefight. Khadr has been a detainee in Guantanamo Bay for the past six years. Despite Khadr’s lawyers’ argument that he was a child soldier fighting for Al Qaeda under the influence of his father, he remains accused of five war crimes, including killing a U.S. serviceman with a grenade.
Khadr’s charges have been dropped and re-filed multiple times amid uncertainty regarding the future of the court itself. A military judge ordered Khadr to appear before him after months of infighting between his Chief Defense lawyer and other counsel. Each side accused the other of severe misconduct. Khadr sought to fire both of his Pentagon-appointed lawyers, saying “Right now I can’t trust them . . . They’ve been accusing each other and pointing fingers at each other. . . I want to erase all of them.” Khadr has stated that he will only trust his Canadian Lawyers, but the military commission will only classify them as “foreign military consultants.”

A new trial date has not been set and the Obama administration has not announced whether Khadr’s case will remain in the military tribunal system. The judge made clear that switching lawyers would not guarantee Khadr any delays.

The Canadian government has refused to make a decision on repatriation of Khadr until the U.S. decides if it will drop the charges. Justice Department Lawyer Doreen Mueller has argued that the refusal to repatriate Khadr, if held to violate his rights under the Canadian Constitution, is a justifiable infringement to protect national security. Conversely, Federal Court Justice James O’Reilly ruled that Ottawa’s refusal to seek Khadr’s return violates his constitutional right to fundamental justice under Canada’s international human rights obligations. Furthermore, O’Reilly argued that the Canadian Government was complicit in Khadr’s mistreatment when federal officials questioned him in 2004, with knowledge that he was prepared for questioning using sleep deprivation. The Canadian Government contends that “mere knowledge does not equate to participation.”

Khadr stated that “It’s not the first unfairness” he is going through and that he is “expecting more unfairness.”

Great Firewall of China Raised Higher Ahead Tiananmen Anniversary

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– Two days before the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre where thousands died fighting for democracy, the Chinese government has authorized an extensive censorship of the Internet.

Tiananmen tank

Starting Tuesday, social networking sites, such as Twitter, as well as YouTube, Flickr, Hotmail, and Bing have been blocked.

Microsoft’s Public Affairs Director Kevin Kutz said, “We are reaching out to the [Chinese] government to understand this decision and find a way to move forward.”

Tiananmen Square (Source: AP)

While it is not uncommon for the Chinese government to block websites considered to be controversial before major events, the massive block today is the first extensive censorship of social media.  Some believe that this mass Internet censorship was prompted because calls for re-evaluation of Tiananmen have been published on the Internet this year.

Reporters Without Borders, outraged by this censorship, released a statement, “The Chinese government stops at nothing to silence what happened 20 years ago in Tiananmen Square.  By blocking access to a dozen websites used daily by millions of Chinese citizens, the authorities have opted for censorship at any price rather than accept a debate about this event.”

Internet users Internet users in China (Source: AFP)

In addition to Internet censorship, TV viewers in foreign compounds and hotels in Beijing and Shanghai experienced blackouts for minutes at a time as censors blocked out reports regarding the Tiananmen anniversary.

For more information, please see:

AFP – China blocks websites ahead of Tiananmen anniversary – 2 June 2009

BBC – Chinese curbs before anniversary – 2 June 2009

The Huffington Post – China Blocks Twitter Ahead of Tiananmen Anniversary – 2 June 2009

NYT – China Blocks Twitter Service Ahead of Anniversary – 2 June 2009

Tunisia Seeks Custody of Tunisian Detainees

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TUNSI, Tunisia– Tunisia has requested that the United States send two Tunisian nationals being held on charges of Terrorism back to Tunisia. Both men have been convicted in absentia on terrorism-related charges. Earlier in May the United States requested that Italy take in the same two men, as Italy had been investigating their connection to an Islamist group. One of the men is currently being held in Guantanamo Bay prison, and the other is being held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

Since President Barack Obama ordered the closure of U.S. run Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, the United States has been trying to persuade other countries to take in Guantanamo’s current detainees. Tunisia announced on May 26 that it would take all the Tunisian Nationals currently being detained in Guantanamo.

Bechir Tekkari, Tunisian Minister of Justice and Human Rights, says that Tunisia is happy to welcome ten Tunisians that are currently being detained at Guantanamo Bay. Tekkari vouched for Tunisia’s desire to try the detainees under the Tunisian legal system and under the ‘principle of the presumption of innocence’.

While Tekkari has not had any contact with the Obama administration Tunisia is ready to take the prisoners back. He also attempted to convince human rights activists that Tunisia would judge and punish the detainees appropriately under the existing Tunisian Laws. Tunisia has been scrutinized following a critical report from the human rights organization Human Rights Watch. The report alleges torture and “other ill-treatment in police stations and detention centers run by the state security department”, as well as a vivid description of one man’s ordeal in custody and the severe abuse that he endured.

Tekkari attempted to deal with the allegations of the Human Rights Watch report in his in his address on Tuesday. He also discussed a new bill that sought alternative sentencing, and would greatly reduce the number of detentions. Tekkari also welcomed inspectors from Human Rights Watch to come into Tunisian prisons and investigate first-hand.

The United States will be considering the sincerity of Tekkari’s remarks when they decide where to send the ten Tunisian Guantanamo detainees back to Tunisia. Given Tunisia’s specific request for two prisoners to be returned and the United States prior requests for other countries to take the Guantanamo prisoners, it will be a difficult decision for the US to make.

For more information, please see:

Legalbrief America- Government Prepared to Accept Guantanamo Detainees -1 June 2009

Reuters- Tunisia asks Washington to Hand Over Two Detainees– 31 May 2009

Tunisia Online News- Alternative Sentences Will Prevent the Detention of 10000 people Each Year – 27 May 2009

AFP- Tunisia Tells US it will Take in All its Guantanamo Nationals – 26 May 2009

AP- Tunisia Will Accept 10 Citizens Held in Guantanamo– 26 May 2009

Trial of Nobel Laureate Puts Burma Back in the International Spotlight

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

RANGOON, Burma-The trial of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has once again brought attention to the military junta controlling Burma. Human rights activists call the trial a sham and cite it as a chance to bring attention to the rights violations occurring under the current government.

Suu Kyi is facing an additional five years in detention for violating the terms of her house arrest. Suu Kyi was arrested for the violations when she allowed a trespasser to remain in her home overnight when he was too weak to leave. Many in the international community have called the trial a sham, including United States President Barack Obama who called the charges “spurious.”

International observers claim that the charges are meant to keep Suu Kyi out of the upcoming elections. Suu Kyi is the Secretary General of Burma’s National League for Democracy and is one of the most vocal critics of Burma’s ruling military junta. If Suu Kyi is in detention at the time of the elections she will not be allowed to play any role in process. Critics say this is the real reason behind the trial.

Many countries and human rights groups have asked the military junta to stop the trial and release Suu Kyi along with the estimated 2,000 other political prisoners being held by the Burmese government. Observers say that the military junta could gain political legitimacy if they allowed her to play a role in the upcoming elections. Human rights activist claim the trial and persecution of the Nobel Peace Prize winner is another example of the long line of human rights violations committed under the watch of the ruling military junta. The junta’s spokesman Major-General Aye Myint stated that the trial “is not political…it’s not a human rights issue, so we don’t accept pressure from abroad.”

For more information, please see:

Voice of America – Injustice In Burma – 29 May 2009

Washington Post – What the U.N. Can’t Ignore in Burma – 1 June 2009

Guardian – The EU must start squeezing Burma – 1 June 2009