Turkey Blocking Websites to Curb Freedoms

Turkey Blocking Websites to Curb Freedoms

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ANKARA, Turkey– Europe’s main security and human rights watchdog, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said that Turkey was blocking over 3,700 internet sites solely for “arbitrary and political reasons.”  OSCE urged that Turkey rescind these restrictions in an effort to show further commitment to freedom of expression in the country.

Milos Haraszti, the spokesperson for the OSCE, said that Turkey’s Internet law is infringing upon freedom of expression in the country and that the law should be changed or rescinded immediately.  In a statement released by the OSCE, Haraszti said that “in its current form, Law 5651, commonly known as the Internet Law of Turkey, not only limits freedom of expression, but severely restricts citizens’ right to access information.”

Haraszti then commented that Turkey, a candidate for acceptance into the European Union, was barring access to some 3,700 websites including most notably YouTube, GeoCities and some Google pages.  He acknowledged that some of the content that is being barred is in fact bad, sites which for example promote child pornography.  Yet, in the end, Haraszti said that “by blocking access to entire websites, Turkey is paralyzing access to numerous modern file-sharing or social networks.”

“Some of the official reasons to block the Internet are arbitrary and capricious, and therefore incompatible with OSCE’s freedom of expression commitments,” said Haraszti.  When asked about the OSCE remarks, a Turkish communications ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters that “Turkey provides unlimited and equal access for all parts of society.  It is above the EU average on this issue.”  The official added that “the regulations over Internet (usage) have a dynamic structure and necessary legal changes are made when problems are detected in implementation.”

Despite the official’s comments, Haraszti said Turkish law was still failing in its attempt to safeguard freedom of expression while numerous criminal codes clauses were being used against journalists who risk being sent to jail as a result.

Back in October, the European Commission’s annual report on Turkey’s progress toward EU membership said that Ankara needed to do more to protect freedom of expression and the press.

For more information, please see:

AFP- Turkey Should ‘Reform or Abolish’ Internet Law– 18 January 2010

Reuters- Turkey Blocking 3,700 Websites, Reform Needed– 18 January 2010

Times Online- YouTube Banned in Turkey After Video Insults– 7 March 2007

Human Rights Groups Push for Palestinian Internal War Crimes Investigation

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

GAZA CITY, Gaza – Eleven international human rights groups called upon Hamas and Fatah authorities to open investigations around allegations of war crimes by Palestinian forces during 2008’s Gaza war. The groups each sent identical letters to Palestinian President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya on January 18, asking the leaders to follow the recommendations of the United Nations’ Goldstone Report.

 

On November 5, 2009, the U.N.’s General Assembly endorsed the Goldstone Report, the result of an investigation led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone. Though the Goldstone Report found that most of the war crimes committed during the Gaza war was the at the hands of the Israelis, it did not absolve Palestinians of such crimes, and cited several violations of international law by Palestinian forces. Examples include Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians, as well as instances of internal political repression both during and after the fighting, such as summary executions in the Gaza Strip and arrests and torture in the West Bank. Fatah has also admitted it previously tortured Hamas prisoners in its prisons in the West Bank and Gaza.

 

The call by the human rights groups came as Amnesty International accused Israel of “suffocating” the 1.4 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. Israel has imposed a blockade on the tightly populated territory since fighting ended in January 2009, cutting off reconstruction supplies. Much of the Gaza Strip remains covered in rubble from the Israeli mortars that rained down during the three-week war.

 

The letter from the human rights groups called on both Israel and the Palestinians to conduct internal investigations into the Goldstone Report’s allegations.

 

“Although a large part of the report deals with violations committed by Israel, it also touches on violations committed by armed Palestinian groups and the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank,” the letter said. “As international and Palestinian non-governmental associations, we call on Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to immediately launch credible internal investigations.”

 

For more information, please see:

 

AFP – Palestinian Rights Groups Urge Internal Gaza War Probe – 18 January 2010

 

BBC News – Call For Palestinians to Investigate Gaza “Crimes” – 18 January 2010

 

Canadian Press – Palestinian Rights Groups Call For Independent Investigation of Hamas in Gaza Fighting – 18 January 2010

 

Ha’aretz – Palestinian Activists Urge Hamas to Probe Own Gaza War Crimes – 18 January 2010

Police Stop China’s First Mr. Gay China Pageant

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – One hour before the event was scheduled to begin, police shut down what would have been China’s first gay pageant, Mr. Gay China. Stopping the show illuminates so close to its commencement illuminates the country’s sensitivity surrounding homosexuality, and the struggle by gays to find mainstream acceptance.

The Mr. Gay China pageant attracted a great deal of press attention. Even the normally staid state-run media reported on the event. Tickets, which cost 100 Yuan (US$14.60) and 150 Yuan (US$22.00), sold out three days prior to the event. The popularity and support of the pageant demonstrates a desire to generate knowledge about gay rights and advocate for promoting wide-spread homosexual societal acceptance in China.

China gay pageant

Simon Wang, a contest participant, reacted to news that police had canceled what would have been China’s first gay pageant. Image courtesy of The New York Times.

Despite the pageant’s popularity, organizers said they were not surprised when eight police officers turned up at the upscale club in central Beijing where the pageant, featuring a fashion show and a host in drag, was set to take place. According to Ben Zhang, one of the main event organizers, stated, “They said the content, meaning homosexuality, there’s nothing wrong with that, but you did not do things according to procedures.” Police then told him he needed official approval for events that included performances, in this case a stage show.

Police intervention, however, is not uncommon. Chinese police frequently cite procedural reasons for closing down gatherings that are deemed to be politically sensitive. Though the pageant did not have any overt political agenda, similar events in the past, such as a parade during the Shanghai Pride Festival last year, have been blocked by authorities.

Zhang had said he hoped the pageant would raise awareness of homosexuals in a country where gays are frequently discriminated against and ostracized. Eight men were competing for the title, and a spot in the Worldwide Mr. Gay pageant, to be held next month in Oslo, Norway. Shutting down the event, however, prevented them from not only competing, but from bringing a gay rights event into the mainstream spotlight. Zhang’s parting words as he left the site of the pageant were, “I wouldn’t say it’s a huge step backwards for the gay community,” he said, “but I guess it’s not a step forward, either.”

For More Information, please see:

The New York Times – Chinese Gay Pageant Is Shut Down – January 15, 2010

The Guardian – Chinese police shut down country’s first gay pageant – January 15, 2010

MSNBC – Police shut down Mr. Gay China pageant – January 15, 2010

UN Urges Uganda to Discard Anti-Homosexuality Bill

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

GENEVA, Switzerland – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay denounced Uganda’s proposed anti-homosexuality legislation calling it “draconian.”  She said it is in violation of international human rights standards and called on the country to shelve it.

The proposed anti-homosexuality legislation would impose the death penalty or life imprisonment on some gay and lesbian people for some homosexual acts.  Some examples of violations would include cases of rape of a minor of the same sex, or where one partner carried the AIDS virus.  Public discussion of homosexuality or renting property to a homosexual would also be criminalized.

“The bill proposes draconian punishments for people alleged to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered – namely life imprisonment, or in some cases, the death penalty,” said Pillay.  “To criminalize people on the basis of color or gender is now unthinkable in most countries.  The same should apply to an individual’s sexual orientation.”

In order to understand the bill’s introduction in Uganda it is first necessary to understand the story of King Mwanga.  In 1886, King Mwanga ordered male pages to have sex with him.  They died as martyrs when they refused based on their Christian faith and were ordered to be burned at the stake.

Playing on Ugandans’ fears, Scott Lively, an American evangelical, addressed the Ugandan Parliament.

“Male homosexuality has historically been, not adult to adult; it’s been adult to teenager,” says Lively.  “It’s called pederasty – adults sodomizing teenage boys.”

A few months later this bill was introduced.

This bill is set to come before the Ugandan Parliament sometime in January.  It could be as early as next week.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and other high ranking government officials have suggested that they might intervene to keep this bill from becoming law, a move that Pillay welcomes.

According to Rupert Colville, the High Commissioner’s spokesman, Pillay believes that the bill’s passage could have an extremely negative impact for homosexual individuals, depriving them of a range of fundamental human rights.

“It is extraordinary to find legislation like this being proposed more than 60 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights … made it clear this type of discrimination is unacceptable,” Pillay said.

She also warned that passage of this bill could harm Uganda’s reputation in the international community.

For more information, please see:

AFP – UN Urges Uganda to Scrap Anti-Gay Bill – 15 January 2010

Guardian – UN’s Human Rights Chief Urges Uganda to Scrap Anti-Gay Legislation – 15 January 2010

Jurist – UN Rights Chief Criticizes Proposed Uganda Legislation Against Homosexuality – 15 January 2010

NPR – U.S. Exports Cultural War to Uganda – 15 January 2010

UN News Centre – Top UN Rights Official Urges Uganda to Do Away with ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill’ – 15 January 2010

VOA – UN Rights Chief Denounces Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill – 15 January 2010

Chemical Ali Receives Fourth Death Sentence

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On January 15 Ali Hassan al-Majid was sentenced to death by hanging by an Iraqi court. Saddam Hussein’s senior aide, also known as “Chemical Ali,” was convicted of ordering the gassing of the Kurds in the Iraqi town of Halabja in 1988. The attack killed an estimated five thousand people and took place near the end of the Iran-Iraq War. This marked the fourth time that Majid has been sentenced to death.

During the 1988 attacks, Iraqi jets swooped over the small north eastern Iraqi town. The jets proceeded to spray Halabja for five hours with a deadly cocktail of mustard gas and Tabun, Sarin and VX, all nerve agents. The was part of Iraq’s Anfal campaign, which Majid was in charge of overseeing. Most of the five thousand Kurds that died were women and children. Majid said “thanks be to God” as the sentence was being read.

Majid was a close cousin of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. He earned his moniker from ordering the poisonous gas attacks in a campaign of bombings and mass deportations that killed over one hundred eighty thousand Kurds during the 1980s. He received his first death sentence from these attacks.

“Chemical Ali” received his second death sentence in December 2008 for war crimes committed during a 1991 Shi’ite uprising in southern Iraq that proved to be ill-fated. His third death sentence came in March 2009 for the 1999 murders of dozens of Shi’ites in Sadr City and Najaf.

It is not clear when Majid will ultimately be executed. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said that it woudl take place soon. Dabbagh told Reuters that “it will not take a long time for Hassan al-Majid to receive his just punishment for the crimes he committed against the Iraqi people.” Despite the wishes of Iraqi authorities, Majid still has the right to appeal to the sentence.

Majid’s first execution was due to be carried out by October 2007. It was ultimately delayed so as not to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Majid was first captured in August 2003, five months after US-led forces invaded Iraq.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Iraq’s ‘Chemical Ali’ Sentenced to Death – 17 January 2010

Al Jazeera – ‘Chemical Ali’ Sentenced to Death – 17 January 2010

BBC – Fourth Death Sentence for ‘Chemical Ali’ – 17 January 2010

Reuters – Iraq’s “Chemical Ali” gets 4th Death Sentence – 17 January 2010