Human Rights Watch Hopes for Justice in Sri Lanka

Human Rights Watch Hopes for Justice in Sri Lanka

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Human Rights Watch recently released a statement pleading for holding accountable many of the perpetrators of human rights violations in Sri Lanka.  The prominent and influential organization pressed that the thousands of Sri Lankan nationals who have been denied human rights and legal recourse should finally attain their just deserts.  The group further asserts that President Rajapaksa’s first term saw myriad violations of international humanitarian laws, and is pushing for more transparent policies and the proper imposition of accountability during Rajapaksa’s new term.The Sri Lankan government has been ravaged by guerilla warfare against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam for over a quarter-century.  The United Nations itself has described Sri Lanka’s war, in which the government ultimately prevailed in the spring of 2009, as a “bloodbath”.  The war caused over 7,000 civilian casualties and has been the cause of many more human rights violations.

Discrimination against some Tamil nationals has forced many to flee to Australia to seek asylum.  However, many of those who tried to flee to Australia and Christmas Island were intercepted by Indonesian Border Control.  The Australian government employed the assistance of Indonesia to mitigate the influx of Tamil refugees into Christmas Island, which has become a haven for refugees of war-torn nations, particularly those in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

The Sri Lankan government’s establishment of refugee camps for Internally Displaced Persons subsequent to its victory over the Tamil Tigers faced its own plethora of human rights violations claims.  The derisory condition of the camps, along with the lack of adequate food, clothing, and shelter supplies drew the attention of many human rights groups and provoked pressure from the international community.  The Sri Lankan government only recently allowed Sri Lankan nationals housed in refugee camps to return to their own homes.  The Sri Lankan government claimed that prolonged holding was necessary to identify and remove Tamil Tigers among the civilian population.

The Sri Lankan government’s persistent refusal to cooperate with the UN and human rights groups further perpetuated suspicions and criticisms concerning Sri Lanka’s treatment of enemy combatants as well as its own citizens.  Human Rights Watch hopes that accountability will be able to prevent new violations and offer justice to victims of Sri Lanka’s past impunity.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Sri Lanka Refugees on Hunger Strike – 06 October 2009

BBC News – Sri Lanka Tamil refugee camps ‘to be opened next month’ – 21 November 2009

Human Rights Watch – Sri Lanka: President’s New Term Time for Accountability – 26 January 2010

Four More Sentenced to Death for Xinjiang Riots

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – A court in China sentenced four more people to death in connection to their part in last year’s ethnic riots in the western Xinjiang region. A fifth person was also given the death penalty, but  was granted a two-year reprieve. and he is expected to see his sentence reduced to life in prison. In addition to sentencing five individuals to death, eight others were given various jail sentences.

The group appeared before the Urumqi Intermediate Court. The sentences for the defendants are said to be carried out immediately. They were charged with “extremely serious crimes,” reported state-run Xinjiang Daily newspaper. The thirteen defendants were charged with the “violent crimes of attacking, smashing, looting and burning”, a Chinese term that refers to violent rioting.

The verdicts bring the number of people who have been sentenced to death for involvement in the riots to about two dozen, including nine who have already been executed.

The verdicts were handed down on Monday, January 25, by a court in the regional capital Urumqi – the site of the violence in July 2009 where Muslim Uighurs and China’s Han ethnic majority fought in turmoil. The occurence left nearly 200 dead and over 1,600 injured.

On July 5 violence began as Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking minority ethnic group, protested the deaths of Uighur factory workers in an earlier brawl in southern China. The protest became a riot as gatherers clashed with police in the Xinjiang regional capital of Urumqi. The crowd scattered and fled throughout the city, attacking majority Han Chinese and burning cars. Nearly 200 people, mostly Hans, were killed, according to the government. Two days later, Uighurs were targeted in revenge attacks, promulgating the incident.

All of the thirteen sentenced this week are believed to be Uighurs, according to local sources.

For More Information, please see:

CNN – Four sentenced to death over Urumqi riots – January 26, 2010

New York Times – China: Four Sentenced to Die for Xinjiang Rioting – January 28, 2010

Al Jazeera – Four sentenced to die in Xinjiang – January 27, 2010

Yemeni Fighters Leave Saudi Arabia

By Ahmad Shihadah

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NAA, Yemen – Fighting between Saudi forces and Houthi fighters on the border with Yemen has ended, Saudi officials have said. Prince Khaled bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister, said on Wednesday that his forces had achieved a “clear victory over the enemy” on the Yemen-Saudi border.

“They did not withdraw. They have been forced out,” said Prince Khaled bin Sultan, assistant minister of defense and aviation for military affairs. Prince Khaled’s statement was the first response from a Senior official after Yemeni rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi announced Monday the voluntary withdrawal of his fighters.

Saudi ground forces and warplanes have pounded Houthi militants since the rebels killed a Saudi border guard and infiltrated a string of villages in early November. The fighting which led to fear of wider regional chaos, drew the kingdom into a sporadic 5-year old conflict between insurgents and Yemeni government

The leader of the Houthi rebel group said that his fighters were withdrawing from Saudi Arabia after three months of fighting along the border. Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi offered a ceasefire in a message posted on the Internet on Monday January 24, saying he wanted to prevent further civilian casualties.

Houthi forces entered Saudi Arabia in November after making accusation that the government in Riyadh was aiding the Yemeni in their campaign against the rebels. Fighting between members of the minority Shi’ite Zaydi sect and the state has occurred sporadically since 2004. The rebels accuse the Yemeni government of social, economic and religious marginalization.

Western powers and Yemen’s neighbors fear the growing chaos in the impoverished Arab country could allow al-Qaeda to strengthen its operations there, spreading instability across the region and beyond

For more information, please see:

Arab News – ‘Infiltrators Chased Out of Country’ – 28 January 2010

Al-Jazeera – Saudi-Houthi Border Fighting Ends – 27 Wednesday 2010

Los Angeles Times – Saudis Say Fighting with Yemen Insurgents Ceased – 28 January 2010

BBC News – Saudi Troops ‘Forced Yemen Rebels from Their Soil’ – 27 January 2010

Reuters – Saudi Says Achieved Victory Over Yemen Rebels – 28 January 2010

Thousands Continue to Seek Salvation in DRC as Insecurity Persists

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo – Military operations and banditry have forced more than 15,000 people to flee their homes over the past two months in Democratic Republic of the Congo’s troubled North Kivu province.

Since December, the UN refugee agency has registered 15,508 newly displaced people at dozens of UNHRC -run sites for internally displaced people (IDP), where they seek shelter and safety.

According to the fleeing families, the situation is difficult and unsafe in their villages in the western part of North Kivu. They say military operations and violence conducted by numerous armed groups are forcing civilians to seek safety elsewhere.

The United Nations Human Rights Counsel (UNHCR) registered the new caseload of internally displaced people in and around Kitchanga, in a large area to the north-west of Goma, the capital of the province. This latest wave of displacement brings the total number of IDPs in the UNHCR-run sites to 116,000. UNHCR is currently managing 47 IDP camps in the region, providing protection and assistance.

“We estimate that so far we have registered only a part of the recently displaced population and that many more could be sheltering with host families or hiding in the woods fearing to return to their homes. These IDPs cannot be accessed due to insecurity and impassable roads,” a UNHCR spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Fierce fighting has persisted in eastern DRC, particularly in North and South Kivu, where Hutu militants blamed for the Rwandan genocide of 1994 have fled. Last year the Congolese Government launched several offensives targeting the group known as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), with logistical support from the UN peacekeeping mission in the country (MONUC).

The FDLR and the national army, the FARDC (Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo), are blamed for human-rights abuses in North and South Kivu, including attacking civilians, looting property, burning homes, widespread rape and sexual violence.

At least 200,000 cases of sexual violence have been recorded in eastern DRC since 1996, according to the UN. Across the country, an estimated 2.1 million people have been displaced by conflict, including about 538,880 in South Kivu Province and 1,130,000 in North Kivu.

For more information, please see:

IRIN – DRC: IDPs Hiding in North Kivu Forests – 27 January 2010

UN News – UN Agency Assisting Thousands Uprooted by Insecurity in Eastern Region – 26 January 2010

Reuters – Violence Displaces 15,000 Congolese Civilians Over Past Two Months – 26 Jan 2010

Back to Back Days of Bombings Rock Baghdad

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On January 25 a series of bombings unleashed minutes apart destroyed landmark Baghdad hotels that cater to foreigners. The triple bombing killed thirty six people and wounded over seventy. Iraqi officials noted that similar attacks took place in August, October and December. The following day a car bomb exploded in central Baghdad. The bombing caused the collapse of a building that belonged to the criminal investigation department of the interior ministry. Eighteen people were killed with another eighty injured.

The January 25 bombings targeted hotels that served foreign journalists and expatriate businessmen. The hotels were to seen house observers of the March 7 parliamentary elections. Iraqi officials suggest that the attack was aimed at affecting international opinion regarding the country’s security. Hazim al-Nuami, a Baghdad-based political analyst, said, “the messages is that Iraq can’t provide security for foreigners.”

The first bomb struck the Ishtar Sheraton at 3:28pm. Three minutes later the second bomb hit the Babylon Hotel. The final bombing took place at 3:37pm and hit the Hamra Hotel. The bombs cut through traffic during rush hour and took off the facade of one hotel. The blasts shook the Iraqi capital and shattered windows miles away from he hotel. Gunfire echoed through the streets as security forces tried to cordon off the bombing scene.

The January 26 bombing claimed the lives of five policemen and thirteen civilians. The attacker was able to evade the tight security that surrounds the central neighborhood of Karrada. Checkpoints are located at all entrances into the neighborhood. Additionally, police conduct regular security searches. Major General Qassim Atta, a spokesman for the Iraqi military in Baghdad, confirmed that the attacker targeted the forensics institute. Atta also said that, “at 10:45am a suicide bomber races his vehicle towards his vehicle towards the institute. The building collapsed soon after the explosion.”

Security officials believe that the bombing was directly related to the execution of Ali Hassan al-Majid, more commonly known as Chemical Ali. Majid was executed the day before the bombing of the forensics institute that played a major role in his prosecution. During his trial, Iraqi courts heard testimony that military assaults ordered by Majid were responsible for the deaths of close to one hundred eighty thousand people.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Car Bomb Rocks Iraqi Capital – 26 January 2010

BBC News – Iraq Crime Lab Car Bomber Kills Many in Baghdad – 26 January 2010

Guardian – Suicide Car Bomber Strikes Baghdad Police Forensics Office – 26 January 2010

New York Times – Baghdad Blasts Shatter Sense of Security in Capital – 25 January 2010