French Senate Bans Full-Face Veils in Public

French Senate Bans Full-Face Veils in Public

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France – The French Senate passed a bill this week banning Muslim full-face veils in public.  The bill passed 246 to 1, and was passed by the lower house of France’s parliament in July.  The ban will be implemented in six months unless it is ruled unconstitutional.  The language of of the bill was carefully set so as to survive a constitutional challenge; the words “women” and “Muslim” are not mentioned in the bill’s articles, though it has widely been acknowledged that the ban will primarily affect about 2,000 Muslim women in France.

Some believe the main issue in the controversial bill is religion.  Supporters of the ban believe allowing the full-face Muslim veil in public is contrary to ideals of secularism in France.  Opponents of the ban believe it is indicative of islamophobia.

Raphael Liogier, the head of the Observatory of the Religious in Aix-en-Provence, told the Associated Press that the ban “will officialize Islamophobia” at a time when Muslims in France are already a hate target. ”With the identity crisis that France has today, the scapegoat is the Muslim,” he said.

Others believe the bill is a matter of women’s rights.  Supporters of the ban believe it is a move that will help liberate oppressed women.  Sihem Habchi, president of NPNS, said to the Associated Press Television News, ”How can we allow the burqa here and at the same time fight the Taliban and all the fundamentalist groups across the world?”  She went on to say that she’s Muslim and she shouldn’t have to disappear because she’s a woman.

Opponents of the bill who agree that the issue is a matter of women’s rights, make the argument that it’s about the right to choose.  M’hammed Henniche, the secretary-general of the Union of Muslim Associations in the Seine-Saint-Denis district north of Paris, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that women should be not be told what to wear.  “We don’t have the right to forbid women from wearing the full veil.  We must always be on the woman’s side. We mustn’t treat a woman like a child,” he said.

If the bill’s legality is upheld by France’s Constitutional Council, wearing a full-face veil in public could result in fines of 150 euros for women and 30,000 euros for any men who force their wives to wear a full-face veil.  Some women potentially affected by the ban have vowed to either stay at home so as not show their face in public or if fined to bring the issue to the European Court of Human Rights.

For more information, please see:

CNN – French Senate approves burqa ban – 15 September 2010

BBC – French Senate votes to ban Islamic full veil in public – 14 September 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – French Senate Passes Ban on Full Muslim Veils – 14 September 2010

RADIO FREE EUROPE – French Senate Votes to Ban Full-Face Veils – 14 September 2010

Journalists Not Safe in Mexico

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

Photojournalist christian Torres, Santiagos colleague, grieves at the scene of the murder. (Photo courtesy of AP)
Photojournalist Christian Torres, Santiago's colleague, grieves at the scene of the murder. (Photo courtesy of AP)

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico—After an attack on two photographers, journalists in Mexico believe that they are defenseless against violent drug cartels, who target the media.  Many point the finger at an ineffective Mexican government that has been unable or unwilling to protect members of the media.

On Wednesday, Luis Carlos Santiago, a 21-year-old photographer, was shot and killed while in his car.  Another photographer with him, Carlos Sanchez, only 18, was severely injured.  Santiago worked for the most popular newspaper in Ciudad Juarez, El Diario de Juarez.  On Thursday, the newspaper published a front-page editorial that lashed out at the Mexican government for its weak response to the bloodshed.

“In a country where authorities have proven their incompetence, where can we ask for justice?” the editorial lamented.  “Who can we complain to for the dangers that journalists face every day?”  The editorial expressed frustration that many murdered journalists’ cases remain unsolved.

In 2008, a different El Diario journalist, Armando Rodriguez, was killed outside his home near the US-Mexico border.  In 2009, a federal agent investigating the murder was killed as well.

A New York-based group, the Committee to Protect Journalists, recently stated that over 22 Mexican journalists have been murdered since December of 2006.  During that period, President Felipe Calderon increased troops and federal police presence in the country in hopes of cracking down on the cartels.  The result, however, has been the opposite of what was expected, and has led to much criticism of the president’s approach.

Drug cartels target journalists in order to silence opposition, and some members of the media have felt threatened enough to quit reporting on the cartels.  El Diario, however, has continued tracking the gangs.

“The truth is,” El Diario’s editorial declared, “there is nothing we can do but keep reporting while feeling totally defenseless.”

A recent report by the Committee to Protect Journalists found “systemic failures that, if left unaddressed, will further erode freedom of expression and the rule of law.  Vital national and international interests are at stake.”

Ciudad Juarez is now one of the most dangerous cities in the world, with over 4,000 people slain in the past two years.

Santiago was the ninth journalist to be killed in Mexico this year.  His co-worker, Sanchez, remains in a serious condition in the hospital.

For more information, please see:

AP-Newspaper: Mexican media defenseless against gangs-17 September 2010

CNN-Mexican journalists shot Thursday may not have been intended targets-17 September 2010

BBC-Mexican newspaper photographers attacked by gunmen-17 September 2010

Kashmir Protest Government Human Rights Violators

By David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SRINAGAR, India – Anti-India protesters continued to defy government imposed, round-the-clock curfews. Indian troops continue to fight Kashmiri protesters in street battles that claimed 91 this summer and left hundreds wounded, in the deadliest day in what has been a summer of violence challenging Indian rule in the disputed territory.

Kashmiri protesters run for cover as Indian policemen (not in picture) gave chase during an anti-India protest in Srinagar
Kashmiri protesters run for cover as Indian policemen (not in picture) gave chase during an anti-India protest in Srinagar

Top separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, called for sit-ins outside Indian army garrisons across the Himalayan region of Kashmir. “Peaceful sit-ins should be held outside the army camps to remind the troopers that they should stop human rights violations and leave Kashmir,” according to reporters at his home in Srinagar on Thursday.

On the same day, nine militants were killed in gun battles with the Indian military in the small town of Tral and in the frontier of Gurez.

As reports of the Quran “desecration in the United States, angers intensified, with activists chanting ‘Down with America’ and burning an effigy of President Barack Obama in a rare anti-U.S. protest”.

The outbreak of Monday’s violence came as Indian officials discussed “whether to make goodwill gestures to try to ease tensions in the war-wracked region, which is divided between India and Pakistan and fully claimed by both”.

The violence Kashmir faces has been common since armed Kashmiri insurgency erupted against Indian rule in 1989, but with the recurrence of over a hundred deaths, reports confirm this summer’s violence the worst in a decade.

Since 1989, a violent, separatist insurgency and the ensuing crackdown by Indian forces have killed an estimated 68,000 people.

“The separatists are indeed misleading the ordinary masses and trying to create a wedge between the army and the people for its vested interests,” defense spokesman Lt. Col. J.S. Brar said at a news conference. “This is a deliberate attempt to embroil the army in the ongoing agitation and distract it from its primary role.”

Analysts see recent protests as the prevalent challenge to Indian rule in Kashmir for 20 years. Correspondents have agreed that sit-ins could pose unforeseen challenges to security forces struggling to restore order.

On Wednesday, “Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chaired an all-party meeting over continuing violence in Kashmir and the separatist leaders dismissed the gathering as a public relations ploy”.

In the past three summers, predominantly Muslim demonstrators have filled the streets, throwing stones and demanding “that the Himalayan region be given independence from Hindu-dominated India or be allowed to merge with predominantly Muslim Pakistan”.

A doctor at Srinagar’s main hospital is said to have received 25 or more wounded citizens with bullet wounds in recent weeks. He agreed to speak under strict conditions of anonymity because the government barred health officials from conversations with the press.

Syed Ali Shah Geelani said “lifting the security laws would not satisfy Kashmiris. ‘We want end to Indian occupation here and have already laid out our proposal for initiating a dialogue”.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Separatist leader calls for sit-ins at Indian posts across Kashmir – 16 September 2010
Huffington Post – Kashmir Protests Leave 15 Dead, 45 Wounded – 13 September 2010
BBC –Two die as Kashmiri protesters defy curfew – 17 September 2010

KENYAN ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN UGANDA


By Elly On
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KIREKA, UGANDA-Two Kenyans, a lawyer and a human rights activists, were illegally arrested and detained without due process in Uganda on September 15, 2010.

The two activists, Al-Amin Kimathi and Mbugua Mereithi were arrested at Entebbe International Airport on September 15, 2010 upon their arrival. They were taken to the headquarters of Ugandan police’s Rapid Response Unit located in Kireka, Kampala. The unit is known for brutal violations, torture, extrajudicial executions, and illegal detainment of criminal suspects.

The two activists were travelling to Uganda to attend the scheduled hearing of suspects who were charged with terrorism for bombings that took place in Kampala on July 11, 2010. The bombings resulted in death of 70 people who were taching a World Cup soccer match in Kampala. Upon arrival at the airport, the two activists were taken by the Ugandan police and never appeared to the hearing scheduled for September 16, 2010. Rwakafuuzi, the lawyer representing some of the suspects, found out that both of the activists were taken to Kireka. It is unclear as to what grounds they were arrested for.

The Rapid Response Unit, formerly known as the Violent Crack Crimes Unit, is known for its torturing and killing its suspects. In September 2009, a journalist named Robert Kalundi Sserumaga was arrested, beaten and held overnight in Kireka for making remarks about Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s upbringing. Recently, at least two suspects have died in Kirekia while being held by the agents of Rapid Response Unit. In both cases, suspects were beaten to death during interrogations for alleged theft.

For More Information, Please See:

Associated Press-Ugandan Police Arrest 2 Kenyan Rights Activists – 17 September 2010
BBC News-Kenyans Held in Uganda over Kampala World Cup Attack – 17 September 2010
Human Rights Watch Uganda-Kenyan Activists at Risk of Torture – 17 September 2010

International Committee of the Red Cross September News and Notes

Courtesy of the International Committee of the Red Cross

This month the ICRC Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada updates you on the unfolding situation in Pakistan, where millions of people remain in need of assistance due to widespread flooding.

We also take a look at ongoing operations in Iraq where the ICRC has visited approximately 70,000 detainees since 2003. In addition, the ICRC continues to assist hospitals and bring aid to vulnerable populations.

Next, we share an interview with Hernán Reyes, ICRC’s medical coordinator for health and detention, who was recently in the United States for a speaking engagement on medical ethics.

We then invite applicants between the ages of 18 and 25 to enter theICRC Young Reporter Competition and to report to the world on issues affecting young people. Lastly, we give the answer to last month’s quiz question below in the sidebar. Find out if you were right!

For more information, please see:

International Committee of the Red Cross September News and Notes