Djibouti Bans Election Observer Group Less Than a Month Before Vote

March 22, 2011

By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Protesters at the Feb. 18 Djibouti Anti-Government Rally; Photo Courtesy AFP

DJIBOUTI- Djibouti’s government has ousted Democracy International (DI), a United States based election observation and reporting agency, less than a month before the upcoming presidential election on April 8. Foreign minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf told the Financial Times that DI had failed to maintain political neutrality by supporting opposition parties against the incumbent president Ismael Guelleh. In declaring DI ‘illegal’ earlier this month, Youssouf said the government hopes to avoid the “chaos and upheaval” seen in the protests and demonstrations of other African and Middle East countries in the last several months.

The head of DI’s operation in Djibouti, Chris Hennemeyer, has denied the group was involved in any illegal activity and asserts DI was only trying to help resolve disputes between Guelleh’s administration and opposition groups when protests began in February. That protest, which took place on February 18 of this year, attracted approximately 6,000 anti-government supporters. That rally ended violently when police fired on the crowd, many of whom were throwing rocks. Dozens were injured and at least one protesters was killed. Another opposition rally was scheduled for March 4 but did not take place after security forces filled the streets making it impossible for people to gather.

Much of the discontent is aimed at Guelleh himself. Guelleh’s family has maintained exclusive political control of Djibouti since its independence in 1977 and he has been president since 1999. In March 2010, Guelleh amended the constitution to remove the two term limit, which would have forced him from office this year, giving himself two more six-year terms. Opposition leaders are boycotting the upcoming election, saying Guelleh’s actions are illegal and the polls will be rigged. Many have demanded his resignation and as fears of violent demonstrations escalate, individuals within the opposition movements have been arrested. Four leaders of one such group were arrested and held for several hours last Friday. After being released, the group leaders said, “We warn the illegal candidate [Guelleh] against his irresponsible actions at the risk of seeing radicalization of our actions, which have up to now been peaceful. . .The opposition can no longer continue to respect the law when the ruling power itself tramples on it.”

Guelleh’s administration has extended invitations to the European Union, the African Union and the Arab League to observe Djibouti’s April 8 elections and insists they will be fair and free. However, it is unlikely any of these groups will be able to set up an adequate system to monitor the elections in time. Hennemeyer said he does not know what will happen in Djibouti, stating “I don’t see Djibouti moving backward, but I’m not sure I see it moving forward in a democratic sense either.”

For more information, please see;

Bloomberg– Djibouti Bans a US-Backed Democracy Advocacy Group One-Month Before Vote– 15 March, 2011

Sify News– Djibouti Evicts US Vote Group Ahead of Election– 21 March, 2011

Financial Times– Election Observers Quit Djibouti– 15 March, 2011

Thousands Of Flood Victims Not Receiving Necessary Aid

March 22, 2011

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Colombia following heavy rains and flooding in 2010 (photo courtesy of Colombia Reports)

BOGOTA, Colombia – According to a Colombian radio report, aid, including food, for nearly 40,000 families impacted by last year’s flooding will soon perish. A local chamber of commerce has suspended delivery to victims due to apparent cost overruns in aid spending, causing the food to spoil.

The suspension order came after Sandra Morelli, Colombia’s comptroller general, warned that some of the food products, along with hygiene kits, might be being bought at unnecessarily high prices. Gustavo Marin Rincon, the owner of the site where the aid is being stored has asked the chamber of commerce to lift the suspension, at least temporarily. Rincon fears that any delay in delivering supplies could risk worsening the humanitarian situation in the region.

According to Morelli, the department has seen a 39% excess in the price of basic necessities, such as food and toiletry kits, to the region to help flood victims. Recently, research into corrupt practices found significant differences in the costs of goods as recorded in the contracts and those for the goods which were actually included in the food and bathroom kits.

In one example, the research found that a pound of rolled oats costs about $1.20 according to the contract, but the oats included in the food kits cost just $0.3 per pound. Morelli has also requested that the origin and quality of the products be tested, as many of the products are apparently Chinese and low quality.

Following the floods, which impacted over a million people, the Colombian government claimed that over $500 million would be necessary to aid the flood relief. Since that time, the aid project has been riddled with problems over the distribution of money.

For more information, please see:

Colombia Reports –Aid Supplies to Flood Victims not Reaching 40,000 Families – 22 March 2011

Colombia Reports – Flood Aid Misused in North Colombia: Comptroller – 14 March 2011

The Korea Herald – Colombia Requests Aid for Rain, Flood Victims – 13 March 2011

UN Rights Expert Urges Dialogue Between Suriname and Indigenous Groups

March 21, 2011

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

James Anaya is a rights expert with the UN. (Photo courtesy of the UN)

PARAMARIBO, Suriname—According to a human rights expert from the United Nations, Suriname’s government and authorities have not been engaging in enough dialogue with indigenous citizens. The expert is seeking to encourage necessary dialogue between officials and indigenous groups. It is hoped that this communication will strengthen indigenous communities’ rights to resources and land in certain forested areas within Suriname.

The UN expert is James Anaya, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. Anaya recently ended a four-day visit to Suriname where he attended meetings with indigenous and tribal groups, senior officials in President Desi Bouterse’s government, and UN staff members. This trip marked the first time an independent expert designated by the UN Human Rights Council ever visited Suriname.

On Thursday, Anaya released a statement in Paramaribo, Suriname’s capital, noting that increased dialogue between indigenous groups and government officials should facilitate “practical steps necessary to move forward with securing indigenous and tribal land rights, in accordance with relevant international treaties to which Suriname is a part.”

The UN expert commented that his visit had been “fruitful and constituted a unique and valuable opportunity for dialogue and consultation.” He promised to collaborate with both Suriname’s government and the indigenous groups to aid their communication with regards to land and resource rights. There has been no immediate official comment by Suriname’s government.

Several years ago, the Saramaka indigenous people brought a case against Suriname to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In 2007, the Court ruled in the Saramaka group’s favor, giving them collective rights to ancestral lands where they had lived for many years. The Court also granted the indigenous group other rights to resources in the area.

For more information, please see:

Modern Ghana-UN rights expert urges greater dialogue between Suriname and indigenous groups-18 March 2011

Taiwan News-Expert: Suriname, tribal groups must engage more-18 March 2011

UN News Centre-UN rights expert urges greater dialogue between Suriname and indigenous groups-17 March 2011

U.S. War Crimes of Korean War Pt.1/2

March 21, 2011

David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea – The US atrocities during the Korean War have emerged casting a shadow over the conduct of US officers and generals in command during the conflict.

The Korean War left Korea, North and South, with several million dead and the UN forces involved in the fighting with over 100,000 casualties.

Novel by Philip D. Chinnery documenting the atrocities during the Korean War

Published testimonies, by BBC, of Korean survivors who recall such killings, and the candid accounts of American veterans brave enough to admit involvement open the World to American atrocities once forgotten.

The Korean War began on June 25^th 1950 when communist North Korea invaded the South with six army divisions. The United States decided to intervene in the defense of the South and, taking advantage of the Soviet absence from the UN Security Council, proceeded to press for UN resolutions condemning the invasion. A resolution was passed, days later, calling upon member countries to give assistance to South Korea to repulse the attack.

The American troops who were rushed to the front line straight from occupation duty in Tokyo in July 1950 were badly led, undertrained and underprepared and quickly defeated by superior North Korean forces. North Korean guerrilla methods were too advanced for US commanders, reports BBC reporter Jeremy Williams.

The surprise attack from the North produced a refugee crisis were up to two million refugees were running across the battlefield.

Fearing North Korean infiltration, the US leadership panicked. All civilians were seen as the enemy.

As a result, on July 26^th the US 8th Army, the highest level of command in Korea, issued orders to stop all Korean civilians. ‘No, repeat, no refugees will be permitted to cross battle lines at any time. Movement of all Koreans in groups will cease immediately’ reports Williams.

The same day US 8th Army delivered its stop refugee order in July 1950, up to 400 South Korean civilians gathered by the bridge were killed by US forces from the 7th Cavalry Regiment. Some were shot above the bridge, on the railroad tracks. Others were strafed by US planes. Local survivors say more were killed under the arches in an ordeal that lasted for three days.

‘The floor under the bridge was a mixture of gravel and sand. People clawed with their bare hands to make holes to hide in,’ recalls survivor Yang Hae Chan. ‘Other people piled up the dead like a barricade, and hid behind the bodies as a shield against the bullets.’

Corroborating the Korean survivors’ testimony are the accounts of 35 veterans of the 7th Cavalry Regiment who recall events at No Gun Ri.

‘There was a lieutenant screaming like a madman, fire on everything, kills ’em all,’ recalls 7th Cavalry veteran Joe Jackman. ‘I didn’t know if they were soldiers or what. Kids, there was kids out there, it didn’t matter what it was, eight to 80, blind, crippled or crazy, they shot ’em all’ said Jackman.

The killings discovered at No Gun Ri mark one of the largest single massacres of civilians by American forces in the 20th century.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Kill ’em All: The American Military in Korea – 17 February 2011

Global Research – The Korean War: The “Unknown War”. The Coverup of US War Crimes – 16 March 2011

New York Times – Korean War Panel Finds U.S. Attacks on Civilians – 9 July 2009

GUATEMALAN VICTIMS OF SYPHILIS EXPERIMENT SUE U.S. HEALTH OFFICIALS

March 20, 2011

By Erica Laster Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MIAMI, United States – Victims of United States syphilis experiments in Guatemala have filed a class action law suit to recover for their resulting illness and infections from 1946 to 1948. The lawsuit alleges that U.S. public health officials violated both national and international laws by conducting syphilis experiments on prison inmates, orphans and mentally ill citizens of Guatemala. All of the experiments were funded by the National Institute of Health.

U.S. officials infected Guatemalan prisoners, orphan children and mental health patients with syphilis. Photo courtesy of CNN.

Filed by victims or direct heirs, the lawsuit claims that the illegal testing was part of a larger scheme to continue the syphilis experiments previously performed on African Americans in the state of Alabama from 1942-1972. The complaint alleges that “This decision to move to Guatemala was part of a deliberate plan to continue the Tuskegee testing offshore, where it would not be subject to the same level of oversight as in the United States.”

The Tuskegee experiments were a notorious study which involved the medical testing and deliberate failure to inform 400 African American men of their syphilis infection. Under the guise of receiving medical care for “bad blood,” these poor and uneducated men were promised free meals and burial expenses if they allowed the government to autopsy their bodies after their deaths.

Susan M. Reverby, a writer and professor at Wellesley College began researching for her follow up book on the syphilis experiments, “Examining Tuskegee: The Infamous Syphilis Study and Its Legacy,” when she uncovered the Guatemalan experiments.

Reverby immediately alerted the federal government of her findings, despite the usual practice of academics of keeping the content of their work private before publication. A recent article published in the Journal of Policy History, Reverby states that “Public Health Service researchers did, in fact, deliberately infect poor and vulnerable men and women with syphilis in order to study the disease.” She further claims that “The mistake of the myth is to set that story in Alabama, when it took place further south, in Guatemala.”

Dr. John Cutler, former assistant surgeon general of the United States Public Health Service (PHS), was discovered to not only have been a researcher in Tuskegee, but the physician responsible for conducting the Guatemalan experiments.

The lawsuit indicates that American doctors along with “The medical team started with inmates in the national penitentiary, using American taxpayer money to hire prostitutes who tested positive for syphilis or gonorrhea to offer sexual services to inmates.” Requiring an uninfected group to determine error for false positive received from various inmates, the doctors moved to performing blood work on children in orphanages. Later, mental patients were tested and inoculated with the sexually transmitted disease.

The U.S. doctors convinced the institutions officials to participate using various methods of ‘payment’. Some received supplies such as refrigerators, while other officials received difficult to obtain medications for diseases such as epilepsy and malaria. In some instances, individual subjects -prison inmates- received compensation in the form of cigarettes. Inmates receiving prostitutes received women already infected with syphilis.

In October, President Barack Obama created a bioethics panel to look into the studies. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and current Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius both issued a public apology.

The class action lawsuit currently contains 7 plaintiffs despite the 700 subjects that were allegedly victims of the syphilis experiments.

For More Information Please Visit:

Huffington Post – U.S. Guatemala Syphilis Tests: Attorneys Seek Lawsuit For Thousands Of Victims – 8 March 2011

CNN – Guatemalans Sue U.S. Over Medical Experiments – 16 March 2011

Fox News – Secretly Infected with Syphilis, Guatemalan Victims May Sue U.S – 9 March 2011

The Root – The Guatemala Syphilis Experiments Tuskegee Roots – 2 October 2010