Syria Human Rights Violations Report: 17 May 2012

Syria Human Rights Violations Report: 17 May 2012

Homs| Arrastan

These children were playing in front of their homes when shells hailed on them, they are now crowded in a makeshift hospital and in need of medical attention that is not available.

Hama | Sahl Al-Ghab

Today the village witnessed the execution of nine residents after Al-Tamn’ah was attacked by the regime’s forces. Amongst the casualties was an eighty five years old woman who was stabbed to death by the regime forces after they raided her property, killed her animals then brutally executed her.

Homs

The residents are trying to put up a temporary shield to protect them from the sniper’s fire at the checkpoint where many people have been killed.

Damascus Countryside | At-Tal

This leaked footage shows regime forces detaining, beating and kicking residents.

 

Casualty Report

39 confirmed casualties killed by the regime in Syria on Wednesday, 16 May 2012.

*Including one child, one Imam of a mosque, and another eight victims from a massacre in Joubar.*

Homs: 17
Dar’aa: 4
Hama: 3
Damascus & Damascus Suburbs: 11
Idlib: 5

20 confirmed casualties killed by the regime in Syria on Tuesday, 15 May 2012.

*Including a child, an Imam of a mosque, and six other victims from a massacre at Khan Sheikhoun.*

Homs: 13
Dar’aa: 4
Hama: 1
Damascus & Damascus Suburbs: 1
Idlib: 1

22 confirmed casualties killed by the regime in Syria on Monday, 14 May 2012.

*Including two old men, two children, a defected officer, four defected conscripts, and two men killed under torture.*

Homs:14
Dar’aa: 3
Hama: 1
Dier Ezzor: 1
Aleppo: 1
Latakia: 1

33 confirmed casualties killed by the regime in Syria on Sunday 13 May 2012.

*Including six women (one elderly), two children, a defected first lieutenant, first sergeant, and a conscript.*

Dar’aa: 3
Qunaitirah: 1
Homs: 7
Damascus & Damascus Suburbs: 3
Dier Ezzor: 3
Hama: 9
Idlib: 4

Aleppo: 3

 

Videos and Statistics Courtesy of :

Syrian Network of Human Rights – Casualty Report – 16 May 2012

Syrian Network of Human Rights – Violations Report – 16 May 2012

Syrian Network of Human Rights – Casualty Report – 15 May 2012

Syrian Network of Human Rights – Violations Report – 15 May 2012

Syrian Network of Human Rights – Casualty Report – 14 May 2012

Syrian Network of Human Rights – Violations Report – 14 May 2012

Syrian Network of Human Rights – Casualty Report – 13 May 2012

Syrian Network of Human Rights – Violations Report – 13 May 2012

Putin to Fight U.S. Magnitsky Sanctions

By Terance Walsh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin has articulated his intentions to fight any sanctions imposed by the United States in response to the cover-up of Sergei Magnitsky’s death.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo courtesy of Trustlaw).

In an executive order dated May 7, 2012 Putin said, “Hereby I instruct to carry out active work to prevent the introduction of unilateral extraterritorial sanctions by the USA against Russian legal entities and individuals.”

Putin’s remarks are the first official statements that explicitly mark an intention to fight international opposition to Russia’s handling of the Magnitsky case.  His strong opposition to sanctions comes shortly after the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012.  The act’s aim is to impose sanctions on countries that commit gross human rights violations.

Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer who worked for Hermitage Capital and died in a prison almost a year after he was arrested on tax evasion charges.

Putin’s stance has drawn the ire of those who would like to see justice for Magnitsky.  In an official statement a Hermitage Capital representative said, “Putin’s executive order shows clearly that the entire Russian government is now working in the interests of corrupt officials who have committed grave crimes. President Putin is ready to use the full resources of the state to fight sanctions but is not ready to do anything at all to prosecute his own corrupt officials who stole $230 million and who then tortured the whistle-blower Sergei Magnitsky who discovered the theft.”

Additionally, Putin’s statements come just ahead of a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) scheduled for the end of May.  At the meeting, the motion to impose sanctions against Russia over the Magnitsky case will be discussed.

The European Parliament is also become increasingly vocal about Russia’s violations.  For example Tim Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Liberals and Democrats leader said, “So far our policy of polite appeasement has not worked. Russia needs access and respectability in the outside world more than the outside world needs Russian gas or raw materials… The adoption of similar laws on both sides of the Atlantic to block visas and freeze the assets of those Russian officials, and their immediate families, involved or complicit in the murder of Sergei Magnitsky, the lawyer who died in jail after alleging widespread tax fraud by officials, would have a sobering effect.”

For more information please see:

Law and Order in Russia — Putin Declares Fighting Magnitsky Sanctions One of His Top Foreign Policy Goals — 16 May 2012

Trustlaw — Putin’s Effort to Block U.S. Sanctions Serves Corrupt Officials – Hermitage Capital — 16 May 2012

Notes from Kampala: Pearl of Africa

By Reta Raymond
Associate Special Features Editor

This note series has become awfully dark, which doesn’t accurately reflect my experience in Uganda.  Winston Churchill called Uganda the “Pearl of Africa,” and I couldn’t agree more.  There is the Nile, the lush jungles, and most importantly the rich, warm culture.

Notes From Kampala: Pearl of Africa; kids from the Kito village (Photo by Reta Raymond)

When I was descending upon Entebbe, Uganda, it was around two in the morning.  I looked down on the small city and it looked like a display of fireworks on a dark sky.  There is no grid system, so the lights on the ground were clusters of small lights.  It was beautiful.

I had arranged to be picked up by the people from the orphanage whose guesthouse I was going to stay at, but I was a little nervous because I hadn’t received much of a confirmation email.  It was also the middle of the night, and I was 8,000 miles away from home.  However, by the time I left my connection in Istanbul, I had met a handful of Ugandans who gave me their phone numbers, some of whom even knew either the law firm where I was going to intern or the orphanage whose guesthouse I was staying at, Sanyu Babies Home.  It was clear that the warmth of the Ugandan culture has no boundaries.

Fortunately, Ronnie, Alice, and baby Elijah met me at the airport; they were a very sweet, young family who worked and lived on the Sanyu Babies Home compound. Sanyu is the oldest orphanage in Kampala, housing around fifty children under the age of four. Sanyu operates a guesthouse next door to where the babies live to generate income.

Sanyu was an ideal place to stay.  Not only was my accommodation price a direct donation to the orphanage next door, if I was free for the weekend, or wanted a break from my work, I could go next door and play with the kids!  I lived with some really interesting people at Sanyu, as most people came to the guesthouse either to volunteer at the orphanage or to support the orphanage by staying at the guesthouse. Many of the residents worked on projects outside of Sanyu, so we swapped ideas and visited other orphanages together.

Notes From Kampala: Pearl of Africa; kids from the Kito village (Photo by Reta Raymond)
Notes From Kampala: Pearl of Africa; kids from the Kito village (Photo by Reta Raymond)

Sanyu was also very safe, with high fences encompassing the compound, a ten-foot solid metal gate, and guards who patrolled with bows and arrows at night. The guards used bows and arrows because it would deter potential thieves, because at night they couldn’t tell where the arrow came from.  The guesthouse could accommodate around fifteen, but the recent “Walk to Work” protests scared away many international volunteers.  These protests were to contest high commodity and fuel prices and were met by the police with live ammunition, tear gas, and rubber bullets. At least ten civilians were killed, including at least one toddler and one pregnant woman who was shot in the stomach. I lived with only one or two other American girls for the first month until the situation stabilized.

During the first week I was in Uganda and before starting work, I walked around Kampala, and I felt very, very far from home.  People drove on the left side of the street, had no sympathy for pedestrians, and ignored the few stoplights.  Also, I knew that I would stick out in Uganda—I’m a blond, white girl—but I wasn’t expecting to be called out on the street for it. People would call out “mzungu” or “mzungu, how are you?” I had no idea how to react. “Mzungu” literally translates as “white person,” but it is used to describe all non-Africans: Even my half-South African friend and a Pakistani woman were called “mzungu.” Therefore, it was more of a recognition that we were western rather then a connection to our skin color.  So I followed other travelers’ leads and just ignored the comments at first.

After a few weeks passed, I learned how to, as one woman articulated, “navigate my privilege.”  I learned some Lugandan, like how to say, “Hi, black person” and people would just laugh with me.  I’d speak to my motorcycle taxi drivers in Lugandan, rebutting their outrageous mzungu-fare quotes with “banange ssebo!”  That translates to “that’s crazy, sir,” which always made the groups of drivers erupt with laughter.  I took a nod from the local culture and made people laugh right away, and any walls came down pretty quickly.

However, a couple months into my trip, I told my Ugandan friend about how I longed to blend in.  She explained that Uganda is a small country and everyone just talks to each other.  She thought that America was so big and that made people scared of each other.  I partially agreed, but told her that in America if someone yells “white girl” at me, I wouldn’t exactly think they were trying to start a friendly conversation.

Another weekend I went to a village where a friend I’d met through the guesthouse grew up.  The village was called Kito (“Cheetoh”). We drove for an hour on the highway, and then for an hour through sugar cane and tea plantations, nearly straight up a mountain.  While the village couldn’t have been home to more than a 100 people, with probably fifty dollars between them, it was full of so much life and love.  It was nestled into a beautifully lush valley at a high elevation, and the view was breathtaking.

Notes From Kampala: Pearl of Africa; kids from the Kito village (Photo by Reta Raymond)
Notes From Kampala: Pearl of Africa; kids from the Kito village (Photo by Reta Raymond)

The friend from Kito was a teacher at a private school in Kampala, and she traveled back to Kito periodically to help the local teachers and work with the children.  When we arrived, the kids surrounded the car and we greeted them with bags of candies. We also brought a big surprise—a birthday cake—as it was my friend’s birthday.  These children very rarely get sweets and had probably never had birthday cake.  We toured the two-room schoolhouse and then gathered in the church for singing, dancing, and CAKE!  We sliced up the cake into tiny little pieces and handed out the pieces to the kids in the pews of the church.  Their little eyes sparkled and they laughed giddily.  At the end of the cake-fest, the children formed a line and presented my friend with a gift and hug for her birthday.  They had all woven soccer balls, dolls, and jump ropes out of banana leaf fibers with amazing skill.  It was one of those day trips that I will never forget.

Being immersed in a small country taught me a lot, as I’ve lived primarily in big cities for the past ten years.  In Uganda, strangers talk to each other on the street, and they aren’t afraid to have a personal conversation at work or debate politics.  Frankly, I’ve never been in an office, much less a law office, that laughs so much.  It makes me wonder why we are so serious here in the United States.

Ratko Mladic’s War Crimes Trial Begins

By Alexandra Halsey-Storch
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAUGE, Netherlands–On Wednesday, former Bosnian-Serb General Ratko Mladic’s long-awaited genocide trial began at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal of Yugoslav. The commencement marks an international victory for human rights, which demonstrates that perpetrators will be held accountable for their wrongful acts and will be brought to justice.

General Ratko Mladic (Photo Curtesy of Inquirer News)

Last May, Mladic , now 70 years old, was charged with 11 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity that were committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.

His indictment states, in part, that, “On 8 March 1995, Radovan KARADZIC, as the Supreme Commander of the VRS, issued Operational Directive 07, which directed the VRS to eliminate the Muslim enclaves of Srebrenica and Zepa, in furtherance of the “strategic objectives” of 12 May 1992. On 2 July 1995, Bosnian Serb Forces under the command and control of General Ratko MLADIC attacked the Srebrenica enclave. This attack on the enclave continued until 11 July 1995, when General Ratko MLADIC and the Bosnian Serb Forces entered Srebrenica. Subsequently, those Bosnian Serb Forces terrorized Bosnian Muslims, who were forcibly transferred to areas outside the enclave and many of whom fled in a huge column through the woods towards Tuzla. The majority of this group consisted of unarmed military personnel and civilians.”

The indictment further states that, between 12 July and about 20 July 1995, thousands of Bosnian Muslim men were captured by, or surrendered to, Bosnian Serb Forces under the command and control of General Ratko MLADIC. Over 7,000 Bosnian Muslim prisoners captured in the area around Srebrenica were summarily executed from 13 July to 19 July 1995. Killings continued thereafter. From about 1 August 1995 through about 1 November 1995, VRS units under the command and control of General Ratko MLADIC participated in an organized and comprehensive effort to conceal the killings and executions of the Bosnian Muslims of Srebrenica by reburying, in isolated locations, bodies exhumed from mass graves.

As stated by The Huffington Post, Prosecutor Dermot Groome told the three-judge panel on Wednesday that Mladic was chosen to lead the Bosnian Serb forces by Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic not only because of his skills as a military commander but also “because Karadzic believed he was willing to commit the crimes needed to achieve the strategic goals of the Bosnian Serb leadership.”

Also during Wednesday’s opening statements, Prosecutor Groome indicated that Mladic’s wartime diaries, radio intercepts and appearances he made on television during the war, would be used against him as evidence of his crimes. The Prosecutor will also use over 400 written witness statements, which have been used in other cases.

Despite the concrete evidence against him, Mladic maintains thathe did not partake in any crimes, instead iterating, “I have only defended my people.”

The first witness is to begin testifying on May 29, but Presiding Judge Alphons Orie may postpone the testimony because prosecutors have not disclosed all evidence to Mladic’s defense.

Should he be found guilty, Mladic faces life in prison.

For more information, please visit:

The Huffington Post—Ratko Mladic Ware Crimes Trial Starts—16 May 2012

AJC—War Crimes Charges Against Mladic—16 May 2012

NPR—Grim Reading: The Mladic Indictment: The Two-Way—26 May 2011

TIME—Ratko Mladic’s Indictment Contains Horrifying Details of Massacre—26 May 2011

 

 

Syrian Revolution Digest May 16, 2012

The commentary in this piece does not necessarily reflect the views of Impunity Watch.  

*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

No Action No Peace!

 

As the Assads and their militias continue to kill with impunity, irrespective of the presence of UN monitors, it’s about time world leaders began consulting their own conscience for guidance on what needs to be done. For now, their inaction speaks louder than their words of support and condemnation. Moral support is greatly appreciated when it comes from a former President, but for those currently in office, only their actions carry any meaning.

 

Wednesday May 16, 2012

 

Death toll: 35 including 20 in Shammas Neighborhood in Homs City. Meanwhile, the pounding of the nearby town of Rastan continues in preparation for an invasion expected to take place within the next 48 hours.

 

On Tuesday, Assad death squads perpetrated a massacre in the town of Khan Shaikhoon, in which 28 locals were killed. The massacre took place even as a team of UN monitors led by Robert Mood was in town.

 

Other attacks on Tuesday left 10 dead in Homs City, 6 in Tartous, 6 in Rural Damascus, 6 in Hama, 6 in Deir Ezzor, 2 in Daraa and 1 in Quneitrah.

 

News

 

Syria’s Assad: Nations that sow chaos will suffer (Questions: does Bashar Al-Assad listen to his own words? Well, if did he wouldn’t accuse Al-Qaeda if anything, because to him it does NOT exist)
Family wins $323 million against Iran, Syria over terrorist attack (And guess who will end up paying for it, not to mention all of Assad’s crimes!)

 

Op-Eds & Special Reports
A useful study of the various Syria opposition groups, coalitions and key independent figures by Swedish researcher Aaron Lund.

 

Two massacres in the bag, another to come!
Having executed a massacre in the town of Khan Shaikhoon in Idlib Province on May 15, pro-Assad death squads perpetrated a new one in Shammas Neighborhood in Homs City on May 16, and are now said to getting ready to storm Rastan to repeat their feat on an even grander scale.

 

The Khan Shaikhoon Massacre: Protester come under fire, bodies get strewn in the streets http://youtu.be/1ICl747gjjQ Some of the martyrs http://youtu.be/iL4cOoMlshA More victims http://youtu.be/1EcUe4AXV2Y , http://youtu.be/1HI6a0uA640  People clean up and remain defiant http://youtu.be/1yS-VZnQ5Mc
Shortly after the massacre, the regime accused locals of kidnapping the monitors, but one of them is seen here saying that this was not the case http://youtu.be/IQDky-lIYYE  In response to the massacre, the local unit of FSA attack and destroy the loyalist checkpoint responsible for the attackhttp://youtu.be/5kyt7PYmrQY  Today, the UN monitors left the town after spending the night under the protection of the locals http://youtu.be/lB99Uv10s6g They take their damaged vehicle with them http://youtu.be/S_hTj25oU6Q

 

Shammas Neighborhood’s Massacre: executed by pro-Assad death squads http://youtu.be/SABdgB3C85Q , http://youtu.be/-TJaxvRGHr8

 

Kosovo Fallouts

 

The fallouts from our trip to Kosovo, with Bashar Al-Assad himself now weighing in. In an interview with a Russian TV station, Assad says (below is an English translation of in French original):

 

President Bashar al-Assad confirmed reports that rebels had attended training Syrian military camps in Kosovo.

 

“We have information confirming that a Syrian opposition group traveled to Kosovo to gain experience in the field of armed intervention in a step to bring NATO to Syria,” said the head of the Syrian state in an interview with the Rossiya television channel 24.

 

Mr. Assad says that he has obtained this information from reliable sources (probably my blog).

 

Regarding my part in the affair, the report went to note that:

 

In late April, the Serbian news agency, Tanjug, referred to an announcement by Syrian exiled Syrian opposition member, Ammar Abdulhamid, that the rebels would use the experience of the Liberation Army Kosovo (KLA) to fight the regime of Bashar al-Assad. According to Mr. Abdulhamid, members of the opposition have promised to recognize Kosovo’s independence in case of coming to power in Damascus. Pristina confirmed to be in contact with the Syrian opposition, but refuted allegations of training fighters.

 

In related news, Al-Hayat published the Arabic translation of Veton Surroi’s article “Lessons from Kosovo,” here.  For her part, Asharq Al-Awsat refers to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s objections to the visit here. But Asharq Also notes that Russia’s arms supplies to Syria continue, quoting assertions in this regard by the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister.

 

 

President Bush: “America does not get to choose if a freedom revolution should begin or end in the Middle East, or elsewhere. It only gets to choose what side it is on,” he added.

 

Well, President Bush, already showed us what side he is on, I just hope President Obama chooses the right side as well. No, not by offering meetings and words, one looks for more from the Acting President, but by adopting more proactive approaches to dealing with this deepening crisis, and we have already presented our own plan in this regard, and we can help flesh out each one of the points it contains. We just hope that the Obama’s Administration’s policy on Syria “matures” in time to save the country, and perhaps the region.

 

We were also proud to have join us via Skype Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

 

When Suu Kyi appeared on the big screen above the stage, she too offered her support to Abdulhamid’s home country. “I would like to say to the people of Syria, we are with you in your struggle for freedom,” she said. Asked if she had a solution to the violence in Syria that has claimed more than 12,000 lives in the last 15 months, Suu Kyi replied, “If there was an easy answer, I think Syria would be at peace now.” But Suu Kyi said she’s hopeful about peace abroad and at home.

 

ABC also noted that I have actually been invited to introduce President Bush and speak about the situation in Syria:

 

Abdulhamid, founder of the Tharwa Foundation and one of the earliest dissident voices behind the Syrian uprising, introduced Bush today, emphasizing the importance of fearless activism. “The price of activism could be the death of the human body. But the price of silence could result in the death of human spirit, a far greater price to pay,” Abdulhamid said. “All of us here today join you in hoping and praying for the end of violence and the advance of freedom in Syria,” Bush told Abdulhamid as he took the stage.

 

 

 

He singled out Syria, where the government of President Bashar al-Assad has killed thousands to squelch opposition. “All of us here today join you in hoping and praying for the end of violence and the advance of freedom in Syria,” Mr. Bush told Ammar Abdulhamid, a prominent Syrian opposition figure invited to speak at the event.

 

More Coverage:

 

 

Here is a link to my page in the Freedom Collection.
Here is a link to the full text of my speech.

 

Video Highlights

 

In Deir Ezzor City, locals manage to trap a tank and turn it upside down http://youtu.be/1EcUe4AXV2Y
Towns and suburbs across Syria come under fire at night: Kafar Batna, Rural Damascushttp://youtu.be/zdbsPqb68MM Aleppo Road Neighborhood, Hama Cityhttp://youtu.be/KVd1e02hzvM Daraya, Damascus http://youtu.be/FMDj7xYJ5xI
MartyrsDaraya, Damascus http://youtu.be/NrRD73ikPn0 Ghanto http://youtu.be/Bw4-GxFKJrI Ma’ardis, Hama http://youtu.be/BNPkt2zrOZw Ghuweiran, Hassakeh (funeral) http://youtu.be/DihGSjCOUZk Eltaman’ah, Hamahttp://youtu.be/zNBmcfOl8Kc Khaldiyeh, Homs City http://youtu.be/o8DKKF3-RSM Al-Karameh, Hama City http://youtu.be/SDChOS23SsI Kafrenbel, Idlibhttp://youtu.be/mi6_7R2dLwM Shaghour, Damascus City http://youtu.be/QpxIRFJQryEMidan, Damascus City (funeral) http://youtu.be/-rvnZXTNAEY Rastan, Homs Provincehttp://youtu.be/ZDysD7Ee14I
The pounding of Homs City continuesHamidiyeh http://youtu.be/yF9OAcn9mN8Jouret Al-Shayah http://youtu.be/TKY_YKVAnQ4
The nearby town of Al-Hosn also come under heavy poundinghttp://youtu.be/rUL4dsTyKIw The sporadic pounding of Rastan continueshttp://youtu.be/X6_79MRN1lQ
Tanks pound their way into Khan Shaikhoon, Idlib http://youtu.be/h1O6YJaL5FA
UN monitors pay a visit to the town of Courine, Idlib http://youtu.be/mNIubxo5g5I Others visit Daraa City http://youtu.be/fv62WBTg6iI And others Al-Hraak, Daraa under the protection of the local unit of the FSA http://youtu.be/6SNN-Do5-G0