Guatemala Wants Answers in Texas Trooper Shooting That Left Two Immigrants Dead

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States — A Guatemalan diplomat this week questioned the actions of Texas Rangers who fired gunshots from a helicopter on a pickup truck of undocumented immigrants hiding in the bed.

Civil rights activists hold a vigil and protest for two undocumented immigrants from Guatemala killed by Texas Rangers. (Photo Courtesy of The Brownsville Herald)

The incident, which happened near the U.S.-Mexico border on Oct. 25, killed two people and injured one.

“I have a lot of questions,” said Alba Caceres, the Guatemalan consul in McAllen, a border city about 15 miles east of where the incident took place.

The Department of Public Safety, which is in charge of the elite squad of Texas Rangers, said troopers suspected the truck was smuggling drugs because of the covered pickup bed.  Instead, six men lay under that cover, along with three men in the pickup cab, a driver, and a human smuggler.

“Why aren’t the narco-traficos pursued this way?” Caceres asked, referencing drug smugglers.  “Maybe if the officer explained why they made the determination to shoot them, we would understand.  Right now, I am very confused.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that troopers have authority to fire from helicopters to stop a driver, defend themselves or someone at risk, or make an arrest.

The Times also reported that the immigrants, all field workers, each paid $5,000 to be smuggled through Mexico and into Texas.  They had spent nearly three weeks traveling from their hometown of San Martin Jilotepeque, about an hour outside the Guatemalan capital of Guatemala City.

In a statement, the Texas Department of Public Safety said troopers believed the driver’s recklessness was a threat to public safety, considering elementary and middle schools were located less than three miles away from the scene of the incident.

“Although it is very tragic that two lives were lost, had the vehicle continued recklessly speeding through the school zone, any number of innocent bystanders or young lives could have been lost or suffered serious bodily injury,” said DPS Director Steve McCraw.

The trooper involved in the shooting returned to work on Thursday after being placed on administrative leave.  He has been assigned administrative duties pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

The victims were identified as Jose Leonardo Coj Cumar, 32, and Marcos Antonio Castro Estrada, 29.  Coj left behind three children and his pregnant wife in order to earn money for a surgical procedure one of his sons needed.  Caceres said Coj did not want to travel illegally but had to for his son.

“We have expressed our outrage at this incident, and we will pursue all the measures necessary to ensure that this is not forgotten or filed away,” she said.

Caceres also said she was awaiting death certificates to allow the bodies to be returned to Guatemala.  The surviving Guatemalans were in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

For further information, please see:

The Brownsville Herald — ACLU Voices Concerns of DPS Shooting — 2 November 2012

The Huffington Post — Miguel Avila, Texas Trooper in Chopper Shooting of Two Undocumented Immigrants, Returns to Work — 2 November 2012

The Los Angeles Times — Guatemala Seeks Answers in Texas’ Fatal Shooting of Migrants — 31 October 2012

The Dallas Morning News — Guatemalan Diplomat: Texas Agents Who Fired on Pickup Should’ve Seen It Held People, Not Drugs — 30 October 2012

U.S. Serviceman Allegedly Assaults Young Japanese Boy While Intoxicated

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

TOKYO, Japan – Japanese authorities alleged that a U.S. serviceman, stationed on the southern island of Okinawa, broke into a local home and assaulted a young boy.

Demonstrators protest the actions of U.S. servicemen. (Photo Courtesy of Huffington Post)

The U.S. serviceman, stationed at the U.S. Air Force base in Kadena, had reportedly been drinking in the village of Yomitan around 1 a.m. on Friday.  While he was intoxicated, the serviceman broke into a third floor apartment above the bar where he was drinking, damaged a television set inside, and struck a 13 year old boy inhabiting the apartment.

The assaulter attempted to flee by jumping out the third story window and sustained injuries from the fall.  The U.S. serviceman has been taken to the U.S. Navy hospital in Okinawa for treatment.  He may have sustained possible broken bones and other internal injuries from the fall.

This incident of assault comes just three weeks after the two Navy sailors were arrested for the alleged rape of a local Japanese woman.  A curfew, which was violated by the drunken U.S. serviceman who assaulted the boy, was imposed on all 52,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan after the alleged rape.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda issued a statement condemning the actions of the serviceman as “deplorable,” especially after the curfew had been installed due to the recent transgressions by other members of the U.S. military.

The Japanese government has issued a formal complaint to the U.S. government regarding the actions of the U.S. serviceman.  Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba expressed that the incident was absolutely inexcusable and said that more official protests regarding the man’s actions were to come.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry asked to meet with U.S. Ambassador to Japan, John Roos, immediately after the assault.  Roos stated that the actions of the U.S. serviceman were extremely upsetting, and the well-being of the young boy that was assaulted was a grave concern.

Roos also assured the Japanese authorities and the local public that the U.S. government does not take incidents of violence lightly and pledged to cooperate with the Japanese government in the investigations to prevent similar, future incidences.

Local opposition in Okinawa to U.S. military presence has been fierce since the bases were first established.  The U.S. maintains that the military presence is for the protection of the Japanese people, however, the locals complain about noise, problems with crime and safety, and incidents like the 1995 rape of a schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen.

With the rape of the local woman several weeks ago and, now, the most recent assault on the young boy in his apartment, the tensions and distrust among the Japanese locals and the U.S. military personal is on the rise.

For further information, please see:

Daily Yomiuri – U.S. military man eyed in Okinawa home invasion – 3 November 2012

The Japan Times – U.S. airman’s home intrusion draws fire – 3 November 2012

Huffington Post – Japan U.S. Troops Incident: Airman Suspected Of Assaulting Young Boy – 2 November 2012

Reuters –  Japan deplores assault on boy by suspected U.S. serviceman – 2 November 2012

Radio Host Torched While Speaking Out Against Corruption

By Margaret Janelle R. Hutchinson
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

LA PAZ, Bolivia – Four masked men stormed a small, independent radio station, doused the equipment and host in gasoline, and set the station and the people in it ablaze this past Monday, October 29, 2012.  The attack occurred while radio journalist Fernando Vidal was on the air; listeners heard gunshots and Vidal’s cries for help until the feed quit due to the fire.

Fernando Vidal spoke to the press after being attacked at his radio station in Yacuiba (Photo Courtesy BBC).

Vidal, 70, is the owner and host of Radio Popular, a small FM station in the southern city of Yacuiba.  The city, population 120,000, is located close to the Argentine border along a cocaine smuggling route and where trade in contraband is rampant.  Vidal was interviewing two women about alleged corruption among customs police when the attack occurred.

Initially, this led some to posit that smugglers, incited by Vidal’s commentary, staged the attack.  Esteban Farfan, also a host at Radio Popular and Vidal’s son-in-law, thinks the attack was politically motivated.  Vidal, a former mayor of Yacuiba, uses his daily radio program as a platform to denounce corruption at every level of government.

“My father-in-law knows the identity of the people who ordered this act,” said Farfan. “There are political interests that want to silence the radio station. We will name names at the appropriate time.”

Police currently have four suspects in custody.  According to Interior Minister Carlos Romero, one of the suspects was a mechanic, another a taxi driver, and none of the men had ever been in serious trouble with the law.

“There is surely someone else behind this and that’s what we’re investigating,” Romero added.

Farfan, however, remains skeptical.  He sees the arrests of the attackers as the easy part of solving this case.  He wants the mastermind behind the attack revealed and brought to justice.

“Vidal is an outspoken and respected journalist who made enemies with his opinions,” Farfan said.

A leftist, Vidal was once close to President Evo Morales, but the journalist broke off his support over what he described as the president’s turn to authoritarianism.

“He is a relentless critic of corruption,” Farfan said. “He calls out politicians who allegedly grow their personal bank accounts with state funds and routinely calls for investigations into corruption.”

Vidal is currently in serious but stable condition with second-degree burns to his face and arms.  A station technician, Karen Arce, also suffered less serious burns in the attack.  Everyone else was able to avoid the flames by jumping out windows.

The radio station borrowed equipment and was back on the air less than 24 hours after the attack.

Multiple international organizations condemned the attack.  It was a “vicious and brazen” attack, the spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said.

A heavily-bandaged Vidal told reporters: “I deeply thank the solidarity of all my friends, colleagues, co-workers and journalists and ask them to keep up the work of bringing forth the evidence and revealing the truth.”

For further information, please see:

Digital Spy – Bolivian radio presenter set on fire while on air – 2 November 2012

The Guardian – Bolivian radio owner set on fire – 2 November 2012

CNN – Bolivian journalist’s family wants to know who was behind attack – 1 November 2012

ABC – Bolivia Radio Host Attacked on Air – 30 October 2012

 

Accusations of “Vacuum Bombs” Made Against Syrian Government

By Emily Schneider
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – The Local Coordination Committees accused the Syrian government of using “vacuum bombs” while repeating the claim that the government was still employing “cluster bombs.”

The Suleiman al-Halabi nieghborhood in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo this week. (Photo courtesy of CNN)

Vacuum bombs are thermobaric explosives that more effectively destroy targets in urban areas. The blast wave released by the bombs is longer, which increases the rate of casualties.

A Human Rights Watch Report cites a U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency Report that stated, “the [blast] kill mechanism against living targets is unique–and unpleasant…. What kills is the pressure wave, and more importantly, the subsequent rarefaction [vacuum], which ruptures the lungs…. If the fuel deflagrates but does not detonate, victims will be severely burned and will probably also inhale the burning fuel. Since the most common FAE fuels, ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, are highly toxic, undetonated FAE should prove as lethal to personnel caught within the cloud as most chemical agents.”

A separate U.S. Central Intelligence Agency report stated, “the effect of an FAE explosion within confined spaces is immense. Those near the ignition point are obliterated. Those at the fringe are likely to suffer many internal, and thus invisible injuries, including burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs, and possibly blindness.”

The Defense Intelligence Agency document,  “Future Threat to the Soldier System, Volume I; Dismounted Soldier–Middle East Threat,” September 1993, p. 73 was obtained by Human Rights Watch under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. That document speculates that because the “shock and pressure waves cause minimal damage to brain tissue…it is possible that victims of FAEs are not rendered unconscious by the blast, but instead suffer for several seconds or minutes while they suffocate.”

Damascus has not commented on the accusations and independent news agencies have not been able verify the accusations.

This past week has been particularly bloody in Syria. At least 37 people died Thursday, according to the LCC, 18 of them in Hama. The early reports follow a week of grim tolls, including 121 reported dead Wednesday and 163 on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s concern that there is no central leadership to negotioate with in Syria’s opposition forces.

“There is no person who could speak on behalf of the Syrian opposition, and there will be no progress without negotiation,” Lavrov told the state-run Itar-Tass news agency.

For further information, please see:

CNN – Opposition Group Accuses Syrian Government of Using ‘Vacuum Bombs‘ – 1 Nov. 2012

Local Coordination Committee – Syria Today 1-11-2012 – 1 Nov. 2012

Local Coordination Committee – Syria Today 24-10-2012 – 24 Oct. 2012

Human Rights Watch – Backgrounder on Russian Fuel Air Explosives (Vacuum Bombs) – 1 Feb. 2000

Rwanda’s Top Opposition Leader Sentenced to Jailed for Belittiling the 1994 Rwandan Genocide

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KIGALI, Rwanda – On October 30, 2012, Rwanda’s top opposition leader, Victoire Ingabire, was sentenced to eight years in prison for treason and genocide denial, charges stemming from the infamous 1994 Rwandan Genocide.

Victoire Ingabire had been boycotting the trial as she says it was politically motivated. (Photo courtesy of AFP)

Ingabire was charged with six offenses.  The first three were linked to “terrorist acts”. The remaining three were linked to her public criticism of the government in the period before the 2010 presidential elections.

In 2010, Ingabire returned to Rwanda after a 16 year exile in the Netherlands following the 1994 Rwandan Genocide . Upon visiting the genocide memorial, Ingabire asked why Hutus killed in the violence were not recognised like the minority Tutsis were.

The Rwandan court found her guilty of two of her six charges: treason for conspiring war against the country by sending money to Hutu extremists, and Rwandan genocide belittling based on her statements and criticisms. She was sentenced to eight years in prison despite the prosecution asking for a life sentence.

The 1994 Rwandan genocide claimed more than 500,000 Rwandan lives, mostly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Because of the massive bloodshed driven by ethnic identity clashes, the new military government set out to de-emphasize Hutu and Tutsi ethnicity. Today, many Rwandans identify themselves simply as a Rwandan, instead of Hutu or Tutsi.

Martin Ngoga, the government’s chief prosecutor said that Ingabire’s genocide belittling conviction was not simply a free-speech issue. The government feared that through her statements, Ingabire would rekindle the ethnic  divide and incite Rwanda “to once more explode” as it did in 1994.

The government also accused Ingabire – who has had contacts with the FDLR, a group of Hutu fighters in Congo – of trying to raise an armed group, a charge Ingabire denied.

Human Rights Watch said the guilty verdict was the culmination of a flawed trial that included politically motivated charges.

“The Rwandan government has a legitimate responsibility to prevent the kind of hate speech and incitement to ethnic violence that led to the genocide in 1994,” said Daniel Bekele of Human Rights Watch. “However, the responsibility to prevent violence should not be used as an excuse for stifling criticism or prohibiting discussion of certain events – nor should it be invoked as a pretext for delaying democratic reforms.” Bekele continued.

Ingabire believes that the true reason for her arrest is that she dared to run in the presidential election as a candidate for the opposition party, challenging the sitting president, Paul Kagame. Kagame is the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, whose military victory ended the genocide in Rwanda. He has been the president of Rwanda since 1994.  His final presidential term ends in 2017.

Ingabire is appealing the conviction.

 

For further information, please see:

Zimbio – Rwandan Opposition Leader Victoire Ingabire, Sentenced to 8 years in Jail – October 31, 2012

All Africa – Rwandan Opposition Leader Receives Eight-Year Sentence – 31 October 2012

Al Jazeera – Rwanda Jails Opposition Leader for ‘Treason’ – 30 October 2012

BBC – Rwandan Opposition Leader Victoire Ingabire Jailed – 30 October 2012