Terror in the Skies Above the Ukraine

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Managing Editor 

KIEV, Ukraine – Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, a civilian airliner, was shot out of the skies above the Ukraine on Thursday as the plane was flying over the disputed regions of eastern Ukraine. The airliner, a Boeing 777, is believed to have been shot down by a surface-to-air Missile, U.S. officials say. 298 lives were lost in the attack. World leaders have called on the Ukraine and Russia to allow an international investigation into the attack. The United Nations Security Council, of which Russia is a permanent member, was scheduled to hold an emergency meeting Friday to discuss attack. The United Nations Security Council called for “full, thorough and independent international investigation” into downing of Malaysian plane above Ukraine.

Pro-Russia rebels stand guard at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. the Airliner was shot out of the sky above in Eastern Ukraine on Friday killing the plane’s 298 passengers. (Photo courtesy of CNN International)

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko addressed the nation early Friday, placing blame for the horrific attack on pro-Russian separatists whom he suggested are acting as the puppets of Russian leaders. Charges that the Russian federation and pro-Russian separatists both denied. “War has gone beyond the territory of Ukraine,” Poroshenko said. “Consequences of this war have already reached the whole world.”

Pro-Russian separatists fighting have agreed to allow access to the crash site to investigators international monitors in the region said. However, the Ukrainian government said the rebels were still keeping all but local emergency workers away from the site.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk called for swift, international justice. “This is a crime against humanity. All red lines have been already crossed. This is the deadline,” he said. “We ask our international partners to call an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting and to [do] everything we can to stop this war: a war against Ukraine, a war against Europe, and after these terrorists shot down a Malaysian aircraft, this is the war against the world.”

A pro-Russian rebel leader had reportedly briefly claimed restorability via Twitter for shooting down a jet he claimed was a Ukrainian military aircraft. However, soon after it was established that the downed plane was a civilian airliner the Tweet was reportedly removed.

European Union leaders agreed this earlier week to expand sanctions against individuals and entities in response to Russia role in contributing to conflict in the Ukraine. The details of the sanctions will be decided by the end of the month. The Obama Administration also announced plans to expand U.S. Sanctions against Russia before the attack. The sanctioned would target Russian interests including Energy companies.

The majority of people on board the Malaysian airliner were Dutch citizens. Preliminary reports of the crash. The Dutch prime minister on Thursday ordered that flags fly at half-mast at government buildings across the Netherlands to mourn the 154 Dutch citizens lost in the attack which he says may be the worst air disaster in Dutch history.

The attack also dealt a devastating blow to the International AIDS community. As many as 108 Aides experts, researchers, activists and health workers who were traveling to an International Aids Conference in Australia may have been on board the plane. The Australian reported that up to 108 delegates to the 20th international AIDS congruence in Melbourne Australia, which is scheduled to begin on Sunday, are believed to have been killed on board flight MH17.

“There’s been confirmed a number of senior people who were coming out here who were researchers, who were medical scientists, doctors, people who’ve been to the forefront of dealing with AIDS across the world,” Victoria Premier Denis Napthine told reporters in Melbourne on Friday. “The exact number is not yet known, but there is no doubt it’s a substantial number.”

The International AIDS Society issued a brief statement Thursday night following the attack saying that “a number of colleagues and friends” were on the flight. “At this incredibly sad and sensitive time the IAS stands with our international family and sends condolences to the loved ones of those who have been lost to this tragedy,” the statement said.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that among the dead are international renowned AIDS researcher Joep Lange, of the University of Amsterdam, and World Health Organization spokesman Glenn Thomas. Lange played a critical role in leading local trials of antiretroviral therapies and led research into the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. He served as president of the International AIDS society from 2002-2004, and is a founder and co-editor-in-chief of the journal Antiviral Therapy. Lange’s work played a critical role in bringing treatment for HIV/AIDS to the developing world, saving countless lives. Former United States President and AIDS advocate Bill Clinton who is scheduled to speak at the conference referred to the AIDS workers lost on the flight as “Martyrs for the Cause.”

For more information please see:

BBC News – Accusations Fly As Investigators Seek Answers over MH17 Crash in Ukraine – 18 July 2014

CNN International – Accusations Fly As Investigators Seek Answers over MH17 Crash in Ukraine – 18 July 2014

The Washington Post – Rebels in Eastern Ukraine Pledge Access to Plane Crash Site, but Kiev Cites Restrictions – 18 July 2014

Reuters – Netherlands in Mourning After at Least 154 Dutch Die in Ukraine Crash –17 July 2014

 

Israel Launches Ground Offensive a Day after Four Palestinian Children Killed by Israeli Strikes

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

GAZA CITY, Gaza – Israeli tanks entered Gaza after the Israeli military launched a massive ground operation into Gaza late Thursday, calling an extra 18,000 reservists into the conflict with Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon reportedly ordered the assault to destroy tunnels moving from the Gaza strip into Israel Proper. Tunnels connecting Israel and Gaza as well as Egypt have served as critical supply chains, not only for Hamas militants but also for critical civilian supplies including fuel. The ground assault represents as a major escalation in the ten-day offensive that has already killed more than 230 Palestinians, including the shocking killing of four civilian boys on a Gaza beach on Wednesday.

Israeli tanks entered Gaza on Thursday night after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a ground invasion, The escalation comes after Israeli strikes have killed more than 230 Palestinians during the first ten days of the conflict. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

The offensive began after a group of gunmen reportedly attempted to enter Israel through a tunnel originating in Gaza. The Israeli army said eight of the 13 attackers were killed, and Hamas claimed responsibility for the operation. The Israeli military said the operation “will deal significant damage to the infrastructure of Hamas and other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.” “We have hit Hamas hard, and we will continue to hit Hamas hard,” the Israel Defense Forces tweeted.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that “the beginning of the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza is a dangerous step with unknown consequences. Israel will pay a heavy price for it. “Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said of the offensive; “It does not scare the Hamas leaders or the Palestinian people. We warn Netanyahu of the dreadful consequences of such a foolish act.”

The escalation came shortly after a five-hour “humanitarian ceasefire” requested by the United Nations, aimed at giving residents of Gaza a chance to leave their homes for necessities after days of Israli bombardments. Both sides of the conflict largely stopped firing, and people were able to venture out to markets, grocers and banks, which opened for the first time in more than a week.

The ground operation comes just a day after Four young boys were killed during an Israeli strike while playing at Gaza beach on Wednesday, witnesses say, a fifth boy was injured in the attack and is in critical condition. The blasts that killed the boys struck near a hotel where several members of the foreign media are staying; several journalist witnessed the incident. The boys, two brothers and two cousins, were between the ages of 9 and 11.

Israli spokesmen Mark Regev said the results of a preliminary investigation suggests the deaths were the result of a “a tragic misidentification of the target.” However, A Hamas official called the killings a “war crime.” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zhuri said “those children were not firing rockets, they were just playing.”

According to a report by Human Rights watch several Israeli airstrikes have targeted civilian structures and other non-military targets.  Israeli attacks in Gaza since July 7, 2014 have destroyed 1,255 homes and displaced at least 7,500 people.

“Israel’s rhetoric is all about precision attacks but attacks with no military target and many civilian deaths can hardly be considered precise,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Recent documented cases in Gaza sadly fit Israel’s long record of unlawful airstrikes with high civilian casualties.” Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, said Israeli bombs hit Wafa Hospital in Gaza while four patients were inside. Human Rights Watch has called on Israeli to stop targeting Civilian populations and infrastructure; weather the targeting of these areas in intentional or reckless.

For more information:

Al Jazeera – Israel Launches Gaza Ground Invasion – 17 July 2014

CNN International – Israel Launches Ground Operation in Gaza; Hamas Says Israel to ‘Pay a Heavy Price’ – 17 July 2014

CNN International – ‘They Went to the Beach to Play’: Deaths of 4 Children Add to Growing Toll in Gaza Conflict – 17 July 2014

Time Magazine – Israel, Hamas Agree on Short Cease-Fire After Israeli Strike Kills 4 Palestinian Boys – 16 July 2014

Assad Sworn in for another Seven Year term Amidst Deadly Violence

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Managing Editor

DAMASCUS, Syria – On Wednesday Syrian President Bashar al-Assad placed his right hand on the Holy Quran and took his oath of office at the “People’s Palace” overlooking Damascus and was sworn into a third seven-year term as President of Syria. SANA, Syria’s state-run television station aired what it said was a live broadcast of the ceremony showing Assad arriving in a black BMW sedan as members of the Syrian military band played the national anthem.

Bashar al-Assad was sworn in for a third seven-year term as Syria’s president in a ceremony in Damascus celebrating Assad’s victory in an election that was widely condemned as a farce by the Syrian opposition as well as other Arab and Western leaders.

In an address Assad claimed that the Arab spring uprising against established Arab leaders had brought nothing but ciaos to the region, arguing that “What we are seeing today in Iraq and Lebanon, and all countries struck by this ‘fake spring’ disease … proves our warnings were right: Soon we will see Arab, regional and Western countries paying a high price for supporting terrorism.”

“Syrians, three years and four months… have passed since some cried ‘freedom’,” Assad said in his address referring to the peaceful protests that turned violent in March 2011 when Assad’s forces attempted to silence protesters. Assad continued “They wanted a revolution, but you have been the real revolutionaries. I congratulate you for your revolution and for your victory.”

Even as Assad prepared to begin his next term in office, claiming victory over the Syrian rebels, State media reported that four people had been killed when rebel shells struck near Umayyad Square in Damascus. The Assad regime continues target rebel-held and rebel-sympathetic areas including the embattled city of Aleppo. On Friday video was posted to YouTube of an indiscriminate barrel bomb attack by the Syrian Air force that reportedly killed 20 people in Aleppo. The video shows rescues franticly trying to save a young baby who was stuck in the rubble.

Assad won re-election on June 3rd in an election that only allowed voting in regime-controlled territories. Assad claimed victory with a reported 88.7 percent of the vote, defeating two other candidates who were seen as figureheads, rather than true political rivals. Syrian opposition groups and members of the international community have condemned the election as illegitimate.  The opposition National Coalition branded the election a “farce” even before it was staged, in a statement later echoed by the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the secretary general of NATO.

The Syrian Civil war has become a massive humanitarian crises, in the 3½ years since the conflict began more than 1 million refugees have fled the country, mostly entering Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. The sudden displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from Syria has created growing tensions in the region, in Lebanon alone the Syrian refugee population is approaching one third of the overall population of the country placing strain on state infrastructure.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Syria’s Assad Sworn in For Third Term – 16 July 2014

National Public Radio – Syria’s Assad Sworn in For Third 7-Year Presidential Term  – 16 July 2014

The New York Times – Assad Is Sworn in For Third 7-Year Term in Syria – 16 July 2014

The Washington Post – Baby Rescued From Rubble after Syria Bomb Attack – 11 July 2014

The Washington Post – Syrian Crisis: Barrel Bomb Attacks in Aleppo – 11 July 2014

Ahram Online – Syria Refugees Set to Exceed A Third of Lebanon’s Population – 3 July 2014

40 Years Later, Cyprus Still Struggles to Reunite

By Kyle Herda

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

NICOSIA, Cyprus – Forty years ago today, a coup led by Greeks chased out President Archbishop Makarios. Less than a week after, Turkey invaded Cyprus and overthrew the coup in a bloody engagement. While Turkey eventually halted its advance, 35,000 Turkish troops still remain in northern Cyprus today.

A sign in the town of Pyla, sitting within the U.N.-controlled buffer zone between northern Cyprus and the rest of the island. (Photo courtesy of The Guardian)

Today, the northern one-third of Cyprus remains separate from the rest of the nation, separated by a buffer controlled by the United Nations. This northern section of the island self-identifies themselves as an independent nation, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. While Turkey also recognizes northern Cyprus as an independent nation, Turkey is alone in doing so. However, it remains unclear what exactly that region of the island is, as it acts as a de facto nation with its own government.

Over one-third of the Cypriots on the island are mainland Turks, which makes unification of the north and south even more difficult. Now, a group of Cypriots is taking action against Turkey in an attempt to push Turkey out of the north.

European Parliament member Costas Mavrides, representing his nation Cyprus, a European Union member nation, filed a war crimes complaint against Turkey. Tens of thousands of Turkish troops in northern Cyprus, A sizeable Turkish population in northern Cyprus, backed by tens of thousands of Turkish troops also stationed there, are increasing in numbers, a move that is making Cyprus feel threatened.

Along with Mavrides, a group called Cypriots Against Turkish War Crimes has taken part in filing the complaint against Turkey. This group has been backed by an Israeli-based rights organization called the Shurat HaDin Law Center.

The claim is that Turkey is pushing Turkish mainlanders to move to the island. Turkey is allegedly enticing Turkish settlers by providing job opportunities, financial aid, and giving homes and land to Turks who make the move. The impact of these moves could drastically increase the Turkish population, as has already been seen in the northern section of Cyprus where over one-third of the 300,000 population is people who came from Turkey.

Cyprus is afraid that the increase in the Turkish population on the northern section of the island could further push the northern part of Cyprus to breakaway from the rest of the island. The filed complaint in the International Criminal Court is an attempt by Cyprus to contain the situation and nip it in the bud before things escalate, especially in the wake of the recent quiet takeover of Crimea by Russia in a similar manner. Although it has been forty years now since the conflict began, it is clear that a solution is still far away.

For more information, please see:

Cyprus Mail – Congressmen urge Obama to enhance US support for Cyprus’ reunification 15 July 2014 

Cyprus Mail – Forty years since the coup 15 July 2014

ABC News – Cypriots File War Crimes Complaint Against Turkey 14 July 2014 

The Guardian – Cyprus divided: 40 years on, a family recalls how the island was torn apart 5 July 2014