Citizens Demand Governmental Reform as Garbage Lines the Streets of Lebanon

August 30, 2015

By Brittani Howell

Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Protests over uncollected trash transform into anti-government protests in Lebanon this week. The “You Stink” movement expresses protestors’ discontent with the government.

Man rummages through pile of trash on Lebanon street. (Photo Curtesy of the New York Times)

The garbage crisis has been going on since July. Landfills became overfilled and the residents neighboring one particular landfill, blocked garbage trucks from entering because of potential environmental hazards. Since July, garbage has been collecting in the streets of Lebanon.

For many, the garbage filling the streets is the last straw. Mohammad Rizk, a sandwich shop owner, told the New York Times, “Enough. This is Enough. No electricity, we said O.K. No water, we said O.K. But the trash?”

The country cannot meet the power needs of its citizens and many have needed to purchase generators or merely go without power for hours at a time.

In addition, running water is only available for a few hours on certain days, even though Lebanon has water resources that neighboring countries would envy. When the water is running, it flows into the streets from the neglected, broken pipes. Citizens are thus forced to buy water to fill personal water tanks for daily use, or use salty water from wells.

Lebanon’s infrastructure is further strained as refugees from war torn areas seek shelter. As many as 1.3 million refugees from Syria have sought shelter in Lebanon, a country of 4 million people.

Lebanon’s Parliament has failed to elect a new President for 15 months. The sectarian nation is currently seeking a Christian to fill the Presidency, but the different religious sects have not reached an agreement on the person for the job.

The Parliament has been unable to even come to terms with a solution for cleaning up the garbage that lines the streets and adjourned from an emergency meeting held Tuesday with no solution.

Sunday’s protest turned violent. Sticks and stones were thrown at police officers and tear gas and hoses were turned onto protesters. Over 400 protesters and security forces were injured during the protest, according to the International Community of Red Cross. Subsequent planned protests have been delayed as 32 of the protesters were arrested.

Earlier this week Prime Minister Tammam Salam threatened to resign if the meeting on Tuesday was not productive regarding possible solutions to the garbage problem. If Salam did resign, Lebanon would be thrown into additional chaos, as it is the President who appoints the Prime Minister.

For further information, please see:

The Wall Street Journal – Anger Over Garbage in Lebanon Blossoms into Demand for Reform – 28 August 2015

The New York Times – As Trash Piles Up, So Does Contempt for Lebanon’s Government – 27 August 2015

CNN – Lebanon: How Piles of Trash Led to a Violent Uprising Against the Government – 24 August 2015

Reuters – Lebanon Protest Postponed as U.N. Urges Restraint – 24 August 2015

Europe’s Migrant Crisis: 71 Refugees Found Dead in Austria

August 29, 2015

by Shelby Vcelka

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

VIENNA, Austria–

UN has called on European nations to collectively improve efforts to solve the growing migrant crisis, including prosecuting human traffickers preying on refugees. This mandate has come after 71 migrants were found dead in an abandoned truck this past week in Austria. The refugees were likely fleeing Syria and suffocated in the back, after the truck was abandoned on the side of the road.

Bodies found inside an abandoned vehicle in Austria are being loaded for transport to a forensics institute for autopsy. The 71 victims are believed to have suffocated inside the truck while migrating to Austria. (Photo courtesy of The New York Times)

The truck was found on August 27^th, after traveling from Hungary to Austria. The partly decomposed bodies were found inside, piled on top of each other. Damage to the inside of the truck suggests that the refugees had attempted to get out before suffocating to death. Those dead include 59 men, 8 women, and 4 children, including one small infant. Papers from Syria suggest that many came to escape war-torn Syria, but Bangladeshi authorities have also claimed that some of the refugees came from there.

Though their identities are unknown as of yet, at least four people in Austria have been arrested in connection with the deaths. “We are talking about human trafficking, homicide, even murder,” said Johann Fuchs, state prosecutor of Eisenstadt. Autopsies are currently being conducted, with charges of human smuggling, danger to public safety leading to death, or murder being contemplated for those arrested.

The deaths are in connection with the biggest rise in migrants to Europe since the end of the Second World War. A UN report states that migration by boat alone has risen by 40% compared to 2014; the total number of refugees that had crossed the Mediterranean to reach Europe had increased from 219,000 in 2014, to 310,000 as of August 2015. More than 2,500 people have died at sea attempting to cross the Mediterranean, not including the 150 people that died crossing from Libya on Thursday. The cause of the deaths, officials say, is due to overcrowding of boats and the way people are packed into those boats.

Melissa Fleming, a UN spokeswoman, said the deaths of the refugees found in Austria clearly demonstrate “the desperation of people seeking protection or a new life in Europe….We believe this [event] underscores the ruthlessness of people-smugglers who have expanded their business from the Mediterranean Sea to the highways of Europe. It shows they have absolutely no regard for human life.”

For more information, please see–

Al-Jazeera–Arrests made after 71 dead refugees found in Austria— 28 August 2015

CNN–Italy arrests 10 in migrant deaths at sea; Austrian officials sort out deaths on land— 28 August 2015

The Guardian–A week in Europe’s migrant crisis – a visual guide— 28 August 2015

Miami Herald–Austrian officials: 71 migrants likely suffocated in truck— 28 August 2015

Miami Herald– Europe’s migrant crisis brings tragedy by land and sea— 28 August 2015

The New York Times-Europe Reels From More Migrant Deaths on Land and Sea— 28 August 2015

BBC–Migrant deaths: UN warns of ‘crisis of solidarity’— 29 August 2015

Syria Deeply: This Week August 28, 2015

August 28, 2015

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the new, revamped Syria Deeply weekly newsletter. We’ve rounded up the most important stories and developments from Syria and the Syrian diaspora.

Syrian Druze Dragged Into Civil War

Following the slaughter of dozens of Syrian Druze by Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian arm of al-Qaida, earlier this summer, many young Druze who spoke to Syria Deeplyexplained that an intense debate has been sparked in their communities about whether to take sides in the ongoing civil war. As the Syrian government continues to lose ground to rebel groups, some are saying the Druze must take a definitive stance in support of the uprising.

Syrian Government Continues Attacks on Douma

For more than a week Syrian government forces have launched airstrikes on the Damascus-area town of Douma, which is under rebel control. During the first attack alone – on August 16 – more than 110 civilians were killed within a matter of hours as bombs rained down on markets and neighborhoods.

Douma’s local city council has declared the town a “disaster zone” and called on the U.N. to intervene to halt Assad’s attacks. Speaking to Syria Deeply, witnesses and paramedics described scenes of carnage and massacre.

Aleppo Residents Hit Hard By Heatwave

Residents of Aleppo have been enduring an intense heatwave that has seen temperatures reach 108 degrees Fahrenheit. The heatwave comes on the heels of a devastating water shortage that left many locals ill, according to UNICEF.

Syria Deeply spoke to locals in Aleppo, who described the difficulties of coping with the heatwave at a time when their community is already besieged by the Syrian government.

Syria Justice and Accountabilty Centre: Population Transfers- The Wrong Path to Peace

August 27, 2015

august 26, 2015

Joshua Landis plan to divid Syria as presented to CNN — Joshua Landis plan to divide Syria as presented to CNN

On August 12, Iran and Turkey helped mediate a temporary ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Ahrar al-Sham that halted fighting in three towns in Syria. The ceasefire agreement allowed humanitarian aid to reach these besieged areas and permitted those who were injured or sick to leave and seek care. Negotiations, however, faltered, and the ceasefire agreement collapsed after three days. Each side blamed the other for making unreasonable demands. In unconfirmed reports by Ahrar al-Sham, Iran and Hezbollah demanded civilian population transfers by which the Sunni population would be moved out of Zabadani and the Shia populations would be moved out of Foua and Kefraya in Idlib Province. These claims stoked already existing fears that regional powers are seeking to divide Syria along sectarian lines as an alternative to outright military victory.

Redrawing Syria’s borders is not a new proposal. Syria experts and news outlets have put forth the idea over the past year as a solution to ISIS expansion. Given the sectarian nature of Syria’s war, the proposed solutions most commonly divide the country along Iraq-style lines, with Alawites and Shias, Sunnis, and Kurds each taking their own regions. The problem is that these populations do not live in distinct areas of the country. Many of Syria’s cities include a mix of Sunnis, Alawites, Shias, Christians, Druze, Kurds, and other minority groups. Thus, the division of Syria according to sectarian and ethnic differences will necessitate mass population transfers in order for the country demographics to fit this cookie-cutter solution.

Forced population transfers are strictly forbidden under international law and are commonly equated with ethnic cleansing. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court defines forcible transfers of populations as a crime against humanity, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has convicted military commanders for forced deportations that occurred during the Yugoslav conflict. To avoid contravening international law, a negotiated settlement must give the local population the option to stay, move to the newly designated area, or relocate to a different location of their own choosing. But in reality, this “choice” is often a false one. According to the UN Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, the conditions surrounding treaties that call for population transfers usually create “strong moral, psychological and economic pressures to move.” Particularly in conflicts zones defined by sectarian or ethnic hatreds, members of the group being transferred may be fearful of staying and potentially facing persecution as a minority when the ethnic group or religious sect that fought on the other side of the war takes over the area.

Given the current tensions in Syria, there is no scenario in which Syrians will have a meaningful choice about where to live if negotiating parties agree to population transfers along sectarian and ethnic lines as part of a ceasefire agreement. The result will be economically devastating and most likely bloody for those involved. In the former Yugoslavia, orders for population transfers fueled ethnic tensions and emboldened local Serbs to forcibly removetheir Croat and Muslim neighbors from their homes, leading to bloodshed, rape, and the destruction of homes and mosques. Forced to flee, many left behind everything they owned, and to this day Bosnia is grappling with the issue of compensation for property loss.

Over 6.5 million Syrians have been displaced as a result of the conflict. Policy decisions on where and how they will be resettled as well the parameters of a negotiated ceasefire could lead to attempts to redraw Syria’s ethnic and sectarian map. Experiences from past conflicts demonstrate that population transfers along ethnic and religious lines tend to lead to increased levels of violence, and in Syria, such a plan could create new sources of tension. The United Nations and the international community should closely monitor this issue and ensure that the UN envoy to Syria does not endorse population transfers in order to achieve local ceasefire agreements or national settlements. While such a deal might placate regional or local leaders, Syrians will suffer in the aftermath and the ethnic and religious minorities in each newly formed state will likely pay the biggest price.

Nicaraguan on Death Row Given Reprieve by Texas Court

August 26, 2015

By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Oceania

AUSTIN, Texas, United States — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted the execution of a Nicaraguan national who argued that his lawyers had not done enough to present evidence to the court of his diminished mental capacity. Additionally, last week the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a preliminary report finding that the United States violated Tercero’s right to a fair trial.

Protesters Supporting Bernardo Tercero in Texas. (Photo Courtesy of NPR)

The Court of Criminal Appeals ordered Tuesday that Tercero’s case return to the trial court in Harris County for review.

Tercero’s current lawyers contend that he suffers from anxiety, post-traumatic stress and depression, and that he has shown signs of psychosis along with limited brain function. Tercero and his current lawyers contend had that evidence been presented by his trial lawyers, the jury might not have sentenced Tercero to death.

According to Tercero’s lawyers, the witness has signed a sworn statement saying that part of her evidence was false. Tercero’s lawyers also say that Mr. Tercero was denied his right to speak to the Nicaraguan consulate after his arrest.

On Oct. 20, 2000, Bernardo Aban Tercero was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to die for the 1997 fatal shooting of Robert Berger, a customer at a Harris County, Texas dry-cleaning shop.

Tercero said that the gun had gone off accidentally as he struggled with Mr. Berger, who tried to thwart the robbery. However, an acquaintance of Tercero’s told the court that he had given her various reasons for killing Mr. Berger, including that he had seen his face and would be able to identify him. Mr. Tercero denied these conversations taking place.

In response to Tercero’s claims, prosecutors in Harris County, Texas argue that the inmate presented his allegations of false testimony too late in the process. State lawyers said that Tercero’s lawyers knew about the alleged false testimony for about 15 years and could have presented the claims “earlier than two days before” the scheduled execution.

The planned execution of Tercero had drawn condemnation from outside the United States. Denis Moncada, Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Organization of American States, told Agence France-Presse that since his country has no death penalty, “it seems pathetic to be on the verge of a Nicuaraguan citizen’s execution.”

Tercero had petitioned for relief multiple times in various courts, eventually asking the U.S. Supreme Court last year to review his case, according to the office of Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general. The justices declined to review the case.

For more information, please see:

BBC News — Nicaraguan on death row gets reprieve from Texas court – 26 August 2015

Dallas Morning News — Texas appeals court halts Nicaraguan killer’s execution – 25 August 2015

NPR — Texas Set To Execute Nicaraguan National, Despite Legal Controversy – 25 August 2015

Washington Post — Texas court stays execution of Nicaraguan man convicted of 1997 murder – 25 August 2015

Syrian Druze Dragged Into Civil War

Syrian Government Continues Attacks on Douma

Aleppo Residents Hit Hard By Heatwave

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