Africa

Charles Taylor Trial Resumes

By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa Desk

THE HAGUE, Netherlands-Last week saw updates in the trial of Charles Taylor for war crimes against humanity.  Last week Taylor denied having any knowledge of rebel Commander, Sam Bockarie’s, public calls to kill sierra Leoneans.  Taylor has long claimed that when he became president of Liberia in 1997, the Economic Community of West African States made him the “point-person” for peace in Sierra Leone.  Lead prosecutor Brenda Hollis, used his self-proclaimed status as the “point person” to prove he was aware of Sam Bockarie’s threats to kill Sierra Leoneans.

Taylor however still denied having any knowledge of these public statements by Bockarie. Prosecutors have argued throughout the trial that although Taylor was never present in Sierra Leone when RUF rebels committed crimes in the country, he was still aware of their actions and gave them his support to commit such crimes.

Taylor also denied allegations that during his time as Liberian President the Liberian judiciary was not independent.  Prosecutors have put together testimony by former lawyers in Liberia who have claimed that there was a “strong influence of the government on the judiciary.”  Taylor dismissed these allegations as “totally incorrect.” He further said, “the judiciary was rotten, I agree with the contents, but I met it this way, and I am trying to fix it.” This is a conference where Liberians are trying to solve historical problems.”  During his direct examination, Taylor said he brought good governance to Liberia and that he respected the fundamental human rights of his citizens.

Prosecutors are now trying to establish that he was not a good president for Liberia. They allege that as “leader of Liberia’s rebel group the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), Taylor was involved in the commission of atrocities against the people of Liberia and that when he became president, his system of governance did not reflect a democratic society.” Taylor has dismissed these accounts as untrue.

For more information, please see:

Charles Taylor Trial – Charles taylor Did Not Have Knowledge of Rebel Commander’s Public Calls To Kill Sierra Leoneans – 19 January 2010

Charles Taylor Trial –Charles Taylor Denies Allegations The Liberian Judiciary Was Not Independent Under his Presidency-19 January 2010

Charles Taylor Trial – Charles Taylor Denies Sending Fighters – 20 January 2009

Somali Al Shabaab Rebels Threaten to Attack Kenya

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – Somalia’s hardline al Shabaab rebels threatened on Thursday to attack neighboring Kenya following a crackdown on Somalis in the capital Nairobi, according to a recording posted on an al Shabaab Website.

The six-minute clip posted on the al Shabaab website stated, “We have arrived at the border, we will enter Kenya, and Inshallah we will get to Nairobi… when we get there, we will fight, we will kill, because we have weapons, enough weapons.”

Islamist al Shabaab have threatened to attack Kenya before, although anger has been rising over the past week among the Somali community after Kenyan security forces detained hundreds of Somalis living in a Nairobi suburb. Kenya rounded up and arrested several hundred Somali immigrants and refugees living in a mostly Somali neighborhood. Earlier this month, Muslim protesters clashed with police after Friday prayers, leading to one death and extensive property damage.

The Kenyan police crackdown followed a violent protest in Nairobi against the detention of Jamaican Muslim cleric Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal, who was jailed in Britain for urging his audiences to kill Jews, Hindus and Westerners.

The website said the message had been composed by militants annoyed by Kenya’s decision to deport the cleric and the deaths of protesters last Friday. The chaotic demonstration resulted in the death of at least two people during nearly nine hours of mayhem in the heart of the capital. The security forces conducted raids on Somali-inhabited in the capital and other major cities in the country, leading to arrest of more than 700 people, mostly Somalis.

Many of the marchers were Somalis and some waved a black flag identified with al Shabaab, a group seen by Washington as al Qaeda’s proxy in the Horn of Africa nation.

Reclusive al Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, also known as Sheik Mukhtar Abdirahman Abu Zubeyr, was introduced on the recording by the men chanting. He is believed to be in close contact with senior foreign members of al Shabaab. The man they introduced called on Muslims in several sub-Saharan African nations to wage jihad, or holy war, against “infidels” and to destroy their interests around the world.

“Our brothers in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Uganda and Chad, you have a chance to join the jihad in the name of Allah. Don’t you know whoever does not join the jihad today, will never join?” the man said in Arabic. “If we live on or die, we are between two victories.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – Somali Rebel Group Threatens Kenya as Tension Mounts – 22 January 2010

Reuters – Somali Hardline Rebels Threaten Kenya Attack – 21 January 2010

Garowe Online – Al Shabaab Threaten to Attack Kenya Capital – 21 January 2010

Thousands Displaced and Over 20 Dead after Rogue Violence Consumes Nigerian City

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KANO, Nigeria — Several thousand residents of Jos, in central Nigeria, are displaced after their homes burned in deadly sectarian clashes on January 17th, according to residents and the local Red Cross. Local authorities have not yet confirmed the death toll violence but information IRIN obtained from hospital sources and residents put the number at 26, with 300 people injured.

Violence erupted in the Dutse Uku neighborhood of the predominantly Christian Nassarawa Gwom district. Residents told IRIN, the clashes followed a dispute over a Muslim resident’s reconstruction of his home that had been burned down in February 2008 riots, in which according to Human Rights Watch, 133 people died. The misunderstanding occured between two neighbors, one Mr. Garba, a Muslim and the other a Christian who both had their houses burnt during the November 2008 crisis. According to THISDAY, when the neighbors decided to re-build their homes, Garba allegedly encroached on the plot of his Christian neighbor, a development that resulted into a hot argument and then a fight. The entire quarters re-grouped along religious lines and began a riot that spread to other parts of the city.

The NRC is coordinating its response with the government’s National Emergency Management Agency and has appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross for support.

“We have [set up] five makeshift camps in police barracks, mosques and churches, sheltering 2,800 displaced people,” Awwalu Mohammed, head of Nigeria Red Cross (NRC) in Jos, capital of Plateau State, told IRIN. “These people don’t have enough food and water,” he said. “They have lost their homes…so they couldn’t salvage anything from their belongings. They are in urgent need of clothing and blankets to protect them from the cold, especially children who are more vulnerable to the unfriendly harmattan [seasonal winds].” Many more displaced people are staying with friends and relatives in other parts of Jos city, Mohammed added.

The Red Cross’s Mohammed also told IRIN the NRC recorded 102 people admitted to five hospitals in the city with gunshot wounds, while others with less severe injuries had been treated and discharged.

Military and police are constantly patrolling Jos city and a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on January 17th remains in effect, Plateau State information commissioner, Gregory Yenlong, told IRIN on January 18th. Gregory Anting, state police commissioner, told IRIN police have arrested 35 people, five of whom were in military uniform.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Mohammed Lerama, said: “the situation is being contained. Other residents of the town are advised to remain calm and report any suspicious movement. Anyone who takes the law into his or her hand would be dealt with in accordance with the law. Residents should equally disregard any rumor of crisis in the city.”

For more information, please see:

Vanguard – Food Crisis Hits Displaced Persons – 19 January 2010

THISDAY –‘Jos Mayhem Caused By Religious Terrorism, Bigotry’ – 19 January 2010

THISDAY – 20 Feared Killed in Another Jos Riot – 18 January 2010

IRIN – Thousands Displaced in Jos Riots – 18 January 2010

UN Urges Uganda to Discard Anti-Homosexuality Bill

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

GENEVA, Switzerland – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay denounced Uganda’s proposed anti-homosexuality legislation calling it “draconian.”  She said it is in violation of international human rights standards and called on the country to shelve it.

The proposed anti-homosexuality legislation would impose the death penalty or life imprisonment on some gay and lesbian people for some homosexual acts.  Some examples of violations would include cases of rape of a minor of the same sex, or where one partner carried the AIDS virus.  Public discussion of homosexuality or renting property to a homosexual would also be criminalized.

“The bill proposes draconian punishments for people alleged to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered – namely life imprisonment, or in some cases, the death penalty,” said Pillay.  “To criminalize people on the basis of color or gender is now unthinkable in most countries.  The same should apply to an individual’s sexual orientation.”

In order to understand the bill’s introduction in Uganda it is first necessary to understand the story of King Mwanga.  In 1886, King Mwanga ordered male pages to have sex with him.  They died as martyrs when they refused based on their Christian faith and were ordered to be burned at the stake.

Playing on Ugandans’ fears, Scott Lively, an American evangelical, addressed the Ugandan Parliament.

“Male homosexuality has historically been, not adult to adult; it’s been adult to teenager,” says Lively.  “It’s called pederasty – adults sodomizing teenage boys.”

A few months later this bill was introduced.

This bill is set to come before the Ugandan Parliament sometime in January.  It could be as early as next week.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and other high ranking government officials have suggested that they might intervene to keep this bill from becoming law, a move that Pillay welcomes.

According to Rupert Colville, the High Commissioner’s spokesman, Pillay believes that the bill’s passage could have an extremely negative impact for homosexual individuals, depriving them of a range of fundamental human rights.

“It is extraordinary to find legislation like this being proposed more than 60 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights … made it clear this type of discrimination is unacceptable,” Pillay said.

She also warned that passage of this bill could harm Uganda’s reputation in the international community.

For more information, please see:

AFP – UN Urges Uganda to Scrap Anti-Gay Bill – 15 January 2010

Guardian – UN’s Human Rights Chief Urges Uganda to Scrap Anti-Gay Legislation – 15 January 2010

Jurist – UN Rights Chief Criticizes Proposed Uganda Legislation Against Homosexuality – 15 January 2010

NPR – U.S. Exports Cultural War to Uganda – 15 January 2010

UN News Centre – Top UN Rights Official Urges Uganda to Do Away with ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill’ – 15 January 2010

VOA – UN Rights Chief Denounces Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill – 15 January 2010

DR Congo: 3.5 Million Euros in Aid for Refugees

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo – The United States and France are providing a total of 3.57 million euros (5.13 million dollars) in aid for refugees in the Republic of Congo, according to diplomatic sources.

The US Embassy in Brazzaville announced a 4.6 million dollar (3.17 million euros) grant.  The grant is supposed to help the World Food Program (WFP) “provide assistance to the refugees” who have fled from fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner visited Brazzaville and soon after announced that France will also be helping the WFP “in the distribution of food aid.”

“A grant of 200,000 euros will be paid to the Acted association (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development), which will distribute kits consisting of tarpaulins, mosquito nets and cooking tools intended for 1,500 households (9,000 people),” said France’s statement.

Ethnic clashes broke out last November over farming and fishing rights.

According to the UN Refugee Agency it began registering the more than 100,000 refugees in order to give aid agencies a better idea of the numbers and needs of refugees.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman, Andrej Mahecic, said that many fled quickly and with little or nothing.

“The needs are great because most of these people are sleeping rough,” he said.  “They occupy either public buildings in the Republic of Congo or public spaces.  So, there is a greater need for organized accommodation for these people.  Last week, we were calling for more sites to be allocated by authorities in the Republic of Congo for basically setting up organized refugee sites in that country.”

A team of 50 people will be handling the registration, which is taking place along the Oubangui River between the two Congos.  This presents a challenge because many of the refugees are accessible only by boat.

“The majority of the refugees are in the areas that we can only reach by boats along the Oubangui River,” said Mahecic.  “Now the water levels are gradually receding and we are running against time to complete the registration within the two months.  That would be by the end of February before the dry season sets in and the rivers will become just to low to navigate.”

Meanwhile, the UNHCR is continuing to provide emergency assistance, including blankets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets and plastic sheeting for shelter, to the refugees.

Brazzaville fears that the humanitarian issue could turn into a major security issue because of the high numbers of people and weapons that have crossed the border.

For more information, please see:

AFP – US and France Provide 3.5 Million Euros for DR Congo Refugees – 15 January 2010

SOS Children – Refugees From Democratic Republic of Congo Swamp Aid Agencies – 15 January 2010

UNHCR – UNHCR Begins Registration of DRC Refugees in Northern Congo – 15 January 2010

VOA – UNHCR Begins Registration of 100,000 Refugees From DRC – 15 January 2010

Xinhua – Refugees Overwhelm Humanitarian Agencies in Republic of Congo – 15 January 2010