By Yoohwan Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

Photo: Relatives gathered to mourn the deaths of their husbands and sons, victims of the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre. [Source:  AP]

SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina – On Sunday, July 11, more than 50,000 people gathered for a ceremony at the Potocari cemetery near Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina to commemorate the 15th anniversary of one of the worst atrocities in Europe, when Bosnian Serb paramilitaries executed nearly 8,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys.

Relatives of the victims, religious leaders, and foreign dignitaries were among those who gathered at the Centre Potocari, the official Srebrenica Massacre Memorial where 3,749 victims are already buried.  The 64 minute memorial ceremony included the burial of 775 recently identified victims, who were laid in coffins draped in green cloth and were carried by relatives for at least a mile.

The Srebrenica Massacre Memorial was built in 2003 across the road from the former U.N. military base where about 30,000 Bosniaks gathered in 1995 to seek refuge during the Serbian-Bosnian conflict.  On July 11, 1995, a few days after the fall of Srebrenica to Bosnian Serb troops, Bosnian-Serb General Ratko Mladic led forces that overran the UN-protected enclave, and separated out Bosniak men and boys.

The men and boys were taken away, shot, and buried in mass graves during the course of five days.  Several months following the massacre, the Serb troops excavated the original mass graves and reburied the victims in over 70 other sites in an attempt to cover up any evidence of war crimes.

The Srebrenica Massacre is the only episode of Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war that has been ruled as genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice.

In 2009, the European Parliament declared the massacre “the biggest war crime in Europe since the end of World War II” and “a symbol of the international community’s impotence to intervene and protect civilians.”

July 11 is now marked all across Europe as a day of commemoration in honor of the victims, and all Western Balkan countries, except for Bosnia, have adopted resolutions that condemn the massacre.

Several foreign officials addressed the crowd on Sunday and spoke against the atrocity that occurred 15 years ago.  “We have a sacred duty to remember the cruelty that occurred here and to prevent such atrocities from happening again,” stated Charles L. English, U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia, during Sunday’s ceremony.  “We have responsibility to future generations all over the globe to agree that we must refuse to be bystanders to evil whenever and wherever it occurs.  We must be prepared to stand up for human dignity.”

The U.S. delegation also read a statement from President Obama, in which President Obama calls on all governments to “redouble their efforts” to find and prosecute those responsible for the massacre, particularly key suspect Ratko Mladic.

President Obama stated, “Justice must include a full accounting of the crimes that occurred, full identification and return of all those who were lost, and prosecution and punishment of those who carried out the genocide.  This includes Ratko Mladic, who presided over the killings and remains at large.”

On June 16, the family of Ratko Mladic filed a motion in a Serbian court to officially declare Mladic dead.  The family asserts that they have not seen him in seven years and that Mladic was seriously ill when he disappeared 15 years ago.

Despite the motion, Serbian authorities say they will continue to search for Mladic, who is not only responsible for the Srebrenica Massacre, but also for the 44 month siege of Sarajevo that left 10,000 people dead.  Mladic still remains a fugitive and is believed to be hiding in Serbia.

For more information, please see:

CNN – World Leaders Mark 15th Anniversary of Srebrenica Massacre – 12 July 2010

AFP – Obama Urges Mladic Capture on Srebrenica Anniversary – 11 July 2010

AP – 775 Coffins: Bosnia Marks 1995 Srebrenica Massacre – 11 July 2010

BALKAN INVESTIGATE REPORTING NETWORK – Thousands Converge on Srebrenica to Commemorate Massacre Anniversary – 11 July 2010

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY – Srebrenica Massacre Remembered on 15th Anniversary – 11 July 2010

VOICE OF AMERICA – Thousands Mourn Srebrenica Massacre Victims, Criticize UN – 11 July 2010

VOICE OF AMERICA – Mladic’s Family Asks Serbian Court to Declare Him Dead – 16 June 2010

By Tristan Simoneau
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BRUSSELS, Belgium – As part of a government probe into allegations of child abuse by priests, Belgian police questioned Cardinal Godfried Danneels for about ten hours on Tuesday over whether he knew of sexual abuse in the church and failed to stop it.  Several men and boys have alleged that they had told Danneels about the abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests but that their complaints had fallen on deaf ears.  Danneels, a 77 year old cardinal, led the Catholic Church in Belgium until his retirement  last year.  The Agence France Presse reported that a retired priest has accused him of sheltering abusive priests during his tenure from 1979 to 2009.

According to a spokesman for the Belgian prosecutor’s office, the cardinal was “named in at least 50 files as being aware of the abuse cases.”  Danneels has not responded to the accusations in public and has yet to be charged with any crime.  During police questioning, the cardinal was confronted by Dr. Peter Adriaenssens, a psychiatrist who formerly headed a commission probing hundreds of reported cases of clerical child abuse.  Dr. Adrianenssens stated that Cardinal Danneels is in a state of shock and “is surprised that such serious facts are being linked to him.”

The church commission monitoring complaints of sexual abuse was disbanded last week after police seized all of its files and the computer of its chairman, Peter Adriaenssens.  It was also reported that Belgian authorities drilled into the tomb of a former Belgian Cardinal and inserted tiny cameras to find out if any files had been hidden there.  Lawyers for Cardinal Danneels have questioned the legality of the raid.  These raids comes in the aftermath of another recent blemish on the Belgian Catholic Church following the resignation of Bishop Roger Vanheluwe earlier this year after he admitted to the sexual abuse of a boy.

The Belgian Prosecutor’s Office is currently investigating death threats against witnesses involved in the clergy child abuse cases.  Jean Marc Meillure, a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office, stated that threats had been made against people who gave authorities information or made a complaint.

This case mirrors similar sexual abuse allegations faced by the Catholic Church in Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands and the United States.

For more information please see:

CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY – Cardinal Danneels interviewed by Belgian authorities in sex abuse investigation – 7 July 2010

REUTERS – Belgian ex-archbishop questioned over abuse cases – 6 July 2010

CNN – Belgian cardinal quizzed for 10 hours over abuse allegations – 6 July 2010

BBC – Belgian child sex abuse police probe death threats – 4 July 2010

By Yoohwan Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France – The French parliament begins their debate today on a controversial bill to ban full-face veils, such as the burqa and the niqab, worn by some Muslim women in public.  The proposed bill is the focus of the ongoing conflict between Islam and France’s secular system, which rigorously separates the church and the state.

France has the largest Muslim community in Europe, with an estimated five to six million Muslims residing in the nation.  The interior ministry estimates that the bill will only affect about 2,000 women who wear the burqa, which is a full-body cover that includes a mesh over the face, or the niqab, which is a full-face veil that has an opening for the eyes.  France already bans religious symbols and Muslim headscarves from being worn in schools.

The French Council of Ministers, who stated that veils that cover the face “cannot be tolerated in any public place,” approved the bill in May, and following their approval, the bill was sent to parliament.  A parliamentary vote is not expected until next week and if approved, the French Senate will vote on the bill in the fall.

Photo: France proposes a bill that will fine women who wear full-face veils. [Source: CNN]

The proposed bill will make it illegal for anyone to wear an “item of clothing that hides their face” in public, and will impose a fine of 150 euro ($190) and/or mandatory enrollment in a “citizenship course” as punishment.

Additionally, forcing a woman to wear a full-face veil will be punishable by a year in prison and/or a 15,000 euro ($19,000) fine.  The French government believes that forcing someone to wear a burqa or niqab is “a new form of enslavement that the republic cannot accept on its soil.”

French President Nicolas Sarkozy initiated the bill, and stated during his first state of the nation address that the full-face veil is “not welcome” in France, because it is “not a religious symbol, but a sign of subservience and debasement.”

Amnesty International urged lawmakers not to approve the bill back in May.  Amnesty International’s expert on discrimination in Europe, John Dalhuisen, stated that “a complete ban on the covering of the face would violate the rights of freedom of expression and religion of those women who wear the burqa or the niqab in public as an expression of their identity or beliefs.”  Additionally, the French Council of State warns that the ban would violate international human rights laws and the French constitution.

Those who support the ban argue that wearing garments that hide women’s faces violates France’s secular system and gender equality, while opponents say only a small minority of Muslim women wears a burqa or a niqab and the bill will restrict individual freedom.  Some opponents believe Sarkozy is utilizing this controversy as a way to distract attention from his political problems and low approval ratings.  Critics of the bill believe a ban of the burqa and the niqab could further strain relations with Muslim communities in France, and could increase tensions between France and Muslim nations.

If parliament and the Senate pass the bill and it is signed into law, it will be the first national ban in Europe on the burqa and the niqab.  Similarly, other European Union nations have initiated their bans on veils worn in public.  Belgium’s parliament passed a similar ban in April and Spain’s Senate approved a motion to ban the full-face veil in June.

For more information, please see:

ALJAZEERA  – France Set to Debate Veil Ban – 6 July 2010

CNN – French Parliament Debates Burqa Ban – 6 July 2010

FRANCE 24 – Parliament to Debate Bill to Ban the Burqa – 6 July 2010

REUTERS  – French Parliament to Vote on Proposed Veil Ban – 5 July 2010

By Tristan Simonu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

Photo: Natalka, the three year old victim of the arson attack. [Source: White Watch]

VITKOV, Czech Republic – Natalka Kudrikova is a three year old girl recovering from severe burns she suffered last year after a Molotov cocktail was thrown through the window of her family home in Vitkov.

Natalka is from the Roma or gypsy minority, and police believe that the alleged arson attack could have been racially motivated.  Inside of the home was a Roma family of eight, several of whom were injured by the fire.  Natalka lost 80% of her skin, three fingers, and has spent months in an induced coma following the attack.  After 14 major surgeries she is still recuperating and cannot walk without support. Her 27 year old mother also suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns to 30% of her body.

In May, the four young men accused of attacking Natalka were charged with racially motivated attempted murder.  Under cross examination, two of the men admitted to attending anti-Roma demonstrations organized by right wing extremists.  A photo of one of the men walking next to the leader of the far-right Workers’ Party was recently published by an anti-fascist website.  The leader of the now banned Workers’ Party, Tomas Vandas, denies any involvement in the incident.

It is reported that the extreme-right seem to have a new confidence about them holding regular marches through Czech towns.  In regions with high unemployment and poor social conditions the rise of extremism is popular with unemployed young men.  In fear of persecution, hundreds of Romanies are now emigrating and many have been granted asylum in Canada.

According to a 2005 UNICEF report, 84% of Roma in Bulgaria, 88 % in Romania, and 91% in Hungary live below the poverty line.  In many European nations Roma have limited access to jobs and education and often live in squalid conditions without basic public services.  In eastern Slovakia the village of Ostrovany spent $16,000 to build a wall separating the Roma from their ‘white’ neighbors, because of fears of “alleged Roma crime.”  In Hungary over the last two years, nine Roma have been killed in unprovoked night time attacks according to the European Roma Rights Center.   Last month in Italy several Roma camps were torched.  According to Claudio Cordone, Amnesty International’s interim Secretary General, “EU leaders must adopt a concrete plan of action to address the human rights abuses faced by Romani communities.  They must speak up against racist attacks and hate speech and provide concrete measures to end discrimination in access to housing, education, health, and employment.”

For more information, please see:

CNN WORLD – Burned girl a symbol of Roma hate and hope – 25 June 2010

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL – Europe must break cycle of discrimination facing Roma – 7 April 2010

CZECH RADIO – Police hunt for attackers as two-year-old Roma girl severely burned in alleged arson – 20 April 2009

REUTERS – FACTBOX: Facing discrimination: Roma around Europe – 30 July 2008