By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

 

MINSK, Belarus — According to a Belarusian human rights group, over 400 people were arrested, and many were beaten, in Belarus on March 25 amidst protests against a tax on under-employed citizens.  The law, known as the “anti-parasite” law, demands a $250 tax on anyone who works less than six months each year who does not register with the state labor exchange.  Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko insists that the tax will not be eliminated and believes it disciplines those who are “workshy.”  Lukashenko has, however, suspended the tax for the year.  Opponents to the new law believe it punishes those who cannot find work.

About 700 people marched on Saturday in a demonstration along Minsk’s main street, however were blocked by police holding shields and clubs.  According to demonstrator Alexander Ponomarev, the police were “beating the participants, dragging women by the hair to buses.”  More arrests took place on Sunday when other demonstrators demanded to know the whereabouts of those arrested the previous day.

Prior to the weekend, over 100 opposition supporters were sentenced to jail terms of up to 15 days.  Police raided human rights group Vesna’s office and detained more than 50 people.  20 journalists were among those arrested according to the Belarusian Journalists’ Association.  BBC Belarus correspondent Sergei Kozlovsky told reporters that “[the police] grabbed everybody indiscriminately, both young and old” and that they were “treated very harshly.” Known opposition supported Vladimir Neklayev was allegedly removed from a train by police as he was traveling to Minsk overnight.

About 150 of those arrested were sentenced to jail terms of up to 25 days.  Opponents of Lukashenko ran the protests in Minsk and in other cities across Belarus.  Vladimir Lobkovich, of Vesna, called the jail sentences a “judicial conveyor.”

Demonstrators shouted slogans such as “Shame!” and Basta! (Enough!)” and displayed the opposition’s red and white flag.  “Petrol bombs and “arms-laden cars” were found near the protest in Minsk according to the foreign ministry.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Dzmitryy Mironchyk called the actions of the police “completely appropriate.”  Mironchyk said that because the rallies were unauthorized, “specific consequences” would have been justified “in any country of the world.”  He further commented that no tear gas or water cannons were used by the police.

 

For more information, please see:

U.S. News & World Report — Rights Group: More than 1,000 Arrested in Belarus Protests — 27 March 2017

The Washington Post — Rights Group: More than 1,000 Arrested in Belarus Protests — 27 March 2017

BBC — Belarus Protests: Government Defends Mass Arrests — 26 March 2017

Hawaii News Now — Belarus Police Arrest over 400 Protesters; Many are Beaten — 25 March 2017

 

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

 

MADRID, Spain — The Basque Militant Group Eta is rumored to fully disarm by April 8, 2017 according to sources who have spoken with Basque separatists and the Spanish government.  Pro-Basque independence and environmental group Bizi is credited with the disarmament.  Eta has killed over 800 people over the course of more than four decades, and a permanent ceasefire was declared six years ago however the group refused to give up any of its weapons.

Eta has grown significantly weaker in recent years after many of its members were arrested and police officers seized several of the group’s weapon stashes.

Inigo Urkullu, Basque regional government leader, assured that his administration considered the rumored disarmament to be credible and that his authority would do everything within their power for the “disarmament to come through well.”  He commented that he hoped the disarmament would be “definitive, unilateral, irrevocable, complete and legal.”  However, Urkullu added that “not everything is in [his administration’s] hands” and asked that both Madrid and Paris help mediate talks between the group and the government.

No formal announcement has been made regarding the disarmament, however Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido stated in a tweet that Eta must “dissolve itself and disappear. It has had time to disarm and it must know that it won’t get anything in exchange” for doing so.  Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy confirmed that Eta will not receive anything in exchange for the disarmament.

The Spanish government cautioned that the group has made similar promises in the past, however has not followed through.  Rajoy commented that “ETA has made the umpteenth announcement and says it will disarm.”  In the past, Eta has unsuccessfully tried to wager deals with the Spanish and French governments in exchange for disarmament on several occasions.  The Spanish and French governments denied the proposed deals and insisted only that the group hands over their arsenal.

Both the United States and the European Union consider Eta to be a terrorist organization.  The group reportedly hopes to negotiate its disarmament in exchange for amnesty or improved prison conditions for hundreds of its members who are currently being held in Spain and France.

 

For more information, please see:

The Japan News — Spain: ETA Gets Nothing in Return for Disarmament — 20 March 2017

BBC — Spain: Eta Militant Group ‘to Disarm Fully by 8 April — 17 March 2017

The Local ES — Basque Separatist Group Eta to Fully Disarm by April 8th — 17 March 2017

The New York Times — Basque Separatist Group ETA is Said to Promise to Disarm — 17 March 2017

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

BUDAPEST, Hungary — On Tuesday, Hungary’s parliament voted to detain all asylum seekers within the country over the age of 14. Expected to take effect later this month, the new law will mandate authorities to detain all asylum seekers who are currently in guarded and enclosed migrant camps. Hungary previously detained all asylum-seekers, however suspended the practice in 2013 after pressure from the United Nations refugee agency and the European Court of Human Rights.

Asylum seekers will be detained until their applications are reviewed, which is a process that usually takes months to complete. The process will be termed “assigned residency,” however is considered by many to constitute detention. The new law will apply to newly-arrived asylum seekers as well as those who are currently in the country waiting for their applications to be processed.

Human rights advocates called the new law a “reckless breach of international law.” According to Cecile Pouilly, spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the new law means that “every asylum seeker, including children, will be detained in shipping containers surrounded by high razor wire fence at the border for extended periods of time.” The UNHCR predicts that the new legislation will “have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who have already greatly suffered.”

Human rights groups protested the new asylum law, including Amnesty International Hungary and the Hungarian Association for Migrants and the Migrant Solidarity Group for Hungary. These groups insist that the law would “serve the government’s xenophobic and discriminatory political propaganda purposes.”

Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, justified the measure in saying it will help secure the European Union’s borders from migrants. Orban also believes the law act as a deterrent against migration, which he called the “Trojan horse of Terrorism.” Orban noted that the “flood of migration has slowed down but has not stopped” and that Hungary’s laws “apply to everyone” including “migrants who want to cross Hungary’s border illegally.” According to Orban, the laws which are applicable to everyone “is the reality, which cannot be overruled by charming human rights nonsense.”

Other nations restrict the movement of migrants for security reasons, however Hungary would be the only European nation with such restrictive measures.   The new law can still be vetoed by the Hungarian president, but is not expected to happen.

 

For more information, please see:

USA Today — Hungary Will Detain Asylum Seekers in Shipping Containers — 8 March 2017

The Washington Post — Hungary Votes to ‘Detain’ All Asylum Seekers in Camps — 8 March 2017

Hungary Today — Hungary Parliament Tightens Asylum Law to Throw Migrants Back to the Other Side of the Border – Updated — 7 March 2017

The New York Times — Hungary Approves Detention of Asylum Seekers in Guarded Camps — 7 March 2017

 

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

 

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Amidst heightening tension with Russia, Sweden reintroduced conscription, or compulsory military service.  The draft, which has not been active since Sweden abolished the 109-year practice in 2010, will be implemented on a gender-equal basis.  In 2010, after suspending conscription, Sweden adopted a voluntary recruitment system.

Peter Hultqvist, Swedish Minister of Defense, called the move a “response to the new security situation” in Europe.  Hultqvist cited Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the conflict in Ukraine, and increased military activity in Europe as some of the triggers behind the decision.  Though it is not a member of NATO, Sweden is strengthening its ties with the organization.  Sweden is also strengthening its military cooperation with Finland.

The new draft will aim to ensure there are 6,000 full time members, and 10,000 part-time members.  According to Marinette Nyh Radebo, spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, men and women born between 1999 and 2000 will undergo testing on July 1 to see if they are eligible for the draft.  The goal is to gather 13,000 men and women in the correct age category and have them undergo physical and psychological tests.  Recruits will then participate in their first military exercise on January 1, 2018, and will spend nine to eleven months in training before they choose whether to continue in the military, or join as a reserve soldier.

This is the first time that Sweden will include women in the draft.  There will not be a quota system to ensure an equal ratio between men and women, however the “gender equal” policy should ensure there will be an increase of women in the armed forces.  Sweden’s gender-neutral policy will mirror that of Norway’s, which features one of the only gender-neutral military forces in the world.

17-year old Sofia Hultgren told reporters that others her age view military careers as old-fashioned.  However Hultgren welcomed the revival of conscription, and said she would consider participating in training activities even though she might not want to make it a career.  Hultgren thinks conscription “can give a feeling of comfort” and believes that it will strengthen Sweden’s defense.

Sweden is not alone in reinstituting conscription.  In 2015, Lithuania reinstituted the draft, and the Ukraine did the same in 2014.

For more information, please see:

The Atlantic — Why Sweden Brought Back the Draft — 3 March 2017

CNN — Sweden Reintroduces Conscription as Tensions Rise over Russia — 3 March 2017

The New York Times — Sweden Reinstates Conscription, With an Eye on Russia — 2 March 2017

Reuters — Sweden Returns Draft Amid Security Worries and Soldier Shortage — 2 March 2017

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

 

BERLIN, Germany — According to a report conducted by the German Interior Ministry, over 2,500 migrants in Germany were attacked in 2016 as the result of hate crimes.  560 migrants were injured, including 43 children.  Nearly 1,000 of the attacks were on migrant housing, and 217 of the attacks were on refugee organizations and volunteers.  An average of 10 attacks per day occured.

In February 2016, a neo-Nazi was sentenced to eight years in jail for burning down a sports hall which housed refugees and caused $3.7 million worth of damage.  In another instance, a group of onlookers cheered as an asylum shelter in eastern Germany was engulfed in flames.

German authorities have recently tightened their refugee procedures, practicing stricter benefit rules, speeding up the process of removing failed asylum seekers, and paying refugees to voluntarily return to their home countries.  Though the country is still struggling with a backlog of asylum applications, Germany’s intake of refugees fell in 2016 to 280,000 from 890,000 in 2015.

The German government issued a statement strongly condemning the violence on refugees, commenting that “people who have fled their home country and seek protection in Germany have the right to expect safe shelter.”

A left-wing politician with the Die Linke party, Ulla Jelpke, blames the violence on far-right extremism, and called upon the government to take stronger action to eliminate the violence.  Jelpke asked whether “people have to die before the right-wing violence is considered a central domestic security problem and makes it to the top of the national policy agenda” and called on the government to “stop giving the impression through new tougher asylum laws that refugees are a threat.”

International human rights group Amnesty International commented that “there are structural problems in Germany with how it prevents and deals with hate crimes.”  Amnesty called for “better risk assessments, more protection at certain locations and prosecutions of these appalling racist crimes.”

2016 was the first year in which data was collected on the amount of attacks on refugees, so the total number of attacks cannot be compared with those of previous years.

 

For more information, please see:

Aljazeera — ’10 Attacks a Day’ Against Refugees, Shelters in 2016 — 26 February 2017

BBC — Germany Hate Crime: Nearly 10 Attacks a Day on Migrants in 2016 — 26 February 2017

The Independent — Nearly 10 Attacks on Refugees a Day in Germany in 2016 — 26 February 2017

International Business Times — Germany sees Hate Crimes Against Migrants Surge in 2016 to 3,500 — 26 February 2017