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.

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

 

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Managing Editor

Paris, France – A sixteen-year-old Roma boy known as Darius was found bloodied in a shopping cart in a suburb north of Paris last week after he was Kidnapped and beaten by about a dozen youths who accused him of stealing. French President Francois Hollande condemned the attack, calling it an unspeakable and unjustifiable act and saying that all efforts would be taken to find those responsible. Hollande added that the attack was “against all the principles on which our republic is founded.”

 

Police say the young boy was dragged out of his home at an unofficial camp and into a cellar by a dozen locals, who accused him of breaking into a nearby flat the previous Friday. A police officer said “A group of several people went to find him in the camp and took him by force.” The boy’s mother contacted police when he was taken, the police found him unconscious later that night. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition.

The boy had been known to police who had linked him to a number of thefts and break-ins but he had never been convicted of a crime. “The motive of this lynching, it was vengeance,” prosecutor Sylvie Moisson told the press, saying the boy’s condition remained life-threatening. “To practically condemn him to death is barbaric,” he said.

Anti-racism organizations say there has been a disturbing increase in violence against the Roma population. According to the human rights organization SOS Racism the attack was the result of an alarming change in attitudes towards Roma in France, which it said was “the clear result of the disgusting tensions into which our citizens have been plunged.”

Aline Le Bail-Kremer, a spokesperson for SOS Racism, says the incident is not surprising considering the current atmosphere in France. The incident reflects the growing atmosphere of ethnic tensions and discrimination of Roma which has persisted in French culture. Bail-Kremer believes the anti-Roma sentiment in France is reflected in the recent success of far-right political parties in the European Parliamentary election; she said “the fact is the National Front, which is a xenophobic party, won an election in this country and won a lot of gains all over Europe.”

Cases of hate crimes against the Roma population are not uncommon in France and even elsewhere in Europe. In February of this year a case against a 40-year-old man who was accused of throwing a mixture of bleach and cleaning fluids at a group Roma living near the Place de la République in central Paris was dismissed by a judge because the case reportedly lacked evidence. In May 2013 several Roma families were attacked at a campsite in northern France, and in October 2012 locals drove a group of Roma out of an encampment and burned everything at their campsites.

The influx of violence against Roma in France reflects a culture of discrimination that exists in the country. The Roma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe with a population of about 12 million across the continent. The Roma population in France face the reality of institutionalized racism from a young age, not only do their parents face difficulty finding work but Public Schools often refuse to recognize the legitimacy of Roma encampments, cutting children like Darius off from the level of access to education that is given to others living in France.

For more information please see:

The New York Times – Beating of Roma Boy Exposes Tensions in France’s Underclass – 25 June 2014

The Guardian – Broken Camp, Broken Lives, As Vigilante Attack Makes Itself Felt On Roma – 21 June 2014

National Public Radio – Brutal Vigilante Attack on Roma Teen Shocks France – 19 June 2014

Al Jazeera America – Savage Beating Of Roma Teen in Paris Prompts Outrage – 17 June 2014

The Guardian – Roma Teenager in Coma after Being Attacked By Residents of French Estate – 17 June 2014

By Kyle Herda

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

CHISINAU, Moldova – Three Eastern European nations have all made moves that seem to support Western Europe. Moldova, Georgia, and Bulgaria have all taken a step away from Russian alliance due to European Union influence coming from Western Europe. Moldova and Georgia agreed to sign an alliance with the European Union while Bulgaria has halted work on a pipeline that will bring gas from Russia to Europe.

Moldova and Georgia have both agreed to sign a June 27^th association with the European Union. While both countries would still be far from joining the European Union, Moldova claims that the next step is to work towards gaining membership, with Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca stating they will “actively and effectively” work towards this goal. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will make one more visit to Chisinau in an attempt to convince Moldova to back out of the signing and work towards a stronger alliance with Russia.

Also playing a factor in Moldova is the United States. On June 7, Vice President Joe Biden announced that the United States will be giving Moldova an additional $8 million in aid to help businesses and help Moldovan businesses work more closely with other European markets.

Similarly, the United States continues to increase its presence in Europe as it sent over two B-2 stealth bombers this week “to become familiar with air bases and operations” in Europe. While the Air Force did not relate this move to the conflict in Ukraine, this appears to be a show of force and a further strengthening of assurance to allies that the United States fully supports the European Union in the Eastern European conflicts.

Bulgaria is another nation being forced to make decisions on which nations to align with, and they seem to be leaning west. A proposed pipeline through Bulgaria that would allow Russia to sell gas to Europe had its work halted in an attempt to further squeeze Russia’s economy even further.

On the other hand, Belarus lays on Russia’s border and appears to be leaning towards supporting Russia in the east-west dispute. With over 60% of respondents in a particular survey claiming they would prefer a Russian alliance and only 18% of respondents in the same poll preferring a European Union alliance, and over 65%  supporting Russia’s gaining of Crimea, it seems as though not all Eastern European nations are anti-Russia and ready to align with the European Union.

Only time will tell whether the east-west dispute will remain solely in Ukraine or spread into the surrounding nations that separate Russia from NATO countries.

For more information, please see: 

CNN – U.S. Sends B-2 Stealth Bombers to Europe 11 June 2014

Business Insider – Europe has Finally Found a Way to Make Russia Hurt Economically in Ukraine Crisis 11 June 2014

The Voice of Russia – Belarusians Turn from Europe to Russia – Sociologists 11 June 2014

The Moscow Times – Defying Russia, Moldova and Georgia Look to EU 10 June 2014

The Voice of Russia – Moldova’s Association Agreement with EU may be Serious Test for Relations with Russia – Deputy FM 10 June 2014

The White House – FACT SHEET: U.S. Assistance to Moldova 7 June 2014