By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PRISTINA, Republic of Kosovo – Unknown gunmen killed a EULEX police officer after shooting at his vehicle. A murder investigation has been opened in the northern region of Kosovo, where the death occurred.

In 1999, NATO ended the massacre and expulsion of ethnic Albians from Kosovo. Although 2008 saw Kosovo declare independence from Serbia, the Serb government rejected the secession and exerted control over the northern strip of Kosovo, which consists of 50,000 Serbs. Around the time of Kosovo’s independence, the EU deployed its largest ever civilian mission: the EU Rule of Law Mission (EULEX).

Approximately 100 countries and the United States recognize Kosovo as an independent country. However, UN Security Council veto-holder and Serbian ally, Russia has continued to block Kosovo’s entry to the United Nations.

In April 2013, Serbia agreed to cede its control over Kosovo’s northern Serbs in order to boost its status with the EU. In that region, the ethnic Serb minority has grown increasingly nervous over their anticipated integration with the rest of Kosovo and its Albian majority. As such, Serb leaders in northern Kosovo have called for a boycott of the November elections.

On 19 September 2013, in a northern region of Kosovo near Municipality Zvecan, gunmen opened fire on two EULEX vehicles and fatally shot Audrius Senavicius, a Lithuanian man serving with EULEX. A Czech officer with Senavicius was hospitalized. This is the first death in the EU’s mission since it began in 2008, even though recent years have seen criminal gangs working with near-impunity. Indeed, EU officials reported that recent months have been calm.

The attack follows the acquittal of Fatmir Limaj and nine others accused of war crimes related to the 1998 killings of Serbian and Albanian civilians. Two EULEX judges and one Kosovo judge ruled that a diary on the alleged war crimes was unreliable because it contained inconsistent and contradictory information.

According to the Serbian government’s pointman for Kosovo, Aleksander Vulin, those responsible for the officer’s death are “the greatest foe of the Serbs and the Serbian state.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his top envoy in Kosovo strongly condemned the attack, and urged that those responsible be brought to justice. In a statement, Ki-moon stressed “the importance for all concerned to cooperate with the investigation and ensure security and freedom of movement of EULEX and other international presences in the implementation of their respective mandates.”

Farid Zarif, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Kosovo, stated that “this abhorrent act of violence is a direct assault on the principles of peace, justice and civility that international missions are in Kosovo to serve. Any attack against representatives of the international community is an attack on the international community as a whole.”

Additionally, to ensure that investigators do their work unobstructed, the Secretary-General’s envoy urged the world to avoid speculation about motives or identities of those responsible.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – EU Police Officer Killed in Kosovo – September 19, 2013

CNN International – EU Officer Killed in Kosovo Shooting – September 19, 2013

InSerbia – Kosovo: EULEX Staff Member Audrius Šenavičius Killed Near Zvecan – September 19, 2013

Reuters – EU Police Officer Shot Dead in Kosovo, Testing Fragile Accord – September 19, 2013

UN News Centre – Kosovo: UN Officials Strongly Condemn Fatal Attack on European Union Convoy – September 19, 2013

Wall Street Journal – EU Customs Officer Dies Amid Gunfire in Kosovo – September 19, 2013

Human Rights Watch – Dispatches: For Kosovo Victims, No Justice Yet – September 18, 2013

RadioFreeLiberty/RadioEurope – Former Kosovo Rebel Commander Cleared of War Crimes – September 17, 2013

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ATHENS, Greece – A member of the Greek Neo-Nazi political party Golden Dawn is the main suspect in the stabbing death of an activist-musician, police say.

Pavlos Fyssas, 34, was stabbed to death early Wednesday morning in the western Athens district of Keratsini, after an alleged dispute over the Oympiakos vs Paris St. Germain Champions League football match.

Fyssas, however, was a well-known left-wing musician, and an opponent of the fascist party.

The Golden Dawn political party has denied any involvement, but Fyssas, who was able to identify his attacker before he died, has named a member of the party.

Fyssas, whose nickname was Killah P, was allegedly ambushed on his way out of a café by a gang of Golden Dawn supporters, and stabbed multiple times in the heart and abdomen. Fyssas died shortly after arriving at Tazanneio Hospital.

Police have arrested the Golden Dawn suspect, and conducted a search of Golden Dawn’s offices.

Social tensions have been rising as Greek citizens react to the implementation of austerity measures approved by Parliament back in late July. Greece’s Public Order Minister, Nikos Dendias, has cancelled a trip to Rome. He has stated that the situation was “critical.” Dendias expressed sorrow over the incident, and stated the government would put forward a new law against political violence and armed groups.

The killing occurred amidst additional strikes against government plans to cut thousands of public sector jobs as a part of the austerity measures. Golden Dawn has frequently been accused of violence towards left-wing activists and immigrants and is blamed for vigilante attacks.

The Council of Europe, Europe’s human rights body, has stated that there are grounds for Golden Dawn to be made illegal.

Greece’s Socialist Party, which is the second party in the governing coalition, has also stated that Golden Dawn should be considered a criminal group.

Golden Dawn’s popularity, however, has grown during Greece’s financial crisis. The government fears banning the party would increase its support even further underground.

The civil servants’ union had called a strike on Tuesday night to protest the latest austerity measures, and to protest Fascism, and are planning an additional rally for Wednesday.

Fyssas had been part of the Greek hip-hop scene since 1997, and was an outspoken activist against the Fascist party.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Neo-Nazi Held Over Greek Musician Pavlos Fyssas Death – 18 September 2013

Ekathimerini – Police Say Amfiali Suspect Intended to Kill – 18 September 2013

International Business Times – Greece: Golden Dawn Neo-Nazi Accused of Murder of Rapper KillahP – 18 September 2013

United Press International – Left-Wing Musician Killed by Alleged Member of Golden Dawn in Greece – 18 September 2013

 

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The Dutch government formally apologized last Thursday for the mass killing of thousands of Indonesians during colonial occupation which ended in 1949.

The Dutch ambassador for Indonesia, Tjeerd de Zwaan, officially presented the state’s apology at a ceremony in Jakarta.

Dutch Special forces carried out thousands of “summary executions” between 1945 and 1949 in Indonesia, which it colonized during this time.

In total, roughly 40,000 people were executed during this colonial era, as the Indonesian government reports; however, the Dutch government has only acknowledged a few thousand of these deaths, to date.

One of the most notorious incidents occurred in South Sulawesi on January 28, 1947. There, Dutch special forces executed 208 men on a field outside of a local government office.

“On behalf of the Dutch government I apologize for these excesses,” De Zwaan said at the ceremony on Thursday.

“The Dutch government is aware that it bears a special responsibility in respect of Indonesian widows of victims of summary executions comparable to those carried out by Dutch troops in what was then Celebes [Sulawesi] and Rawa Gede [now West Java],” De Zwaan added.

The Dutch government had already apologized for some specific murders, and paid compensation to victims’ families in those cases, but this was the first general apology for all of the murders during the colonial era.

Friends and family of the victims who were present at the ceremony welcomed the apology.

“We feel grateful and very happy to be here. Before that we never imagined that it would be like this,” said one family member, Nurhaeni.

Notorious Dutch captain Raymond Westerling carried out many of these executions back in the colonial era. Westerling and his troops held executions in dozens of villages for a period of three months in a bid to wipe out resistance against Dutch colonization. No one has been prosecuted for these murders, to date.

Most of present-day Indonesia was ruled by the Netherlands from the 19th Century until World War II, when the Japanese army forced out the Dutch.

When the Dutch attempted to reassert control of the country after the defeat of the Japanese, they met great resistance. The Netherlands recognized Indonesia’s independence in 1949.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Dutch Apologize for Indonesian Executions – 12 September 2013

BBC News – Netherlands Apology for Indonesia 1940s Killings – 12 September 2013

Daiji World – Dutch Envoy Apologises for Utions in Colonial Indonesia – 12 September 2013

Dutch News – The Netherlands Apologizes for Indonesia Executions – 12 September 2013

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

WARSAW, Poland – Poland experienced one of its largest demonstrations in recent years, in response to a lagging economy. Prime Minister Donald Tusk characterized the demonstration as an attempt to overthrow the government.

Since 10 September 2013, in response to labor law reform proposals, tens of thousands have marched in Warsaw. Organized by trade unions, the march included a variety of banners, flags, and trumpets. The city council suggested that demonstrators remained peaceful during the march, although some report that smoke grenades were thrown in Castle Square.

While Poland was the only European Union to avoid recession from the economic crisis’s start—and has experienced two decades of uninterrupted economic growth—demonstrators complain that Poland remains behind Western Europe. As the Eurozone struggled through a recession in the first fiscal quarter of 2013, Poland’s economic growth slowed to 0.1%.

“One has to protest because it is getting worse,” said a young woman named Ola. “Compared to Western states we are a sinking ship, despite the fact that we are in the center of Europe and we have the prerequisites to become a European powerhouse.”

In February 2013, the unemployment rate hit a six-year high of 14.4%. Demonstrators demanded that the Polish government increase the minimum wage, provide greater job security, and return the retirement age to 65 for men and 60 for women. Recently, a new law lifted the retirement age to 67 for everyone.

Several also called for Tusk to resign for his failure to improve unemployment rates. Unions add that Tusk refuses to hear their demands or engage in dialogue. While Tusk is Poland’s longest-serving prime minister since communism fell in 1989, his coalition’s popularity is at its lowest level since he took office in 2007.

“We want the departure of Donald Tusk. This is the only way to change social policy in Poland,” Marek Lewandowski, spokesman for the Polish trade union federation Solidarity, told the AFP news agency.

Among the 100,000-120,000 demonstrators, reports suggest that the political right and left joined together in their demands.

“The government gets its last warning today. If it draws no conclusions, we will block the whole country, all roads and highways,” Jan Guz, leader of the OPZZ union told demonstrators.

Marek Duda, the leader of the conservative Solidarity Union said, “We’re becoming slaves in our own country.”

While Tusk’s Civic Platform party waits to compete in the 2015 parliamentary election, regional governments and the European Parliament will hold elections in 2014.

In recent weeks, three of Tusk’s Members of Parliament have resigned. Lawmaker Jacek Zalek, who resigned on 12 September 2013, told reporters the “protests were a sign that we were unable to rise to the challenges that were put before us by Poles.”

Tusk contends that his revised 2013 budget, which passed through parliament, “proves that the government’s majority is stable.”

Peaceful protests provide leaders an opportunity to address public problems, yet can only remain peaceful where the people are heard. Absent an ear, voices become acts, which create arrests and, possibly, impunity.

For further information, please see:

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – Poles Stage Huge Antigovernment Protest in Warsaw – September 15, 2013

Al Jazeera – Thousands Protest against Polish Government – September 14, 2013

BBC News – Mass Anti-Government March in Poland against Reform – September 14, 2013

Reuters – Tens of Thousands Join March for Jobs in Poland – September 14, 2013

Washington Post – 100,000 Polish Unionists Protest Government Labor Policies in Warsaw March, Threaten to Strike – September 14, 2013

The Guardian – Poland Must Rediscover the True Meaning of Solidarity – September 13, 2013

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MADRID, Spain – Hundreds of thousands of Catalans demonstrated throughout the region in effort to separate from Spain. In Catalonia, many hope that Scotland will separate from the United Kingdom to promote similar referendums throughout European countries.

Catalonia, a wealthy industrial region in Spain, generates a fifth of the country’s economy. Until King Philip V abolished Catalonia’s Generalitat in 1714, Catalonia managed its own affairs. Following a recession and cuts in Catalan public spending, many felt discontent toward Madrid.

“But this is about more than economics,” Al Jazeera’s Emma Hayward reported. “They feel their culture is very distinct from Spain’s and they want independence.”

On 10 September 2013, Catalan President Artur Mas said, ”The people of Catalonia should be consulted next year on their political future.”

11 September is Catalonia’s National Day. On that day for 2013, a poll revealed at 52% of Catalans would vote for a Catalan state separate of Spain.

At exactly 17:14 on 11 September 2013, approximately 400,000 demonstrators dressed in yellow and formed a human chain across 250 miles (400 kilometers) of the region—from the Pyrenees border with France in the north to the Valenica border in the south—to demand independence in “a Scottish-style referendum.” Several waved the regional flag and draped themselves in separatist banners.

The chain, deemed “the Catalan Way”, linked 86 communities in their push for political self-determination. By day’s end, organizers claim that 1.6 million people had participated.

Although a referendum is not permitted by the Spanish Constitution, Mas is determined to hold a 2014 referendum. Mas also stated that he is “firm” in promising “the right to choose their political future” for Catalans; and he is determined to use “all the democratic and legal measures available so that Catalans can decide their future as a country.”

“Today is a historic day,” said Carme Forcadell, President of the Catalan National Assembly, which organized the demonstration. “The Catalan people have reaffirmed their determination to be a free state.”

“We need to put an end to the economic and cultural suffocation we are suffering,” Forcadell further stated. “We have come to the streets in our hundreds of thousands to show in a democratic and inclusive way that we are capable of achieving any aim.”

Regional leader of the People’s Party, Alicia Sanchez Camacho criticized the independence movement: “There are millions of Catalans who feel like orphans because they don’t have a government because it has put all its focus on the separatism movement and the independence of Catalonia.”

While history echoes that “a house divided cannot stand”, Spain and Catalonia must determine whether they are people of and within one house. If they are one house, the European Union is best hearing one voice. However, one voice cannot always speak for two houses.

For further information, please see:

Catalan News Agency – The Majority of Catalan Parties Propose an Independence Vote in 2014 the Day after the Human Chain  – September 12, 2013

Wall Street Journal – Catalan Separatists Pull Off Protest but Referendum Is Harder  – September 12, 2013

Al Jazeera – Catalans Join Hands to Demand Independence – September 11, 2013

Euronews – Catalonia Celebrates National Day Amid Calls for Independence – September 11, 2013

The Telegraph – 400,000 Person Human Chain Stretching 250 Miles for Catalan Independence – September 11, 2013

Reuters – Catalans Form Human Chain to Press for Independence from Spain – September 11, 2013