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

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

GENEVA –  The United Nations announced on Tuesday that over 100 Syrian refugees were being relocated to Germany this week, in the first step of a plan to relocate nearly 12,000 Syrians this year.

107 Syrians will be the first among a group of 5,000 Syrians to be relocated to Germany by the end of this year in what the U.N. is deeming a temporary humanitarian admissions program, according to Melissa Fleming, the spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

This first wave of refugees being relocated to Germany are identified as particularly vulnerable, and includes “women and girls at risk, people with serious medical conditions, survivors of torture or others with special needs,” according to Fleming.

“This is a lifesaving tool for most of them,” Fleming stated.

Neighboring countries such as Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon have taken in most of the Syrian refugees so far, as 2 million Syrians have fled. The refugees are faced with makeshift conditions in these countries, however, and the U.N. is calling on additional western countries to contribute.

The U.N. has only managed to find homes for roughly 7,000 refugees in twelve western countries in the current plan, despite the goal of reaching 12,000. Other countries that have agreed to accept Syrian refugees include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Under this program, Germany’s relocation plan is currently the largest. The country has announced that it will extend two-year residence permits which allow the Syrian refugees to work, and the permits could potentially be lengthened if the Syrian conflict remains unsettled.

This first group of 107 Syrians are departing from Lebanon on Wednesday, and will travel to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees where they will be greeted before being transported to an accommodation center for two weeks. At the center, the Syrians will receive basic language training, and receive an orientation on the schooling and healthcare system of Germany. After the two-week orientation, the Syrians will finally depart to their temporary homes across Germany.

For more information, please see:

Fox News – Syrian Refugees Temporarily Resettling in Germany Under Biggest Relocation Program – 10 September 2013

New York Times – Germany to Accept Syrian Refugees – 10 September 2013

World Bulletin – Germany to be Temporary Home of 107 More Syrians – 10 September 2013

Deutsche Welle – Syrian Refugees Heading for Germany – 9 September 2013

 

 

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, England – Over 160 protestors were arrested in East London on Saturday after police officers sought to prevent clashes between hundreds of anti-Islamist activists and thousands of counter-demonstrators near a large Muslim community.

Roughly 3,000 police officers were deployed to segregate the two groups in the London borough of Tower Hamlets. The police formed barriers across the streets to keep the anti-racist counter-demonstrators in assigned areas while attempting to enforce restrictions on the anti-Islamist activists.

The English Defence League (EDL), which focuses on the perceived threat of radical Islam to traditional British values, had been denied permission to march through the neighborhood, as many feared a threat to public order in the Muslim-heavy community.

The police attempted to implement geographic and time restrictions on the EDL, after the group lost a court battle to overturn the restrictions on Friday.

Around 150 counter-protesters were arrested when a group broke away and headed toward the Tower Bridge, where the march was supposed to end, according to a police spokesman.

Another 14 protestors, mostly from the EDL, were arrested for violent disorder and possession of knives and fireworks. The EDL’s leader, Tommy Robinson, has been arrested for incitement, according to the group’s Twitter page.

Despite the number of arrests, the police spokesman said there were no serious clashes. “The police presence did manage to keep the two groups apart,” the police spokesman stated.

Local members of Parliament had written to the police department, requesting a ban on the march, as many feared a repeat of violent clashes in 2011 between the EDL, the police and anti-fascist groups in Tower Hamlets.

The counter-demonstration was organized by Weyman Bennett, joint national secretary of Unite Against Facism. Bennett was pleased with the turnout, and ultimate results of the counterdemonstration. “They [EDL] didn’t come up with enough numbers and they really depended on the police to be able to escort them in an area where they were not really wanted. It really was like outsiders trying to cause trouble,” Bennett said.

Chief Superintendent Jim Read, a senior officer involved in the policing effort, said there were minor clashes during the day, but only 5 people injured.

“Our intention was to prevent violence and show support to the local communities and we believe we achieved this today. We want to thank the local communities for working so well with us on what has been a difficult day. The key point is the two groups did not meet.” Chief Supt Read said.

For more information, please see:

The Independent – More Than 160 Arrested at EDL Tower Hamlets March – 8 September 2013

Reuters UK – More Than 160 Anti-Islamist and Rival Protesters Arrested in London – 8 September 2013

The Times of India – UK’s Far-Right Leader Tommy Robinson Charged Over London Protest – 8 September 2013

NY Times – Rival Protests in London Over Islamists – 7 September 2013

 

 

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The highest Dutch court has declared that the Netherlands must pay compensation to the family of three Muslim men who were executed during the Srebrenica massacre.

 

On 11 July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces overran an area near a United Nations compound, which a Dutch battalion of U.N. peacekeepers (“Dutchbat”) controlled. Among the thousands who sought shelter at the compound, Dutchbat turned away three Muslim men after Bosnian Serb forces had been witnessed abusing and killing several Muslims outside the safe area of the compound.

In all, 8000 men and boys were killed and buried in mass graves. The atrocity has been called “the worst massacre on European soil since the Second World War.”

Hasan Nuhanovic and Rizo Mustafic, relatives of the three men, filed suit against the Dutch state, which accepts “political responsibility” for the mission’s failure and claims that responsibility for the massacre lays with the Bosnian Serbs. Pending appeal to Holland’s Supreme Court, the Hague appeals court ordered the Dutch to compensate the men’s relatives.

On 6 September 2013, the Dutch Supreme Court issued a final decision that ordered the Netherlands to compensate relatives of those men. In so doing, the decision confirms precedent stating that “countries providing troops to U.N. missions can be held responsible” for the troops’ conduct. Additionally, the decision enables other victims’ families to seek compensation from the Dutch.

The ruling stated that “Dutchbat decided not to evacuate them along with the battalion and instead sent them away from the compound. Outside the compound, they were murdered by the Bosnian-Serb army or related paramilitary groups.”

“People participating in U.N. missions are not always covered by the UN flag,” said Liesbeth Zegveld, the human rights lawyer who represented the Bosnian families. She added that the case is historic because countries can now be held criminally liable for their actions in U.N. missions, despite the U.N.’s immunity from prosecution.

“I was thinking about my family, they are dead for 18 years,” Nuhanovic said. “It does not change that, but maybe there is some justice. It should have happened years ago. In the future countries might act differently in peacekeeping missions and I hope the lives of other people in the future will be saved because this mistake was admitted.”

To preserve justice and human rights around the world, compensation policies should promote and encourage safeguards to protect innocent people who might otherwise be abused or even murdered. Absent the security of such fundamental safety, we will have fought for nothing.

For further information, please see:

Amnesty International – Netherlands Supreme Court Hands Down Historic Judgment over Srebrenica Genocide – September 6, 2013

BBC –Dutch State Liable for Three Srebrenica Deaths – September 6, 2013

CNN International – Netherlands Liable for Deaths of 3 Muslim Men in Bosnia, Court Says – September 6, 2013

Dutch News – Supreme Court Says NL is Responsible for 3 Srebrenica Deaths – September 6, 2013

The Guardian – Netherlands to Pay Compensation over Srebrenica Massacre – September 6, 2013

Reuters – Dutch State Blamed in Three Srebrenica Deaths: Supreme Court – September 6, 2013