Africa

US Threatens Sanctions for Eritrea Over Somalia Rebels

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter,  Africa

WASHINGTON DC, United States – United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice told a congressional committee that the United States is “deeply concerned and very frustrated” with Eritrea’s behavior in Somalia.

Eritrea is accused of arming, supporting, and funding al-Shabaab militants in Somalia, and of helping to destabilize the country and the surrounding region with a direct impact on US security.

“It is unacceptable, and we will not tolerate it, and nor will other members of the Security Council,” Rice said to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Rice told the UN that Eritrea’s contributions to Somali rebels would not be tolerated and that the Obama administration is committed to international peacekeeping operations.  The US supports reforms that will save money, strengthen oversight, and prevent fraud and abuse, including a zero tolerance policy on sexual exploitation by peacekeepers.

The United States is contributing $2.2 billion of the United Nations’ $7.8 billion UN peacekeeping budget for 2009.

Eritrea is running out of time before the UN Security Council intervenes and faces possible sanctions if it does not change its behavior.

US UN Ambassador Susan Rice_VOA “As I said in New York, there is a very short window for Eritrea to signal, through its actions, that it wishes a better relationship with the United States and the wider international community. If we do not see signs of that signal in short order, I can assure you that we will be taking appropriate steps with partners in Africa and the Security Council to take cognizance of Eritrea’s actions both in Somalia and the wider region,” said Rice.  “We will continue to discuss with colleagues in the Security Council appropriate measures, including potentially sanctions, against Eritrea for its actions in Somalia.”

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to visit with Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed during her visit to the region next week.

For more information, please see:

BBC – US Threatens Eritrea Over Somalia – 30 July 2009

Al Jazeera – US Threatens Eritrea with Sanctions – 29 July 2009

Reuters – U.S.’s UN Envoy Warns Eritrea Over Somalia Rebels – 29 July 2009

VOA – UN Ambassador Says US Committed to Peacekeeping – 29 July 2009

Over 100 Civilians Freed From Captivity in Nigeria

By Jennifer M. Haralambides

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – Security forces in Nigeria have recently freed around 200 women and children who were being held captive during a crackdown on the radical Islamic sect responsible for the violence that has been sweeping the country, killing over 150 people.

The leader of the radical group involved in the violence, the Boko Haram, is Mohammed Yusuf.  Security forces and soldiers surrounded parts of a compound that houses the leader in the city of Maiduguri, destroying buildings including a small mosque.  During this raid they did not find the leader, his whereabouts are still unknown.

In search of his Yusuf’s followers, joint military and armed forces went from house to house arresting more than 100 people.  A major obstacle the troops face is that there are sill civilians in some of the neighborhoods, and troops need to be careful.   Human rights activists have counted at least 10 new bodies of those who have fallen victim to this religious clash.

Recently, police declared that they have freed over 180 women and children whose husbands were among Yusuf’s followers.  Some of the men had been found with home-made guns and explosives believed to be planning attacks.

“These people have been organized and are penetrating our society and procuring arms and gathering information on how to make explosions and bombs to force their view on the rest of Nigerians,” said President Umaru Yar’Adua.

The Boko Haram, which translates to, “Western education is a sin,” in the Hausa language which is spoken across Nigeria is said to be modeled on the Taliban movement, and is sometimes called the “Nigerian Taliban.”  Its followers wear long beards and read or black headscarves and recognize only their own interpretations of sharia law.

For more information, please see:
AFP – Nigeria Fighting Rages as Death Toll Passes 300 – 29 July 2009

BBC – Captives Freed in Nigerian City – 29 July 2009

Reuters – Nigeria Hunts Islamic Sect, Women and Children Freed – 29 July 2009

Update: Hussein Trial Postponed, Women Protesting Outside Sudanese Court

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Police launched tear gas and beat women in protest outside a Sudanese court on Tuesday.  The women are protesting the trial of female journalist Lubna Hussein who is accused of violating Islamic law by wearing trousers in public.  She faces 40 lashes.

There were 50 protesters, most of them women.  Some of the women wore trousers to show solidarity with Hussein.

Islamic law was adopted after an Islamic rebel group led a coup and gained power in 1989.  Activists and lawyers, however, say that the law’s interpretation is arbitrary.

Most of the women who were arrested along with Hussein during the raid were flogged and fined 250 Sudanese pounds (around $120).  Hussein and two others, however, chose to go to trial.

Hussein chose to publicize her trial and has invited human rights workers, Western diplomats, and other journalists to witness it.  She was required to wear the suspect clothing to court so that the judge and others could see it but she has chosen to wear the same outfit every day since the day she was arrested in order to highlight her case.

“I am not afraid of flogging. … It’s not about flogging. It’s not about my innocence. It’s about changing the law,” she said.  She added that she would be willing to go to Sudan’s constitutional court and “to receive (even) 40,000 lashes” if the court rules against her.

The judge for the Khartoum Criminal Court adjourned Hussein’s trial for a month to seek clarification from Sudan’s foreign ministry.  Hussein was working for the UN Mission in Sudan at the time of her arrest but submitted her resignation in order to avoid immunity and go on trial to challenge the dress code law.

For more information, please see:

AP – Police Beat Women Opposing Sudan Dress Code Trial – 04 August 2009

BBC – Protests at Sudan Woman’s Trial – 04 August 2009

CNN – Protests as Sudan ‘Tight Pants’ Trial Delayed – 04 August 2009

Impunity Watch – Woman Dares Court Over Flogging for Wearing Trousers – 02 August 2009

Legitimacy of Upcoming Zimbabwean Election Already in Question

Legitimacy of Upcoming Zimbabwean Election Already in Question

By M. Brandon Maggiore
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe -The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) reports forced voting, arrests, and other issues, and Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports that the Zimbabwe election will not bring about democracy.

Five police officers accused of supporting the MDC, an opposition group to the ruling Zanu-PF party, have been jailed for 14 days. This action comes just over a week before the March 29 elections and while postal voting is taking place.

Four police officers were arrested after boarding a vehicle of Harrison Muzuri, a local MDC parliamentary candidate, while another was arrested for allegedly waving an open hand, a symbol associated with the MDC.

Critics say that the police act which bars police officers from participating in politics is selectively enforced, and that supporters of the Zanu-PF party are not prosecuted. Several police officers have been seen entering vehicles for the Zanu-PF without being disciplined.

According to information obtained by the MDC, police officers and military members are being forced to vote under the supervision of their supervisors. Solders in Mutare were required to write their identification number on the back of their ballot, and police officers in Bulawayo were allegedly forced to vote multiple times.

Postal votes are already raising suspicion of fraud. On Thursday, Eddie Cross, MDC policy advisor for the Tsvangirai formation and MDC parliamentary candidate for Bulawayo South told the BBC, “The Zimbabwe Election Commission has said only the police force has requested 8,000 postal votes. To our surprise, we have information that postal votes, cast and sealed, are over 75 000. Where have the rest come from?”

Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC President, claims that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had ordered the printing of between 600,000 and 900,000 postal votes. While the armed forces, police, and diplomats total about 82,000, only about 20,000 are eligible for postal votes.

To find out how many postal votes have been sent out, the MDC plans on going to court. The concern is that the armed forces and diplomats are being forced to vote a particular way, not that they are being permitted to vote in advance.

HRW released a report on the upcoming election on Thursday. The report listed numerous concerns  stating that ”there is little chance the March 29 elections will help Zimbabwe either establish democracy or bring an end to the country’s ongoing political crisis.”

HRW  criticized the use of government distributed food supplies and government-subsidized farming equipment to influence the election. The report also discusses the beating of opposition supporters in February by Zanu-PF supporter, and intimidation of opposition supporters by police forces in spite of the prohibition against such conduct in Zimbabwe’s Electoral Laws Amendment Act.

Access to Zimbabwe’s state-owned television and radio stations has also been a problem for opposition leaders according to HRW. In February, President Robert Mugabe and the Zanu-PF party received five-times more television coverage than all opposition groups combined.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Zimbabwe police jailed for ‘bias’ – 21 March 2008

allAfrica.com – Zimbabwe: Soldiers And Police Officers Forced to Vote Under Supervision – 20 March 2008

Human Rights Watch – All Over Again Human Rights Abuses and Flawed Electoral Conditions in Zimbabwe’s Coming General Elections – 20 March 2008

Legitimacy of Upcoming Zimbabwean Election Already in Question

By M. Brandon Maggiore
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe – The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) reports forced voting, arrests, and other issues, and Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports that the Zimbabwe election will not bring about democracy.

Five police officers accused of supporting the MDC, an opposition group to the ruling Zanu-PF party, have been jailed for 14 days. This action comes just over a week before the March 29 elections and while postal voting is taking place.

Four police officers were arrested after boarding a vehicle of Harrison Muzuri, a local MDC parliamentary candidate, while another was arrested for allegedly waving an open hand, a symbol associated with the MDC.

Critics say that the police act which bars police officers from participating in politics is selectively enforced, and that supporters of the Zanu-PF party are not prosecuted. Several police officers have been seen entering vehicles for the Zanu-PF without being disciplined.

According to information obtained by the MDC, police officers and military members are being forced to vote under the supervision of their supervisors. Solders in Mutare were required to write their identification number on the back of their ballot, and police officers in Bulawayo were allegedly forced to vote multiple times.

Postal votes are already raising suspicion of fraud. On Thursday, Eddie Cross, MDC policy advisor for the Tsvangirai formation and MDC parliamentary candidate for Bulawayo South told the BBC, “The Zimbabwe Election Commission has said only the police force has requested 8,000 postal votes. To our surprise, we have information that postal votes, cast and sealed, are over 75 000. Where have the rest come from?”

Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC President, claims that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had ordered the printing of between 600,000 and 900,000 postal votes. While the armed forces, police, and diplomats total about 82,000, only about 20,000 are eligible for postal votes.

To find out how many postal votes have been sent out, the MDC plans on going to court. The concern is that the armed forces and diplomats are being forced to vote a particular way, not that they are being permitted to vote in advance.

HRW released a report on the upcoming election on Thursday. The report listed numerous concerns  stating that ”there is little chance the March 29 elections will help Zimbabwe either establish democracy or bring an end to the country’s ongoing political crisis.”

HRW  criticized the use of government distributed food supplies and government-subsidized farming equipment to influence the election. The report also discusses the beating of opposition supporters in February by Zanu-PF supporter, and intimidation of opposition supporters by police forces in spite of the prohibition against such conduct in Zimbabwe’s Electoral Laws Amendment Act.

Access to Zimbabwe’s state-owned television and radio stations has also been a problem for opposition leaders according to HRW. In February, President Robert Mugabe and the Zanu-PF party received five-times more television coverage than all opposition groups combined.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Zimbabwe police jailed for ‘bias’ – 21 March 2008

allAfrica.com – Zimbabwe: Soldiers And Police Officers Forced to Vote Under Supervision – 20 March 2008

Human Rights Watch – All Over Again Human Rights Abuses and Flawed Electoral Conditions in Zimbabwe’s Coming General Elections – 20 March 2008