News

The Cost of World Cup Preparations in Brazil Leads to Labor Strikes

by Mridula Tirumalasetti

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASÍLIA, Brazil– With the World Cup just a few weeks away, bus drivers, teachers, police officers, and other public employees continue to protest in the streets of Brazil. Pre-tournament protests have been going on since mid-April in order to protest the amount of money the federal government has spent on preparations for the World Cup.

A member of the Homeless Workers’ Movement is pictured carrying the Brazilian flag during a protest in Sao Paulo (photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times)

Although labor protests are fairly common in Brazil, the World Cup has presented a host of problems. The government promised the World Cup would improve the lives of Brazilians, but corruption and excessive spending have triggered waves of unrest. President Dilma Rouseff’s popularity has since decreased due to these broken promises, which could threaten Rouseff’s chance for re-election in October.

“The government has paid all its attention to building soccer stadiums up to First world FIFA standards, while our schools continue at the lowest standards,” said President of the Sao Paulo municipal teachers union, Claudio Fonesca. Fonesca added, “We have nothing against the World Cup…If the government had money left over to pay for everything, there would be no problem.”

Bus drivers in cities like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have also gone on strike. Sao Paulo will host the opening match of the World Cup on June 12, but 15 of the 28 bus terminals in Sao Paulo have closed. Not only are soccer fans expected to rely on buses for public transportation, but Brazilians rely heavily on buses as a method of transportation, especially in cities like Sao Paulo where there is limited metro service. The bus drivers, who have been rebelling against their union, want more than the 10%  salary raise they were offered. Vehicles have been abandoned, passengers have been stranded, and over 300 buses have been vandalized as a result.

Also, new projects for public transportation, which were promised by the government for the World Cup, have either not started or remain unfinished. This has led to anger over the cost of the stadiums, because they have become symbols of waste.

Even police officers in Recife stopped working and left the town unprotected for a period of three days. In those three days, there were reports of looting, homicides, and other acts of violence. At least 17 people died as a result. The federal government sent in military officials in order to provide emergency security. Other police groups have since promised a day of national “paralysis”. Bosco Gandra, President of the Brazilian Confederation of Civil Police Workers, said “We want to send the message that the government has had no strategy to improve its security forces, which has left Brazil vulnerable to violence and corruption.”

For more information, please see the following:

Los Angeles Times– In Brazil, labor protests ramp up as World Cup nears—17 May 2014

Reuters—Bus strike paralyzes Brazil’s biggest city as World Cup looms—21 May 2014

Buenos Aires Herald—Waves of pre-Cup strikes sparks chaos in Brazil—22 May 2014

Al Jazeera—Brazil bus strike sparks Sao Paulo chaos—22 May 2014

Threats Build and Allegations Linger as Police Seek to Solve Decades-Old Murder

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

DUBLIN, Ireland – In 1972, Irish Republican Army (IRA) members abducted and killed widow Jean McConville, who the group believed to be a spy for the British.

Police held Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams for questioning related to the 1972 kidnapping and murder of Jean McConville. (Photo courtesy of the Guardian)

On 4 May 2014, Northern Ireland police released Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams without charge. Police suspected that Adams had some connection to McConville’s death, though Adams has long denied having any role. Adams further denied being a member of the IRA.

“When the war was on I did politically support the use of armed action by the IRA as a legitimate response to British repression and British military occupation of a part of my country, Adams said, “Of course I disagree with many of the issues and many of the things that the IRA did, including the killing of Mrs McConville and the way that her ten children were left.”

Police kept Adams in custody for four days. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny expressed concern for McConville’s children. Some believe they might be killed for passing along the names of the IRA unit which they said kidnapped and killed their mother.

“I reject absolutely any allegation made against me,” Adams said. “I am innocent of any involvement whatsoever in any conspiracy or of any of the events including the abduction, the killing, or the burial of Mrs. Jean McConville. When this became a matter of public speculation two months ago I contacted PSNI through my solicitor and said I was available to talk to them.”

Adams further stated that the allegations have been part of a “sustained, vicious, untruthful and sinister malicious campaign” against him for “some considerable time.” He claimed that two IRA members, since deceased, implicated him as part of the Belfast Project, which took place at Boston College. The project recorded former IRA member testimony, and laid the groundwork for questioning Adams, who referred to those behind the project as “disaffected, and very, very hostile, anti-peace process former IRA activists.”

Gerry Adams also questioned the timing of his interrogation by the police. “I contacted them two months ago,” he said. “They waited until we were in the middle of an election before they made this very dramatic intervention, so I reject absolutely any allegation no matter who it’s coming from or any assertion no matter who it’s coming from, it’s ridiculous.”

Adams stated that Michael McConville should give the names of those who abducted and killed his mother if he wants to because “that’s entirely his right.” However, McConville claimed that he was recently threatened by the IRA, and Adams himself, who denied any such threat.

For further information, please see:

CNN International – EXCLUSIVE: Gerry Adams Tells Amanpour He Is Innocent – May 5, 2014

Telegraph – Gerry Adams Receives Death Threat after Release from Police Custody – May 5, 2014

Washington Post – Gerry Adams Freed as Northern Ireland’s Unity Government Faces Challenge – May 4, 2014

Guardian – Ireland’s Taoiseach Urges Gerry Adams to Cooperate with Police – May 3, 2014

230 Nigerian Schoolgirls Kidnapped After Boko Haram Raid

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – 230 Nigerian schoolgirls were abducted last week from their school. Forty have managed to escape, but 190 are still missing. Boko Haram, an Islamist group, is suspected to be behind the kidnapping but have not issued a statement.

Damaged classroom of boarding school after abduction (photo courtesy of AFP)

 

The kidnapping occurred after the Boko Haram extremists stormed a remote boarding school in northeast Nigeria.

At the scene of the attack, in Chibok, parents wept begging the kidnappers to “have mercy on our daughters” and for the government to rescue them.

Borno state education Commissioner and the principal of the boarding school stated that students were at the school to take a physics exam when the abduction occurred.

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a bombing near Nigeria’s capital of Abuja that left dozens of people dead; although this bombing occurred on the same day as the kidnapping, they have not taken responsibility for the kidnapping.

This year alone, Boko Haram is believed to have killed over 1,500 people.

Boko Haram’s name means: “Western education is forbidden.” They are fighting to establish Islamic law in Nigeria and often target educational establishments.

The forty girls that escaped from the group escaped on their own. None were rescued by the military.

“I have not seen my daughter, she is a good girl,” cried Musa Muka, whose 17-year-old Martha was taken away. “We plead with the government to help rescue her and her friends; we pray nothing happens to her.”

Those who have escaped say they jumped out of the back of a truck in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday. Others ran away and hid in the dense forest.

Although this mass abduction is extraordinary, violence in the area has been on the rise.

The most prevalent area for the danger is in northeastern Nigeria, which have been under a state of emergency since mid-May of last year due to persistent bloodshed that is claimed to be by Boko Haram.

The military believes that the militants took the girls to the Sambisa forest near the Cameroonian border. Parents and vigilante groups have gone there in search of the girls.

This mass abduction is an embarrassment to the military who claimed that they rescued all of the girls except eight. They later retracted the statement.

“The operation is going on and we will continue to deploy more troops,” Major General Olukolade, the Defense Ministry’s spokesman, said. Further, he stated that the air and land patrols are hunting for the students.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Chibok abductions in Nigeria: ‘More than 230 seized’ – 21 April 2014
Times Live – 230 schoolgirls still missing after Boko Haram raid – 22 April 2014
CNN – Boko Haram leader claims bombing, stays mum on kidnapped schoolgirls – 19 April 2014
The Frontier Post – More girls \’flee kidnappers\’ – 22 April 2014
The Daily Star – 230 girls abducted in Nigeria still missing – 22 April 2014
The Boston Globe – Parents contest Nigeria kidnap figure – 22 April 2014

 

Gunmen Kill 14 Algerian Soldiers

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

ALGIERS, Algeria – Islamist militants have killed fourteen Algerian soldiers in an ambush on a convoy in the mountains east of the capital, security officials say.

Algerian Security Forces standing guard (photo courtesy of AFP)

 

The attack near the village began Saturday night as an army detachment returned to its base near the mountainous region in Algeria.

There was no immediate claim to the attack. Suspicion, however, falls on al-Qaeda, whose fighters are holed up in the mountainous region in Algeria, some 60 miles away from the capital.

A local official said a large group of insurgents hid on both sides of the road and opened fire with automatic weapons as the military bus drove by.

The troops killed were from a unit that had been deployed as part of a security operation during Thursday’s vote and were heading back to barracks when they were ambushed.

President Bouteflika, 77, was re-elected for a fourth term following a campaign that stressed security as a key policy.

“Such criminal action only serves to reinforce the army’s determination to eliminate diehard terrorist groups,” the ministry said.

It also said a search operation for the assailants were underway in a cluster of about ten villages and that “so far three terrorists were eliminated and two . . . assault rifles seized.”

This has been one of the deadliest attacks on the Algerian military in many years.

Since the end of the 1990 war, attacks in Algeria have been rare. But Algerian officials are concerns with spillover from the turmoil in neighboring Libya, where fighters linked to al-Qaeda take refuge in the southern deserts.

“On their way back from securing the presidential election, the unit came under attack,” the defense ministry said in a statement posted by APS. Three militants were also killed.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Algeria: AQIM militants kill 14 soldiers in mountains – 20 April 2014
Miami Herald – Insurgents kill at least 11 Algerian soldiers – 20 April 2014
Yahoo! News – Gunmen kill 11 Algerian soldiers in ambush – 20 April 2014
The Guardian – Algeria: AQIM militants ‘kill 11 soldiers’ in mountains – 20 April 2014
Reuters – UPDATE 3-Al Qaeda kills 14 Algerian soldiers in ambush – 20 April 2014

NYPD Disbands Unit Devoted to Spying on Muslim Community

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

NEW YORK CITY, United States – The New York City Police Department said Tuesday that it has disbanded a special unit of plainclothes detectives tasked with mingling with Muslim communities to discover terror plots. The Zone Assessment Unit, developed with the aid of the CIA in the wake of 9/11, acknowledged that it monitored Muslim owned businesses and places of worship.

The monitoring program drew protests and legal actions from the Muslim community. (photo courtesy of The Guardian)

NYPD spokesman Stephen Davis confirmed that detectives from the Zone Assessment Unit were reassigned to other operations in the department’s intelligence division.  New York Mayor Bill de Blasio considered disbanding the unit a “critical step forward in easing tensions between the police and the communities they serve, so that our cops and our citizens can help one another go after the real bad guys.”

Disbanding the Zone Assessment Unit is just one of many anticipated rollbacks in post-9/11 intelligence gathering within the NYPD under new Police Commissioner William Bratton.  The new Commissioner will also consider scaling back overseas operations that deploys NYPD officers to stations in London, Paris, Tel Aviv and Amman.

NYPD officials stated that disbanding the controversial unit was part of a conclusion that information could be more easily gathered through direct interaction with the Muslim community.  One high-ranking NYPD official stated in a 2012 deposition that the unit never generated a single piece of actionable information during its six years of operation.

News of the Zone Assessment Unit’s work drew negative reactions in Washington.  34 members of Congress expressed the need for a federal investigation of the NYPD while Attorney General Eric Holder said he was disturbed by the news.  The Department of Justice is reviewing complaints received from the Muslim community.

Reporting on the unit also triggered an investigation by the Inspector General for the CIA, who was concerned about the involvement of a CIA operative in setting up this program.  The investigation ultimately concluded that the CIA did not violate its own policies prohibiting domestic spying.

Former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, who helped set up the Zone Assessment Unit, has defended its use, saying his officer observed legal guidelines.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – NYC Police Rolling Back Some Counterterror Efforts – 16 April 2014

CNN – New York Police Department disbands unit that spied on Muslims – 16 April 2014

Fox News – NYPD ends Muslim surveillance program – 15 April 2014

The Guardian – NYPD disbands controversial Muslim surveillance unit – 15 April 2014

The New York Times – New York Drops Unit That Spied on Muslims – 15 April 2014