News

Guatemalan Court Upholds Top Prosecutor’s Ouster

By Brandon R. Cottrell 
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America 

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – The Guatemalan Supreme Court has upheld its ruling that Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz must step down in May, which is seven months prior to her term’s natural expiration.

Guatemala’s Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz was recently ousted (Photo Courtesy AP).

U.S. Ambassador Arnold Chacon, in a statement this week described Paz as “an example of an honest, capable public servant of integrity.”  Paz y Paz, since taking office in May 2010, has put four civil war era generals and organized crime suspects on the stand to face charges of crimes against humanity and for genocide.  Prior to her appointment, these cases had been at a stand still for decades.  As of now, however, only one of those cases has been brought to trial.

Additionally, Paz y Paz has moved for international training of prosecutors, so that the prosecutors will “carry out more scientific prosecutions.”  This movement has resulted in the successful prosecution of several high profile cases.

The prosecution of General Efrain Rios Montt, who ruled from 1982 to 1983, is perhaps Paz y Paz’s highest profile case.  That case resulted in an eighty-year sentence for Montt, who knew about the slaughter of nearly two thousand Mayans during the Civil War.  That sentence, however, was annulled on appeal.

The annulment of Montt’s sentence is seen by many as a sign of the lingering influence of the military and its backers.  This is only further verified when considering that Ricardo Sgastume, the lawyer who brought the constitutional challenge to out Paz y Paz is a member of the National Convergence Front Party, which was founded by former military officials.

Jorge Santos, a member of the Convergence for Human Rights, has criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling saying that they (the Convergence for Human Rights) “believe the court’s decision doesn’t do anything to defend the Constitution and instead works in favor of vested interests that want to maintain impunity.”

In a statement, Paz y Paz did not comment as to whether or not she thought her ouster was motived by political reasons.  She did say, however, that “the magistrates have to interpret laws according to their values and criteria and according to what the Constitution says and they can’t act based on other types of influences.”

A commission has since been formed to find Paz y Paz’s replacement.  The commission was formed after 94 of 158 lawmakers voted in favor of replacing Paz.

 

For further information, please see:

ABC News – Guatemala Begins Process To Replace Top Prosecutor – 10 Feb. 14

AP – Guatemalan Court Upholds Top Prosecutor’s Ouster – 8 Feb. 14 

Washington Post – Guatemalan Court Upholds Top Prosecutor’s Ouster – 8 Feb. 14  

Neutral Nation Nixes Immigration from Neighbors by Narrow Margin

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BERN, Switzerland – By narrow margin, Switzerland passed a referendum that curbs immigration from European Union countries. As several leaders threatened retaliation, others hoped that they might take political office on a wave of anti-immigrant hatred.

Though many were told to ignore anti-immigration advertisements, 50.3 percent of Swiss voters supported a referendum to limit immigration from EU Member States. (Photo courtesy of Washington Post)

On 9 February 2014, Switzerland voted narrowly to limit workers from its European Union neighbors by limiting the country’s open-borders treaty; specifically, by removing EU citizens’ equal footing in the Swiss labor market. Leaders throughout Europe threatened to retaliate, and EU officials warned that the referendum could threaten Switzerland’s access to the bloc’s 500 million consumers.

Anchored by economic powers Germany and France, the bloc stretches from Portugal to Latvia and from Ireland to Greece.

While Switzerland is a neutral non-EU country, the referendum’s motivating hatred toward immigration has been increasing in EU Member States throughout the region.

The vote aroused fear that Swiss citizens might reflect the zeitgeist of Europe, where right-wing populists fill the political spotlight has become with an anti-immigration agenda.

“Switzerland is playing the role of a pioneer for the whole of Europe now,” said Chairman Toni Brunner of the Swiss People’s Party, which backed the referendum measure and has launched an initiative to ban mosque minarets. “EU open borders, in the form they exist in today, will have to be discussed.”

Large Swiss companies argued against the referendum, stating that the country is in desperate need of employable talent from nearby countries. Switzerland’s unemployment rate is currently 3.5 percent. However, the Swiss People’s Party argued that the referendum was necessary to preserve Swiss identity in the face of 80,000 EU citizens moving through the Alps and changing the social fabric of Swiss cities, villages, and towns.

Although polls several weeks ago indicated the referendum would fail, a 50.3 percent vote of support allowed it to pass.

Since the multi-year debt crisis began, hard economic times have persisted in Europe, leaving immigrants the scapegoats. The stream of Syrian refugees into the region—particularly around Bulgaria—has also added to anti-immigrant nationalism.

In Greece, Golden Dawn’s paramilitaries declared war against immigrants, with several well-document attacks taking place in Athens.

Hungary’s far-right Jobbik party, known for its anti-Semetic, anti-Roma, and anti-immigrant positions, has moved from the outer rim of politics into Parliament, with heavy campaigns appearing well ahead of elections.

While binding treaties prevent EU Member States from legally blocking immigration within the bloc, several European leaders have sought ways to curb the flow of immigrants from the EU’s poorest countries, Romania and Bulgaria. Those leaders are expected to take up to one-third of the European Parliament’s seats following the May 2014 elections.

“Immigration is the big theme of 2014 in Europe,” said Director of Open Europe Mats Persson. “One of the big risks is that the European Parliament becomes quite polarized after the May elections, filled with federalists who want a closer union in Europe and nationalists who want exactly the opposite.”

The free movement of people remains under attack. But as history teaches, the constriction into oppression always re-opens and expands into freedom.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – EU to Review Swiss Ties after Immigration Vote – February 10, 2014

Expatica – Swiss Move to Limit Damage after EU Migrant Curb Vote – February 10, 2014

Geneva Lunch – Emotional Swiss Day: Votes, Olympic Medal – February 10, 2014

Reuters – Swiss-EU Power Talks on Hold after Immigration Vote – February 10, 2014

Washington Post – Swiss Vote to Limit Foreign Workers Captures Growing European Fears about Immigration – February 10, 2014

Euronews – EU Warns Switzerland All Treaties Will Be Reviewed after Anti-Immigration Vote – February 9, 2014

Gay Rights Activists Arrested In Russia Ahead of Olympic Opening Ceremony

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Russian police arrested fourteen gay rights protesters in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Friday, shortly before the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

Protesters are detained in Moscow’s Red Square on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

In the incident Moscow, Russian police detained ten protesters in the City’s Red Square after they had been waiving rainbow flags. In the incident in St. Petersburg, four protesters were waving displaying a banner which included the language of the Olympic Charter which bars any form of discrimination.

A Russian law banning gay “propaganda” from reaching minors has elicited international criticism since its passing, with some calling for a boycott of the Sochi Olympic Games. Russian law also bans any unsanctioned protests.

Anastasia Smirnova, one of Russia’s leading gay activists and an arrestee in the St. Petersburg protest, posted a thank-you to supporters on her Facebook page, writing, “Can’t write much as phones are not permitted, and they are now calling us to sign papers. Cosmic hugs to you from our police station … Detention for a photo with a banner — isn’t it an amazing way to celebrate the Opening of the Games?”

Western powers have been urging Russia to rescind its anti-gay laws since before the commencement of the Sochi Games. On Friday, President Putin met with Dutch authorities who challenged the country’s gay laws, but President Putin opined that the Winter Olympic Games should be about sports and not about discussing political views.

Some world leaders, such as U.S. President Barack Obama, have chosen to stay away from the Games completely, while other world leaders appeared less troubled by the issue. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Putin on the Olympics and praised their countries’ growing alliance. China’s state-controlled media has barely reported on the Russian anti-gay propaganda law.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also in attendance at the Games, and has advocated for gay equality in sports. “Many professional athletes, gay and straight, are speaking out against prejudice. We must all raise our voices against attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people. We must oppose the arrests, imprisonments and discriminatory restrictions they face.”

Corporations have spoken out, either explicitly on the issue, as well. Google changed its homepage logo to depict illustrations of athletes skiing, sledding, curling and skating against a rainbow-colored backdrop and language from the Olympic charter that bans discrimination. The company has stated that it wanted the illustration to speak for itself. The logo has widely been interpreted as support for gay rights and a rebuke of Russia’s propaganda law.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Russian LGBT Activists Arrested on First Day of Sochi Games – 7 February 2014

The Independent – Winter Olympics 2014: Sochi Protesters Arrested Over Banner Citing Olympic Charter’s Words Against Discrimination – 7 February 2014

New York Times – Scores Detained in Russia Before Olympic Ceremony – 7 February 2014

Reuters – Gay Rights Protesters Detained in Russia as Games Start- Activists – 7 February 2014

 

Violence Forces Muslim Population Out of CAR

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

BANGUI, Central African Republic – Religious violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) could force its entire Muslim population to flee, a senior human rights worker has told BBC.

A woman on the truck fleeing CAR attacked by looters before the last checkpoint (photo courtesy of AP).

Human Rights Watch (HRW) emergency director Peter Bouckaert said this could affect the economy, as Muslims control the livestock market and other businesses.

HRW has called for a UN peacekeeping mission as Muslims are dying by the thousands and many are fleeing.

“We are in a moment where immediate action is needed to stop the killings,” Bouckaert said, calling for a full-fledged UN peacekeeping mission. “Otherwise the future of the Muslim community of this country will be gone.”

The violence has reached an intolerable level. Many of the Muslim population have fled to Chad or Cameroon.

Muslims make up about 15% of CAR’s 4.6 million people. More than 800,000 people have fled their homes – about half of those from the capital, according to the UN.

“There are some who don’t want Muslims in this country,” Prime Minister Andre Nzapayeke said on the local radio on Saturday. “But when the Muslims have left the country, what happens next? The Protestants will throw out the Catholics, and then the Baptists against the Evangelists, and finally the animists? It is time we regain control and stop ourselves from plunging into an abyss.”

Bouckaert has said that at least 10 people had died this past week in the capital.

He said he had personally witnessed a Muslim being hacked to death in Bangui, in retaliation for the reported killing of 6 people by Muslim fighters.

Thousands of Muslims left Bangui in a massive convoy on Friday that was jeered by crowds of Christians. One Muslim who fell off of a truck was quickly killed by the mob.

Muslim people who could not get on the trucks tried to hand their children to strangers aboard the vehicles.

Whole neighborhoods are abandoned and Muslims who cannot leave are hiding inside mosques that have not already been set ablaze or destroyed by angry crowds.

Entire Muslim communities also have left towns in the rural northwest, sometimes only to come under attack from Christian militiamen and die while trying to get out of the anarchic country.

No one knows the true death toll from the two months of the worst inter-communal violence in this country’s history. It is often too dangerous for crews to recover the corpses.

More than 1,000 people were killed during several days of fighting in early December, when a Christian militia attempted to overthrow the Muslim rebel government then in power.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Violence could force out CAR’s Muslim population – HRW – 9 February 2014
Mail & Guardian – CAR Muslims targets of mob violence – 9 February 2014
The Frontier Post – \”CAR\’s Muslim civilians\” \’at risk\’ – 9 February 2014
The Denver Post – Thousands of Muslims are fleeing Central African Republic amid mob violence – 9 February 2014