News

Former President Alberto Fujimori Cleared in Peru Sterilization Case

By Ellis Cortez
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

LIMA, Peru – Peruvian prosecutors have decided not to file criminal charges against former President Alberto Fujimori or any of his ministers over a 1990s sterilization program under which thousands of women say they were forcibly sterilized.

Two Peruvian women in file photo from 2000
Hundreds of mostly poor and indigenous women and men allege they were sterilized against their will. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

Prosecutor Marco Guzman said there were no crimes against humanity committed by Fujimori’s government and decided to close the case. Guzman found no evidence to support claims that hundreds of mostly poor and indigenous men and women were sterilized against their will. “The women would come to the clinic, agree to the procedure, and undergo sterilization. That was the regular, normal process,” he concluded.

Human rights groups do not agree with the decision and are saying they will appeal. They allege that sterilization was forced upon more than 2,000 women under Fujimori’s government in an attempt to reduce poverty by lowering the birthrate. The campaign had the backing of international donors including the United Nations Population Fund, Japan and the United States, as well as anti-abortion and feminist organizations.

Activists say that besides being forced, the sterilizations were often carried out in unsanitary conditions.

An independent congressional commission stated that the government of President Fujimori had sterilized 346,219 women and 24,535 men during his terms in office between 1990 and 2000. The Fujimori government has always maintained all operations were consensual.

Hundreds of people, some of them illiterate, said they were forced to undergo operations and not told they could have refused. Some women say they were deceived, threatened with jail, bribed with food parcels, and otherwise pressured into the operations to meet program quotas.

A Peruvian feminist organization, Demus, condemned the decision, saying in a statement: “The program was a public policy that promoted the sterilization of thousands of women in the country, especially in rural areas, who by deception and blackmail were deprived of their reproductive capacities.”

The original investigation into allegations of forced sterilization was archived in 2009, but prosecutors reopened the investigation again in 2011 at the urging of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Fujimori, who led Peru from 1990 to 2000, is now in prison serving four concurrent sentences for corruption, authorizing death squads, and human rights abuses. The longest is 25 years.

For more information please see:

The Boston Globe – Fujimori cleared in Peru sterilization case – 26 January 2014

CNN – Peru will not prosecute former President over sterilization campaign – 25 January 2014

BBC – Peru closes forced sterilisation probe and clears ex-President Alberto Fujimori – 24 January 2014

Fox News –Peru’s Fujimori spared prosecution for 1990s sterilization program – 24 January 2014

Ukrainian Standoff Escalates as Yanukovych Seeks to Avoid Possible Emergency State

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe Desk

KYIV, Ukraine – Ukrainian opposition leaders scoffed at what has been deemed President Viktor Yanukovych’s moment of weakness in the recent months of tension. Meanwhile, leaders and protesters throughout Europe support dialogue between Ukraine’s government and the opposition.

Ukrainian protests spread, including a siege on the Justice Ministry. (Photo courtesy of Voice of Russia)

In November 2013, anti-government protests erupted in Ukraine; particularly, over President Viktor Yanukovych’s rejection of a deal that would have brought Ukraine and the European Union closer. In mid-January, tensions led to a number of fatalities, as police and protesters clashed. All three primary opposition leaders attended a funeral for Mikhail Zhiznevsky, a Belarussian national who was shot and killed at the height of the violence.

Activists occupied regional administrations in ten Ukrainian regions, where they protested against president-appointed governors. In four Ukrainian cities, thousands of activists laid siege to local government offices. Police broke up a rally in Zaporizhya with batons and stun grenades.

As protests spread into Eastern Ukraine, high tensions in Kyiv led to dozens of protesters seizing control over the Justice Ministry, smashing windows and erecting barricades. Ukraine said that it may issue a state of emergency if the situation at the Justice Ministry worsens.

On 25 January 2014, Yanukovych offered opposition leaders posts within the government, including offering Arseniy Yatsenyuk (Fatherland party) prime minister and Vitali Klitschko deputy prime minister. The next day, Ukrainian opposition leaders said the deal would not be enough to end the worst crisis since Ukraine gained independence.

In his offer, Yanukovych failed to address key demands, such as bringing forward presidential elections and releasing jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

Klitschko, who is believed to have a personal rivalry with Yatsenyuk, said, “This was a poisoned offer by Yanukovych designed to split our opposition movement.”

However, opposition leaders have neither accepted nor expressly rejected any of Yanukovych’s proposals; but instead, stating that talks will continue. Feeling unprecedented pressure, Yanukovych’s office stated that Yanukovych is willing to consider constitutional amendments that would shift power and authority from himself to the prime minister.

Into the weekend, Europe urged dialogue within Ukraine. During his weekly Angelus prayer, Pope Francis expressed hope that “the search for common good may prevail in the hearts of all.” A crow and a seagull immediately attacked two doves released in hope of peace for Ukraine.

On 28 January 2014, Ukraine’s parliament will meet for a critical debate session. They are expected to debate key points of the crisis, including protest laws.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier described the situation as “not only tense but truly serious. The coming days could decide Ukraine’s path into the future.”

For a brighter day, Ukraine must hope that peace for its government and for its people is saved from assailants, both foreign and domestic.

For further information, please see:

Voice of Russia – Ukraine May Issue State of Emergency If Protesters Don’t Leave Justice Ministry – January 27, 2014

Associated Free Press –Ukraine Protests Spread as Opposition Snubs Compromise Offer – January 26, 2014

BBC News – Ukraine: President Yanukovych Blinks First over Protests – January 26, 2014

BBC News – Ukraine Protests ‘Spread’ into Russia-Influenced East – January 26, 2014

RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty – Rallies Held Abroad for Ukraine – January 25, 2014

Impunity Watch – New Deaths Make Ukrainians Unsure How Long Tensions Must Continue – January 23, 2014

Snowden Reveals NSA Conducts Corporate Espionage

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden claims that the US intelligence agency engages in industrial espionage according to a German public television broadcaster. ARD released a statement prior to a television interview Sunday in which Snowden is quoted as saying that if German engineering company Siemans had something information beneficial to the US, the NSA would take it.

Snowden is scheduled to give an interview with the German public television broadcaster ARD Sunday evening. (photo courtesy of The Guardian)

Snowden alleged that the NSA would take information from private industries even if the information had no connection to US national security needs. Snowden went on to tell the German broadcaster that he no longer has possession of any documents or information on NSA activities, adding that he has turned over all available information to selected journalists.

At present Snowden faces felony charges for the information he has incrementally released to journalists since last June when he offered information to The Guardian about NSA surveillance of American cell phone data.

A legal adviser for Snowden is quoted as saying Snowden would be open to entering talks with US Attorney General Eric Holder to negotiate his return to the US. However, that willingness to negotiate was premised on a guarantee of amnesty for crimes related to releasing classified information.

Jesselyn Radack, Snowden’s legal adviser, said she was glad to hear last week that the Attorney General was open to negotiating Snowden’s return, but expressed disappointment about the US government’s stance on amnesty.

“It’s a little disheartening that [Holder] seemed to take clemency and amnesty off the table, which are two of the negotiating points,” said Radack in an interview on “Meet the Press.”

Holder said in an MSNBC interview that the US government would not provide amnesty in some kind of “no harm, no foul” deal.

Snowden made a statement Thursday expressing his wish to return home and bring resolution to his conflict with the US government.

“Returning to the U.S., I think, is the best resolution for the government, the public, and myself, but it’s unfortunately not possible in the face of current whistleblower protection laws, which through a failure in law did not cover national security contractors like myself,” Snowden wrote on the website “Free Snowden.”

For more information, please see:

Fox News – German TV: Snowden says NSA also practices industrial espionage – 26 January 2014

MSNBC – Snowden says NSA engages in industrial espionage: German TV – 26 January 2014

Reuters – Snowden won’t return to U.S. without amnesty, says legal adviser – 26 January 2014

The Guardian – German TV: Edward Snowden says NSA is involved in industrial sabotage – 26 January 2014

CNN – NSA leaker Edward Snowden says U.S. return ‘not possible’ given current laws – 24 January 2014

Peace Agreement Reached Between Philippines and the MILF

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MANILA, Philippines– Representatives from the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Saturday signed the final piece of the four annexes to the Framework Peace Agreement, completing a vital cornerstone to a more than decades-old peace process.

Philippines chief negotiator, Miriam Coronel Ferer, shake hands with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator, Mohagher Iqbal, as they exchange peace agreements between both parties at the GPH-MILF Formal Exploratory Talk in Kuala Lumpur. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

Representatives led by Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Teresita Deles, government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and her counterpart in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Mohagher Iqbal, met late in the afternoon Saturday and affixed their signatures to a several page document, the annex on normalization and addendum on Bangsamoro waters.  The resolution came at the end of four days of negotiation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“Today the government and the MILF jointly signed the annex on normalization, the last of the four Annexes to the GPH-MILF Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB), which was completed on 15 October 2012. This paves the way for the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). This is indeed a long-awaited moment that is a gift to our people at the start of a new year of renewed hope and commitment,” Deles said.

Earlier, negotiators from both sides signed the annexes regarding transitional arrangements and modalities, revenue generation and wealth and power sharing.

“Long live peace,” those witnessing the signing of the landmark document during the 43 exploratory talks in Malaysia cheered. Video footage of the event was streamed live across the nation.

Malaysian facilitator Datu Abdul Gaafar Tengku said: “I am very proud to be part of this process. I’ve witnessed in 1986 the People Power and now this.”

Malaysia has played the role of a third party facilitator of the talks since 2004.

Iqbal said the signing of the normalization annex had been an emotional matter.

“All these documents that we had signed are important, but the annex on normalization and addendum on Bangsamoro waters is vital because it is the last of the four annexes that completes the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed in October 2012,” he said.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda, who was in Kuala Lumpur to witness the event, said in his twitter post immediately after the signing of the last annex: “After more than a year of hard work, the peace panel in a moment of joy!”

A substantial portion on the annex on normalization includes the decommissioning of weapons from members of the MILF.

Coronel, during a video streamed press briefing, said the decommissioning and demobilization will be carried out in a multi-phase process.

“It will be gradual,” she said.

The MILF boasts some 12,000 fighters and the normalization process would involve the “decommissioning” of the firearms used by the rebels.  Provisions provide for  the absorption of a number of them into the police force of the yet to be created Bangsamoro.

With the completion of the four annexes, Coronel said negotiators can now proceed to crafting the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in order to complete the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

The BBL is set to be drafted by the Transition Commission which Iqbal also heads, but would also have to pass through a congressional vote, and would be subjected to a plebiscite in areas covered by the FAB.

The conflict in southern Philippines has cost the lives of an estimated 150,000 combatants and civilians over the last four decades.

For more information, please see:

The Australian– Philippines peace deal nears for Muslim south–26 January 2014

Gulf News– Philippines steps closer to Moro peace–25 January 2014

Inter Aksyon– Lacierda: Annex on Normalization signing is President Aquinoas defining moment–26 January 2014

The Wall Street Journal– Philippines, Rebel Group Step Closer to Peace–25 January 2014

New Deaths Make Ukrainians Unsure How Long Tensions Must Continue

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KYIV, Ukraine – Continued tensions sparked fatalities in Ukraine, as government and opposition leaders called a fragile truce. Meanwhile, the country’s neighbors fought over what message to send Ukraine.

Violence flared amidst anti-government sentiments that have continued in Ukraine since late November 2013. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

On 22 January 2014, clashes between activists and police ended with two dead for the first time since anti-government protests began in late November over Ukraine’s decision to back out of EU treaty talks.

Ukrainian authorities identified one of the deceased as Serhiy Nihoyan, the son of Armenian refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh. In December 2013, Nihoyan travelled from his home in eastern Ukraine to join the protests. The other man shot was a Belarusian citizen, Mikhail Zhyznewski, who joined the protest with Una-Unso, a Ukrainian far-right group. A third activist was later found dead in a forest near Kyiv, after his abduction last week.

In this light, Ukrainian opposition leaders began to observe a fragile truce, which may lead to a meeting with President Viktor Yanukovych, who asked parliament to hold an emergency session to discuss the ongoing crisis.

The speaker said the session will address the opposition’s  demand to remove government officials.

Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko asserted that he would lead pro-EU protesters “on the attack” if elections were not called. Ukrainian media outlets report that activists took over reigional state administrations in western cities; namely, Lviv and Rivne. The governor of Lviv, Oleg Salo has been forced out of office.

On 23 January 2014, Head of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso received assurances that President Yanukovych will not declare a state of emergency, after Barroso and Yanukovych spoke over the phone.

In the past week, hundreds of activists and dozens of police have been injured near Kyiv’s Independence Square.

Klitschko urged both the protesters and police cease all use of force until his talks with Yanukovych were completed. He planned three main demands to the talks:1) a snap presidential election; 2) the cancellation of the new anti-protest laws; and 3) the resignation of the government.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said opposition leaders should be “more humble” and “move away from the language of ultimatums.”

Azarov denied police responsibility for the deaths, saying that live ammunition was not carried.

The European Union promised that it would “rethink” its relationship with Ukraine if there was a “systematic violation of human rights.” Additionally, the United States accused Ukrainian officials of failing to “engage in real dialogue” and revoked the visas of “several Ukrainians who were linked to the violence.” Russia then accused the EU and US of improperly interfering in Ukrainian affairs.

To achieve peace, however, Ukraine must listen to its people above any foreign body.

For further information, please see:

CNN International – Ukraine: No Deal in Talks between Government and Protesters – January 24, 2014

Human Rights Watch – Ukraine: Police Beatings, Kidnappings in Kiev – January 24, 2014

BBC News – Ukraine Protests: Crisis Talks after Day of Bloodshed – January 23, 2014

Bloomberg Businessweek – Ukraine Opposition Urges Continued Truce – January 23, 2014