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North Korea Ousts Another Top Official

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PYONGYANG, North Korea–In another sign of an escalating power struggle amongst North Korea’s elite, South Korea’s intelligence agency reported Tuesday the “No. 2 man” in the isolated North appeared to have been disposed from power.

Former Vice Chairman of the North’s National Defense Commission, Jang Seong-thek has been ousted from his powerful position according to South Korean intelligence sources. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

 

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) told South Korean lawmakers that Jang Song Thaek, uncle of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, was “recently ousted from his position” as Vice Chairman of North Korea’s powerful National Defense Commission, and that “two of his closest confidantes — Ri Yong Ha and Jang Soo-Kil — were publicly executed in mid-November,” according to opposition lawmaker Jung Cheong Rae.

Still unverified, Jang’s ousting could represent the most serious political shakeup in North Korea since former leader Kim Jong-Il’s death in December 2011.

Jang was widely regarded as second in command in the North Korean leadership, owing to his blood-link to the ruling family, and his visible presence abroad. He married the daughter of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung in the early 1970s and was a close confidant of late leader Kim Jong-il.

“The NIS has assessed the cause of Jang’s fallout to be an internal power struggle,” Cho Won-jin, a conservative lawmaker who was briefed by the NIS, told reporters. “It was a power struggle to consolidate Kim Jong-un’s one man rule.”

Jang was known to have played a critical role in ensuring the smooth succession of his nephew into his role as the head of North Korea’s intelligence and police agencies. Jang was also known as one of the more pro-market reformers among North Korea’s powerful elite.

His influence was on display during a state visit to China in August 2012, on which he brought along fifty North Korean representatives to discuss the two countries’ cooperation in special economic zones near the border. He was received by the then-Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabo.

Some South Korean experts suggest the instability created by this alleged power struggle could lead the isolated nuclear-armed state to take even greater provocative actions on the world stage, in an effort to quell discord and reinforce unity, and reinvigorate the North’s international perception.

“In looking at past cases, when the North Korean regime becomes unstable, there could be more frequent provocations directed against the South,” Yang Moo-jin, a North Korean expert at the University of North Korean studies in Seoul, told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. “If so, then the South-North Korean relations could worsen and the tension on the Korean peninsula will heighten.”

Other experts were not surprised by the reports of Jang’s ouster.

“The signs have been there for some time that Jang was fading. He has been appearing less and less frequently in Kim Jong Un’s presence, or indeed, at all. If that change in his previously high-profile visibility was not caused by health problems, it suggested a political problem,” said one expert, who spoke to CBS News. 

The expert also suggested that Jang’s appearance as a “top leader” was hyperbolic, and indicated that the regime is, and always has been, top-centric.

“There is no power in North Korea except that at the top. From the moment Kim Jong Il died almost two years ago, Jang was vulnerable. He probably had a lot of enemies, but he no longer had any top cover,” said the expert. “It wouldn’t be surprising if Kim Jong Il had told his son to watch Jang carefully, and to cut him down when the time came.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News–North Korea powerbroker ‘dismissed’— 3 December 2013

Washington Post–Kim Jong Un’s uncle ‘very likely’ removed from power— 3 December 2013

Bangkok Post–N. Korean leader’s powerbroker uncle ousted, says South Korea— 3 December 2013

CBS News–North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un reportedly sacks his uncle Jang Seong-thaek, No. 2 man in regime— 3 December 2013

Al Jazeera–N Korean leader’s powerbroker uncle ‘sacked’— 3 December 2013

NSA Monitors Porn Habits to Discredit Dissidents

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – The National Security Agency spied on porn habits of suspected Muslim “Radicalizers” to discredit them according to a report released by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.  The slides Snowden provided to the Huffington Post described “personal vulnerabilities” of six Muslim targets that “view[ed] sexually explicit material online.”

The slides, dated 3 October 2012, identified six targets accused of being involved in terrorist plots outside of the US. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

While the names of six targets in this report were redacted from the report provided by Snowden, the NSA believed all six to live outside the United States.  The report identifies these six targets as “exemplars” of how “personal vulnerabilities” may be used to undermine the views of dissenters.

One dissident was identified as a foreign national and a “respected academic.” His was listed as holding that radicalizing view that “offensive jihad is justified.”  His listed vulnerabilities are “online promiscuity” and “publishes articles without checking facts.”

News of the NSA’s proposed tactics have been met with sharp criticism, both internationally and domestically.

“This is not the first time we’ve seen states use intimate and private information of an individual who holds views the government doesn’t agree with, and exploit this information to undermine an individual’s message,” said NGO Privacy International in response to this news.

Director of the ACLU Speech, Privacy & Technology Project, Ben Wizner said via Twitter, “The NSA scandal turns a dangerous corner,” adding, “I bet Washington is full of nervous people.”

Revelations of the latest NSA program came shortly after a group of United Nations experts adopted a right to privacy resolution.  This resolution is set to be passed by the UN General Assembly before the year’s end.

This news was perhaps more damaging to European Union’s review of its commercial data-sharing program known as Safe Harbor.  One EU executor threatened to freeze the pact, effectively eliminating the supply of information on transatlantic air passengers as well as the exchange of information intended to limit terrorist funding.

For more information, please see:

TIME – NSA Monitored Porn Habits To Discredit ‘Radicalizers’ – 27 November 2013

USA Today – NSA spied on porn habits, HuffPo reports – 27 November 2013

Fox News – NSA reportedly spied on porn habits to discredit Islamist radicals – 28 November 2013

The Washington Post – The Switchboard: NSA discussed using porn habits to discredit Muslim radicals – 27 November 2013

BBC News – NSA ‘planned to discredit radicals over web-porn use’ – 27 November 2013

Scottish Government Releases Plan for an Independence From United Kingdom Ahead of 2014 Referendum

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

GLASGOW, Scotland – Scotland’s “white paper”, a legal argument for the country’s independence, was unveiled earlier this week in Glasgow.

The “white paper” was released in Glasgow on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of The Scotsman)

The 670-page document, released by Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond, set forth the democratic, social, and economic reasons for Scotland to leave the United Kingdom. The white paper arrives a year before a referendum on the issue to be held next year.

“Scotland’s future is now in Scotland’s hands,” Salmond said on Tuesday, during the launch in Glasgow. “It won’t be decided by me, it won’t be decided by our opponents, it won’t be decided by the media. It will be decided by the people.”

Salmond stated that the much-anticipated white paper will enable the dismantling of the United Kingdom. Under the plan, Scotland would continue using the pound as its currency, would retain the queen as its head of state, and the country would retain its membership in the European Union. However, Scotland would have its own defense force and collect its own taxes.

The white paper also sets out detailed plans for currency, taxation, childcare, welfare and other issues that may face an independent Scotland. Salmond stated that there would be no need to increase taxes once Scotland seceded from the U.K. Salmond also said that Scottish taxes would not be spent on nuclear programs and the United Kingdom’s nuclear missiles, currently stored in Scotland, would be relocated elsewhere.

“We know we have the people, the skills and resources to make Scotland a more successful country. Independence will put the people of Scotland in charge of our own destiny,” Salmond stated. He added that he wanted to tackle a “legacy of debt” stemming from Scotland’s union with England.

The plan calls for Scotland’s oil and gas reserves to presumably boost Scotland’s economy for the next 50 years, but the country will look to renewable energy thereafter.

Meanwhile, the UK government is campaigning to retain the more than 300-year-old union between England and Scotland. The referendum is to be held on September 18 of next year, 2014.

For more information, please see:

The Scotsman – As it Happened: Scottish Government’s White Paper Launch – 27 November 2013

Al Jazeera – Scottish Nationalists Launch Independence Bid – 26 November 2013

BBC News – Scottish Independence: Voter’s Views on White Paper – 26 November 2013

The Guardian – Scotland: Assertions of Independence – 26 November 2013

Human Rights Group Says 6,000 Women Raped During Syrian Conflict

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – A report issued by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network estimates that 6,000 women have been raped since the beginning of the Syrian conflict. The report adds that women are being targeted by snipers and used as human shields.

The report documented 6,000 cases of rape with many more likely unreported. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

The report states the capture, torture, and rape of women is used as strategy to leverage prisoner exchanges and exact revenge on the opposition. Often times women will be abducted in effort to force their male relatives to surrender.

“They are being used as privilege, not in the sense that they are favored, but because sometimes of their relationship to opposition members or government-related members,” EMHRN spokeswoman Hayet Zeghiche told the BBC.

Many of the rape victims are socially stigmatized and forced to leave their families or fear returning to their families because of possible retribution. The social stigma attached to rape victims leaves them alone and isolated.

“Syrian women exposed to sexual abuses subsequently found themselves victimized not only by the crime itself, but also by enduring the silence that surrounds the crime and the social pressure related to it,” the report said.

The findings were backed up by Lauren Wolfe, an award-winning journalist who has focused on rape in conflict for several years. She is currently the director of Women Under Siege, a group that has been mapping reports of sexual violence in Syria over the past year.

“The general rule that I go by, and a lot of public health researchers go by, is for every one woman who speaks out, there are up to 10 more that remain silent,” Wolfe said.

Seventy-percent of the documented rape victims report that they were raped by government or pro-government forces. This is not uncommon in scenarios where, like in Syria, rebel fighters rely heavily on civilian support.

The report said rape was documented in seven provinces, including Damascus, mostly “during governmental raids, at checkpoints and within detention facilities.”

On Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced that first peace talks during the conflict would begin on January 22. He added that it would be “unforgivable not to seize this opportunity to bring an end to the suffering and destruction.”

For further information, please see:

BBC – Syria conflict: Women ‘targets of abuse and torture’ – 26 November 2013

Global Post – 6,000 cases of women raped during Syrian conflict, human rights group says – 26 November 2013

Gulf News – ‘Rape used as women of war against Syria women’ – 25 November 2013

Reuters – Syrian women suffer inside their country and out – 11 November 2013

Saudi Court Sentences US Jeddah Consulate Attacker to Death

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – A Saudi court has sentenced one man to death and nineteen others to jail in connection with the 2004 US Consulate attack in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. The nineteen others received sentences ranging from eighteen months to twenty-five years.

The attack on Jeddah US consulate in 2004 killed nine people in total. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

The lone man sentenced to death was one of the attackers that stormed the building in the December 6 attack. The others were convicted of being part of a “deviant group” (Al-Qaeda) and supporting the Jeddah attack and another attack on a petrol facility that same year.

In the Jeddah attack, five militants attacked the US consulate with bombs and guns, managing to make their way inside while taking hostages at gunpoint. The whole ordeal last three hours and resulted in the death of five locally hired consulate workers. Three of the five attackers were killed by Saudi security forces in the raid and two were captured, but one later died of his injuries.

The attack was one in a series that year, perpetrated by Al-Qaeda in an effort to oust the ruling Al-Saud family. They were aimed at Western targets and left dozens of foreigners and Saudi citizens dead. The Al-Saud family, who previously had not thought much of Al-Qaeda, changed their attitude as the attacks mounted. The campaign to overthrow the Al-Saud family was crushed in 2006 and resulted in the detainment of more than 11,000 people.

The detainment and retaliation against Al-Qaeda resulted in controversy as many of the detained and their family claimed unfair treatment the hands of the regime. Some of the claims in include indefinite detention without charges and torture.

The Saudi Press Agency has reported that after the execution the body of the attacker will be put on public display to demonstrate the folly of such actions. This is the ultimate form of punishment in the Saudi kingdom.

Thirty-five more men will face hearing later this week and are also charged with being part of the same “deviant group.” All those convicted are given thirty days to appeal.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Saudi court sentences man to death – 26 November 2013

BBC – Saudi Arabia sentences US consulate attacked to death – 25 November 2013

Fox News – Saudi Arabia order execution over 2004 attack on US consulate – 25 November 2013

Reuters – Jeddah US consulate attacker sentenced to death, others jailed – 25 November 2013