News

France and Mexico Angry With N.S.A.

By Brandon Cottrell
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in France today, Le Monde, an authoritative newspaper, published a report based on the secret documents leaked by Edward Snowden.  It is expected that France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius will discuss this issue with Kerry during his visit.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says the claims are “totally unacceptable” (Photo Courtesy BBC).

Adding already to the previous disclosures of the N.S.A’s worldwide surveillances in Germany, England. Brazil, and Mexico, today’s report stated that the N.S.A. recorded over 70 million digital communications in France over the span of one month.  It is believed that businesses, officials, and terror suspects were specifically targeted.

France’s American Ambassador, Charles Rivkin, stated that, “These kinds of practices between partners are totally unacceptable and we must be assured that they are no longer being implemented.”  Additionally Manuel Valls, France’s Interior Minister, called today’s report “shocking” and that it “will require explanation.”

While the report did not state what the N.S.A. was exactly looking for in the communications it recorded, it was clear that the N.S.A. took a “vacuum-cleaner approach” and recorded all communications, including telephone calls and instant messages.  The recorded communications were then sorted into two categories coded “Drtbox” and “Whitebox,” though no further explanation for the categories was given.  It is also not clear how many of the messages were actually listened to or read and how the data was stored- transcriptions of what was communicated or who were parties to the communication.

A statement issued by the White House stated that the latest disclosure has “distorted our activities” but also “raise[s] legitimate questions for our friends and allies about how these capabilities are employed.”  The statement further said that, “President [Obama] made clear that the United States has begun to review the way that we gather intelligence, so that we properly balance the legitimate security concerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share.”

The report in France also comes on the heels of an article in Der Spiegel, a German news magazine, where the Mexican government responded to reports that the U.S. hacked former Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s email.  The Mexican government stated that, “This practice is unacceptable, illegitimate and against Mexican and international law ” and that “in a relationship between neighbors and partners, there is no room for the practices alleged to have taken place.”

The N.S.A. in a statement said it would not “comment publicly on every specific alleged intelligence activity, and as a matter of policy we have made clear that the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations.”  Additionally, the U.S. State Department said it was discussing the matter with Mexico through diplomatic channels.

 

Fore more information, please see:

BBC – Mexico Strongly Condemns Alleged US Electronic Spying – 20 October 2013

BBC – Snowden Leaks: US Seeks To Ease France Spy Anger – 21 October 2013

CNN – Mexico Lashes Out Against Report Of U.S. Spying – 21 October 2013

New York Times – New Report of N.S.A. Spying Angers France – 21 October 2013

Russian Bus Blast Caused by Suicide Bomber Kills Five

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

VOLGOGRAD, Russia – A bus exploded in the southern Russian city of Volgograd on Monday, and is believed to be caused by a suicide bomber, according to Russian authorities.

The bus had about 40 people on board; the blast injured over 20 and killed 5. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Russian Investigators have stated that they suspect a woman from the Dagestan region in the North Causasus. She is believed to be the partner of an Islamic extremist, and perhaps carried out the bombing to avenge a death.

Recently Russia has seen an influx in the number of terrorist attacks carried out by women suicide bombers. These women are known as “black widows”, and are believed to carry out these attacks to avenge the deaths of their terrorist-partners.

In 2010, female suicide bombers were responsible for attacks at two underground subway stations in Moscow, killing 38 people. Female suicide bombers are also thought to be responsible for explosions on two passenger jets at a Moscow airport that killed about 90 people back in 2004.

Chechnya Separatists have been fighting wars with Russian forces over the past twenty years, but the violence has spread across the North Caucasus recently. The spread of violence has seen the deaths of hundreds of people.

Monday’s blast killed 5 people and injured more than 20. Reports indicate that all other buses in Volgograd have been ordered back to their stations to be searched for any sign of explosives.

One man whose daughter survived the explosion stated, “It was a powerful explosion, a huge blast. There were lots of students on the bus.”

Vladimir Markin, of Russia’s Investigative Committee stated, “A criminal case has been opened under articles outlining terrorism, murder and the illegal use of firearms.”

Markin later identified the suspected suicide bomber as a woman from Dagestan. “According to preliminary information, the self-explosion was carried out by a 30-year-old Dagestani native, Naida Akhiyalova. According to investigators’ information, the woman entered the bus at one of the bus stops and, almost right after that, the bomb went off. That is also confirmed by one of the passengers who survived.”

President Vladimir Putin recently attempted to beef up security in the North Caucasus region ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics, which open in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on February 7th of next year.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Deadly Bomb Blast Hits Bus in Southern Russia – 21 October 2013

BBC News – Russia Bus Bomb: Volgograd Blast Kills Five – 21 October 2013

The Independent – Volgograd Bus Blast: Female Suicide Bomber Kills Five in Russia – 21 October 2013

The Moscow Times – Explosion on Bus in Volgograd Kills at Least Four – 21 October 2013

Women in China Face Prohibition from Various Employment Opportunities

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– Employment discrimination against women in China remains deeply rooted in culture and practice.  A report from BBC released late last week reveals several career paths that women are flat-out banned from pursuing.

Young girls at China’s “I Have a Dream” theme park are encouraged to dress up as flight attendants, fulfilling gender stereotypes that pervade the communist nation. Young men, on the other hand, are encouraged to portray servicemen and academic professionals. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)

China’s education ministry bans girls from studying a variety of subjects across China, from tunnel engineering to navigation – apparently out of respect for women’s safety. Reports have continually emerged revealing a pattern of women being discriminated against when attempting to gain places at Chinese universities.

According to some, girls were scoring so well in strict admissions tests that a higher percentage was being admitted than men. In response to these rising numbers restrictive practices were implemented as early as 2005, including limiting the programs in which women could enroll.

A book by the government-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has characterized the gender imbalance between boys and girls as one of the biggest challenges facing China today.

The state’s one-child policy continues to showcase the clearest signal of the second-class status of girls in the country, experts have said.

“The policy takes a position that fundamentally discriminates against girls,” said Professor Feng Yuan of the Centre for Women’s Studies at China’s Shantou University.

In China, the idea that girls can’t or shouldn’t do the same jobs as boys is passed on early. It’s a lesson that extends into higher education and beyond. Gender stereotypes are instilled in younger generations at China’s “I Have a Dream” theme park in Beijing, which allows young children to assume various career roles. The park encourages children to choose gender specific roles, and for young girls, the most popular attraction is pretending to be a flight attendant.

At the university level stereotyping takes on a more tangible form.  At the China Mining and Technology University in eastern Jiangsu province, women are completely barred from pursuing a degree in mining engineering, a degree which effectively guarantees employment after graduation.

“China’s labor law suggests mining work is unsuitable for women, so we ask women to refrain from applying to our major,” explains one of the department’s senior professors, Shu Jisen.

At one university in Dalian, northern China, females are barred from studying naval engineering – because months on board a ship would be tough for women to endure, one admissions officer explained.

Slightly different reasons are given for severely restricting the number of women who can study at Beijing’s People’s Police University, which has a strict quota, limiting girls to comprise 10-15% of the student body. One admissions officer told BBC that women were not permitted because job opportunities in policing were scarce, as most people expect police officers to be male.

Professor Shu Jisen argues that some jobs are just “inappropriate” for women. “If they forced their way into these jobs,” he continued, “they will waste energy.”

Last year, young women challenged this notion and ignited a grassroots confrontation with the Chinese Ministry of Education over the gender discrimination. The women shaved their heads in objection to several universities across China that make it easier for men than women to gain acceptance.

“It was blatant gender discrimination,” argues one of the student activists, Xiao Meili. “No-one had stood up to these universities before, and told them these policies were wrong. Why didn’t anyone want to change anything? It really made me very angry.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News– 100 Women: The jobs Chinese girls just can’t do — 16 October 2013

South China Morning Post– China’s women professionals challenge workplace inequality — 13 October 2013

Huffington Post– Chinese Women Still Face Discrimination Against Men In Bid For Jobs — 17 October 2013

Mining.com– Chinese girls want to break down barriers to mining — 17 October 2013

Four Chilean Men Convicted for Murder and Torture of Young Gay Man

By Ellis Cortez
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile – Four men in Chile have been convicted of first-degree murder for torturing and beating to death a young gay man and carving swastikas into his body.

Patricio Ahumada, convicted killer of gay man Zamudio
Prosecutors have asked for life imprisonment for Patricio Ahumada. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

Daniel Zamudio, a 24 year-old clothing store salesman was attacked on the night of March 2, 2012 at the San Borja de Alameda park in the Chilean capital, Santiago. The attackers burned Daniel Zamudio with cigarettes, broke his right leg with a heavy stone, beat him with glass bottles and carved swastikas into his body with broken glass before walking away. He died of his injuries 25 days later.

Judge Juan Carlos Urrutia said Patricio Ahumada Garay, Alejandro Angulo Tapia, Raul Lopez Fuentes and Fabian Mora Mora, who were between the ages of 19 and 25 at the time, were guilty of a crime of “extreme cruelty” and “total disrespect for human life.” The four are due to be sentenced on October 28th. Prosecutors are asking for jail terms ranging from eight years to life in prison.

Daniel Zamudio’s death set off a national debate in the country about hate crimes that led Congress to approve the nation’s first anti-discrimination law targeting hate crimes. The law adopted last year, named the “Zamudio law,” allows people to file anti-discrimination lawsuits and adds hate-crime sentences for violent crimes.

“It is typical of us, Chileans, that an accident has to happen for us to approve a law. My son will not come back, but this case may end up being good for Chile,” said Daniel’s father, Ivan Zamudio. He was in court to hear the verdict, alongside Daniel’s mother, Jacqueline Vera.

The law had been stuck in Congress for seven years after the initiative was stalled by conservative legislators, but President Sebastian Pinera put it on the fast track after Zamudio’s murder.

“We’re satisfied with this ruling. There’s a before and an after the Zamudio case,” said Rolando Jiménez, president of the Gay Liberation and Integration Movement. “It generated such outrage because of the brutality, the hate, that it helped raised awareness,” he said. “We’ve witnessed a cultural change that finally led to an anti-discrimination law.”

For more information please see:

The Guardian – Chilean men carved swastikas into body of gay man they killed – 18 October 2013

ABC News – 4 Guilty in Chile Gay Murder That Led to Hate Law – 17 October 2013

The Washington Post – Chilean court convicts 4 in murder of gay man that prompted Chile to adopt hate crime law – 17 October 2013

BBC – Four Chileans convicted over murder of gay man Daniel Zamudio – 17 October 2013

 

Suicide Bomber Kills Soldiers in Somalia

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

MOGADISHU, Somalia – At least 16 people have been killed and more than 30 people injured after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded restaurant in the central Somalia town of Beledweyne.

Al-Shabaab militants also carried last month’s attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi in which at least 72 people were killed (photo courtesy of Reuters)

Al-Shabab said it had carried out the bombing targeting troops in an African Union peacekeeping force fighting the Somali Islamist group.

The bombing happened at a restaurant near a military base around 210 miles north of Mogadishu. The city is under control of the central government and AU peacekeepers from Djibouti.

“Our main target was Ethiopian and Djibouti troops who invaded our country. They were sitting there,” al-Shabab’s military operation spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, said.

But witnesses have reported that most of those killed by the bomb were civilians.

“There is a lack of medicine in the hospital and they can’t cope with the flood of wounded patients, so we asked the central government to send us planes to evacuate patients,” Mr Jessow said by phone.

“A man with an explosives jacket entered unexpectedly in the tea shop where soldiers and civilians sat . . . and blew himself up,” local elder Ahmed Nur said from the scene of the blast.

 “I could see the bodies of several soldiers being carried, but I could not make out whether they were dead or injured.” Al-Shabaab frequently attacks political targets, as well as restaurants, and other recreational spaces popular with foreigners and government soldiers.

 Al-Shabab militants have been driven out of Somalia’s major towns, including Mogadishu and the key southern port of Kismayo, by a UN-mandated AU force of some 18,000 soldiers.

 But the militants still control large parts of southern Somalia.

 Last month the group claimed the attack on the Westgate shopping center in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in which 72 people died in a four day siege.

 Straddling a major highway that links south-western Somalia to southern and northern parts of the country, Beledweyne is the maine gateway to the Ogaden region in Ethiopia and a strategically vital area that Addis Ababa has often controlled.

“In a way this attack is also a message of weakness as al Shabaab are not able to carry out a conventional assault on the town in the way they use to two years ago,” analyst Abdi said.

 Ethiopian troops have been fighting Islamist militants in neighbouring Somalia for much of the past decade.

 For more information, please visit:

 BBC News – Somali suicide bombing kills AU soldiers in Beledweyne – 19 October 2013
The Frontier Post – Somali bombing kills AU soldiers – 20 October 2013
Yahoo! News – Suicide bomber kills 16 in Somali cafe attack aimed at foreign troops – 19 October 2013
The Guardian – Al-Shabaab suicide bomber attacks restaurant in Somalia – 19 October 2013
Standard Media – Al Shabaab claims responsibility, says AU forces were the target – 19 October 2013