News

Alleged Human Rights Violations Lead to Detainment of South Sudanese General

By Dan Krupinsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

JUBA, South Sudan – The commander in charge of troops in the Jonglei state in South Sudan was detained by the nation’s army officials in the wake of allegations that soldiers under his command committed human rights abuses, including the killing of civilians.

General James Otong has not been formally charged, and army spokesman Philip Aguer said he will not be until the investigation into the alleged killings and human rights violations by the troops is complete. The general has been relieved of his command, however.

“Because of some allegations that some civilians have been killed, some properties were destroyed and looting took place…the commander of the area has to answer,” Aguer said.

A house in Pibor County burns after attacks from cattle raiders in July. (Courtesy of AFP)

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir ordered army officials to arrest, charge and bring to trial any soldiers accused of committing human rights abuses in Jonglei State, in a speech last month.

According to Aguer, to this point he has received information on only one event, which occurred in late July. According to reports, two soldiers opened fire on four civilians that were walking to Pibor town. Two women were killed in the shooting, and the soldier accused of perpetrating the attack were immediately detained.

Despite only having specific reports of one incident at this time, Aguer added that the army is prepared to investigate any additional reports of human rights violations, such as civilians being shot by soldiers or property being looted.

The Jongle state has been a site of constant conflict over the past year, with ongoing clashes between the army and rebels led by their leader David Yau Yau, as well as interethnic clashes. More than 300 people died in clashes last month in Jonglei when thousands of fighters from the Lou Nuer ethnic group raided towns and villages belonging to members of the Murle group. Aguer would not say how many soldiers are deployed in the area.

Soldiers and other gunmen looted UN and aid agency stores in Pibor, including a key hospital, in May.

The fighting is having an indirect effect on the Sudanese people, as well.

According to Doctors Without Borders, many of those who fled in July due to the fighting are “still hiding in fear in the bush” around Pibor.

The recent heavy rains in the remote, impoverished area have only added to the hardships of the tens of thousands already displaced by the regional conflict.

“As the rains intensify and the living conditions become ever more precarious, the situation in Pibor county remains critical,” according to a statement by Doctors Without Borders.

 

For further information, please see:

Blouin News – South Sudan arrests general following U.S. pressure – 21 August 2013

FOX News – South Sudan arrests general for rights violations – 20 August 2013

New York Times – South Sudan: Commander Arrested – 20 August 2013

Voice of America – S. Sudan General Detained, Soldiers Probed over Alleged Pibor Abuses – 21 August 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

Putin Prohibits Public Demonstrations during Olympics

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed that all public demonstrations not related to the Olympic games will be banned around Sochi between January 7 and March 21, 2014. Human rights organizations have issued a statement that the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) new president—to be elected in September 2013—must ensure that hosts comply with all human rights, as according to the Olympic Charter.

Prohibited demonstrations would include protests against Russia’s controversial ‘anti-gay propaganda’ law, which was passed in June 2013. (Photo courtesy of Washington Post)

In June 2013, Russia passed an anti-homosexual law that banned anything accessible by minors that constitutes “gay propaganda”. In response, activists claimed that all public displays and information related to homosexuality have been made illegal. However, the IOC stated that it received “strong assurances” that the law would not affect competitors or spectators at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.

Swedish high jumper Emma Green Tregaro and other competitors have planned to openly support the LGBT community at the Games.

In the U.S., some have noted that the Olympics seem to attract human rights violations, such as the detention and torture of anti-Olympic protesters in Beijing and the use of tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters in Rio. Following the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, supporters also note that the Olympics have been a perfect protesting stage. For instance, in 1968, King encouraged John Carlos and Tommie Smith to make their iconic black-gloved salute at the Summer Olympics.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak stated in a letter to the IOC that Russia will fully comply with the Olympic Charter’s provision against all forms of discrimination.

Kozak added that the law “cannot be regarded as discrimination based on sexual orientation” because it applies to everyone equally.

On 23 August 2013, Putin announced that all “gatherings, rallies, demonstrations, marches, and pickets” that are not part of the Olympics or Paralympics are banned in Sochi for the two-and-a-half months surrounding the 2014 Winter Olympics. Additionally, vehicles entering Sochi must be cars with local license plates, emergency vehicles, or a vehicle accredited by the Olympic organizers.

On its Twitter page, the television channel Dozhd posted: “Putin’s decree has turned Sochi-2014 into Moscow-1980.” In 1980, Soviet authorities had restricted entry to Moscow during the Summer Olympics and forced dissidents and other “anti-social” people out of the city limits.

While Russian authorities have already repeatedly denied gay activists’ applications to set up a Pride House in Sochi during the Olympics, activist Nikolai Alexeyev denounced Putin’s decree and told the Associated Press that he would petition the Supreme Court next week. Alexeyev intends to argue that by creating the ban, Putin is “violating our right to freedom of assembly.”

In addition to gay pride protests, Human Rights Watch has protested against the harassment of journalists and activists investigating alleged illegal activity connected to the Games, including the ill-treatment of migrant workers, environmental damage, and inadequate compensation for those building the Olympic complex.

To punish the few, Putin attacked the whole. For the whole to find peace again, they must now welcome the few.

For further information, please see:

Euronews – Putin Bans All Public Gatherings during Sochi Winter Olympics – August 24, 2013

Deutsche Welle – Putin Bans Protests in Sochi during Russia’s Winter Olympics – August 23, 2013

Reuters – Olympics Hosts Must Have Clean Rights Record – Rights Group – August 23, 2013

Washington Post – At Sochi Olympics, the Podium Can Be a Platform – August 23, 2013

Washington Post – Russian President Putin Bans Any Rallies in Sochi before and during 2014 Olympic Games – August 23, 2013

Times – Russia Defends Anti-Gay Law in Letter to Olympic Committee – August 22, 2013

U.N. Department of Safety and Security has Blocked Investigators from Heading to the Site of Chemical Weapons attack in Syria as International Community Demands and Investigation

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syrian opposition activists claim that the Syrian regime carried out a massive chemical attack in Ghouta, a suburb of the capital, Damascus, killing hundreds of people. Al Jazeera’s Nisreen El-Shamayleh reported that videos capturing the alleged attack showed children and adults in field hospitals, some of them suffocating and coughing.

Hundreds of people were treated at the site of Wednesday’s alleged chemical attack in Syria for symptoms similar to those seen in victims of nerve gas attacks. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Chemical weapons experts have said that the symptoms of the victims shown on the footage could indicate the use of a nerve agent. Dina Esfandiary of the International Institute for Strategic Studies said, “By looking at the videos, you can tell that some of the victims are suffering from asphyxiation. They don’t have any external wounds, so it’s consistent with the use of a chemical agent.” She said that it is difficult to determine what actually happened at the site of the alleged attack without physical samples.

Leaders of the international community are demanding that the Syrian government immediately allow United Nations inspectors onto the site of the alleged chemical attacks, which have killed as many as 1,800 people.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the Syrian government to allow the team of U.N. inspectors already in Syria to investigate alleged chemical weapons attacks at three unrelated sites. He has said that the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime should be investigated immediately. He also said there is “no time to waste” in getting an inspection team to Ghouta.

The Secretary-General said that the use of chemical weapons by Bashar al-Assad’s regime would constitute a crime against humanity. He warned the Syrian regime of “serious consequences” that will follow if their use of chemical weapons against their own people was proven.

Russia, which has maintained support for the Al-Assad regime, has called on the Syrian government to cooperate with the United Nation’s experts in Syria to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry after the reports first emerged Wednesday, that the “Russian side called on the Syrian government to cooperate with the UN chemical experts,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.

U.S. President Barack Obama has said that what has occurred in Syria “indicates that this is clearly a big event, of grave concern.” He said that the international community must determine more about whether a chemical weapons attack has occurred and has called for the al-Assad regime to allow for a full investigation.

The United Kingdom and France have also issued strong statements demanding U.N. investigators be granted access to the attack sites.

Despite the International community’s collective demands for an investigation, the U.N has yet to authorize investigator’s to go to Ghouta, Kevin Kennedy, acting head of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security told reporters at the U.N. headquarters on Friday that he has not yet given the inspectors a green light to visit the sites of the alleged attacks, citing extreme violence in the region. Kennedy said, “It’s an active war zone in Damascus.”

For further information please see;

Al Jazeera – Hundreds reported killed in Syria gas attack – 21 August 2013

Foreign Policy – Congress’ Doves Rethinking U.S. Intervention After Syria’s ‘Chemical’ Attacks – 22 August 2013

Al Jazeera – New footage emerges of Syria ‘gas attack’ – 23 August 13

Al Jazeera – Russia backs UN probe of Syria attack – 23 August 2013

CNN International – Official: US military updates options for possible strikes on Syria – 23 August 2013

CNN International – Syria under pressure to allow urgent probe of chemical weapons claim –23 August 2013

British Authorities Detain Partner of Snowden Journalist Under Terror Law

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, England – The decision of British authorities to detain the partner of a journalist who has reported on both United States and United Kingdom surveillance programs has come under fire, as opposition politicians and human rights lawyers are demanding an explanation.

Greenwald (left) and Miranda as Miranda finally reached Rio de Janeiro Airport following a nine-hour detention. (Photo courtesy of The Guardian)

David Michael Miranda, the partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, who writes a column for the British newspaper The Guardian, was detained for nine hours before being released without charge.

Greenwald has written about the U.S. and U.K. surveillance programs based on the leaks by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Miranda had met with Laura Poitras, an American filmmaker who has worked with Greenwald on the Snowden leaks, in Berlin and was in route to Rio de Janeiro. The Guardian has stated that Miranda, though not an employee of the newspaper, “often assists [Greenwald] in his work,” and the newspaper generally reimburses Miranda for his flights.

During Miranda’s nine-hour detention, the maximum allowed by law, he was questioned by many agents. “I stayed in a room; there were six different agents, entering and leaving, who spoke with me. They asked questions about my whole life, about everything. They took my computer, video game, cellphone, memory thumb drives- everything,” Miranda stated.

The police have stated that Miranda’s detention was lawful under Schedule 7 of Britain’s Terrorism Act 2000, which allows police to detain an individual at an airport, port or international rail station for up to nine hours for questioning about whether they have been involved with acts of terrorism.

“They completely abused their own terrorism law for reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism,” Greenwald has written in a column.” He opined that his partner’s detention and questioning were “clearly intended to send a message of intimidation to those of us who have been reporting on the NSA and GCHQ.”

Britain’s official independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, David Anderson, stated he has asked authorities to explain why Miranda was detained for the maximum allowable amount of time. Of the 69,000 people stopped pursuant to Schedule 7 between 2011 and 2012, less than 40 people have been held for over six hours.

As Miranda is a Brazilian national, Brazil’s foreign minister Antonio Pariota has sought reasoning from British Foreign Secretary William Hague, calling Miranda’s detention “not justifiable.”

Though the United States government has stated it was given a “heads up” regarding the planned detention, it has stated that the decision for the detention was independent from them.

Greenwald now plans to “write much for aggressively than before” about the U.K.’s surveillance programs. “I’m going to publish many more things about England as well. I have many documents about the system of espionage of England, and now my focus will be there, too. I think they will regret what they’ve done.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Snowden Journalist to Publish UK Spy Secrets – 20 August 2013

The Independent – Snowden Affair: US Was Given ‘Heads-Up’ on Detention of David Miranda at Heathrow – 20 August 2013

BBC News – US Given ‘Heads-Up’ on David Miranda Detention – 19 August 2013

The Guardian – David Miranda: “The Said I Would be Put in Jail if I Didn’t Cooperate” – 19 August 2013

New York Times – Britons Question Whether Detention of Reporter’s Partner Was Terror-Related – 19 August 2013

Yahoo News UK & Ireland – Use of UK Terror Law to Detain a Reporter’s Partner ‘a disgrace – 19 August 2013

 

 

 

 

 

North Korea Resumes Reunions for Families Separated During Korean Civil War

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PYONGYANG, North Korea– North Korea has agreed to South Korea’s proposal to resume reuniting families that were separated during the Korean Civil War (1950-53). Observers take this as a sign of encouragement that the otherwise bitter and flaring relationship between North and South is beginning to cool down.

A hugely emotional affair, family reunions are set to resume after North Korea finally accepted the South’s proposal. (Photo courtesy of BBC)

The reunions are expected to take place on September 19, during the elaborate Chuseok harvest festival, according to reports released on Sunday by KCNA, a major North Korean news agency.

North Korea set off months of unsettling tensions with a long-range rocket launch in December followed by an underground nuclear test in February. The North’s menacing rhetoric against the United States and South Korea hit its apex between March and April amid U.S.-South Korean military drills in the region, and a vote by the U.N. Security Council  to impose even tougher sanctions on the Pyongyang regime, in hopes to quell the swelling tide of nuclear threats.

The KCNA reported that both North and the South, following an agreement to reopen the Kaesong Industrial Zone, will soon discuss the possibility of resuming cross-border tours at Mount Kumgang.

The Kaesong Industrial Zone, a massive complex, located in the North but shared by the two nations, has been closed since April. Kim Jong Un’s regime began blocking South Koreans from entering the manufacturing complex, which sits on the North’s side of the heavily fortified border and houses the operations of more than 120 South Korean companies. Pyongyang then removed the more than 50,000 North Koreans working in the zone’s factories, saying it was temporarily suspending activity in the area. The decision to halt operations surprised some observers, since Kaesong has long been considered an important source of hard currency for Pyongyang.

Mount Kumgang is a North Korean resort where a South Korean tourist was shot by a North Korean soldier in 2008 after allegedly walking into an off-limits area. The reunion will take place at the resort.

“The Kaesong Industrial Zone and the tours to Mt. Kumgang resort are valuable works common to the nation which should not be delayed as they are symbols of reconciliation, unity, reunification and prosperity,” the KCNA reported.

The tragedy of divided families dates to the 1950-1953 Korean War, when the Cold War’s division of the peninsula into two nations became a permanent state of affairs. Amid fighting, millions became refugees — either fleeing violence or fearing political repercussions from either side. In the winter of 1950, some 650,000 refugees left North Korea as U.N. forces retreated after a surprise Chinese offensive.

There is no direct contact between the two Koreas, but a few families in the South have managed to establish voice and written contact, albeit in secrecy, with their relatives in the North in recent years. Most such communications are a result of North Korea’s border with China, which has become easier to overcome, not to mention the prominence of illegal cell phones that have penetrated the otherwise insulated state.

The first family reunions took place following a landmark summit between the two Koreas in 2000. Since that time, 17,100 people representing 3,500 families have been reunited on more than 18 separate occasions.

The meetings are bittersweet, as the chances of any of the divided family members meeting again are slim. The last such reunion took place in 2010.

According to a report at the time, approximately 80,000 South Koreans registered  to join one of the few reunions, but 40,000 people are believed to have since passed away or given up hope, according to the South’s Ministry of Unification. Figures from north of the demilitarized zone remain unknown.

For more information, please see:

BBC — North Korea Agrees to Family Reunions with South — 18 August 2013

Reuters — North Korea accepts South’s proposal to resume war-torn family reunions — 18 August 2013

Bloomberg — North Korea Agrees to Reunion Talks After Gaeseong Accord — 18 August 2013

Deutsche Welle — North Korea agrees to resumption of family reunions — 18 August 2013

CNN — North Korea agrees to family reunions with the South, report says — 18 August 2013