News

Vatican Cleric, Secret Service Officer Implicated in $26 Million Vatican Bank Scandal; Leads Bank Director, Deputy to Resign

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ROME, Italy – The director of the Vatican bank and his deputy resigned Monday amidst a financial scandal that has led to a prelate and an Italian Secret Service Officer being arrested by Italian authorities.

The Vatican bank finds itself marred by a large financial scandal. (Photo courtesy of BBC news)

The prelate, Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, the bishop of Salerno, and the secret service agent, Giovanni Maria Zito, were detained after an investigation arising out of a three-year examination into the Vatican Bank.

Italian prosecutors allege that the men planned to sneak $26 million into Italy and avoid facing financial controls on the money. They allegedly hired a private plane last July with the intention of bringing the cash from Switzerland to Italy, where the money was to be picked up by Zito, who, by virtue of his position as a Secret Service Agent, would not be required to declare it at the border.

According to reports, Scarano needed the money to pay off a personal mortgage, and was advised to ask 56 friends to accept 10,000 euros each to launder the money and inconspicuously hide it.

The Vatican bank, known as the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), saw its director, Paolo Cipriani, as well as its deputy director, Massimo Tulli, step down “in the best interest of the institute and the Holy See,” the Vatican said in a statement.

The IOR has been under strict scrutiny amid concerns that it was being used as an offshore tax haven. It has undergone drastic changes in an effort to adhere to international norms to fight money laundering and terror financing. The “old guard” management of the bank did not always whole-heartedly conform to the scrutiny, and Monday’s resignations represent a final overthrow of the “old guard” management.

The European Union and the United States have notified countries that they would no longer tolerate tax havens such as Switzerland and Luxembourg. Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI have tried to bring the bank into compliance with European norms so that it can use the euro. As such, the Vatican has been complying with investigators on the case, which has largely been unprecedented its history as a sovereign entity.

In years past, the Vatican has refused to assist in investigations into a murder, a kidnapping, and an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II.

“This time the collaboration is real, and the Vatican has announced that it would do its own internal investigation,” a Turin reporter indicated.

A commission of cardinals was appointed by Pope Francis that will report on further activities of the IOR and collect both confidential and non-confidential information on the bank.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Vatican Bank Director and Deputy Resign Amid Scandal – 1 July 2013

Yahoo News – Vatican Bank Director, Deputy Resign Amid Scandal – 1 July 2013

Al Jazeera – Vatican Cleric Arrested in Corruption Case – 28 June 2013

Corriere – Prelate and Secret Service Officer Arrested in Vatican Bank Inquiry – 28 June 2013

New York Times – Cleric Arrested in $26 Million Bank Plot, Leaving New Blot on Vatican Bank – 28 June 2013

 

After Violent Clash, Student Protesters arrested in Chile

By Ellis Cortez
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile – Police clashed with students in Chile’s capital, Santiago, on June 26th after a peaceful nationwide demonstration by more than 100,000 students demanding education reform. Chilean police have arrested more than 100 people, many of them teenagers, after raiding secondary schools that had been taken over by their students.

Protesters run holding Molotov cocktails to throw at police in violent clashes during a student demonstration in Santiago, Chile on Wednesday, June 26, 2013. (Photo Courtesy of AP/Luis Hidalgo)

Local television showed police bursting into schools barricaded with chairs as well as isolated clashes between students and police. The violence erupted when protesters began to throw stones and Molotov cocktails at police forces. Police in riot gear responded with water cannons and tear gas.

“They are not students, they are criminals and extremists,” Interior and Security Minister Andres Chadwick said at a press conference. “They’ve acted in a coordinated and planned way to provoke these acts of violence.”

Chile’s powerful student movement has staged major demonstrations to demand free and high quality education, along with the elimination of the profit motive at private universities. These demonstrations have been going on in the country since 2011, during which thousands of students have taken over schools and universities sporadically.

Although Chile’s education system is regarded by many as one of the best in Latin America, students argue it is deeply unfair. They say middle-class students have access to some of the best schooling in the region, while the poor have to be content with under-funded state schools. Students are demanding that the state be put back in control of the mostly privatized public universities.

In contrast to other protests, the student movement on Wednesday received the support of teachers, the CUT union, the professors union, the Federation of Port Workers and the CTC copper union, among other labor organizations.

Protesters also demanded a wider distribution of Chile’s copper wealth. Chile is the world’s top copper producer and has witnessed a surge in economic growth and investment, which the demonstrators say is not being used for the betterment of society as a whole. The South American country is afflicted by severe income inequality.

“This has to do with discontent that is deeply rooted in many sectors of society. But we’re the first ones to sympathize with people who are innocent victims of this violence, because there’s no way to justify these types of clashes,” Andres Fielbaum, president of the University of Chile student federation told state television.

Even after two years of student marches, students say they have seen few real benefits and the dispute over education reform remains a key electoral issue ahead of the November 17 presidential election.

For more information please see:

The Guardian  Chilean police evict student protesters from schools  27 June 2013

BBC Chilean students arrested in school raids after protests 27 June 2013

RT Actualidad Fuertes enfrentamientos marcan nueva jornada de protestas en Chile 27 June 2013

NBC News Violent clashes spoil Chile student protest 27 June 2013

 Fox News Latino Union members, miners join huge student protest in Chile 26 June 2013


Guinea Court Charges Minister for 2009 Staduim Massacre

By Erica Smith
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

CONAKRY, Guinea – A court in Guinea has charged Col Claude Pivi with murder, rape, and destruction of property for his alleged role in the 2009 massacre of opposition supporters in a stadium in Conakry.

2009 Stadium Massacre (Photo courtesy of Voice of America)

On September 28, 2009, security forces entered and opened fire on peaceful pro- democracy demonstrators gathered in the stadium to protest the military junta.  At least 150 people were shot, trampled, and stabbed and about 100 women were publicly raped, and tortured during the attack.  A subsequent U.N. investigation concluded that the events at the stadium likely constitute crime against humanity and the violence was believed to be a factor in the ending of the junta. Eyewitness accounts place Col Pivi in the stadium during the attack.

Col Pivi was a leading figure in the CNDD military junta at the time of the massacre and is now minister for presidential security.  He is the highest ranking official to be charged thus far and is one of seven leaders from the junta to be charged for the massacre.

There were fears that Pivi  would never be charged for his role in the attack because he still has a loyal following among the army.  Human rights groups have appluaded the action taken by the court, but are concerned that a trial may never take place.  “Our concern is that this must not just be a situation whereby people are indicted and then are left to go about their business as normal. We want to see some further advancement on this issue…we welcome this indictment as it should help us get to the truth. However, we call on this government to make sure that all those indicted persons still in the country should be removed from their posts until they face justice.” Asmaou Diallo, who runs a victims’ support group told BBC news.

Rights groups have also criticized President Alpha Conde, elected in 2010 in Guinea’s first democratic power hand over since the end of colonialism in 1958, for not moving fast enough to prosecute those responsible for the 2009 attack.

For further information, please see:

Washington Post — Court in Guinea charges notorious military commander Claude Pivi for 2009 stadium massacre — 28 June 2013

Human Rights Watch — Guinea: Minister Charged for Alleged Role in Stadium Massacre — 28 June 2013

Chicago Tribune — Guinea charges minister over 2009 massacre of demonstrators — 28 June 2013

BBC News — Guinea stadium massacre: Minister Claude Pivi charged — 28 June 2013

China’s Xinjiang Region Plagued by Unrest and Deadly Attacks

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– Violence erupted Wednesday in China’s western Xinjiang region, and continued through Friday with reports of at least 35 dead. Beijing officials reported through state-run media outlet Xinhua Saturday that the two incidents were “terrorist attacks.” This is the deadliest attack in the area since a 2009 clash between ethnic minority Uighurs and the majority Han Chinese left over 200 people dead. President Xi Jinping has authorized a security crackdown in the area, stationing riot police, armored tanks, and other security military personnel throughout the region.

Armed police officers stationed in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

Wednesday’s incidents took place in Lukqun township in Turpan prefecture, a fairly remote area of the vast western region. Reports state that some 11 armed assailants attacked a police station with knives and set fire to nearby police cars. The initial violence culminated in the deaths of 24 people, at least two were police officers. The police forces squashed the brief uprising, however, killing 10 of the assailants and severely wounding one, who died later in the week.

The rioting continued on Friday in the desert city of Hotan, a remote area heavily populated by minority Uighur. According to Xinhua News Agency, approximately 100 people, armed with knives and riding motorcycles, gathered outside of mosques and other local religious venues, before launching an attack on a police station near Moyu county. Additionally, some 200 people, reportedly unaffiliated with the motorcycle group, attempted to “incite trouble” at a nearby shopping mall.

While little information has been uncovered describing any causes or reasons for the incidents, reports suggest that they reflect a continual strife in the region between the minority Uighurs and majority Han.

Uighurs make up approximately 45% of the regions population, the remainder being Han Chinese. The Uighurs are an ethnically diverse group, largely muslim and speaking Turkic, that have inhabited the area for decades. The most recent decade has seen a massive influx of Han Chinese to the area. The Uyghur American Association, a Washington-based advocacy group, argues that the Chinese government has cracked down intensely on religious practice by Uighurs, and restricted their cultural heritage under a guise of trying to eradicate “poverty” from the Xinjiang region.

The Chinese government has dumped billions of dollars into the region in order to decrease poverty, which it perceives as the legitimate source of unrest between Uighurs and the Han settlers. In pursuit of these investments, the government policy has been to foster religious and cultural identity which is legitimate. The government has since taken a harsh stance against most Uighurs whom it believes use Islam to incite violence and repel the Communist regime.

In July of 2009 a massive, seven day riot broke out between Uighurs and Han Chinese in Urumqi, the regional capital. The events began with a relatively peaceful march by approximately 1,000 Uighurs, but quickly degenerated into a violent riot, with a reported death toll of 197, although UAA and Human Rights Watch suspect that this number is a severe under-estimate. Since these riots, the Chinese government has suspiciously watched Uighurs, suspecting them as “separatists” and believing many Uighur groups to be connected with the Taliban in Pakistan. Beijing has issued several reports that connect some violent Uighur groups with terrorist training under the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) based in Pakistan. ETIM affiliations are banned in China, and the UAA disputes claims that Islamic extremists and fundamentalists exist in the Uighur population of Xinjiang.

The latest incidents took place just one week before the four year anniversary of the Urumqi riots.

The Chinese government has vowed to resolve the issues and extinguish any further unrest or terrorist acts. Yu Zhengsheng, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, pledged to “step up action to crack down upon terrorist groups and extremist organizations,” at a meeting of government officials in Urumqi.

For more information, please see:

The Globe and Mail — Death toll from violence in China’s Xinjiang region rises to 35: state media — 28 June 2013

Reuters — China’s troubled Xinjiang hit by more violence — 29 June 2013

VOA — Xinjiang’s Deadliest Violence in Years Renews Focus on Ethnic Tensions — 26 June 2013

Channel News Asia — China blames ‘terrorists’ for sparking riot in Xinjiang clash — 29 June 2013

Indian Express — Violence hits west China’s Xinjiang ahead of key anniversary — 29 June 2013

BBC — China’s Xinjiang hit by fresh unrest — 29 June 2013

 

Israel Approves Building New Settlements in East Jerusalem Ahead of John Kerry’s Visit to the Region

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a controversial Israeli settlement in the West Bank on Monday where he dedicated a school named for his late father. The Netanyahu visit to the West Bank was played down by Israeli officials; however, the visit drew the Israeli settlement program into the limelight just ahead of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the Middle East. The Secretary of State’s visit to the region is an attempt to reignite peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Jerusalem construction prepares new homes in two Palestinian-populated districts. (Photo courtesy of Aljazeera)

An Israeli planning committee has introduced a plan to build an additional sixty-nine housing units in Har Homa, a Jewish settlement of East Jerusalem originally constructed more than a decade ago with a population of roughly twelve thousand Israelis. The municipality has said that this plan is not new and has already been passed through initial planning stages.

Kerry’s visit will be his fifth to the region since being sworn in as Secretary of State in February. Kerry is expected to visit Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramalhal. Patrick Ventral, acting deputy spoken for the State Department decided to answer any questions about the announced settlements, but stated that on his trip Kerry will “sit down with both sides.” Kerry mentioned that he is not concerned with setting any deadlines for specific actions to be taken by either side, including limits on settlement development.

Kerry said “I’m not setting any deadlines. We purposefully wanted to avoid deadlines. Deadlines can become self-imposed hurdles and, in fact, impediments to actually making progress.” However, Kerry stated that this is an urgent time in the Middle East peace process and a critical moment to make difficult decisions because ultimately “time is the enemy of a peace process.”

Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be recognized as the Palestinian state, which was annexed by Israel but never recognized by the international community. Palestine also feels that Israel must stop the development of new Jewish settlements in the occupied regions of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, lands that Palestinian hope will encompass the new Palestinian state. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of the state they seek in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. They say that Israel must stop building settlements before peace talks resume.

Palestinian officials condemned Netanyahu’s controversial visit to a Jewish Settlement and plans for continued construction in Har Homa as “message” to Secretary of State John Kerry intended to underpin the Israeli government’s possession in regard to continued settlement development in the West Bank.

For further information, please see:

Guardian – McDonald’s Israel Rejects West Bank Branch Proposal – 27 June 2013

Aljazeera – Israel Approves Settlements in East Jerusalem – 26 June 2013

CNN International – Israel Okays East Jerusalem Settlement Just before Kerry’s Peace Visit – 26 June 2013

Washington Post – Ahead of Kerry Visit, Israeli Leader Dedicates School in West Bank Settlement – 24 June 2013