News

Bolivian Soldiers Detained in Chile Released After a Month

By Pearl Rimon
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SUCRE, Bolivia – An agreement reached between the district attorney of Tarapacá, Chile and the defense for the Bolivian soldiers arrested in Chile earlier this month, allows for the soldiers to return to Bolivia after more than a month of being detained in Chile. The soldiers were accused of illegal entry into Chile armed with weapons, which has strained the already tense relations between the countries.

The recently released soldiers united with their families after detainment. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

The soldiers are José Luis Fernández Choque (18), Augusto Cárdenas (19), and Alex Choque Quispe (20). The soldiers were arrested on January 25, as they chased suspected car smugglers. The Chilean Court changed their ruling of holding the soldiers in custody until their trial dates to allowing Cárdenas and Choque’s release on bail and Fernández’s release to house arrest. Fernández was the only one charged with possession of weapons.

The deal between the two sides allows for the soldiers to return to Bolivia on the condition that they do no return to Chile for a year, in exchange, prosecutors will drop the charges against the soldiers.

“What progress has been made is exactly what the soldiers requested publically in the sense that there is equal treatment for all,” said Celedón, a lawyer for the soldiers.

After the new agreement was made public, the district attorney for the Tarapacá Region, Manuel Guerra, explained why it had not been reached earlier.

The reasoning behind the long negotiations is explained by district attorney Manuel Guerra,“It was important to verify that the soldiers consent to the terms…They are the ones who have to say if they accept or don’t accept the deal offered by the [prosecution.] We don’t want to generate situations which can hinder the possibility of agreement.”

Bolivian President, Evo Morales, demands that the Chilean military should issue an apology for the detainment. While Chilean Foreign Minister, Alfredo Moreno, urged for the Bolivian military to instruct the soldiers to refrain from illegally crossing the border.

The agreement was made public a day after the Chilean Senate announced that a commission of senators were to travel to Bolivia in an attempt to improve relations.

Relations between Chile and Bolivia have historically been strained due to Bolivia trying to reclaim the Pacific coastline territory that it lost to Chile during the 1879-1884 war. President Morales wrote to Chilean President Pinera and accused him of wanting to keep Bolivia “geographically amputated, economically weak and socially dependent” by “blocking our legitimate right to access to the sea.”

 

For more information, please see:

BBC News — Bolivian Soldiers Held in Chile Return Home – 01 March 13

Prensa Latina — Bolivian President Praises Liberation of Soldiers – 01 March 13

Santiago Times — Bolivian Soldiers Held in Chile to Return Home After Tense Stay – 28 Feb 13

Global Post — Bolivia-Chile Tensions Rise Over Border Incident – 25 Feb 13

UN Appeals Court Overturns War Crimes Conviction

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – On Thursday, a United Nations appeals court overturned Momcilo Perisic’s, former Yugoslav Army chief, conviction of war crimes. He was originally sentenced to 27 years for aiding and abetting killings in Bosnia and Croatia, including attacks on Sarajevo and Srebrenica.

In 2011, Momcilo Perisic was convicted of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

In a 4 to 1 decision, the judges ruled that Perisic did not order Serbian forces into Bosnia-Herzegovina to commit war crimes. Furthermore, the judges also determined that he was not in a position to discipline soldiers for attacking the Croatian capital, Zagreb.

During Perisic’s trial, the record showed Perisic regularly attended the Supreme Defense Council’s meetings where Slobodan Milosevic, then the Serbian president, and other leaders approved sending weapons, fuel, police officers and military personnel to fight on behalf of the Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia.

However, the appeals judges said that regardless if Perisic knew about the crimes Serb or pro-Serb fighters committed in Bosnia and Croatia, he did not “directly or knowingly assist” in the atrocities, but rather he made decisions to support the war.

The United Nations appeal court ultimately decided that lower court committed an error by not showing that he was “physically present when criminal acts were planned or committed.”

Theodor Meron, president of the appeals chamber in the tribunal in The Hague, stated, “While Mr Perisic may have known of VRS [Serb Army of Republika Srpska, VRS] crimes, the Yugoslav Army aid he facilitated was directed towards the VRS’s general war effort rather than VRS crimes.”

However, this overturned conviction created some concerns. Various lawyers in The Hague said the ruling confused them.

The court’s ruling, which follows other recent acquittals by appeals court judges, can be seen as changing the story line of war. As a consequence, these recent reversals tightened the definition of crimes for which military commanders can be held responsible.

In the past, the crime of “aiding and abetting” only required knowledge that assistance was being used to commit serious crimes. Yet, the appeals court said that the “intention to commit crimes” is required for a conviction.

Nicholas Koumjian, a lawyer who has worked in several international courts, stated,  “I think this is a step backwards in the law; it contradicts all jurisprudence of this tribunal, even back to the findings of trials at Nuremberg after World War II.”

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia’s appeals chamber in The Hague ordered Perisic’s immediate release.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Momcilo Perisic: Yugoslav Army Chief Conviction Overturned – 28 February 2013

CNN – Tribunal Reverses Balkan War Crimes Verdict – 28 February 2013

RFE/RL – UN Appeals Court Overturns Ex-Yugoslav Military Chief’s Conviction – 28 February 2013

The New York Times – Court Overturns War Crimes Convictions of Former Chief Yugoslav Army – 28 February 2013

Protesters Looking for a Government Shake-Up, Harlem Style

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporters, Middle East

The latest viral fad that has dominated YouTube in the United States has been the dance videos made to DJ Baauer’s hit, the “Harlem Shake.” The video begins with one person dancing to a combination of hip-hop, house, and crunk music known as trap music, before it cuts to a group of people in costume dancing at the same location. The internet sensation has now taken the Middle East by storm.

The “Harlem Shake” is now being used as a tool of protest across the Middle East. (Photo Courtesy of the New York Times)

While the essence of the videos are entertainment, the viral video has found a niche in the Arab protest movements. Videos have arisen all around the Middle East like Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, but the biggest impacts have been felt in Syria, Tunisia, and Egypt.

In Tunisia, students brawled last week with Salafi extremists outside the Bourguiba Language Institute in Tunis. The Salafi are ultraconservative and tried to stop the shooting of a student made video which they found to be indecent. One of the Salafis held a firebomb, but he was surrounded by students and teachers who kept him from using it. His main concern was that his fellow Muslim brothers were dying in Palestine, and all these students wanted to do was dance.

Shortly after, a younger group of Tunisians from the Père Blanc school filmed their own video without any protest. Upon receiving word of its completion, however, the Tunisian Minister of Education, Abdul Latif Obaid, ordered a criminal investigation of the matter. The Minister who is viewed as more of a moderate leftist pulled this maneuver in order to solidify his cabinet position when the ruling conservative Ennahda Party makes its new choices. This investigation prompted organized protests by students outside the of the Ministry of Education building. These protesters were greeted with tear gas.

In Egypt, approximately seventy demonstrators performed the popular dance just outside the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood is the ultraconservative Islamist party that boasts Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. Besides for performing the “Harlem Shake,” the group of demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans. The group was specifically reacting to last week’s arrest of four pharmaceutical students who were detained for making their own “Harlem Shake” video. The arrested individuals were dancing in just their underwear, which is in violation of their public decency laws.

While the “Harlem Shake” has caused conflict in the two previously mentioned countries, its greatest unifying effect has taken place in Syria. There, a group of adolescents staged a scene that appears to be a fight between Assad loyalists and the Free Syrian Army. Before long, the fight busts out into a dance party with the “Harlem Shake” playing in the background. Posters can be seen in the video that read, “Stop the Violence” and “Do the Harlem Shake.”

For further information, please see:

France 24 – ‘Harlem Shake’ Rocks Deeply-Divided Arab World – 1 March 2013

New York Times – ‘Harlem Shake’ Protests in Tunisia and Egypt – 28 February 2013

The Times of Israel – ‘Harlem Shake’ Stirs up North Africa – 28 February 2013

New York Times – Arab Spring Blues? – 27 February 2013

Zambian President Condemns Electoral Violence

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

LUSAKA, Zambia – On Wednesday, Zambian President Michael Sata urged his fellow Zambians to cease the this election season’s violence as he condemned the killing of Patriotic Front (PF) Monze District Vice-chairperson Harrison Chanda.

President Sata has come under for allegedly running an authoritarian state.(Photo courtesy of Arab News/AFP)

Chanda, a party youth secretary, was reportedly hacked on the head with an axe after being attacked by a group of people during his by-election campaign in Livingstone on Monday night.

“The person who has died in Livingstone is a human being like all of us. Let us do politics without violence, if you can’t convince people by talking, stones will not convince them, they will just scare away other people,” President Sata said. He also reminded political parties that “political violence would only cost the country the much needed development and scare away voters.”

According to the President, this is the first time he had to speak against political violence since 1968 when former President Kenneth Kaunda and African National Congress (ANC) leader Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula signed the Choma Declaration to introduce a one party State at the height of political unrest in the country.

“Zambia is very precious, we shall all come and go. Why are we killing each other? Stop fighting and stop killing each other. The blood of the person killed in Livingstone, does not show that its Bemba blood, or Tonga blood or Lozi blood. It’s the same blood, like Tongas say ‘bantu bomwe’ (we are one people),” the President stressed out.

Another incident that prompted the President statement was a riot protesting the arrest of Hakainde Hichilema, the leader of Zambia’s second-largest opposition group. Hichilema, head of the United Party for National Development (UPND), was brought to custody on Tuesday as a suspect for the murder of Chanda.

According to UPND spokesperson, Cornelius Mweetwa, “Hakainde was bundled into a police vehicle . . . [He] has been arrested and is currently under detention with all the people that were with him. His security personnel have also been arrested. As a result people are now rioting, calling for his release.”

Meetwa added that 20 people, including 2 parliamentarians, are currently in police custody over the killing of Chanda.

Because of the troubled state of the campaigns, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) decided to postpone the Livingstone parliamentary by-election until order is restored. President Sata commended the ECZ’s decision, saying that it “should demonstrate to all that the ECZ is operating independently and that violence will not be condoned.”

 

For further information, please see:

AFP – Zambia calls for calm, postpones by-election amid bloodshed – 28 February 2013

All Africa – Zambia: Sata Condemns Campaign Violence – 28 February 2013

Arab News – Zambia president urges calm amid by-poll bloodshed – 28 February 2013

Zambia Reports – Damage Control Sata Praises ECZ on Livingstone by Election – 28 February 2013

Zambian Watchdog – Sata accuses UPND of profiting from violence – 28 February 2013

All Africa – Zambia: Maureen Lashes Out At Sata’s Intolerance – 27 February 2013

Acclaimed Closed Curtain Crew to be Kept in Iran

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – A couple of weeks ago, at the 63rd annual Berlin International Film Festival, also known as the Berlinale, Jafar Panahi was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Script for his film, Closed Courtain. Iranian authorities were far from proud of their fellow Iranian’s success, and seized the passports of co-director/actor Kambuzia Partovi and actress Maryam Moghadam. The move was made to ensure that those affiliated with the film could not promote it internationally.

The passports of Kambuzia Partovi and Maryam Moghadam have been confiscated so that the two artists involved with Jafar Panahi’s “Closed Curtain” cannot promote the film. (Photo Courtesy of the Guardian)

Javad Shamaghdari, the head of Iran’s ministry of culture’s cinema and film department was furious with the Berlinale for screening and awarding the film. “We have protested to the Berlin film festival. Its officials should amend their behavior because in cultural and cinematic exchange, this is not correct,” said Shamaghdari. “Everyone knows that a license is needed to make films in our country and send them abroad.” 

In December 2010, Panahi was sanctioned with a twenty year ban from making films. He was also barred from giving interviews, and was given a six year jail sentence. Nevertheless, in 2011, his work, “This Is Not a Film,” reached Cannes and was well received. Much of that video, filmed largely on his cell phone, tells the day-in-the-life account of Panahi while on house arrest.

His most recent work, Closed Curtain, which is also known as Padré, is a fictional drama that is a not so subtle critique of Iranian authorities’ repression of Iranian artists, which mirrors much of Panahi’s own situation. The tale focuses on individuals who are hiding at a remote beachfront villa, trying to evade the authorities. This is Panahi’s villa by the Caspian Sea where he is under house arrest.

Parvoti, who co-directs the film, also plays a screenwriter who is hiding from the authorities at  the villa. He blacks out the windows and attempts to write when Melika, played by Maryam Moghadam finds him. She claims to be a mere girl also on the run from the police, however, the nature of her prying questions about Parvoti’s hiding and screenwriting indicate that she may represent the spirit of freedom. Shortly after it is revealed that Parvoti and Melika are just on the set of a film which Pahini is shooting, however, characters from the film continually haunt Pahini. The film goes on to artistically suggest that Pahini is Parvoti.

The next appearance the film will make will be at the Hong Kong film festival. None of the major participants in the film will be allowed to leave Iran to promote it.

Panahi is also well known for directing The White Balloon, Crimson Gold, and Offside. Jafar Panahi, along with Nasrin Sotoudeh,  were co-winners of the prestigious 2012 Sakharov Prize, which is the top award given for freedom of thought.

For further information, please see:

Blouin Art Info – Iran Seizes Passports of Jafar Panahi’s “Closed Curtain” Collaborators – 28 February 2013

Film Society Lincoln Center – “Closed Curtain” Filmmakers Banned From Leaving Iran – 28 February 2013

Guardian – Jafar Panahi’s Closed Curtain Collaborators Grounded in Iran – 28 February 2013

Radio Zamaneh – Collaborators of Panahi Film Banned From Travel – 28 February 2013