By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Oceania

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America — President Obama on Wednesday ordered up to 450 additional U.S. troops to Iraq to train and assist beleaguered Iraqi security forces in the war against Islamic State militants, escalating the U.S. involvement in the battle against the Sunni extremists. The United States is also sending weapons to local Sunni and Shia tribes, as well as the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters who are operating under Iraqi command, in order to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

It is unclear at this time how long the advisers will remain in Iraq, or whether additional advisers could be called for in the future.

The troops will be deployed to the Taqaddum military base in Anbar province. The move is aimed at enabling more Iraqis, mostly Sunni tribal volunteers, to integrate into the Iraq Army and reclaim territory from Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

In a statement Wednesday, the White House said that the U.S. advisers will not serve in a combat role. The new deployment brings the number of U.S. military personnel in Iraq to about 3,550. The troops will advise and assist Iraqi soldiers at a base in eastern Anbar province, a stronghold of Islamic extremists.

With the addition of the advisers to the Taqaddum military base, U.S. advisers will be training Iraqi troops in five locations inside the country. The U.S. so far has trained more than 9,000 Iraqi troops, with another 3,000 currently in training.

However, former Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie stated the new plans were not enough. “This is too little too late. I call for the American administration to get their act together.” he added. “They don’t have any unified strategy. We don’t understand their policy in Iraq and in Syria, in the region. They are giving conflicting signs.”

Since eruptions began in the contested regions of Syria and Iraq, the Obama Administration has come under fire for what many have considered a lack of strategy and understanding of the conflict. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey spoke on Tuesday in Jerusalem regarding the President’s recent efforts.

“President Obama has asked us to look at whether there are other locations where we might establish training sites and develop Iraqi leaders,” Dempsey said. According to Dempsey, Obama has asked military brass to “take a look at what we’ve learned over the last eight from its programs and make recommendations to him on whether there are capabilities that we may want to provide to the Iraqis to make them more capable.”

At this time, however, President Obama continues to resist demands for combat troops, and no such plans are in place to put combat troops in Iraq or Syria.

For more information, please see:

BBC News — President Obama to boost army trainers in Iraq — 10 June 2015

Bloomberg — Obama Sending 450 Military Trainers to Base in Iraq’s Anbar — 10 June 2015

CBS News — Obama to send 450 more U.S. troops to Iraq — 10 June 2015

CNN — White House authorizes up to 450 additional troops in Iraq — 10 June 2015

LA Times — White House orders up to 450 more military advisors to Iraq — 10 June 2015

 

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America – Looting and violence erupted in the streets of Baltimore, the 26^th most populous city in the United States, following the funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25 year-old unarmed African American man who died as a result of injuries allegedly suffered while he was in police custody. Despite the families call for peace and request that no demonstrations be held on the day their son was to be laid to rest riots broke out a few blacks away from the church where Mr. Gray’s funeral was held. Seven Seven Baltimore police officers were injured on Monday as rioters threw bricks, broke windows, looted businesses and burned police cars. One of the injured police officers is reportedly unresponsive. Maryland’s Governor declared a state of Emergency.

The riots are the first major crisis faced by Loretta Lynch, who was sworn in as the nation’s first African American Attorney General earlier this morning. Following her swearing in, Lynch said improving relations between police and the communities they protect will be a high priority. “We can restore trust and faith both in our laws and in those of us who enforce them,” she said. Lynch met with President Obama this afternoon to discuss the riots unfolding in Baltimore, a city located just 40 miles from the White House in Washington D.C.. The Obama Administrator sent three delegates to Freddie Gray’s funeral including Broderick Johnson, a native of the city and the chairman of the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force.

With the exception of clashes with police on Saturday the demonstrations against police brutality in Baltimore have largely been peaceful. Police initially showed restraint on Monday as high schoolers began protesting and rioting in the streets but then began arresting protesters who allegedly were engaged in looting and attacks on police and intrastate as the violence erupted. Police also prepared to use teargas and pepper spray in an attempt to disperse crowds and prevent further damage. Looters broke into several privately owned establishments and began steeling goods. A CVS Pharmacy was looted and set ablaze in a neighborhood that has no grocery stores.

Police called on local businesses to closer early and for people to stay away from the affected areas if possible. The Baltimore Orioles game at Camden Yards, located near the neighborhood where the riots are occurring, was postponed. Church leaders belonging to local Christian churches as well as the Nation of Islam have called for peace. Reverend Jamal Bryant, the Gray family pastor and one of the primary leaders of the peaceful protests calling for justice for the Gray family, has condemned the violence and called on all involved to stop and go home. He criticized looters for disrespecting the Gray family’s wishes for peace in the wake of their son’s horrific death. “It is disappointing just a few hours after putting Gray to rest,” Reverend Jamal Bryant said. “This is not what the family asked for today of all days. This was a day of sacred closure.”

For more information please:

CNN International – Baltimore Protests Turn Violent; Police Officers Injured – 27 April 2015

CNN International – Baltimore Protests Turn into Riots – 27 April 2015

CNN Politics – White House, Lynch Turn To Baltimore – 27 April 2015

Reuters – Violence Erupts After Funeral of Baltimore Man Who Died In Police Custody – 27 April 2015

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

OTTAWA, Canada – The British Colombia Court of Appeals in western Canada has ruled that two Canadian First Nations will be allowed to bring their property rights claims against Rio Tinto Alcan, a major Canadian mining corporation, to trial. The Saik’uz and Stellat’en First Nations are suing the company for nuisance and breach of riparian water rights with respect to the Kenney Dam and Alcan Reservoir. A lower court threw the case out of court, denying the First Nations their right to have their day in court, however the Court of Appeals decision will allow the case to move forward.

The Saik’uz and Stellat’en First Nations are located downstream of the company’s Kenney hydroelectric dam and reservoir. The First Nations’ case claims that the Alcan Corporation’s operations of its dam and reservoir, including the diversion of water from the Nechako River which has been occurring since the 1950’s, are causing significant impacts to the Nechako River which damages the aboriginal lands of the First nations and destroys the local fisheries and aboriginal rights and title of the two First Nations.

“We are very pleased with the court’s decision,” Saik’uz First Nation Chief Stan Thomas said in a statement. “We intend to pursue our action for an injunction to protect the Nechako River, our fisheries and our way of life.” The Stellat’en First Nation Chief Archie Patrick said the decision recognizes the that First Nations’ aboriginal title exists and that first nations are entitled to the same private law protections as any other individual land owner in Canada. “We are pleased that the Court of Appeal recognized that First Nations’ aboriginal title exists, prior to proof in court or treaties with government,” Chief Patrick said “Our Peoples are determined to continue to seek justice for our rights and the Nechako River.”

The First Nations’ lawyer, Gregory McDade, said the British Colombia Court of Appeal’s decision is significant ruling in aboriginal law; saying, “It recognizes that First Nations have existing legal rights that are subject to protection now, and that third party industrial interests must respect those rights.”

The decision could be a landmark ruling in Canadian Indigenous Law, the case recognizes that First Nation property rights exist, even where the First Nations do not hold title to the land, and acknowledges that claims regarding violations of those rights should be allowed to be heard in court. The case will likely open the door for claims against Canada’s Industrial giants including large forestry and mining corporations, including those profiting from the controversial practice of Oil Sands development which has caused pollution in Canada’s once pristine western rivers and ecosystems.

For more Information please see:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – B.C. First Nations Can Sue Over Property Rights, Court Rules – 16 April 2015

The Providence – Appeal Court: No Title? No Problem. Aboriginals Can Sue Over Territorial Claims – 16 April 2015

The Vancouver Observer – Court Rules First Nations Can Sue Over Property Rights – 16 April 2015

The Prince George Citizen – Appeals Court Breathes New Life into Lawsuit against Rio Tinto Alcan – 15 April 2015

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America – The United States Department of Justice concluded that the Ferguson Missouri Police Department, which came under global scrutiny after the killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, routinely engages in racially biased practices, an official familiar with the findings said Tuesday. The investigation began in August after the shooting of Brown, an African American teenager by a white Ferguson Police Officer, which sparked protests nation-wide and brought Ferguson to a standstill. The investigation was ordered by Attorney General Eric Holder. The report found 85% of people subject to vehicle stops by Ferguson police were African-American; 90% of those who received citations were African American; and 93% of people arrested were African American. 67% of the Ferguson population is African America.

In 88% of the cases in which police the Ferguson police reported using force, it was against African-Americans. During the period 2012-2014 African American drivers were twice as likely as white drivers to be searched during traffic stops. However, African Americans were 26% less likely to be found in possession of illegal contraband. African Americans were also disproportionately more likely to be given a ticket by Ferguson police officers for minor infractions: 95% of tickets for “manner of walking in roadway,” a violation that is essentially jaywalking, were given to African Americans. Also, 94% of all “failure to comply” charges were filed against African Americans.

The apparent racial biases were not limited to the police force. Local judges in Ferguson were also found to have issued racially disparate rulings. African Americans 68% less likely to have their cases dismissed by a Ferguson municipal judge than white defendants, and were overwhelmingly more likely to be taken into custody during routine traffic stops solely for an outstanding warrant issued by the Ferguson courts.

The Justice Department also found disturbing evidence of blatant racism in internal documents of the Ferguson Police Department that subject that many of the apparent racial disparities in justice and law enforcement are more than a mere coincidence. The investigation found evidence of racist jokes being forwarded around the dependent and between court officials. One email included a joke about that then newly elected President Barack Obama in 2008. The joke claimed that the President would not hold office for long because “what black man holds a steady job for four years.”

Another particularly disturbing joke that made the rounds on Ferguson government emails in May 2011 said: “An African American woman in New Orleans was admitted into the hospital for a pregnancy termination. Two weeks later she received a check for $3000. She phoned the hospital to ask who it was from. The hospital said: ‘Crimestoppers.'”

Civil rights attorney Jerryl Christmas, who has represented people who have clashed with Ferguson police and city officials during the months since the August killing of Mike Brown said he was not surprised by the revelations, and he hopes that the Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson will be fired. “We already knew all this was going on. The problem is nobody is being prosecuted, nobody has been terminated,” Christmas said.

Ferguson Committeewoman Patricia Bynes said she was outraged by the racist emails. She said, “The fact that police officers and municipal court officials are using their public emails to tell racial jokes that just reeks of arrogance and ignorance” said Bynes. “It’s astounding. They think they are untouchable. The taxpayers have been paying for that racial bias.”

For more information please see:

CNN International – Justice Report Finds Systematic Discrimination against African-Americans in Ferguson – 4 March 2015

National Public Radio – DOJ: Ferguson Police Routinely Discriminate Against African Americans – 4 March 2015

Washington Post – Federal Probe Uncovers a Racist Joke about Obama in Official Ferguson Email – 4 March 2015

Reuters – Justice Department Finds Racial Bias in Ferguson Police Practices – 3 March 2015