North America & Oceania

Canadian Foreign Minister Protests Iran Head of State by Walking Out on Speech

By William Miller

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

NEW YORK, United States – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other Canadian officials boycotted a speech given by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations General Assembly to protest Iran’s human rights violations and President Ahmadinejad’s anti-Semitic remarks. Canada was joined in the boycott by Israel who was also not present for Ahmadinejad’s speech. Other nations, including the US, were present when the Iranian head of state began his speech but walked out as the speech took on more anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli tones.

A spokeswoman for Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon told the Canadian press that Cannon would not attend Ahmadinejad’s speech because Ahmadinejad is hostile to Canada’s ally Israel, continuously delivers anti-Semitic speeches, and commits countless human rights violations against his own people. The spokeswoman specifically cited the violent acts by the Iranian government towards election protestors in Iran who protested the results of the Iranian presidential election claiming the results were fraudulent. Opposition groups say there where at least seventy-two protestors killed by the Iranian government in the aftermath of the election. Iranian government officials, however, claim only thirty-six were killed. Hundreds of others remain imprisoned for their part in the protests.

Cannon himself also pointed to Iran’s detention of an Iranian-Canadian citizen as one of his reasons for not attending Ahmadinejad’s speech in an interview with Fox News. Iran has resisted all attempts by Canada to negotiate his release, claiming that the detainee was involved in a plot against the government although no charges have been brought against him. Iran has also denied his Canadian citizenship.

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Iranian President Mahmaud Ahamadinejad (PHOTO: Canadian Press)

President Ahmadinejad has a reputation for making anti-Semitic speeches for some time and has incited walkouts at UN events before. Diplomats from nations including the US, Britain, and France have protested his speeches in the past. He has called Israel “the most cruel and repressive racist regime” and has called for their destruction. He has also angered world leaders by claiming the Holocaust was fabricated and never actually took place. Although President Ahmadinejad’s speeches are condemned by the leaders of many nations he maintains a right as head of state to speak at the U.N. General Assembly and has been hailed by some world leaders who share his hostilities towards Israel.

For more information pleas see:

Canadian Press – Canada to Boycott Ahmadinejad’s UN Speech – 24 September 2009

Fox News – Canadian Walkout on Ahmadinejad – 24 September 2009

Reuters – Ahmadinejad Prompts Walkout From UN Racism Summit – 20 April 2009

Panama Dismantles a Protest Camp Site of Naso People as They Seek Protection of Their Land and Human Rights

By Brenda Lopez Romero

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

PANAMA CITY, Panama – An Indigenous group of Panama, Naso, established a permanent camp site (“street sit-in”) in front of the Cathedral Plaza of San Felipe, until yesterday when it was dismantled by police units under the direction of the Ministry of Government and Justice.

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Naso protesting at their camp site (PHOTO: The Star of Panama)Luis Gamarra, activist for Indigenous rights, gave an interview where he indicated that the Director of the National Police, Gustavo Perez, approached the camp site to request they abandon the camp site, because it gave the place and the city a negative image. Perez stated he had orders from the Ministry of Government and Justice and that in exchange for the abandonment, on Wednesday, there would be a negotiation meeting to hear their grievances. The director of Indigenous Policy also placed pressure on the group to leave the camp site on the condition of a meeting.

However, on Wednesday, the meeting was canceled and postponed to Thursday. The Wednesday timeline to abandon the camp site by the Naso, however, was not postponed, and the National Police started the dismantling of their camp site.

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Naso marching (PHOTO: The Star of Panama)The Naso people argue that their Indigenous rights are being trampled by the Government. The claim includes disrespect of their ancestral rights, an end to Ganader Bocas activities on their lands, and a suspension of concessions to hydroelectric plants that are encroaching on their land.  The United Nations has stated that Panama has violated the rights of indigenous peoples by allowing concessions to AES Changuinola to build a hydroelectric plant without the consent of the communities living nearby, and for forcibly removing Naso residents from their land.

Furthermore, the Naso want the legislation “Comarca Naso” (demarcation of their lands), that is pending in the Commission of Indigenous Affairs in the National Assembly of Representatives, to be debated openly and inclusive of the Naso people. The Environmental Defender Law Center is bringing a case against the Government for its failure to grant all its Indigenous peoples the right to their traditional lands. Pursuant to the Panama Constituion and the American Convention on Human Rights, which Panama ratified, Indigenous peoples of Panama are entitled to a legal mechanism to be able to hold land title.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CIDH) has on two occasions found Panama in violation of human rights. The Court will, again, consider claims regarding violations of twelve articles of the American Convention of Human Rights

The Naso people have being waiting for the legislation “Comarca Naso” since early 2005. Gamarra warned that if the Government continues to turn deaf ears to their demands “this would reach extreme consequences.”

For more information, please see:

La Estrella de Panamá – Pueblo Naso en pie de guerra, 25 Septiembre 2009

AFP – Indígenas panameños caminan 500 km para pedir fin a proyectos energéticos, 17 Septiembre 2009

La Prensa – Denuncian operativos contra los nasos en Bocas, 5 Abril 2009

Political Unrest in Honduras After the Surprise Appearance of Deposed President Zelaya

By Brenda Lopez Romero

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – After a surprise return of the deposed President Jose Manuel Zelaya, the current Honduran government implemented a nationwide curfew.

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Honduran troops surround the Brazilian Embassy in the capital, Tegucigalpa, on Tuesday (PHOTO: CNN) Zelaya was ousted on June 28, and despite international political, diplomatic and economic isolation, the interim President Roberto Micheletti has unwaveringly resisted said pressure to allow Zelaya to return to power. Micheletti contends that there was no coup, but rather a constitutional transfer of power. Zelaya faces charges of violating the constitution relating to a proposed referendum to allow a second consecutive term for presidency that was at the center of his ouster.  Zelaya’s term ends in January and he would not have benefited from any referendum adopted by the constitutional assembly.

Nonetheless, Honduras’ Supreme Court held the ballot initiative was illegal and Congress had decreed Zelaya couldn’t hold it.

On Monday, Zelaya’s appearance, in the Brazilian Embassy in the capital of Tegucigalpa, took everyone by surprise, including the Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim. As a result, Micheletti issued a nationwide curfew for that same day in order to halt violence that erupted with the return of the country’s deposed president.
Honduras media reported that the government will announce today, on radio and television, that the curfew will be lifted at six in the morning on Thursday; thus, businesses, schools, and the government will return to normal operating hours.

The curfew was ignored by Zelaya supporters who assembled outside the Brazilian Embassy. The Micheletti administration stated, on television broadcast Tuesday, that 2,500 demonstrators were dispersed without deaths. But Marcial Torres, a journalist for La Tribuna newspaper, said a doctor had informed him of at least eighty people that were admitted in an area hospital with injuries. Today, the Police announced that two men were killed in the disturbance. Police and soldiers maintained a security perimeter around the Brazilian embassy, disbanding pro-Zelaya supporters, whom remains confined inside the embassy.

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The streets of Tegucigalpa (PHOTO: La Prensa)

“The country is paralyzed,” with a “tense calm” in the nearly deserted streets of the capital, Torres said. The tension is fueled by uncertainty of how events will develop between a steadfast Micheletti and his potential response to Zelaya, who stated he returned for “homeland, restitution or death.”

All businesses, schools, and universities were closed. Additionally, all four of Honduras’ international airports in and outbound flights were canceled Tuesday and remain closed.

U.S. Department of State spokesman Ian Kelly confirmed to reporters in Washington, that Micheletti’s government isolated the embassy by cutting water, power and phone lines to the building, and Nunes Amorim, noted this action was a “very serious” move by Micheletti that violated international law.

The Brazilian foreign minister said he spoke with Zelaya and asked him not to use inflammatory language.  Kelly as well reported, “The United States calls on all parties to remain calm and avoid actions that might provoke violence in Honduras and place individuals at risk or harm. We urge that all parties refrain from actions that would lead to further unrest.” U.S. diplomats and Brazil remained in contact with both sides in the conflict and support dialogue. Food delivered on Tuesday was believed to have been brought by the Americans, Torres said. However, Micheletti said in an interview with local network Televicentro, that Zelaya’s sudden appearance would not revive negotiations. Micheletti insisted in a letter to Brazilian authorities that they either give Zelaya asylum or turn him over to Honduran authorities.
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A looted store in the capital (PHOTO:  The Associated Press)
On Wednesday, when the curfew was temporarily lifted hungry Hondurans went through looted stores and lined up for food. Lila Armendia, a thirty-eight year-old seamstress has been unable to work and said it was “like being in jail.” Many Hondurans feel caught in the middle of a fight between two leaders — neither of whom they support said Edie Eguigure, fourty-seven, waiting in a long line to buy food for his family: “It’s time for Micheletti and Zelaya to sit down to negotiate to end this problem that is affecting more than anything the poorest of the poor.”

Micheletti vowed Monday night to stay in power despite Zelaya’s return.

Zelaya did not provide details on how he got into the country except that it was a fifteen to sixteen hour trip he journeyed “with the help of Hondurans.”

For more information, please see:

The Associated Press – Curfew-trapped Hondurans seek food amid crisis, 23 September 2009

La Prensa – Policía informa de 2 muertos tras los disturbios, 23 Septiembre 2009

La Prensa – Toque de queda se suspenderá a las 6:00 a.m – 23 Septiembre 2009

CNN – Honduran military uses tear gas on ousted leader’s supporters, 22 September 2009

Canada Denies U.S. Request to Admit Cleared Guantanamo Detainees

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Canada refused a request by the Obama administration to admit Guantanamo detainees from China, of Uighar ethnicity, amid speculation regarding pressure from the Chinese government.  China has actively sought the return of the 17 detainees for prosecution, but the U.S. will not return the men due to fear of torture.
The detainees were cleared for release by the Pentagon in 2004 and will remain in an offshore prison until the United States finds them asylum.  Albania accepted five of the men in 2006, and is the only country to do so.
Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper cited security concerns and “security concerns” and a lack of connection to Canada in saying that ” there is no rational for accepting them into the country”.  Canadian detainee Omar Khadr, accused of killing a U.S. serviceman, would reportedly be “a different case” because he is a Canadian citizen.  However, Canada intends to let his prosecution continue to be handled by the United States.
Two of the detainees, who have been held for over seven years staged a protest with handwritten signs calling for their freedom.  The Pentagon initially refused to allow journalists to release photos of the protest signs, however, the White House approved their release.  The Obama administration has been seeking placements for cleared Guantanamo detainees, asking foreign governments to make sacrifices and unpopular choices to help close Guantanamo Bay.

Last week, the Obama administration argued in a filing to the Supreme Court that a ruling blocking the detainees’ ability to receive asylum in the U.S. should be upheld.  That ruling overturned a federal judge order that the Uighurs be given sanctuary in the U.S., considering the fact that the Pentagon no longer considered them enemy combatants.

Muslim Uighurs from China’s Xinjiang province seek autonomy for their region. The Chinese government has been cracking down on separatist activities.  China has warned that any country that accepts the men will be considered as harboring terrorists.

Mexican Drug Cartels Supplied with Guns from U.S.

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States – A study by the Government Accountability Office found that most firearms linked to drug violence in Mexico come from the U.S.  The report cites Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives data showing that approximately 87 percent of firearms seized by Mexican authorities and submitted to the U.S. for tracing in the last 5 years came from the U.S. Roughly a quarter of the guns seized are high-caliber, high-powered assault style weapons, such as AK-47s and AR-15s.  Most of the guns came from shows and stores in the southwestern U.S.

The majority of the illegal weapons that cross the border are intended to support Mexican drug cartels. Drug-related murders have jumped to 6,200 last year from 2,700 in 2007, according to the study.  Investigators cited a “lack of a comprehensive U.S. government-wide strategy to for addressing the problem”.

The ATF and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are most responsible for tracking illegal weapons and are reportedly ineffective because they “lack clear roles and responsibilities and have been operating under an outdated inter-agency agreement”.

The Department of Homeland Security disputes these conclusions, and notes that a new agreement between the two agencies is awaiting final approval. Gun-rights groups have similarly challenged the assertions of the report and contend that the data is incomplete because only 7,200 of 30,000 seized weapons are submitted for tracing.

The report stated that, while it was possible that some of the weapons used by drug cartels come from outside the U.S. the likelihood is very slim because the weapons are “so easy” to get from the U.S.  The report cited bureaucratic problems in Mexico as a reason that many seized weapons do not make it to the U.S. for tracing.

The Obama administration released a 2009 National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy, in which he called for the deployment of new technology, stepping up intelligence gathering and increasing interdiction of ships, aircraft and vehicles that are smuggling drugs, guns and cash.  The strategy includes, for the first time, a chapter on countering illegal arms trafficking to Mexico.  The report openly acknowledges that the 2007 Merida Initiative to counter the illegal drug trade did not take into consideration the flow of illegal cash and weapons.

Representative Eliot L. Engel (D. N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, which is holding a hearing on arms trafficking said ” It is simply unacceptable that the United States not only consumes the majority of the drugs flowing from Mexico, but also arms the very cartels that contribute to the daily violence that is devastating Mexico.”