By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TSKHINVALI, South Ossetia—The European Union has called the May 31 elections in South Ossetia “illegitimate,” and has stated that the EU will not recognize the results.  Eduard Kokoity, leader of the pro-Russian party, Yedinstvo (Unity), received nearly sixty percent of the vote, according to an early count.

South Ossetia was the site of intense fighting between Russian and Georgian forces during August 2008.  After the fighting ceased, South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia, and Russia recognized South Ossetia as an independent republic, as well as Abkhazia, another separatist region in the Georgian Republic.  The majority of nations consider South Ossetia a part of Georgia, while Russia and Nicaragua have recognized the region as an independent nation.

Prior to the election, critics called for an election boycott, stating that Kokoity sought a landslide victory in order to secure his hold on power, and ultimately unite the region with North Ossetia, which lies in the Russian Federation.  Critics also cited evidence that Kokoity, a former Russian wrestling champion, stifled dissent and intimidated political rivals.  Although four parties initially vied for the thirty-four parliamentary seats, the election commission barred participation by the two parties that did not support Kokoity.  Approximately 50,000 South Ossetians were eligible to vote, and Russian authorities set up voting stations inside Russia for expatriates and those who fled the August 2008 hostilities.

The Georgian minister of reintegration, Temuri Yakovashbili, echoed the EU’s sentiments, saying that few Georgians or ethnic Ossetians are left in the region after the August 2008 fighting.
One correspondent in South Ossetia said that the election results would increase the tension between Russia and Georgia.  “South Ossetia is basically propped up by Russia,” says Matthew Colin, a journalist for Al Jazeera, “It is a tiny area that could only ever survive with Russian military, economic, and political support… The question is…will the tensions around the border area erupt again into violence.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – EU Condemns S Ossetia elections – 1 June 2009

Associated Press – EU calls South Ossetia elections “illegitimate” – 1 June 2009

TIME – South Ossetia’s No-Hope Elections – 1 June 2009

New York Times – South Ossetians Elect Parliament – 31 May 2009

Voice of America – Longtime Separatist Leader Ahead in South Ossetia Election – 31 May 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel/West Bank – An Israeli government spokesman said on May 28 that Israel must be allowed to expand its settlements in the West Bank, echoing the sentiments of Israeli’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to his cabinet on May 24.  Mark Regev, speaking on May 27, said that any final arrangements regarding West Bank settlements would have to be part of any agreement with the Palestinians, but that until such an agreement is reached, Israeli settlements would be allowed to expand to compensate for “natural growth.”

Approximately 500,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements inside the West Bank and in predominantly-Arab East Jerusalem, areas which were captured by Israeli in 1967 and which many Palestinians believe will be the basis of a future Palestinian state.  While the Israeli government has condemned the twenty-two settlements, deeming them to be illegal, the organization Peace Now estimates that fifty such settlements have been built since 2001 and Israeli settlements currently take up approximately 40% of the land in the West Bank. 

Under international law, such settlements are illegal because they are on land that Palestinians claim form their independent state.  In the U.S.-supported roadmap peace plan, Israel must stop all settlement activity, and specifically included natural growth.

On May 27, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted that construction of all Israeli settlements in the West Bank must immediately stop.  During his meeting with Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, on May 28, U.S. president Barack Obama repeated his call for a freeze on settlement construction, and said that he expected to hear a response from Prime Minister Netanyahu shortly.  Middle East experts have called the Obama Administration’s response to the current settlement expansion the strongest on the issue from the U.S. in years. 

For more information, please see:

Irish Times – Israel to Allow Expansion in Settlements – 29 May 2009

New York Times – Obama Calls for Swift Move Toward Mideast Peace Talks  – 28 May 2009

BBC News – No Exception in Israeli Settlement:  Clinton – 28 May 2009

New York Times – Israel Insists on Some Construction in West Bank Settlements – 28 May 2009

Al-Jazeera – Netanyahu:  Settlements to Expand – 25 May 2009

Palestine Monitor – Obama’s Logic vs. Netanyahu’s Rhetoric – 20 May 2009

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Saad Eddin Ibrahim in 2003
CAIRO, Egypt – Saad Eddin Ibrahim was convicted on the charge of damaging Egypt’s reputation for speaking out against current President Hosni Mubarak and his regime in August of 2008. The conviction was founded Ibrahim’s vocal opposition of Mubarak and the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). Ibrahim suggested in an opinion piece for the Washington Post that the United States withhold aid until Cairo took steps to end the smuggling of arms into the Gaza strip, and to rein in police abuses.

On May 25, Judge Ashraf Sheta overturned Ibrahim’s two-year sentence. The decision comes just days before President Obama is scheduled to speak in Cairo, and there is speculation that this decision was motivated by Obama’s visit. Ibrahim is hesitant to believe this, and has praised the Egyptian appellate court for their independent decision.

Ibrahim has been living in the United States in exile, and would like to return to Egypt to see his wife and family. He is hesitant to return while he still faces charges of spying, and treason. If convicted he could be sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. His lawyers are advising that Ibrahim remain in the United States until the charges have been resolved.

The complaints filed against Ibrahim have all been brought by members of the NDP. Ibrahim believes that this is a way for the government to try to intimidate him without directly criticizing or sanctioning him. While visiting Egypt previously there have also been attempts on Ibrahim’s life, which he thinks might have had some government involvement.

In spite of all of this, Ibrahim plans on continuing to speak out. He sees it as his duty to be a critic, because the country needs critics. Ibrahim wants to be a free voice to speak on behalf of those who are oppressed, and hopes to shed light on the problems within his nation.

For more information, please see:

The Media Line – Egyptian Dissident: Obama Should Listen to People, Not Officials – 27 May 2009

The Media Line – Egyptian Dissident ‘Will Not Stop Criticizing Regime – 26 May 2009

AFP – Egypt Court Overturns Dissident’s Jail Term – 25 May 2009

Al Arabiya News Channel – Egypt Court Acquits Leading Rights Activist – 25 May 2009

BBC News – Egypt Quashes Saad Eddin Ibrahim Jail Term – 25 May 2009

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel – Despite calls from the United Nations for demolitions of Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem to cease, the city continues to demolish what it calls “illegally developed” homes. The deputy mayor, Naomi Tsur, says that all residents of Jerusalem are being treated equally. Tsur insists that all homes built without permit are being destroyed, regardless of their being in east or west Jerusalem.

The Israeli police pounded on the doors and entered homes as if they were executing a raid. One resident was told that she had five minutes to don her scarf, collect her valuables, and get out of the house. One thousand illegally built homes in Jerusalem have been marked for demolition so far this year. Israeli based NGO B’Tselem estimates that that number could double in the next few months.

Amidst the rubble of her home a Palestinian girl gets food from her fridge. Her home in east Jerusalem was demolished on April 22. Image Courtesy of Tara Todraswhitehill/AP

Many Palestinians whose homes have been demolished admit that they built their home without a permit. Permits are difficult to get, because there is only a limited percentage of land that Palestinians are allowed to build on, and most of this land is already being used. Out of the seventy square kilometers that constitute the west bank and east Jerusalem that were annexed by Israel, only thirteen percent is zoned for Palestinian construction.

Even changes to existing homes, like additions, are subject to Jerusalem’s strict building permit regulations. In Jerusalem’s Old City, a resident has been ordered to demolish a room of his house and to pay a 6,000 shekel fine (1,500 USD). The resident was given 45 days to comply, or he faces a three month jail term. He had already paid an 8,000 shekel fine in 2004 for building the room onto his house.

Jerusalem is allegedly stingy in their granting of building permits. Many Palestinians are denied permits if they submit applications, which discourages many other citizens from even attempting to get the proper permits. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) alleges that the building permit process and the current demolition practices are all part of a plan to remove the Palestinians from Jerusalem.

Mayor Nir Barkat’s administration denies the allegations of the ACRI, and recently announced that 13,500 additional housing units would be allowed in east Jerusalem. These additional units are not an immediate solution, only part of a city plan for the year 2030. The city has a large development plan that will allow a developer to create a large tourist complex near the Old City, and supports a group that buys Palestinian land in east Jerusalem, and relocates the Palestinians to more Arab neighborhoods.

The demolitions and restrictions on Palestinian development in Jerusalem add to the difficulties of the peace process and the proposed two state solution. With mounting pressure from the United States and world wide for peace, Israel will be under more scrutiny for its city planning measures that appear to be discriminatory in effect.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Demolitions build Jerusalem tension – 25 May 2009

Ma’an News Agency – Jerusalem Court orders Palestinian to demolish room of his home – 24 May 2009

BBC News – Jerusalem Mayor ‘stepping up demolitions’ – 19 May 2009

Christian Science Monitor – In Jerusalem, an uptick in demolition orders of Arab homes – 19 May 2009

United Nations Radio – End Palestinian demolitions in Jerusalem, UN tells Israel – 1 May 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

YEREVAN, Armenia – A prominent Armenian journalist, Never Mnatsakanian, was attacked by unknown assailants outside of his home in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, on May 6.  Mnatsakanian’s assault is the latest in a series of attacks on journalists in the South Caucasus region.  In addition to the assault on Mnatsakanian, the editor of a pro-opposition news website, Armenia Today, was severely beaten on April 30. The Paris-based media outlet, Reporters Without Borders, ranked Armenia 102nd out of 173 countries in its 200 report of media freedom.

News media have reported similar attacks on journalists in neighboring Azerbaijan. On May 10, Azerbaijani police used physical force against protestors marching against the commemoration of the “Flower Holiday,” a nationalist celebration of the late president.  News media reported that police had arrested thirty students involved in the protests.  Police also attacked Khadija Ismailova, director of the Baku bureau of Radio Liberty, after she tried to get information from them about the arrests.  Other sources report that Durna Safarli, correspondent for Radio Liberty, Elchin Hasanov, reporter for Yukselish Namina, and Afgan Mukhtarli and Layla Ilgar from the newspaper, Yeni Musavat, were also attacked by police as the journalists covered the Flower Holiday protests.

In Armenia, a senior police official has recommended that journalists carry guns to protect themselves against such attacks.  Several non-governmental organizations have called for police investigations, though many Armenians believe that such investigations are cursory at best.  One journalist attacked in late 2008, Edik Baghdasarian, is conducting his own investigation into the identities of his assailants.

Article 19, a United Kingdom-based advocacy group for free expression, has condemned the attacks on journalists in these former Soviet republics as “creating a climate of impunity for the perpetrators and fear amongst journalists working in these countries.”

For more information, please see:

NASDAQ – Armenian Television Journalist Attacked in Capital – Police – 22 May 2009

Article 19 – South Caucasus:  Continued Violence Against Journalists Symptomatic of Ongoing Repression in the Region – 15 May 2009

Eurasianet.org – Armenia:  Free Speech Under Assault in Yerevan – 14 May 2009

Human Rights House Network – Journalists Harassed by Police while Attempting to Cover Student Protests – 13 May 2009

Azeri Report – Student Protests Spoiled “Flower Holiday” of Azeri Government – 10 May 2009