Libyan Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi became the president of the UN Security Council.  The selection is remarkable, because it is the first month that Libya has been allowed on the security counsel.

Libya’s past will make the council less likely to use sanctions against other nations.  “I might say that as a country that had suffered from sanctions, we will be in a very difficult position when we speak about imposing sanctions against another country,” Ettalhi said. (Yahoo News)

The presidency is a clear sign of the major steps that Libya has taken to make sure that it is made major steps protecting its citizens’ human rights.

For more information, please see:

Yahoo News-  Libya takes charge of UN council- 3 January 2008

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BEIRUT, Lebanon – On January 6, Arab League foreign ministers agreed on a plan to end the political impasse in Lebanon.  The Arab League unanimously agreed that General Michel Suleiman, the current army chief, should be elected to be the next president.  The plan proposes that the president should be the arbitrator of any tied decisions.  In addition, the plan also says that a national unity government should be formed in such a way so that “the composition does not allow any decision to be imposed or blocked by any one party.”

Lebanon has been without a president since November 23, 2007, when Lahoud’s term ended and the parties failed to elect a successor.  Initially, the parties failed to agree on a suitable candidate.  Later, when the parties agreed that Suleiman should be the next president, the parties disagreed over the details of a national unity government.  The Lebanese parliament is set to meet on January 12, for the 12th time, to elect the next president.

Saad al-Hariri, the leader of Lebanon’s parliamentary majority, welcomed the decision.  Hariri stated that the Lebanese should welcome the Arab League’s plan as an opportunity to reach a consensus and elect a new president.  Hezbollah, the main opposition party, was more hesitant to welcome the plan and wanted more clarification on the details of the next government.  Earlier, Hezbollah conditioned any possible resolution on a grant of veto power to the opposition.

While the plan does not overtly grant the opposition veto power, it does not attack Syria and it enhances the role of General Suleiman who is seen as pro-Syrian.  Also, according to Arab diplomatic sources, Syria supports the plan.  This suggests that even though the plan does not grant Hezbollah outright veto power, that an agreement may be reached.

For more information, please see:
Daily Star – Rival Lebanese Leaders Welcome Arab League Proposal to Elect Suleiman – 8 January 2008

Gulfnews – Arabs Strike Lebanon Deal – 7 January 2008

New York Times – Arab League Backs Plan to End Lebanon Stalemate – 7 January 2008

Al Jazeera – Hariri Welcomes Arab League Plan – 6 January 2008

Associated Press – Arabs Back General as Lebanese President – 6 January 2008

BBC – Arab League Backs Lebanon Plan – 6 January 2008

International Herald Tribune – Arab Plan for Lebanon Wins Broad Support – 6 January 2008

BBC – Hezbollah Sets Resolution Terms – 4 January 2008

By Kevin Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – A British journalist has been expelled from Iran after the government refused to renew his visa and resident permit.

Robert Tait, 43, was the Guardian’s Tehran correspondent for three years until the authorities inexplicably declined to renew his papers. Iran’s culture and Islamic guidance ministry gave no reason for its decision but said the newspaper was free to propose a new correspondent in Iran.

The Guardian report said that Tait was originally ordered to leave the country in March because officials were unhappy with his reporting. But he was allowed to stay after the Guardian successfully appealed against the March decision.

He is the second British journalist to be expelled from Iran in the past six months, and the last British journalist who worked in Iran for an English language newspaper. In July, a journalist working for a different publication was also “expelled” when his documentation was not renewed. Other newspapers mainly employ English-speaking Iranians because foreign nationals have difficulties in obtaining resident press credentials. But even for those who receive necessary documentation, they often face expulsion.

The expulsion comes amid a steep decline of press freedom in Iran. Newspapers and websites critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hard-line policies have been shut down over the past year. Other publications have begun to self-censor for fear of crossing officially decreed “red-lines.” Moreover, several Iranian journalists have been arrested in recent months for various crimes, including publication of “lies.”

The Guardian’s editor appealed to the ministry to no avail. The ministry denies expulsion claims raised by rights groups and diplomats. The authorities also deny recent crackdown on dissenting voices and say that they allow free speech.

Tait is now back in the UK, along with his Iranian wife.

For more information, please see:

Press TV – Iran denies expelling British journalist – 6 January 2008

Guardian Unlimited – Guardian’s Tehran correspondent expelled without explanation – 5 January 2008

Reuters – Guardian journalist forced to stop working in Iran – 5 January 2008

Gulfnews – British journalist ‘expelled’ from Iran – 5 January 2008

The PKK used a car bomb to attack the city of Diyarbakır, Turkey, which is the capital of the southeastern province of Diyarbakır province.  The remote detonated car bomb was activated when a military caravan passed it.  The bomb injured more than 100 people and killed five people, including three children.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called the bombing a “treacherous act” that shows “the desperation of the terrorist organization.” (Reuters)

The bombing was meant to be a retaliation for the attacks that destroyed some of the PKK bases in Northern Iraq and killed over 150 of the PKK’s fighters.

Although the initial bombing was not averted, the Turkish military did disarm two minibuses that were loaded with plastic explosives, C-4, A-4, and grenades.

For more information, please see:

Reuters- Turkey PM says Diyarbakir bomb shows PKK desperation- 5 January 2008

Today’s Zaman- [TERRORISTS’ LAST GASP] New deadly blasts averted after Diyarbakır attack- 6 January 2008

Sabah Newspaper- The last flutters of terrorism- 4 January 2008

By Kevin Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Five Egyptian and international human rights groups urged President Hosni Mubarak to set up an independent judicial committee to reinvestigate the December 30, 2005 police assault on Sudanese protestors that resulted 27 deaths.

The killings occurred when a force of nearly 4,000 Egyptian police and security officers attacked a makeshift camp erected by Sudanese refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants who had engaged in peaceful sit-in protest for past several months in front of the offices of the UN refugee agency. The protestors were demanding resettlement in a third country because of Egypt’s harsh living conditions and discriminations against them. According to media report at the time, police fired water canons at the crowd and beat them indiscriminately. The assault left 27 dead and dozens injured, including women and children.

Two years had gone by since the incident, yet no police officer has been charged for any crime. Initial investigation into the incident led by Dokki Prosecution Office found no evidence of police or official misconduct. Despite arresting hundreds of Sudanese refugees during the assault, investigators interviewed only one woman. Four eyewitnesses they did interview testified that the protestors themselves initiated the violence. Moreover, forensic experts claimed that serious head injuries from “stampede” led to many of the deaths rather than police “use of excessive force in assaulting them.” As a result, many of the arrested protestors were charged instead with crimes of manslaughter, unintended injury, resisting the authorities, and the deliberate destruction of property.

The five groups – Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), Hisham Mubarak Law Center, and the Nadim Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence – accused the Egyptian government of exercising “concerted effort to absolve the police of any wrongdoing.” Calling the public prosecutor’s total exoneration of the police lacking any semblance of credibility, the rights groups called on President Mubarak to use the second anniversary of the incident to “initiate a complete and transparent investigation of what really took place.”

For more information, please see:

Afriquenligne – Egyptian rights groups seek new probe of Sudanese refugees incident – 31 December 2007

AFP – Rights groups slam Egypt probe into Sudan refugee deaths – 30 December 2007

Human Rights Watch – New investigation needed into assault on Sudanese protestors – 29 December 2007