The Middle East

March Marked Bloodiest Month in Syrian War

By Dylan Takores
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – At least 6,000 deaths occurred in Syria this March, making it the deadliest month since the civil war began two years ago.

Man praying at grave of rebel soldier in Daraa. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

The true death toll may be higher than 6,000 because both government and rebel groups frequently underreport actual death totals.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the government and rebels each suffered approximately 1,500 casualties in March.  However, the number of civilian deaths in March outweighed the staggering death tolls for both the opposing armies.  Over 2,000 civilian were reportedly killed, including 298 children and 291 women.  An additional 387 unidentified civilians and 588 unidentified fighters combined to bring the death total above 6,000.

The rise in casualties reflects the growing range of conflict within Syria.  Fighting between rebels and government forces continues to spread beyond major cities such as Damascus, Aleppo, and Homs into other areas of the country.  In particular, violence is rising in the southern provinces of Daraa and Quneitra, along Syria’s borders with Israel and Jordan.

The key battleground in the conflict is the country’s capital, Damascus.  President Bashar Assad stationed his best and most loyal troops there to protect against further advances and reclaim portions of the city occupied by rebels.

In an effort to dispel rebel occupation, government forces sent air raids over rebel and civilian zones on Tuesday.  They shelled the northern Damascus neighborhoods of Jobar, Barzeh, and Qaboun.

However, Assad’s army is not the only force inciting violence.  Rebels in Aleppo recently began an aggressive attack, referred to as “Freeing the Prisoners.”  According to the Aleppo Media Center, the plan is intended to free detainees from the city’s prison by attacking and capturing Kindi Hospital, Ghondol Square, and the central prison.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, condemned the international community for its lack of effort in preventing further violence in Syria.  He stated, “If there is no solution, we think the numbers will get worse in the coming months.”

Abdul-Rahman calculated that the total number of deaths since the conflict began two years ago to be 62,554, although he admitted the true total might be twice as many.  The United Nations’ most recent report, issued on February 18, placed the casualty total at 70,000.  The Syrian government has not released any information regarding the death tolls.

 

For further information, please see:

Boston Globe – March was deadliest month in Syrian war – 2 April 2013

The Independent – March was Syrian civil war’s bloodiest month as 6,000 die in conflict – 2 April 2013

Reuters – March was bloodiest month in Syria war: rights group – 1 April 2013

Washington Post – Activists say government warplanes and artillery pound areas in and around Damascus – 1 April 2013

Hamas bans Mixed-Sex Schools in the Gaza Strip

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Education Ministry of Hamas published a law last Monday which will bar men from teaching at girls’ schools and ban children of different sexes over the age of nine from attending the same school together.  The law, known as Article 46, was issued on February 10, was approved by Hamas’ legislative council, and went into effect last Sunday.  It will apply to all public, private, Christian-led, and United Nations schools throughout the Gaza Strip.

Hamas is set to implement a law that segregates children over the age of nine, by gender. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

Previously, Hamas tried to instill conservative religious values through laws, including telling schoolgirls in the region to adorn traditional full-length robes and headscarves.

In practice, virtually all public schools in the strip segregate children by sex in grade seven, and proponents say that the act is a codification of conservative Palestinian values into law.  Critics believe that this is an attempt by Hamas to force an Islamist ideology onto society.

A majority of Palestinians in Gaza see segregated schools as a symbol of their culture.  “We are a Muslim people.  We do not need to make people Muslims, and we are doing what serves our people and their culture,” said Waleed Mezher, the Education Ministry’s legal advisor.

Hamas has been in control of the Gaza Strip since 2007, after it won a surprise majority against the secular Fatah Party in Palestinian parliamentary polls.  There was a split between the polarized parties within the parliament, which led to a civil war within the region.  Unable to come to an agreement, laws were unable to be passed in Gaza and the West Bank.  Because of this, critics accused Hamas Parliamentarians of acting alone in pushing this law forward, and accused the group of trying to build “a separate state” in Gaza.  Zeinab Al-Ghoneimi, a Gaza activist for women’s rights, called the new law an imposition of Hamas’ values on the residents of Gaza.  “To say that the old law did not respect the community’s traditions and that they (Hamas) wanted to reform people now is an insult to the community,” said Ghoneimi. “Instead of hiding behind traditions, why don’t they say clearly they are Islamists and they want to Islamize the community.”

It has been questioned as to whether Hamas will enforce the new law.  In the past, Hamas had approved laws that appeased conservatives, such as a ban on men cutting women’s hair or making it illegal for women to smoke water pipes (shishas).  Such laws, however, have never been fully enforced, and it is possible that this law will similarly not be enforced.

Hamas has repeatedly denied accusations from human rights groups that they are trying to enforce Islamic laws on the people of Gaza.

For further information, please see:

ABC News — Hamas Orders Gender Segregation at Younger Age — 1 April 2013

BBC News — Hamas in Mixed-Sex School ‘ban’ — 1 April 2013

Global Post — Hamas Same Sex Schools ban Takes Effect — 1 April 2013

Haaretz — Hamas to ban Mixed-Sex Schools in Gaza Strip — 1 April 2013

The Jerusalem Post — Hamas law bans Mixed Sex Schools in Gaza Strip — 1 April 2013

Egyptian Jon Stewart Released on Bail

By Dylan Takores
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

CAIRO, Egypt – Egyptian authorities released satirist Bassem Youssef on bail after questioning him for allegedly degrading Islam, insulting President Morsi, and spreading false news.

Bassem Youssef. (Photo Courtesy of Getty Images)

Youssef, often referred to as the Egyptian Jon Stewart, voluntarily turned himself in to police after a warrant was issued for his arrest.  He was questioned for five hours then released for 15,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately $2,190).

The government also issued arrest warrants for four other prominent anti-government activists in addition to Youssef.  The activists are accused of inciting violence and anti-government sentiments among Egyptian citizens.

The arrest raised questions regarding freedom of speech under the current political regime.  Youssef hosts a weekly talk show, “Al-Bernameg” (“The Show”), on which he mocks Egyptian politics. The satirist often imitates the President as well as members of opposition parties.

In a statement to Ahram, the prosecutor, Mohammed el-Sayed Khalifa, reported that the case is a civil action brought on behalf of twelve plaintiffs.  The plaintiffs alleged that Youssef insulted President Morsi, denigrated Islam, mocked prayers, spread false news, and intended to incite public disorder.

International Business Times reported that the charges carry heavy penalties in Egypt.  The Egyptian Constitution, drafted in 2011, permits a sentence of up to three-years imprisonment for insulting the president.  However, despite the serious nature of the crimes in Egypt, IBT wrote that the charges would not likely be successful or even pursued in less conservative countries.

Supporters of Youssef gathered outside the prosecutor’s office in solidarity with the satirist during his detention.  During an interview on CBC, Youssef denied the allegations.  He explained, “We don’t insult religion.  What we do is expose those so-called religious and Islamic stations which have offended Islam more than anyone else.”

Youssef tweeted several sarcastic and satirical remarks while in the prosecutor’s office.  One tweet quipped, “They asked me the color of my eyes. Really.”  He also tweeted that the bail money will pay for three separate pending charges.

Youssef’s defense lawyer, Montasser al-Zayyat firmly denied the charges against his client.  In addition to the three stated charges – insulting President Morsi, ridiculing Islam, and reporting false news – the attorney reported that Youssef has been accused of a fourth unannounced charge.

 

For further information, please see:

Ahram – Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef released on LE 15,000 bail – 31 March 2013

BBC News – Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef released on bail – 31 March 2013

Huffington Post – Bassem Youssef, Egypt’s Jon Stewart, Released on Bail – 31 March 2013

International Business Times – Bassem Youssef, Egypt’s Version of Jon Stewart, Released on Bail – 31 March 2013

Easter in Libya, not as Joyous as Usual

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Libya – Earlier this month, smoke billowed from Benghazi’s Coptic church, but it had nothing to do with the coming of a new pope. A group of jihadist militants set the church on fire while the church’s priest was still inside. Some local Muslims rushed in to save the priest, but the church was successfully scorched. Do not expect the church to be resurrected this Easter, because currently any action that can be perceived to threaten Islamic culture is being met with plenty of hostility in Libya.

St. Mark’s Coptic church in Benghazi was set ablaze and is now a blackened ruin. (Photo Courtesy of the Guardian)

Hide your bibles, hide your faith, because the Islamic militants and Office of Preventive Security are getting every Christian. Whether a Coptic Christian or one of the Greek Orthodox faith, it has been recommended that you keep your Easter celebration low key. While many Muslims in Libya are very friendly with their Christian neighbors, others get very offended by anything non-Islamic.

Besides the burning of Benghazi’s Coptic church, there was a bombing of a Coptic church in Misrata killing two, and a shooting of a Greek Orthodox priest outside of his home. Additionally, at least fifty-one Christians, forty-nine of which were Copts, have been arrested. One of the Copts died while being held in detention. An evangelist warehouse was also raided, which resulted in the seizure of approximately fifty-five thousand Bibles and Christian tracts.

The surviving arrested Copts were released as a “diplomatic gesture.” Preventive security commander Abdul Salam Barghathi was amazed that the bibles were being printed in the city of Benghazi and that they were even being given to children.

The official causes of the arrests have come under charges of proselytizing and spreading Christian literature. Barghathi said that, “Libya is 100 per cent Muslim, we don’t have Christians and Jews, and nobody will accept any other religions.” He added that, “anything that comes from abroad can be an invasion against our ideas and our thoughts, which can be a danger to homeland security.”

Reverend Vasihar Baskaran of Tripoli’s Christ the King church stated that, “we usually celebrate [Easter] with pomp, but I said no. . .I thought it was better not to attract the attention of bad elements. I told the congregation: when the service is finished, don’t stand in the churchyard and drink tea on the church steps.”

An Egyptian Christian living in Benghazi, Meged Labib, said that she will have her Easter services in her home since her priest has ran back to Egypt.

For further information, please see:

Scotsman – Libyan Christians Spending Easter in Fear – 30 March 2013

Bloomberg – Libya’s Christians Tense as Easter Celebrations Commence – 29 March 2013

Guardian – Christians in Libya Braced for Easter Trouble from Islamists – 29 March 2013

Radio Vaticana – Libyan Christians Prepare for Holy Week Amid Persecution – 25 March 2013

Syrian Opposition Opens its First Embassy

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DOHA, Qatar — The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) opened the doors to its first “embassy” in Qatar last Wednesday, just a day after the Arab League granted it recognition by giving it Damascus’s seat in the league.

SNC leader al-Khatib was in Doha, Qatar for the ribbon cutting ceremony of the Syrian rebel’s embassy. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera)

The head of the SNC, Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, and Qatari State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Khaled Al-Attiya, were at the embassy in Doha for the inauguration of the representative office, dubbed the “Embassy of the Syrian National Coalition.”  “This is the first embassy of the Syrian people,” said al-Khatib.  Al-Khatib said that the SNC’s next goal is to assume Syria’s seat in the United Nations.  Al-Khatib also used the ribbon cutting ceremony as a platform to voice his frustration with global powers for failing to do more to assist the SNC with toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.  “There is an international willingness for the revolution not to triumph,” said al-Khatib.

NATO Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said last Wednesday that a political solution to the Syrian crisis must shapen, but ruled out Western military intervention despite Khatib’s plea.

The SNC named Nizar Haraki as its first ambassador to Qatar.  Haraki said that he will “soon” present his accreditation letter to the Emir of Qatar.  The SNC also named envoys in several countries including Britain, France, Libya, Turkey, and the United States, but has not yet proceeded with opening diplomatic missions in those countries.

Russia scolded the Arab League for taking “another anti-Syria step,” when the league recognized the SNC.  Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said, “In terms of international law, the decisions taken by the Arab League in respect of Syria are illegal and void because the government of the Syrian Arab Republic was and will remain the legitimate representative of the UN member state.”  Russia also said that the Arab League is supporting a “military solution” to the conflict instead of peace talks.

Iran also criticized the move, calling it illegitimate, and a “dangerous precedent” set by the Arab League.  “Handing Syria’s seat to the so-called provisional government is a danagerous precedent by the memberes of the Arab League,” said Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.

The original Syrian embassy’s doors were closed in November 2011, when diplomatic ties with the Gulf countries were severed after Syria rejected the Arab League’s peace proposal to end its campaign of violence against demonstrators, and instead resorted to a bloody crackdown on the rebellion.  The embassy continues to remain inactive.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Syria Opposition Opens Embassy in Qatar — 28 March 2013

Arab News — Syrian Opposition Opens ‘Embassy’ in Qatar — 28 March 2013

Global Times — Coalition Opens Syrian Embassy — 28 March 2013

Al Shorfa — Syrian Opposition Opens Office in Qatar — 27 March 2013

All Voices — Syrian Rebels Open new ‘Embassy’ in Qatar — 27 March 2013

Global Post — Syria Rebels Open ‘Embassy’ in Qatar — 27 March 2013

Ya Libnan — Syrian Opposition gets the Embassy in Qatar — 27 March 2013