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South Sudan’s Rebels out of Control

By: Danielle L. Cowan (Gwozdz)
Senior Desk Operator, Africa

JUBA, South Sudan – Former South Sudan Vice President and leader of South Sudan rebels Riek Machar stated that he is “not completely in control” of his rebel forces. The rebels have recently been accused of atrocities during a brutal six-month conflict.

SDO Article 3 Picture
President Kiir (Left) and Former Vice President Riek Machar (Right) (photo courtesy of Reuters)

 

Machar further stated that he would “be lying” if he stated he was in control of the rebels. However, he also hoped that he will soon be in control of them because he hopes to train them, which is why they are disciplining them.

President Salva Kiir’s forces have been battling Machar’s rebel forces since December 15th. This fighting broke out in the capital of Juba.

The President is accused of starting the war by launching an eradication of his rivals. However, the President accuses Machar of attempting an overthrow.

Machar admits his forces have been patched together.

Machar told AFP that his rebels became an army when they were forced out of Juba. “It took us time to regroup them into a viable force under control and command.”

“We also have volunteer fighters; civilians who have their own guns who joined the war.”

In January, Machar and Kiir’s sides both agreed to a ceasefire. They also agreed to this earlier in the month. The truces, unfortunately, have not held.

This civil war has forced 1.3 million people to flee their homes and thousands have been killed.

The UN bases also are sheltering about 75,000 people in fear of ethnic violence.

Machar has stressed that he is “committed to peace” and that this was a “senseless war.” Peace talks are rescheduled to continue in Ethiopia this week.

This conflict began as a rivalry between Machar and Kiir. This conflict has divided the army and community along ethnic lines

Both sides have been accused of atrocities and revenge killings on civilians. The UN has called on both leaders to punish those responsible.

For more information, please visit:
Aljazeera – S Sudan’s Machar unable to control rebels – 1 June 2014
Africa News Desk – S Sudan’s Machar unable to control rebels – 1 June 2014
Business News – S Sudan’s Machar unable to control rebels – 1 June 2014
Got News Wire – S Sudan’s Machar unable to control rebels – 1 June 2014

Police Retaliate Against Protestors Who Gathered to Mark the One-Year Anniversary of Taksim Square

ISTANBUL, Turkey- The Turkish government sent 25,000 police officers to disperse crowds of protestors who gathered in central Istanbul to mark the one-year anniversary of Turkey’s largest anti-government protest in decades.

Riot police circled the perimeter of the square and hundreds of plain-clothed police carrying batons patrolled the area.

Turkish police were told to use any force necessary to deter protestors, including tear gas.

Police blocked off all roads and stopped public transport to the Gezi Park area and Taksim Square hoping to quell protestors who came to mark the one-year anniversary.

More than 10 protestors have been arrested by police, who were told by the Turkish government to “do whatever is necessary from A to Z to stop the protestors”.

In 2013, protestors, mostly environmentalists, descended on Taksim Square to protest the Turkish government’s, under the rule of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, plans to take away the adjoining green space of Gezi Park and turn it into a shopping mall.

The protestors staged a peaceful sit-in for several days to fight for the green space because it was one of the only parks left in central Istanbul. Erdogan had the police forcefully remove the protestors, and this use of violence brought tens of thousands of protestors to Taksim Square for two weeks before police could finally regain control of the space.

The subsequent months of unrest after the protest resulted in dozens of deaths at the hands of Turkish police who were given permission by Erdogan and the government to use “violent force” if necessary.

This past week, despite preemptive action by police, hundreds of protestors showed up shouting phrases such as “Resign murderer Erdogan” and “Everywhere is Taksim. Everywhere is resistance”.

Elif Cetinkaya and her family stood across the street from the square, quietly protesting by wearing T-shirts with the faces of those killed in the 2013 protest.

“Why did so many people have to die to save this park?” Cetinkaya said. “We are here to mourn their loss and show that we stand firm, no matter what obstacles they erect,” Cetinkaya said.

Police helicopters flew overhead and police officers fired water cannons and tear gas on the protestors, who huddled together en masse, hoping to read a statement and lay flowers at Taksim Square to honor the dozens of deaths.

Several news stations reported that tourists lugging suitcases, who had no idea the protest anniversary was occurring, got caught in the tear gas and frantically ran for cover shielding their eyes and dropping their belongings in the streets.

Prime Minister Erdogan, who has faced a more recent divided faction over his attempts to block popular websites such as YouTube and Twitter, urged his people, particularly young people, to avoid the demonstration and further demonstrations, saying the movement that began in 2013 against his government was founded by “terrorist organizations” that “manipulated our morally and financially weak youth to attack our unity and put our economy under threat”.

“Don’t fall for these games. This is not about environmentalism. There is no sincerity or honesty here” Erdogan said.

For more information see:

Al Jazeera- Police use tear gas on Turkish demonstrators– 1 June 2014

Haaretz- Facing 25,000 Police Officers, Turkey Activists Mark Gezi Protest Anniversary– 31 May 2014

Jerusalem Post- Turkish Police Fire Tear Gas at Activists Marking Taksim Protests– May 31 2014

TIME- Police Tear Gas Protestors On Taksim Square Anniversary– 31 May 2014

 

 

State Media Announces Crackdown on Terrorism in China after Deadly Market Attack

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Managing Editor

 

BEIJING, China – In response to a serious of explosions targeting an open-aired market in western China the Chinese government has launched a crackdown on terrorism, Xinhua, state media, said Friday. The report said authorities had started a “one-year crackdown on violent terrorist activities” in the region after the attacks were carried out in the heavily policed city of Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang. the attacks killed  39 people and wounded more than 90. State media reported Friday that five perpetrators where reasonable for the attacks; four were killed in the blasts and the fifth was arrested Thursday.

Chinese officials announce crackdown on terrorism following a deadly attack blamed on Uyghurs separatists. The attack came just days before the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989 (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

Thursday’s attack was carried out before 6 a.m. during a time when many of the city’s residents were headed to the market to buy fresh food for the day. State media reported that two SUVs came careening through the street and their occupants hurled explosives through the vehicle’s windows. At least one of the vehicles exploded. The owner of a liquor and cigarette store in the market, said he was still in bed when he heard a loud noise that he first though was thunder outside his door. He said; “I saw smoke and fire, people lying on the ground and blood everywhere.”

In response to the attacks China’s highest-level government official in Xinjiang has called for all forces to be mobilized in order to find the perpetrators of Thursday’s deadly terrorist attacks vowing to “crush the swollen arrogance of terrorists.” President Xi also pledged on Thursday that those responsible for the attack would be caught and punished.

So far in Urumqi, authorities have tightened security checks at entry ports in an attempt to prevent weapons smuggling. Security efforts include inspections of individuals, luggage, transport facilities and postal deliveries at land border crossings.

Chinese officials have linked a mass knife attack that killed 29 people at a terrain station in the southwestern city of Kunming in March to Islamic separatists from Xinjiang.

State officials also blamed separatists for an attack in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square last October in which a car rammed into a pedestrian bridge killed two tourists as well as the three occupants of the vehicle.

According to state media; the perpetrators of both attacks were identified as Uyghurs separatists, members of a Turkic-speaking, predominantly Muslim ethnic group from Xinjiang. Tensions between Uyghurs and Han Chinese populations who have migrated to resource-rich Xinjiang in recent years, have repeatedly boiled over into deadly clashes with authorities in recent years.

Some Uyghurs have grown to resent the Chinese government because of the harsh treatment they have been subjected to from Chinese Security forces and because Han migrants to their homelands have been given better economic opportunity in the resources rich region. Overall the Han are the largest ethnic group in China, making up more than 90% of the state’s total population.

Much like the Tibetan people, the Uyghurs have felt disenfranchised by the discriminatory policies enforced by the Chinese government. Many argue that they are treated like second-class citizens. China has labeled the group “separatist militants” and blames Uyghurs for inciting ethnic violence. On Tuesday, the local government officials in Xinjiang arrested 39 Uyghurs for several crimes including organizing and leading terrorist groups.

For more information please see:

ABC News – Dozens Dead After ‘Thunder-Like’ Blasts Rock China Market – 22 May 2014

CNN International – Q&A: Xinjiang and Tensions in China’s Restive Far West – 23 May 2014

CNN International – China Launches Terrorism Crackdown after Xinjiang Region Attack – 23 May 2014

Al Jazeera – China to Mobilise ‘All Forces’ After Attack – 23 May 2014

David M. Crane to be Honored by Center for Victims of Torture

CVT_LogoINSCT faculty member and Syracuse University College of Law Professor of Practice David M. Crane is to be honored by the Center for Victims of Torture with a 2014 Eclipse Award at a June 25, 2014 ceremony at the Open Society Foundations in Washington, DC.

CVT gives the Eclipse Award each year to an individual or organization that has played a crucial role in either preventing torture or treating its survivors and to commemorate the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

Curt Goering, CVT Executive Director, says his organization honors Crane this year for his work fighting impunity throughout the world, from his role as Chief Prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, to starting “Impunity Watch,” to launching the SU College of Law Syrian Accountability Project, to co-authoring the Chautauqua Blueprint, and more.

Past winners of the Eclipse Award include Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT); the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture; Dr. Elizabeth Lira, a clinical psychologist from Chile; Elisa Massimino, President and CEO of Human Rights First; and Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL).

The CVT half-day event—“Fighting Impunity”—will bring together government officials, NGOs, academics, human rights and national security experts, survivors of torture, and journalists in a discussion of why meaningful accountability is vital to preventing torture and other violations of human rights.