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Environmentalists Murdered in Brazil

By Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Three environmentalists were murdered in Brazil in the last few weeks.  On May 24, 2011, José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva, a husband and wife team, were shot and killed in the state of Pará.  The two were leaders of the National Council of Extractive Workers (CNS) which advocates for sustainable uses of the rainforest and protests illegal logging and deforestation.

Police watch the body of Jose Claudio Ribeiro da Silva (Photo Courtesy of Associated Press)
Police inspect the body of José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva (Photo Courtesy of Associated Press)

Just days later, on May 27, 2011, Adelino Ramos was gunned down in the state of Rondônia.  Ramos was the leader of the Movimento Camponês de Corumbiara (Corumbiara Peasant Movement), which advocates for sustainable land reform.

The assassinations came right as proposed modifications were being debated for Brazil’s Forest Code.  The Forest Code, a 1965 law, lays out stipulations for Brazilian landowners to maintain a certain percentage of native forest on their lands as a legally protected reserve.  The majority of landowners do not adhere to these stipulations.

The proposed changes to the Forest Code would grant amnesty to landowners who illegally deforested parts of their land, up until July of 2008.  It would also reduce the size of legal reserves that must be maintained.  In a very controversial decision, the Congress approved the changes, sending the modified bill on to the Senate who will now debate the issue.

The authorities in Brazil deny any link between the killings and the changes to the Forest Code.  Afonso Florence, the Minister of Agricultural Development, maintains that “[t]he debate has another dynamic.  There is no direct association”.

Despite this, the authorities have said that they will make environmentalist protection a priority.  An emergency meeting of the President’s cabinet produced the promises that those who receive death threats will receive state government protection as well as national armed guard protection, if necessary.

Other environmentalist group leaders are not convinced that these promises will make any difference.  As Leila Salazar-López; the Program Director for the group Amazon Watch, stated, “[t]here are over 200 unsolved murders in the Pará state alone involving Amazon activists”.  In the past 25 years, there have been 1,580 reported murders of activists in Brazil.  This resulted in only 91 trials and a mere 21 convictions.

All three of the murdered activists were victims of harassment and received death threats in the days prior to their killings.  Police reports show that nothing was removed from any of the bodies and José Silva’s ear was cut off.

For more information, please see;

Latin America Press – Moves Toward Deforestation – 2 June 2011

UPI – Brazil Acts to Protect Amazon Activists – 1 June 2011

The Rio Times – Killing of Amazon Activists Sparks Protection – 31 May 2011

Act for Climate Justice – Brazil: Environmentalists Murdered in the Amazon and Debate Over a New Forest Code: Impunity Must End – 28 May 2011

Huffington Post Green – Adelino Ramos Killed: Third Environmentalist Activist Murdered This Week in Brazil – 28 May 2011

MORE THAN 300,000 PEOPLE STILL DISPLACED IN IVORY COAST

By Tamara Alfred
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABIJAN, Ivory Coast – On Tuesday, the United Nations (UN) refugee agency reported that more than 300,000 people are still displaced from their homes as a result of ongoing violence two months after the political crisis that arose after the disputed November elections was solved.

People displaced by violence return to their villages in western Ivory Coast in April, but over 300,000 are still yet to return. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)
People displaced by violence return to their villages in western Ivory Coast in April, but over 300,000 are still yet to return. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

The UN reported that most of the displaced are living in camps or with host families in the western part of the country.  Many of the displaced people were either victims of violence or witnessed other being slashed, burned or killed, according to Xavier Simon, the head of the Ivory Coast Doctors Without Borders.

“People tell us they can’t eat or sleep properly and that they suffer from anxiety and heart palpitations,” said Simon.  “Terrified of further violence or revenge attacks, many choose to remain in hiding or as refugees.”

According to Doctors Without Border, displaced people are at further risk because they are in areas with food shortages and threats of disease, all heightened by the rainy season.

At the height of the crisis, approximately 1 million people were displaced and hundreds killed.  The violence began when Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power to the newly-elected president, Alassane Ouattara.  Both parties have been accused of atrocities in the violence.

“Many of the dead are buried in mass graves,” said Melissa Fleming, the U.N. refugee agency spokeswoman.  “Over 500 houses and a pharmacy were destroyed in five villages.  As estimated 17,000 people are displaced in that region, including an unknown number reportedly still hiding in the forest.”

On Wednesday, the head of the Human Rights Division of the UN Mission in Ivory Coast called for immediate and impartial investigations into reports of attacks by the armed forces.  On Thursday, the Ivorian government responded by announcing that it had formed a commission to investigate the crimes.

President Ouattara has repeatedly promised no mercy for human rights abusers regardless of their political party.  However, on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch released a statement saying that no one from Ouattara’s camp had yet to be arrested.  Those currently under investigation are all former officials of the government of Laurent Gbagbo.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement, “We need concerted action designed to break the cycle of impunity, bring perpetrators to justice and rehabilitate victims in their rights and dignity.”

More than 100,000 Ivorians are estimated to have sought refuge in Liberia.

For more information, please see:

Reuters AlertNet – Ivory Coast: Fear persists even after violence subsides – 17 June 2011

CNN – Ivory Coast announces commission to investigate post-election crimes – 16 June 2011

CNN – 300,000 still displaced in Ivory Coast – 14 June 2011

Former mayor of Tijuana´s arrest may have been politically motivated

By Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – Former mayor of Tijuana, Jorge Hank Rhon, was formally charged on Wednesday by Federal Prosecutors in Mexico with possession of prohibited weapons.  According to military officials, 88 firearms and between 8,000 and 9,000 ammunition rounds were seized in the raid of Hank’s vast compound in Tijuana.  Most of the guns were limited by law to use solely by the armed forces.

Former Tijuana mayor charged in weapons case (Photo courtesy of The Washington Post) Former Tijuana mayor charged in weapons case. (Photo courtesy of The Washington Post).

Hank’s attorneys have suggested that the confiscated weapons were properly licensed and legitimate methods to protect the former mayor’s business interests. They also stated that some of the weapons are thought to have been planted.

From 2004 to 2007, Hank served as the mayor of Tijuana. He is currently one of the country’s wealthiest men, having inherited his father’s fortune. His father, Carlos Hank Gonzalez, formerly served as the governor of Mexico and a powerbroker of the then ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

Hank’s position as a major figure within the PRI, the now opposition party in Mexico, has led to allegations by its members that his arrest was a politically motivated move orchestrated by the conservative National Action Party, or PAN. PAN is currently President Calderon’s party and is far behind PRI in the early polls for the 2012 elections.

Hank’s arrest sparked a whirlwind of protests in Tijuana last week. Dressed in red and yelling “Viva Hank,” thousands of his supporters gathered demanding Hank’s release. One large banner read “The anonymous tip came from Los Pinos,” referring to President Calderon’s residence.

Calderon officials denied any involvement.

“There is no witch hunt, of course not. Every case is supported by evidence,” stated Mexico’s attorney general, Marisela Morales.

Columnist Martin Moreno was in support of Hank’s arrest. “Let’s not confuse ourselves, Jorge Hank Rhon … represents the PRI and is the emblem of the abuses, corruption and decadence of PRI-ism,” he wrote in his column in the Daily Excelsior.

Pablo Salazar Mendiguchia, former governor of Chiapas, joins Hank Rohn among politicians facing criminal charges. Mendiguchia was arrested in Cancun on Tuesday on charges of stealing $9 million from public funds before leaving office in 2006.

For more information, please see:

Los Angeles Times World —Raid puts Mexican casino mogul in sympathetic light —12 June 2011

BBC News —Ex-Tijuana mayor Hank Rhon on weapon charges—8 June 2011

Los Angeles Times — Mexico authorities return former mayor to Tijuana to face arms charges —8 June 2011

The Washington Post —Former Tijuana mayor charged in weapons case —8 June 2011

Police Arrested in Mexico for Suspected Involvement with Zetas drug Cartel

by Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Police suspected of protecting Zetas drug cartel (Photo courtesy of Fox News)

PACHUCA, Mexico – 25 drug cartel members, including a police chief, two commanding officers and seven agents were arrested this week in central Mexico for suspected ties to the notorious Zetas drug cartel. Hidalgo Mexico officials stated that several of the authorities arrested have admitted to helping the Zetas.

The Zetas gang is a drug-trafficking organization in Mexico that is suspected of forcefully recruiting young migrants to battle the Gulf Cartel for control of territory and power. Those who refuse to fight are often killed or beaten.

The arrests began on Sunday in Hidalgo state after state officers were attacked while patrolling the town of Huejutla, said Martin Vivar, spokesman for the Hidalgo state attorney general’s office. After the attack, six alleged drug traffickers were arrested and admitted to have operated in the area with the aid and protection of local police.

Concerns over police corruption have constantly plagued the Mexican police system and have frustrated efforts to control drug trafficking– allowing drug gangs to carry out their violent crimes without repercussion.

On 21 May, gang members opened fire on the Café Iguana in downtown Monterrey. A squad of eight policemen rushed to the scene but only stood by and watched as gang members began loading dead bodies in the back of a truck. The officers involved are now being investigated but only one has been arrested.

In September 2009, 124 municipal, state and federal level police officers were detained in Hidalgo after being suspected of collaborating with the Zetas.

Low salaries, an absence of resources and threats from the cartels are the most cited reasons for police complicity and overall corruption in police ranks.

“Our police do not have anything to lose,” said Jorge Domene Zambrano, executive director of the Office of Public Security for the state of Nuevo Leon, which includes Monterrey. “That’s why they are very easy to be kept by the bad guys.”

Javier Trevino Cantum, the state’s secretary general, acknowledges the problem and states that feuding off drug gangs is going to be a major challenge. The government is planning on revamping laws that will make it easier to go after drug gangs and targeting poor neighborhoods with social programs to help fend off recruitment by cartels.

For more information, please see:

CNN Latin America — Mexican police chief, officers charged with helping cartels —2 June 2011

El Universal — Encarcelan a 124 policías de Hidalgo ligados a Zetas —14 Sept 2009

The Globe And Mail — Police turn blind eye to Monterrey drug cartels — 27 May 2011

Univision Noticias — Detuvieron a 25 presuntos ‘Zetas’, diez policías entre ellos — 1 June 2011

Amnesty Pressures Bahrain’s Allies to End Human Rights Crisis

By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain – Amnesty International has called on the allies of Bahrain to address the ongoing human rights crisis in that nation, in particular, the Bahraini government’s attempts to suppress peaceful demonstrations.  Bahrain: A Human Rights Crisis claims that those governments who have a close relationship with Bahrain must pressure the authorities there to end the crackdown on opposition forces.

A director of Amnesty International stated that “[North American and European governments] must be much more robust in pressing the Bahraini authorities to uphold their international human rights obligations.”

Since March of this year, protestors have been calling for the reform of the government.  On March 16, the Bahraini government attempted to suppress the protests by using shotguns, rubber bullets, tear gas, and in some instances, live ammunition.  The use of such weapons could not be justified.

Over five hundred people have been arrested in the past month.  Most of those arrested were Shi’a Muslim protestors.  Even now, no one knows where many of these protestors are located.  Some of those who have been detained were also tortured following their arrests. Four detainees died while in custody.

Among the detainees are medical doctors and nurses.  Although the exact reasons for their arrests are unknown, these individuals may have been arrested as a result of treating protestors, playing an active role in demonstrations, and criticizing the government.  In addition, protestors have also been fired from their jobs in government service and state institutions, including teachers and university lecturers.  These dismissals have been justified as breaches of their employment contracts.

The human rights organization states in its paper that “Bahrainis need to see their government acting decisively and transparently to reverse this downward trend and begin a process of rebuilding trust and confidence in its institutions.”.

For more information please see:
Al Jazeera – Rights Groups Slam Bahraini Crackdown – 23 April 2011

Boston Globe – Medical Workers Missing in Bahrain – 23 April 23, 2011

Amnesty International – Bahrain: International Pressure Needed Now to Halt Spiralling Human Rights Crisis – 21 April 2011

Amnesty International – Bahrain: A Human Rights Crisis – 21 April 2011