Violence in the Alemão slum as Peace Force Struggles to Overcome Drug Gangs

September 8, 2011

by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASÍLIA, Brazil – The Alemão slum complex in Rio de Janeiro is once again beset by violence. On Sunday evening, a scuffle between residents and the assigned Peace Force in the community took place. Reports of this incident show that three residents were arrested and that pepper spray and rubber bullets were used to disperse crowds. There were no reported deaths, although one woman was hit by a rubber bullet and a police officer was hit in the head with a stone.

Peace Force soldiers open fire in the Alemão slum. (Photo Courtesy of MercoPress)

The Peace Force has been present in the Alemão slum since November of last year. At that time, security forces entered and gained control as part of a “pacification program”. This program was an attempt to curb violence levels, in preparation for hosting the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Alemão had been the base for the Red Command, Rio’s largest drug gang. The securing of the complex was viewed as a huge success as it severely inhibited drug trafficking and related violence.

Reports of how Sunday’s altercation began vary. The Peace Force claims to have been assaulted by residents throwing stones and bottles as a foot patrol team arrested a man who had harassed them. Residents say that it started with a request, from a Peace Force team, to lower the volume on a television set at a bar and escalated from there.

Following Sunday’s scuffle, on Tuesday, a group of drug traffickers from a neighboring slum opened fire on the soldiers patrolling Alemão. The Washington Post reports that television broadcasts show residents running to find cover from the bullets flying through the air. Locals claim that a 15 year-old girl was killed in the fight and at least 16 others were wounded. Authorities deny that any deaths occurred as a result of the struggle.

The aunt of the 15 year-old girl, allegedly killed from a stray bullet, was frustrated by the government’s response. She stated, “I’m very angry because I was born and raised here and no one in my family has ever been killed in shootings. Now that (the slum) has been pacified, I’m seeing one of them killed. Where’s the state? Where are the authorities?”

Other residents voiced concerns that even with the Peace Force presence they do not feel any safer. Also heard were complaints of overly aggressive policing in Alemão. Authorities announced that police will now force occupations of the neighboring two slums as that is where the drug traffickers are believed to have originated from.

For more information, please see;

MercoPress – Brazilian Forces Try to Regain Control of Shantytown Again Lost to Criminal Gangs – 8 September 2011

BBC News – Extra Troops Sent to Rio Slum After Gunfight Erupts – 7 September 2011

The Washington Post – More Troops Flood Into Rio de Janeiro Slum After Fellow Soldiers Attacked by Gangs – 7 September 2011

The Rio Times – Confrontation in Complexo Alemão – 5 September 2011

NIGERIA RESIDENTS FEAR BOTH THE TERRORISTS AND THE MILITARY AMID REPORTS OF RELEASES TO PLACATE MUSLIM ELDERS

September 7, 2011

By Tamara Alfred
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

According to a US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks, Nigeria released known terror suspects, including some affiliated with al Qaeda’s north Africa branch, as part of a program known as “Perception Management” to placate elders in the country’s Muslim north.

The release of the suspects in early 2008 coincides with the time when Nigerian authorities released the man now suspected of helping organize the August 26 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria that killed 23 people.

Nigerian soldiers have responded to the insurgent threat with a crackdown in Maiduguri. (Photo Courtesy of The New York Times.)

The cable, dated March 20, 2008, outlines how 18 terror suspects being held by the government were released in early 2008. Twelve of the suspects became part of “Perception Management” run by the nation’s secret police. Under the program, imams and traditional leaders in north Nigeria served largely as parole officers responsible for reforming the suspects. However, the cable suggests pressures to save Nigeria’s international image may have influenced the decision to release the suspects.

“The court ostensibly remains under political pressure to expedite, even throw out terrorism cases to ensure Nigeria is not given the distasteful reputation of a ‘terrorist safe haven,’” said the cable signed by then-US Ambassador Robin Renee Sanders.

A high-ranking Nigerian government official told the Associated Press last week that Babagana Ismail Kwaljima, a suspected member of the radical sect Boko Haram now being held over the bombing, was released in 2007 to placate Muslim leaders.

Reports have been circulating recently of Boko Haram branching out and collaborating with al Qaeda’s affiliates. In the past two years, the radical sect, whose name means “Western education is sacrilege” in the local Hausa language,” has met and trained with al-Qaeda affiliates outside the country and begun waging a propaganda campaign that includes conference calls with reporters. Violence has increased recently and civilians are increasingly put in the line of fire.

Several dozen civilians were killed in June when bombs were thrown into the outdoor beer parlors that exist on the Christian-minority fringes. Not all women are veiled and alcohol can be obtained – apparently an affront to the group’s goal of imposing strict Islamic law in the north, say Nigerian authorities.

According to a report in mid-August from Amnesty International, about 140 people have died in the violence since January, including dozens of civilians killed by the military.

The Nigerian government has responded with such a broad, harsh crackdown that many residents now see the military as more of a danger than Boko Haram. The brutal Nigerian military tactics – shoot first, ask questions later – are creating more sympathizers for the group.

In the neighborhoods, the anger against the military is undeniable. Nobody admitted supporting Boko Haram, but several residents said “young men” were now signing up with the group. When asked about the army, an angry mob quickly formed.

“After looting the properties of the people, they killed innocent people,” said Yusuf Babagana, describing an army incursion after a bomb blast in the Abbangaram neighborhood in July. “They are creating more chaos than the Boko Haram sect. They are looting, killing, and even raping.”

Saude Maman recounted how soldiers yelled at her husband, “you are Boko Haram!” after a car bombing that resulted in the military cordoning off the district. When her husband denied it, “they dragged him to the courtyard and shot him,” said Maman. Fourth other women also said they lost their husbands that same night. Amnesty International reports that at least 25 people died in that operation alone.

A businessman in Abbangaram said, “When the army men came in they just started beating everybody, and killing everybody.” On July 23, according to Amnesty, 23 people were killed by soldiers after a blast near the palace of the sheik.

Residents were again forced to flee the streets when a bomb went off in Maiduguri alongside Baga road where Boko Haram has been accused of operating.

One resident told AFP that when the bomb went off “everybody rushed indoors to avoid harassment by soldiers who usually vent their anger on residents every time such attacks occur. Nobody can say if there were casualties because soldiers have taken over the area, shooting in the air.”

Hundreds of troops were deployed to Maiduguri this year to help stem the unrest, but residents have accused them of shooting civilians on suspicion they conspire with the Islamists.

Despite denials by a military spokesman, wounded men are still filling the hospital. “A soldier shot me,” Zira Koda said. “They entered my house and shot me. There was no reason for it.”

For more information, please see:

Huffington Post – Nigeria Terror Suspects Released Knowingly: Cable – 7 September 2011

AFP – Bomb explodes in violence-torn Nigerian city: residents – 6 September 2011

The New York Times – Islamist Group With Possible Qaeda Links Upends Nigeria – 17 August 2011

Former Yugoslav Army Official Convicted of Crimes Against Humanity

September 7, 2011

By Terance Walsh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Momcilo Perisic, the former head of the Yugoslav Army from August 1993 to November 1998, was convicted on Tuesday by an international tribunal at the Hague of crimes against humanity. Perisic had pleaded not guilty to the charges and now faces 27 years in prison.

The conviction was connected to attacks on civilians in Sarajevo and Srebrenica by soldiers under Perisic’s command. The court held that Perisic “knowingly aided and abetted the crimes of murder, inhumane acts and attacks on civilians” during a campaign in Sarajevo and abetted the “persecution and extermination” of people in Srebrenica in 1995. He was also convicted for failing to discipline his subordinates for murder and attacks on civilians, and injuring civilians during rocket attacks on Zagreb in May 1995. The conviction was the first by the tribunal of a Yugoslav official in relation to crimes committed in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The court held that Perisic coordinated the Yugoslav Army’s logistical assistance to the Army Rupublika Srpska (VRS) and the Army of Serbian Krajina (SVK). The assistance included supplying VRS and SVK with arms, ammunition, and training. The logistical connection grew “more centralized, structured, and coordinated under General Perisic’s tenure,” according to presiding Judge Bakone Moloto.

Throughout the trial, Prosecutor Mark Harmon argued that Perisic did not have a direct role in the crimes but should nevertheless be held responsible.

“He never personally killed anyone, he never personally set fire to a house in Bosnia and Croatia, [but he] aided and abetted those who did all these things,” Mr. Harmon said. “This form of participation should not mitigate his responsibility.”

The judgment states “the VRS regularly made no distinction between civilian and military targets. In fact, it targeted Bosnian Muslim civilians as a matter of course . . . . [T]he crimes charged in this case were not perpetrated by rogue soldiers acting independently. Rather, they were part of a lengthy campaign overseen by top VRS officers on the Yugoslav Army’s payroll, including General Mladic.”

Although Perisic was convicted of aiding and abetting murder and inhumane acts, a superior-subordinate relationship between the VRS and its leader Ratko Mladic, who was recently indicted for genocide in Srebrenica, was not established beyond a reasonable doubt. This meant that Perisic could not be convicted as a superior in relation to the crimes.

After relying on witness testimony and other sources of information, the trial court concluded that the operations carried out by VRS were systematic. Perisic’s role was essential to the success of the VRS’s endeavors. Judges Michele Picard of France and Pedro David from Argentina formed the majority of the court that found Perisic guilty while Judge Moloto dissented.

The verdict was especially of interest to Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Serbia and Croatia are currently mutually suing each other for genocide at The Hague. A suit between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia recently concluded with the court holding that Serbia was not directly responsible for genocide but had failed to take adequate measures to prevent it.

Serbian official Dusan Ignjatovic expressed relief over Perisic’s acquittal of being a superior in relation to the crimes. “It is also important that the trial chamber acquitted Perisic of assistance in the extermination in Srebrenica,” he said. Ignjatovic, however, was surprised that Perisic was held responsible for the attacks on Zagreb.

Belgrade Humanitarian Law Fund director Natasa Kandic reacted differently from Ignjatovic, finding liability for the attacks on Zagreb to be “appropriate.”

Bosnian officials maintain that Perisic should have received a more severe sentence. “Any sentence is too mild for what was done in Sarajevo and Srebrenica,” said Amir Zukic, Party of Democratic Action of Bosnia Herzegovina senior official.

Perisic plans to appeal his conviction. The decision to appeal must be made within thirty days. “If aiding and waging a war are qualified as crimes it can seriously reflect on international relations, ” defense attorney Novak Lukic said. “If you put things like that, than everything that is going on in Libya and Afghanistan and helping those wars needs to be taken seriously. This will be one of the main strategies in the appeal process, we believe that the Appeals Chamber will look at it more rationally.”

Born in Serbia in 1944, Perisic graduated from the military academy in 1966. He took over command of the Yugoslav Army in 1993 during the wars in Bosnia and Croatia. Throughout the 1990s he was one of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic’s closest allies. However, Milosevic removed Perisic from his position in 1998 during an apparent crackdown on opposition. In 2000 Perisic formed a pro-democracy party that helped to oust Milosevic and became deputy prime minister of Serbia. He was arrested in 2002 under suspicion of selling state secrets to the United States.

For more information please see:

B92 — Ex-Yugoslav Army Chief’s Defense to File Appeal — 7 September 2011

Southeast European Times — Former Yugoslav Chief of Staff Gets 27 Years in Prison — 7 September 2011

BBC — Serbian General Perisic Jailed for 27 Years at Hague — 6 September 2011

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia — Tribunal Convicts Momcilo Perisic for Crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia — 6 September 2011

The New York Times — Serbian Official Convicted of War Crimes — 6 September 2011

China Takes Control of Two More Newspapers

September 7, 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

BEIJING, China – Two Beijing newspapers, Beijing Times and Beijing News, have been placed under the control of the Chinese Communist Party’s local propaganda department.

Two newspapers, Beijing News and Beijing Times, have come under control of the Beijing propaganda bureau (Photo Courtesy of China Media Watch).

According to Qianlong, a website controlled and operated by the Chinese government, the newspapers were taken over in an attempt to control in an advertising war waged between them and to increase the influence and competitiveness of The Beijing News.

Critics; however, view the move as retribution for the outspoken and critical articles that both newpapers have become notorious for producing. One of the affected newspaper employees expressed concern at the affect the takeover will have by stating that “it means there will be so much we can’t do. Before there was news that other papers couldn’t do but we could.”

Prior to coming under the control of the Chinese government, Beijing News and Beijing Times were both overseen by the state-level Central Publicity Department which left them essentially untouched by the directives given by Beijing city authorities and thus more capable of candid reporting.

As a result both papers became well-known for consistently publishing stories, many of which other media outlets were prohibited from covering, that were critical of local government’s around China.

Many journalists are alleging that this candid reporting is what led to the takeover. One example of the critical reporting done by the two newly censored papers was the high-speed train crash that occurred in Wenzhou in July and in which the papers harshly criticized the government’s response and poor safety standards.

In addition, Beijing News and Beijing Times both covered the controversial topic of school closures for the children of migrant workers in Beijing which has angered many human rights groups. According to a reporter at Beijing News, Beijing’s propaganda authorities had contacted the central publicity department several times to complain about what it perceived to be negative coverage.

Media analyst Wen Yunchao stated that “it’s been a headache for the Beijing propaganda authorities that they didn’t directly control the two newspapers.” According to Wen , prior to the takeover the Beijing propaganda authorities could only influence the content of the papers if they were assisted by the central publicity department but the new takeover will allow content to be controlled with greater ease.

Media experts, including Wen Yunchao, expect that the takeover will cause news content to rapidly change to alter coverage on sensitive and controversial topics in a way that will portray the Chinese government more favorably.

Fear of increased government crackdown on dissent is further fueled by the recent discovery that Chinese authorities are considering a law that would allow individuals to be detained for up to six months without notification being given to family members.

Chinese authorities have denied allegations of a crackdown and have said that the editorial policies and senior staff would remain the same.

For more information, please see:

NDT – Propaganda Bureau Takes Over Two Beijing Newspapers – 6 September 2011

The Guardian – Propaganda Bureau Takes Control of Two Beijing Newspapers – 3 September 2011

The Diplomat – Beijing Papers Taken Over – 4 September 2011

Radio Free Asia – Newspapers Face New Controls – 4 September 2011

Rally Celebrating North Africa Regime Change Postponed in Uganda

September 6, 2011

By Carolyn Abdenour
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda – On Friday, 1 September, the Ugandan police prohibited a rally to celebrate the overthrow of North African dictators organized by opponents of President Yoweri Museveni. Police spokesman Vincent Sekate stated “The purpose of the rally is likely to incite the public into violence.” However, Mathias Mpuga, leader of opposition Activists for Change, denies the police allegations.

Rioters in Kampala were arrested by the police in April 2011. (Photo Courtesy of Voice of America)

On Wednesday, the security forces banned the opposition from holding the rally on the Clock Tower grounds in Kampala for security reasons. The police also heavily deployed their forces to the venue. Opposition political parties, government critics, and civil society groups were planned participants in the rally.

BBC reports Activists for Change called the rally to “celebrate people power in North Africa.” The organization also printed fliers to advertise the rally. The flier depicts crossed-out photos of ousted leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya adjacent to a photo of President Museveni as the next leader to fall.

Mr. Museveni has held office since 1986, but the opposition argues his reelection victory in February was fraudulent. Since February, Museveni’s opposition has organized several protests to challenge the rising cost of living in Uganda. In April, nine people died at a rally after security forces intervened. Officials also assaulted, arrested, and charged opposition leader Kizza Besigye during a protest, but they later dropped the charges. The police broke up these rallies with tear gas.

The protest organizers assert Uganda is ready for an uprising similar to those in North Africa. They warned police partisanship could move people towards violent insurrection rather than a peaceful demonstration. Mpuga said, “We want to do things the Tunisian or Egyptian way, but they are pushing us the Libyan way.” He added, “We have never had any intention to engage in activism that would endanger fellow activists as well as the work of other ordinary Ugandans not concerned with our protests.”

The police and the protest organizers failed to reach an agreement to hold the rally on Friday, and Mpuga commented the disagreement “is creating a lot of fear in the general public in Kampala because every time we have had standoffs with the police, we have had several people injured.” Voice of America reports some analysts suggest the opposition groups want to topple Uganda’s government, Mpuga asserts the rally does not intend to plunge the country into chaos.

On Friday, Mpuga announced “we are shifting the rally from today to Friday next week at the same time and same venue.”

For further information, please see:
The Times – Ugandan opposition delays solidarity rally – 2 Sept 11
BBC – Ugandan police ban ‘regime change’ rally – 1 Sept 11
International Business Times – Uganda Bans Rally Celebrating North African Revolts – 1 Sept 11
Voice of America – In Uganda, Planned Opposition Rally in Doubt – 1 Sept 11