Three Senior Officials Convicted For Deadly Clash With Indians

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

The indigenous peoples protest that sparked the bloody clash with police in June 2009. (photo courtesy of Living in Peru)
The indigenous people's protest that sparked the bloody clash with police in June 2009. (photo courtesy of Living in Peru)

LIMA, Peru – A Peruvian military court has imposed suspended prison sentences for three senior police and army officers in connection with the deaths of 24 cops and 10 civilians during the June 2009 protests in the Amazonian town of Bagua. The conflict, which came to be known as “Baguazo,” was Lima’s deadliest class in a decade.

Among those receiving suspended sentences are retired police Generals Luis Murguruza and Javier Uribe and army General Raul Silva Alban, who were convicted of dereliction of duty. In addition to their prison sentences, the men also were ordered to pay fines.

The Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (Aidesep), who organized the original demonstration in 2009, touted the verdicts as confirmation that official misconduct can no longer be “swept under the rug.”

There is; however, still controversy surrounding the confrontation. Alberto Pizango, leader of Aidesep, was critical of President Alan Garcia’s decision to shield his Cabinet ministers from any accountability, in contrast to the actions of the military court. Although then-Premier Yehude Simon and the rest of the Cabinet resigned after the Baguazo, no member of the government has faced any judicial consequences.

The events leading up to the Baguazo began in April 2009, when indigenous people were opposed to laws giving Lima power to grant mining, logging and drilling concessions on Indian lands without consulting residents disrupted transport links and seized control of oil-industry installations, effectively shutting down a pipeline that carries crude oil from the Amazon interior to Peru’s northern coast.

The clashes began in June 2009 when police tried to clear a road blocked by thousands of indigenous people an quickly became bloody.

For more information, please see:

Peruvian Times –Indigenous Leaders Criticize Sentence of Bagua Conflict – 17 March 2011

Latin American Herald Tribune – Peru Police, Army Brass Convicted of Deadly Clash with Indians – 15 March 2011

Living in Peru – Police and Military Receive Sentences Two Years After Bagua Violence – 15 March 2011

Attacks on Civilians Continue in Libya Despite UN Resolution

By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Libya – Government forces continue to advance on rebel strongholds in Libya Friday despite declaring an immediate ceasefire to hostilities with civilian opposition.  Libyan Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa declared that “Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire and an immediate halt to military operations.”  The announcement came shortly after the passage of a UN Security Council resolution calling for the end to the government’s violent suppression of civilians and threatening military enforcement if the resolution’s conditions are not met.  Rebel forces however, say that Colonel Gaddafi is “bluffing” and report facing bombing raids and attacks from Libyan troops in a number of cities.   

UN Security Council votes to take all necessary measures to protect Libyan citizens (Photo Courtesy of The Guardian)
UN Security Council votes to take "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan citizens (Photo Courtesy of The Guardian)

Security Council Resolution 1973, passed on Thursday, condemns the suppression of Libyan citizens by the Gaddafi regime and authorizes the international community to use “all necessary measures” to protect civilian populations in Libya.  In particular, the resolution authorizes the international community to establish no-fly zones and initiate an arms embargo.  The creation of no-fly zones over Libyan airspace would require the destruction of Libyan air defense systems.  While the resolution states that international forces will not be deployed on the ground, it notes that Libyan military forces may be legitimate targets of international enforcement efforts if they fail to halt operations against civilians.  In conjunction with Res. 1973, the UN also ratcheted up economic sanctions against the government and froze Libyan assets.

The Resolution also condemns the government’s deployment of mercenaries to subdue civilian resistance.  The regime has actively recruited mercenaries from surrounding countries and tribal regions.  Advertisements for pro-Qaddafi fighters have been launched in a number of countries including Kenya and Ginuea.  Reports indicate that mercenaries are offered up to $2500 per day to fight for the Libyan government.  Manpavan Joth Kaur, commentator for S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), expresses that mercenaries are particularly “dangerous and brutal because they are monetarily-motivated and lack personal or cultural ties with the local people. Their earnings are guaranteed on unconditional loyalty to their recruiters.” 

The International Criminal Court has warned that the government’s indiscriminate attacks against civilian populations constitute “war crimes.”  The United Nations estimates that over 1000 people have been killed and an additional 300,000 have fled Libya since clashes began a month ago.  A coordinated international humanitarian aid effort has been organized to assist those displaced by the crisis.

To read the full text of Resolution 1973 click here.

To watch President Obama’s remarks about Res. 1973 click here. 

For more information please see:

Sydney Morning Herald – Rebels say Libyan Govt Ceasefire a Bluff – Mar. 19, 2011

ABC News – How Would a No-Fly Zone Work Over Libya? – Mar. 18, 2011

Bloomberg – Libya’s Qaddafi Under Threat from Allied Military Forces – Mar. 18, 2011

RSIS Commentaries – “Mercenaries” in Libya: Impact of Legal Impunity – Mar. 17, 2011

UPI – Gadhafi’s Mercenaries Trigger Terror Alarm – Mar. 17 2011

Former Presidential Candidate Flees Belarus

By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

Opposition Leader Ales Mikhalevich. (Photo courtesy of Guardian).
Opposition Leader Ales Mikhalevich. (Photo courtesy of Guardian).

 MINSK, Belarus –  Fearing another round of interrogation and detention, Belarusian opposition leader and former presidential candidate Ales Mikhalevich has fled the country. Mr. Mikhalevich spent nearly three months in a prison cell following the December 9, 2010 elections. He claims he was tortured while in custody of the Belarus state security forces (KGB). Mr. Mikhalevich and several hundred other members of the opposition were arrested after protesting the December election results where Mr. Alyaksandr Lukashenka was elect president.

Mr. Mikhalevich was released from custody on February 19 and then fled the country on March 14. In a recent blog post Mr. Mikhalevich claimed he was safe and beyond the reach of Belarusian state security forces, however he did not reveal his exact location. Prior to fleeing the country, Mr. Mikhalevich described his time at the KGB detention center including claims he was tortured. Specifically, he claims he was placed in a cold room, stripped, and hung by his hands for several hours. Furthermore, he was forced to sign a document claiming he would collaborate with the KGB in order to be released. The KGB has denied Mr. Mikhalevich’s accusations including his claims of torture.

The December 9 presidential election brought Mr. Lukashenka back to power in a vote that was seen by many international observers as flawed. Following the election, the Belarus government cracked down on opposition figures and jailed over 700 opposition supporters including seven presidential candidates. Included in these figures are Andrey Sannikau and Mikalay Statkevich, both former presidential candidates who are still in custody. Additionally, Uladzimer Nyaklyaeu, another former presidential candidate, has been placed under house arrest. All three individuals have been charged with organizing mass disturbances and face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

In a 31-page report released on Monday, March 14, Human Rights Watch describes the brutal crackdown on opposition groups and human rights abuses taking place in Belarus. The report claims individuals in custody for protesting election day results have not had access to defense counsel and have not been able to call their own witnesses. Additionally, offices for human rights organizations have been raided and the Belarus government is putting pressure on lawyers representing defendants’ accused of criminal charges relating to post-election protests.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Belarus politician ‘flees torture’   — 14 March 2011

Human Rights Watch – Shattering Hopes – 14 March 2011

New York Times — Former Presidential Candidate, Claiming Abuse, Flees Belarus – 14 March 2011

Radio Free Europe — ‘Fleeing’ Belarusian Opposition Figure Says Doing Fine – 16 March 2011

Peruvian War Criminal Arrested in UK

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

A Peruvian death squad in 1993. (Photo courtesy of Daily Mail)
A Peruvian death squad in 1993. (Photo courtesy of Daily Mail)

Tiverton, UNITED KINGDOM–A Peruvian man has been arrested after becoming a suspect in alleged human rights abuses.  The man is a yet-unnamed political exile who has been living in the quiet town of Tiverton, England, after claiming asylum.  He is suspected of being involved in state-supported death squads, torturing and executing more than 100 people in Peru during the 1980s and 1990s.  The death squads he is suspected of being associated with used to target leftist rebel movements, including the infamous Shining Path.  A change in UK anti-war crimes laws has made the arrest of the man possible.

Metropolitan Police officers from an anti-terrorist squad arrested the suspect Tuesday morning at a residence in Devon.  The address and a business location were searched.  A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police stated:  “A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of torture and crimes against humanity and has been detained at Exeter police station to be interviewed.”  The suspect has since been released on bail and will return to a central London police station in July.

Civil conflicts in the man’s native country of Peru were common between 1980 and 2000; during those years, about 70,000 people vanished.  A Maoist guerrilla group called Shining Path was responsible for destructive military campaigns in 1980.  Approximately half of the deaths and disappearances that took place during this period have been attributed to organizations like Shining Path.

The United Kingdom has been seen as a hiding place for alleged war criminals because of a lack of prosecutions and arrests.  The arrest of this suspect Tuesday came after an alteration in the law last year.  The new version of the law extends the historical cut-off point from 2001 to 1991 for war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide.

Nick Donovan, one of many who worked to change the law, said, “Before the recent change in UK law many of the dozens of British residents suspected of crimes against humanity couldn’t be prosecuted for crimes committed in the 1990s.  It’s great to see the new law being used already.  Obviously this man is innocent until proven guilty, but if this arrest leads to a successful prosecution it will be a great day for the families of the victims.”

For more information, please see:

CNN-British police make arrest linked to Peru abuses-17 March 2011

Daily Mail-Peruvian ‘war criminal’ is arrested . . . in Tiverton-17 March 2011

Independent-Peruvian ‘war criminal’ found in Tiverton-17 March 2011

Sri Lankan War Crimes Investigation: Senate Resolution Passed

David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – An independent mechanism was requested by the United States to investigate alleged War crimes and crimes against humanity caused by the Sri Lankan military as their civil war drew to a close.

US State Department plays ‘ultimate savior of genocidal Colombo’
US State Department plays ‘ultimate savior of genocidal Colombo’

A resolution was passed by the United States Senate calling on the current Sri Lankan administration and the international community to support the United Nations in putting plans together, holding Sri Lanka to an international standard of accountability against human right violations.

Senator Robert Casey presented the resolution as sympathetic to the Tamil cause.

As we approach the two-year anniversary for the end of the 26-year conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka, a “Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC)” was established by the Sri Lanka Government.

This LLRC was established to determine who bears responsibility for incidents that occurred between February 2002 and May 2009. The LLRC also recommends agencies to proactively prevent recurrences of a similar nature in the future, while promoting national unity for all communities.

Panels of Human Rights and International Law experts have been appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in counseling the Sri Lankan Government toward human rights accountability.

The Government of Sri Lanka must “allow humanitarian organizations, aid agencies, journalists, and international human rights groups’ greater freedom of movement, including in internally-displaced persons camps” and make strides in establishing a democracy rule of law.

The growing global voice of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees domiciled in the U.S. and European nations has created outcry for Sri Lanka to face an international commission and for alleged violations of international humanitarian laws.

The Sri Lankan Government claims no civilian were lost during military advances against Tamil separatists.

But, global rights group Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch possess evidence that an estimated 40,000 noncombatants lost their lives during the months of conflict.

The Sri Lankan military projects blame on the Tamil strike forces for their alleged use of nearly “300,000 civilians as human shields”.

Assistant secretary Blake told AFP in an interview “The point I would make is now here we are almost two years after the end of the war and still these kinds of challenges to, particularly to press freedoms and media freedoms continue. It’s a bit unusual and a bit counter-intuitive. Again, the LTTE is no longer a force to be reckoned with.

“It’s important to say that if Sri Lanka is not willing to meet international standards regarding these matters, there would be pressure to appoint an international commission to look into these things, ” says Blake.

This process has become more common in recent weeks as the United Nations Security Council recently passed a resolution unanimously against Libya and the referral of Moammar Qadhafi to the International Criminal Court to impartially investigate suspected war crimes as well as strong arm abuses against his people.

Senate Resolution 84 is a simple resolution, and “although it is non-binding, it does express the concerns of American lawmakers that the government of Sri Lanka provide a credible and fair mechanism of ensuring accountability for possible violations of human rights during the war,” a US Embassy official told the Daily Mirror.

For more information, please see:

Hindustan Times – US call for probe in Lanka – 3 March 2011

Asian Tribune – US Senate/ State Department in consensus to bring Sri Lanka under global scrutiny for alleged war crimes – 3 March 2011

– US call for independent mechanism – 3 March 2011

Colombo Page  – US Senate resolution expressing support for reconciliation in Sri Lanka introduced – 2 March 2011

Tamil Net – US Senate Resolution calls for accountability for Sri Lanka war crimes – 2 March 2011

Times Online – US Senate resolution backs Lanka war crimes panel – 2 March 2011