Argentina Protests UK Military Tests on Falklands

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Falklands war veterans protest in Buenos Aires. (Photo courtesy of Voice of America)
Falklands war veterans protest in Buenos Aires. (Photo courtesy of Voice of America)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Argentina has protested Britain’s plan to conduct military exercises, including firing missiles, on the nearby disputed Falkland (or Malvinas) Islands.  Britain disclosed the plan last week.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina let her reaction to the planned exercises be known via Twitter, tweeting that it would be “a militarization of the South Atlantic.”  She went on to call the situation, “Serious, very serious,” and wrote, “Typical nineteenth century colonialism.  Anachronistic use of force in violation of international law.  They do not care.  A clear example of double standards.”

The President also said she would summon Shan Morgan, the British ambassador, and referred to the British Navy as “pirates for ever?”

An official statement by the President declared, “The Argentine Government reiterates that the Malvinas . . . , part of the Argentine Republic and unlawfully occupied by the United Kingdom, are in dispute, which is recognised by the United Nations and other international organisations.”

In a letter sent to the British embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alberto D’Alotto wrote:  “The Argentine government expresses its formal and energetic protest to this planned military exercise and demands the British government refrain from carrying it out.”  D’Alotto has called Britain’s plan “an unacceptable provocation.”

British companies have been hunting for oil around the Falklands.  Earlier this year, the Rockhopper Exploration company claimed to have been the first to discover oil in the North Falkland Basin.  As the archipelago is situated on Argentina’s continental shelf, Argentina has claimed sovereignty over it and considers Britain’s presence an affront to that sovereignty.  Argentina has said that the Islands are within its sphere of economic influence and has promised to legally prevent Britain from accessing any oil in that area.  The President has previously vowed an “eternal fight” to claim the Islands, though without force.

There is a history of acrimony between Argentina and Britain.  In 1982, they waged war for 10 weeks over the Islands, resulting in the deaths of over 600 Argentine and 255 British troops.  Today, Britain keeps a permanent presence of 1,076 troops and four ships on the Islands.

Argentine veterans of the Falklands war have protested Britain’s upcoming exercises and demonstrated in front of the National Congress in Buenos Aires.  Many carried signs with messages such as, “The Malvinas are Argentine,” and “English Go Home.”

A spokesperson from the British embassy has said that the  military tests are “routine and are carried out every six months,” and that therefore, “[w]e are a little taken aback” by Argentina’s protest.

For more information, please see:

Press TV-Argentina protests to UK over drills-10 October 2010

Voice of America-Argentina Protests British Military Exercises on Falklands-10 October 2010

Telegraph-Royal Navy are pirates, says Argentina’s president-10 October 2010

Reuters-Argentina protests UK Falklands military exercise-9 October 2010

Nobel Peace Prize, no pleasant Surprise for chinese


Protestors demanding a release of Liu, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize recipient (Photo courtesy of BBC)

By Joseph Juhn
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – When a group of people – two dozen bloggers, rights lawyers and academics – gathered at a Beijing restaurant to celebrate the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, the police rushed in and arrested them.

Although 10 of the 20 people who had been picked up were released, three of them were given eight-day jail terms under the charge of “disturbing the peace” and seven were escorted out of Beijing, according to Zhang Zuhua, an activist who is in touch with the detainees.


Liu Xiaobo, the 54-year-old scholar and author, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his outstanding contribution to human rights, is currently serving an 11-year sentence on charges of “inciting subversion of state power” imposed after an allegedly unfair trial. 

Liu is widely recognized amongst activists as a prominent government critic who has repeatedly called for human rights protections, political accountability and democratization in China.

Ever since the Norwegian Committee announced the winner of the prize, the Chinese government reacted with unrestrained anger.

In a series of attempt to downplay the awarding of the prize, the chinese Government called in the Norwegian ambassador in Beijing for a dressing down, placed a number dissidents under house arrest and blocked nearly all Internet sites and news media from disseminating any information regarding the Nobel Peace Prize.

It was impossible for Chinese citizens or Web surfers to learn about the honor bestowed on their countryman. Plugging “Liu Xiaobo” or “Nobel Peace Prize” into a search engine resulted in blank screens and error messages.

Only the Global Times, an English-language newspaper controlled by the Chinese government, contained information on the prize, although in completely contrasting tone.

Liu, the newspaper’s unsigned editorial said, is “an incarcerated Chinese criminal.” Awarding him the prize was a “paranoid choice” that was “meant to irritate China.” The Nobel Peace Prize has been “degraded into a political tool that serves an anti-China purpose.

“It seems that instead of peace or unity in China, the Nobel committee would like to see the country split by an ideological rift, or better yet, collapse like the Soviet Union,” the editorial said.

Zhou Xiaozheng, director of the law of Sociology department at People’s University in Beijing, when asked about to which extent people are aware of either Liu or the Nobel Peace Prize, said, “[t]hey don’t know, and they don’t want to know, because it’s dangerous to know.”

“As soon as I hear a foreign journalist wants to know about the Nobel Peace Prize, I can sense the danger,” said Zhou.

In response to these hardline approaches by the Chinese government to silence the award, Catherine Baber, Deputy Asia-Pacific Director at Amnesty International, expressed concerns.

“This award can only make a real difference if it prompts more international pressure on China to release Liu, along with the numerous other prisoners of conscience languishing in Chinese jails for exercising their right to freedom of expression,” she said.

For more information, please see:

The New York Times – China, Angered by Peace Prize, Blocks Celebration – 10 October 2010

Amnesty International – LIU XIAOBO’S NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WIN PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON CHINA RIGHTS VIOLATIONS – 8 October 2010

The Los Angeles Times – Chinese media stay resolutely silent on Nobel winner – 10 October 2010

Colombian Military Official Arrested For Unlawful Killings

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Colombian Military Remove Remains (Photo courtesy of Colombia Reports)
Colombian Military Remove Remains (Photo courtesy of Colombia Reports)

 BOGOTA, Colombia – Colombian officials have arrested an army officer suspected of 11 extrajudicial killings of civilians. Major Orlando Arturo Cespedes Escalona was arrested Thursday in the northwestern city of Medellin.  The 11 deceased individuals were presented as leftist guerillas killed during combat.

Those allegedly killed by Escalona include 11 adolescents and young men, ages 16-28, from Toluviejo, a town in the northern province of Sucre.  Recruiters lured these young men to areas through promises of agricultural work and money, but they were then executed.  While remains from 10 bodies have been found and returned to family members, one 16-year-old is still missing.

Colombia’s Attorney General has stated that Escalona will face aggravated kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, and homicide charges.  The case is being handled by a special human rights and international law prosecutor who also ordered the arrest of retired Col. Luis Fernando Borja.

In what has become known as the “False Positives” scandal, the Colombian army has been accused of killing civilians and presenting them as guerrillas killed in combat to pump body counts.  The soldiers who claimed credit for the “kills” received weekend passes and other benefits.  Civilian accomplices lured the victims away from their homes and in what is described as a common practice, army recruiters would bury the men in common graves to give the impression that they were insurgents killed in combat. 

There are many other instances of extrajudicial killings aside from those that Escalona is accused of.  The number of documented victims has already topped 2,000.  However, some suspect that the number could be closer to 3,000 victims.  Other recruiters have been already been convicted and sentenced to no less than 25 years in prison. 

Victims’ families and human rights activists suspect that a directive issued in 2005 by then-Defense Minister Camilo Ospina offering incentives to soldiers for insurgent deaths may have spurred many of these killings.

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune – Colombian Army Officer Arrested for Unlawful Killings – 8 October 2010

Colombia Passport – Military Arrested for Murder of a Protected Person – 7 October 2010

Colombia Reports – Army Major Arrested for 11 “False Positive” Murders – 7 October 2010

Filipino Workers Released In Saudi Arabia after Participating in Illegal Religious Activities

By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The remaining Filipino workers in the custody of Saudi authorities were released Saturday after the Philippine embassy negotiated their release.  Twelve Filipino workers were among the one hundred foreign workers arrested by religious police for participating in a forbidden religious activity earlier this month.  The workers allegedly held a Christian mass in a place of special occasions in the Nadeem District of Saudi Arabia.  Under Saudi law, conducting religious activities of faiths other than Islam is strictly prohibited in the country. 

Filipino Workers Jailed for Illegal Religious Activities (Photo Courtesy of ADNKronos International)
Filipino Workers Jailed for Illegal Religious Activities (Photo Courtesy of ADNKronos International)

The workers were released to their host employers but have been unable to return home as an investigation into their religious activities is still being conducted.  In Saudi Arabia, only the employers of foreign workers may be the guarantors of accused aliens since it is the employers who sponsor work permits for foreign employees.  The Philippine embassy reported that it could not take exception to the temporary release of Filipino workers however, it would continue to closely monitor the progress of the investigation against them. 

John Leonard Monterona, the regional coordinator of Migrante Middle East Chapter, stated that foreign workers “must be cautious and must have a ‘sense of extra care’ especially in Saudi Arabia which has been known to be strictly implementing its cultural laws.”  

Relations between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia have been tense in recent weeks after reports uncovered that at least four Filipino nurses working in Saudi Arabia may have been raped and beaten.   Although the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has commented that these reporters are unsubstantiated, foreign watchdog groups have been urging the government to initiate its own comprehensive investigation into the alleged incidents.

The continued investigation of Filipino workers however, is evidence of the country’s unwillingness to challenge the policies of the Saudi government and create more antipathy between the nations.  As the Philippine government has little to leverage against its Middle Eastern counterpart, it is likely that it will take a non-obtrusive approach towards the prosecution of its workers as it hopes to strengthen relations with Saudi Arabia.

For more information, please see:

ABS-CBN News – Last of Jailed OFW in Illegal Religious Event in Saudi Released – 9 Oct. 2010

GMA News – DFA: All OFWs Jailed for Worship in KSA Released – 9 Oct. 2010

Inquirer.net – DFA: Reports of Rape of 4 Filipinas Unverified – 9 Oct. 2010

Republic of the Philippine, Department of Foreign Affairs – Remaining OFW Jailed for Religious Worship in Riyadh Released – 9 Oct. 2010

ABS-CBN News –14 OFWs Nabbed for Joining Religious Service – 6 Oct. 2010

Indonesian President granted Immunity

By David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch, Asia

JAKARTA, Indonesia – On Wednesday, a Dutch judge turned down demands by a separatist group for the arrest of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia on charges of human rights abuse if he set foot in the Netherlands, a court spokeswoman said.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (L) postponed a visit planned this week to the Netherlands, citing a human rights trial in the host country that might threaten him with arrest [AFP]
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (L) postponed a visit planned this week to the Netherlands, citing a human rights trial in the host country that might threaten him with arrest [AFP]

Yudhoyono’s cancelled his trip to the Netherlands came after the Republic of South Moluccas (RMS) group requested The Hague District Court to order his arrest.  Indonesian authorities beat the RMS after it declared independence in 1950.

The Netherlands government voiced its regret at the decision and said it had reassured the president he would have diplomatic immunity.

Three Dutch citizens supporting Moluccan separatists filed the claims. The group holds President Yudhoyono responsible for the alleged mistreatment and torture of detained Moluccan separatist activists.

The Indonesian government has been suspected of abusing human rights in suppressing local separatists in the region. Indigenous Moluccan groups live in Maluku Province in the eastern part of Indonesia, and they have laid claim for self-governance, which is claimed to have been promised more than a half-century ago as Dutch rule came to an end.

Members of the separatist group are frequently subjected to torture, arbitrary arrest and extrajudicial killings by Indonesian security forces, human rights organizations say.  Ninety political prisoners have been sentenced or are awaiting trials for separatism in the region, with some serving sentences as long as 20 years, said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia consultant for Human Rights Watch.

Indonesia frequently hands down lengthy jail terms, with a maximum of life in prison, for displaying banned “separatist symbols.” Indonesia’s Special Detachment 88 antiterrorism squad has recently been accused of rights abuses, including torture of separatists in Maluku.

Citing international legal custom, the foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen, of the Netherlands, said his government had assured Indonesia that the president’s immunity could not be challenged by a claim filed in a district court.

“For Indonesia, for me, if this lawsuit is held while I’m visiting, that concerns our self-respect as a nation; it concerns our honor as a nation.” said President Yudhoyono.

The visit would have been the first in 40 years for an Indonesian president to the Netherlands, Indonesia’s former colonial ruler. Given the complex history of the two countries, even recent relations have often been tense.

Historically, the RMS has had a strong base in the Netherlands, many Moluccans emigrated there when Indonesia gained independence, some having served as soldiers in the Dutch army. The Dutch government initially promised their exile would be temporary, and they were settled into temporary refugee camps.

Mahfudz Siddiq, of the Indonesia’s parliament, told Al Jazeera that the RMS represents a serious threat to Indonesia’ territorial integrity.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera English – No arrest warrent against Yudhoyono – 6 Oct 2010

New York Times – Dutch Court Rejects Demand for Indonesia President’s Arrest – 6 Oct 2010

BBC – Dutch court dismisses Indonesian president arrest call – 6 Oct 2010