AU Peacekeepers Gaining on Somali Insurgents

By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

 

African Union Troops on Patrol in Mogadishu. (Photo Courtesy of AFP).
African Union Troops on Patrol in Mogadishu. (Photo Courtesy of AFP).

 

MOGADISHU, Somalia-African Union (AU) peacekeepers are claiming to have 40% of Mogadishu under their control and predict that upwards of 50% of the city will be under their authority by the end of October. Prior to this offensive, the AU troops controlled small pockets of the city, including its port, presidential palace, and airport. As part of their goal, peacekeepers are looking to push the insurgents out of the city.

According to the AU envoy to Somalia, Wafula Wamunyinyi, areas under the peacekeepers control are characterized as relatively calm, where residents can move unrestrained; however, insurgent attacks are still possible.

The peacekeeping force in Somalia, comprised of at least 6,000 soldiers, mostly from Uganda and Burundi, have been battling Islamist rebels from al-Shabab. Al-Shabab is an insurgent group that has been locked in a deadly campaign with the interim Somali government since 2007. Al-Shabab is made up of local militiamen as well as a significant contingent of foreign jihadists.

This current military offensive is impacting both leadership within Al-Shabab and the Somali militiamen who have been fighting alongside them. There have been claims this offensive has lead to conflict over command structure within al-Shabab and the role foreign jihadists will play in this fight. Additionally, Somali militiamen have been backing away from al-Shabab’s leader, Ahmed Godane.

Politicians, seeing the recent positive gains made by AU peacekeepers throughout Africa, are calling on other nations to support this campaign by pledging soldiers, equipment, and money.  Some countries have already responded with Burundi sending an additional 1,000 soldiers and Guinea pledging 2,000 troops.

Echoing the support of African nations, the European Union (EU) has remained a staunch supporter of Somalia. The EU is the largest donor to Somalia and has remained committed to the development and reconstruction of the east African nation.

Although some nations around the world have responded with the commitment to send troops, other countries have flatly rejected sending soldiers to Somalia. Going against international pressure, the South African government has so far refused to send any additional troops to the war torn region.

Somalia has been plagued by violence and strife since President Siad Barre was removed from power in 1991.

For more information, please see:

BBC Africa — Somalia’s AU peace force ‘gains ground in Mogadishu’ — 7 October 2010.

Bloomberg — African Union Troops Aiming to Expand Their Presence in Somalia’s Capital — 7 October 2010.

Reuters Africa — AU peacekeepers gaining ground in Somali capital — 7 October 2010.

The East African — South Africa declines to send Soldiers to Somalia — 7 October 2010

 

Dead Bodies Captured by Google’s Street View Paint Disturbing Picture of Brazil

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Street View captures a Rio de Janeiro street. (Photo courtesy of Mail Online)
Street View captures a body and blood on a Rio de Janeiro street. (Photo courtesy of Daily Mail)

 RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil–Disturbing images of dead bodies on Brazil’s streets have been found on the Google service Street View.  The grisly images have sparked concerns about the country’s pervasive homicide problem.

Google’s Street View is now available all over the world, including Antarctica.  While the service has previously captured people in the UK vomiting, and people asleep on Australian sidewalks, Brazil’s lifeless bodies were a first.  The service had only been in Brazil for less than a week before unsettling images of dead bodies were spotted by Street View users who reported them and complained.  Google announced Tuesday that those images have been removed.

Street View is a service that shows random scenes from public streets all over the world.  The fact that so many pictures from Brazil have captured images of dead bodies has created alarm about the surrounding culture.  Many of the photographed bodies were seemingly ignored by passers-by.  Many of the bodies were bloodied or covered in black plastic.

In one snapshot, a man casually uses a public telephone next to a body.  In a photograph of a busy street in Rio de Janeiro, police officers are seen holding back a staring crowd of onlookers. Military vehicles and yellow police tape surround the body.  Another photograph shows a body lying on a street, apparently the victim of a traffic accident or hit and run.

Apart from images of bodies, Street View users have seen other troubling scenes in Brazil.  In one photograph from Sao Paulo, two men roughly grab a third man in an apparent altercation while a passerby glances their way.

A spokesperson from Google has stated that Street View images are “no different to what anyone might expect to see for themselves around the country.  Sometimes that means our cars inadvertently capture odd or inappropriate moments as they drive past.”

The spokesperson stressed that Google is not responsible for depicting the world as it appears, saying, “This is why we have put in place tools so that if people see what they believe to be inappropriate, they can report them to us using the simple reporting tool and the images will be quickly removed or further blurring applied.”

According to information released by the United Nations, over 48,000 homicides occurred in Brazil in 2007.

For more information, please see:

Newser-Google Street View Comes to Brazil, Finds Bodies-7 October 2010

Telegraph-Google forced to remove ‘dead body’ images from Brazil Street View service-6 October 2010

CNET-More bodies (and other strange sights) on Brazil’s Street View-5 October 2010

Leader presumed responsible for mass rapes in DR Congo is arrested

By Polly Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

UN Special Representative Margot Wallstrom hopes that the arrest will begin the process of justice (Photo Courtesy of AFP).

NORTH KIVU, Democratic Republic of Congo – A Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rebel commander suspected of leading the attacks in July and August that resulted in hundreds of rapes has been arrested, according to UN peacekeepers and the army in DRC.

Lieutenant Colonel Mayele of the Mai Mai Cheka rebel group was captured in a joint operation in the North Kivu province and turned over on Tuesday to UN peacekeepers and the Congolese army in Walikale, eastern Congo. He is in detention in Goma, and a case has been opened up.

A spokesman for DRC’s Mai Mai militias, said, “We gave Mayele to the UN so that he can be investigated by the international criminal court for his actions against the local population.”

The arrest came during a visit to DRC by UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence Margot Wallström, who has called DRC the rape capital of the world.

Between three and five hundred people are thought to have been raped during the wave of attacks that took place between July 30 and August 2 by two hundred members of three armed groups. The known victims include two hundred and thirty-five women, fifty-two girls, thirteen men, and three boys. At least nine hundred and twenty-three houses and forty-two shops were looted.

“It is a victory for justice, especially for the many women who have suffered rapes and other forms of sexual violence. The numerous criminal acts committed under ‘Lt. Col.’ Mayele’s command cannot be undone,” Wallström said. “Let his apprehension be a signal to all perpetrators of sexual violence that impunity for these types of crimes is not accepted and that justice will prevail.”

Victims of the attack said in interviews that they believed the purpose of the attacks was to intimidate local people seen by the rebels as government supporters. A doctor, Cris Baguma, visited rape victims in their villages, learning that the rebels had come in peace and only began the rapes after being given food by the villagers.

“Men saw how they raped their wives, sons saw how they raped their mothers. Everyone in these villages is now very withdrawn and cold and in need of psychological assistance,” Baguma said.

“It is crucial that the victims of the rapes in Walikale and in so many other places in the DRC see justice done,” said Wallström. “I call on the Government to ensure a swift, rigorous and open process of justice.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Arrest in DR Congo over mass rape – 6 October 2010

BBC – DR Congo rebel leader arrested over mass rapes – 6 October 2010

Guardian – Militia commander Mayele arrested after mass rape of Congo villagers – 6 October 2010

UN News Centre – DR Congo: UN helps seize rebel leader presumed responsible for mass rape – 5 October 2010

Domestic Workers Exploited and Abused in Kuwait

By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait – Domestic workers in Kuwait are facing abuse and prosecution reported Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday.  Domestic migrant workers have been forced to work long hours, are deprived of wages and are often subject to physical and sexual abuse.  Last year domestic workers filed over 10,000 complaints of abuse with their embassies however; HRW notes that this represents only a percentage of all cases of abuse.   Of these 10,000 cases, roughly 950 claims alleged that workers were raped and sexually harassed by their employers. 

Domestic workers compose one-third of the 1.81 million foreign workers in Kuwait.  Rights observers contend that there is a lack of legal protection for migrant domestic workers who face abuse and wage restrictions from employers.   Laws limiting the hours a person may be legally obligated to work during a single day do not apply to migrant workers.  One Sri Lankan worker reports that she was forced to work more than 18 hours a day for a period of 10 months without receiving pay.  She now lives in a small government run shelter and is dependent on social services. 

Human rights groups say that the government is to blame.  In Kuwait, migrant domestic workers, under a sponsorship program (kafala), are bonded to their employers.  This makes it possible for employers to exercise complete control over workers during the course of employment without any recourse for employees.  Workers may not change jobs without the permission of their employers and those who attempt to leave an abusive environment are subject to indefinite detention and criminal penalties. A representative of HRW stated “If abused or exploited workers try to escape or complain the law makes it easy for employers to charge them with ‘absconding’ and get them deported.”

Rights groups have called for the abolition of the sponsorship system.   The government stated that it plans to abolish this system by February of next year and replace it with a government-administered recruitment program.   The government however, has been unable to elaborate on whether any additional protections would be afforded to migrant domestic workers under the new system. 

For more information, please see:

Arab Times – Some Employers Take Advantage of Weak Legal Protection – 7 Oct. 2010

Daily Mirror – Domestic Workers in Kuwait at Risk? – 7 Oct. 2010

Jakarta Post – Kuwait: For Abused Domestic Workers, Nowhere to Turn – 7 Oct. 2010

Agence France Presse – Abuse of Maids in Kuwait Rising: HRW – 6 Oct. 2010

Mapuche Prisoners End Hunger Strike

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America 

Chileans Protest Detainment of Mapuche Prisoners (photo courtesy of revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com)
Chileans Protest Detainment of Mapuche Prisoners (photo courtesy of revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com)

 SANTIAGO, Chile – Close to thirty jailed Mapuche Indians have ended a hunger strike that lasted almost three months.  The strike was in response to a dictator-era anti-terror law that allows the government to hold prisoners for up to two years without formal charges and permits citizens to be tried by military tribunals.

Ricardo Ezzati, the archbishop in charge of mediating the situation, claims that the Mapuche peoples and the Chilean government have reached an agreement after representatives for the two sides met on two separate occasions. 

The government has proactively sought to reform the archaic anti-terror law and, in addition to the legal reform, has decided to withdraw the charges against the Mapuche under the anti-terror law. 

The news was met with great joy by family members of the imprisoned Indians.  However, the Mapuche hunger-strikers will not be completelyacquitted as they will still be charged with crimes under the common criminal code, albeit lesser ones.  

An attempt to negotiate an end to the hunger strike had failed recently when the Indians were unable to secure assurances that the anti-terror law would not be applied in their cases.  However, a meeting Thursday between several relatives of the jailed Mapuches and Chilean Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter at La Moneda presidential palace facilitated the resumption of the talks.

In addition to demanding the end of the anti-terror law, the hunger strikers are calling for the demilitarization of the poor southern region of Araucania, which is home 650,000 Mapuche people.

There are ten Mapuche prisoners who have refused to end their hunger strike.  Undersecretary of the Presidency Claudio Alvarado, who represented the government in talks with the prisoners’ family, said he hopes that the rest of the prisoners will follow suit and end their strikes soon.

The Mapuche hunger strike is the latest scuffle between the indigenous peoples and the Chilean government in a long and sometimes violent campaign by members of the Mapuche for the return of their lands to alleviate their poverty.

The Mapuche Indians are one of Chile’s original peoples, but were pushed into the country’s south only to lose those lands later to timber companies and other wealthy landowners.

For more information, please see:

Inside Costa Rica – Chile: End of Mapuche Hunger Strike – 3 October 2010

Associated Press – Chilean Archbishop: Most Mapuche prisoners end hunger strike after lengthy negotiations – 2 October 2010

Latin American Herald Tribune – Mapuches End Hunger Strike after Agreement with Chile Government – 2 October 2010