A Voice for the Voiceless

Demand for Law Change after RAMSI Shooting Death

By Joseph Juhn
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

HONIARA, Tonga-Stephen Panga, Premier of the Guadalcanal, is calling for a law change ending immunity for the soldiers working under the Regional Assistance Mision to the Soloman Islands (RAMSI) and to make them subject to the laws and prosecution of Solomon Islands.

This statement comes after a deadly shooting incident occurred on August 12 when RAMSI troops were called to break up a rock-throwing incident in a village just out of capital Honiara. In the process, one civilian was allegedly killed by two soldiers.

This was the second civilian death since the arrival of the Australian-led RAMSI force in 2003. The troops came to end years of ethnic conflict in the Solomons.

In response to the incident, Solomon’s attorney general Gabriel Suri stated that Solomon Islands wants the right to charge the soldiers if necessary.

Mr. Suri further went on to say that there were two requests – the first to grant a waiver on the immunity of RAMSI officers and personnel to allow his office to take charge of any case where evidence suggests a need to lay charges.

The second request was for Tonga to give Solomon Islands the jurisdiction over the Tongan soldiers.

Tonga’s Solicitor General Fonokalafi avoided direct comment on the incident, although admitting that Tonga would conduct its own investigation into the shooting.

Premier Panga says it is wrong that those two Tongan soldiers responsible for the death of a civilian cannot be investigated in Solomon Islands under the present law. He further claims that the newly elected Solomon Islands parliament should introduce an amendment to the Facilitation Act, which would allow for a local investigation in future incidents.

“I’m supporting the RAMSI presence in this country but just to shoot down harmless people, people who don’t have arms with them. The police have a lot of skills to protect themselves in such situations.”

For more information, please see:

Radio New Zealand – Guadalcanal province chief calls for law change over RAMSI shooting death – 6 September 2010

Solomon Times – Tonga Still to Respond to Government Request – 30 August 2010

Riots, deaths in Mozambique as food prices increase

By Polly Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Riots erupted in Maputo after the government raised bread prices. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters.)
Riots erupted in Maputo after the government raised bread prices. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters.)

MAPUTO, Mozambique – In the worst violence in the country since 2008, police officers opened fire on protestors in Mozambique’s capital city of Maputo on Wednesday. At least ten demonstrators were killed and more than four hundred others have been injured.

Riots erupted earlier this week as the price of bread, water, energy, and other staples increased. Young men rampaged through Maputo throwing stones and looting shops.

The situation seemed mostly under control by Saturday.

Red Cross Spokesman Americo Ubisse said on Saturday, “We have no incidents reported since yesterday. Everything is fine, the situation is still under control.”

Earlier in the week, Amnesty International urged Mozambique’s police not to use live ammunition to disperse violent demonstrations unless lives were at risk.

“While we recognize that the police are trying to contain a violent protest, live ammunition – which amounts to lethal force – should not be used except when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life,” said Muluka-Anne Miti, Amnesty International’s Mozambique researcher.

The riots broke out after the government’s decision to raise the price of bread by thirty percent, and quickly descended into chaos.

One witness described a scene of a woman running down a street, rubbing her stomach, and saying, “We are hungry, all Mozambicans are hungry.” State television reported that police shot and killed seven people, including a six-year old girl walking home from school.

According to police spokesman Pedro Cossa, police made one hundred and forty-two arrests. Three buses were burned, thirty-two shops were vandalized, and more than five cars were burned, he added. Bank, electricity company offices, and food warehouses belonging to the Sasseka and Delta Trading distribution companies were vandalized and looted, according to the Mozambique News Agency.

Last week, the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) called an emergency meeting for September 24 to address the food crisis, which is not just affecting Mozambique. Severe droughts in Russia and eastern Europe have caused wheat prices around the world to rise. Egypt has seen protests resulting from rising food prices in recent months. The United Nations said that international food prices have reached their highest point in two years.

The United States State Department urged Americans in Mozambique to avoid unnecessary travel and remain at their homes and hotels.

For more information, please see:

Guardian – UN calls special meeting to address food shortages amid predictions of riots – 5 September 2010

Al Jazeera – Deaths in Mozambique price riots – 4 September 2010

BBC – Mozambique police fire rubber bullets at Maputo rioters – 3 September 2010

CNN – 7 killed, nearly 300 wounded in Mozambique violence – 3 September 2010

Independent – Seven killed as rising food prices spark riots in Mozambique – 2 September 2010

Amnesty International – Mozambique Police Must Only Use Live Ammunition to Protect Life During Demonstrations – 1 September 2010

Rebels Rape Women and Children in DR Congo

by Elly On

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Africa

North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo–

Numerous children and women are being raped in Democratic Republic of Congo by armed rebels in the warn-torn eastern parts of the country, according to the United Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More than 240 children and women were raped by Rwandan and Congolese rebels.

These rebels came to North Kivu province between July 30 and August 3, 2010 to rail the villages. They blocked roads, prevented villagers from going outside and cut off outside communications.
The attacks by the rebels occurred over four days within miles of a United Nations’ base, a US aid worker and a Congolese doctor said. A UN joint human rights team confirmed allegations of the rape of at least 154 women by fighters from the Rwandan FDLR militia and Congolese Mai-Mai rebels in the village of Bunangiri. The victims are currently receiving medical and psychological treatments.

According to a UN reporter, a day after the attack occurred on July 30, an internal UN email was relayed to relief agencies working in the area warning them that the rebels had taken over the villages, the International Medical Corps (IMC) said. Sexual violence took place as early as July 30. For instance, the town of Mpofi, located approximately 32 miles from Walikale was taken by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a rebel group. No one could get into the town until the rebels left. In other instances, the rebels raped nearly 200 women and some baby boys during the four-day period. This region is located approximately 10 miles from a UN peacekeepers’ base. Mr. Ban, the Secretary-General of  UN, is sending Atul Khare, assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping, immediately to Democratic Republic of Congo to help investigate, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said. Also, Mr. Ban has asked the government of Democratic Republic of Congo for cooperation.

For more information, please see:

BBC–UN Investigates Claims of Mass Rape by DR Congo Rebels –24 August 2010

CNN–Children Among Hundreds Rapes in Congo, U.N. Says–4 September, 2010

New York Times Rwandan Rebels Raped at least 179 Women in Congo, Humanitarian Officials say–23 August 2010

MISSING WITNESS, POLICE INVOLVED IN DISAPPEARANCE OF UKRAINIAN JOURNALIST

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KHARKIV, Ukraine – Local news outlets reported on Wednesday that a key witness in the case of missing Ukrainian journalist, Vasyl Klymentyev, is also missing.  Petro Matviyenko, another witness in the case and Klymentyev’s colleague, would not reveal the name of the missing witness but stated he had confirmed the disappearance with law enforcement.

The police are believed to be involved in the disappearance and possible death of Klymentyev, who was last seen getting into a car with an unidentified man on August 11, 2010 after leaving his home in Kharkiv.  His cell phone and keys were later found on an empty boat floating in a reservoir near Kharkiv.

“There are enough reasons to believe that he is dead,” Interior Minister Anatoliy Mohyliov said.  “We have suspicions that members of law enforcement organs, both current and former, may be involved.”  Mohyliov stated he would be taking over personal control of the case, and switching the investigation to the Main Investigation Department, which handles high-profile cases.  President Viktor Yanukovych also said he was taking personal control of the case, ordering law enforcement to make “every possible and impossible effort” to find Klymentyev.

According to the Ukrainian Journal, Henadiy Moskal, former deputy interior minister and a member of the opposition group People’s Self-defense, believes Klymentyev’s disappearance has something to do with a battle for control over Kharkiv police.  “In reality this crime has been committed in the police environment,” Moskal said.  “It was committed in the battle for the post of the chief of the Kharkiv region police department.”

Klymentyev, chief-editor and reporter for the weekly newspaper Novyi Still (New Style), was reportedly offered a bribe and subsequently threatened for his refusal to kill a story.  According to Matviyenko, deputy editor-in-chief of New Style, Klymentyev was working on a report involving the illegal activities of a Kharkiv prosecutor at the time of his disappearance.  Matviyenko told Radio Free Europe/Liberty Europe that the police and the prosecutor’s office are connected and the investigators aren’t interested in finding Klymentyev, despite statements by the Interior Minister and President.  Matviyenko called the investigation a “farce.”

For more information, please see:

UKRAINIAN JOURNAL – Key witness in journalist case disappears – 1 Sept. 2010

UNIAN – Disappeared witness in the case of journalist Kharkov Klimenteva – 1 Sept. 2010

RFE/RL – Colleague of Missing Ukrainian Journalist Slams Investigation – 30 Aug. 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – Ukraine: Missing Journalist Is Presumed Dead – 26 Aug. 2010

UKRAINIAN JOURNAL – Minister: Missing editor killed by cops – 26 Aug. 2010

THE EPOCH TIMES – Missing Ukrainian Journalist Threatened Before Disappearance – 23 Aug. 2010

AP – Ukrainian President urges search for missing journalist – 20 Aug. 2010

COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS – Journalist goes missing in eastern Ukraine – 18 Aug. 2010

UNHCR calls on European countries to stop deportations of Iraqi refugees

By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Just days after the official withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, the United Nation’s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called on European countries to halt the return of Iraqi refugees to the country.   UNHCR’s appeal came in response to the forced return of 61 Iraqi refugees from four countries last week.   The Commissioner expressed concern about continuing violence within Iraq.  UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists that the Commissioner “strongly urge[s] European governments to provide Iraqis with protection until the situation in their areas of origin in Iraq allows for safe and voluntary returns.”

European countries deporting Iraqi refugees (Photo courtesy of the New York Times)
European countries deporting Iraqi refugees (Photo courtesy of the New York Times)

The latest round of forced deportations is the third in a series of efforts to send Iraqi refugees back to the war torn nation.  UNHCR issued guidelines to European governments hosting refugees recommending that they not be sent home until violence subsides.  The Commissioner reiterated that European nations ought to facilitate development efforts within Iraq.  Although 50,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq to train and support Iraq’s army and police forces, President Obama announced that all U.S. troops will leave the country by the end of 2011.

According to UNHCR, five provinces, including Baghdad, are sites of continued violence and human rights violations.  The Commissioner has encouraged European nations to offer Iraqi asylum seekers protective status as per the 1951 Refugee Convention.  UNHCR noted that the forced return of refugees may send a message to Middle Eastern countries harboring Iraqi refugees that protection of refugees is no longer necessary.  Currently 1.6 million Iraqi refugees reside in Jordan and Syria and another 50,000 in Lebanon.  

Although President Obama reported that “security incidents have been near the lowest on record since the war began,” UNHCR fears that refugees returning to Iraq will become victims of instability and violence.  Car bombings, kidnappings, and mortar attacks remain a daily occurrence within Iraq.  The Commissioner explained that all nations hosting refugees have a continuing obligation to protect those who have sought asylum until conditions within Iraq improve.

For more information, please see;

Agence France Presse – UNHCR Urges Halt to Unsafe Iraqi Refugee Returns – 3 Sept. 2010

Reuters Africa – U.N. Refugee Agency Blasts Europe for Deporting Iraqis – 3 Sept. 2010

New York Times – Iraq: U.N. Asks Europe to Halt Deportations – 3 Sept. 2010

Washington Times – Deportation of Iraqis from Europe Worries U.N. Agency – 3 Sept. 2010