A Voice for the Voiceless

Parents of captured Israeli soldier march to obtain his release

By Polly Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Protesters joined Shalits parents to press for his release. [Photo Courtesy of The Observer.]
Protesters joined Shalit's parents to press for his release. (Photo Courtesy of The Observer.)

JERUSALEM, Israel – The parents of Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who has been held captive in Gaza for the past four years, began a twelve-day march on Sunday from their home to Jerusalem, where they plan to camp out in front of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence until the Israeli government wins Shalit’s release.

“We won’t wait any longer in our home,” said Noam Shalit, Gilad’s father, at the start of the march, which drew approximately two thousand supporters, including dozens of local celebrities. Hundreds of the supporters waved Israeli flags and carried signs, many of which read, “Gilad Shalit, we’re waiting at home for you.”

Shalit was captured in a cross-border dispute in June 2006 by Palestinian militants, and has been held in Gaza by Hamas militants who are demanding the release of as many as one thousand Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit’s release. Several prisoner swap deals between Israel and Hamas have failed in the past.

An Israeli poll indicated that seventy-five percent of Israelis would support the release of Palestinian prisoners, some of them convicted killers, in exchange for Shalit’s release.

Shalit has not been allowed any contact with the outside world nor with the International Red Cross. Apart from one audio tape and a video tape released by Hamas in October 2009 as a proof of life, the details of Shalit’s physical condition remain unknown. He was nineteen years old when he was captured.

Palestinians and Israelis alike are vested in the prospect of a prisoner exchange. Many Palestinians have relatives who are currently jailed in Israeli prisons. And in Israel, where military service is compulsory for most Jews and where most people have a family member or relative who serves in the military, the fate of Shalit resonates deeply.

Israel’s restriction of goods into and out of Gaza began shortly after Shalit’s capture in 2006 in an effort to pressure Hamas to release him. Later, a full blockade was imposed, but was eased after the recent deadly Israeli raid on the aid flotilla. The Shalits fear that the easing of the blockade has shown that the government is abandoning their son.

Negotiations for Shalit’s release have occurred through German and Egyptian mediators, since Israel does not deal directly with Hamas, considered by Israel to be a terrorist organization.

For now, Noam and Aviva Shalit will wait. “We don’t see any alternative after four years of government failure to obtain the release of my son,” Noam told England’s Observer, adding, “there have been many, many failures, but it’s time to put public pressure on the government.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Israeli soldier’s family urges swap – 27 June 2010

BBC – Captive Israeli soldier Shalit’s parents begin march – 27 June 2010

CNN – Captured Israeli soldier’s family marches to bring about release – 27 June 2010

Los Angeles Times – Family of captured Israeli soldier launches march to Jerusalem to press for his release – 27 June 2010

Observer – Israeli protesters press Binyamin Netanyahu to help free abducted soldier Gilad Shalit – 27 June 2010

New York Times – Family of Captured Israeli Soldier Press for Deal – 27 June 2010

European Court of Human Rights Says Same Sex Marriage is Not a Universal Right

By Yoohwan Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

Photo: All EU member states do not allow same sex marriages. [Source: Justout.com]

STRASBOURG, France – On June 24 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that European nations are not legally obliged to allow and recognize same sex marriages.

An Austrian couple, Hörst Schalk and Johann Kopf, brought a case against Austria in 2004 after the couple sought a marriage permit in Vienna in 2002.  Austrian law only recognizes marriages between a man and a woman, and the country refused to give the gay couple a marriage license.

Schalk and Kopf battled through the Austrian court system with no success.  After the constitutional court of Austria upheld the lower courts’ decision to refuse their permit, the couple brought their case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.  They claimed that the Austrian courts’ ruling violated their right to marriage under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Following Article 9 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the seven judges of the European court held that the Austrian couple is not guaranteed a right to marriage.  Each European country should decide their individual laws and how far they wish to recognize the legal status of same sex marriages.

The court stated that marriage has “deep rooted social and cultural connotations which may differ largely from one society to another.”  Each nation should implement their own policy and the “court reiterates that it must not rush to substitute its own judgment in place of that of the national authorities, who are best placed to access and respond to the needs of society.”

Some countries, like Sweden and the Netherlands are socially liberal, while other ones are more religious and conservative, such as Poland.  Six out of European Union’s 27 member states have legalized same sex marriages.

Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, Norway, and Spain are the six nations that allow gay marriages.  In addition, there are about a dozen other nations, such as Britain, Germany, France, and (since January 2010) Austria, which currently recognize legal partnerships that carry the same legal status as marriage.

Despite the lack of an EU-wide law, the European Court of Human Rights did acknowledge “an emerging European consensus” that same sex marriages should have legal recognition in Europe.  Furthermore, the court found that gay couples are entitled to protection under charter definitions of family life.

Although Austria does not recognize same sex marriages, the country passed a Registered Partnership Act in January 2010.  This Act permits a registered partnership between gay couples, but differs from a legal marriage under the Austrian law.  A same sex couple is restricted in having a choice of name, adopting children, and using artificial insemination.

For more information, please see:

AP – Court: Same-sex Marriage is Not Universal Right – 25 June 2010

BBC NEWS – European Human Rights Court Rejects Gay Marriage Bid – 25 June 2010

IRISH TIMES – Same-sex Marriage Ban Upheld by Court – 25 June 2010

Over 160 Arrested in a Violent Opposition Strike in Bangladesh

By David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Dozens of political activists have been arrested in Bangladesh after the main opposition parties called for a dawn-to-dusk general strike across the country.  The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Khaleda Zia, the former prime minister, said the strike on Sunday was in protest against misrule by the government.

Walid Hossain, a police spokesman, said at least 12,000 officers had been deployed in Dhaka to prevent violence as the shutdown of transportation and businesses brought much of the capital and the country to a standstill.  Hossain said around 200 opposition activists were arrested in a precautionary crackdown, many of whom were picked up for torching and damaging vehicles on Saturday night.

 

Over 100 opposition activists were arrested in a police crackdown in the run-up to the strike
Over 100 opposition activists were arrested in a police crackdown in the run-up to the strike

Sahara Khatun, the interior minister, gave warning that the government would prevent violence and lawlessness by all means.

Among those held were at least five leaders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).  Officers said they provoked the strikers to damage public property.

Security forces used tear gas and batons in some areas to break up unruly demonstrations, Police Commissioner A.K.M Shahidul Hoque told CNN by phone from Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital.  About 18 officers were injured when protesters pelted them with stones, he said.

But Hoque claimed the 12-hour shutdown had little impact on attendance in government offices.  In addition, rail, river and air traffic was normal, although private long-route transport mostly stayed off the road, he said.

In Dhaka, between 1,000 and 1,500 activists held demonstrations in small groups, Hoque said.  The largest protest in the city numbered about 300 strikers, he added.

Bangladesh television said activists of the ruling Awami League party clashed with opposition supporters near a university in Dhaka where witnesses said a legislator and 10 others were injured as police used batons to halt street marches.

Public transport and most businesses remained closed across the country.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who leads the Bangladesh Awami League, said on Saturday: “The BNP and its stooges are out to frustrate democracy and create anarchy.”

Most Bangladeshis have observed a general strike called by the opposition.  Such general strikes are a regular part of political life in Bangladesh.  Many people treat them as holidays but others avoid going to work in case opposition supporters attack them, he adds.

For more information, please see:

CNN World – More than 160 arrested in violent Bangladesh strike – 27 June 2010

Al-Jazerra English – Bangladesh hit by general strike – 27 June 2010

BBC – Bangladesh opposition stages general strike – 27 June 2010

Nkurunziza Sole Candidate in Upcoming Burundi Elections

By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Bujumbura, Burundi – Pierre Nkunrunziza, incumbent president of Burundi. Observers are concerned that Burundi’s elections scheduled for Monday will throw the country back into violence just 5 years after a civil war that lasted 12 years and claimed an estimated 300,000 lives.  Currently, incumbent president Pierre Nkurunziza is the only candidate in the upcoming presidential race and as such is poised to win.  All opposing candidates have withdrawn from the race alleging election fraud at the local level in spite of requests from the international community for them to rejoin.  Among the candidates who have dropped out is Agathon Rwasa who is rumored to be in hiding in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Rwasa is the former rebel leader of the National Liberation Forces which surrendered last year, five years after the other warring groups agreed to create a power sharing government.

African Union head, Jean Ping, issued a statement urging those in Burundi who would protest the elections to use only legal means to do so.  “He is appealing urgently to all the political actors to refrain from any action likely to lead Burundi back to the horrors of the past and that could jeopardise the political and democratic progress of the past few years,” the statement continued.

Despite Ping’s plea, almost forty grenade attacks have occurred in the past two weeks alone.  The worst of these, a grenade attack at a bar that injured twenty people, took place in Kayanza in northern Burundi.  Another grenade attack in Muramvya left one child injured.  In addition, numerous political offices across the country have been set on fire.  While suspects are in custody, the tension created by the local elections is only serving to escalate acts of violence throughout Burundi.  Defence Minister Germain Niyoyankana acknowledged the increase in grenade attacks following the opposition’s rejection of the local election results saying, “The situation is still under control . . .[but t]he same Burundians who were responsible for the crisis we went through are still around. They may still have they same mindset.”

For more information please see:

American Free Press, AU concerned about Burundi poll, 25 June, 2010

American Free Press, 21 hurt in new Burundi grenade attacks: police, 19 June, 2010

BBC News, African Union warns Burundi politicians ahead of vote, 25 June, 2010

BBC News, Burundi mystery over ex-rebel chief Rwasa’s whereabouts, 24 June, 2010

Ecuador Summit for Diversity Protested by Indigenous Group

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

OTAVALO, Ecuador—New goals for social justice and diversity have been set in Ecuador.  A declaration to promote indigenous rights was signed by Latin American leaders at a summit in Otavalo.  The hope is that culturally diverse and environmentally responsible societies will be defended and encouraged.  Efforts were focused on integration and recognition of black and indigenous cultures.

The 10th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) concluded Friday.  About 300 government delegates and representatives from ALBA discussed “plurinational states” and efforts to avoid use of history that “remains written from the European or the Anglo-Saxon point of view.”  Another concern was to ensure that “countries have environmental policies to protect ecosystems.”

The text of the Declaration of Otavalo illustrates the commitment of ALBA member states to fight against racism, xenophobia and intolerance.  It also includes plans to construct an alternative model of economic sovereignty and promotes the concept of a multinational state.  The document has items on climate change and a promotion of a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth within the framework of the United Nations.  Among those signing the final document were the presidents of Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia and the vice-president of Cuba.

The Declaration of Otavalo promises that “the State will guarantee social participation and a fair and equitable distribution of benefits and the management, administration and exploitation of non-renewable natural resources.”

Outside the summit’s venue, Ecuador’s main indigenous organization protested.  Members angrily complained that their views were not being represented.  Indigenous leaders had attempted to enter the summit but were blocked by police.  The leaders had wanted to hand a written statement to Bolivia’s President Morales, who is an indigenous Aymara.

The organization, Conaie (the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador), had been an important ally to Ecuador’s President Correa during elections.  Along with other indigenous organizations, Conaie represents about 40% of the country’s population.

The relationship between Correa and Conaie has been strained lately because of concerns over mining, oil development and water rights.  Conaie accuses the president of backing a mining law that would allow foreign companies to open mines on their ancestral territories.  They would like Correa to give indigenous communities in the Andes mountains and Amazon rainforest more control over their own affairs.

The presidents of Ecuador, Venezuela, and Bolivia ended the summit with a call for indigenous unity.

For more information, please see:

BBC-Protests challenge Ecuador indigenous summit-26 June 2010

Radio Cadena Agramonet-The ALBA Summit: New Goals of Social Justice-26 June 2010

El Universal-Chavez, Morales and Correa close 10th ALBA summit-25 June 2010