Colombian President Allegedly Knew Of Death Squad

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 

Southern Colombian Paramilitary Group (Photo Courtesy of Justiceforcolombia.org)
Southern Colombian Paramilitary Group (Photo Courtesy of justiceforcolombia.org)

BOGOTA, Colombia – According to a retired Colombian police major, President Alvaro Uribe’s younger brother, Santiago Uribe, commanded a death squad in the early 1990s that killed nearly fifty people, including petty thieves, suspected guerillas, and their sympathizers. Santiago Uribe allegedly led the right-wing group from the Uribe family’s cattle ranch in the Antioquia state municipality.

Although there is little evidence to support the allegations, the ex-officer, Major Juan Carlos Meneses, stated that Santiago Uribe claimed that Alvaro Uribe, a senator at the time, was aware of the illegal militia.  When recently asked about his knowledge of the death squad after the report was first published in the Washington Post, Alvaro Uribe’s stated “I don’t read international newspapers.”

These accusations are coming shortly before the highly contested May 30 presidential election involving Alvaro Uribe’s former defense minister, Juan Carlos Santos.  Alvaro Uribe’s interior minister, Fabio Valencia, has suggested that Meneses’ comments are politically motivated to discredit Santos’ candidacy; a claim which Meneses denies.

Meneses claims that he attended meetings with Santiago Uribe where the group would decide who would be killed.  Additionally, Meneses claimed that Santiago Uribe paid him approximately $700 monthly for a four month period so that Meneses would allow the death squad to operate in the area where Meneses was the top law enforcement officer.  Meneses claims to have personally witnessed at least fifteen men armed with semi-automatic firearms participating in obstacle course training on the Uribe family ranch.

Alvaro Uribe was elected Colombia’s President in 2002 and has since been given significant financial assistance from the U.S. to defeat leftist rebels in the country.  While president, Alvaro Uribe has been criticized by international humanitarian groups for suspected human rights violations.  These violations include Colombian soldiers allegedly murdering more than 1,000 citizens under the guise that they were rebels.

Colombian law enforcement officials have investigated the death squad claims on at least two occasions and have not discovered enough evidence to prosecute Alvaro Uribe; however, Meneses’ claims may be enough to reopen the case.  Meneses claims that he and his family have been forced to leave Colombia and seek asylum in Venezuela after receiving written and telephoned death threats because of the accusations against Santiago and Alvaro Uribe.

Santiago Uribe has been unavailable for comment; however, he denied the allegations in a previous interview with the Washington Post.

For more information, please see:

CBS News – Ex-cop Claims Uribe’s Brother Led Death Squad –  24 May 2010

Time –Ex-cop: Alvaro Uribe’s Brother Led Death Squad–24 May 2010

Colombia Reports – Uribe’s brother led paramilitary death squad – 23 May 2010

Peacekeepers Pulling Out of Chad

By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Blue Helmets Pulling Out Soon
Blue helmets pulling out soon (Photo Courtesy of AP)

N’DJAMENA, Chad — The United Nations Security Counsel on Tuesday authorized the gradual withdrawal of U.N. peacekeepers in Chad and the Central African Republic.  

The pullout comes at a time when hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees have flooded the two nations as a result of the war in Darfur.  Despite a number of successful nation building endeavors, the U.N. will withdrawal the 3,300 troops stationed in Chad and the Central African Republic by the end of the year.

Although the peacekeepers have played a significant role in protecting civilians and refugees, Idriss Déby, President of Chad, has consistently criticized the United Nations’ role in the country.  Despite protest from a number of diplomats and international organizations, the United Nations contends that it has no authority to maintain a presence in a country without its permission.

The unanimous decision was supported by Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon who recommended the withdrawal in a report earlier this week.  Mr. Moon contends that the decision will make the governments of Chad and Central African Republic responsible for the protection of its citizens and will facilitate development.  Critics of the decision however, embrace a more pessimistic view.  Representatives for Amnesty International stated that the decision is “premature and dangerous” as the region remains volatile and susceptible to violent unrest.

The safety and wellbeing of the 450,000 refugees currently living in Chad is just one concern of critics.  The U.N. office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that nearly two million people are dealing with food shortages as a result of drought in the region.  Others worry that the withdrawal will create a power vacuum, opening the unstable countries to bandits and rebels.

Despite the troop withdrawal, the U.N. has vowed to continue to support the development of Chad and the Central African Republic by contributing humanitarian aid and political support.  During the remaining months, the peacekeepers will continue to secure the resettlement of Sudanese refugees and elevate tensions.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press –UN Agrees to Pull UN Peacekeeping Force from Chad – 25 May 2010

The Huffington Post – Going, Going Gone U.N. Troops in Chad, Home to Darfur Victims. Evelyn Leopold– 25 May 2010

U.N. News Centre –Security Council Votes to End U.N. Mission in Chad and Central African Republic – 25 May 2010

Independent Online – Holmes Examines Food Security in Chad – 24 May 2010

Twenty-one Miners Killed in Gas Blast at Colliery in Southwest China

By Kwangmin Ahn
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China — Twenty-one miners were killed in a gas blast at a colliery in southwest China on Thursday.

There were thirty-one miners underground at the time of the blast.  Ten workers escaped to safety and all miners known to have been in the pit were accounted for, but search and rescue work was continuing in case there were other unregistered miners working at the time of the blast.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.  The mine is a small colliery run by a local township government with an annual production capacity of about 150,000 tons.

China’s vast coal mining industry is notoriously accident-prone.  Although safety conditions have improved in the last several years, China’s mining industry is by far the world’s deadliest, with accidents and blasts killing more than 2,600 coal miners last year due mainly to lax regulation, corruption, and inefficiency.

The rash of deadly mine accidents caused by poor safety standards and supervision has been traced to China’s rush for commodities to fuel its growing economy.

In March, a flood at the vast, unfinished Wangjialing mine in the northern province of Shanxi left 153 workers trapped underground, but 115 were recovered alive in a rare rescue success for the industry. The head of China’s work safety watchdog said last month that the flood “could completely have been avoided.”  The agency said managers had ignored water leaks noted by workers in the days leading up to the disaster.  A landslide of sludge triggered by the collapse of a mine dam buried a village in Xiangfen county, Shanxi province, on September 8, 2008.

Accidents are particularly common in China’s coal sector. Safety concerns are widely ignored as China tries to satisfy surging demand for the fuel — the source of about seventy percent of the country’s energy.

Recent developments in other mining cases include criminal sentencing.  On Friday, a Chinese court sentenced two policemen to up to five years in jail for taking bribes from the owner of an iron mine, where an accident killed 277 people two years ago. The Fangshan District People’s Court in Beijing sentenced Han Chunxi, 39, the former county police chief, to five years in prison for taking $5,859 in bribes from the mine owner. The court found that he had ordered his subordinates to stop inspections of the mine and abetted the use of mining explosives.

The flood in Shanxi was seen as embarrassing for the government, which has touted a reform program partly aimed at improving safety and shutting dangerous mines.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Blast rips through China coal mine – 14 May 2010

AFP – China coal mine gas blast kills 21– 13 May 2010

Two U.S. Tourists Kidnapped Yemen

By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – Two American tourists have been kidnapped by armed tribesmen near Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, officials say.

Their Yemeni driver, who was also seized, later reportedly made a call to the AFP news agency, saying the attackers were demanding the release of a jailed fellow tribesman.

The US said the kidnapping of the US nationals – a man and a woman – was “not believed to be terrorism related”. Yemen’s tribes frequently kidnap people to gain leverage in rows with Sa’na.

The Americans were seized by armed men in the Bani Mansour district 70km (45 miles) west of the capital, their driver told AFP. The driver, who identified himself as Ali al-Arashi, said the kidnappers were “calling for the release of a fellow tribesman held by authorities in Sa’na.”

This is the latest kidnapping before this took place last week when two Chinese workers were taken in the Shawba governorate in the South of Yemen, then released two days later.

There has been unfortunately a bit of a side business in what are called ‘tourist kidnappings’ where, for whatever reason, a certain tribe has a particular grievance with the Yemeni government and uses the presence of foreigners for leverage,” he said.

More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in recent years; most are released unharmed. Two Chinese oil workers were freed this month after being kidnapped in the south-east of the country. In another region, however, a German married couple, their infant son and a British man are still missing after being kidnapped almost a year ago.

Last week the family’s two young daughters were located in a disputed border region by the Saudi Arabian armed forces.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Two American Tourists Kidnapped By Tribesman In Yemen – 24 May 2010

The New York Times – Two Americans Kidnapped In Yemen – 24 May 2010

AP – Gunmen Kidnap 2 American Tourists In Yemen – 24 May 2010