Over 200 Protesters Detained in Moscow and St. Petersburg During Rallies for Right To Assemble

by Yoohwan Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – On Monday, May 31 the police cracked down on hundreds of protesters in two of Russia’s largest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg.  The protesters’ called on the authorities and government officials to respect the people’s right to freedom of assembly, as stated in Article 31 of the Russian constitution.  Since last year, Russia opposition groups have been holding rallies on the last day of each month to defend their right of assembly.

At least 1,000 people gathered in Triumfalnaya Square on Monday evening, located in central Moscow.  The protesters chanted “Disgrace,” “Freedom,” and “Russia without Putin!”  Soon after the rally began, the police intervened and violently broke up the protest.  The police knocked down some of the protesters, beat them, and dragged them along the ground to the waiting police vans.

Triumfalnaya Square was occupied again on that night by 2,000 pro-Kremlin youths, from the Young Russia and Young Guard youth groups, who were hosting a patriotic concert.  As the protesters began to gather and chant anti-government slogans, the music from the concert grew louder.  A police official stated that the police had to use force after the protesters tried to disrupt the concert and block traffic.  About 180 protesters were detained in Moscow.

Photo: Russian police violently disperse rallies [Source: Courtesy of Reuters]

Police in St. Petersburg detained approximately 100 protesters after 300 members of the banned ultra-left National Bolshevik party gathered in the city center on Monday.  Protesters chanted pro-democracy slogans, such as “Russia will be free.”

Government authorities have shown little tolerance in recent years for any kind of protests, and officials in Moscow and St. Petersburg have repeatedly banned attempts by activists and political opposition to hold rallies.  According to Alexander Averin, an activist with The Other Russia opposition coalition, rallies in support of their right of assembly were held in 40 cities throughout Russia on Monday.

Two days before the protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin voiced his support for the people’s right to protest.  He stated that public protests “don’t hinder but, on the contrary, help” the government.  In addition, Putin said that the authorities should not “create impossible conditions for the expression of freedom of speech.”  His remarks gave some activists hopes that officials and police might respond more peacefully to rallies and demonstrations.  However, Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, stated that his comments were distorted by the media and do not offer anyone the license to rally.

For more information, please see:

Moscow Times – 200 Protesters Detained 2 Days After Putin Backs Rallies – 01 June 2010

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – Over 200 Arrested at Russian Rallies for Freedom of Assembly – 01 June 2010

AFP – Moscow Police Violently Break Up Protest – 31 May 2010

Reuters- Police Crush Protests as Russia-EU Summit Opens – 31 May 2010

Israeli Attack on Gaza Aid Flotilla Sparks International Condemnation

By Polly Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Israeli attack on aid ship sparked outrage. (Photo Courtesy of New York Times).
Israeli attack on aid ship has sparked outrage. (Photo Courtesy of New York Times).

NEW YORK, New York – The United Nations Security Council convened for an emergency session in New York on Monday after an Israeli attack on a flotilla carrying aid to Palestinians in Gaza resulted in the deaths of as many as ten people, many of whom were Turkish.

Dozens more were injured in the attack that took place Monday on the Freedom Flotilla –  six ships carrying over ten thousand tons of aid and six hundred passengers from more than twenty countries. Organized by the pro-Palestinian Free Gaza Movement, Sunday’s trip to Gaza was to be the final leg of the journey. Even after repeated warnings from Israel not to enter the hostile area, the flotilla entered the Gaza shore. At that point, reports as to who instigated the attack are conflicting.

Israel claims that commandos on board attacked Israelis with clubs, metal rods and knives as soon as they entered the ship. The flotilla’s organizers claim that the Israelis opened fire “on sleeping civilians” upon boarding the ship.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the attack and said that Israel regretted the loss of life. He cancelled a Tuesday meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama to return to Israel.

The attack has not only strained tensions between Israel and Turkey, close allies in the Muslim world, but has caused international outrage and worldwide protests.

At the U.N., Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Israel’s acts were tantamount to “murder conducted by a state.”

The United States expressed concern at the U.N. meeting but also expressed that the facts of the attack were still unclear. Namik Tan, the Turkish ambassador to the United States, called the U.S.’s response, “sort of weak.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for a three-day mourning period across the West Bank.

Turkey, Indonesia, Syria, Russia, Egypt, Britain, Italy, France, Greece, and Sweden, among other countries, have spoken out against the attacks. Said Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minster Bulent Arinc, “this operation will leave a bloody stain on the history of humanity.”

In New York, more than 500 people gathered in Times Square and walked to the Israeli consulate in protest.

The trip was Free Gaza’s ninth attempt at shipping humanitarian aid to Gaza since August 2008. The convoy included items that Israel bars from reaching Gaza.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Deadly Israel raid on aid fleet – 1 June 2010

BBC – UN members decry Israeli raid on Gaza aid flotilla – 31 May 2010

CNN – Israeli raid met with global protests – 31 May 2010

New York Times – Deadly Israeli Raid Draws Condemnation – 31 May 2010

NPR – Condemnation Follows Israeli Raid on Gaza Flotilla – 31 May 2010

The Jerusalem Post – Turkey demands int’l inquiry c’tee – 1 June 2010

UN Troops Use Rubber Bullets and Pepper Spray on Student Protesters and Unarmed Families

By Ali Sprott-Roen
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti –  In one of the most serious confrontations since the earthquake on Jarnuary 12, troops from the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) fired rubber bullets and used pepper spray on student demonstrators at Port-au-Prince University.. The students were protesting government inaction in the aftermath of the quake, many demanding the resignation of President René Préval, who they accuse of seeking to increase his power by extending mandates past the original end date.

Troops first entered the university campus calling students thieves and vagabonds, to which the students responded by throwing rocks at the troops. This led the troops to bring in larger vehicles for reinforcement and to shoot rubber bullets at the protesters. This was the first time since the quake that troops used rubber bullets against demonstrators.

Later that day, the protest escalated and spilled into Champs de Mars plaza, the internally displaced people’s camp, where thousands of Haitians left homeless after the quake live in tight quarters. Small children and a few adults with preexisting heart conditions passed out after choking on the pepper spray. At least six people were treated at the local emergency room, including, a young girl injured by a rubber bullet who required approximately 10 stitches to mend a laceration on her face.

MINUSTAH apologized for entering the school and instigating the demonstration, but made no mention of the attack on the camp nor using rubber bullets. While the UN forces claim the right to use rubber bullets if people or institutions are in danger, they admit that their actions made the situation much worse.

For more information, please see:

 

Nj.com – Violence and Rubber Bullets in Haiti at Demonstration; Pentagon Investigating Behavior of 10 U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan– 1 June 2010

Huffington Post – – United Nations Attacks Refugee Camp, Protests Mount – 1 June 2010

CNN – – UN to apologize for troops on Haitian university campus – 26 May 2010

Inter Press Service – U.N. Clash with Frustrated Students Spills into Camps – 25 May 2010

What Drove Chinese Workers to Commit Suicide?

By Kwangmin Ahn
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Liang Chao was a farmer’s son who migrated to the city seeking a better life. He worked at Foxconn, a company widely known for producing components for Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and other companies. But the 21-year-old worker was found dead on May 14 after falling from the seventh floor of a factory dormitory, according to local police. A few days after Liang’s death, another Foxconn employee died after falling from a building at the Shenzhen factory complex. In all, state-run media reports there have been 10 deaths and two failed suicide attempts over the past five months.

In Foxconn, the employees work six days a week with one day off and every day they work two hours overtime. Entry-level workers earn about 900 yuan ($132) a month at the Shenzen factory. Obviously work is tiring and there’s pressure. There are lots of rules here, for example a worker has to wear a uniform and a badge. He cannot smoke in public areas and only allowed to walk in authorised areas within the factory. A normal working day is 8am and 5.30pm but many people work till 8pm. The night shift starts at 8pm and ends at 8am. Workers don’t have much time to communicate with each other and they feel quite lonely. The salary is quite low for newcomers, the lowest in Shenzhen.

Foxconn is one of the world’s top electronics manufacturers. Of its 800,000 employees in China’s mainland, 420,000 are in Shenzen, where they work in shifts and live in the sprawling factory complex.

Both the company and Chinese authorities appear anxious to offset some of the negative attention caused by the suicides, telling Chinese newspapers to tone down their reporting of the incidents. Meanwhile, the chairman of Foxconn, Terry Gou, led media personnel on a tour of the factory and promised to do more to prevent further deaths.

Right now, there are no concrete answers as to what drove the workers to commit suicide. Foxconn insists that its workers are treated well and there could be a number of factors at play. However the company admits that “It’s true our employees basically stay at the same place 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” “We also find some young employees don’t know their roommates’ names and don’t communicate with each other.”

Foxconn said it is taking measures to improve its workers’ lives, organizing recreational activities, calling in Buddhist monks to offer spiritual consolation and setting up a 24-hour help line, but the company was overwhelmed because counselors were scarce.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Alarm over Apple factory suicides – 26 May 2010

CNN – China, company seek answers to rash of suicides– 28 May 2010

BBC – Suicide-hit Foxconn factory to increase wages– 28 May 2010

73 Dead in Jamaican Slum as Government Searches for Suspected Drug Trafficker

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

(Photo Courtesy of Reuters)
(Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

KINGSTON, Jamaica-Seventy-three people have reportedly been killed and five hundred arrested during Jamaican police efforts to capture Christopher “Dudus” Coke. Coke is a well known leader in the Kingston slums, who is wanted by the United States on drug trafficking charges. Authorities intend to extradite Coke to the United States.

Amnesty International called for a thorough investigation into the violence and deaths. The rights group recognized that while authorities have a responsibility to ensure order, the current extraordinary powers exerted by the Jamaican security forces could lead to human rights violations.

A state of emergency has been declared in parts of Kingston. Amnesty pointed out that even in officially declared states of emergency, international law requires Jamaica to guarantee the rights of those detained, including having their detention reviewed by an independent tribunal. Over five hundred people have been detained in the search for Coke. The circumstances of the seventy three deaths have not been explained by authorities.

The Jamaican prime minister, Bruch Golding has not yet visited his constituents in the affected area. Residents complain about arbitrary arrests and say that they do not feel safe. Coke and other slum leaders, known as “dons” are thought to occupy a void created by a lack of government services in Jamaica’s slums. There is already speculation that the government will not be able to occupy the void in authority after the dons are officially deposed.

Up to this point Jamaican slums have operated under an arrangement where politicians and dons share power. The dons provide security through extortion and control of the drug trade. They then channel some resources through the neighborhoods to build support for certain political leaders by ensuring the loyalty of their voters.

Coke is accused with trafficking cocaine and marijuana into the United States’ East Coast, allegedly causing “gangland” conflicts that have killed thousands. The government has asked at least ten other dons, like Coke to surrender in efforts to combat gang violence.

For more information, please see:

AFP-Drug Suspect Still in Jamaica: Police Chief-31 May 2010

NY Times-Jamaica Strains to Fill Void After Ejecting Gang Bosses-31 May 2010

Voice of America-Unrest Death Toll Reaches 73-31 May 2010