Bahrain Bans Al Jazeera

By Warren Popp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Al Jazeera faces indefinite ban in Bahrain (Source: Al Jazeera)
Al Jazeera faces an indefinite ban in Bahrain. (Source: Al Jazeera)

MANAMA, Bahrain — On May 18, Bahrain banned Qatari-based Al Jazeera from operating within Bahrain for an indefinite period of time, and barred a broadcast crew from traveling to Bahrain to interview former UN Climate Chief Yvo De Boer. According to the official Bahrain News Agency, the ban was imposed for “breaching the professional media norms and flouting the laws regulating the press and publishing.”

In response to the ban, Al Jazeera claims it was “surprised and puzzeled” by the decision. They also expressed regret that the decision was never officially conveyed to them, and said its editorial line and professional policy in reporting on the news and on issues has not changed. Al Jazeera reiterated that it continues to adhere to its motto, “Equal opportunity for opinions and counter opinions.”

It is still unclear what precipitated this sudden ban, especially given that Al Jazeera does not even have a bureau office in Bahrain. According to Tunisian journalist Habib Toumi, the Information Minister claimed the ban was imposed because Al Jazeera was deliberately attempting to harm Bahrain and that it was demonstrating a bias towards Israel. Claims of bias towards Israel have caused the banning of Al Jazeera’s broadcasts in several Arab countries in the past.

Israel also had a major clash with Al Jazeera last year, imposing sanctions on the broadcaster after Qatar closed the Israeli trade office in opposition to Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel responded by calling the station a hostile entity and to sought to close its offices in Israel. However, Isreal’s High Court of Justice prevented this action, and instead chose chose to limit the network’s activity in Israel and Palestine.

The Bahraini ban may also have been the result of Al Jazeera’s recent programs on poverty and the treatment of Asian laborers, which are purportedly sensitive matters in Bahrain. Other observers believe that it is simply a reflection of persistent tensions between Bahrain and Qatar since the settlement of a dispute over the Hawar Islands in 2001.

In the statement announcing the ban, Bahrain’s Culture and Information Ministry said, “The decision to freeze the activities of the office will be maintained until the ministry and the channel agree on a memorandum of understanding protecting the rights of both sides on the basis of reciprocity in exercising press and media work in both countries.”

According to Gulf Daily News, Bahrain Journalists Association deputy chairman Faisal Abdulla Shaikh said that he believes it is in everyone’s best interests that the dispute be resolved immediately. Watchdog groups such as the Committee to Protect Journalists have also condemned the decision. Reporters Without Borders stated its concern regarding the ban, and they “urge the culture and information ministry to rescind this decision.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Bahrain Blocks Al Jazeera Team – 19 May 2010

Bahrain New Agency – Bahrain-based Al Jazeera Office Temporarily Frozen s Age – 18 May 2010

Gulf Daily News – Call to Resolve Al Jazeera Row – 25 May 2010

GlobalVoices – Bahrain: Why was Al Jazeera’s Office Shut Down? – 19 May 2010

Guardian News – Bahrain Suspends Al-Jazeera Operations and Bars TV Crew – 19 May 2010

Haaretz.com – Bahrain Suspends Al-Jazeera for ‘Flouting Press Laws’ – 19 May 2010

Habib Toumi – Bahrain Defends Decision to Freeze Al Jazeera’s Activities as Reporters Without Borders Urges Manama to Reconsider its Move – 20 May 2010

Innocent People or Armed Insurgents? Night Raids in Afghanistan

By David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NANGARHAR, Afghanistan – Investigation into questionable night raids continues as the death toll rises over the past week.  The US military has been conducting night raids on several targeted villages in Afghanistan. These raids are night efforts to catch and put a stop to the villages harboring Al-Queda operatives.  Night raids or “sneak attacks” by US troops have been demonized by casualties’ bereaved families, for they are often premised on faulty evidence.

Night rights increase tension between US/NATO forces and Afghan civilians
Night rights increase tension between US/NATO forces and Afghan civilians

The grieving families claim that innocent civilians are being killed under mistaken identity. The US military does not agree.  After nine civilians were killed this week, the US launched criminal investigations.

Col. Wayne Shanks says they had concrete intelligence that a Taliban sub-commander was in the housing compound at the time and was planning an imminent attack on a US base. “It was an urgent need for us to go in and stop the attack to prevent casualties on our side but also innocent casualties,” he said.

Resident Ehassamudion Kushkaki told CNN the U.S. military did not announce their arrival at 1a.m. local time while everyone was sleeping, so two of the nine killed were shooting, thinking they were being attacked by thieves.  The U.S. military insists it announced its arrival and says all of those killed were shooting at the forces.

‘”No charges have been preferred at this time; however, one soldier has been placed in pre-trial confinement,” the military said in a statement”.  The soldier confined also faces illegal drug use, assault and conspiracy claims.

Miles away in London, Fatima Ayud has been campaigning for night raids to stop and offering help to affected families.  Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has sought to minimize the use of night raids, noting past public anger.  Ayud says it’s not enough after, herself being a victim after a raid attack targeted her extended family.

Nasrutullah Arsala, head of Nangarhar provincial council, tells CNN, “There’s no doubt that when these cases happen, the people rise up and the gap between the government and people widens.”  This form of impunity thwarts American efforts and energizes the Taliban resistance.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera English- US opens Afghan deaths probe – 20 May 2010

CNN World – Civilians or fighters? Debate lingers over deaths at housing compound – 25 May 2010

The Huffington Post – US Investigating Afgahan Civilian Deaths – 20 May 2010

Image Courtesy of Army Times

War Crimes Prosecution Watch – Volume 5 – Issue 4 – May 24, 2010

For a link to the e-newsletter, please visit War Crimes Prosecution Watch.

War Crimes Prosecution Watch is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that compiles official documents and articles from major news sources detailing and analyzing salient issues pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes throughout the world.

FEATURED TOPICS
Terrorism
Piracy
Universal Jurisdiction

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Central African Republic & Uganda
Democratic Republic of the Congo (ICC)
Kenya

AFRICA
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
Special Court for Sierra Leone

EUROPE
European Court of Human Rights
Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
Special Tribunal for Lebanon

NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA
United States

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