Egypt Rejects Claims It Gassed Gaza Tunnel

By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – An Egyptian intelligence official on Thursday denied allegations leveled by Hamas that Egypt pumped gas into a cross-border tunnel used to smuggle goods into the Gaza Strip, killing four Palestinians.

Egypt has been under pressure to shut down the hundreds of tunnels that are a key economic lifeline for the blockaded Palestinian territory but which are also used to bring in weapons for the Islamic militant group.

The intelligence official confirmed that Egyptian security forces destroyed the entrances to several tunnels this week, but said that no gas was used in the operations. He said that Egypt routinely blows up the mouths to the tunnels to seal them off, and that the blast and an ensuing fire could quickly use up all the oxygen in the confined space, causing people caught inside to suffocate.

Egypt’s denial comes a day after Hamas accused Egyptian forces of killing four Palestinians by pumping gas into a smuggling tunnel. The Hamas Interior Ministry said in a statement late Wednesday that the gas used to try to clear the tunnel was poisonous. It said six people were also injured.

It was not immediately clear what evidence Hamas was basing its allegations on.

Mohammed al-Osh, the medical director of the Abu Yusef al-Najar hospital in the Gaza border town of Rafah where some of the dead and injured were taken, could not confirm those killed had inhaled poison gas. He said the hospital did not have the equipment or specialists needed to conduct the necessary tests on lungs and clothing.

The United States and Israel have been pushing Egypt to do more to try to close the tunnels, which provide Hamas with a lifeline helping it to stay in power in Gaza. Weapons and other contraband regularly move through the tunnels.

But the 1.5 million residents of the impoverished Gaza Strip also rely on the tunnels to bring in food and commercial goods like refrigerators and clothing.

Many of the tunnels, dug with electrical drills and running side by side under the border, are just high enough to enable workers to move on all fours. Their entrances are covered by tents and they are equipped with motorized pulleys to haul goods and generator-powered lighting.

For more information, please see:

Press Trust Of India – Egypt Denies Pumping Gas Into Gaza Smuggling Tunnel – 29 April 2010

AP – Egypt Rejects Claims That It Gassed Gaza Tunnels – 29 April 2010

NPR – Egypt Rejects Claims That It Gassed Gaza Tunnels – 29 April 2010

UPDATE: 2 Ranchers Sentenced for Ordering the Murder of Nun Aiding Indigenous Farmers

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Photo Courtesy of the Dorothy Stang Center
Photo Courtesy of the Dorothy Stang Center

PARA, Brazil-A court convicted two ranchers for ordering the murder of a U.S. nun and environmental activist, Dorothy Stang in 2005. Prosecutors argued that the two men hired gunmen to kill the seventy-three year old nun because she blocked them from seizing land that the government had given to Amazonian farmers. Both men were sentenced to thirty years in prison.

Dorothy Stang had been working in the Amazon for thirty years to preserve the rainforest and protect the rights of rural workers against large-scale farmers. She was shot and left to die on the side of a muddy rainforest road where loggers and ranchers have deforested large sections of the rainforest.

Human rights groups protested a delay in the prosecution, which was widely viewed as a test of Brazil’s ability to combat impunity in the Amazon region. A court acquitted Vitalmiro Moura in 2008, an event President Lula de Silva called a “stain” on Brazil’s international image. The recent conviction is the result of a retrail. Judge Raimundo Moises Alvez Flexa told the AP that the conviction “sent a clear message that the law will be applied to everyone regardless of socioeconomic status.”

However, both the judge and Greenpeace have stated that more convictions for these types of crimes are necessary in order for activists to truly be protected.  The Pastoral Land Commission estimates that in the past ten years up to 2008, three hundred and sixty-five people were killed  over similar land disputes. Only around eighty gunmen have actually gone to jail for these murders.

Rebeca Spires, a nun who knew Dorothy Stang called the convictions a milestone victory given the “endless supply” of gunmen. Spires told the AP that “the verdict sends a strong message to other masterminds that the impunity is ending.”

For More information, please see:

AP-Brazil: Last Rancher on Trial for U.S. Nun’s Murder-1 May 2010

BBC-Second Brazil Rancher Jailed Over U.S. Nun’s Murder-1 May 2010

Washington Post-Second Brazil Rancher Sentenced in U.S. Nun Murder-1 May 2010

Belgium Considers Burqa Ban

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BRUSSELS, Belgium – This week one of Belgium’s two legislative bodies passed a bill that would ban burqas within the country.

The lower house of Belgium’s Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, voted on Thursday April 29 to ban certain types of veils worn by Muslim women, most notably including burqas.  According to various media accounts, the vote was nearly unanimous (136 to 2) and enjoyed clear majorities from both major Belgian political parties.

Although the bill must still be passed by Belgium’s upper house, the Senate, Belgium is the closest of any European country to passing a ban on the Muslim headwear.  The Senate is expected to overwhelmingly approve the legislation in the coming weeks.  Media outlets predict the bill will be signed into law before the summer.

Other European lawmakers, most notably the French, have also considered a similar ban.  President Sarkozy has indicated France’s ban will come into effect before the fall.

Additionally, several countries, including the Netherlands, Denmark and Poland, have recently had elections that have included overwhelming victories for anti-Islamic parties and candidates.  No country in the European Union has yet, however, had such legislation signed into law.

Logistically, the Belgian legislation would ban any and all clothing or headwear that covers the face in part or in whole.

The penalty for women who wear the veil could range from 150 to 15,000 euros.  Any person who forces a women to wear a burqa can face up to a year in prison.  As in the case of France’s consideration of a burqa ban, criticism of the Belgian legislation has been swift and harsh.

Critics claim that on its face the ban would violates basic tenets of freedom of religion and expression.  They also allege that the law illegally targets only Muslims.

Amnesty International’s John Dalhuisen says that the law “violat[es] of a great many of Belgium’s international obligations”, including “the U.N. convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights.”

For more information, please see:

AL JAZEERA – Anger at Belgian face veil ban – 30 April 2010

EUR ACTIV NETWORK – Belgian lawmakers first in EU to outlaw burqa – 30 April 2010

EXPATICA – Content of the Belgian bill banning the burqa – 30 April 2010

VOICE OF AMERICA – Belgium’s Parliament Votes to Ban Veils – 29 April 2010

Hawaii Legislature Allows Same-Sex Civil Unions

By Stephen Kopko
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

HAWAII, United States- Yesterday, another state joined the ranks of those that recognize homosexual rights.  The Hawaii state legislature passed a bill that would allow for civil unions.  The legislation will go to the Governor for her approval or veto.

Hawaii has had a tradition in the homosexual rights debate.  In 1993, Hawaii became the first state to allow same-sex marriage after their Supreme Court found it was constitutional.  Nevertheless, the citizens of the state passed an amendment to their Constitution in 1998 that protected heterosexual marriage.  The amendment allowed the legislature to pass a law banning same-sex marriage.

Despite the constitutional amendment, House Bill 444 grants greater protections and rights to same-sex couples.  In essence, the legislation grants same-sex couples the same rights and benefits as heterosexual couples.  It also offers protections and benefits to unmarried heterosexual couples.

Previously, the legislation was approved by the Hawaii Senate by an eighteen to seven vote. Originally thought to be off the legislature’s agenda for this year’s session, House Majority Leader Bill Oshiro called the measure for debate yesterday afternoon.   Many supporters of same-sex unions believed the legislation to be dead.  In January State House leaders determined to indefinitely postpone action on the bill.  However, the legislation was passed in House by a thirty-one to twenty vote. Governor Linda Lindle has forty-five days to decide whether to sign the legislation into law or veto it.

Opponents of same-sex civil unions will pressure Governor Lindle to veto the legislation.  Writing to his congregation, Bishop Larry Silva stated; “We need you to mount a campaign to flood the governor’s office with requests to veto the bill.” Supporters of same-sex civil unions were surprised that the House voted for the legislation during this year’s session and were pleased with the outcome.

If the legislation is signed into law, Hawaii will join California, Nevada, New Jersey, Washington, and Oregon as the sixth state to recognize same-sex civil unions.  Massachusetts, Vermont, Washington D.C., Iowa, Connecticut, and New Hampshire allow same-sex marriage.

For more information, please see:

CNN-Hawaii lawmakers pass civil unions bill-30 April 2010

MSNBC-Hawaii lawmakers OK civil unions, send bill to gov-30 April 2010

Honolulu Advertiser-Hawaii Legislature Oks historic civil unions bill; governor now must decide-29 April 2010

China Lifts Ban on HIV-Infected Foreigners

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – The twenty year old ban prohibiting foreign travelers with HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and leprosy from entering China has been lifted.

The Chinese government lifted the ban on Tuesday.  The revision comes just days before the opening of the Shanghai World Expo.

China’s State Council said that several provisions in the Border Quarantine Law and the Law on Control of the Entry and Exit of Aliens, which were implemented in the 1980s, are being revised because the ban was imposed two decades ago with “limited knowledge about HIV/AIDS and other diseases.”  However, the Chinese authorities have now come to a conclusion that such ban had either limited or very small influence in controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases in China.

UN Secretary General Bank Ki-moon praised China and President Hu Jintao for lifting the ban saying, “Punitive policies and practices only hamper the global AIDS response.”

The United States also welcomed China’s move.  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “I commend China’s decision to lift its ban . . . China’s step . . . is supposed by current medical knowledge of HIV transmission and risk.”

Clinton added that the long-standing policy of prohibiting people with HIV from entering the country will also help reduce the stigma and discrimination around this global epidemic.

Those inside China also believe that Chinese government’s lifting of the ban is a step towards progress.  Medical professor at Qingdao University and an advocate for rights of people living with HIV (PLWHIV), Zhang Beichuan, said, “Previously, China viewed HIV/AIDS as an imported disease related to corrupted lifestyle.  But now the government handles it with public health perspective.”

He Tiantian, a Chinese woman in her 30s living with HIV also said, “This revision shows us a silver lining, because we have advocating for the rights of PLWHIV . . . now we know we didn’t do it in vain.”

Nevertheless, He added that it will “take time to end discrimination, but the change in the government’s stance will help change the public’s attitude . . . .”

According to the Health Ministry, the estimated number of those living with HIV in China was approximately 740,000 as of October 2009 and almost 50,000 Chinese have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS since the disease was first reported in 1985.
For more information, please see:

China Daily – China lifts entry ban on HIV/AIDS foreigners – 29 April 2010

RTT News – China Lifts Ban Imposed on HIV-Infected Foreign Travelers – 27 April 2010

Zee News – China lifts ban on entry of HIV individuals; US welcomes – 30 April 2010