The Mandate for the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala is Ending

By Brenda Lopez Romero
Impunity Watch reporter – North America desk

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala needs more support and must include the ability to go after corruption and organized crime.

The Commissioner, Carlos Castresana Fernández, noted that due to their work about 2,000 police officers, or 15 per cent of the force, have been discharged on corruption charges and one Attorney General, 10 Prosecutors and three Supreme Court Justices had been dismissed for lack of cooperation.  Additionally, 130 people had been jailed, including a former President as well as former Ministers of Defence, Finance and Interior.

Guatemala engage international support to strengthen its ability to provide structural protection for its citizens against human rights violations by non-state actors in the country.

Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Eduardo Stein, former Vice-President of Guatemala; and Gonzalo Marroquín, Director, Prensa Libre, and Vice-President, Inter-American Press Association are assisting the Commission’s interactions with the society to increase its credibility among the citizens.

Ms. Menchú said “the country was still living with the aftermath of 36 years of civil strife, and implementation of the peace agreement was only possible if impunity could be fought.”  Mr. Stein also noted that the Commission was started at the request of Guatemala as a member of the international community due to its legitimate concern for its citizens and to improve its justice system.  He emphasized that in 2009 there were about 6,000 assassinations, but fewer than 600 charged were being prosecuted, and the Commission has helped address this impunity.

However, the Commission’s mandate is ending and the remaining tasks are up to the Guatemalans citizens to control.

For more information, please see:

Guatemala Times – UN Commission in Guatemala fight against impunity needs more support – 20 April 2010

Taiwan News – Progress in UN fight against Guatemala corruption – 20 April 2010

UN News Centre – UN-backed war on impunity in Guatemala should be strengthened – commission head – 20 April 2010

Srebrenica Genocide Suspect Arrested in Croatia

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ZAGREB, Croatia – A war crimes suspect alleged to have perpetrated genocide during the Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian war was arrested April 19 crossing the border in Osijek, Croatia.

According to Bosnia and Herzegovina prosecutors, Franc Kos was part of the Tenth Reconnaissance Squad of the Republika Srpska Army during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.

Allegedly, Mr. Kos participated in the Srebrenica massacre perpetrated against Bosnian Muslims during the Bosnian War. Some 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed in that notorious incident.

Mr. Kos, a Slovenian national, is the fourth member of the Tenth Reconnaissance Squad who has been arrested to date. Vlastimir Golijan, Zoran Goronja, and Stanko Savanovic were all taken into Bosnian custody in February 2008 for committing genocide at a Bosnian military base, but are yet to face trial on these charges.

The Tenth Reconnaissance Squad has a particularly nefarious record for impunity.  Dubravko Campara, the Bosnian prosecutor, claimed the Tenth Reconnaissance Squad was “the most notorious” Republika Srpska Army unit, during the recent custody extension hearing for Golijan, Goronja, and Savanovic.

Mr. Campara also hinted that efforts would continue to arrest the rest of the unit, including Mr. Kos, who was implicated by earlier testimony in front of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ITCY).

Drazen Erdemovic, a fellow Squad member, confessed to murders committed at a military base in Branjevo during the Bosnian War, and was sentenced to five years in prison.  Mr. Erdemovic also stated during his trial that Mr. Kos played a role in the Srebrenica massacre.

An international arrest warrant for Mr. Kos’ arrest was filed by Bosnia and Herzegovina soon after.

Bosnian prosecutors will now file an extradition request with Croatia in order to take custody of Mr. Kos for future impending prosecution. Slovenia and Croatia also are possible forums to prosecute Mr. Kos because he is alleged to have committed crimes against their nationals.

For more information, please see:

ASSOCIATED PRESS – Croatia arrests genocide suspect wanted in Bosnia – 20 April 2010

B92 – Srebrenica war crimes suspect arrested – 20 April 2010

BALKAN INSIGHT – Croatia Arrests Genocide Suspect Wanted by Bosnia – 20 April 2010

Egypt Seeks To Pressure Israel Over Nuclear Arms

By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Israel may come under new pressure next month at a UN meeting on atomic weapons as the United States, Britain and France consider backing Egypt’s call for a zone in the Middle East free of nuclear arms, envoys said.

The 189 signatories to the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) will meet at United Nations headquarters in New York for a May 3-28 conference on the troubled pact whose credibility, analysts say, has been harmed by the atomic programs of Iran and North Korea and the failure of the big nuclear powers to disarm.

Egypt is to open an international front to push Israel into signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty as pressure mounts on Tel Aviv to account for its atomic plans.

Cairo advocates holding a regional conference on an “internationally and effectively verifiable treaty for the establishment of a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East,” a draft paper addressed to the NPT said Tuesday. It added that Egypt will invite all Mideast states to the planned meeting.

Israel, like India and Pakistan, never signed the treaty and is not officially attending the conference. The Jewish state is presumed to have a sizable nuclear arsenal, although it has never confirmed or denied having atomic weapons.

Diplomats said backing from the five permanent Security Council members — the NPT’s five official nuclear powers — would help ensure broad support for Egypt’s plan next month.

One Western envoy said Egypt’s insistence on a conference with a negotiating mandate was the main “sticking point,” while another expressed the hope that Egypt would compromise during intensive negotiations on the issue in the coming weeks.

Israel’s U.N. mission had no official comment on the Egyptian proposal. But an Israeli diplomat told Reuters the Jewish state would be ready to discuss issues like establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone once there is peace in the Middle East.

For More Information, Please;

The Daily Star – Egypt Seeks UN Pressure On Israel Over Nuclear Arms – 21 April 2010

The Washington Post – Egypt Seeks U.N. Pressure On Israel Over Nuclear Arms – 21 April 2010

Press TV – Egypt Summit To Pressure Nuclear Israel – 20 April 2010

Thai Army Ready to Use Weapons Against Protest

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand- On Tuesday, protesters dug their heels deeper, fortifying their encampment in Bangkok’s hotel-and-shopping district and threatened to “wage a big war” to bring down the government.  The Thai army has stated its intentions to use live ammunition against “red-shirt” anti-government protesters in certain circumstances.

A spokesman for the army said that soldiers were ready to use their weapons “decisively”.  The army warned that is was ready to use force if provoked.  Soldiers in combat gear guarded nearby sections of the capital, are prepared to use tear gas and rubber bullets, in addition to live ammunition in self defense, if fighting were to occur.  The Thai army alleges that protesters were arming themselves with crude weapons such as small bombs, and sharpened bamboo poles.  Spokesman Col Sansern KaeKamnerd told reporters “We can no longer use the soft to hard steps…We have to keep a distance between troops and demonstrators.  If they try to break the line, we will start using tear gas, and if they do break the ling, we need to use weapons to deal with them decisively.”

The “Red Shirt” protesters, mostly comprised of poor, rural demonstrators,  have demanded that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva call early elections.  They have occupied the tiny Rajprasong district for more than a month and now are camping in nearby main roads covering several city blocks.  On Monday, security forces moved to nearby Silom Road to prevent Red Shirt incursions in the the area’s central business district.

This standoff in Bangkok has cost city merchants tens of millions of dollars. Key protest leader  Nattawaut Saikua stated ” We will fortify our rally campground to ward off any invasion before we go out to wage a big war.”  He also stated that once troops move out of Silom Road, the Red Shirts would stage a march down the road.

Saikua indicated that the protesters were open to negotiations to end 40 days of confrontations in the city, saying  “Our group is always open to outsider suggestions.  Whatever group wants to propose a solution to the crisis, we’re happy to hear these solutions.”

However there has been no sign of compromise on the horizon, although Abhisit said he would not set a date for protesters to be forced out of their encampment.

For more information, please see:

BBC News- Thai Army ‘Ready To Use Live Fire Against Red-Shirts’– 20 April 2010

WDAM.Com- Thai Protesters Fortify Camps in Heart of Bangkok– 20 April 2010

Inthenews.co.uk- Thai Army Ready To Use Weapons “Decisively’ Against Protestors– 20 April 2010

EU Companies Importing and Exporting Torture Devices Despite Ban

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BRUSSELS, Belgium – Florida based company, Stinger Systems, has acknowledged that it exports an instrument of  torture known as the “Band-It” to Europe.  The “Band-It” system is attached to a prisoner’s arms or legs and can administer a shock of 50,000 volts.  This report by Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS) comes roughly a month after Amnesty International  reported on the loopholes that European firms were using in order to side-step EU bans on trade in torture devices.

Since 2006 the European Union (EU) has had rules in place which outlaw trade in a range of instruments that are expressly used for torture. Stinger Systems’ “Band-It” is among those devices outlawed by the EU. The company’s president, Bob Gruder, refused to say which European countries have purchased the device. Gruder told IPS: “We only sell to military and law enforcement authorities . . . Our products are sold worldwide but we prefer not to disclose where.”

Stinger, formerly known as Stun Tech, has distributed their products in several EU nations. A Romanian company called Gate 4 Business has confirmed that they imported some of the “Band-It” devices.  The company’s spokesman, Cristian Anastesue, said that the company took “a few samples,” but added that under Romanian law, it is considered a “lethal weapon.”

Amnesty International reported in March that firms in Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, and Italy were selling electroshock “sleeves” and “cuffs” capable of delivering 50,000-volt shocks, spiked batons, and fixed wall restraints to countries with checkered human rights records, such as China, Pakistan, and the U.A.E. These firms have gotten around the EU ban on torture devices, which explicitly refers to “stun belts,” by applying different names to products that have a similar effect to a stun belt.

David Nichols, a foreign policy analyst in the Amnesty International office in Brussels, said: “What we have been saying is that there are other devices that have been reclassified or renamed and traded as if they were completely legitimate, even though they have no other use than as torture instruments.”

Sirien, a Belgian company, was named in the report as a Stinger agent in Europe. Sirien ceased advertisement of the S-200 stun gun on its website after the report was published.

In his response to the Amnesty International report, Sirien representative Erwin Lafosse said: “The problem with Amnesty International is that they only see the bad side to everything . . . Yes, these can be used to torture but so can all sorts of ordinary devices like knives, forks and spoons.”

For more information, please see:

IPS – Europe Imports Torture from US – 14 April 2010

Time – Is the European Union Exporting Torture Devices? – 31 March 2010

Amnesty International Report – From Words to Deeds: Making the EU Ban on the Trade in ‘Tools of Torture’ a Reality – 17 March 2010