DR Congo: New Report on Brutal Massacre Exposes Need for New Strategy

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

TAPILI, DR Congo  – A recent Human Rights Watch report accused 300 the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) of killing over 300 unnamed Congolese civilians last December.

This report has gotten the attention of UN peacekeepers who now say that a new strategy is needed to prevent future massacres.  Alan Doss, the head of the UN peacekeepers said that better intelligence gathering and greater air mobility was needed.  Because the LRA operate in small, highly mobile groups that spread over a wide area, it has made the UN’s job very difficult.

“But even small groups, moving as they do in the bush, can create havoc.  Their best weapon is fear and they create fear by their extremely brutal and violent tactics which we saw again in this latest massacre near Tapili.,” said Doss.

Top official of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) says even more is needed.  “Money or military troops on the ground that’s not enough…we need more cooperation between the three countries where the LRA is operating — that is the DRC, Uganda and Central African Republic. Also those countries need to have better cooperation in terms of exchanging intelligence so that they can better organize the operation on the ground,” he said.

Early on, LRA leaders claimed their violent mission was to install a theocracy in Uganda based on the Biblical Ten Commandments.  Although, now they are only moving across Sudan, Central Africa, and DR Congo attacking villages.

During the latest attack, in December, villagers were hacked to death by rebels.  Just before they attacked, the rebels pretended to be Congolese soldiers and asked for food and other goods.  Witnesses say the stench of death hung over the area for weeks after the massacre.   Aside from the killings, at least eighty were taken by force.  Boys to become child solders and girls to be used as sex slaves for the LRA fighters.

For more information, please see:

BBC – DR Congo Needs New Strategy, UN Chief – 28 March 2010

Times Online – Lord’s Resistance Army Killed 321 People in Democratic Republic of Congo – 29 March 2010

VOA – MONUC Official Says Regional Cooperation Could Counter LRA Atrocities – 28 March 2010

Apartheid Doctor Charged with Sexual Abuse in Canada

By William Miller

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

CALGARY, Canada – A Canadian psychiatrist who worked in South Africa during the apartheid was charged with sexual abuse of a male patient on Thursday after a male patient filmed him making sexual advances on him. Dr. Aubrey Levin who has fallen under much criticism in the past for using electric shock therapy and chemical castration in attempts to “cure” gay men  during while working in the military during apartheid is being investigated on almost thirty similar claims made by former patients of his.

Dr. Aubrey Levin being escorted to a car on Thursday (PHOTO: CTV)
Dr. Aubrey Levin being escorted to a car on Thursday (PHOTO: CTV)

Levin began his controversial work with the apartheid military in 1969 at the Voortrekkerhoogte military hospital. He ‘treated’ homosexuals by attaching electrodes to them and showing them pictures of naked men which were paired with powerful electric shocks. He has also been accused of using chemical castration which left several men sterile. At least one of his former patients committed suicide.

Levin moved to Canada in 1995. He says he left because of the high crime rate in South Africa. He had been working at the University of Calgary Medical School up until charges were filed against him.

Several people have attempted to investigate him based on his work in South Africa. He has been able to dodge any serious public investigation up to this point by threatening law suits. He defends his actions in South Africa by saying they were standard practice at the time. He further claims that all patients were treated on a voluntary basis.

Levin was arrested Thursday after a patient secretly videotaped the doctor making sexual advances on him. The patient decided to make the tape after his pleas for help had been dismissed by authorities. The patient claims the abuse happened over the course of several years.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta has suspended Levin’s license to practice. They are also investigating charges of human rights abuses from when he was in South Africa. Levin is currently been released from jail on $50,000 dollars bail.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – Doctor Shock Charged with Sexually Abusing Male Patient – 28 March 2010

Eye Witness News – Notorious Apartheid Psychiatrist Nabbed – 26 March 2010

News 24 – S A Psychiatrist Held in Canada – 25 March 2010

CTV –  Patient of Dr. Levin Speaks to CTV – 24 March 2010

Palestinian Protestors Arrested in Bethlehem on Palm Sunday

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BETHLEHEM, West Bank – Israeli police detained several Palestinians on Palm Sunday, March 28. The Palestinians were protesting Israeli restrictions on Palestinian Christians, not allowing them to celebrate Holy Week and Easter religious observations in Jerusalem. It is unclear exactly how many Palestinians were arrested, reports range from eleven to fifteen protestors detained. The Palestinian News Network reports that an Associated Press photographer was also arrested.

The protests were held on Palm Sunday, the beginning of the Christian Holy Week, remembering the death of Jesus and ending the following Sunday with the celebration of Easter. While Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Christians follow different ecclesiastical calendars, this year, the calendars have aligned and all Christians will be observing Holy Week and Easter at the same time.

Between one hundred and two hundred Palestinians began the day’s protests after Sunday prayers and morning services at the Church of the Nativity. The protestors reached Gilo, the checkpoint through which Palestinians may enter Jerusalem only after receiving Israeli permission. The protestors gave speeches, and several of the protestors reportedly made it through the checkpoint without permission. One report said that at this point the border guards began an “unprovoked” attack on the protestors, and arrested several protestors.

Regardless of the exact details, many Palestinian Christians viewed the protest as a remembrance and a witness for Palestinian Christians. The Palestinian Christian population, primarily Greek Orthodox, has steadily dwindled in recent years, as many choose or are forced to emigrate. Approximately 50,000 Palestinian Christians live in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, or East Jerusalem, while there are four million Muslim Palestinians in these same areas. Another 123,000 Palestinian Christians live in Israel, making up about eight percent of the Arab Israeli population.

The protest was the latest in a series of Palestinian protests in opposition to the Israeli government’s plans to allow Israeli construction in East Jerusalem. East Jerusalem is predominantly Palestinian, and Palestinians hope to make East Jerusalem the capital of a future Palestinian state. Israelis insist that Jerusalem is their undivided capital.

For more information, please see:

Palestinian News Network – 15 Arrested During a Non-Violence Demonstration on Palm Sunday – 29 March 2010

The Associated Press – Christian Pilgrims Mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem – 28 March 2010

Ha’aretz – Christian Pilgrims Flock to Jerusalem to Mark Palm Sunday – 28 March 2010

Ma’an News Agency – Palm Sunday Detainees Still in Israeli Custody – 28 March 2010

Ynet News – Palestinians, Leftists Detained for Entering Israel Illegally During March – 28 March 2010

Estonian Newspapers Protest Legislation Requiring Disclosure of Sources

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

TALLINN, Estonia – The leading newspapers of Estonia protested earlier this week the introduction of new national legislation, which would require that all journalists turn over the name of a source if ordered to do so by the government, by leaving the front page of their papers blank.

This legislation, entitled the Press Sources Protection Law, was introduced by the Ministry of Justice.  It requires not only the naming of sources by journalists but also establishes potential fines or imprisonment for those who refuse.  These new potential restrictions on journalists mark a stark shift from the nation’s tradition of strong freedoms of the press.  Reporters Without Borders currently places Estonia as the sixth most open nation in regards to press freedoms.

The editor-in-chief of Postimees, one of the newspapers that participated in the protest, explained the reasoning behind the paper’s actions.  “Estonia’s six major newspapers believe there is no alternative way to make politicians understand the draft legislation is not good.  It significantly inhibits the freedom of the press.”  In addition, the National Newspaper Association and the Journalists Union have announced their disapproval with the legislation.

Some newspapers also noted special concern regarding how this law would be applied when journalists were investigating the government itself, especially on matter of corruption.  If the bill is passed, journalists may be forced to turn over the names of sources to the very government officials who they are investigating for improper actions.

Journalists in Estonia are currently required by the Code of Ethics of the Estonian Press to keep confidential the identities of their confidential sources.

The government, however, has argued that the application of this bill would be narrow and not interfere with the broader rights of the press.  According to Finance Minister Jurgen Ligi, the legislation “is not about the freedom of word.  It is so that the court could acquire information from the press in case of a difficult crime.”

The final vote by the national parliament on the journalism source legislation is scheduled for April 7.

For more information, please see:

DAILY GEORGIAN TIMES – Estonian Newspapers Protest against Bill on ‘Defence of Source’ – 24 March 2010

BALTIC TIMES – Top Estonian papers leave front page blank in protest – 21 March 2010

BALTIC COURSE – Protest: Estonian newspapers publish blank pages – 18 March 2010

RIANOVOSTI – Estonian newspapers protest ‘loss of press freedoms’ – 18 March 2010

BBN – Estonian journalists fear for their sources – 16 March 2010

Taiwan Pledges Support to Climate Refugees from Kiribati and Tuvalu


By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

TARAWA, Kiribati – With rising sea levels in the South Pacific, the tiny nation of Kiribati may be forced to evacuate to neighboring countries, such as Taiwan.

The President of Taiwan visited Kiribati last week to meet with President Anote Tong and pledged his nation’s assistance should sea levels continue to rise.  Mr. Ma Ying-jeou, who is concerned about the impacts of climate change, is touring nations in the Pacific with which it maintains diplomatic relations – Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru, the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Solomon Islands.

Climate change is a central focus of President Ma’s tour.  In Kiribati and Tuvalu, climate change, according to some scientists, could cause islands, such as Kiribati and Tuvalu, to be completely submerged, thus posing a life-threatening situation.

In his meeting with Kiribati’s president, Mr. Ma said that Taiwan would “help seek possible solutions to the global warming that is causing rising sea levels that could eventually submerge Kiribati.”

The issue of climate refugees has been a big issue recently, particularly as a result of the destruction and deaths of many following several natural disasters.   Last August, a typhoon which ripped through parts of southern Taiwan raised concerns about climate refugees.

A documentary, called “Plus or Minus Two Degrees Celsius”, was produced in Taiwan and called attention to this new phenomenon.  The film predicts that if the environmental situation worsens, the people of Taiwan will be among the first to migrate as a result.

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) states that ten percent of the global population may be subjected to displacement as a result of climate change.

Many people living in Kiribati and other South Pacific Islands have ancestors who emigrated from Taiwan, thousands of years ago.  President Tong of Kiribati said that these people “would probably return to Taiwan someday”.

Should their worst fears be realized, Kiribati’s government has a plan to relocate its entire population of 100,000 to other lands or an island under the control of other countries. It has also tried to lobby other countries for support in fighting climate change.

Some suggest that Taiwan help by allowing workers from Kiribati to enter the country.  If the Kiribati government agrees to provide low-interest loans to Kiribati workers who wish to relocate to Taiwan, the proposed relocation plan will likely be implemented.

On the other hand, Tuvalu shares climate change concerns but is not as willing to implement a national relocation plan, because it may cause its people to panic.

Nations, such as Australia and New Zealand, currently allow immigrants from Kiribati.  New Zealand’s immigration policy provides that a limited number of people from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Kiribati may enter New Zealand to obtain residency.

For more information please see:
Focus Taiwan – Climate refugees an issue for Taiwan – 25 March 2010

Radio New Zealand International – Tuvalu says Taiwan shares its climate change concerns – 24 March 2010

New York Times – Taiwan: Help for a Tiny Nation Facing Rising Waters – 23 March 2010