Congress Votes to Extend the Patriot Act

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States– In the midst of its expiration date, Congress renewed the United States Patriot Act this week without the proposed changes that passed the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.  The Patriot Act was set to expire on Sunday.  It was originally passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Since its passage the Patriot Act has been a source of controversy between groups that support greater privacy protections and groups that contend it is an important tool in protecting the citizens of the United States.  In debates prior to passage of the legislation, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed greater privacy protections.  It limited the F.B.I.’s use of national security letters as well as provided greater scrutiny of law enforcement agencies when they examined individual’s library records.  The House Judiciary Committee passed similar provisions and also eliminated law enforcement authority to spy on the “lone wolf.”

Despite the greater privacy protections that were passed at the committee level, both the House and Senate voted to extend the Patriot Act for one year without the protections.  Three provisions that were a source of contention and dismay for privacy rights advocates were renewed.  Those provisions were the government’s ability to engage in court approved roving wiretaps, seizure property and assets, and the ability to spy on the “lone wolf.”  Under the “lone wolf” provision, the government is allowed to track non-United States citizens that are not formerly affiliated with a terrorist organization. 

The renewal of the Act without greater privacy protections comes after the shooting at Fort Hood and the attempted Christmas Day bombing.  Many members of Congress believed that its renewal without greater privacy protections was needed in the wake of those incidents.  However, not all members of Congress believe that greater privacy protections would weaken law enforcements ability to track and prevent terrorist acts.  They believed the protections are needed after the alleged abuses by Bush Administration.  According to Representative Jane Harman; “While I strongly support using the most robust tools possible to go after terrorists, Congress must revise and narrow, not extend, Bush-era policies.”

Congress renewed the Patriot Act as the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument on a provision of the Act that made it a crime to provide “material support” to terrorist organizations.  The Court will examine whether the provision violates the free speech and freedom of association protections of the Constitution.

For more information, please see:

Washington Post-Congress extends Patriot Act, no new protections-25 February 2010

MSNBC-Senate votes to extend Patriot Act-24 February 2010

Christian Science Monitor-Supreme Court: Does part of Patriot Act violate citizens’ rights-22 February 2010

Guesthouses Used by Foreigners Hit In Taliban Attack

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KABUL, Afghanistan- Explosions and gunfire in the center of the Afghan capital have left at least 17 people dead, officials say.

The attack took place in an area of hotels and guesthouses which are popular with foreigners.  Up to nine Indians, a Frenchman and an Italian were killed.  Three gunman and two policeman died in a gun battle that lasted several hours.  The Taliban said they were behind the attack.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai condemned the violence. India called it “barbaric”.  The attack comes as NATO and Afghan forces continue Operation Moshtarak to tackle the Taliban in Helmand province.

Martin Patience of the BBC in Kabul says the first blast on Friday happened close to the Kabul City Center shopping area and the Safi Landmark Hotel.  The Park Residence Hotel, popular with foreigners, was also close to the main blast.

SM Krishna, India’s Foreign Minister said up to nine Indians were dead, including government officials.  The Minister said :” These barbaric attacks are a matter of deep concern and are clearly aimed against the people of India and the people of Afghanistan…”These are the handiwork of those who are desperate to undermine the friendship between India and Afghanistan.”

At least 30 people are reported to have been injured in the attacks.  Condemning the attacks, NATO’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen saying in a statement: “Those who committed them made it clear, in their choice of targets that their aim is to reverse the progress that Afghans are making,”

Two smaller explosions were reported following the main blast and security forces fought with gunman for several hours after sealing off the area.  Sirens blared across the city and announcements warned people to stay indoors.  Areas around diplomatic missions and government ministries were closed to traffic.

Operation Moshtark continues in Helmand in the south, whose aim is to drive the Taliban from the areas around Nad Ali and Marjah.

Friday’s attack is also the Taliban’s first major raid since the arrest of key leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Pakistan this month.  He was said to be the second in command and to have run the Taliban’s leadership council and controlled their finances.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Afghanistan Captial Kabul Hit by Suicide Attack– 26 February 2010

SCPR.ORG- Taliban Claims Responsibility for Kabul Attacks– 26 February 2010

The New York Times- Guesthouses Used By Foreigners In Kabul Hit in Deadly Attacks-26 February

UNDP Expert Says Pacific Countries Must Overcome Issues of Marginalization and Inequality

By Cindy Trinh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – A conflict resolution expert for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Tracy Vienings, says Pacific countries have to put more effort into overcoming issues of marginalization and inequality.

She says that the issues of marginalization and inequality are often at the root of conflict and more effort needs to go into connecting peace building with development.

A UNDP meeting in Suva, Fiji resulted in the implementation of project called the Strengthening Capacities for Peace and Development, and involved various Pacific governments, NGOs, and regional agencies.

The Strengthening Capacities for Peace and Development project includes immediate capacity building support. The project aims at establishing programs to facilitate needs-based planning and monitoring, and to support reconciliation activities in the Pacific region.

The project aims to bring together regional organizations, government and civil society actors to share experiences, discuss the difficult issues, and begin to strengthen leadership and capacities for peace in the Pacific.

One part of the project’s goals is to introduce a core group of Pacific peace builders. This is a workshop that hopes to answer questions regarding the meaning of peace, the linkages between peace, conflict, and development, and how human rights can be addressed through peace building projects.

The core group of peace builders will be drawn from selected countries in the Pacific.

Vienings stated that: “Through this project we are targeting a core group of peace builders, generally middle level staff in civil society organizations, governments and intergovernmental organizations. Those participating in this programme will also benefit from a small grants mechanism to fund peace projects of those participating in the initiative.”

Although this project has triggered discussions about positive changes in the Pacific region, Vienings believes that governments and civil society have struggled to take action. She urges the Pacific countries to put more effort into overcoming the issues and take action.

She stated: “The reason that [the Pacific countries] don’t [take action] is because they are politicized issues and are very difficult. They require long term solutions but governments and civil society are not necessarily addressing them at the moment.”

For more information, please see:
Pacific Islands News Association – Core Group of Pacific Peace Builders to Get Introduction Training Soon – 26 February 2010

Radio New Zealand International – More effort needed to solve root causes of conflict in Pacific – UNDP expert – 25 February 2010

United National Development Programme – Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme: Strengthening Capacities for the Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation Framework

Bosnian Serb General Trial Begins in The Hague

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The trial of a former Bosnian Serb General begins today, February 26, at the United Nation’s Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.

Bosnian Serb General Zdravko Tolimir, who served as the assistant commander for intelligence and security of the Bosnian Serb Army, is alleged to have committed crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes. These charges stem from Mr. Tolimir’s role in the infamous 1995 Srebrenica massacre of thousands of Bosnian Muslims during the Bosnian War.

Specifically, according to the indictment, Mr. Tolimir orchestrated multiple mass murders between July and November 1995. During the Srebrenica massacre, Mr. Tolimir allegedly supervised a military unit that “summarily executed more than 1,700 Muslim men and boys at the Branjevo Military Farm and the Pilica Cultural Center.”

Mr. Tolimir is one of the highest ranking war crimes suspects to be brought to trial to date. At the time of his arrest in May 2007, he was the third-most-wanted Bosnian war crimes perpetrator at large.

Mr. Tolimir, who is representing himself pro se, stood trial today in front of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ITCY). Prosecutor Nelson Thayer told ITCY judges in opening statements that Mr. Tolimir “[chose] to forsake his duty to abide by the rules of war in pursuit of a mono-ethnic Serb state”.

As a pro se litigant, Mr. Tolimir will be held to the standards of a professional lawyer, after Judge Christoph Flugge warned him during a pretrial conference in February. At the same time, Mr. Tolimir may not be able to call witnesses in his own defense however.

The ITCY has indicted 161 persons for war crimes coming from the former Yugoslavia during the Bosnian War. Mr. Tomlimir’s trial is one of 40 that are still being heard, while 121 have been completed. The ITCY will end its activities in 2014.

As a pro se litigant, Mr. Tolimir will be held to the standards of a professional lawyer, after Judge Christoph Flugge warned him during a pretrial conference in February. At the same time, Mr. Tolimir may not be able to call witnesses in his own defense however.

For more information, please see:

EXPATICA – Bosnian Serb general goes on trial for genocide – 26 February 2010

RADIO FREE EUROPE – Former Bosnian Serb General Goes On Trial – 26 February 2010

UPI – Trial starts for ex-Bosnian Serb general – 26 February 2010

WASHINGTON POST – Genocide case opens against Bosnian Serb general – 26 February 2010

Asian Countries Not Doing Enough to Help North Korean Defectors

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea – A report released by South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission detailed the plight of female North Korean refugees.  The report was compiled based on interviews and surveys of 274 defectors.

The report specifically discussed how female North Korean defectors suffer sexual violence and are trafficked to China or other countries. 

According to the study, many are abused in refugee camps in China, and about 20% of the female refugees bribed North Korean border guards with money or sex to cross the North Korea-China border.

One defector who lives in hiding in China said, “We were slaves, or worse than that, treated like animals.” 

Others described their lives in Southeast Asia where they lived under horrid conditions in detentions camps, for example, not being able to use the toilets after dark or “buying” a space where they can sit.

South Korea is also being criticized for its handling of North Korean defectors.  The chief criticism is that the South Korea’s policy on defectors is too fragmentary and does not provide substantive aid.

Although vocational training is offered, the programs center on low-paying work, such as cooking and nursing, despite the fact that many of the defectors have received higher education in North Korea. 

The South Korean government also has one-size-fits-all training programs which disregard personal difference of refugees. 

In addition, female defectors also suffer abuse from their South Korean husbands.  This is a matter that needs to be resolved as soon as possible considering that these women already suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder because of the horrible experiences they endured in order to escape, living with constant fear of repatriation or because of a sense of guilt they feel towards family they left behind in North Korea.

More than 16,000 North Koreans have crossed into South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953.  The annual number of defectors is on the rise, and the South Korean Unification Ministry expects the number to top 20,000 in 2010.

Park, Sun-seong, the professor responsible for this study, said, “By revealing the scars left to the North Korean women who fled their country, we hope to shed light on their human rights issues….”
For more information, please see:

AFP – N.Korea women refugees suffer abuse: watchdog – 22 February 2010

The Korean Times – Female Defectors’ Plights – 23 February 2010

Yonhap News – Human rights abuses on NK defector women abound: report – 22 February 2010