Sunni Party Backs Off Threat to Boycott Iraq Election

By: Bobby Rajabi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On February 26 the National Dialogue Front, a prominent Sunni political party backed off previous threats to boycott Iraq’s coming parliamentary elections. The action took place after threats from rival parties to threaten to have the leader of the party charged with terrorism. Additionally, in a surprising move, twenty thousand former soldiers of Saddam Hussein were reinstated by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Saleh al-Mutlak, the party’s leader, claims that will no longer boycott the March 7 election because of the popular support received from their members. He said that “if Iraqiya (the coalition that the National Dialogue Front is a part of) doesn’t succeed, the whole of Iraq will be in chaos.” Mutlak explained that “(the party leadership) don’t want to be seen as the reason behind that chaos.”

Mutlak was the most prominent of hundreds of Sunni and secular candidates who were banned from running in the parliamentary elections. The individuals were banned for allegedly having ties to former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party. This determination was made by a commission composed of Shi’ites who are also participating in the election.

The executive director the commission, named the Justice and Accountability Commission, said that Mutlak will face criminal charges for funding and backing an armed group of former members of the Baath Party. Ali Falial al-Lami explained that the commission was in possession of confessions and they “were documented and endorsed  by members of the Iraqi judiciary, and the suspects who gave the confessions are still in custody”

Mutlak and other members of the National Dialogue Front have long accused the al-Maliki government of harassing and unfairly targeting the party. He claims that some of his bodyguards were arrested and tortured until they made false confessions regarding the party leader.

The Iraqi Prime Minister has also come under fire his decision to reinstate twenty thousand former army officers who served under Saddam Hussein. Mayson al-Damalogi, a spokesman for Iraqiya, explained the coalition’s skepticism. He said that “this is purely a means of trying to gain more votes.” The decision to reinstate the officers was confirmed by Ministry of Defense spokesman Mohammed al-Askari.

For more information, please see:

Washington Post – Sectarian Tensions Rise Before Iraq Elections – 26 February 2010

New York Times – Iraq to Rehire 20,000 Hussein-Era Army Officers – 25 February 2010

Reuters – Prominent Iraqi Sunni Ends Party’s Poll Boycott – 25 February 2010

Voice of America – Key Iraqi Sunni Politician Decides Not to Boycott – 25 February 2010

Rohingya Muslims Face Further Persecution

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COX’S BAZAAR, Bangladesh – The Rohingya ethnic minority, for unexplained reasons, has been enduring a significant crackdown in Bangladesh as of recent.  The Rohingya ethnic minority comprises one of the most persecuted peoples on the planet.

Human rights violations against the ethnic group began attracting international attention in the late 70’s.  In 1978, great friction between the Rohingya ethnic minority and the majority group in erupted into a Myanmar government military operation.  As a result of the government’s persistent deprivation of the Rohingyas’ human rights, the ethnic minority abruptly began fleeing the country into Bangladesh.  In the late 80’s, subsequent to the mass exodus out of Myanmar, newly established laws of citizenship officially rendered the Rohingya Muslims stateless.  The laws stripped the Rohingya’s right to a nationality.

The latest waves of discrimination against the Rohingya Muslims expose them to much violence and prejudice.  Both local residents and agents of the state have been driving the stateless Rohingyas out of their homes in the Cox’s Bazaar region of Bangladesh.  Among the approximately 220,000 Rohingyas currently residing in Bangladesh, those living outside of makeshift refugee camps may be subject to beatings and arrest.  Myanmar’s border security has also been reported to mistreat escapees headed to Bangladesh.

The current rise in actions depriving the rights of the Rohingya ethnic minority in Myanmar represents a reprise from many similar situations in the 90’s.  The U.N. intervened when the Myanmar government staunchly enforced citizenship laws which denied Rohingya Muslims their nationality, the right to travel, the right to marry, and other civil and political rights.

Despite efforts by various human rights groups, in all of Bangladesh, only 28,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority are currently residing in makeshift refugee camps.  These 28,000 are a part of a much larger body of about 220,000 unregistered Rohingya Muslims.  The fraction makes fightfully clear just how unwanted the Rohingya minority is in Myanmar.

700,000 Rohingya ethnic minorities currently reside in Bangladesh.  The Rohingya Muslims have significant linguistic, cultural, and religious discrepancies with the Buddhist majority of Myanmar.  None of the 700,000 Rohingyas are recognized as individuals under Myanmar’s law, and are subject to Myanmar’s systematic oppression.  While the repression of the Rohingyas continues to attract the criticism of the international community and human rights groups, their ultimate fate remains uncertain.

The Rohingya ethnic minority, for unexplained reasons, has been enduring a significant crackdown in Bangladesh as of recent.  The Rohingya ethnic minority comprises one of the most persecuted peoples on the planet.
Human rights violations against the ethnic group began attracting international attention in the late 70’s.  In 1978, great friction between the Rohingya ethnic minority and the majority group in erupted into a Myanmar government military operation.  As a result of the government’s persistent deprivation of the Rohingyas’ human rights, the ethnic minority abruptly began fleeing the country into Bangladesh.  In the late 80’s, subsequent to the mass exodus out of Myanmar, newly established laws of citizenship officially rendered the Rohingya Muslims stateless.  The laws stripped the Rohingya’s right to a nationality.
The latest waves of discrimination against the Rohingya Muslims expose them to much violence and prejudice.  Both local residents and agents of the state have been driving the stateless Rohingyas out of their homes in the Cox’s Bazaar region of Bangladesh.  Among the approximately 220,000 Rohingyas currently residing in Bangladesh, those living outside of makeshift refugee camps may be subject to beatings and arrest.  Myanmar’s border security has also been reported to mistreat escapees headed to Bangladesh.
The current rise in actions depriving the rights of the Rohingya ethnic minority in Myanmar represents a reprise from many similar situations in the 90’s.  The U.N. intervened when the Myanmar government staunchly enforced citizenship laws which denied Rohingya Muslims their nationality, the right to travel, the right to marry, and other civil and political rights.
Despite efforts by various human rights groups, in all of Bangladesh, only 28,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority are currently residing in makeshift refugee camps.  These 28,000 are a part of a much larger body of about 220,000 unregistered Rohingya Muslims.  The fraction makes fightfully clear just how unwanted the Rohingya minority is in Myanmar.
700,000 Rohingya ethnic minorities currently reside in Bangladesh.  The Rohingya Muslims have significant linguistic, cultural, and religious discrepancies with the Buddhist majority of Myanmar.  None of the 700,000 Rohingyas are recognized as individuals under Myanmar’s law, and are subject to Myanmar’s systematic oppression.  While the repression of the Rohingyas continues to attract the criticism of the international community and human rights groups, their ultimate fate remains uncertain.


Russian Neo-Nazi Members Sentenced For Ethnic Attacks

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Nine neo-Nazi gang members were sentenced yesterday by a Moscow city court for their role in a string of ethnicity-motivated killings.

The teen-aged defendants, sentenced to twenty-three years in prison for their role in five murders and one attempted murder, belong to an organization called ‘The White Wolves’.  The White Wolves were formed two years ago for the purpose of targeting non-ethnic Russians.  They have gained notoriety for publishing videos of their attacks on the internet.  According to Russian law enforcement authorities, the leader of the White Stripes is an eighteen year old Georgian named Alexi Dzhavakhashvili.

This organization is just one of a number of groups that have interwoven ultra-nationalist and racist ideologies and turned their focus to foreign ethnic groups within Russia.  Evidence presented at their trial demonstrated that they were responsible for eleven murders.  Their primary targets were migrant workers of central Asian ethnicity, as well as foreign students from various African and Asian countries.

The attacks appear to be ideologically motivated to serve the group’s political objectives of forcing non-ethnic Russians out of the country.  In one assault, a immigrant from Kazakhstan was stabbed seventy-three times.  The assault was filmed, with one attacker shouting “Russia for the Russians”.

According to the Russian human rights group SOVA, approximately 60 people were killed and 300 injured in ethnicity-motivated attacks this past year.  Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has seen an steady increase in membership and interest in neo-Nazi and nationalist groups.  The tactics of these nationalist groups include the targeted killings of human rights activists, bombings and arson.

The twenty-three year sentences handed down by the Moscow court were the maximum allowable prison terms for juvenile offenders.

For more information, please see:

AP – 9 Russian neo-Nazis Get Up to 23 Years in Prison – 25 February 2010

BBC – Neo-Nazi skinheads jailed in Russia for racist killings – 25 February 2010

RADIO FREE EUROPE – Russia Court Jails Nine For Ethnic Murder – 25 February 2010

REUTERS – Russian court jails 9 for ethnic murders – 25 February 2010

RIANOVOSTA – Russian White Wolves skinheads jailed for race-hate murders – 25 February 2010

Saudi Women to Argue Cases in Court

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia– Saudi Arabia may soon allow women lawyers to appear in court to argue cases for the first time.

Justice Minister Mohammed al-Essa said the law was part of King Abdullah’s plan to develop the legal system.  As one official suggested, the proposed new law may be issued “in the coming days.”

The proposed new law would allow women to appear in court on family related cases, including divorce and child custody ones.  Currently, female lawyers can only work behind the scenes in government and court offices.  Additionally, if the new legislation passes, Saudi women will be allowed to complete certain legal procedures without the presence of a witness.

Under a system of male guardianship currently in place, Saudi Arabian women are required to be kept separate from men they are not related to.  All women must be veiled to some degree in public.  They are not allowed to drive, and women under the age of 45 must receive permission from a male when they travel.  Opportunities for education and employment are subject to similar restrictions.  Recently however, measures have been taken to ease these and other constraints.

The plan to increase women’s access to courts comes after a Saudi reformer told American media that empowering women in Saudi Arabia is the key to spreading democracy throughout the Arab and Muslim world.

“Democratizing Saudi Arabia is the key to democratizing all Arabs and Muslims,” said Dr. Ali Alyami, the director of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia.  He added that “the best, easiest, cheapest and quickest way to achieve this formidable undertaking is to empower Saudi women…Empowering Saudi women will resonate through Arab and Muslim societies.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News- Saudi Women to be Allowed to Argue Cases in Court– 21 February 2010

Daily Times- Saudi Arabia to Allow Women Lawyers in Courts Soon– 21 February 2010

The Washington Post- New Saudi Law Would Allow Women Lawyers in Court– 20 February 2010

West Papuan Human Rights Lawyer Calls for Peaceful Solutions

By Cindy Trinh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

MANOKWARI, West Papua – A prominent West Papuan human rights lawyer, Yan Christian Warinussy, plans to go on a speaking tour throughout Australia to promote the need for a peaceful solution to the problems in Indonesia’s troubled Papua region.

Warinussy, who won Canada’s John Humphrey Freedom Award in 2005 for his promotion of human rights and democracy, says that the situation in West Papua has been “left to deteriorate far too long.”

He says that the Special Autonomy status granted to Papua by Indonesia in 2001 has proven a failure. Not only that, the heavy militarization of the region has worsened the security situation.

Warinussy stressed the need for dialogue between Jakarta and Papuan representatives.

The need for dialogue became more apparent with the death of Kelly Kwalik, the West Papuan leader and advocate for human rights, on December 16, 2009. A press released from the Indonesian Human Rights Committee (IHRC) called for New Zealand’s support for dialogue in the wake of Kwalik’s death.

Since the death of Kwalik, the territory has experienced an outpouring of grief and anger within the Papuan community.

The IHRC called on Prime Minister John Key and Foreign Minister Murray McCully to support the calls for dialogue to avert further tension and violence in West Papua.

Similar to Warinussy, the IHRC stressed the need for mediated dialogue between Papuan representatives and Jakarta.

However, not much change has happened since the IHRC made its press release public, and Warinussy fears that the human rights situation in Papua continues to deteriorate even more.

He stated: “The human rights situation in West Papua is not good until now. The Special Autonomy, we cannot use that to solve the problem. We need to make peaceful dialogue between Indonesia and Papua – to think again, to plan again, to make sure.”

For more information, please see:
Solomon Star – West Papuan rights lawyer calls for peaceful dialogue with Jakarta – 25 February 2010

Radio New Zealand International – West Papuan rights lawyer calls for peaceful dialogue with Jakarta – 25 February 2010

Scoop Independent News – West Papua: Dialogue Needed Between NZ and Jakarta – 24 December 2009