Iraq to Sue Blackwater

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On January 4 Iraq has filed a lawsuit against Blackwater in a United States court. Another lawsuit will be filed against the US-based private security firm, according to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The charges come amid anger in Iraq over an American court dropping charges against five Blackwater guards. The guards were charged with killing fourteen Iraqi civilians in an unprovoked attack in September 2007.

According to Maliki, “the US Justice Departments has protested” the court’s ruling that the charges be dropped. Maliki also confirmed that Iraq had “formed a committee and filed a case against Blackwater in the United States and will file one here in Iraq.” Without providing elaboration, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said that Iraq had “started to take the necessary measures to bring Blackwater to justice.”

The guards charged in the original case were part of convoy of armored vehicles who were escorting a US State Department vehicle in a Sunni-controlled district in September 2007. They were charged with killing fourteen unarmed Iraqi civilians and wounding eighteen others at a busy Baghdad roundabout using both guns and grenades. Iraq alleges that seventeen people were killed in the action. Blackwater claimed that the convoy was attacked by an explosive device and smalls are fire and the guards were acting in self-defense. Witnesses and victims, however, allege that the Blackwater employees shot indiscriminately.

A US federal judge, Ricardo Urbinia, dismissed the charges against the five Blackwater guards. Urbina concluded that prosecutors had violated the rights of the guards by using incriminating statements they had made under immunity during a US State Department probe. The Iraqi government called this ruling “unacceptable and unjust.”

The immunity was lifted in a bilateral agreement that came into effect in 2009. It is not clear how an Iraqi case against the Blackwater guards or the company itself would get around the immunity that was valid at the time of the September 2007 incident.

Blackwater pulled out of Iraq in May 2009 after the United State State Department refused to renew its contracts. The company subsequently changed its name to Xe Services.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Iraq to Take Blackwater to Court – 5 January 2010

Daily Mail – Iraq Seeks Revenge in Court for the Blackwater Shootout – 5 January 2010

AFP – Iraq Files Case Against Blackwater: PM – 4 January 2010

Reuters – Iraq Will File Lawsuits Against Blackwater – 4 January 2010

Talks to Create Independent Telangana State End Inconclusively

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ANDHRA PRADESH, India – Government talks to carve a new, separate Telangana state out of the large south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh recently failed, concluding with an inconclusive outcome.   The independence discourse has been occurring between numerous political factions and other stakeholders, neither of whom were apparently willing come to an amicable compromise on their position.  However, neither group seems adverse to further consultation among the numerous interested groups.  Ultimately, the talks resulted in an agreement between all involved parties that, despite the dearth of breakthrough progress concerning the independence of the Telangana, the government will take an active role in preserving peace in Andhra Pradesh and quell civilian hostilities over this highly polarizing, significant issue.Subsequent to India’s liberation from the British Empire, movements for an independent Telangana began in the late 1960’s.  The movement created much tension between groups of Indian nationals and incited rife violence, resulting in many deaths.  Although subsequent stages of the movement were not strong enough the propel any important advances, the recent talks in the Indian government appeared to show promise for those eagerly awaiting a decision on the creation of the independent Telangana state.

The recent discussions of craving a Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh have provoked numerous publicized forms of protest and displays of the peoples’ passion for independence.  Conventional rallies and walk-outs occurred throughout many school campuses around south India.  However, suicides and significant striking have caused much panic among the government, political parties, and the civilian population in Andhra Pradesh.  Significant striking essentially shut down the Telangana region in early December.  Furthermore, the president of the TSR, one of the most prominent groups for Telangana’s independence undertook an eleven-day fast which he intended to carry out until his very death if no breakthroughs arose in the talks of state creation.  However, in early December, the Indian government announced that talks to craft the Telangana state would begin, enabling the TSR president to cease his hunger-strike.

Much of the passion for the creation of a separate Telangana state derives from its historical significance in both Muslim and Hindu history.  Also, the region of Telangana never came under direct British rule during the colonial Raj.  The willingness of the people to die for the symbolism behind an independent state, however, continues to compel supporting organizations to fight for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – India’s ‘Tiger of Telangana’ feted – 10 December 2009

India Today – Govt mulls Prez rule if Telangana talks fail – 5 January 2010

Zee News – Telangana: All-party meet fails to break ice – 5 January 2010

Cold Wave In India Kills at Least 100

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DEHLI, India-At least 100 people have died in a cold wave sweeping through northern India. The majority of deaths have occurred in the states of Uttar Pradesh.  In Uttar Pradesh the death toll has reached over 70 people.

Most of the deaths have taken place among the homeless and the elderly, and the local authorities have been asked to arrange shelter for vulnerable citizens.  The region saw its first snow fall on Sunday.  The snowfall which began early was recorded at over 10 centimeters by Sunday evening, with additional snowfall through Tuesday.  Temperatures in the region have been below freezing, with spells of rain bringing down the maximum temperature.  Scores of citizens die in India every year, being ill-equipped to deal with the extreme cold.  Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are among the northern states which have been hit hardest by intense cold weather.

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 25 states that everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, which includes access to housing, medical care,and necessary social services.

In Uttar Pradesh, the victims were mostly poor people who were sleeping on the streets or out in the open.  Uttar Pradesh chief bureaucrat Arun Kumar Gupta said all schools were shut down until Thursday as a health precaution. On Monday, Gupta said state authorities decided to spend 100 million rupees (2.17 million dollars) to hand out free blankets and firewood to the needy in the area.  In India, there are few homeless shelters in Indian cities, and although  blankets and firewood have been distributed,  the authorities’ efforts have been inadequate in the face of the intense cold.

Government spokesman Diwakar Tripathy said an exercise was underway to move the homeless into state-run night shelters.

In addition to cold-related deaths, heavy fog caused by rain and the cold wave resulted in visibility problems which caused two separate train accidents on Saturday, leaving 10 dead, and nearly 50 injured.

According to weather officials, temperatures are expected to stay low over the next few days.

For more information, please see:

BBC News- ‘Dozens of People’ Die in India Cold Wave– 4 January 2010

IBN Live- Cold Wave Grips North India, At Least 100 Dead – 4 January 2010

Associated Foreign Press- More Than 40 Die In India’s Cold Wave: Officials– 4 January 2010

United Nations- Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Zimbabwe Working On New Constitution Representative of The People

By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa Desk

HARARE, Zimbabwe-On Monday a week-long parliamentary caucus was started to begin Zimbabwe’s process of creating a new constitution.  It was revealed today by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change Party Publication that foreign donors had agreed to fund the process of making a new constitution, which would likely lead to “real” multiparty elections. The estimated costs for the entire process are around 3.6 million dollars a month.

Much of today’s time during the caucus was spent on how much money would be distributed to senators and others involved in the process. It is expected that the government will hire around 800 people for high-paying temporary jobs as field officers. These field officer’s jobs would be to ask Zimbabweans what they would like to see in the new constitution.

The goal has been to make this constitution representative of the Zimbabwean people. The actual process of consulting the Zimbabwean people on a new constitution is to begin next week. Many different civic groups have spent weeks training activists to educate communities about the new charter and provide new ideas for it, to ensure the goal of the constitution is met.

Olivia Gumbo, a coordinator for the Zimbabwean Human Rights Association emphasized that her group wants a “people driven document.” “We are talking about the right to participate in the governance issues, the right to vote, the right to speak out your view and also, the freedom of association,” she said.

This new constitution is part of a power-sharing agreement between President Robert Mugabe’s party and Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s party. The new constitution is hoped to end months of confrontation and controversial elections, and lead to “fresh” and fair ones within two years.

For more information please see:

Reuters –South Africa Sees Progress In Slow Zimbabwe Talks – 5 January 2010

Time – Zim MP’s Scramble for Seats On Gravy Train – 5 January 2010

VOA – Drafting Of New Constitution To Begin In Zimbabwe – 5 January 2010

Bulgarian Journalist, Critical of Organized Crime, Gunned Down In Sofia

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

SOFIA, Bulgaria – A Bulgarian investigative journalist and radio host, who has written a number of books exposing the extent and influence of organized crimes in Bulgaria, was killed by a number of unknown gunmen in Bulgaria’s capital city of Sofia today.  Boris Tsankov, 30, was killed at the entrance of a federal government building in the center of the city.  Two of Tsankov’s bodyguards were also wounded.

Tsankov’s books have focused on the influence that organized crime elements hold in Bulgaria.  His most recent book, entitled The Secrets of the Mobsters, resulted in Tsankov receiving a number of death threats in recent years, including the bombing of his home in 2006.  Stefan Bonov, a known criminal leader in the country, was arrested in November of this past year for threatening Tsankov.  Tsankov’s writing have also discussed connections between prominent Bulgarian businessmen and known criminal persons.  In a recent interview, Tskankov claimed to have specific information regarding internal struggles within Bulgaria’s criminal leaders, as well as information gleaned from a meeting he conducted with former Yugoslavian leader Slobodan Milosevic’s son.

Bulgaria has experienced an increased number of targeted killings in 2008.  In all, approximately 150 contract killings have taken place since 2001. Of the suspects arrested in these murders, hardly any have been convicted.

The newly elected center-right government of Bulgaria, led by Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, has promised to do more to prevent these targeted killings and fight the continued existence and influence of organized crime and corruption in the country.  Recently, the European Union has called on this government to do more to fight this corruption and the country’s criminal elements.  Concern over continued corruption recently resulted in the EU cutting large amounts of funding that had been appropriated to Bulgaria.

While Tsankov’s writings appear to be the likely explanation for his assassination, some have suggested others reasons motivations for his killing.  At the time of his death, Tsankov allegedly owed money to a number of parties who had sponsored his radio program.

The government’s investigation into Tsankov’s murder is currently ongoing.

For more information, please see:

IRISH TIMES – Author of book on local mafia shot dead in Bulgaria – 6 December 2010

BBC – Bulgaria journalist Boris Tsankov gunned down in Sofia – 5 December 2010

FINANCIAL TIMES – Gunman kill investigative journalist – 5 January 2010

SOFIA ECHO – Former radio host shot dead in Sofia – 5 January 2010