Iran Plans Construction of Ten New Nuclear Plants

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On November 29 the Iranian government began making arrangements for the construction of ten new uranium enrichment plants. The government ordered the country’s nuclear agency to begin work on five sites with five more to be located within the next two months. The announcement comes two days after the country was rebuked by the United Nations for covering up a uranium enrichment plant.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, voted twenty five to three with seven abstentions to condemn Iran’s nuclear program. The resolution called for the Islamic Republic to cease their enrichment of uranium and resolve any remaining questions about its nuclear activities. Additionally, the resolution reads that Iran must open its facilities to further inspection and to provide assurances that it is not operating any secret nuclear research sites.

Iran’s decision to build ten new plants sparked controversy throughout the Western world. The White House released a statement saying that this action was “yet another serious violation of Iran’s clear obligations.” Great Britain’s government reacted similarly, announcing that news of Iran’s actions was “a matter of serious concern” and was possibly a “deliberate breach of five UN security council resolutions.” Iran, however, claims that their actions are peaceful and allowed under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

According to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, if Iran builds ten additional nuclear plants the country would have enough uranium to produce twenty thousand megawatts of electricity within six years. However, Iran’s capability of accomplishing such a goal has come into question. According to Gary Sick, a professor of Middle East studies at Columbia University, given the pace of production and installation of working centrifuges in Iran, the process would both be extremely costly and take approximately twenty to thirty years to complete.

While Sick doubts that Iran has the capabilities to build ten new plants, Ahmadinejad insists that this goal can be accomplished if the new facilities incorporate new, more efficient centrifuges that Iran has not yet employed. The Iranian President insists that “new high-capacity centrifuges have been designed by the Islamic Republic of Iran that can carry out the task in fewer numbers.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – UN Rebuke ‘Forced’ New Iran Plans – 30 November 2009

Los Angeles Times – Iran Plans 10 More Large Nuclear Plants – 30 November 2009

BBC – Iran ‘Planning 10 New Uranium Enrichment Sites’ – 29 November 2009

Guardian – Iran Defies United Nations With Plans For 10 New Nuclear Plants – 29 November 2009

Officials Dismiss Claims of the Toxic Dangers Surrounding Bhopal


By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia     

 

BHOPAL, India- Indian officials have dismissed claims that the pesticide plant at Bhopal is still leaking dangerous toxins into the drinking water.  Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated that the plant was safe, contradicting claims in a new report.  

On 3 December 1984, thousands died after 40 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate gaw leaked from the US-owned plant.  Over half a million people were exposed to the gas, and as a result have suffered life-long chronic illness.

Speaking in an interview ahead of the 25th anniversary of the disaster, Mr. Chouhan said that the neighboring communities near the site had been supplied with clean drinking water.  “It took some time…But we managed this quickly, and we can say that we are providing 100% clean water.”

These statements are contradicted by a report by the Bhopal Medical Appeal (BMA) and the Sambhavna Clinic.  Their report says there is evidence that “there are still high levels of toxic chemicals in the drinking water supply in 15 communities near the old Union Carbide pesticide plant”.  The report says the water around the factory site in Bhopal still possesses unsafe levels of carbon tetrachloride, other organic pollutants, and other heavy metals.

The report claims that as a result, “the populations in the areas surveyed have high rates of birth defects, rapidly rising cancer rates, neurological damage, chaotic menstrual cycles and mental illness.”

While Mr. Chouhan insists that clean water was supplied to communities without running water, many residents said the water was insufficient and delivered too infrequently, forcing them to continue relying on contaminated ground water.

Sathyu Sarangi, of the Sambhavna Clinic said, “We have ample evidence, that there are many toxins still in the ground that have never been cleaned up…Each time it rains, the rain washes those toxins into the ground water, which many people still draw to drink.”

The Indian government has also drawn the ire of the people by attempting to turn the disused factory into a tourist spot. India’s environment minister, Jairam Ramesh mocked activists on a visit to the city by picking up a handful of waste and saying “see, I am alive.”

Sarangi says the government has been attempting to lure Dow Chemical, Union Carbide’s successor back to India and secure $1 billion of investment. In return, says Sarangi, the government plans to allow Dow to evade its responsibility to clean up the Bhopal plant site.  She said “This is all about the money. “Politicians in India would rather do this than fight for people who suffered.”

 

For information, please see:

BBC News- Officials Dismiss Claims Bhopal Site is Leaking Toxins–  1 December 2009

Guardian.co.uk- Bhopal Water Still Toxic 25 Years After Deadly Gas Leak, Study Finds– 1 December 2009

Nzherald.co.nz- Bhopal a Poisoned City 25 Years On– 2 December 2009

Sri Lankan Government Fully Releases IDP’s from Camps


By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reproter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The Sri Lankan government has at least conceded to and begun releasing the remaining internally displaced persons from war-time refugee camps.  Over 120,000 Tamil ethnic minorities have been taking refuge in government-run camps since the late defeat of the Tamil Tiger insurgency group this May.  Despite international pressure from the U.N. and various NGO’s and other human rights organizations, the Sri Lankan government has been obstinate in the full release of IDP’s from the refugee camps. 

 The Sri Lankan government has cited concerns that estranged Tamil Tigers may be hiding among the civilian Tamils.  To supposedly ameliorate the potential problems of enemy militants among the non-combatant nationals, the Sri Lankan government executed a comprehensive screening program to identify and remove Tamil Tigers from the refugee camps.  The Sri Lankan government also claimed that landmines could be located in the vicinities outside of the refugee camps and refused to release IDP’s en masse until all of them were located and safely defused or detonated.  The effectiveness of these safety measures does not seem to have been reported, but, assuming the honesty of the Sri Lankan government, its willingness of to at last release IDP’s suggests success.  

Although the Sri Lankan government has finally folded to international pressure, myriad concerns persist.  Transport out of the camps poses a significant obstacle for many who were taken to camps far away from their home.  Also, many people who have had their homes destroyed by the war or monsoon season no longer have a place to go.  Many have opted to stay in the camps, since evacuation is not compulsory.  Rather, all restrictions on IDP’s have been lifted, enabling them to enter and exit the camp areas at their whim.  

Although the camp areas are essentially open ground for the IDP’s, Sri Lankan officials have issued statements declaring that the security levels within the camps will not decrease.  

The decision to release IDP’s comes after many unfulfilled promises by the Sri Lankan government.  The full release is a significant step towards the government actively reinstituting the liberties it took from hundred-thousands of Tamil ethnic minorities by subjecting them to the derisory conditions of the refugee camps.  IDP’s continually voiced complaints about unlivable environments and a scarcity of food, clothes, and shelter.  Furthermore, the monsoon season of the summer months made the transportation of aid and other amenities quite difficult.  

Following the recent release of IDP’s, the Sri Lankan government aspires to close the refugee camps completely by the beginning of 2010.  


For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Sri Lanka opens Tamil Camps – 1 December 2009

BBC News – Sri Lanka war refugees leaving military camps – 1 December 2009

The Globe and Mail – Tamil refugees free to leave Sri Lankan Camps – 1 December 2009 

Peruvian Police Lie to Cover Up Impunity

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

LIMA, Peru-Peru’s police chief was forced to fire his top organized crime investigator yesterday after evidence surfaced that he and several other police officials deliberately invented a story to divert attention from unlawful police killings. Police lied when they announced that they had broken up a criminal gang who roamed the Andes that killed peasant farmers and drained fat from their dead bodies to sell to European cosmetics manufacturers.

General Felix Murga went so far as to claim to have arrested four members of the “international criminal network,” responsible for thirty to sixty murders per year in the Huanuco province. Medical experts were skeptical about the validity of the story from the beginning, saying that there is no black market for human fat.

Government officials now believe that the police force was trying to divert attention from allegations that officers killed forty-six suspects in 2007 and 2008. The former deputy interior minister, Carlos Basombrio stated that “they were mainly trying to cover up the tremendous revelation of extrajudicial killings of criminals in the town of Trujillo.”

The police played a video of a suspect confessing to the “fat trafficking” scheme at the original press conference. The police even displayed two soft drink bottles full of what they claimed to be human fat sold for nearly 10,000 pounds per liter. Victims were reportedly lured into a jungle hut where they were bludgeoned to death, dismembered, and then candles were used to melt fat off of torsos.

Investigators in Huanuco complained that they were excluded from investigating the case and now believe that the four men arrested carried out one murder, linked to the cocaine trade. Investigators say that the cocaine traffickers in custody bottled the fat of the murder victim to intimidate rival drug traffickers.

The investigation into the “fat-trafficking” story began after an unnamed police official was quoted on Monday in a newspaper saying that local police were surprised about the allegations because they knew them “not to be true.”

For more information, please see:

AFP-Officer Dismissed in Peru “human-fat” Killings-2 December 2009

BBC-Peru Officer Suspended Over Human Fat Killer’s Lie-2 December 2009

USA Today-Peru’s Kill-For-Fat Gang May Be Deadly Police Hoax-1 December 2009

Taylor Concedes, But Not Too Much

By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa Desk

THE HAGUE, Netherlands-This past week in the Charles Taylor Trial, prosecutors were able to receive admissions from Taylor that may prove crucial to supporting their case against him for committing war crimes. Filling in for special prosecutor Brenda Hollis, who has been severely ill, was Nicholas Koumjian who lead the cross-examination of Taylor last week.

During the course of the cross-examination, Taylor admitted that he sent his Chief of Protocol, Musa Sesay, to accompany a Sierra Leonean rebel commander to Burkina Faso in 1998. Despite the admission, Taylor was sure to deny additional allegations that he helped the rebel, Sam Bockarie, transport arms and ammunition through Liberia for use by rebel forces in Sierra Leone.

Taylor explained that he sent Sesay to act as an interpreter for Bockarie during his visit with President Blaise Campaore in Burkina Faso. Taylor however agreed that Bockarie was under a UN travel ban at the time of the visit, and despite the ban, he still approved Bockarie’s passage through Liberia.  The prosecution has been trying to gather evidence to support the alleged relationship that existed between Taylor and RUF commander Bockarie. Witnesses have testified that Bockarie used to take orders from Taylor, but Taylor has repeatedly denied these allegations.

This past week also saw Taylor confirm his involvement in bringing together Sierra Leonean Rebel commanders to reconcile their differences. It is alleged that Taylor orchestrated the reconciliation between the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) with the plans for a military takeover of Sierra Leone.

Taylor denied this allegation, and further explained that his purpose of uniting the commanders was to ensure the success of the peace agreement between the government and the rebel groups. When asked why the Sierra Leonean Government was not invited to this meeting, Taylor said, “Because the government of Sierra Leone was not part of the issues between them. There was bad blood between groups and their purpose was to sort out that bad blood.”

For more information please see:

Charles Taylor Trial – Charles Taylor Helped Sierra Leonean Rebel Commanders Reconcile Their Differences, But Not For a Military Takeover of The Country, He Says- 26 November 2009

Charles Taylor Trial – Charles Taylor Says He Was A Peace Mediator– 28 November 2009

Charles Taylor Trial – Taylor Admits He Sent His Chief To Accompany A Sierra Leonean Rebel Commander To Burkina Faso – 25 November 2009