Niger Delta Peace Talks are “Frank and Fruitful”

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – Formal peace talks began on Saturday between Nigeria’s main militant group and the country’s president for the first time since it declared an indefinite cease-fire last.

President Umaru Yar’Adua called the talks with the ex-chiefs of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) “frank and fruitful.”   MEND is one of the main rebel groups in the oil region.

For over three years, militants have waged a violent campaign against facilities, saying they are fighting for a greater share of the oil wealth for the local communities.

Henry Okah et Farah Dagogo represented MEND at the talks.  He said in a statement that the two hours of talks were “frank, cordial and useful.”

“This meeting heralds the beginning of serious, meaningful dialogue between MEND and the Nigerian government to deal with and resolve root issues that have long been swept under the carpet,” read Okah’s statement.

Wole Soyinka, Nigerian writer and Nobel Literature price winner also attended the talks.

This past June President Yar’Adua offered amnesty to rebels who surrendered their arms.  Even though MEND did not take initially did not take part in the amnesty, it declared an indefinite ceasefire in October to allow these peace talks to proceed.  Since the the main field commanders and thousands of gunmen agreed to the ceasefire, MEND has been severely weakened.

The government has proposed a massive infrastructure development program for the impoverished region.  Boy Loaf, a former top rebel commander, says development of the Niger Delta should start from the creeks or rebels will have an excuse to continue their attacks.

Activists warn that the former fighters could return to the creeks and resume the attacks if these talks do not quickly lead to changes in the oil-rich region.

“They should start the development from that creek because the  creek is the only hideout for our people . . . [S]o that the people can have a sense of belonging,” said Bay loaf.

The rebel activities in the Niger Delta reduced Nigeria’s oil output by almost one third, from 2.6 million barrels a day in 2006 to around 1.7 million barrels.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Nigerian President in “Fruitful” Oil Rebel Talks – 15 November 2009

AP – Nigeria Militants Start Peace Talks with President – 15 November 2009

Reuters – Nigerian Militants Say Peace Talks Start with Govt – 15 November 2009

Telegraph – Niger Delta Peace Talks Raise Hopes of Oil Boost and an End to Kidnappings – 15 November 2009

VOA – Nigerian President Holds Talks with Rebel Group – 15 November 2009

South African Mercenaries Training Guinea Troops

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

CONAKRY, Guinea – According to an unnamed Western diplomat, Guinea President Moussa Dadis Camara’s junta troops are being trained by South African mercenaries.

Violence reported in the capital led to news that Guinea forces were being trained.

The South African government is investigating reports that as many as 50 South African mercenaries are working with the Guinea coup leaders.  So far the country’s intelligence agencies have been unable to confirm the reports, a South African senior official said.

“We have instructions that they are mercenaries who are training people of the same ethnic origin as the head of the coup d’etat,” said the Western diplomat.  “We already have more and more reports of abductions and violence in the streets of Conakry.”

The recent training has led to fear of ethnic warfare.  On September 28 Camara’s forces raped and killed more than 150 protestors in a sports stadium.  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed a three-man African-led commission to investigate the incidents.  Since then there has been little violence.

International mediation is unlikely to resolve the political deadlock between Captain Camara’s National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) and the opposition.  If mediation fails the country could potentially face a new bout of unrest.  Since the September 28 violence opposition leaders have called on Captain Camara to step down immediately.

Camara shows no signs of surrendering power.

“I think it’s unrealistic.  You can’t start a negotiation by saying ‘I don’t want power,'” said Guinea Foreign Minister Alexandre Ceceloua in response to the opposition’s demands in Ouagadougou, where Blaise Campaore is leading peace talks this week.

Campaore is the international community’s last hope at facilitating peace.

President Moussa Dadis Camara took power in a bloodless coup d’etat on December 23, 2008 when longtime President Lansana Conte died.

For more information, please see:

Kuwait Times – Mediation Unlikely to Solve Guinea Crisis – 15 November 2009

UPI – Mercenaries Said Training Guinea Troops – 14 November 2009

The Wall Street Journal – Hired Guns Help Junta in Guinea – 14 November 2009

Xinhua – Guinea’s Ruling CNDD Delegation Returns After Ouagadougou Crisis Talks – 14 November 2009

South Korea to Continue Aid Despite Naval Clash

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea– Despite North Korea’s threats of “merciless military measures” after a naval clash between the two Koreas earlier this week, South Korea said they remain committed to providing humanitarian aid to the North.

The North and South Korean navies clashed by the disputed maritime border on Tuesday, leaving a North Korean ship damaged.  Since then, the two countries have been accusing each other of illegally entering territorial waters and firing the first shot.

Korea navy  South Korean ships patrolling their waters.  Courtesy of AP.

Both sides have been demanding an apology, and North Korea has threatened South Korea with military actions over this naval skirmish. 

Nevertheless, the South Korean Unification Ministry released a statement saying, “With regard to North Korea’s request for humanitarian aid…[t]here is no change in the government’s stance.”

The North had asked for 100,000 tons of food back in October.  Furthermore, farmers and leaders are pressuring the South Korean government to send rice to North Korea, especially because there is a chronic oversupply of rice in the South.

Choi Young-ok, an official from a South Korean NGO, said, “Rice is the most suitable item for resumption of humanitarian aid to North Korea as it is the main staple grain for Koreas.  The [South Korean] government’s offer of 10,000 tons of corn is not nearly enough.” 

The South had stopped sending rice aid to the North after a new administration took over earlier this year. 

South Korean Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said, “The South had spent 200 30 300 billion won each year to send the rice under the previous administrations…Resumption of such massive aid will be determined after sufficient dialogue with the North, in consideration of inter-Korea relations.”

The U.S. has asked the North not to escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula, and the UN Secretary-General is urging the two Koreas to resolve this dispute through peaceful dialogue. 

UN spokesman said, “[Secretary-General] has called for maximum restraint by both parties.  The incident highlights the need to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue and in a peaceful manner.”

For more information, please see:

The Korea Herald – Protests spread to restart N.K. rice aid – 12 November 2009

The Korea Times – Seoul to Offer Aid to NK Despite Clash – 11 November 2009

NYT – North Korea Issues New Threat After Naval Clash – 13 November 2009

Rights Activist Arrested in Western Sahara

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

RABAT, Morocco – Western Sahara rights activist Aminatou Haidar, 42, was arrested on Friday after arriving in Laayoune, capital of Western Sahara, from the Canary Islands.  On Saturday Moroccan authorities ejected her to the Spanish archipelago.

Haidar is accused of being linked to the Polisario rebel group.  She was arrested for allegedly refusing to follow police formalities.  According to Haidar, she was arrested at the airport when she listed Western Sahara as her country of residence on an entry form at Laayoune airport.

“After her stubborn refusal to follow normal police procedures and renouncing her Moroccan citizenship upon her arrival at Laayoune airport…Aminatou Haidar was sent back by plane Saturday to the Canary Islands,” said a security source.

Haidar, a mother of two, lives with her children in Laayoune.  She threatened to go on a hunger strike if she is not allowed to fly back on Sunday.  It is unclear whether or not she will be allowed to return because Moroccan authorities confiscated her passport when they arrested her.

A leading defender of human rights of the people in Western Sahara, known as Sahrawis, Haidar received the 2008 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Laureate.  Most recently she received the Civil Courage Prize from The Train Foundation in New York on October 21.

“This prize gives me the courage to pursue the non-violent struggle that I have been leading since I was 23,” she said.  “I have been threatened with arrest on my return.”

In 2005 Haidar became a symbol for non-violent protest when she nearly killed herself by going on a hunger strike after Moroccan authorities imprisoned her for nearly seven months.  Some of her admirers call her “Sahrawi Gandhi.”

Haidar frequently criticizes Morocco’s annexation of Western Sahara after Spanish colonial rule ended in 1975.  Her critique prompted the Polisario to rise up for independence of the territory.  Members of a seven-person group are to appear before a military tribunal in Rabat on charges of supporting secession after returning from a visit to Polisario refugee camps in Algeria on October 8.

Last week, King Mohammed VI warned “opponents of the territorial integrity of Morocco” that he would be cracking down, referring to Sahrawis supporting the Polisario Front.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Western Sahara Rights Activist Expelled From Morocco – 14 November 2009

AllAfrica – Human Rights Awardee Detained, Deported By Morocco – 14 November 2009

AFP – Polisario Militant Arrested in Morocco – 13 November 2009

ASVDH (The Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations) – RFK Center Condemns Morocco’s Detention of Decorated Human Rights Defender, Amintou Haidar – 13 November 2009

ASVDH – Western Saharan Activist Wins Prestigious RFK Human Rights Award – 16 September 2008

Nepalese Police Face-Off With Protesters

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KATHMANDU, Nepal – Thousands of Maoist activists gathered outside the capital in Nepal at the main government headquarters, where police claim protesters had tried to enter a prohibited area. According to a local news source, the rioters were calling for the resignation of the president.

Nepal riot police clash with protesters: witnesses Protesters advancing as police try and contain the riot in Katmandu. Photograph courtesy of The New York Times.

The police fired tear gas at a crowd of protesters who were blocking access to administrative offices in the capital. A Nepalese reporter from Republica noted that there were some minor injuries to police officers and picketers. One police officer stated, “We used force after the protesters tried to breach our security cordon,” said deputy superintendent of police Kanchha Bhandari. He also stated that 14 rounds of tear gas were fired.

Before violence erupted, demonstrators began gathering in Katmandu before dawn. Many of them arrived by bus from outlying towns and villages. As the crowd mounted, thousands of heavily armed National Police officers were mobilized.

The protesters were led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the former guerrilla fighter better known as Prachanda, who had been the leader of the 10-year Maoist insurgency that overthrew the Nepalese monarchy in 2006. Earlier in the week, Prachanda warned the government that he and his supporters could be forced to “take up arms” if the government used the police and military to block demonstrations, according to a local news agency.

Most civil servants and politicians were able to reach their offices in the Singha Durbar, although The Himalayan Times reported that local schools were closed for the day.

Prachanda and other Maoist leaders assert that the general defied a peace accord, which was backed by the United Nations, that would have integrated about 20,000 former guerilla soldiers (a large percentage of which are unemployed) into the Nepalese military. Protests such as this one are not unique occurrences.  Prachanda and his supporters have held several mass riots, demanding the resignation of the government and the removal of the president.

For more information, please see:

NY Times – Protesters Clash With Police in Nepal – November 12, 2009 

Yahoo! World News – Nepal riot police clash with protesters: witnesses – November 13, 2009 

Thaindian – Maoist protesters, police clash outside Nepal presidential palace – November 12, 2009