Embargo Ordered on Guinea Due to Atrocities

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – West African nations have ordered an arms embargo on Guinea and accused the military government of carrying out “atrocities” and “mass human rights violations” during an anti-government protest last month.

This violence stems from the growing criticism of junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara who seized power in December.  In September, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) condemned atrocities” in which Guinean troops opened fire on civilians during an opposition rally at a stadium in the capital city Conakry.

Human rights groups estimated that 157 people died.  Although the junta puts the toll at 57 saying that the victims were trampled to death rather than shot.  Human rights groups also say that soldiers raped and sexually abused women during the crackdown.  The International Criminal Court (ICC) has recently opened an investigation regarding the deaths.

The European Union has called for Captain Camara to be tried for crimes against humanity and the African Union has called for him to step down.  Leaders with the regional bloc have expressed concern that Guinea’s political crisis is at risk of destabilizing the region.

The ECOWAS chairman, Nigerian President Umaru Yar’adua was called on to take “all necessary measures” to obtain the support of the African Union, European Union and United Nations to enforce an embargo on Guinea.  At a special meeting on Saturday Camara faced an African Union deadline to give a written pledge by midnight Saturday not to run in the upcoming polls.

On Friday, France urged its nationals to leave the country claiming the security situation in Guinea had worsened since the September protests.  Sources say that Criminals have been following travelers from the airport and then robbing them when they arrive home.

Justin Morel Junior, Guinean Information Minister, wrote to Captain Camara explaining that he no longer had the moral strength to be the government’s spokesman.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – France Welcomes Arms Embargo on Guinea – 18 October 2009

AFP – Guinea Junta Names Team to Probe Massacre Decree – 17 October 2009

BBC – Guinea Embargo Over “Atrocities” – 17 October 2009

Reuters – West African Leaders Impose Arms Embargo on Guinea – 17 October 2009

VOA – West African States Order Arms Embargo on Guinea – 17 October 2009

Activist Detained for Speaking Out Against Eviction


By Megan E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Almost one year ago Liang Liwan gave information to Yves Cabannes, head contact of the United Nations Advisory Group on Forced Evictions. The result of her outreach was imprisonment.

A Chinese human rights group reports that Liwan has been in police custody since September 23, 2009 based on her attempt to contact officials within the United Nations regarding forced eviction and demolition in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. It was also reported that on October 3, Liwan was moved to an undisclosed location thereby leaving her family with no knowledge of her whereabouts or wellbeing.   

Liang’s imprisonment is based on information she conveyed to the United Nations Advisory Group on Forced Evictions in 2008 making them aware of the impending demolition of her home and several others by the local government. Following her contact with the United Nations, Liang’s husband was seriously injured in a beating by thugs in December of 2008.

In mid-August 2009, a conference was held at the School of Public Management of Zhejiang University, where Liang spoke about social problems facing ordinary Chinese citizens with personal antidotes to discuss along with her research. The United Nations informant Liang reached out to, Yves Cabannes, attended the conference. The event was organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, a German foundation, the Centre Marc Bloch, a German social sciences research institution, and the Zhejiang University.

After the conference, Liang invited Cabannes and others to see the site of her home, which is being requisitioned by the government for expansion of the city’s East Railway Station. Liang gave them a tour of her home and while showing conference attendees her house, the police arrived and took Cabannes and others to the local police substation for questioning. Liang escaped and returned to the outskirts of Beijing to her temporary home, which she was renting while petitioning the government.

According to Amnesty International, sources say that on September 22, 2009, three men and one woman forced their way into Liang’s temporary home and attempted to force her to sign an agreement for the demolition. Liang refused. Liang was then detained in Beijing by officials and security police belonging to the city of Hangzhou. It is also reported that police may have threatened Liang’s husband stating that they were detaining his wife. 

It was then that Liang was taken to Hangzhou on September 27 and detained at two different locations before being transferred to an undisclosed location on October 3.

Human rights activists are concerned that Liang’s case is sadly one of millions of Chinese citizens who have been forcibly displaced by local governments across China in recent years.

For more information, please see:

Human Rights in China – Activist Detained After Telling UN Expert of Impending Eviction  – October 7, 2009 

United Nations – World Report 2009 – China – January 14, 2009

Center on Housing Rights & Evictions – Forced Evictions – Violations of Human Rights – Report 2007.

ActionAid Report States Many in India Hungry


By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

NEW DELHI, India– In a development charity’s report released to coincide with UN World Food Day; countries such as India and China have been praised for their efforts to tackle hunger.  However the ActionAid International’s “anti-hunger scorecard”, which ranks government efforts to combat hunger, critiques India, amongst other countries for their inaction in attempting to alleviate the problem of providing the “Right to Adequate Food” to their people.  This report ranks 51 countries where ActionAid has a presence or has data reliable enough to make comparisons.

The ‘Right to Adequate Food’ comes from the UN’s International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.  The right to adequate food is a human right for all, to have regular and permanent access, either directly or by financial means to adequate and sufficient food.  

The study estimates that globally one billion people are malnourished, which roughly represents one in seven of the world’s population.  The report criticizes the economically liberal India.  It states the ranks of the hungry have swelled by 30 million people since the mid-1990s, with nearly half of children in the country being under weight, placing it at number 22 after countries such as Ethiopia and Lesotho.  The study also reveals a contrast in the country where although India was ranked in the top three developing countries on the social protection indicator, many have gone hungry as a result of “poor implementation.”  India ranks sixth in developing nations in legal framework for addressing hunger and food rights, but the poor implementation of these laws and schemes has made it futile and difficult for the common man to have a right to adequate food.  Babu Matthew, director of ActionAid India said “The dark side of India’s economic growth has been that the excluded groups have been further marginalized, compounding their hunger, malnutrition and even leading to starvation deaths.”

The report notes the reason hunger in India exists is not because there is not enough food, but the population does not have access to it, and the exploitation of natural resources has led to “horrific displacement” of people, making many in the country poverty stricken.  Anne Jellema, the international policy director for ActionAid stated “It is the role of the state and not the level wealth, that determines progress on hunger.”  

Jellema also implored that “Massive and urgent support to poor farmers, and social welfare programmes for vulnerable groups, are needed to reverse growing global hunger. At the World Food Summit next month, donor countries need to announce an additional 23 billion dollars to support these measures.”

For information, please see:

BBC News-Mixed Messages in Hunger Report– 16 October 2009

Kaiser Family Foundation- World Food Day Marked, ActionAid International Releases Hunger Report– 16 October 2009

Hindustan Times- Half of India’s Children Malnourished, say NGO Report-17 October 2009

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations- Right to Food

Report Suggests Hezbollah Being Supplied with Rockets from Syria

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel– Israel’s Channel 10 news agency reported that Syria has given Hezbollah more than a quarter of its rocket arsenal, including missiles capable of hitting anywhere in Israel.  Israel cites the Kuwaiti al Jaridanewspaper as the source of its report.

A senior Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) source said on Tuesday that Syria has made a strategic decision to make available to Hezbollah every type of military weaponry it has at its disposal.  The Israeli report surfaced after an explosion took place in a Hezbollah operative village in which five persons were killed.  Following the blast, President Shimon Peres said that Hezbollah was turning Lebanon into a “powder keg,” and the IDF released footage showing apparent arms transfer activity at the home.  The IDF photos show persons, possibly Hezbollah operatives, removing something resembling a four meter long missile from the depot, loading it onto a truck and moving it to what is believed to be a hiding place.

Citing this example as Syrian involvement with Hezbollah, the senior IDF source said that weapons are now being smuggled from Syria into Lebanon on a regular basis.  As the source explained, “Iran pays, Syria smuggles and Hezbollah receives.”

Israeli security officials believe that Hezbollah has an arsenal of more than 40,000 rockets, many of which are stored at 300 storage facilities spread throughout Shi’ite villages in southern Lebanon.  Israeli military sources have said that “Syria feels quite comfortable.  There is no international pressure on Damascus to break off its ties with Iran or the ‘axis of evil.’  It pays no price for its role in the smuggling.”  The perception in Israel is that Syria is showing a total disregard for the international community by engaging in an escalation of continued military aid to Hezbollah.

The Israeli report also noted that Iranian and Syrian military officers are not only training Hezbollah operatives to use the new missiles, but are also assisting them to set up early warning stations in the Lebanese mountains to alert them when Israeli air force jets enter Lebanese airspace.

Despite the Israeli report however, it is worthwhile to note that the UN Security Council renewed the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon’s (UNIFL) mandate in southern Lebanon a month ago and has not altered the agreement, suggesting that the Security Council considers the peacekeepers efforts there sufficient.

For more information, please see:

Jerusalem Post- Syrian Long Range Missiles in Lebanon– 15 October 2009

United Press International- Report Says Syria Gave Hezbollah Rockets– 15 October 2009

Ha’aretz- Iran Pays, Syria Smuggles, and Hezbollah Receives Weapons– 14 October 2009

Associated Press- Exploding Shell Caused Blast at Hezbollah Home– 13 October 2009

Tsvangirai to Boycott Unity Government; Bennett’s Terrorism Trial Put on Hold

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe – The trial of Roy Bennett, the Movement for Democratic Change’s (MDC) nominee for Deputy Agriculture Minister, was postponed on Saturday in order to allow his lawyers time to prepare their case.

The trial was originally scheduled to start on Monday in a lower court in Mutare, about 185 miles from the capital of Harare.  However, on Wednesday prosecutor’s filed a new indictment moving the case to the high court.  Bennett was sent back to jail and released on bail on Friday.

Bennett faced charges of possessing weapons for sabotage, banditry, and terrorism.  According to the new indictment, he also faces charges of inciting people to commit insurgency, sabotage, terrorism, and banditry, an offense that carries a sentence of life in prison.  The weapons charge is punishable by death.

Beatrice Mtetwa, Bennett’s lawyer, said, “The High Court of Zimbabwe rules are very clear: There must be at least 10 working days of notice before the trial date commences.  We really want him tried, but we want everything to be done in terms of the law.”

Prior to Bennett’s release on Friday, Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister, made an announcement that he would boycott the unity government by not participating in meetings with other government members.

Tsvangirai believes that the postponement of Bennett’s trial “is to deliberate and frustrate him, to frustrate [the] constituency, to send the message, ‘Look, we can [govern] unilaterally.’  And that is what we are trying to oppose.”

The Prime Minister did emphasize, however, that he was not pulling out of the unity government.  He made it clear that the MDC would “disengage” from ZANU-PF, President Robert Mugabe’s party, “until such time as confidence and respect are restored.”

Tsvangirai’s decision to disengage from the unity government is also based on ZANU-PF’s lack of commitment to fully resolve all issues and completely implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

“Instead, we have seen total abuse of and disrespect of the GPA and in particular the MDC,” said Tsvangirai.  Bennett’s re-arrest ‘has brought home the self-evident fact that ZANU-PF sees us as a junior, fickle and unserious movement.”

A new trial date has not yet been set.

For more information, please see:

AllAfrica – Country in Crisis as MDC Cuts Off Contact with Zanu PF – 17 October 2009

CNN – Opposition Official’s Trial on Hold in Zimbabwe – 17 October 2009

Daily Nation – Trial of Tsvangirai Ally Put Off – 17 October 2009

VOA – Zimbabwe PM Tsvangirai ‘Disengages’ From ZANU-PF Governing Partner – 17 October 2009

Xinhua – Zimbabwean Prosecutors Put Off Bennett’s Terrorism Trial – 17 October 2009