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

China Divided Over Internet Freedom

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Within the past week, Chinese intellectuals and a government news agency posted two similar media declarations on the Internet.  Both declarations stated the need for more open media, acceptance of new media technologies, and interaction between journalists and audiences.

However, the “Internet Human Rights Declaration” drafted by 15 Chinese intellectuals stipulating ten specific items, including freedom of speech online, disappeared from online viewing soon after its first appearance.

Within two days, the Declaration had been blocked from viewing, and searches of the document on the web, including on China’s biggest search engine called Baidu.com, ended in failure.  This is contrary to President Hu Jintao’s promise at the World Media Summit for more media freedom and protection.

Bei Feng, journalist and one of the drafters of the Declaration, said Chinese government’s increasing severity with Internet censorship is what prompted the drafting of the Declaration. 

Ling Cangzhou, another journalist and drafter of the document said the Declaration’s purpose is to “bring the Chinese people’s attention to the current state of the internet and to stimulate thought on free speech and free media.”  Ling added that the Declaration was drafted within the scope of China’s constitution. 

Contrarily, others feel that China has made progress in protecting free speech online.  For example, criticism of the government can now be found on the web as 300 million Internet users of China have newly but firmly established a culture of “Internet activism” where grievances towards the government are expressed online.  Nevertheless, Chinese officials do maintain a tight control over the Internet, and they do block or filter certain sensitive keywords.

Although China has an iron grip over its web users, online freedom of speech is being encouraged by the authorities because it helps the officials gain a first-hand understanding of the current public sentiment. 

Ironically, there has also been a new movement where Chinese bloggers, despite worries that this could give the authorities the leverage for stricter Internet censorship, are asking for greater government intervention online against those who spread false information online to protect individual’s rights.
For more information, please see:

Asia Times – China torn over Internet freedoms – 8 October 2009

Global Voices Advocacy – China’s Internet: Two Media Declarations – 15 October 2009

Guardian – So, Comrade, tell me: why did you censor my website? – 6 October 2009

Leader of Tonga’s For Women and Families Group Fasts for Women’s Rights

By Cindy Trinh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga – The President of Tonga’s For Women and Families group, Ma’a Fafine Moe Famili’s Betty Blake, has taken a controversial step towards women’s rights. As part of the protest against the Tongan parliament for ignoring women’s rights, Blake has committed herself to fasting until the government makes some significant changes.

Recently, the Tongan government rejected the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). As a result, women who seek refuge from abuse are not receiving the adequate help they need. General Manager Ofa-Ki-Levuka Guttenbeil Likilliki for the Tonga National Centre for Women and Children (TNCWC), an NGO that provides refuge and advocacy for victims of abuse, states that women who seek refuge from abuse have no access to land or financial support because of the Tongan government’s resistance to implement CEDAW.

Tonga’s long history of ignoring women’s rights has brought international human rights concerns. After 15 years of struggling for women’s rights, Betty Blake has resorted to prayer and fasting.

Betty Blake is fasting in support of a petition calling for the removal of the Prime Minister and his deputy from office. Betty Blake states that she is committed to fasting from 6 am until 6 pm until the leaders are replaced.

In offering the reason why Betty Blake has resorted to prayer and fasting, she stated: “We see that they don’t really consider the status of our people. That’s why we are fasting. That’s why we are crying to God. Because we know that there are a lot of things we’ve done in this country but it’s almost like it lands on deaf ears on the people in policy and people in decision-making. So we thought this is the last thing we can do, is to fast and pray.”

Betty Blake further urges the leaders of overseas governments and the international women’s community to fight for change, and join the petition to replace the Prime Minister and his deputy.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International – Fasting last resort for head of Tongan women and families group – 16 October, 2009

Island Voices – Tongan leader for women and families group resorts to fasting for women’s rights – 13 October, 2009

Matangi: Tonga Online – Tongan parliament blatantly ignores women’s rights – 19 September, 2009

Palestinians Must Now Obtain Harvest Permits for own Olive Trees

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

BETHLEHEM, West Bank – On October 14, Israeli forces prevented Palestinians in Wadi Ahmed near Beit Jala from reaching their olive trees for the annual olive harvest. The harvesters told Ma’an News Agency that they went to their lands early in the morning, only to find large gates and barbed wire across the entrance to the groves.

 

When asked why they were barred, Israeli soldiers told the farmers they did not have the proper permits to harvest. Olive harvest season is central in Palestinian culture—many people take time off from work or university to help their families with the harvest. Olive harvest season is also traditionally a time of increased hostility between Israeli settlers and Palestinian farmers. With the construction of the Israeli barrier through the West Bank, many Palestinians have found themselves separated from their olive trees, some of which are thousands of years old and have been in Palestinian families for generations.

 

The farmers in Wadi Ahmed were accompanied by local and international activists, who said they believed their presence would prevent attacks by Israeli soldiers. When the farmers and the activists refused to leave the area, they reported that the soldiers screamed at them and told them “there were no crops on the trees anyway.”

 

Awad Abu Soury, a Bethlehem resident who was with the farmers, said the soldiers “invented false stories about permits needed to access lands,” and speculated that the soldiers did “it on purpose to spoil the harvest and keep owners away from their lands.”

 

Elsewhere in the West Bank, farmers near Nablus reported that Israeli soldiers warned them that if farmers bring international activists to their trees, farmers could be charged with a fine of $1700 (U.S.).

 

Palestinian police forces have promised extra protection for farmers this fall, particularly where clashes between farmers and settlers have broken out in the past. The harvest this fall is expected to be particularly low, and many farmers are concerned about harvesting all the fruit from their trees.

 

For more information, please see:

 

International Middle East Media Center – The Military Fines Local Farmers 1,700 USD if They Bring International Activists to Their Lands – 15 October 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Olive Harvesters Must Now Apply for Permits Before Accessing Lands – 15 October 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Olive Harvesters Get Security Details This Year – 14 October 2009

 

Palestinian News Network – Concerns Over Olive Harvest Increase for Families Under Threat of Settlers – 7 October 2009