Belarus Restricts Political Party Membership Among Soldiers

By David Sophrin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MINSK, Belarus – Under a recently passed law it will now be illegal for any member of the Belarusian military to be a member of a political party.

The new statute was passed by the parliament of Belarus on October 8.  The nation’s Defense Minister noted that “without doubt, one in active military service must suspend his activities in political parties since the moment of call-up and till the end of the service.”  In the future any soldier who refuses to surrender their membership will be subject to penalties.

Critics say that the law was passed as a way to silence political oppositions leaders already in the military and draft leaders of political opposition movements into the military, thereby at least temporarily removing them from the nation’s political atmosphere.  In the past the military had opted not to draft political opponents.

The new law also contains a provision that bans soldiers from participating in strikes during their service and increasing existing restrictions on soldiers’ traveling.  Soldiers were already prohibited from joining general public organizations that had political aims.

One of those activists who have been affected by Belarus’s recent crackdown on opposition leaders is Andrei Tsyanyuta.  Tsyanyuta recently appeared in district trial for “failing to appear in the military enlistment.”  Andrei claims that despite being a university student, he has been unable to receive a deferment.  He claims that his political activities caused him to lose his status as a student.

For more information, please see:

DEMOCRATIC BELARUS – Belarusian Soldiers To Be Punished For Political Party Membership – 9 October 2009

RFL – Belarusian Soldiers To Be Punished For Political Party Membership – 9 October 2009

NAVINY – Conscript soldiers to face penalties for political activities – 9 October 2009

HUMAN RIGHTS CENTER – Soldiers will be punished for membership in political parties? – 8 October 2009

CHAPTER 97 – Oppositionist Andrei Tsyanyuta to stand trial for nonappearance in military enlistment office – 25 August 2009

India Embassy Hit by Afghan Bomb

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KABUL, India– A Taliban suicide bomber has struck the Indian embassy in Kabul, with at least 17 dying in the second attack the building has suffered in little over a year.  Kabul has been attacked regularly in recent months, and the previous bombing occurring in July 2008, where dozens of people were killed. 

Officials say a car bomber blew himself up near the Indian embassy and the Afghan interior ministry.  The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack and state that the embassy was the target.  Insurgent militants would like to force India to decrease their influence in Afghanistan, where the government is spending $1.2 billion on projects supporting the U.S. backed- government’s development drive, important to gaining popular support.

Nirupama Rao, India’s Foreign Secretary said the suicide bomber “came up to the outside wall of the embassy with a car loaded with explosives”.  Habib Jan, an eyewitness said the victims were civilians, “A [Toyota] Corolla car was parked in front of the Indian embassy.  It was rush hour, about 10 minutes after I arrived at the office when we heard an explosion.  There were lots of workers cleaning the street – most of them have been killed.”

The bombing comes at a critical time.  President Obama is deciding whether to increase the number of troops, as Gen. Stanley McChrystal has advised.

The American Embassy has condemned the attack.  In a statement it said “There is no justification for this kind of senseless violence,”  Most the people killed were ordinary Afghans, with many of them being Merchants working at a market that had been refurbished in the last few months.

Muhibullah, a merchant in the market, said the blast so powerful he felt it in his chest.  Mr. Muhibullah said he had hoped that security had improved when city authorities reopened the road in front of his shop.  But now as a result wants to move

Edrees Kakar, an office worker stated that the bomb attacks are happening so frequently that people are no longer feeling safe.  “People are leaving their homes less and less.  We are frustrated and feel we are not getting sufficient help from the international community.”

For more information, please see:

BBC NEWS- Afghan Bomb Strikes India Embassy – 8 October 2009

The New York Times- 17 Die in Kabul Bomb Attack– 8 October 2009

Reuters- Kabul Bomb Likely Aimed to Influence US Afghan Policy– 9 October 2009

The Times of India- ‘India Will Take All Steps To Protect Its Citizens’– 9 October 2009

Child Protection Campaign Launched in the DRC

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KINSHASA, DR Congo – The United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has launched a child protection campaign in a war-ravaged eastern province of the African nation.  The UN mission, known by its French acronym as MONUC, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and local authorities expect the initiative, focused in north-eastern Oriental province, to sensitize the public to the rights of children and create a protective environment for them.

Using various media outlets, the campaign plans to flood the public with broadcast and published messages on children’s rights until 20 November, marking Universal Children’s Day. MONUC began the campaign yesterday in the city of Kisangani with a two-day sensitization session for 30 journalists on the rights of the child under international and national law. At the session’s opening of the mission’s interim Bureau Chief in Kisangani, Idrissa Ba, expressed concern over continuing attacks on children’s rights in Oriental province.

The Lord’s Resistance Army, led by international fugitive Joseph Kony is notorious for abducting girls and boys to use as sex slaves and soldiers respectively. The attacks also include ransacking homes, churches and health facilities; stealing food, and killing innocent civilians. These successive and constant attacks have caused widespread panic and fear as thousands remain stranded and even more vulnerable to future attacks.

In March, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that in a six month period, almost 1,000 Congolese had been murdered by the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and some 750 abducted. The vast majority of those 750 children, were reportedly forced into combat or utilized as sex slaves. Idrissa Ba underscored the importance of the targeting the media in the campaign, saying that journalists “are capable of distributing messages to the general public that encourage the development of attitudes and behaviors favorable to the respect of children’s rights.” The initiative includes several other sensitization training and workshop sessions for different civil society groups, and will end next month with organized exhibitions and activities with and for children.
For more information, please see:

All Africa – UN Mission in DR Congo Launches Child Protection Campaign in Strife-Ridden Province – 8 October 2009

World News Report – UN Mission for Child Protection in the Congo – 8 October 2009

UN News Center-UN mission in DR Congo launches child protection campaign in strife-ridden province – 8 October 2009

Newstime Africa – Ugandan Rebel Group, LRA, Expands Its Terror Campaign – 28 August 2009

Charges of abuse accompany release of Iranian dissidents

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On October 7, Iraqi officials released thirty-six Iranian dissidents after they spent four months in jail. The thirty-six dissidents are members of an exiled opposition group called the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (PMOI). They were originally arrested in July during a raid on Camp Ashraf in which between seven and eleven members of the PMOI were killed. The newly released prisoners claim that they were tortured while they were the Iraqi prison.  They further claim that they are now in ill health.

The PMOI is considered a terrorist organization by both the United States andIran. The organization made its name after the Iranian Revolution of 1979 where it opposed the new regime that took control of the country. PMOI’s opposition of the Islamic Republic was violent and lead to their exile from Iran. They were welcomed into Iraq by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein where they set up their operation at Camp Ashraf. The group surrendered to U.S. forces after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The siege of Camp Ashraf came after the U.S. gave up control of the camp to the Iraqi military.  After the dissidents were taken, friends and relatives of the prisoners protested constantly outside of the U.S. embassy in London. They claimed that the U.S. needed to take responsibility for the plight of detained PMOI members.

The leaders of the PMOI called for a hunger strike in support of the members being held in an Iraqi prison. The dissidents were released from prison after a seventy-two day strike. The prisoners were returned by the Camp Ashraf which remains under the control of Iraqi officials. Upon arrival to the camp, the released prisoners were taken to the medical facility for treatment.

The political wing of the PMOI in Iran is the National Council Resistance of Iran. The political group claimed that a number of orders were made by Iraqi courts requiring that the thirty-six dissidents be released. They claim that Iraqi officials refused to honor these court orders. The officials reportedly justified their behavior by claiming that the PMOI members had entered Iraq illegally.

For more information, please see:

Al Arabiya – Iraq Frees 36 Iranians Captured In Deadly Raid – 7 October 2009

BBC – Iraq Release Iranian Dissidents – 7 October 2009

Times-Series – Hunger Strikers End Fast, Claiming ‘Huge Victory For Humanity’– 7 October 2009

UPI – Iraq Releases Iranian Dissidents – 7 October 2009

Hamas May Use Displaced Persons as Human Shields

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – The Israeli Defense Forces are concerned that Hamas is constructing temporary housing along the Israel-Gaza border, effectively creating a human shield. The buildings will reportedly house Gazans displaced during the fighting last winter between Israeli military forces and Palestinian fighters in Gaza. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) believe that Hamas is planning to place thousands of Gazans along the border.

 

IDF officials said that placing the homes along the border is a cover for tunnels moving from Gaza into Israel, allowing Hamas fighters to bypass Israeli security and carry out attacks inside Gaza. IDF also believes the homes would serve as obstacles if Israel decided to launch a ground assault on Gaza.

 

“This is part of Hamas’s overall strategy to use build-up areas to hide in and launch attacks,” said a senior IDF official. “This basically means that Hamas will want to use the people it places there as human shields against Israel.”

 

Both Israel and Gaza have escalated tensions along the Israel-Gaza border in recent weeks. Gaza has launched several Kassam rockets into southern Israel, as part of a strategy that Israeli media reported was approved by Hamas’s allies, Iran and Syria. On October 4, the Israeli military increased its response to such rocket attacks, bombing a suspected arms factory in Gaza. For several weeks, IDF has also targeted rocket launchers and groups Israel has deemed terrorist cells. One IDF source said that the increase in military actions was IDF’s attempt to prevent any further escalation by Hamas.

 

“We believe that we must restore the deterrence that existed after Operation Cast Lead [Israel operation in Gaza],” the source said.

 

Hamas has made efforts to prevent terrorist attacks from Gaza. On October 6, the Saudi-owned newspaper As-Sharq Al Awsat reported that Hamas had arrested Palestinians suspected of planning terrorist attacks. The newspaper reported that the arrests had been ordered by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh as part of a territory-wide crackdown on terrorist activity.

 

For more information, please see:

 

Examiner – Hamas Will Put Arabs as Human Shields at Gaza Border – 7 October 2009

 

World Tribune – Israel Sees Escalation of Violence from Hamas – 7 October 2009

 

Arutz Sheva – Hamas May Build Homes for “Human Shields” – 5 October 2009

 

Jerusalem Post – “Hamas May Put Gazans on Border to Prevent Ground Attacks” – 5 October 2009