BRIEF: Solomon Islands to Include Public in Anti-Corruption Workshops

HONIARA, Solomon Islands – The Solomon Island’s government has announced it will hold several workshops through its Anti-Corruption Taskforce in order to include the public in finding a solution to corruption.

According to Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister, Dr. Derek Sikua, the greatest challenge to political stability is corruption. Dr. Sikua says that corruption threatens the health of the country’s essential services such as its health care, education, and the legal system.

The workshops, intended to address such concerns, will be funded by the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). Dr. Sikua and RAMSI Special Coordinator, Graeme Wilson, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which states RAMSI’s support in conducting the workshops.

Dr. Sikua says the workshops will seek help from both the public and private sectors, as well as NGOs, in determining the government’s approach to dealing with corruption.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International – Public in Solomons to be consulted over fight against corruption – 19 July 2009

UN Condemns Jakarta Hotel Bombings

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 Jakarta blast                                    Jakarta’s Marriott hotel after the blast (Source: AFP)

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Nine people were killed in Friday’s suicide bombing attacks in Jakarta’s Ritz-Carlton and J.W. Marriott hotels.  As Indonesian officials get closer to identifying the mastermind behind the blasts, the UN Security Council released a statement voicing outrage and sympathy.

The 15-member Security Council offered “deep…condolences to the victims of these heinous acts of terrorism and to their families, and to the people and Government of Indonesia.”

The bombings in two luxury, American hotels came at a time when Indonesia was enjoying great stability, including a peaceful presidential election just weeks ago.  Officials believe that the goal of the attacks was to embarrass the Indonesian government.

 Jakarta blast2 Noordin Mohamed (Source: BBC)
The country’s anti-terror chief told reporters he believes that Noordin Mohamed is behind the bombings.  Noordin is the key financier for Jemaah Islamiah, a militant group linked to Al-Qaeda and responsible for numerous bombings in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali bombing.  Indonesian police said they are sure this is the work of Noordin considering the target, location and the contents of the bomb.  The bombs used in Friday’s attacks contained nails and bolts, contents identical to the bombs Jemaah Islamiah uses.

The Security Council stressed that perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of the attacks must be brought to justice, adding that governments must take all measures to right terrorism by fulfilling their obligations under international human rights and refugee and humanitarian law.

The Council members also said, “The Security Council reaffirms that…any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.”

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yodhoyono, condemning the attacks as “cruel and inhuman,” said a terrorist group is responsible for the attacks and vowed to find the perpetrators.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Fugitive linked to Jakarta blasts – 18 July 2009

The Hindu – UNSC deplores hotel bombings in Indonesia – 18 July 2009

MSNBC – Cops eye fugitive terrorist in Indonesia blasts – 18 July 2009

UPDATE: Suicide Bombers Responsible For Indonesian Blasts

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Suicide bombers struck the JW Marriott hotel and close-by Ritz-Carlton, two luxury hotels popular with businessmen and diplomats, in Jakarta’s main business district during early Friday morning.

Police said eight people died, revising down an earlier count of nine, and over 60 were injured. On Saturday it seemed the toll had been raised again to nine, including the two suicide bombers. Seven foreigners were among those killed in the blasts.

The casualties included citizens of Indonesia, the United States, Australia, South Korea, the Netherlands, Italy, Britain, Canada, Norway, Japan and India.

The blasts are a severe blow for Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who was re-elected earlier this month in a landslide victory on the back of restoring peace and strong growth to a country with the world’s largest Muslim population.

Police have not said who they believe is responsible for the blasts, but suspicion has fallen on remnants of Jemaah Islamiah, the militant Islamist group responsible for a string of attacks in Indonesia in the first half of the decade.

Police said on Friday the bombers had checked in to the Marriott as paying guests on Wednesday and had assembled the bombs in their room. A third bomb was found and defused in a laptop computer bag on the 18th floor.

The Obama administration on Friday said the suicide bombings of the luxury American hotels in the Indonesian capital were proof of the need to remain vigilant against terror groups.

“These attacks make it clear that extremists remain committed to murdering innocent men, women and children of any faith in all countries,” the White House said in a statement.

For more information, please see:
The Associated Press – Administration: Jakarta bombing reminder of threat – 17 July 2009

Reuters – Seven foreigners were killed in Jakarta hotel bombs – media – 17 July 2009

The Washington Post –  Suicide bombers kill 8 at Jakarta Marriott, Ritz – 17 July 2009

Water Use by Turkey, Syria, Iraq Drying Up Euphrates

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JUBAISH, Iraq – Oil may be the most notoriously fought over commodity in the Middle East, but there is one resource that can surpass “black gold” in its necessity and ability to provoke conflict:  water.

As the Middle East is in the grip of a drought that has lasted over two years, Iraq’s Euphrates River, one of the boundaries of region known as the Cradle of Civilization, has begun to shrink.  But the drought is only one cause; water policies by Iraq’s neighboring countries have exasperated the crisis.  There are at least seven dams in the Euphrates’ headwaters in Turkey and Syria, and there are no water treaties between the three nations.  Turkey has recently agreed to increase water flow by 60 percent during July and August, which will cover about half of what is needed for Iraq’s famed Anbar rice crop.  This allotment, however, is not a permanent agreement; Turkey has also consistently refused to sign international agreements on water use, such as the 1997 UN Convention on the Law on Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses.

While Iraq’s government often blames Turkey and Syria, Turkish officials say that Iraq’s almost nonexistent water management policies are the real culprit, and that the current finger-pointing is election-year posturing.  Iraq’s canal and irrigation systems have been notoriously leaky for centuries, and poor drainage leaves fields so salty, local farmers scrape off white mounds of salt at the edges of drainage piles.

Iraq’s marsh Arabs are perhaps most at risk from the effects of a dwindling Euphrates.  The marshes at the meeting point of the Tigris and Euphrates was intentionally flooded in 2003 in an attempt to revive the dying culture, but many marsh Arabs believe that if their crops and livestock do not survive this year’s season, the few marsh Arabs who remain will be forced to leave their ancestral homes in search of more viable economic opportunities.

For more information, please see:

Today’s Zaman – Ankara Deflects Criticism From Iraq Over Water Usage – 17 July 2009

Foreign Policy – What Iraq Needs More Than Oil – 16 July 2009

New York Times – Iraq Suffers as the Euphrates Dwindles – 13 July 2009

Israeli Soldiers Tell How Israel Used Human Shields in Gaza

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
 
GAZA CITY, Gaza – A human rights group founded by Israeli veterans has published testimonies from former soldiers, all of whom report that they were ordered to protect Israeli military lives at any cost.

The veterans are part of Breaking the Silence, a group funded by the EU and several European countries. The soldiers describe that they were given orders to use Palestinian civilians as human shields, as well as deliberate targeting of civilian structures.

One soldier related that in pre-invasion briefings, his officers told him to shoot first, ask questions later. The soldier said the officer told the soldiers that “[i]f you’re not sure, kill. Fire power was insane.”

Another soldier said he felt like “a child playing around with a magnifying glass, burning up ants… A 20-year-old kid should not be doing such things to people.”

Several soldiers also described how the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) used white phosphorus, a substance banned by international law. One soldier described walking on the beach in Gaza and finding an area covered in glazed sand, melted by white phosphorus.

A military spokesman has questioned the credibility of Breaking the Silence, calling the veterans’ testimony “defaming and slandering the IDF commanders,” but also said the military would investigate the allegations.

For more information, please see:

The Times – Breaking the Silence: Israeli Soldiers ‘Used Human Shields’ in Gaza– 16 July 2009

BBC News – Breaking Silence on Gaza Abuses– 15 July 2009

Huffington Post – Breaking the Silence: Former Israeli Soldiers Call Gaza War Reckless– 15 July 2009