A Voice for the Voiceless

Israel Continues to Allow Settlement Expansion Despite International Protest

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel/West Bank – An Israeli government spokesman said on May 28 that Israel must be allowed to expand its settlements in the West Bank, echoing the sentiments of Israeli’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to his cabinet on May 24.  Mark Regev, speaking on May 27, said that any final arrangements regarding West Bank settlements would have to be part of any agreement with the Palestinians, but that until such an agreement is reached, Israeli settlements would be allowed to expand to compensate for “natural growth.”

Approximately 500,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements inside the West Bank and in predominantly-Arab East Jerusalem, areas which were captured by Israeli in 1967 and which many Palestinians believe will be the basis of a future Palestinian state.  While the Israeli government has condemned the twenty-two settlements, deeming them to be illegal, the organization Peace Now estimates that fifty such settlements have been built since 2001 and Israeli settlements currently take up approximately 40% of the land in the West Bank. 

Under international law, such settlements are illegal because they are on land that Palestinians claim form their independent state.  In the U.S.-supported roadmap peace plan, Israel must stop all settlement activity, and specifically included natural growth.

On May 27, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted that construction of all Israeli settlements in the West Bank must immediately stop.  During his meeting with Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, on May 28, U.S. president Barack Obama repeated his call for a freeze on settlement construction, and said that he expected to hear a response from Prime Minister Netanyahu shortly.  Middle East experts have called the Obama Administration’s response to the current settlement expansion the strongest on the issue from the U.S. in years. 

For more information, please see:

Irish Times – Israel to Allow Expansion in Settlements – 29 May 2009

New York Times – Obama Calls for Swift Move Toward Mideast Peace Talks  – 28 May 2009

BBC News – No Exception in Israeli Settlement:  Clinton – 28 May 2009

New York Times – Israel Insists on Some Construction in West Bank Settlements – 28 May 2009

Al-Jazeera – Netanyahu:  Settlements to Expand – 25 May 2009

Palestine Monitor – Obama’s Logic vs. Netanyahu’s Rhetoric – 20 May 2009

No “Impunity” in Nepal?

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KATHMANDU, Nepal – In the primary Nepali dictionary, there is no word for impunity. This is particularly relevant today as Nepal is the process of formulating a new constitution. Previous constitutions have not dealt with human rights extensively, nor addressed specific areas of impunity. Local human rights groups have been urging the government to promote accountability and acknowledge and address the widespread human rights violations in the country’s new constitution by guaranteeing important rights.

Nepal has been home to rampant human rights violations against men, women, and children throughout its history. Although Nepal is party to several international treatises on human rights, the country is slow to act upon them.

Newly elected Prime Minister Madhav Kumar opined that the role of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal is insignificant. He further accused the OHCHR of “paying attention to political events and neglecting major human rights violations.” He also only extended its tenure for three months even though three years were requested.

The Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Kedernath Upadhaya, in response commented that the rights body alone cannot guarantee human rights without the help of the government and political parties. The Chairman’s comment is particularly relevant on the eve of writing a new Nepali constitution. The situation in Nepal, as of now, looks bleak since there is a marked communication barrier between human rights agencies, the government, and local political parties.

Perhaps they can start with introducing the word impunity into their dictionaries and their constitution.

For more information, please see:

KantipurOnline – OHCHR Insignificant in Nepal – May 27, 2009

Gulf News –  Amnesty International Report on Asia – May 28, 2009

Republica – OHCHR in Nepal Extended by Three Months – May 29, 2009

Asia Foundation – Impunity in Nepal – September 1999

Egyptian Dissident Continues to Speak Out After Sentence is Overturned

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Saad Eddin Ibrahim in 2003
Iw picture 528 CAIRO, Egypt – Saad Eddin Ibrahim was convicted on the charge of damaging Egypt’s reputation for speaking out against current President Hosni Mubarak and his regime in August of 2008. The conviction was founded Ibrahim’s vocal opposition of Mubarak and the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). Ibrahim suggested in an opinion piece for the Washington Post that the United States withhold aid until Cairo took steps to end the smuggling of arms into the Gaza strip, and to rein in police abuses.

On May 25, Judge Ashraf Sheta overturned Ibrahim’s two-year sentence. The decision comes just days before President Obama is scheduled to speak in Cairo, and there is speculation that this decision was motivated by Obama’s visit. Ibrahim is hesitant to believe this, and has praised the Egyptian appellate court for their independent decision.

Ibrahim has been living in the United States in exile, and would like to return to Egypt to see his wife and family. He is hesitant to return while he still faces charges of spying, and treason. If convicted he could be sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. His lawyers are advising that Ibrahim remain in the United States until the charges have been resolved.

The complaints filed against Ibrahim have all been brought by members of the NDP. Ibrahim believes that this is a way for the government to try to intimidate him without directly criticizing or sanctioning him. While visiting Egypt previously there have also been attempts on Ibrahim’s life, which he thinks might have had some government involvement.

In spite of all of this, Ibrahim plans on continuing to speak out. He sees it as his duty to be a critic, because the country needs critics. Ibrahim wants to be a free voice to speak on behalf of those who are oppressed, and hopes to shed light on the problems within his nation.

For more information, please see:

The Media Line – Egyptian Dissident: Obama Should Listen to People, Not Officials – 27 May 2009

The Media Line – Egyptian Dissident ‘Will Not Stop Criticizing Regime – 26 May 2009

AFP – Egypt Court Overturns Dissident’s Jail Term – 25 May 2009

Al Arabiya News Channel – Egypt Court Acquits Leading Rights Activist – 25 May 2009

BBC News – Egypt Quashes Saad Eddin Ibrahim Jail Term – 25 May 2009

PNG Wants to Eradicate Chinese “Bad Apples”

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea – Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister, Sam Abal, has called on the Chinese government to help eradicate “bad apples” from breaking PNG’s laws.

“[We need] cooperation from the Chinese government to help us to separate the general Chinese and those who do wrong,” Abal said.

The Minister said that corruption, not just in immigration, is paralyzing PNG’s systems while resentment over growing Chinese dominance of businesses and their growing involvement in crime has built up over the years.

The Minister claimed that people are angry with foreigners, who do not have proper work permits and do not speak English, for coming in and running most of the small shops which Papua New Guineans should be doing.

The statements follow a wave of anti-Chinese violence and looting of Asian-run businesses in the country that began May 10th and killed four. The PNG Prime Minister, Sir Michael Somare, has apologized to the Chinese community for the violence and looting.

The Prime Minister also admitted that corruption in PNG’s police force, as well as the labor and immigration departments, were factors behind the unrest.

Troubles in PNG began on May 10th when workers clashed with management at the Chinese-run Ramu nickel mine in Madang Province, on the northeast coast, after a PNG worker was injured by a tractor.

In the same week in Port Moresby, Noel Anjo Kolae organized and led an anti-Chinese protest that ended in violence and looting, sparking similar attacks across PNG.

For more information, please see:

Radio New Zealand International – PNG government calls for Chinese help in weeding out bad apples – 26 May 2009

The Age – Anti-Asian tensions simmer in PNG – 26 May 2009

Journalist on Filipino Military “Hit List”

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MANILA, Philippines – A freelance journalist Carlos Conde, who regularly writes for The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune, has been named as an enemy target in a list titled “order of battle” compiled by the Filipino Army.  The list names individuals who are not doing anything illegal, but are nevertheless killed with impunity.

Carols conde

“Why my name is included in the ‘order of battle’ is a mystery,” said Conde.  “[T]his [list] has caused anxiety and fear in my family, because, as we all know, an ‘order of battle’ in the Philippines is a veritable hit list.”

Carols H. Conde (Source: Asia Sentinel)

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said that the Filipino government’s failure to end the culture of impunity against journalists and the media has given the country a reputation for being one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in the world.

Since President Gloria Arroyo took power in 2001, more than 60 journalists have been killed.  Six out of the seven journalists killed in the Philippines in 2008 were murdered, and two journalists escaped murder attempts in February of this year.  Most recently, on May 20, 2009, a journalist was shot and wounded in Zamboanga Sibugay, a southern province of the Philippines.  The Committee to Protect Journalist released a report in March stating that 24 murder cases of journalists remain unsolved in the Philippines, which is one of the world’s highest number of media killings.

“The Government of Gloria Arroyo-Macapagal (sic) must accept responsibility not just for its silence on impunity against journalists but for actively encouraging suspicion and violence against the Philippines media community,” said IFJ’s Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park.

Conde suspects that his time as one of the coordinators of National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, during which he staged local campaigns protesting against murders of journalists, may be the reason for his inclusion in the hit list.  Media rights activist groups are urging the Filipino government to immediately clarify this situation.
For more information, please see:

Asia Sentinel – A Filipino Journalist and a Hit List – 19 May 2009

Committee to Protect Journalists – Philippine Journalist alleges he is on military ‘hit list’ – 20 May 2009

GMA News – Gov’t urged to explain journalist’s inclusion in Army ‘hit list’ – 28 May 2009

Reporters Without Borders – A journalist on army target list, another shot, possibly by soldier – 22 May 2009