BRIEF: Turkish Warplanes Target Rebel Stronghold in Iraq

ANKARA, Turkey– On September 25, at least 10 Turkish warplanes launched an air strike against 16 suspected PKK targets in northern Iraq.  According to the PKK, the strike killed one of its members and wounded two civilians.  The Turkish military has not given any casualty figures for the latest raid.

Yesterday’s bombing campaign targeted the villages of Kutak, Surage and Kozala in the Qandil Mountains in Iraq.  Several homes were destroyed, displacing at least five families.  In addition, PKK claims that a school was also damaged.

According to Brig. Gen. Metin Gurak, spokesman for the Turkish military, the raid was in retaliation to the numerous attacks launched by the PKK against Turkish soldiers during the past month, which had claimed the lives of 17 Turkish soldiers.

In October 2007, the Turkish parliament authorized the military to step up activities against PKK strongholds in northern Iraq.  Over the past year the Turkish military has carried out numerous aerial raids and a week long ground incursion against PKK rebels in Iraq.  Last week the Turkish government stated it will request parliament extend the mandate by one year.  The current mandate is set to expire October 17.  According to the military, the PKK rebels regularly carry out cross-border attacks from their bases in northern Iraq against Turkish targets.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Turkish Jets Hit 16 Rebel Targets in Northern Iraq– 26 September 2008

Al Jazeera –Turkey Bombs PKK Bases in Iraq – 26 September 2008

Associated Press – Turkish Warplanes Hit 16 Rebel Targets in Iraq– 26 September 2008

BBC – Turkey Planes Hit PKK Rebels – 26 September 2008

Jerusalem Post – Turkish Warplanes Hit Kurdish Targets in Iraq – 26 September 2008

Top Economist Accuses Fiji’s Finance Ministry of “Twiddling its Thumbs”

By Sarah E. Treptow

Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – By August, Fiji’s Ministry of Finance had only spent $15 million of the $162 million allocated for the entirety of 2008. A leading economist, Dr. Biman Prasad, the head of economics at the University of the South Pacific, criticizes the spending, “This is criminal negligence or downright incompetence. While our people are crying out for good roads, reliable water supply and better medical services, the Finance Ministry was sitting around twiddling its thumb.” The comments from Prasad were given at the Fiji Islands Council of Trade Unions third delegate’s conference at the Suva Civic Centre.

Prasad hopes that with the exit of the interim Finance Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, the 2009 national budget will include expenditure policies which will help stimulate the economy. He added, “such inertia in such a key ministry is shocking.”

Prasad says further, “Besides improving infrastructure, so much employment could have been created had the money been put to good use. The buck for this pathetic state of affairs stops with the interim Finance Minister.”

Also present at the conference was ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. Dr. Prasad highlighted the faults of Qarase’s government and said his party’s squandering of resources and reckless spending gave impetus for the coup that Prasad claims damaged the economy in 2006.

Interim Finance Minister Chaudhry has yet to respond to the accusations.

For more information, please see:

Fijilive – Economist slams Chaudhry’s policies – 27 September 2008

Pacific Magazine – Fiji Government’s Lack of Spending Criticized – 28 September 2008

The Fiji Times Online – Chaudhry exit ‘good for budget’ – 28 September 2008

Visitation Rights Important to Improve Jail Facilities in the Philippines

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) was reportedly denied agency visitation rights at Fort Bonifacio by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) last week.  Their visitation, including lawmakers from the House of Representatives, was spawned by complaints by detained soldiers of their cell conditions.

CHR Chairperson Leila De Lima said Lieutenant Colonel Iluminado Lumakad, commanding officer of the Philippine Marine Corps Headquarters Battalion, refused to allow the CHR team to visit detained marine officers who plotted against the government in 2006.  Lima asserted that the CHR has a constitutional mandate that grants them visitation rights.

“The AFP has a lot of explaining to do. They do not have any authority in any capacity to prevent the CHR from conducting jail visitations. We need not have clearance from the higher ups just so we could visit detention cells throughout the country. Our constitutional mandate is clearly stated and that is what matters most,” De Lima said in her letter to Chief Alexander Yano of the AFP last week.

Lima and the CHR believes that it is important to allow for unannounced visits to detention centers in order to ensure conditions are humane and most importantly, to curb torture.  Lima told a news conference in Manila on Tuesday that CHR has documented more than 300 cases of torture since 2005.  Moreover, she stated that torture is prevalent in ordinary precincts and police stations, and even ordinary civilians who were arrested or detained arbitrarily by army or police forces were beaten, electrically shocked, burned with cigarettes, or suffocated with plastic bags.

Although the Philippines has signed on to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) in April, the protocol has yet to be ratified in the Republic’s Senate.  In the mean time, the government seeks a three to five year deferment on its implementation.  Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita states that the government wishes to conform to United Nations standards by improving jail facilities and prison conditions.  Ermita said that regardless of whether the OPCAT was ratified, the government “wholeheartedly join[s] [their] colleagues in the community of nations in denouncing torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.”

Philippine jails are overcrowded, face regular outbreaks of diseases and needs to focus on the rehabilitation and reintegration of an inmate.  Waiting to enforce the OPCAT would allow enough time to address these issues.

For more information, please see:

GMANews.TV – RP Seeks 5 Year Exemption From Anti-Torture Protocol – 23 September 2008

INQUIRER.net – CHR Accuses Military of Denying Right to Visit Jailed Troops – 23 September 2008

Reuters – Torture Prevalent in Philippines – Rights Body – 23 September 2008

Amnesty International Calls for Investigation of Ill-Treated Indonesian Prisoner

By Ryan L. Maness
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Oceania

PAPUA, Indonesia – Amnesty International is calling on the Indonesian government to investigate the mistreatment of Ferdinand Pakage, a prisoner in Abepura Prison, after he was beaten by prison officers.

Pakage, who is currently serving a 15 year sentence after a dubious 2006 trial, was beaten by prison officers on 22 September.  The beating was witnessed by other prisoners and resulted in serious injury to Pakage’s hands, legs and left eye.  As of this writing there are no reports of Pakage’s current medical condition.  Prison officials began to beat Pakage after he was removed from solitary confinement.

In their report calling for the investigation, Amnesty International has reminded the Indonesia government that they are signatories to the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment and that they are required to take effective measures to prevent torture and perform impartial investigations after torture is committed.

Amnesty International has also said that this beating, and others like it, have been allowed to continue because the Criminal Code has not been reformed.  They have said that the code must be reformed to provide a legal deterrent against beating and torturing prisoners during their detention.

For more information, please see:
Amnesty International – Ill-treatment of Papua prisoner must be investigated – 26 September 2008

Radio New Zealand International – Amnesty International calls on Indonesia authorities to act over detained Papuan – 26 September 2008

Concerns About Lebanon After the Lebanese Transparency Association Releases Results from its Corruption Preceptions Index

By Yasmine S. Hakimian
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BEIRUT, Lebanon – In a news conference on September 23, the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA) release the official results of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2008. The conference was held at the Press Federation in Beirut.

The LTA has announced the results of the Corruption Perceptions Index for Lebanon since 2003. Each year their report includes results from other national chapters of Transparency International around the world. This year the LTA reported on 180 states, 20 of which are Arab countries.

The CPI does not measure corruption in and of itself. It records the perception of corruption estimated by public officials and politicians for each country. Transparency International defines corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.” As a result, the index is an indication of what how respondents feel about political and administrative corruption in their countries.

The index primarily focuses on corruption in the public sector, such as an abuse of official power for private interests. The CPI is a culmination of 14 different polls and surveys from 14 independent institutions. The data is handled by businesspeople, academics, analysts, and experts. Each country is assigned a score between 1-10, 1 being most corrupt and 10 being least corrupt. Using their score, the index ranks the countries.

Fadi Saab, the LTA board secretary, has emphasized that looking at the ranks of states each year does not accurately portray corruption. Instead, Saab suggests looking at the scores assigned to a country over the last several years and taking note of the country’s regional and international standing.

Of the 180 states included in the 2008 CPI, Denmark is as the least corrupt. Somalia is ranked the most corrupt. Of the Middle East, Qatar is ranked the least corrupt.

The CPI has reported on Lebanon for six years. This year, Lebanon received the same score it did in 2003 and 2007 at 3.0/10. The 2008 score as an improvement from Lebanon’s score of 2.7/10 in 2004. However, Lebanon scored slightly better in 2005 and 2006 at 3.1/10 and 3.6/10, respectively.

According to Saab, it is most concerning that Lebanon scored lower than the international average (4.0), as well as lower than the Arab Region average (3.49).

Lebanon’s score is a result of the country’s continuing political crisis over the past two years. It is also believed that the absence of legal mechanisms in Lebanon has affected its score. 

According to Saab, the CPI results indicate the necessity of serious efforts and urgent actions to help promote political stability in Lebanon. Saab believes a permanent solution needs to take place to re-shape the relationship between citizens and the state. Saab emphasized that cooperation among the different parties will strengthen good government, maintain the well-being of society, and promote the right of access to information.

For more information, please see:

The Daily Star – Lebanese Transparency Association Relays Parts of Corruption Study by Parent Organization – 25 September 2008

TerraNet – Lebanon Ranked 102nd Out of 180 Countries on Annual Corruption Scale – 24 September 2008 

Zawya – Lebanon Ranks 102nd Out of 180 Countries on Annual Corruption Scale – 24 September 2008 

Lebanon Support – LTA: Press Conference to Release the 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) – 22 September 2008