Israel Withdraws Ground Forces for Rice’s Visit

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel – On March 3, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew its ground troops from Gaza.  However, Israeli soldiers remained close to Gazan border and a senior Israeli official was quoted as saying there would be a two-day interval in the combat during the visit of the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice.  While Hamas claimed victory over Israel, Prime Minister Olmert stated that the operation in Gaza was not over and that Israel remains “in the midst of a combat action.”

On March 4, the US Secretary of State will visit the region to encourage peace talks between Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President Abbas.  However, on March 2, Abbas stated that he withdrew from the talks in protest to the Israeli operations in Gaza.  Abbas’s statements on March 3 seem to suggest that he is willing to mediate cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas.

The withdrawal marked the end of a six day operation, beginning on February 27.  According to B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, the operation resulted in the deaths of 106 Palestinians and 3 Israelis.  The Israeli chief of staff’s states that 90 percent of Palestinians killed were militants.  However, B’Tselem reports that 54 Palestinians killed did not take part in the hostilities.  Of those 54 Palestinians, B’Tselem states that 25 were minors.  Of the Israeli deaths, one was a civilian, killed by a rocket in Sderot, and two were soldiers.

Both B’Tselem and Amnesty International raised concerns that the Israeli military “used excessive and disproportionate force” and that it failed to discriminate between combatants and civilians.  Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, stated that the strikes went “beyond lawful measures which Israeli forces may take in response to rocket attacks by Palestinian armed groups.”  B’Tselem wrote if the strikes used indiscriminate and disproportionate force, they “may constitute a breach of the laws of war.”

Following the withdrawal of Israel’s ground troops, Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with a team of legal experts to discuss the legality of alternative methods to respond to the Palestinian rocket fire.  The meeting included Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz, IDF Military Advocate General Brig.-Gen. Avichai Mandelblit, Deputy Attorney-General Shai Nitzan and the members of the Defense Ministry’s Legal Adviser’s office.

One issue that Israel faces when responding the rocket threat from Gaza is that many times the rockets are fired from civilian homes or heavily residential areas.  According to Yedioth News, it is Israel’s policy not to target Gaza’s densely populated areas and this policy is a weak point in stopping the barrage of rockets.  The purpose of the Barak’s meeting was to pose several different options in addressing the rocket threat and to hear the expert’s opinion on their legality.

Some options that were suggested include:

  • Use of artillery fire targeting rocket launching cells in densely populated areas.  However, artillery fire was used in the past and its practice greatly decreased following several incidences where civilians were killed.
  • A series of alerts aimed at areas used for rocket fire to warn civilians to evacuate the area.  Only after the warnings are issued may live fire be used to target buildings where rockets are launched.
  • Simply destroying, usually by bulldozer, buildings used by militants groups to launch rockets.
  • Power cuts to Gaza and the restriction of fuel supply.

Barak stated that while its methods may be limited by legal constraints, Israel must find a way to respond to the rocket strikes.

There are differing views as to who bears the responsibility for the civilian causalities.  Israel’s Foreign Ministry placed the blame on Hamas.  It claimed that “the deliberate placing of military targets in the heart of civilian areas is a serious violation of humanitarian law, and those who chose to locate such targets in these areas must bear responsibility for the injury to civilians which the decision engenders.”

However, others argue that despite the fact that the enemy may violate the laws of armed conflict and target civilians this does not mean that Israel is no longer obligated to refrain from causing deliberate or disproportional harm to civilians.  Amnesty International stated that no party should attack civilians; however, “unlawful attacks by one side cannot justify violations by the other.”


For more information, please see:
The Guardian – Olmert Warns of More Fighting Soon as Israel Pulls Troops out of Gaza – 4 March 2008

Ha’aretz – Barak Seeks Legal Okay to Move Gazan Civilians from Homes – 4 March 2008

Ha’aretz – Rights Group: Close to Half of Palestinians Fatalities in IDF Operation were Civilians – 4 March 2008

Wall Street Journal – Israeli Troops Withdraw from Gaza as Leaders Face Difficult Decisions -4 March 2008

Amnesty International – Children and Civilian Bystanders in Gaza Death Toll – 3 March 2008

Jerusalem Post – Barak Checks Legality of Options Against Rocket Fire – 3 March 2008

Yedioth News – Defense, Legal Experts Debate Legality of Strikes in Populated Areas – 3 March 2008

UPDATE: Open Society Justice Initiative Critiques Khmer Rouge Tribunal

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – In its monthly update, the Open Society Justice Initiative reported on the recent events occurring within the Khmer Rouge Tribunal while criticizing the tribunal’s lack of transparency, budget problems, and the tension between the Cambodian government and the United Nations.

Recently, the Pre-Trial Chamber rejected Nuon Chea’s attempts to disqualify Judge Ney Thol, annual the record of his initial appearance, and provisional detention hearings. The Khmer Rouge Tribunal has also hired staff for a Victims Unit that will aid victims to become civil parties to the litigation and file complaints with the office of prosecutors.

Despite the progress of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, the court still lacks transparency, which impedes the public’s ability to understand and criticize the tribunal’s work. In addition, the tribunal soon will request $113.7 million in additional funds because the Cambodian side of the budget will be exhausted in April 2008. And the Cambodian government has opposed attempts by the United Nations to place a special advisor for administrative needs.

For more information, please see:

Open Society Justice Initiative – New Khmer Rouge Tribunal Report Gives Latest Updates on Five Cases, Budget Needs, More – 3 March 2009

BRIEF: Tear Gas Fired on Lawyers in Pakistan Monday

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan- On Monday, police fired tear gas on a group of about 200 lawyers and other demonstrators who were protesting outside of the home of ousted Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.  The incident was broadcast across the country by news stations, and demonstrators were seen coughing and bending over when hit with the gas.  Some threw the tear gas cannisters back at the police officers.

The demonstrators were demanding that the Chief Justice be reinstated by President Pervez Musharraf, and were shouting various slogans, such as: “Free the children!” and “Go Musharraf Go!”

Chaudry and his family have been under house arrest since November 3, when Musharraf declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution (see Impunity Watch articles here and here).  The group started to gather in front of Chaudry’s home when they heard reports that his house arrest was coming to an end.  The protests began when they found out that the reports were untrue.

For more information, please see:

Yahoo! News – Police tear gas at Pakistani lawyers – 3 March 2008

Thousands Protest Political Deal Behind Tahiti’s Presidential Election

By Hayley Campbell
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

PAPEETE, Tahiti –- More than 8,000 Tahitians marched through torrential rain on Saturday to protest a political deal that effectively turned the leader of the smallest party in Parliament into the President of French Polynesia.

The Tahitian government has long been plagued with instability. In the last four years, there have been seven governments and five different presidents. While Tahiti has its own assembly, president, and budget, it is still a semi-autonomous territory of France, and receives subsidies, education, and security from the French government.

Before the election, Gaston Tong Sang, of the Tatou Aia party, was favored to win the presidency after his coalition won 27 of the 57 seats in Parliament, only two short of an absolute majority. Gaston Flosse, leader of the Tahoeraa Huiraatira (People’s Rally) party, was sworn into office last month after winning only 10 seats.

Flosse was elected after making a deal with his political foe, Oscar Temaru, who was also the leader of Parliament’s second largest party, Union for Democracy, which won 20 seats. The coalition combined enough seats in Parliament to win Flosse the election. On Friday, Temaru was made Speaker of the French Assembly.”The last one in the race is running the land” Tong Sang said.

Following Friday’s political deal, Flosse’s coalition immediately dropped from 30 to 28.“Tomorrow they will only be 20,” hinted an official to Tong Sang’s eight-party coalition, referring to a possible motion of no confidence against Flosse’s new government directly following the municipal elections.

News of the Flosse- Temaru political coalition was ill-received in Paris where the ruling party, Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), condemned the deal as “against nature.” Although once supportive of Flosse’s party, the UMP announced it would cut all ties to protest the election.

Saturday’s demonstration was also aimed at mobilizing Tahitians to vote against Flosse’s party candidates in the upcoming municipal elections which are scheduled for March 9 and March 16.   

For more information, please see:

The Sydney Morning Herald — Political deal angers French Polynesians — 3 March 2008

Tahiti Presse — Some 8,500 Tong Sang supporters march to protest Flosse’s election — 3 March 2008

Pacific Magazine — French Polynesia’s Flosse Unveils Coalition Government Line-up — 3 March 2008

Pacific Magazine — Close To 10,000 In Post-Election Pape-ete March — 3 March 2008

Radio New Zealand International — Nearly 9,000 march in French Polynesia against political deals — 3 March 2008

State of Emergency Declared in Armenia

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

YEREVAN, Armenia – On March 1, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan declared a state of emergency.  This declaration followed clashes between state police and protesters in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital.  The Armenian Health Ministry reported that the violence left eight individuals dead and 131 people, including 57 police officers, injured.

Protesters began to gather in the capital on February 20, to demonstrate against what they claim to be “rigged” elections.  The February 19 presidential elections resulted in Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian winning a 53% majority to the opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian’s 21.5%.  For ten days, protesters engaged in peaceful demonstrations, which consisted of mostly marches and slogan chanting.  By March 1, over 15,000 people had gathered in Yerevan to protest the election results.

The opposition and protesters claim that the government rigged the election in favor of Sarkisian, a close ally of Kocharyan, the current president.  While most media report that election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) claimed that the elections were “mostly democratic,” the New York Times writes otherwise.

According to the New York Times, OSCE observers concluded that 16% of the count was “bad” or “very bad.”  They state that in one recount, a Western observer opened an envelope supposedly containing ballots for Sarkisian; however, the top ballot was marked for Ter-Petrosian.  Also, there are claims that votes were bought and that television coverage, which is mostly state run, was “embarrassingly skewed.”

On March 1, protesters and state police clashed in the capital; resulting in President Kocharyan declaring a state of emergency.  The source of the violence is disputed.  According to Reuters, Kocharyan accused demonstrators of firing weapons and grenades and planning a coup.  However, the opposition states that weapons were planted near the demonstrators’ camp, that the police used force to disperse the opposition supporters, and that the violence escalated after a protester was killed by the police.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, both expressed concern over the lethal force used by the state’s police and military against the demonstrators.  HRW called for an immediate investigation of whether lethal force was used in accordance to international law.

The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials limits the use of lethal force to the minimum extent necessary.  This means that lethal force may be used only when less extreme means are insufficient to protect lives.

The state of emergency is in effect until March 20.  During this period all public gatherings are banned and a media blackout is imposed.

For more information, please see:
ArmenPress – Parliament Confirms State of Emergency, Health Authorities Confirm Death of 8 People Killed in Clashes – 2 March 2008

BBC – Eight Killed in Armenia Protests – 2 March 2008

Human Rights Watch – Armenia: Civilians Die as Police Suppress Demonstrations and Riots – 2 March 2008

The Independent – Riots over Vote Force State of Emergency in Armenia – 2 March 2008

International Herald Tribune – Armenia Clamps Down after Post-Election Violence – 2 March 2008

New York Times – Protesters and Police Clash as Armenia Unrest Grows – 2 March 2008

Reuters – Eight Killed in Armenia Protests, OSCE Sent – 2 March 2008

UN News Centre – Deadly Post-Election Protests in Armenia Concern UN Human Rights Chief – 2 March 2008