BRIEF: UN Chief Calls for Gaza Ceasefire

GAZA CITY, Gaza – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip to halt the violence that has escalated over the past few days. Troops killed at least 96 people over four days, with more than 60 people dead on Saturday alone – one third of those killed estimated to be children.

Addressing an emergency session of the Security Council in New York on Sunday, Ban condemned Israel’s “excessive” use of force and called Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel “acts of terrorism.” Ban said: “While recognizing Israel’s right to defend itself, I condemn the disproportionate and excessive use of force that has killed and injured so many civilians, including children.” Ban also condemned Palestinian rocket attacks that triggered one of the bloodiest days in Gaza since Israel withdrew in 2005. “I condemn Palestinian rocket attacks and call for the immediate cessation of such acts of terrorism,” he said.

Although members of the Security Council are currently discussing a draft resolution regarding the conflict in Gaza, its completion will likely take more than a few days. Libyan delegation representing the Palestinians has put forward a draft, but it is expected to be rejected because the resolution condemns Israel’s killing of civilians without mentioning the Palestinian rocket fire. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this week to try to revive peace talks.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – UN chief deplores Gaza assault – 2 March 2008

BBC News – UN chief condemns Gaza violence – 2 March 2008

Voice of America – UN Security Council condemns violence in Gaza – 2 March 2008

70 Armed Arab Nomads Reportedly Killed in Sudan

By M. Brandon Maggiore
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

ABYEI REGION, Sudan – Reports Sunday of fighting between Misseriya tribesmen and fighters from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) indicate 70 armed Arab nomads were killed in the oil-rich Abyei border region of Sudan. The actual number of dead and injured is disputed at this time.

The SPLM, a former rebel force, has shared power with the National Congress Party (NCP) since 2005. The SPLM governs the semi-autonomous Abyei region in southern Sudan. Eward Lino, spokesman for the SPLM , has accused the NCP of supporting the Misseriya in order to prevent the delineation of the border and prevent the countries census from taking place. The census is to start April 15th and last two weeks. The census is necessary to prepare for Sudan’s first democratic election in twenty-two years.

The Misseriya claims the SPLM remains in their territory and stated that as long as the SPLM is in Misseriyan territory problems will continue.

This is the second clash in the region since the 21st of December 2007. On that date, an Arab militia supported by Khartoum attacked an SPLA camp. One-hundred people were killed in that conflict.

The UN mission in Sudan is very concerned over the recent clashes and there is concern that the tensions, if not resolved, will threaten the 2005 peace agreement that ended the countries twenty-one-year north-south civil war in which two million people were killed. The civil war placed the Islamic Khartoum government against the largely animus and Christian rebels in the south.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Arab nomads dead in Sudan clashes – 2 March 2008

Reuters – Dozens killed as Sudan nomads clash with ex-rebels – 2 March 2008

LeMonde.fr – Des affrontements entre nomades et ex-rebelles font 78 morts au sud Soudan – 2 March 2008

Israel Warns of Gaza Invasion; 32 Palestinians Killed

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

GAZA CITY, Gaza –On February 29, the violence between the Israeli military and Gazan militants continued to escalate.  According to the BBC, 32 Palestinians were killed in night raids conducted on February 29 and early morning raids on March 1.  Yedioth News reports that “seven children, three women, two unarmed men and 20 gunmen… were killed in the IDF operation Saturday (March 1).”

The March 1 IDF operation targeted militants in the Jabaliya refugee camp.  Two children, a sister and brother, were killed when the Jabaliya refugee camp was struck.  Also, a father and his 19-year-old son, died in an air strike outside their home.  Later, two teenaged sisters were killed.  The Israeli military reports that five IDF soldiers were “lightly wounded” in the operation.

On February 29, one year old Malak al-Kafarna died of injuries sustained after a missile landed near her home in Beit Hanoun.  Hamas claims that her death was caused by an an Israeli surface-to-surface missile, which injured four other civilians.  However, Reuters reports that residents in the area state that “improvised rockets fired by militants at Israel have fallen short and landed inside Palestinian territory.”  This seems to suggest that Kafarna’s death was caused by Palestinian rocket fire.

Despite the increase in Israeli operations in Gaza, militants continue to launch rockets at Israel.  According to the Times, militants have fired nearly 130 rockets into Israel since February 26, when the violence between Israel and Gaza began to escalate.

Several of the rockets fired landed in Ashkelon, a large city located about 20km north of Gaza.  While Ashkelon is occasionally a target of the longer-range rockets, never has so many rockets been fired at it in one day.  One rocket struck a housing complex and another landed near a school and injured a student.

Following the rocket attacks on February 28, Israel’s Deputy Defense Minister, Matan Vilnai, stated that “the more Qassam fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, they (the Palestinians) will bring upon themselves a bigger holocaust because we will use all our might to defend ourselves.”  In this statement, Vilnai used the Hebrew word “shoah”, which is generally restricted to describe the Nazi genocide against European Jews during World War II.

Israeli officials acted quickly to clarify Vilnai’s use of the word “shoah” and its connection with the Holocaust.  Eytan Guinsburg,Vilnai’s spokesperson, commented that “the minister used the Hebrew term ‘shoah’ which means ‘catastrophe’ and in this context does not refer to the ‘the Shoah’ – the Holocaust.”  Also, Israel’s foreign ministry spokesman, Arye Mekel, said that “Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai used the Hebrew phrase that included the term ‘shoah’ in the sense of a disaster or a catastrophe, and not in the sense of a holocaust.”

However, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak supported the underlying theme of Vilnai’s statement and stated that Israel is close to launching a full scale offensive in Gaza.  During a closed-door meeting on February 28, it is reported that Barak said that a “major ground operation is real and tangible. We are not afraid of it.”  In addition, Israeli defense officials said that preparations for a large-scale ground offensive to storm Gaza are complete.

While there is support for a large scale operation into Gaza, many Israelis fear that such an operation will lead to Israel being dragged back into a “costly, long-term military occupation of Gaza.  Also, in 2006, Israel received international criticism for an offensive operation into Gaza that resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths.  The five month incursion also failed to stop the rocket fire from Gaza.

Palestinians, both from Hamas and Fatah, condemn Israel’s recent actions.  Thousands of Palestinians throughout Gaza demonstrated against the recent air strikes.  In a rally by the Jabaliya refugee camp, a child in funeral shroud held a sign that read “They’ve killed my right to childhood.”

On February 29, former Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, spoke after afternoon prayers at a mosque in Gaza City.  He told worshippers that “Gaza today faces a real war, a crazy war led by the enemy against our people.”

In addition, Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas, stated that Israel’s military actions “meant only one thing: the Israeli government … aims to destroy the peace process.”  Israeli Arab Knesset members called on Abbas to cease the peace talks with Israeli Prime Minister Olmert in order to create a political crisis.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to visit the Middle East next week to support the peace talks between Abbas and Olmert.

For more information, please see:
Associated Press – Israel Warns of Disaster in Gaza – 1 March 2008

BBC – New Israeli Raids on Gaza Kill 32 – 1 March 2008

The Guardian – Israeli Raids on Gaza Kill 32 – 1 March 2008

Ha’aretz – Meshal: Gaza is “Real Holocaust”; PA Threatens to Halt Peace Talks– 1 March 2008

Telegraph – Israeli Minister Vows Palestinian “Holocaust” – 1 March 2008

Times (London) – Israel Threatens to Unleash “Holocaust” in Gaza – 1 March 2008

Yedioth News – Abbas: IDF’s Gaza Operation Worse than a Holocaust – 1 March 2008 l

AFP – Thousands of Gazans Protest over Deadly Israeli Raids – 29 February 2008

Al Jazeera – Israel Warns of Gaza Invasion – 29 February 2008

Reuters – Gaza Child, Bombmaker die in Gaza Missile Strikes – 29 February 2008

Thai Soldiers Use Force and Dogs to Deport Lao Hmong

By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand – According to witness’ accounts, Thai soldiers forcibly removed a group of Hmong asylum seekers from their refugee camp. The Thai government, however, alleges that the group left voluntarily and should be models for other Hmong in Thailand.

Witnesses told reporters that the Thai soldiers used force and dogs in order to coax a group of Hmong asylum seekers onto trucks. The Thai soldiers arrived at 1 PM at the Huay Nam Khao Camp and began to drag refugees to the trucks. Three to four soldiers were needed for each person in order to physically drag them and then collect their belongings from the camp. One witness reported to Radio Free Asia that “Some of them [Hmong asylum seekers] hung on to bushes or small trees and had to be pulled free and thrown onto the trucks—bushes were uprooted.” However, when two young men refused to be taken away on the truck, the soldiers use even more threatening measures. An unnamed witness told Radio Free Asia, “Two young men in their 20s jumped off the trucks after they started to move. The soldiers sent dogs out to find them and they were badly mauled, and those men are now in Khao Kao hospital.”

Both the United Nations [UN] and Medecins Sans Frontieres [MSF] have serious doubts that the group removed from the Huay Nam Khao camp was done voluntarily. One of the women “voluntarily” removed was separated from her five young children. After the mistake was discovered, Thai authorities refused to send her back to the refugee camp, and instead she was sent to an adjacent facility in order to use its loud speaker. At the adjacent facility, she was to “call her children to come to Laos with her,” according to MSF National Director Gilles Isard. Kitty McKinsey, spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], stated, “We have received a number of reports that call into question whether everyone actually volunteered to go back. Such returns should be strictly voluntary, conducted with dignity and in accordance with international standards.” Additionally, MSF warned that many in the camps had authentic claims for refugee status because of their physical scars from clashes with the Lao and Vietnamese military.

Despite the entirely different accounts from witnesses and doubts from the UN and MSF, the Thai government alleges that the return was voluntary. In an interview, Department of Border Affairs Deputy Director Maj Gen. Voravit Darunchoo said, “The Hmong you saw being returned to Laos this morning could be considered lucky. It was a good opportunity for them because they are the first group who wholeheartedly volunteered to go back to their country, without any kind of pressure.”

The Hmong in Thailand fled Laos after the Communist takeover in 1975. The group alleges that it fears political persecution because it fought on the side of the pro-United States Laotian government. Although the UNHCR has recognized the Hmong in Thailand as refugees and in need of protection, the Thai government regards the Hmong as migrants and alleges they have entered the country illegally.

For more information, please see:

The Nation Multimedia – MSF and UN Question if Hmong Going Back to Laos Voluntarily – 29 February 2008

Radio Free Asia – Thai Soldiers Forced Lao Hmong Back to Laos – 28 February 2008

Thai News Agency – Hmong Migrants Returned from Thailand to Laos – 28 February 2008

Thai Soldiers Use Force and Dogs to Deport Lao Hmong

By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand – According to witness’ accounts, Thai soldiers forcibly removed a group of Hmong asylum seekers from their refugee camp. The Thai government, however, alleges that the group left voluntarily and should be models for other Hmong in Thailand.

Witnesses told reporters that the Thai soldiers used force and dogs in order to coax a group of Hmong asylum seekers onto trucks. The Thai soldiers arrived at 1 PM at the Huay Nam Khao Camp and began to drag refugees to the trucks. Three to four soldiers were needed for each person in order to physically drag them and then collect their belongings from the camp. One witness reported to Radio Free Asia that “Some of them [Hmong asylum seekers] hung on to bushes or small trees and had to be pulled free and thrown onto the trucks—bushes were uprooted.” However, when two young men refused to be taken away on the truck, the soldiers use even more threatening measures. An unnamed witness told Radio Free Asia, “Two young men in their 20s jumped off the trucks after they started to move. The soldiers sent dogs out to find them and they were badly mauled, and those men are now in Khao Kao hospital.”

Both the United Nations [UN] and Medecins Sans Frontieres [MSF] have serious doubts that the group removed from the Huay Nam Khao camp was done voluntarily. One of the women “voluntarily” removed was separated from her five young children. After the mistake was discovered, Thai authorities refused to send her back to the refugee camp, and instead she was sent to an adjacent facility in order to use its loud speaker. At the adjacent facility, she was to “call her children to come to Laos with her,” according to MSF National Director Gilles Isard. Kitty McKinsey, spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], stated, “We have received a number of reports that call into question whether everyone actually volunteered to go back. Such returns should be strictly voluntary, conducted with dignity and in accordance with international standards.” Additionally, MSF warned that many in the camps had authentic claims for refugee status because of their physical scars from clashes with the Lao and Vietnamese military.

Despite the entirely different accounts from witnesses and doubts from the UN and MSF, the Thai government alleges that the return was voluntary. In an interview, Department of Border Affairs Deputy Director Maj Gen. Voravit Darunchoo said, “The Hmong you saw being returned to Laos this morning could be considered lucky. It was a good opportunity for them because they are the first group who wholeheartedly volunteered to go back to their country, without any kind of pressure.”

The Hmong in Thailand fled Laos after the Communist takeover in 1975. The group alleges that it fears political persecution because it fought on the side of the pro-United States Laotian government. Although the UNHCR has recognized the Hmong in Thailand as refugees and in need of protection, the Thai government regards the Hmong as migrants and alleges they have entered the country illegally.

For more information, please see:

The Nation Multimedia – MSF and UN Question if Hmong Going Back to Laos Voluntarily – 29 February 2008

Radio Free Asia – Thai Soldiers Forced Lao Hmong Back to Laos – 28 February 2008

Thai News Agency – Hmong Migrants Returned from Thailand to Laos – 28 February 2008