A Voice for the Voiceless

Iraq: Thousands Seeking New Livelihoods

By Vivek Thiagarajan
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

The Turkish military has attacked the northern Kurdish region of Iraq.  The Turks have claimed that the attacks have killed hundreds of PKK militants, including up to 175 rebels killed on December 16 alone.  (BBC-Turkish jets in fresh Iraq strike)

The attacks have destabilized the region and forced those who live in the area to seek safety.
“Since 16 December when Turkish warplanes renewed their bombing of the borders, nearly 700 families, about 4,000 people, have fled their villages, leaving everything behind,” said Mohammed Khalil, a spokesman for the Regional Displacement and Immigration Directorate.  (IRIN)

The instability has forced many Iraqis to sell their homes and possessions in order to relocate during the attacks.

However, since many Iraqi Kurds in the northern mountainous region were farmers and shepherds, many of the people relocated have been forced to find new livelihoods.  They have been forced to find the shelter from relatives while seeking to begin a new life from scratch.

For example in a phone interview, 65 year-old father of eight, Hama Numan Jalil, a relocated farmer from the border region explained his plight from his cousin’s home.  “I lost all my animals last week: nine cows, 18 sheep and 14 goats which we depend on for a living . . . We left everything behind – our home, which is partially damaged, and our land, and now we have ended up here at my cousin’s home in the city; my cousin has 10 sons to feed already,” Jalil said.  (IRIN) Jalil stated that he would probably have to remove his children from school to make sure that they could be able to survive.

The Turkish attacks have been condemned by leaders of Iraq’s northern Kurdish region.   However, these condemnations seem to not have dissuaded the Turks who seek to eliminate all strongholds of the PKK.

For more information, please see:

BBC News- Turkish jets fresh in Iraq- 26 December 2007

BBC News- Iraq Kurds warn Turkey over raids- 25 December 2007

IRIN News- IRAQ: Newly displaced in north considering alternative livelihoods-26 December 2007

BRIEF: Police Not Above the Law, says Weicavu

SUVA, Fiji — At several points during the course of this year Fijian police and governmental officials have been charged with acting beyond the confines of the law.  On 26 December, however, Assistant Police Spokesman, Corporal Josaia Weicavu, told Fiji Times reporters that no one is above the law.  His remarks came after reporters asked him about an incident involving a police officer beating two children in Suva.  Weicavu said that he had not been personally aware of the incident, but that if it did happen that police officials should always follow official rules of engagement.

The incident in question occurred on 25 December, when a police officer exited his highway patrol vehicle outside of the Fiji Visitors Bureau office and proceeded to belt two boys who was standing on the street corner.

When Weicavu became aware of the incident he issued his strong warning that police should not take the law into their own hands and that beating members of the public would not be condoned.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International — Police officers issued a stern warning — 26 December 2007

Fiji Times — Police: No one is above the law — 26 December 2007

Increase in Child Abductions in DRC

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Western and Central Africa

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo – According to the charity, Save the Children, the fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in an increase in child abductions by rebel groups. While the conflict has forced about 800,000 people from their homes, only about 800 children have been freed from armed militias during 2007.

The Congolese director for Save the Children, Hussein Mursal, has described the situation for children and teenagers in eastern DRC to be “catastrophic.” Militant groups have been forcibly capturing children as young as age ten to fight in the front lines. The UN claims “that rape, pillage (and) the recruitment of child soldiers are practiced by all Nord-Kivu fighters.”

Kemal Saiki, a spokesman for MONUC, the UN mission to DRC said “Our latest information shows 200 pupils were forcibly recruited on December 17, with school materials and ID cards being burnt.”

General Nkunda has reported that he is not interested in using child soldiers to fight against Rwandan Hutu rebels who threaten the DR Congo’s Tutsi population.  Nevertheless, reports show that Nkunda’s men have been responsible for taking children from Tongo. 

Presently, Nkunda has called for a ceasefire in an attempt to undertake internationally sponsored peace negotiations in Goma that will take place on January 6, 2008. Currently, 20,000 government soldiers with the help of United Nations forces are fighting 4,000 Nkunda loyalists.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Child Kidnap Surge in DR Congo   – 24 December 2007

BBC – DR Congo: Voices of Violence – 17 October 2007

VOA – DRC Rebel Leader Calls for Ceasefire   – 26 December 2007

AFP – UN slams Congolese rebel child soldier recruitment   – 26 December 2007

BRIEF: Iraqi Cabinet Approves Bill that could Free Thousands

The bill would pardon prisoners who have been wrongly detained. There are an estimated 50,000 Iraqis that have been jointly arrested by the US military (26,000) and the Iraqi security forces (24,000).  The number prisoners has spiked since the increase in the military strength by the US military, which has cut down on insurgent violence.

The main target of the bill is to free uncharged prisoners who have not been linked to dangerous terrorist activities and yet have been held indefinitely.   Most of the prisoners are Sunni prisoners, which has caused rising tension.  A main hope by the drafters is that the release of the prisoners will limit some of the hostility among the rivaling Sunnis and Shiites factions.

For more information, please see:

All Headline News- U.S. Optimistic Over The Release Of Thousands Of Iraqi Detainees In 2008- 26 December 2007

Jurist- Iraq cabinet approves pardon of ‘innocent’ detainees: report – 26 December 2007

PBS News hour- New Law Could Pardon Thousands in Iraq- 26 December 2007

YAHOO! News (Reuters)- Iraqi cabinet approves draft general pardon law- 26 December 2007

Several Days of Protests, Followed by Arrests in Bahrain

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain – On December 17, police and protestors clashed during a demonstration marking ten years since the death of a leading Shiite activist.  The demonstration, organized by the opposition parties, sought compensation for claimed human rights violations which occurred the 1980s and 1990s, when the opposition protested perceived discrimination against Shiites.  During the December 17 demonstration, the police used teargas and later, a demonstrator, Ali Jassem, died as a result of inhaling teargas.  However, a statement from the Interior Ministry claimed that an official medical examination concluded that Jassem died as a result of a sudden drop in blood pressure.

Jassem’s death spurred several days of riots and clashes with the police; including burning tires, blocked roads, and destruction of police vehicles.  The largest demonstration occurred on December 20, following a clash between the police and the mourners at Jassem’s wake.  Mourners attacked a police officer in Jedhafs village.  Riot police responded by entering the village.  According to a witness, the police began firing indiscriminately on the mourners with rubber bullets and teargas.

Then, 500 men gathered and began destroying public and private property.  The spokesman for the Islamist Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy opposition party, Abdul-Jalil al-Singace, said that Jassem’s death could lead to new protests and mass demonstrations similar to those that occurred during the 1990s, which resulted in 40 deaths.

Following the demonstration in Jedhafs, the police conducted sweeps of mainly Shiite villages and arrested close to 40 individuals.  Witnesses state that people were beaten and abused by the police during these arrests.  The Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy issued a statement which claimed at least three people were hospitalized.  The Interior Ministry confirmed that arrests took place but would not disclose the number of people arrested.  The ministry also stated that the arrests are not politically motivated, but instead related to charges of arson, destruction of police cars and stealing police weapons.  A statement from the ministry to the official state news agency said that the charges are “criminal and they are not political activists.”

New protests occurred during the following days.  Hundreds of family members of those arrested staged a sit in outside the police stations in the villages of Bani Jamara and Malkiya.  Riot police were present at both locations, and the protest in Malkiya became violent.  Later, on December 25, family members arrived at the public prosecution office in Manama with clothes that the government requested for the detainees but refused to hand them over or leave unless they saw their relatives.  Opposition parties and rights groups claim that the government officials denied the request and riot police forced the family members out of the office.  However, Interior Ministry spokesman, Mohammed bin Daina, denied the event occurred and stated that the office was evacuated in order to prevent chaos.

Family members and opposition parties claim that the government is refusing to allow anyone to see the detainees, even legal counsel.  Harez Harez, a lawyer for some of the accused, told the Associated Press that the government “violated legal procedure by banning lawyers from meeting with the suspects and attending the interrogation sessions.”  He also stated that, from his conversations with government officials, 28 individuals were detained.

Bahrain, a parliamentary monarchy, is ruled by a Sunni family.  However, 70 percent of its population is Shia.  Resentment within the Shia majority stems from high unemployment rates and the government’s policy of naturalizing Sunnis from Iraq, Syria, and Yemen and granting the immigrants jobs which otherwise would go to Shiites.  Rights activist Abdul-Nabi al-Ekri stated, “the government has created a volatile situation by accelerating naturalization of foreigners with the aim of changing Bahrain’s demography and this exacerbated frustrations among different sections of society.”

For more information, please see:
AFP – Bahrain MPs Denounce Clashes in Shiite Areas – 25 December 2007

International Herald Tribune – Bahraini Police Scuffle with Relatives of Detained Shiites – 25 December 2007

YouTube – Shia in Bahrain – 25 December 2007

Al Jazeera – Bahrain Protests Lead to Arrests – 24 December 2007

Gulf Times – Disturbances Hit Bahrain Areas for Fifth Day: Reports – 24 December 2007

BBC – Bahrain Rocked by Days of Clashes – 23 December 2007

Reuters – Bahrain Arrests 40 After Week-Long Protests – 23 December 2007

Guardian – Violent Clashes Erupt in Bahrain – 22 December 2007

International Herald Tribune – Bahraini Police Stage Security Sweeps Following Clashes – 22 December 2007

International Herald Tribune – Violent Clashes Erupt in Bahraini Capital – 21 December 2007

Al Jazeera – Mourners Clash with Bahrain Police – 20 December 2007

Associated Press – Bahraini Shiites Clash with Riot Police – 18 December 2007