A Voice for the Voiceless

100 Palestinians trapped in Egyptian Airport

        Since the fighting broke out between Hamas and Fatah thousands of Palestinians have fled to Egypt.  The number of Palestinian refugees in Egypt ranges from 4,000 to 6,000.  Egyptian President Mubarak stated that the refugees will remain in Egypt until the fighting subsides between the two factions.  Therefore, he has shut down Egypt’s border to the Gaza Strip, the Rafah Crossing.  He has also shut down air travel from Egyptian Airports to the Gaza trip, which has stranded passengers.

        Consequently, 100 Palestinians have been trapped in the Arish Ariport for about 20 days.  The Palestinians arrived at Arish from various countries. They had planned on stopping in Arish only to make their connecting flight to the Gaza Strip.  Therefore, they did not obtain visas to enter Egypt, because they did not think they would get stuck in the country.  These Palestinians have been forced into a small section of the airport, and have not been allowed to leave for any reason.  The Palestinians have tried to break free, but the police forcefully restrained the crowd, injuring three people.  One of the men told the Middle Eastern Times, “We are sleeping on the floor, we all share one toilet, [and] there is nowhere to take a bath or shower.”   Reportedly, they have survived on water and salt, and currently, have gone on on hunger strike. 

        The Egyptians’ rationale for shutting down the border travel is to protect the Palestinians.  The Egyptian government’s fear is that if the Palestinians enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah Crossing, they may be shot by Israelis or Hamas soldiers misidentifying them as smugglers.  The Egyptians have kept the border crossings to Israel open, but many Palestinians are hesitant to cross into Israel.  The Palestinians fear that the Israeli’s will cause them trouble or even arrest them.  Therefore, the Palestinians are stuck in Egypt for an indefinite period of time.  However, the Egyptians are trying to address the problem by setting up free health care facilities to treat the Palestinian refugees.   This help may be too little because 28 Palestinians have already died with health related issues, which could be compounded with thousands of Palestinians crowding the border towns seeking to entrance into the Gaza Strip. 

Daily Star Egypt. Palestinians Trapped in Arish Airport go on Hunger Strike. 9 July 2007.
Middle East News. Palestinians Trapped for Weeks in Egypt. 17 Jul 2007.
News24.com. Palestinians Trapped. 17 July 2007.
People’s Daily Online. Egypt to provide free treatment for stranded Palestinian patients at Rafah crossing. 16 July 2007.

Peace for Sudan?

By Impunity Watch Africa

Two recent developments provide hope that peace will come to Sudan, although many problems still lie ahead.

On Sunday, at an international summit to push peace in the Darfur region, the Sudanese government agreed to meet rebel groups that have so far refused to join peace talks.   If the meet does in fact take place, it will be an important step towards re-starting peace negotiations that stalled last year following the unpopular Darfur peace agreement.  The non-signatories to that agreement will meet the first week of August to prepare a unified position for talks with the government in late August or early September.   Negotiations will be tough, with agreements needed on how much to compensate families driven from their land, how to protect them when they return home, and how to disarm the militias.

In another positive development, a huge underground lake has been found in the Darfur region, prompting many scientists to claim that it may help end the conflict in the arid region.  Boston University researchers discovered the lake and plan on drilling 1,000 wells in the region.  Many analysts say competition for resources between Darfur’s Arab nomads and black African farmers is a big force behind the conflict.  The director for Boston University’s Center for Remote Sensing, Farouk El-Baz, said that “access to fresh water is essential for refugee survival, will help the peace process, and provides the necessary resources for the much needed economic development in Darfur.”  The lake was discovered using radar data, and it is believed to be the size of Lake Erie – the 10th largest lake in the world.

However, a draft Security Council resolution to authorize the deployment of a joint UN-AU peace-keeping force in Darfur has been opposed by Sudan and South Africa. The objection is over a sanctions clause in the resolution.  Sudan’s Ambassador to the UN said the resolution should be more Sudan-friendly and drop the “irrelevant and alien issues” such as the threat of sanctions.   Last month, the Sudanese government agreed to allow the hybrid force into the region.  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Security Council to approve a draft resolution to get the approved peacekeeping force on the ground as soon as possible.  UN reports have stated that security on the ground is deteriorating, with a rise in attacks on aid workers and peacekeepers. The hope is to get forces on the ground by September or October, in order to help the small AU force that is failing to stop the violence.  Since the start of the Sudan conflict, 200,000 people have died and more than 2 million have been displaced.

For more information, please see:

AllAfrica – Darfur Resolution Opposed – 18 July 2007

BBC – Water Find ‘May End Darfur War’ – 18 July 2007

Washington Post – Scientists Find Lake Remnants in Sudan – 17 July 2007

LA Times – Sudan Agrees to Meet with Rebels – 16 July 2007

Hunger Marchers Subdued and Arrested By Police in Nigeria

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch, Africa

Presently, one out of every three Nigerians are malnourished. On a daily basis, over 46 million people go to bed hungry despite the fact that Nigeria is Africa’s most oil rich nation.

Action Aid, a non-governmental organization involved in development work, organized a march in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to raise awareness “about widespread hunger in Africa’s most populous nation.” At Friday’s march, participants hoped to present petitions to President Umaru Yar’Adua and government officials to encourage implementation of new laws and policies to help end hunger.

An organizer of the march described the situation in Nigeria as “their hunger is an indictment of those who have more than enough to eat in a country with more than enough resources and potential to banish the hunger it breeds.”

On Friday, the marchers became rowdy and played loud music. Environmental policy protection officials became disturbed when marchers littered the ground with discarded polythene bags. Marchers ignored attempts from the environmental officials, and the police were called to the scene. Ultimately, the police dispersed hundreds of campaigners with teargas and arrested twenty one individuals. The march was deemed illegal as organizers never obtained a permit from the board.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has attempted to obtain comments from the leader of the mobile police team on the action of his men. However, all attempts by news agencies have been rebuffed by the police leader.

For more information, please see:

Angola Press – Police Stop Nigeria Hunger March – 17 July 2007

BBC – Police Stop Nigeria Hunger March – 16 July 2007

Daily Triumph – Hunger march protesters, teargased, 21 arrested – 13 July 2007

BBC – Country Profile: Nigeria – 29 May 2007

Shutdown of nuclear facilities in North Korea

Photo of a tanker leaving South Korea on Thursday, carrying 6200 tons of oil to the North.

After four and a half years of operation, North Korea is expected to begin shutting down its main nuclear facilities this week.  The United Nations have verified that North Korea has shut down its nuclear reactor already.  The director general of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei said the shutdown of five facilities in Yongbyon, North Korea should not be difficult, and should be completed within approximately a month.

This shutdown would halt North Korea’s only declared program for producing fuel that can be used in nuclear weapons.  Experts say these five facilities can yield more than thirteen pounds of plutonium a year, enough for one atomic bomb.

North Korea agreed to shutdown its Yongbyon facilities in an agreement with the United States, South Korea, China, Russia, and Japan.  The agreement called for shipping 50,000 tons of fuel oil to North Korea.  The North now says it is ready to permanently disable the reactor if the US lifts economic sanctions and strikes the North from a list of terrorism sponsors.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said progress on disarmament would depend on the measures the US and Japan would take to rescind their hostile policies toward North Korea.

After the freeze of the facilities, however, many questions remain.  These include whether North Korea will provide the agency with a complete inventory of its nuclear materials, how much plutonium it has produced thus far, and whether it may return to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.  The North withdrew from the Treaty in 2003 after Washington accused it of running a secret uranium enrichment program in violation of a disarmament deal and stopped oil deliveries.

For more information, please see:

–http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHC5gM6whvMU&refer=home

–http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSSP1037320070716

–http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/world/asia/13korea.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

–http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3380339

Abbas appoints caretaker government

Following Hamas’s takeover of Gaza, Palestinian president, Abbas, declared a state of emergency.  He dismissed the then prime minister, Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh and appointed Salam Fayyad as the emergency prime minister.  On July 13, Fayyad resigned as prime minister but then was re-appointed by Abbas as the interim government’s prime minister.  In addition, Abbas appointed three more ministers and decreed that this new government will remain in power until the next legislative or presidential elections.

According to the Palestinian Authority’s Basic Law, an emergency government may rule for 30 days without legislative approval.  However, as a result of the in-fighting between Fatah and Hamas and Israel’s arrest of Hamas lawmakers, the Palestinian parliament is dysfunctional and was incapable of giving approval.  Fatah and Abbas’s attempts to convene a parliamentary meeting to approve the new government have or will be boycotted by Hamas.  In addition, Hamas’s attempts to convene a parliamentary meeting to declare the new government unconstitutional will be boycotted by Fatah.  In either case, the parliament will lack the quorum necessary to make an official vote.

Palestinian lawmakers who drafted the Basic Law question the constitutionality of Abbas’s actions.  While most agree that Abbas had the right to dismiss Haniyeh as prime minister, many argue that Abbas does not have the necessary authority to appoint an entire cabinet without parliament approval nor the right to suspend parts of the constitution by decree.  Abbas seems to recognize these constitutional pitfalls but states that he will do what is necessary to keep the government functioning in Palestine.

The international community has shown support for Abbas in recent weeks.  Many western governments began sending aid to Abbas and the impoverished Palestinians.  Israel has released some of the withheld tax revenue that it collects for the Palestinian Authority and is set to release 250 Palestinian detainees. 

For more information please see:

Ha’aretz:  “Fatah to boycott parliament session convened by Hamas”  15 July 2007. 

The Media Line:  “‘Abbas to prevent Hamas’ participation in future elections”  15 July 2007. 

The Independent:  “Abbas to form new caretakers government”  14 July 2007. 

Reuters:  “Hamas rejects Abbas’s new government”  14 July 2007. 

Voice of America:  “Palestinian President Abbas rules out talks with Hamas”  14 July 2007. 

Washington Post:  “Abbas rejigs Palestinian government”  13 July 2007. 

Reuters:  “Framers of Palestinian constitution challenge Abbas”  8 July 2007.