Young Child Kidnapped in Niger Delta

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch, Africa

On Thursday July 5th, Margaret Hill, the three year old daughter of an expatriate worker was kidnapped by gun men in the Niger Delta. Hill was seized on her way to school in Port Harcout. Her kidnapping follows that of five oil workers who were captured on Wednesday. Hill is the third child to be kidnapped by Nigerian militants in the past three weeks, as militants have been targeting children of wealthy oil workers and Nigerian state legislators. The first two children that were captured were set free unharmed after ransom payments were paid on their behalf.

UK’s Foreign Office has called for the “immediate safe release” of young Hill. A spokesman for the office stated, “We do not know who took her. We are in contact with her parents and are providing assistance. High Commission officials are in contact with the Nigerian authorities.”

The kidnappers contacted Mrs. Hill and allowed her to speak to her baby. Mrs Hill reported that the kidnappers arranged a meeting in a town in Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta region to allow for her husband to swap positions with the baby. The kidnappers gave the Hills three hours to arrive or young Hill would be killed. However, the police have not been able to identify the perpetrators or find the place of meeting.

Presently, The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), which is the region’s most prominent military group has offered to help find the girl. The group wrote in an email sent to the Associated Press that “We will join in the hunt for the monsters who carried out this abduction and mete out adequate punishment for this crime – We abhor all forms of violence against women and children.” Moreover, according to Mrs. Hill, the gun men have demanded money and talks will ensue in order to secure the release of the young child.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Threat to Kill Missing UK Girl – 06 July 2007

CNN – Girl’s Kidnapper’s Demand Money – 06 July 2007

BBC – Three Year Old Seized in Nigeria – 05 July 2007

BBC’s Alan Johnston released in Gaza

On July 4, Alan Johnston was released after spending 16 weeks in captivity.  His car was found in Gaza on March 12.  Prior to being kidnapped, he spent three years as the BBC’s permanent correspondent in Gaza.  For 114 days, Johnston was held captive by the Army of Islam, led by the Doghmush clan.  The group demanded the release of Muslim prisoners in British custody in exchange for Johnston’s freedom.

According to Johnston, he was held in four different locations, two for only a short period of time.  While Johnston was kept in chains and taunted by his captors, he reported that he was not physically harmed until the last half hour of his ordeal.  He was able to track global demonstrations for his release by listening to the radio and these demonstrations were a source of comfort for him.

Also, Johnston stated that Hamas played a large role in his release.  Prior to Hamas’s takeover of Gaza, his kidnappers were calm.  However after Hamas gained control of Gaza his kidnappers became increasingly nervous.  While the Army of Islam had associated with Hamas in the past, Hamas neither encouraged nor condoned the group’s kidnapping of Johnston.  After Hamas gained control of Gaza, its goal was to restore the laws and wanted to secure the release of Johnston.

After Hamas gained control of Gaza, it immediately called for Johnston’s release.  Hamas’s military wing was deployed to the areas where the Dugmush clan’s presence was strong.   However, instead of using pure military force and engaging the Army of Islam in direct conflict, Hamas cut of water and electricity and detained at least five members of the Army of Islam.  While details of his release is still unclear, it is known that Johnston was escorted from a building and driven directly to the house of Ismail Haniya, the recently fired Palestinian Prime Minister.  Later, he arrived at the British Consulate in Jerusalem, where he gave a press conference and rested before returning Britain.

For their role in securing Johnston’s release, Hamas may experience an improved international reception.  Since 2005, when they won a majority in the Palestinian parliament, the Quartet (the US, UN, EU, and Russia) and other western countries refused to work with Hamas.  However, shortly after news of Johnston’s release reached the UK, twenty British MPs signed a motion, calling for greater engagement with Hamas.  The motion recognized that Hamas played a pivotal role in Johnston’s release and that showed that they should be included in reconciliation efforts.  It remains too soon to gauge whether Hamas will be treated differently by the UK or by the members of the Quartet.

 

For more information please see:
Al Jazeera:  “Johnston case ‘exposes hypocrisy’” 5 July 2007. 

BBC:  “MP urging engagement with Hamas”  5 July 2007. 

Christian Science Monitor:  “Hamas acts to show it’s in charge”  5 July 2007. 

Haaretz: “Hamas delivers proof, at last”  5 July 2007. 

London Times:  “‘I literally dreamt of being free, and always woke up in that room’”  5 July 2007. 

BBC:  “Hamas role in Johnston’s release”  4 July 2007. 

BBC:  “Timeline Alan Johnston abduction”  4 July 2007. 

BBC:  “BBC’s Alan Johnston is released”  4 July 2007. 

BBC:  “Hamas seeks to gain from release”  4 July 2007.

BBC:  “Hamas arrests over BBC reporter”  2 July 2007. 

The Jerusalem Post:  “Johnston released from 4 month captivity”  4 July 2007. 

The Jerusalem Post:  “Hamas hopes for legitimacy after Johnston’s release”  4 July 2007.

New York Times:  “No fast gain for Hamas after release of journalist”  4 July 2007.

New York Times:  “BBC journalist freed in Gaza”  4 July 2007.

Somalia: Search for Peace

By Myriam Clerge
Impunity Watch, Africa

After a month stranded in the borders, Kenya has finally decided to open its border to Somalia so that almost 140 UN aid truck may cross. However the WFP’s Somali spokesperson, Warsame, said that the trucks have not moved and they have been unable to receive official confirmation of Kenya’s decision.

In the meantime, acute malnutrition continues to rise in Gedo region, which borders Kenya. An estimated one million people in Somalia are in need of assistance according to the UN.

The UN was forced to use the Kenyan overland route after ships and crewmen were kidnapped and held at ransom at sea. Ethiopia has been plagued with violence since 1991 when it last had a government. Kenya closed it borders in January when Ethiopian soldiers began battling Islamists.

On Tuesday Somali gunmen shot a senior government official in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia and the most violent and heavily armed cities in the country. Just last month a district commissioner was also murdered. Almost every day a government official comes under attack despite mass arrests and curfews.

The government blames the string of suicide bombing and roadside explosion on members of the ousted Islamist movement.

The key to ending the conflict is solving the differences between religious and clan groups. However, that may prove to be an unattainable task. Simply inviting the nation’s largest clan, the Hawiye, took two hours on Monday without resolution.

A reconciliation conference is scheduled for July 15. However, neither government official nor Hawiye clan leaders are expected to attend. The major grievance of the Hawiye is the presence of foreign, Ethiopian, troops in the country. However the withdrawal of such troops is essentially government suicide. Neither Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf, the United Nations, nor Western diplomats see this as an option. The last time a new government was created from scratch, there was anarchy and violence for two year. Anarchy could possibly empower Islamists sympathetic to Al-Qaida.

Some feel that a bad government is better than none at all.

For more information please see:

BBC – Aid Trucks Allowed in to Somalia – 02 July 2007

Yahoo – Gunmen Slay Somali Official, Blast Kills Teen – 03, July 2007

Yahoo – Somali Elders Search for Peace – 02 July 2007

Maid Wandering Bahrain

        Lakshmi Parvathi is an Indian immigrant worker in Bahrain.  She was hired by her sponsor as a maid. Recently, she was found in tattered clothing wandering the streets of Bahrain, following her attempted escape from her employer.  This was the second time she was unsuccessful in her attempt to flee from her abusive sponsor and return to her husband in Andhra Pradesh.  Previously, the police captured her and returned Parvathi to her employer.  The Indian Embassy would not issue her a return ticket, because she had not completed her year long obligation to the employer.  Therefore, she was not legally entitled to a ticket.  Additionally, she was unable to purchase a ticket on her own, because her employer had withheld three months of her wages. 
    Migrant workers are regularly mistreated in the Middle East.  The migrant workers, usually from Asia, are drawn to higher paying salaries.  The wages are usually around $4 for menial jobs. The workers are mostly women.  They usually work as maids at homes and cook, clean, and take care of children.  In exchange for their services, their sponsors provide the workers with housing and transportation.  Thus, the women send their salaries back to support their families. 
    The migrants are in weak positions to stand up for themselves.  Many of the nations fiercely protect their citizens and are repressive toward the migrant workers.  Therefore, it is difficult for the workers protect themselves from their sponsors’ abuse.  For example, when a migrant complains against her employers, it is easy for the employer to retaliate by making a false accusation against the worker.  The sponsors’ word is almost automatically trusted and the worker is quickly tossed in jail.  Once released from jail, the worker is returned to her employer to finish her obligation.  Also, it is difficult for the employee to protest that she is not being compensated her scheduled amount. The reason is that the employer can hesitate to pay the woman until the fulfillment of their obligation.  Immediately, upon the termination of the agreement happen, the woman’s visa expires expelling her from the country, and further isolating the employer from repercussions of the withheld payment.
    The local governments must protect these women.  Abusive sponsors have taken advantage of these women by beating them and also withholding payment from them.  The sponsors need to be made accountable for their actions.  This could be done by the Asian embassies issuing the visas to the sponsors by taking a more proactive approach to protecting their citizens.  For example, each sponsor should have to go to through a verification process.  Thus, it will at least protect the women from serial abusers.  Also, it should charge the sponsors a certain premium on the issuance of the visa to pay for an exit interview of the migrant workers.  The other solution for the women is to place outside pressure on the Middle Eastern countries to monitor the abusive employers.
Gulf Daily News. Maid found wandering in the street. 5 July 2007.
Bits of News. Migrant Workers in the Middle East. 2 July 2007.
Independent Online.  Migrants and the Middle East: Welcome to the other side of Dubai. 28 March 2006.
Middle East Report Online. “Model Employees:” Sri Lankan domestics in Lebanon.

Charles Taylor Ends Boycott

By Impunity Watch Africa

Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president on trial in The Hague for war crimes, appeared in the court for the first time Tuesday.  Wearing a blue suit and yellow tie, Taylor arrived twenty minutes late for a procedural hearing during which the judges explained why they had agreed to once again postpone the trial until August 20.

Taylor did not explain his decision to come to court, and the only words he spoke were to plead not guilty to the amended charge of sexual slavery.  The slightly amended charge is a crime against humanity and covers the abduction, rape, and use as sex slaves of an unknown number of women and girls.  Taylor has already pleaded not guilty to eleven charges in connection with his alleged control over armed rebels in Sierra Leone who murdered, raped, mutilated, and enslaved civilians.

The trial began with a day of opening statements on June 4, with a second day later that month. Taylor boycotted both days after firing his court-appointed attorney and claiming the court was not giving him a fair trial.  The first prosecution witnesses were due to be heard on Tuesday, but court officials responsible for ensuring a fair trial filed a motion last week to have the trial further delayed until Taylor received adequate counsel.  The judges agreed to postpone the trial until August 20 in order to give the new defense team, which has yet to be appointed, enough time to prepare.  In explaining the decision, presiding Judge Julia Sebutinde of Uganda stated that the court blamed officials in the court’s registry for not appointing new defense attorneys in time for the trial and that Taylor should not be punished for the “laxity of the registry.”

Prosecutor Stephen Rapp has voiced his disapproval of the decision, dismissing his concerns as administrative issues “blown out of proportion in order to create a reason for what we view as obstruction of justice in this case.”  He added that Taylor is receiving more money for his case, up to $2 million, than any other defendant charged by the court.

For more information, please see:

AllAfrica – Charles Taylor Appears at Trial – 03 July 2007

CNN – Liberia’s Taylor Appears in Court – 03 July 2007

International Herald Tribune – Charles Taylor Attends Hearing in War Crimes Trial – 03 July 2007

Reuters – Liberia’s Taylor Appears in Court After Boycott – 03 July 2007

Washington Post – Charles Taylor Attends Trial Hearing – 03 July 2007