A Voice for the Voiceless

IDF Operations in Gaza and West Bank

On June 27, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out two operations in Gaza, one in Gaza City and the other in the southern city of Khan Younis.  The IDF states that the purpose of the incursions was to disrupt the terrorist infrastructure inside Gaza by finding and seizing militants and their weapons.  The incursions consisted of air strikes, as well a ground assault led by tanks.  The IDF claims that it “hit” 15 militants, while the media reports that 11 militants were killed, along with 2 civilians.  In addition, 40 people were injured, some in critical condition, and several dozens were arrested.  IDF reported that two soldiers were injured in these operations.

Then, early June 28, IDF went into the West Bank city of Nablus.  Witnesses stated that around 80 jeeps filled with Israeli soldiers entered the city.  Israeli troops interrupted radio and television programs and warned Palestinians to remain at home.  Again, IDF justified the incursion by stating that Nablus is a “hotbed” for terrorism and that the goal was to disrupt terror activity.  Israeli troops arrested two men suspected of being Fatah fighters and confiscated weapons.  Five IDF soldiers were wounded in a bombing in Nablus.  Al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed branch of Fatah claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Both Fatah and Hamas leadership condemned Israel’s actions.   Hamas accused Israel and Fatah of conspiring to pressure Hamas in Gaza.  While Salam Fayyad, the Prime Minister of the emergency Palestinian government, viewed the aggression as Israeli attempts to undermine the Palestinian government’s attempts to end the chaos.  Abbas condemned both of these military operations; calling the IDF’s actions as “criminal”.  He added that Fatah is against violence of any kind and criticized the launching of Qassam rockets.  Recently, Abbas vocalized his desire to disband all militias in both Gaza and the West Bank, even those affiliated with Fatah.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera:  “Israeli troops raid Nablus”  28 June 2007. 

Gulf News:  “Israel raids downtown Nablus”  28 June 2007. 

Gulf News:  “Israeli raids stoke war fears”  28 June 2007. 

IDF:  “Nablus:  an officer and soldier severely injured”  28 June 2007. 

Washington Post:  “At least 14 Palestinians killed as Israeli military enters Gaza”  28 June 2007. 

Al Jazeera:  “Israel launches deadly Gaza raids”  27 June 2007. 

IDF:  “A summary of today’s events in the Gaza Strip”  27 June 2007. 

International Herald Tribune:  “Israeli raids into Gaza leave 13 dead”  27 June 2007. 

New York Times:  “Israelis kills 11 militants inside Gaza; 2 civilians die”  27 June 2007.

Indian doctor-imposter charged with illegal abortion

Indian police have arrested a man posing as a doctor, charging him with illegally aborting female fetuses and then flushing them down the toilet. A.K. Singh ran an illegal clinic in Gurgaon (a Delhi suburb) offering sex-determination tests and abortions.

Abortion is legal in India, but the government outlawed abortion based on the sex of the fetus in 1994. Police found tiny skulls and bones in the clinic’s septic tank, as well as a pile of partly burned fetuses in the clinic building. Singh confessed to the crime, but Indian law does not accept confessions made in police custody unless they are repeated in court.

The Indian government reports that about 10 million girls have been killed over the past 20 years.  Many regions of India, including Gurgaon, report only 800 girls born for every 1,000 boys. Indian parents tend to prefer sons because daughters are expensive to marry off.

For more information, please see:

http://in.news.yahoo.com/070615/137/6h15g.html

http://www.indiadaily.org/entry/aborted-female-foetuses-found-in-gurgaon/

Zimbabwe’s Spiraling Inflation

By Myriam Clerge
Impunity Watch, Africa

Zimbabwe is battling a down spiraling inflation rate. The official rate is 4,500 %, the highest in the world for a country not in war.

In an effort to curb inflation rates, which increased by 300 % in the last week alone, the government ordered a price cut on basic commodities such as bread, milk and oil. The price cut took effect on Tuesday. However, several struggling companies have ignored the governments order and continued raising prices.

In essence, the government is ordering factories to sell goods at prices lower than production costs. Reluctant to violate new laws prohibiting criticism of the government, one storeowner explained that it could not simply slash prices in the middle of production.

President Mugabe is blaming the West, specifically Britain, for persuading factories to defy price reduction in an effort to overthrow him. During the funeral of a top military official, Mugabe warned that if factories continued their “dirty tricks” he would seize and nationalize all companies.

In 2000, Mugabe forcibly seized white owned farms and gave them to the landless blacks. Critics blame this seizure for the present state of the economy. Furthermore, economists warn that price cut strategies will likely lead to shortages and factory closures. Economic analyst Tony Hawkins, suggests that Mugabe’s threat to seize companies is another ploy to win the 2008 election.

In the meantime, the United States and the European Union has imposed a travel ban and an asset freeze on President Mugabe and other leading officials.

For more information please see:

Yahoo – Mugabe Threatens to Seize Firms Over ‘Dirty Tricks’ – 27 June 2007

BBC – Zimbabwe to Cut Prices ‘By Half’ – 26 June 2007

Yahoo – Zimbabwe Government Orders Price Cuts – 26 June 2007

Kurds Continue to Battle

    The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (“PKK”) have become more frequent in their attacks. Thus, Gen. İlker Başbuğ, the commander of the Turkish Land Forces promised to increase his force to crush the rebels.

    The Kurds are the largest people group in the Middle East without their own nation. They originate from an area located within Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Armenia and Syria.  In 1920, when the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the Allies, the Kurds were split up into multiple different nations. Their strong desire for an independent nation has remained since 1920.  The Kurdistan Workers’ Party has actively tried to make that desire into a reality.

    The PKK was founded in 1978 by Abdullah Ocalan. He was a Leninist revolutionary. He has fought the Turkish government since 1984, using guerrilla warfare tactics. Recently, some of their members were arrested trying to place bombs.  Their leader, Ocalan, was captured by Turkey and was placed in prison for life in 1999.  The group currently has more than 5,000 members, and has its own unrecognized parliament.

    In response to the actions by the PKK the Turkish government has promised to quell the rebellious Kurds.  In just his year alone, the PKK has killed 65-70 of the Turkish soldiers.  The weapon of choice for the PKK is land mines. The Turkish Government hopes its response  will be able to completely defeat the PKK and avenge some of the 30,000 lives lost since the party’s inception.

    This new major offensive will be long, brutal and demanding. It will force the Turkish government and the Kurds into a deep civil war, which cannot not be resolved soon.  It will cause many to die, and will create more open hostility in an already unstable region.  The Kurds will not be satisfied until they get their own land. And so even if the Turkish government is successful in accomplishing its goal, it will only be a stop-gap measure.

Time Magazine. Nationalists without a Nation. 1 March 1999.
Washington Post. Who are the Kurds? 1999.
Reuters.  Turkey’s army chief renews call to crush Kurd rebels in Iraq. 27 June 2007.
Today’s Zaman. Army to restructure to step up fight against PKK. 28 June 2007.
Trend News Agency. PKK terrorists fail to plant mine trap on highway in eastern Turkey. 26 June 2007.
Associated Press. 2 Kurds Die in Failed Suicide Attack. 24 June 2007.

Fujimori agrees to run in Japan race despite allegations of human rights abuses

Alberto Fujimori, the former president of Peru, has decided to run for a seat in Japan’s upper parliament in July, according to the country’s NTV network’s website.  Fujimori, 68, is quoted as saying that he wants “to make use of [his] 10-year experience as president to work for Japan and the world.”

The People’s New Party, a minor party, asked Fujimori to run.  According to Fujimori, his top policy objectives would be to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program and the campaign to resolve the country’s abductions of Japanese citizens.   “I think I can do it,” Fujimori told NTV.

It is not clear whether Fujimori would be eligible to register as a candidate. In 2000, the Japanese government came to the conclusion that Fujimori was a Japanese citizen because his birth was registered with a Japanese consulate in Peru, and he had never renounced his citizenship.  Japan’s Kyodo News reported that no regulations under Japan’s Public Offices Election Law prohibit a candidate under house arrest overseas from running in an election in Japan, according to the Associated Press.

Peru wants to try Fujimori for bribery, wire tapping, the sanctioning of 25 killings and other charges accrued during his ten-year administration, which ended in 2000 following a corruption scandal.  Fujimori spent the following five years in Japan in exile, and has renounced any wrongdoing.  After returning to South America in an apparent bid to run for Peruvian office, he was arrested by Chilean authorities and put under house arrest.  Fujimori was freed for a time, on the condition he not leave the country, but recently a Chilean prosecutor recommended that he be extradited to Peru to face charges of human rights abuses and corruption.  He is currently under house arrest in Chile.

Jose Garcia Belaunde, Peru’s Foreign Minister, dismissed the proposal as “a maneuver by that party and by ex-President Fujimori to try to avoid extradition,” reported BBC News.  Chilean legal experts claim that Fujimori’s candidacy will not affect a final deportation ruling.

For more information, please see:

“Fujimori mulls Japan party offer” BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6220694.stm 20 June 2007

“Report: Ex-Peruvian Leader to run in Japan Race” CNN http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/06/27/fujimori.japan.ap/index.html 27 June 2007

“Japanese Party says Fujimori to run in Japanese Parliamentary Race” International Herald Tribune http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/28/asia/AS-GEN-Japan-Fujimori.php 27 June 2007

“Peruvian Ex-President Fujimori Under House Arrest in Chile” Impunity Watch; 14 June 2007