Land and People Misplaced in Ethiopia

By Myriam Clerge
Impunity Watch, Africa

Several weeks ago the UN Security Council received a letter from the Ethiopian government accepting the commission’s decision to award the town of Badme to Eritrea. The agreement arrives five years after Ethiopia initially promised to comply with the UN’s 2002 ruling.

Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after 30 years of guerilla war. For two and a half years the two countries fought over the town of Badme until they agreed to a truce to cease hostility in 2000.

Ethiopia’s letter to the UN Security Council required Eritrea to comply with the 2000 truce and if violated to be sanctioned by the commission. In response to Ethiopia’s conditional acceptance, Eritrea issued its own letter blaming the UN for failing to force Ethiopia to turn over the town.

The Security Council met with African Union and Ethiopian officials in Addis Ababa this past weekend to discuss border issues and possible resolutions.

The Security Council was greeted by thousands of Ethiopian Jews in Addis Ababa waiting to get to Israel. In 2005 Israel unofficially promised to relocate Ethiopian Jews who claim their families were forced to convert to Christianity in the 19th century, known as the Falashmura, by the end of 2007.

Under Israel’s “law of return” anyone who is Jewish or has a Jewish relative or spouse is granted automatic Israeli citizenship. However, Ethiopian Jews in Israel are claiming that the government is discriminately blocking their relatives’ immigration.

Instead, thousands of Ethiopian Jews, who have abandoned their home and livelihood, are living on little hillocks near the Israeli embassy in Addis Ababa, waiting in vain to get to the Promise Land.

For more information please see:

Yahoo – Ethiopian troops attacked in Somalia – 15 June 2007

Yahoo – Ethiopia agrees to give town to Eritrea – 15 June 2007

Yahoo – Ethiopian Jews in limbo, waiting to get to Promised Land – 14 June 2007

BBC – Country Profile: Eritrea – 09 March 2007

Chaldeans Targeted, Thousands have fled Iraq

        The Chaldean church has lived in fear since Iraq’s destabilization caused by Saddam Hussein’s removal from power.  The Chaldean church is a Christian sect, formerly known as Nestorians. They originated from Babylon, or modern day Iraq, and were recently united with the Catholic Church.  Reports show that over 1,000 Christian families have fled Baghdad, and more than 35,000 Christians have fled the country, with many fleeing to Syria. The Christians have been under attack since August 2004, when many Iraqi Christian churches were bombed.
        Christian missionaries have been the most targeted. The BBC reported a website about a Korean Christian worker who was executed because he was an “infidel pig.”  His crime was that he “studied Christian theology and was hoping to become a missionary in the Arab World.” Although the foreign missionaries may have been most targeted, the Iraqi Christian Church has also been attacked.
On June 3, 2007, Gunmen entered the Chaldean Church and demanded those inside to immediately convert to Islam. Father Ragheed Ganni and three of his deacons were killed in his church, because they refused to obey the gunmen.  On June 6, 2007, Father Hani and five of his male students were kidnapped. The six men were walking to a minor seminary in northern Baghdad. The next day four out of five of the boys were released by the kidnappers. The perpetrators seem to be common criminals. They sent a ransom note to Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly demanding money for setting free the captured priest and the remaining student.
        This is not the first occurrence of a priest being kidnapped. In October, the Pope remarked that some of teachings of Islam were “evil” and “inhuman” and that the religion spread by the sword. In response to the pope’s remarks about Islam being a violent religion, a Christian priest was kidnapped and ransomed for $350,000. He was later beheaded.
        The Chaldean church has been targeted and have suffered at the hands of their aggressors. Many have been forced to flee their homes to seek safety. The few who have remained live in fear of attack.

Al-Jazeera. Iraq priest ‘killed over speech’. 13 August 2006.
AsiaNewsit.com. Four Christians abducted yesterday are released. 7 June 2007.
AsiaNewsit.com. Chaldean Priest captured in Baghdad. 6 June 2007.
BBC News. Analysis:Iraq’s Christians under attack. 2 August 2004.
BosLifeNetwork. Iraq Priest remains kidnapped, as thousands flee. 15 June 2007.
New Advent. Chaldean Christians.

Working Out the Details on Darfur Peacekeeping Force

By Impunity Watch Africa

This week Sudan agreed to a hybrid AU-UN force of 19,000 troops, however details over control has continued to be an issue of debate.   Currently the plan is for the UN to have overall control of the mission with the AU having responsibility for the day-to-day responsibilities.  Similar agreements in the past have failed due to Khartoum’s opposition.  Both the US and UK have warned that if Sudan continues to resist peacekeepers, sanctions will be imposed.

UN Security Council envoys are due to hold talks with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on deployment soon.  Western diplomats are looking for an exact timetable for deployment of peacekeeping force.  A Sudanese diplomat stated that troops could be in Darfur by October, depending on the time it takes the two organizations to get troops and funds.

Meanwhile, British aid agency Oxfam has stated that they are leaving Darfur due to safety concerns for its workers.  Three aid agencies based in Geneva were attacked by a rebel group in December.  One aid worker was beaten, another was raped, and several were subjected to mock executions.  Oxfam has stated they are withdrawing due to a lack of prosecution for the crime and a lack of assurances that such an attack would not happen again.   Oxfam has been supplying water, sanitation and healthcare to 130,000 people in refugee camps outside Gereida town.

Violence in Darfur has killed more than 200,000 people and turned 2.5 million people into refugees.  Much of the violence has been the cause of clashes between government-sponsored Janjaweed militias and Darfur rebel groups.

For more information, please see:

BBC – UN Talks Darfur detail with Sudan – 18 June 2007

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation – UN, Sudan to discuss Darfur plan – 17 June 2007

Sudan Tribune – Hybrid peacekeeping force could be in Darfur by October – 13 June 2007

Cambodian, international judges announce rules for genocide trial

Special tribunal investigators cleared the last major delay of trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders. Cambodian and international judges for the United Nations-backed special court agreed on rules for the judicial process, paving the way for Khmer Rouge leaders to be held accountable for the atrocities committed during their rule. The announcement ends six months of debate.

Foreign lawyers will be allowed to represent defendants and victims may file complaints to the courts as long as they do so as a group. Cambodian judges will hold the majority but will need one supporting vote from a foreign counterpart to prevail in any decision.

The prosecution will refer their first cases to the investigating judges, who will determine whether there is sufficient evidence against Khmer Rouge leaders to bring them to full trial. The process is expected to start within a few weeks and last three years.

In 2004, after years of negotiations with UN representatives, Cambodia agreed to try a handful of Khmer Rouge leaders who were considered to be most responsible for the atrocities.

But since its establishment almost a year ago, the court has been stalled by bitter disputes between the Cambodian and foreign judges over many procedural issues, including court etiquette and registration fees for foreign defense lawyers.

The investigating judges will begin the judicial process as soon as they receive their first case from prosecutors.

 

 

For more information, please see:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/499fdcce-1a14-11dc-99c5-000b5df10621,_i_rssPage=7f5f6b12-2f66-11da-8b51-00000e2511c8.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/06/13/khmer.trial.ap/index.html

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/281933/1/.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6747143.stm

Former Militia Leader Released on Bail in Nigeria

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch, Africa

On Thursday, former militia leader, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari was freed on bail by a Nigerian court due to his health condition. Dokubo-Asari has been in detention since September 2005. He is on trial for treason. Dokubo-Asari belongs to the liaw ethnic group, which is the most populous group in the Niger Delta. Elders of the liaw group have unsuccessfully tried to have Dokubo-Asari released for the past two years. Moreover, the Supreme Court denied him bail last Friday because of national security fears.

Analysts believe that Dokubo-Asari was released as a result of a political deal between the Nigerian government and rebels in the southern Bayelsa state in the delta. Rebels in southern Nigeria have freed hostages, declared a truce, and are willing to communicate with the newly inaugurated President Umaru Yar’Adua. This truce will help to improve oil production in the region.

Powerful state figures have publicly approved the release of Dokubo-Asari. Emmanuel Diffa, a Liaw elder purports that the release is “good news for anyone with a business in the Niger Delta. It will pour cold water on the situation. Asari is key to bringing peace to the delta.” Asari has stated that he will help the Nigerian government as long as the army stops using violence. Government officials believe that Asari is a powerful voice to help persuade rebels to disarm. Nevertheless, Justice Peter Olayiwola has conditioned that Dukubo-Asari can not take part in any political rally or political activity upon release. Moreover, his movements will be monitored by security services.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Fight For Nigeria Oil to Continue – 15 June 2007

BBC – Hostages Released in Niger Delta – 12 June 2007

CNN – Nigerian oil delta militant freed on bail – June 2007