Morality police arrested after deaths

        Five of the Mutaween were arrested on Monday following recent deaths. Ahmed al-Bulawi, a fifty year old man, died during interrogation by the Mutaween. Twenty eight year old Salman al-Huriasy was killed while being detained by them. Another woman was seriously injured because she jumped from a four story building to avoid the Mutaween.

        The Mutaween are religious police employed by the Saudi government to enforce its civic values. The official title of the service is the “Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.”  They enforce Islamic Sharia law follow through its broad discretionary powers. It also ensures that the deeply religious codes are followed. For example, it inspects clothing to make sure that people dress appropriately and that shops are closed for prayer.  According to the BBC, there are 3,500 government sponsored officers, and thousands of other volunteers to supplement its force.

         The religious police have been criticized since March 2002 when fifteen schoolgirls were killed in a fire. Male rescuers were prohibited from attempting to rescue the girls because they were unveiled. The Mutaween has since relaxed its broad enforcement techniques. For example, they have stopped beating women with sticks, solely because their faces were showing.

 

        The two men who died were Ahmed Bulawi and Salman al-Hurisasy. Bulawi was arrested by the Mutaween for “illegal seclusion with a female, who was not his wife.” He was in a car with a woman. It turned out that the woman was a relative of his wife. During the interrogation process of the Mutaween, fifty year old Bulawi died of a heart attack. Al- Hurisasy was arrested for offenses relating to alcohol. According to his family, he was dragged out of his house to be interrogated while the Mutaween beat him.  He died during detention from his wounds.

The Saudi government has tried to silence the growing uprising. The Saudi state news agency released a report that the leader of the religious police would be very firm on prosecuting its members. He stated that he has created committees to review procedures and raise his control on the agency to reduce the number of errors committed.

The difficulty with the organization is the fact that there is no membership requirements to become a member of the Mutaween. Anyone can become a member at any time, making it impossible to stop an impostor from enforcing the vague mandate of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.  Therefore, the offenses cannot be dealt with unless the Mutaween has strict membership requirements, and its discretionary power of the religious police is limited. Otherwise, people like Bulawi and al-Hurisasy may continue to die. 

BBC News. Saudi hold five religious police. 4 June 2007.
BBC News. Saudi Minister rebukes religious police. 4 November 2002.
Reuters. Saudi religious police hold review after deaths. 6 June 2007.
Yahoo News. Saudi religious police quizzed over man’s death. 3 June 2007.

“Ninja Rebels” to Disarm in Democratic Republic of Congo

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch, Africa

In the Republic of Congo, Frederic Bistangou, also known as Pastor Ntumi, has agreed to destroy some of his arms in a ceremony. Bistangou is the leader of the “Ninja Rebels,” a renegrade group that named themselves after the famous Japanese warriors. These rebels were responsible for the five-year insurgency in south-eastern Republic of Congo that lasted until 2003. The intense fighting between the rebels and the government displaced thousands of civilians who resided in the southern Pool region. In March 2003, Pastor Ntumi agreed to end the insurgency and allowed for the government to maintain control over Pool region.

Pastor Ntumi now plans to play an active role in the peace and reconciliation efforts. Furthermore, Ntumi wants to transform the “Ninja Rebels” into a political party. In May 2007, there were a significant amount of negotiations between Pastor Ntumi and President Denis Sassou-Nguesso. Nguesso plans to keep 60 bodyguards while absorbing 250 rebels into the national army. The remaining rebels will enter a disarmament and reintegration program.

There will be a two day ceremony to mark the commencement of the disarmament process. This ceremony will take place in Kinkala, the provincial capital of the southern Pool region. The Pool region was once deemed the “breadbasket of the Congo,” but after the civil war, this area has suffered from poor infrastructure, poverty, and famine.

Analysts are skeptical of Ntumi’s power to influence the rebels to disarm. Historically, the Ninja fighters have shown a deep seeded mistrust of the government. In 2003, under the first peace deal, very few of the Ninjas accepted the government’s offer of amnesty in exchange for disarmament.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Country Profiles: Democratic Republic of Congo – June 2007

BBC – Congo’s Ninja Leader to Disarm – 06 June 2007

VOA – Congo Brazzaville’s Nguesso Names Ex-Rebel to Government – 23 May 2007

Increased Calls for Action in Sudan

By Impunity Watch Africa

On June 1 hundreds of women and children fled from Darfur to neighboring Central African Republic after planes and helicopters attacked their village.   The 1,500 refugees walked 125 miles in 10 days and told UN officials that janjaweed militia had attacked their town and that their homes had been bombarded with air attacks.    The UN and African Union peacekeepers have regularly reported Sudanese air force bombs, even though a UN resolution forbids such attacks.

This recent attack has fueled even more calls for action in Sudan.  The UK has stated that they will push for tougher UN sanctions against Sudan if its government does not support international efforts to end the conflict.  The US and Britain have been working on expanded UN sanctions resolution and a no-fly zone for weeks, but Russia and South Africa have questioned the timing and China continue to oppose further penalties.

At the G8 Summit in Germany France has begun pushing for an aid corridor from Chad into Sudan’s Darfur region as a humanitarian solution to the crisis.   Chad and Sudan, however, continue to be hostile to a corridor and a Western presence.  France would also like to create a contact group on Darfur, which would include the UN, AU, Sudan, Chad, and other African heads of state, and China.  France currently has 1,000 troops in Chad but would like to see additional European Union troops involved.

Today the UN and AU were close to a deal on sending 23,000 peacekeepers to Darfur.   Full deployment however is not expected until next year at the earliest.  Sudan has yet to approve the plan, and if they continue to refuse the US and Britain will push for increased sanctions.   Disputes over command and control over the hybrid force has held up the negotiations.  Both Sudan and the AU have objected to giving the UN total control.  AU and UN officials will explain the newest proposal to Sudan at a meeting June 11-12 where it is hoped that an agreement can be reached.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Africa Pushes Darfur Aid Corridor – 06 June 2007

Reuters – Plans Ready for UN Darfur Force but no Deployment – 06 June 2007

NY Times – Darfur Refugees Flee in 125-Mile Trek – June 2007

Yahoo – UK Says Sudan Faces Tough Action if no Darfur Progress – June 2007

Thoughts on Charles Taylor Trial

By Impunity Watch Africa

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor has gone on trial in The Hague for his alleged role in backing Sierra Leone’s brutal rebels.

People in Sierra Leone and Liberia share their thoughts (from BBC Online):

Saffie Kamara, Freetown:
“It does not make any difference to me where Charles Taylor is tried, as long as he answers for his alleged crimes.”

Deddeh Lavala, Monrovia:
“I want the trial to be free and fair so that if Taylor is guilty of what he is accused of doing, he will be convinced that he is guilty and face the consequences. But if he is not then surely the law should set him free. Witnesses being called must feel free to testify in the name of fairness.”

Alphanson Nimene, Monrovia:
“I am 100% convinced that the trial will be free and fair. The international community has all the resources available to do anything they like to Mr Taylor. Yet they have decided to bring him before an international court to set an example.”

Amalia Smart-Kamara, Freetown:
“I have come to the special court to listen to how the proceedings are going. I believe in justice and I am happy that Mr Taylor is facing justice. It is one of the happiest days in my life.”

Jerine Colendo, Monrovia:
“I feel bad that Charles Taylor as a former president has been taken to a foreign land for trial. Whenever his birthday comes, I think about him. But equally so, justice has to be done. He has to face justice and there is nothing that we, Liberians, can do about it.”

Ibrahim Khalil Sesay, Freetown:
“Members of my family were killed by rebels. Without him the rebels would not have been as strong. I did not have the chance to go to watch the trial, but the trial starting is good news for the people of Sierra Leone, both dead and living.”

Josephus Kennedy, Monrovia:
“Mr Taylor is not going to get a free and fair trial. One does not have to be a brain surgeon to establish this. The court has failed to be transparent. It whisked him off from Sierra Leone to The Hague without any reference to his lawyers. Mr Taylor’s resignation and exile was part of the peace accord.”

Alusine Fofana, Sierra Leone MP:
“Even though Charles Taylor did not appear, I feel happy that his trial has started. I feel good that the day of justice is here and he will answer to any part he played in the destruction of Sierra Leone.”

More Than 30 Foreigners Held Hostage in Nigeria

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch, Africa

Presently, over thirty foreign expatriates are being held hostage for ransom in the southern region of Nigeria by various armed factions. In the past six months, more than 100 foreigns have been taken in the region. Several armed groups have taken hostages to gain economic and social attention for neglected communities. They commit kidnaps to obtain better jobs and social facilities for their communities. Nevertheless, most kidnappings are motivated by large ransoms by global corporate companies.

The latest kidnapping took place on Sunday in Ikot Abasi where bandits kidnapped six Russians who work for the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) which is owned by the United Company RUSAL, the world’s largest aluminum producer. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamyin stated, “Our embassy will provide all necessary support for the representatives of RUSAL who plan to arrive in Nigeria in the near future and join the rescue effort.” Also on Sunday, the British Foreign Office has confirmed that a British citizen was kidnapped from the Schlumberger Anadrill Field Compound in Port Harcourt.

Today, Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer and fifth largest exporter of crude oil to the United States. However, the violence and insecurity in the southern region of Nigeria poses threat to oil production and world sales. Thousands of workers have fled the country for fear of being held hostage. This in turn has cut Nigeria’s oil production by more than 25%.

Newly elected president, Umaru Yar’Adua has called for a cease fire in the southern oil-rich region. In response, the militant faction, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), claim that they will end tactics of violence if the government frees its jailed kinsmen. The rebel group has stated that they will suspend attacks on oil installations for one month. MEND hopes that the ceasefire will help “to ruminate on positive and realistic measures towards a just peace in the Delta”.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Briton’s Nigeria kidnap confirmed – 03 June 2007

CNN – Nigeria gunmen seize six foreigners – 03 June 2007

BBC – Nigeria militants offer ceasefire – 02 June 2007