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Introduction and Methodology
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CAPE TOWN, South Africa– 60,000 protesters marched in anti-Zuma protests on Friday April 7th after Zuma reshuffled his cabinet positions leading to yet another crisis during his presidency. Protests took place across the country, but many were held in the country’s capitals Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town.
Protesters outside union building in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo Courtesy of ABC News)
The protests were triggered when President Zuma fired Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan on Thursday. This has not only caused distress among the public but also in the African National Congress party (ANC). The ANC is calling on Zuma to step down as his leadership is continuing to affect the nation. The firing of Finance Minister Gordhan caused S&P Global Rankings to downgrade South Africa to “junk”. Other reasons were cited for the downgrade as well.
Although President Zuma is not set to leave office until 2019 protesters are still persistent. Ailing anti-apartheid leader Desmond Tutu even made an appearance at protests, his foundations twitter posted “We will pray for the downfall of a government that misrepresents us.” Protests across the country carried on relatively peacefully on Friday, with a few clashes between police and protesters in Johannesburg. Citizens continue to be frustrated with the Zuma administration and the civil disobedience will most likely throughout Zuma’s tenure as president.
For more information, please see:
ABC News – South Africans protest Zuma as country downgraded to junk – 7 April 2017
BBC News – Anti-Zuma protests take place across South Africa – 7 April 2017
The Globe and the Mail – Thousands of anti-Zuma protesters march across South Africa – 7 April 2017
Reuters – Skirmishes in Johannesburg as South Africans protest against Zuma – 7 April 2017
Atrocity Alert, No. 50, 12 April 2017
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South Sudan
Despite the growing risk of famine, South Sudan continues to experience a rise in targeted ethnic attacks conducted by the South Sudanese army (SPLA) and pro-government militias. On 3 April, during an SPLA offensive to force rebels out of the town of Pajok, Eastern Equatoria state, the SPLA allegedly killed at least 17 people. As a result, 6,000 civilians, mainly women and children, fled to Uganda between 3 and 7 April. According to the UN Refugee Agency, those who fled testified that during recent assaults pro-government forces have slit people’s throats and shot civilians trying to escape. The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) attempted to follow up on these reports, but was denied access to the Pajok area. On 8 April the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan “demanded that all parties to the conflict uphold their responsibilities to protect civilians.”
On 10 April the SPLA and government-aligned ethnic Dinka militia groups attacked residents in the town of Wau, targeting members of the Lou and Fertit ethnic groups. UNMISS reported that at least 16 civilians were killed. Approximately 8,000 civilians were displaced by fighting, while a local resident described how “armed militias are moving from house to house,” and described the military operation as “an ethnic crackdown.”
A year and a half after the 2015 peace agreement brought a formal end to the conflict in South Sudan, civilians continue to be targeted because of their ethnic identity and perceived political loyalties. Despite increased armed violence, the UN Security Council has still not imposed an arms embargo on South Sudan.
Photo credit: UNMISS
Photo credit: International Organization for Migration
Populations at Risk: South Sudan
Burundi
On 5 April a disturbing video surfaced of the Imbonerakure, the paramilitary youth wing of Burundi’s ruling party, the Conseil National Pour la Défense de la Démocratie–Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie (CNDD-FDD). The video, of an Imbonerakure gathering in Ntega, Kirundo province, shows rows of young men singing lyrics threatening to “impregnate the opposition so that they give birth to Imbonerakure.”
The UN has previously documented Imbonerakure perpetrating rape and other forms of sexual violence against female supporters of opposition parties, as well as women and girls attempting to flee the country. Despite initially denouncing the video as fake, the CNDD-FDD eventually verified the video’s authenticity, but declared the song to be inconsistent “with the morals or ideology” of the ruling party.
The emergence of the video comes amidst a new wave of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and the torture of opposition members in Burundi. The Imbonerakure, who often work in collaboration with the intelligence services and the national police, have previously been deployed to intimidate and terrorize sections of the civilian population presumed to be supporting the opposition.
The CNDD-FDD should immediately disband the Imbonerakure. The government should collaborate with the UN, African Union and other international partners to help end the political conflict in Burundi. All allegations of serious human rights violations in Burundi, including sexual violence and rape, should be subject to independent investigation and the perpetrators held accountable.
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By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
TOKYO, Japan – Ken Kato, director of Human Rights in Asia and a member of International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea, has made allegations that a scientist with ties to North Korea is working for a Japanese University. More specifically, the scientist is working with technology required to achieve miniaturization of nuclear warheads.
Paragraph 17 of UN Resolution 2270, legislation meant to ban specialized nuclear and missile-related teaching or training currently applies only to individuals who identify as DPRK nationals. Under the current regulation, Kato argues, North Koreans living in Japan who sympathize with the North Korean regime are exempt from the ban.
Kato has addressed the UN Security Council on the matter, warning of North Korean “nuclear spies” operating in Japan. Kato singled out an assistant professor at Kyoto University’s Research Reactor Institute. Dr. Pyeon Cheol-ho is “closely linked to the North Korean regime” and received “grants from the Kim Man Yu Science Foundation for research on nuclear testing in 1997 and 1999,” according to experts speaking to Japanese media.
North Korea’s nuclear agenda is not a new threat to international security. Japan recently launched a surveillance satellite meant to keep an eye on North Korea’s nuclear development program. Japan’s Radar 5 was brought into orbit atop the H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center on March 17. The new satellite is meant to replace an existing surveillance satellite, nearing the end of its time in commission.
Increasingly, international cooperation is crucial to monitoring the development of North Korea’s nuclear missile program.
For more information, please see:
The Japan Times – Japan launches new spy satellite to keep eye on North Korea – 17 March, 2017
NASA – Japanese H-IIA rocket launches latest IGS spy satellite – 16 March, 2017
