Violations Documentation Center in Syria: The Weekly Reports: From 11 – 17 October of 2014
Russia Renews Support for Assad Regime
By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor
DAMASCUS, Syria – Russian President Vladimir Putin met Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem the resort town of Sochi for talks on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin and Moualem were discussing “bilateral relations.” He declined any further comment. Moualem was also expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Moscow has supported the Assad regime throughout the Syrian Civil War, supplying the regime with arms and other supplies.
Moualem’s two-day visit to Russiamay be a sign that Russia is attempting to renew ties with the Assad regime in an effort by Putin’s Russia to restart peace talks aimed at seeking an end to the Syrian Civil War. Peace talks held in Geneva collapsed earlier this year. However, Western analysts and diplomats say the renewed push by the Putin Government is unlikely to be fruitful because of splits between world powers of the fate of the Assad regime, which many accuse of committing several war crimes including widespread and systematic abuses of human rights which include indiscriminate attacks against civilian populations.
Last month Syrian government helicopter dropped two barrel bombs on a camp filled with civilians displaced by fighting in the country’s northern region. The attack reportedly killed at least 40 people at the camp near al-Habeet in the northern province of Idlib on October 29th. According to an activists, the majority of the people killed in the attack were and no presence of armed groups was reported in the vicinity of the camp. Footage of the attack was uploaded to YouTube, in the video a voice can be heard saying “it’s a massacre of refugees.” He said “Let the whole world see this, they are displaced people. Look at them, they are civilians, displaced civilians. They fled the bombardment.” According to the United Nations, Nearly 10 million people have been displaced in Syria since the start of the country’s Civil War in 2011. An estimated 3 million refugees have fled the country and the conflict has killed close to 200,000 people.
Barrel bombs are crudely made bombs made of barrels or other containers filled with nails, metal shrapnel and explosive which are often dropped from helicopters. The bombs are extremely indiscriminate and are often used to attack civilian populations in areas that are believed to support rebels fighting the Assad regime as a form of collective punishment. The Assad has continued using barrel bombs in civilian areas despite a UN resolution banning their use.
For more information please see:
The Jerusalem Post – Russia’s Putin Holds Talks with Syrian Foreign Minister – 26 November 2014
Reuters – Russia’s New Push for Syria Dialogue Unlikely To Be Fruitful – 26 November 2014
Al Jazeera – Many Killed In Syria Barrel Bomb ‘Massacre’ – 26 October 2014
The Guardian – Barrel Bombs Hit Syrian Refugee Camp, Say Residents – 26 October 2014
Racially Charged Protests Erupt In Ferguson After Grand Jury Decides Not To Indict
By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America – The St. Louis area braced for more protests on Tuesday after a grand jury found that probable cause did not exist to bring criminal charges against a police officer who fatally shot an unarmed African-American teenager, three months ago in Ferguson, Missouri. The St. Louis County prosecutor, Robert McCulloch, announced the decision by the grand jury Monday night. McCulloch said that Officer Wilson could have been indicted on charges ranging from first-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter.
Activist leaders spent weeks training protestors in non-violent civil disobedience. However, when word of the grand jury’s decision set off a wave of anger and protests with hundreds of citizens gathering outside the Ferguson Police Department. Approximately a dozen buildings burned and police fired tear gas and flash-bang canisters at protestors. Demonstrators chanted and threw objects at police officers, which were dressed in riot gear and stood in a line. Throughout the night the situation intensified as protests blocked traffic on Interstate 44 where police shot another man earlier this fall.
The rioting started despite calls for calm from government officials ranging from Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to President Barack Obama. The police in Ferguson ended up making at least 61 arrests on charges ranging from unlawful assembly to unlawful possession of a firearm and arson.
News about he grand jury’s decision spread nationwide with smaller spontaneous rallies in support of Brown’s family occurring throughout the country. Although no serious injuries were reported from any of the protests, the rioting was said to be much worse than the disturbances that erupted in the immediate aftermath of the shooting of Michael Brown.
For more information, please see the following:
CNN – Streets of Ferguson Smolder After Grand Jury Decides Not to Indict Officer – 25 Nov. 2014.
NEW YORK TIMES – Protests Flare After Ferguson Police Officer is Not Indicted – 24 Nov. 2014.
REUTERS – St. Louis suburb Smolders After Racially Charged Riots – 25 Nov. 2014.
TORONTO SUN – Ferguson Erupts After Officer Not Charged in Teen’s Shooting – 24. Nov. 2014.
Southern Europe Still Struggles with How to Handle Syrian Refugees
By Kyle Herda
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
ATHENS, Greece – Over 200 Syrian refugees in Greece have had enough of the lack of rights given to refugees, and so a hunger strike has begun in the capital. Overcrowding of refugees in Greece, as well as in other nations, has led to decreases in space and care for refugees, leading many of them to struggle in Europe.
The number of Syrian refugees has recently skyrocketed in Greece. In 2013, Greece saw 8,500 Syrian refugees, while just 10 months into 2014 there has already been around 29,000 refugees from Syria. Overall, roughly 165,000 Syrian refugees have come into Europe since the start of the Syrian war.
An EU regulation, “Dublin II”, requires refugees to apply for asylum in the EU country they first “step foot in”. This prevents Syrian refugees from applying for asylum in harder to reach countries like Germany that would grant more rights along with asylum. Instead, the refugees must settle for nations like Greece, Albania, or Bulgaria that offer less rights to refugees.
The issue is certainly pressing as more and more Syrian refugees attempt to make their way into southern Europe. One such country that has seen its fair share of refugees is Italy, which began rescuing refugees stranded in the Mediterranean Sea earlier this year after one tragedy led Pope Francis to ask Italy to intervene. These sea missions are still very recent, with another 270 Syrian refugees being rescued today off the North Cypriot coast. The High Refugee Commission has stated that over 2,500 migrants have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea already this year while trying to cross into Europe.
Another big problem facing the Syrian refugees in Europe is the lack of jobs in the easier to reach countries like Greece. The economies in these nations are struggling even with their own citizens, and their own citizens seem to be taking priority in the eyes of locals and the governments. So Syrian refugees are left with a tough decision: apply for asylum in the first nation they can make it to and try to make due with the little out there and the few rights given, or attempt to make it to a country like Germany that has more to offer, but risk the consequences of getting caught along the way by another nation, like Albania, that has shot at Syrian refugees trying to cross the border.
For more information, please see:
The Wall Street Journal – Syrian Refugees in Greece Launch Hunger Strike for Asylum, Aid – 24 November 2014
Irish Times – Syrian refugees seek fresh start from Greek destitution – 24 November 2014
Middle East Monitor – 270 Syrian refugees rescued off North Cypriot coast – 24 November 2014
Global Post – For Syrian refugees fleeing to Europe, Bulgaria isn’t enough – 18 November 2014
BBC – Syria’s refugees yearning for the lost ‘old life’ – 17 November 2014