Maduro Announces $47M Disarmament Plan

By Delisa Morris

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela — On September 20, Venezuelan President Maduro announced a $47 million dollar plan to disarm Venezuelan civilians.  As that day was the International Day of Peace, Maduro detailed his plan to build 60 new disarmament centers.  The centers will allow citizens to voluntarily surrender their firearms.

Destroyed pistols used in a demonstration. Photo courtesy of International Business Times

According to figures from the United Nations, Venezuela has the second highest peacetime murder rate behind Honduras.  According to statistics most of the murders in Venezuela are committed using firearms.  “We are building peace from within, and for that, you need disarmament,” the president said at an event in the capital, Caracas.

UN figures suggest there were 53.7 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012, compared to 90.4 in Honduras.  This figure is up from 47.8 last year.  However, the Venezuelan Violence Observatory, a Caracas-based non-profit organization estimates a much larger number at 79 per 100,000 people.  A rate they say that quadrupled over the past 15 years.  

In addition to disarmament, Maduro has approved a plan for $39 million to go towards funding military soldiers to patrol streets alongside Venezuelan police.  The soldiers are set to patrol the streets in the most dangerous neighborhoods.

Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres said the money would be used to finance 2,000 new patrols and fund new equipment for the security forces.

In June 2013, President Maduro introduced tougher prison sentences for people convicted of carrying illegal firearms.  The offense could land someone 20 years in prison.  Despite these new laws insecurity amongst Venezuelan citizens is at an all time high.  The law also restricted sales of firearms to military and security personnel, effectively outlawing civilian possession of firearms.

Security was a large reason for massive protests against the government this year, along with the economy.

Many opposition activists have accused the government of hypocrisy.  They allege that officials have armed “colectivos”, pro-government groups which have clashed with anti-government protesters during demonstrations.  The activists believe that the government is using the disarmament program as a cover-up.

This isn’t the first time the government has attempted to remove guns from the street.

In 2009, the government destroyed more than 30,000 guns that were seized during police raids.  $5,000 was raised from the sell of the scrap metal was donated to the Friends of Children with Cancer Foundation.  

The government continued their policy of disarmament in 2011. In September the Venezuelan government destroyed over 50,000 confiscated guns adding, racking up a total of 250,000 guns confiscated since 2003. Melted down, the weapons produced 60 tons of iron that was recycled for use in public housing projects.

On Sunday President Maduro said his government “continued to pursue the dream, the utopia of a Venezuela in peace”, and promised to build “peace with love, justice and a will to work”.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Venezuela’s Maduro launches civilian disarmament plan – 22 Sept. 2014

VICE News – Venezuelan Government Announces Disarmament Plan – Again – 23 Sept. 2014

Washington Times – Venezuela’s Maduro Launches $47M Plan to Disarm Civilians – 23 Sept. 2014

International Business Times – Venezuela Launches Disarmament Program – 22 Sept. 2014

Thousands Risk Death to Flee Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

By Benjamin Williams
Impunity Watch Middle East Desk Reporter  

GAZA, Palestine — In the wake of the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel, thousands of Palestinians are fleeing the Gaza Strip. Refugees are risking the perils of the Mediterranean Sea in an effort to begin a new life in Europe. Sources stated that news of the peril suffered by the fleeing Palestinians “has raised alarm among Gazan families awaiting word that their loved ones had arrived safely.”

This year has seen an estimated 10,000 Palestinians flee the country, with a swell in numbers since the conflict began in July. With the Israeli offensive, known as “Operation Protective Edge,” killing more than 2,000 mostly civilian Palestinians, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents, and destroying much of Gaza’s infrastructure, it comes as no surprise that residents would seek refuge elsewhere. Migrants looking for a fresh start are subjected to not only the elements, but human traffickers, as well.

One such boat bound for the Egyptian coast was filled with upwards of 500 men, women, and children. Among the dead were Syrians, Palestinians, Egyptians, and Sudanese. Two survivors, after days clinging to flotation aids, were recovered from the wreckage after human traffickers intentionally sunk their ship when migrants refused to move to a smaller vessel. One survivor said, “After they hit our boat, they waited to make sure that it had sunk completely before leaving. They were laughing.” The two Palestinian men rescued stated as many as 100 children were on board when the boat went down.

Gazan residents have increasingly turned to smugglers to get across the Egyptian border. With tight border regulations making the journey extremely difficult, refugees have resorted to paying about $4,000 per person. The fee allows an individual to be smuggled into Egypt though an underground tunnel and on to Europe on a raft. However, even if residents can afford the trip, they will encounter criminals and treacherous conditions along the way.

Woman remembers son lost at sea on his journey to a new life in Europe. (photo courtesy of Oman Daily Observer)

Hundreds of families have lost contact with their loved ones making the dangerous trek to a new life. One man learned of the death of his son from a survivor who had seen him on a ship that sank on September 10th. Khalil Abu Shammal, director of Gaza’s Ad-Dameer Association for Human Rights, said, “The number of people with whom families in Gaza have lost contact is around 400. Measures are required to stop such travel towards death and the unknown.” “The risks [residents] take reflect their desperation and we cannot keep abandoning them to their fate,” stated the International Organization for Migration director general William Lacy Swing.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera America – Palestinian migrants fleeing Gaza Strip drown in Mediterranean Sea – 22 September 2014

CNN – “Laughing” traffickers ram boat full of migrants and kill 500, survivors say – 22 September 2014

Oman Daily Observer – War spurs more Gazans to risk migration to Europe – 22 September 2014

 

U.S. and Coalition Airstrikes Begin Inside Syria

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Managing Editor

DAMASCUS, Syria – U.S. forces have begun leading airstrikes in Syria against The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIS) which is attempting to establish an caliphate in Syria and Iraq based on its extremist interpretation of Islamic law. The United States military conducted the airstrikes with fighter jets as well as remotely piloted aircraft and Tomahawk missiles to conduct 14 strikes against ISIS in Syria. 47 Tomahawk missiles were fired by American ships located in the Red Sea and the North Arabian Gulf. The Coalition of states supporting the airstrikes included several Arab allies. Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates took part in the strikes. Several of the Arab Allies participating in the airstrikes played a kinetic role in the strikes meaning they played an active role in carrying out the strikes rather than simply providing material support to the United States.

A U.S. fighter jet prepares for launch from the USS George H.W. Bush located in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday to take part in airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. (Photo courtesy of CNN International)

On Tuesday morning, before heading to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, United States President Barack Obama addressed the importance of Arab participation in the Coalition combating ISIS on Tuesday morning saying the Coalition that attacked ISIS in Syria overnight “makes it clear to the world that this is not America’s fight alone,” and that Middle Eastern governments are rejecting ISIS and its extremist agenda. Jordan’s minister of information and communication, Mohamamd Al Momani, confirmed Jordan’s participation in the strikes saying the airstrikes would continue in the coming period. Momani said The Jordanian Kingdom is participating in the collation in order to combat “terrorism in its home in order to protect Jordan’s security and stability and to prevent terrorism from reaching the kingdom.”

The strikes primarily targeted the area around Raqqa, which ISIS has declared as its Capital city. For several moths civilians living in Raqqa have been experienced the harsh rule of ISIS after militants took over their city, which had been one of Syria’s most liberal cities. Members of ISIS have implemented severe punishments against civilians for violations of their strict interpretation of Islamic law, opposition members have said public executions have become a daily occurrence in the area.

Abo Ismail, an opposition activist inside Raqqa, said Tuesday that residents were both fearful and elated to see the U.S. attacking ISIS targets there because while they were thrilled to see intentional action against ISIS the group was reacting by increasing security in the city.

“I would dance in the streets, but I am too afraid,” Ismail said.

Syria has been in the midst of a devastating civil war that has killed thousands of civilians and displaced several million people. Syrian rebels have been clamoring for Western military aid as they fight the regime after it began turning its guns on peaceful demonstrators. Despite the late action the Free Syria the Free Syria Foreign Mission said it was elated by the U.S. strikes. “Thank God. What a momentous day — a day that we have been looking forward to for so, so long,” the Syrian opposition group said. “It’s a big step forward, but we are nonetheless clear-eyed that it will be a prolonged campaign to defeat ISIS.”

Ironically attacks targeting ISIS may help the Syrian Regime. Bashar al-Assad’s regime has said it wants to be informed of any action against ISIS taken in its country and will react harshly to actions taken without its approval. However, the regime has been fighting ISIS and other rebel groups in Syria for three years and U.S. and Coalition attacks on ISIS will allow the regime to target moderate rebel groups in the country.  “It helps him because we’re taking out one of the threats to his regime,” said retired Air Force intelligence officer Lt. Col. Rick Francona. “If we destroy ISIS, which we’re committed to do … that takes the biggest player off the table. And all he has to worry about is the smaller, less effective al Qaeda in Syria — al-Nusra — and the (rebel) Free Syrian Army, both of whom he has bested in the past couple of years.”

According to a statement issued by the United States Decampment of Defense “The strikes destroyed or damaged multiple ISIL targets… and included ISIL fighters, training compounds, headquarters and command and control facilities, storage facilities, a finance center, supply trucks and armed vehicles.”

The airstrikes also targeted the Khorasan group, an al Qaeda affiliated organization. In a statement the United States Department of Defense claims the group represents and imminent threat to the United States and the West.  The statement said “The United States has also taken action to disrupt the imminent attack plotting against the United States and Western interests conducted by a network of seasoned al-Qaeda veterans – sometimes referred to as the Khorasan Group – who have established a safe haven in Syria to develop external attacks, construct and test improvised explosive devices and recruit Westerners to conduct operations.

For more information please see:

ABC News – President Obama Says Airstrikes against ISIS Targets in Syria ‘Not America’s Fight Alone’ – 23 September 2014

Al Jazeera – US and Allies Strike ISIL Targets in Syria – 23 September 2014

CNN International – Obama: Syria Strikes Show ‘This is Not America’s Fight Alone’ – 23 September 2014

CNN International – U.S. Strikes ISIS and Khorasan Inside Syria Live – 23 September 2014

FIFA Official: Qatar Won’t Host FIFA World Cup

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Managing Editor Impunity Watch

DOHA, Qatar – On Monday Theo Zwanziger, Executive Committee member for the Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA) suggested that the Committee may choose to remove the 2022 World Cup from Qatar, which has been preparing for the games for years.  According to the FIFA official the decision will come down to one factor: Extreme heat. However, if true, the decision to strip Qatar of the World Cup followed months of international criticism of the Gulf State’s treatment of migrant workers and complaints of slave labor conditions for workers at the World Cup sites.

People celebrate the announcement location of the 2022 World Cup with a screen that reads ‘Congratulations Qatar’ after FIFA announced that Qatar will be host of the 2022 World Cup in Souq Waqif in Doha, in this December 2, 2010. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

Theo Zwanziger, the former German soccer association (DFB) chief said that the most widely watched tournament in sports will have to be held somewhere else due to health concerns over the extreme heat that players will experience in the Qatari desert. “I personally think that in the end the 2022 World Cup will not take place in Qatar,” he said. “Medics say that they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions.”

Qatar remains adamant that it will host the 2022 World Cup. “The only question now is when, not if,” Qatar 2022 communications director Nasser Al Khater said in a statement. He added “summer or winter, we will be ready.” The oil-rich Gulf state insists that it will be able to use state of the art cooling technologies currently being developed for stadiums, training areas and fan zones. However, there FIFA officials still cite concerns over the health of players and fans; “they may be able to cool the stadiums but a World Cup does not take place only there,” Zwanziger said. “Fans from around the world will be coming and traveling in this heat and the first life-threatening case will trigger an investigation by a state prosecutor. That is not something that FIFA Exco members want to answer for.”

Labor rights activists have raised concerns about dangerous working conditions and have made allegations about unpaid salaries and other abuses of workers’ rights. The Qatari economy is heavily dependent on large numbers of low-paid migrant workers, many of whom ar brought from Asia.

Two weeks ago the Qatari government confirmed that it is holding two British citizens who went missing while researching migrant labor conditions in the country, saying that the men are being questioned about possible illegal activities in the country. The confirmation came after Amnesty International urged authorities to reveal the men’s whereabouts and insure their safety. The Norway-based Global Network for Rights and Development reported that the two British citizens, a researcher, Krishna Upadhyaya, 52, and a photographer, Ghimire Gundev, 36, went missing on Aug. 31 as they were preparing to leave the country.

While at least one high ranking FIFA officials believes Qatar will be stripped of its hosting duties for the 2022 FIFA World Cup because of concerns over extreme heat, the organization has faced criticism for choosing the Gulf State to host the games despite concerns over human rights abuses in the country. Any decision by FIFA to remove the tournament from Qatar on the bases of temperature concerns will likely be interpreted as an attempt by FIFA save face as the organization has been continually criticized by activists as new allegations of abuses in Qatar continue to surface.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Qatar Won’t Host the World Cup: FIFA Official – 22 September 2014

Fortune – FIFA May Pull 2022 World Cup from Qatar ‘On Medical Grounds’ – Exec – 22 September 2014

Reuters – Qatar Adamant it will Host 2022 World Cup Despite Doubts – 22 September 2014

The New York Times – Officials in Qatar Confirm Detention of Britons – 8 September 2014