Fijian Soliders Freed After Captivity in Syria

By Max Bartels 

Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania 

 

Suva, Fiji

In late August 45 Fijian soldiers acting as U.N. peacekeepers, were kidnapped by Syrian rebels on the border between Syrian and Israel known as the “Area of Separation”. The “Area of Separation” refers to a 70- Kilometer strip between the border of Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights region, which has been policed by U.N. peacekeepers since 1974. The kidnapping militants said the reason for the action was because they believed the U.N. peacekeepers were supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar- al Assad and ignoring the plight of the Syrian people.

IW #13 Fiji Soliders
Fijian Soliders in the video posted to the internet by Syrian rebels.
(Photo courtesy of ABC News)

Military officials in Fiji released, immediately after the incident that they were in negotiations with the Syrian Militants.  The Fijian military then released to the press, earlier this week that they had secured the released of their soldiers from the Syrians, who have been identified as the Nursa Front, without any demands or conditions. They then immediately tried to retract their statements, but the reason for this is still unknown. The U.N. never reported any such progress with the negations for the release of the Fijian solders. The Associated Press reported that it would be unlikely that the U.N. gave permission for Fiji to release that their soldiers would be coming home, as the U.N. usually doesn’t release information on hostage matters until it is completely resolved.

After Fiji prematurely released their statements the Syrian militants posted a video of the captured soldiers on their Twitter and YouTube accounts of the soldiers saying they were being treated well and expected to be released soon. The Fijian government then reported again that the Syrians had dropped all demands and conditions and that the soldiers were to be released. This time the statements were not premature,  after the videos were posted the Fijian soldiers were released on the Syrian side of the border. The soldiers were made to walk through the border crossing to the Israeli controlled territory. They were reported to be in good condition and were sent to receive medical treatment in Israel before being able to return home to Fiji. Fiji’s presidential candidate Frank Bainimarama called the Fijian soldiers heroes, to be able to keep their cool under such extreme circumstances. He further stated that it was the discipline of his troops that kept any militants and any U.N. forces from being killed throughout the incident. Many nations have now pulled out their military contingents from U.N. peacekeeping operations in the Golan Heights out of concern that the war in Syria will spill over the border.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press — Fiji May Have Jumped the Gun on Fate of its UN Troops — 10 September 2014

Al Jazeera — Syria Rebels Free UN Peacekeepers — 11 September 2014

ABC News — UN: 45 Fijian Peacekeepers Freed in Syria — 11 September 2014

Reuters — U.N., Fiji Say No Word on Location of Peacekeepers Abducted in Golan Heights — 31 August 2014

 

Who is Marina Silva? Probably Brazil’s Next President

By Delisa Morris

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil – Marina Silva is on track to become Brazil’s next President.  However, Silva’s childhood was far from presidential.  Silva and her family lived deep in the Amazon rain forest, where her father, brother and six sisters followed miles of trails through the forest to find rubber trees.  The family would tap rubber trees for their latex as income.

Marina Silva, front-runner in Brazil’s presidential election | Image courtesy of Forbes

At 16 years of age, Silva was illiterate and her mother had just died.  After tragically contracting hepatitis, Silva traveled alone to the nearest city for treatment, there she learned to read and right so she could become a nun, her biggest goal.

At 56, Silva is on the verge of a much larger goal, becoming Brazil’s first black president.

Silva’s path took many turns after arriving in the city: she worked as a maid, and then became a teacher and grass-roots campaigner against deforestation in the Amazon alongside the idolized activist Chico Mendes.  She is perhaps the most prominent defender of the threatened rain forest.

Silva has spring-loaded to front-runner of the presidential election, to be decided in October, following the death of her running mate, Eduardo Campos, who died in a plane crash Aug. 13.

Before, Silva and Campos, of the Brazilian Socialist Party, had been polling as low as 8 percent, now leading polls show Silva winning a second-round victory against current President Dilma Rousseff.

Silva’s platform stems from her humble background and green credentials.  She vows to institute fiscally conservative economic reforms.  Silva has called for an end to “creative accounting” and has pledged to cut taxes on investment, eliminate government waste and boost foreign trade.

Brazil has slipped into recession under the leadership of Rousseff, eroding his support base among the poor and working class.  Younger voters, who took to the streets last year to protest poor public services and political corruption, appreciate Silva’s distance from a political elite mired in scandal.

Unlike her competitors Silva has pledged to remain in office for only one term.

“She’s speaking our language, she’s saying things the youth want to hear,” Andre Dutra, former president of the Socialists Party’s youth division, told VICE News.  “She’s talking about a new way to do politics.”

Recently Silva’s party has been mentioned in an alleged corruption scheme involving the state-owned oil firm Petrobas and officials receiving cash kickbacks.  So far Silva has not been directly implicated.

For many working –class Brazilians, Silva’s political ascendance as a poor, black woman suggests that anyone can become president.  We will find out in October.

For more information please see,

Forbes – Marina Silva Likely to Become Brazil’s Next President -11 Sept. 2014

Vice News – Marina Silva, Former Illiterate Rubber Tapper, Reshapes Brazil’s Presidential Race – 11 Sept. 2014

Bloomberg.com – Silva’s Clean-Politics Pledge Clashes With Growth Agenda – 10 Sept. 2014

Aljazeera – Marina Silva’s Swift Rise Aided by Leftists, Evangelicals and Billionaires – 10 Sept. 2014

Robert H. Jackson Center Hosts Eighth Annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogs

From The Robert H. Jackson Center
9 September 2014

International Prosecutors, ambassadors, diplomats, and legal scholars from around the globe came together in the name of humanity on August 25-26 at Chautauqua Institution, a renowned arts and cultural community located in upstate New York, near Jamestown. The International Humanitarian Law Dialogs, hosted by the Robert H. Jackson Center, Jamestown,NY, is a historic gathering of renowned international Prosecutors from The International Criminal Court, The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, The Special Court for Sierra Leone, and The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, together with leading professionals in the field of International Humanitarian Law. The eighth annual proceedings offered attendees a look at the impact of modern international law on war crimes and crimes against humanity, focusing on the theme, “The New World (Dis)Order: International Humanitarian Law in an Uncertain World.”

Brenda Hollis, SCSL; Serge Brammertz, ICTY; Hassan Jallow, ICTR, David M. Crane, SCSL; Fatou Bensouda, ICC; Nicholas Koumjian, ECCC; moderated by Jean Freedberg , United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Photo courtesy of The Robert H. Jackson Center)
Highlights from this year’s Dialogs included updates from the current prosecutors; a panel discussion on the Relevance of International Humanitarian Law in 2014; “Porch-Sessions with the Prosecutors,” which featured topics relating to non-state actors and International Humanitarian Law, and the culminating event – the issuance of the eighth Chautauqua Declaration by all of the international Prosecutors in attendance.

Developed by the Prosecutors during the two-day symposium, the Chautauqua Declaration is a statement that calls on all nations to pursue justice as a matter of law. It reaffirms the original Chautauqua Declaration, issued in 2007, which stated in part, “The challenge for States and for the international community is to fulfill the promise of the law they created; to enforce judicial decisions; [and] to ensure the arrest and surrender of sought individuals….”

The Dialogs are held annually to honor these ideals, and to help advance the field of International Humanitarian Law. Signing the 2014 Declaration were Fatou Bensouda, International Criminal Court; Serge Brammertz, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; David Crane, Special Court for Sierra Leone; Sir Desmond de Silva, Special Court for Sierra Leone; Brenda J Hollis, Special Court for Sierra Leone; Hassan Jallow, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; and Nicholas Koumjian, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. The issuing ceremony was moderated by Jean Freedberg, Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Sponsoring organizations for this year’s Dialogs were the American Bar Association, American Red Cross, American Society of International Law, Athenaeum Hotel, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Chautauqua Institution, Impunity Watch, International Bar Association, IntLawGrrls, NYU Center for Global Affairs, Planethood Foundation, Robert H. Jackson Center, Syracuse University College of Law, and Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University School of Law, in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

To view streamed sessions of Monday’s schedule please click the following links:

Kashmir Floods: India and Pakistan Bonded in Disaster

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Managing Editor

KASHMIR, India/Pakistan – Massive flash flooding in Kashmir, a disputed region in the Himalayans’s administered by India and Pakistan, as well as in adjoining regions in northern and eastern Pakistan have killed more than 450 people so far. Omar Abdullah, chief minister of India’s Jammu and Kashmir state, said the current flooding is the worst to hit Kashmir in decades. “This is an unprecedented situation and we are doing the best we can under the circumstances. Please don’t panic, we will reach you, I promise,” Abdullah said on Twitter. Six days of rain in at the Indian administered region of Kashmir have caused the worst flooding the region has seen in more than 60 years decades.

Indian army soldiers rescue a Kashmiri woman from her flooded home in Srinagar September 10, 2014. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

Both countries’ militaries have rushed to rescue stranded flood victims. Although rain slackened over the weekend, thousands of people remain trapped in their homes. Many residents of the region expressed anger at the lack of warning and government preparedness for the disaster, even knowing that these massive flood events have become an annual phenomenon. Modi flew to Kashmir on Sunday to survey the region, calling it a “national disaster,” and promised about $200 million for relief efforts and compensation for the flood victims.

The flooding has left hundreds of villages in the region submerged in dangerous floodwaters, displacing thousands of local residents. The natural disaster has promoted the Indian and Pakistani governments to temporarily improve their relations, which have become tenser in recent months following new rounds of border fire and disagreements that led India to pull out of high-level bilateral talks

“It is a matter of great distress that the retreating monsoon rains have played havoc in many parts of our two countries,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a letter to his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif. “In this hour of need, I offer any assistance that you may need in the relief efforts that will be undertaken by the government of Pakistan. Our resources are at your disposal.” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry responded saying: “We also feel the pain of the people of Indian Kashmir and are ready to help in whatever way possible to mitigate the suffering of the people affected by the floods.”

Despite these friendly communications, it’s unlikely that either country will do much to collaborate in the relief effort as tensions remain high in the region. India and Pakistan have been bitterly divided over the administration of the Kashmir region since the Line of Control was drawn following the 1947 war between the two states. India and Pakistan have fought reportedly along the de facto boundary separating Indian- and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir which has become one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world.

Violence broke out once again along the Line of Control on Wednesday as about two dozen Indian soldiers fought militants even as flood rescue operations were under way elsewhere in the region. “Three militants were shot dead by the Indian troops in Kashmir after a 10-hour-long gun battle,” Indian Defense Ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar said.

Environmentalists in New Delhi have expressed concerns that the death toll and devastation in Kashmir was alarming and the government should acknowledged that massive flooding in the region is getting worse as a result of climate change. “The Kashmir floods are a grim reminder that climate change is now hitting India harder,” Chandra Bhusan, head of climate change team at the Centre for Science and Environment said. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have said that this year’s monsoon rains had killed more than 1,000 people in India alone.

For more information please see:

India Today – LIVE updates on Jammu and Kashmir floods: Over 1,10,000 people rescued so far, many still await help – 11 September 2014

Al Jazeera – Thousands still stranded in flood-hit Kashmir – 10 September 2014

BBC News – Kashmir flood relief operation ‘too slow’ – 10 September 2014

Reuters – Tempers flare as mass flood evacuations begin in Kashmir – 10 September 2014

BBC News – Kashmir flood relief operation a major challenge – 9 September 2014

Bloomberg – Modi’s Kashmir Flood Relief May Earn Him Muslim Goodwill – 9 September 2014

 

Italy’s Good Intentions and Humanitarian Efforts May Ultimately Harm Europe

By Kyle Herda

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ROME, Italy – With all of the turmoil and fighting currently widespread throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa, many citizens have flocked from countries like Libya, Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, and elsewhere. In an effort to help these refugees, Italy has opened up its borders for refugees to enter into Europe, particularly in Southern Italy around Sicily.

Mehdi Nemmouche, the shooter in the Brussels Jewish Museum murders, stands with his ak-47 during the attack. (Photo courtesy of Breitbart)

Italy’s new immigrant policy, dubbed “Mare Nostrum”, or “Our Sea”, came last year after Pope Francis flew to the scene of a sunken migrant vessel off the coast that went down unaided. Pope Francis asked, “Who has wept for the people who were on the boat?” Italy took this as inspiration to help refugees who make it across the Mediterranean Sea. Now, Italy takes in refugees, offers them medical treatment, food, water, and temporary shelter. Further, Italy has decriminalized migrants, and also adopted a de facto “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy where refugees may stay a few nights and then move onwards to other European nations, such as Germany and Sweden, that often grant asylum.

While this initially seems great, and for many it is a wonderful thing, there also comes skepticism. Italy is taking in nearly 1,000 migrants per day, and has already taken in 119,939 migrants since January, far more than the 42,000 from all of 2013. The problem lies in that the nearly 120,000 migrants have entered into Europe with relative ease as far as security checks goes, and now may be moving fairly undetected and unaccounted for throughout Europe. With a particular eye on some of the nations where the refugees are coming from, countries where ISIS is growing and expanding at a scary rate, this creates a serious security concern for Europe.

One of the countries with many emigrants to Italy is Libya, a nation that France calls a ‘terrorist hub’. And while it may be unclear exactly if or how many dangerous migrants may have snuck through already, one thing is clear: there has already been at least six serious attacks planned against member states of the European Union. British Prime Minister David Cameron warned the British people, “be in no doubt about the threat that so-called Islamic State poses to us.” Cameron went on to cite the deadly attack in a Brussels Jewish museum as a successful ISIS attack on European soil.

Even without new ISIS members coming into Europe, there already exists a serious problem throughout Europe as Europeans continue to be recruited into ISIS. Two Austrian girls of 15 and 16 years in age, Samra Kesinovic and Sabina Selimovic, have recently been recruited by ISIS and have already led at least two additional girls, ages 16 and 14, to try and follow to Syria to convert.

It is quite clear that the ISIS problem in Europe is a present problem and very likely to get much worse as ISIS’s presence and influence continues to spread. ISIS is already in Europe and influence is spreading throughout Europe in the form of recruiting, and increasing via immigration through open borders like Italy. While Italy is helping many who are in dire need of help, it must be careful to prevent the same people from coming over who caused the massive flocks to begin with.

For more information, please see:

New York Post – Gun-wielding teen girls from Europe join ISIS – 10 September 2014

RT – France calls for new Libya intervention, calls it ‘terrorist hub’ on Europe’s doorstep – 10 September 2014

The Washington Post – Amid flood of refugees to Europe, Italy opens a back door – 9 September 2014

Breitbart – Prime Minister: Six ISIS Attempted Attempts Against European Nations Already – 9 September 2014