Tensions Remain High in Ukraine as Gunfire Continues and Presidential Elections Draw Near
By Kyle Herda
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
KIEV, Ukraine – Ukraine’s interim government will attempt to restore security to the unstable country through Presidential elections on May 25. A vote of more than 50 percent is required for a candidate to be elected; should no candidate receive greater than 50 percent of the vote, a run-off vote between the top two candidates on June 15 will determine the race. The current front-runner, billionaire Petro Poroshenko, served as foreign minister and economy minister, and supports Ukraine’s integration with the West.
The elections may stand to unite the country more through a leader elected by the people that the entire country has a say in, both the eastern pro-Russians and the western pro-Europeans. Or the elections may lead to further dissolution of the country if one side refuses to recognize the elected leader.
Ukraine troops remain active in the East as gunfire has already killed 24 Ukrainian servicemen. Most recently, an armed attack by pro-Russians on a checkpoint has let free a detained pro-Russian leader.
Residents in the Eastern region of Slovyansk, the center of the pro-Russian rebellion, have grown sick of the conflict and call for an end to the fighting. Resident Lina Sidorenko said the pro-Russians “must stop with this banditry so that there can be peace!” Another 300 Slovyansk residents shouted at Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the separatist leader in Slovyansk, that the fighting cannot continue.
Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, also joined in the fight against pro-Russians in Slovyansk. “No one will frighten us, including those calling themselves a Donetsk People’s Republic,” Akhmetov declared. He urged his employees to attend protests against the pro-Russians, and a similar protest last week in Mariupol pushed pro-Russians out of government buildings they seized in the Black Sea port.
Two other regions of Ukraine seeing action are Donetsk and Luhansk, both of which had pro-Russian rebels declare independence from Ukraine through referendums in a similar fashion to Crimea.
Amidst this chaos in the East are security forces sent in by Kiev to take back buildings captured by pro-Russian rebels. Russia has asked Ukraine to remove these troops and called the security and military personnel destabilizers.
In response, Russia has what NATO estimates to be 40,000 Russian troops on the border outside of Ukraine. Other countries have called on Russia to move these forces and remove the threat of invasion, something Russia’s Defense Ministry claims to be working on. However, NATO has claimed there is no evidence that Russia has actually removed any troops or dismantled any camps along the border.
For more information, please see:
Reuters – RUSSIA SAYS UKRAINE ELECTION MAY AGGRAVATE CRISIS – 20 May 2014
NY Times – PRO-RUSSIAN REBELS IN UKRAINE FACE CITIZEN ANGER – 20 May 2014
Reuters – FACTBOX: LEADING CANDIDATES IN UKRAINE’S MAY 25 PRESIDENTIAL RACE – 20 May 2014
CNN – RUSSIAN TROOPS STILL AT UKRAINIAN BORDER DESPITE WITHDRAWAL PLEDGE, NATO SAYS – 19 May 2014
The Guardian – UKRAINE: PRO-RUSSIA SEPARATISTS SET FOR VICTORY IN EASTERN REGION REFERENDUM – 11 May 2014
WAR CRIMES PROSECUTION WATCH Volume 9 – Issue 4 May 19, 2014
The Democratic Alliance Urges South African Delegation to Reject Immunity for Leaders
By: Danielle L. Cowan (Gwozdz)
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa
CAPE TOWN, South Africa – The Democratic Alliance (DA) strongly urges the South African delegation to reject the draft proposal to grant immunity to sitting government leaders before Africa’s regional court for crimes against humanity.
DA members say granting immunity to sitting government leaders would be “bad news” for human rights.
The African Union (AU) country members’ Justice Ministers and Attorney Generals were scheduled to meet in Ethiopia on May 15th and May 16th to consider a draft proposal to, in part, absolve sitting African leaders form their part in genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
The DA argues that granting “sitting heads” of state and senior government officials immunity from jurisdiction of African courts would be an exercise in shielding these leaders from accountability and, in effect, permit such leaders to perpetuate these human rights abuses.
If passed, this proposal would serve no other purpose other than bolster the incentive to hold on to power and undermine the fight for human rights on the continent.
If they were to vote in favor for this draft proposal, the DA states that this would in fact suggest that South Africa sees its own leaders as “above the law,” which is a dangerous precedent. The DA states that this would not reflect the ethics and rule of law enshrined in South Africa’s constitution.
The DA further states that it is critically important for the South African delegation to reject this proposal in its formative stages and to send a message that South Africa is committed to fighting human rights abuses on its own soil and the continent at large. This is especially important because it follows a slew of scandals and abuses of power by its own government.
For more information, please visit:
PoliticsWeb – SA should vote against AU’s immunity proposal – Sandy Kalyan – 14 May 2014
AllAfrica – South Africa: The DA Calls On South African Delegation to Reject Immunity for Leaders – 15 May 2014
DA.org – The DA calls on South African delegation to reject immunity for leaders – 15 May 2014
Syrian Air Force Chief, Gen. Hussein Ishaq, Dies amid Fighting
By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Managing Editor
DAMASCUS, Syria – The head of Syria’s Air Defense Forces, General Hussein Ishaq, was reportedly killed in combat according to a security official. Ishaq died as a result of injuries suffered during an attack on the Air Defense headquarters near the town of Mleiha southwest of Damascus.
The director of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, said Gen Ishaq’s death was an “important psychological blow” to the regime. The observatory reported that General Ishaq was killed in clashes with fighters from the al-Nusra Front and other Islamic rebel groups. Because the rebel groups have no air force the Air Defense Forces are rarely used for defense and instead have been deployed against the rebel forces, bombarding rebel held areas. The Syrian Air Forces has conducted numerous bombardment campaigns against rebels and rebel held areas, often using destructive barrel bombs that indiscriminately target areas sympathetic to rebel forces. Rami Abdel Rahman told the press, “the regime’s Air Defense Force is to face a possible US attack, but in this war it is using its firepower against the rebels,”
The city of Mleiha has been under regime bombardment for more than a year but in recently weeks Mleiha has seen heavy fighting between regime and rebel forces which is strategically important due to its proximity to the capital. Forces loyal to the Assad Regime have carried out a heavy bombing campaign round the region. General Ishaq is one the only high ranking military officers to have been killed in the Syrian Civil war so far.
The Observatory reported that despite the regimes initial advancements in the city, rebels have regained ground and have seized several buildings around central town hall. While the military remains in control of the Capital of Damascus the rebel’s continue to hold a number of towns and villages on the outskirts of the city; despite frequent airstrikes and a crippling blockade enforced by the military.
More than 150,000 people have been killed over the past three years of Syria’s bloody Civil War and millions of civilians have become refugees and internally displaced peoples.
For more information please see:
Al Jazeera – Syrian Air Force Chief Dies in Combat – 18 May 2014
BBC News – Syria War: Air Defense Chief Gen Hussein Ishaq Killed – 18 May 2014
Times of Israel – Syrian Air Force Chief Said Killed Near Damascus – 18 May 2014
The Wall Street Journal – Syrian Air Defense Chief Killed, Says Official – 18 May 2014