Voting in Referendum on Crimea Secession From Ukraine Held

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine – Voting in a referendum to decide whether Ukraine’s southern region of Crimea will secede from the Ukraine and become a territory of Russia, ended a short while ago.

A polling station in Simferopol. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

Approximately 1.5 million voters were expected to show up to polls, and it is widely believed that the outcome will be that Crimea will split from the Ukraine and join Russia. Polls were open for twelve hours beginning at 6:00 GMT on Sunday.

Voters had the choice of two options on the referendum ballot: either, “are you in favor of the reunification of Crimea with Russia as a part of the Russian Federation?” or “are you in favor of restoring the 1992 Constitution and the status of Crimea as a part of Ukraine?”

If Crimea citizens choose to restore the 1992 constitution, the Crimea government would be afforded broad authority to institute its own laws and structure its governance, and it would remain an area under the Ukraine. Western countries have expressed opposition to the referendum, and most have stated that they will not recognize it. The Kremlin in Russia insists that it is an instance of self-determination by the Crimea people.

The UN Security Council overwhelmingly supported a resolution that labels the Crimea referendum as illegal. Russia attempted to veto the resolution during the Security Council’s vote, but every other member nation of the Security Council favored the resolution. China, Russia’s closest ally on the Security Council, abstained from voting which left Russia as the sole proponent of the referendum.

After the Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovich, was ousted from office last month, Russian troops occupied Crimea, as it indeed possesses a largely ethnic-Russian population. Ihor Tenyukh, Ukraine’s acting defense minister, stated that the Ukraine and Russia had agreed on a truce in Crimea until March 21, during which “no measures will be taken against our military facilities.”

Amid the voting on the referendum, Russian troops landed on a strip of land in the southeast between Crimea and the mainland, which forced the Ukraine to also dispatch an aircraft with armed forces to stop the troops’ movement.

Meanwhile, approximately 50,000 people gathered in Moscow to protest against Russia’s intervention in the Ukraine, shouting, “The occupation of Crimea is Russia’s disgrace” and “Hands off Ukraine.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Crimeans Vote in Breakaway Referendum – 16 March 2014

BBC News – Ukraine Crisis: Crimea Holds Secession Referendum – 16 March 2014

New York Times – Under Watch of Russian Troops, Crimea Votes on Secession – 16 March 2014

Reuters – Crimea to Vote on Joining Russia, Moscow Wields U.N. Veto – 16 March 2014

Latvia Says Minister Must Go after Plans to March

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

RIGA, Latvia – A Latvian government official has been fired for his declaration that the will march with Latvian Nazi veterans who fought off Soviets during World War II.

Many Latvians consider their Waffen SS veterans heroes who fought for Latvian independence against the Soviets. (Photo courtesy of Guardian)

At the beginning of World War II, Moscow seized Latvia in a deal with Berlin. Later, Moscow transferred approximately 15,000 Latvians to Siberia. In 1941, Germany disregarded the original deal and invaded the Soviet Union. For that reason, some Latvians claimed the Nazis were liberators, even though the Nazis went on to kill over 80% of Latvia’s Jews. By 1945, the Soviet Union had recaptured Latvia, and held it until the communist bloc dissolved fifty years later.

On 14 March 2014, Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma fired a government minister, Einars Cilinskis, who declared that he would join an annual Nazi march as a Latvian “patriot.” The Russian-speaking minority in Latvia rejected Cilinskis’ declaration, saying that the Nazi march distorts history, honors Nazism, and insults victims of World War II.

However, parade veterans insisted that their purpose was to honor the defense of Latvian homeland against Soviet occupation. Approximately 140,000 Latvians—mostly conscripts—fought in the legion, and nearly a third died either in combat or Soviet captivity. On the other hand, about 130,000 fought for the Soviets, of whom about a quarter died.

Environment Minister Einars Cilinskis planned to march with veterans of the Latvian Legion, a group formed and commanded by the Nazi SS in 1943. The parade date of March 16 marks the unsuccessful attempt to repel the Soviet invasion, which began the communist bloc’s half century of occupation. Legion veterans began marching in Riga, Latvia every March 16 since Soviet rule ended in 1991.

Prime Minister Straujuma took office in January 2014, and banned all of her ministers from joining the parade.

A spokesperson for Straujuma commented, “No minister has ever attended this event, so it is important the dismissal happens before it takes place, not afterwards.”

Efraim Zuroff of the Israel office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center stated that admirers of people like Latvian SS commander Viktor Arajs “are the spiritual heirs of those who committed the crimes of the Holocaust. It is unthinkable that they should march through European Union capitals and cause unimaginable pain to Holocaust survivors and their families.”

Latvian officials worry that Russian state media might use the story to support claims of a “rebirth of fascism” in Ukraine and its other neighbors.

On the day of the march, Crimea will hold a referendum on whether to secede from Ukraine.

The marketplace of ideas often becomes closed to the most abhorred speech before speech that resides closer to the grey zone. Even when the marketplace opens, abhorred ideas become the basis of persuading others. But is that persuasion aiding better ideas?

For further information, please see:

Aljazeera – Latvian Minister Sacked over ‘Nazi’ March – March 14, 2014

Guardian – Latvia Minister Faces Sack in Nazi Memorial Row – March 14, 2014

Jewish Telegraphic Agency – Latvian Minister to Be Fired for Endorsing SS Vets – March 14, 2014

Reuters – Latvia PM to Fire Minister over Plan to Join SS March – March 14, 2014

Egyptian Politicians Express Concern over the Legitimacy of Upcoming Presidential Elections

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

CAIRO, Egypt – Former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik has pulled out of the nation’s upcoming presidential elections calling the election a “farce” that has been fixed to allow Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a formal military chief, to take control of the country.

Banners proclaiming support for for Field Marshal Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi, have become common in Egypt. While he has not officially announced his candidacy al-Sisi is favored to win the upcoming presidential elections. (Photo courtesy of The New York Times)

Under the administration of Hosni Mubarak, Shafik served as a military leader and was appointed to serve as Prime Minister of the country shortly before the youth-led revolt sparked by the Arab Spring led to the resignation of President Mubarak. Shafik came in second behind President Morsi during the 2012 Presidential elections.

In a leaked recording of a private conversation released by Al Jazeera on Thruway Shafik, who had stated earlier he would endorse al-Sisi if he ran for the presidency, said “I know very well they will fix all the ballot boxes. I have taken myself out of this loop because the election is going to be a farce.” Shafik confirmed the authenticity of the recording.

He went on to say, “of course whether other candidates withdraw will depend on the nomination of Sisi. I said if he’s going to run in the presidential election I will not run but I will get my papers ready (and) if he is going to run I will not submit them.”

Sami Anan, another leading politician and former Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Military, announced his withdrawal from the presidential camping on Thursday saying his decision was “rooted in the nation’s highest interests” and “out of the realisation of the dangers facing it.” His decision will mean that al-Sisi will run with only one significant rival candidate, the leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, from the Nile Delta town of Kafr el-Sheikh.  Sabahi who came in third in the 2012 presidential elections

Hamdeen Sabahi, a formal journalist, says he doubts Egypt would be governed according to democratic principles is al-Sisi is elected. Sabahi supported the coup led by al-Sisi that resulted in the removal of Egypt’s first democratically elected leader, Mohamed Morsi, last year. However, he now feels that the culture of political repression that characterized the Mubarak regime still remains rampant in the country. “The current transitional system did not respect the values of democracy and plurality, and violated the constitution … in the way it dealt with its opponents,” he said. “It did not implement the freedoms the Egyptian people want and deserve.”

Despite his concerns, Sabahi is convinced that the Egyptian people will no longer tolerate dictatorship. “Any attempt to reproduce the old regime will not work. The people are very smart,” Sabahi said. “The future of Egypt is in the revolution. There will be no future for anyone who tries to bring back a former regime.”

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Egypt ex-PM: presidential poll will be fixed – 14 March 2014

Malta Today – Egypt ex-PM claims presidential poll will be fixed – 14 March 2014

The New York Times – Former Egyptian General Calls Promise of Free Elections a ‘Farce’ – 13 March 2014

Reuters – Egyptian candidate questions Sisi’s commitment to democracy – 13 March 2014

Air Strikes Continue Despite Gaza Israeli Truce Claims

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Gaza City, Palestine-The Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group, reported on Thursday that it had agreed to stop a series of rocket fire on Israel, prompting an end to the most active fighting between the two sides since 2012.

An Islamic Jihad underground rocket launcher (photo courtesy of The Jerusalem Post)

Over two days of violence, Palestinian militants have fired more than sixty rockets into Israel, while Israel responded by caring out a series of air strikes in Gaza.  Fortunately, no serious casualties have been reported.

“After the Egyptian brothers initiated contacts with us in the past few hours, we agreed to restore the calm.  As long as the occupation honors the calm, we will honor the clam and instructions are being given right now to Al Quds brigades, our military wing, about this understanding,” stated Khaled Al Batch, the Islamic Jihad leader.

Before the truce was reached, the Islamic Jihad resumed its rocket fire on Israel, striking outside areas of two major cities.  The previous day saw dozens of rockets being fired on Israel, the largest barrage on Israel since an eight-day assault in late 2012

It was reported by an Egyptian senior security official, who brokered similar truces in the past that Egyptian intelligence officials had been communicating with the sides in brokering an agreement.

Israeli military officials stated it retaliated with renewed air strikes on “seven terror sites in southern Gaza.  Until this week, both sides largely observed a ceasefire that ended the Israeli offensive against rocket launchers in November 2012.

“Since yesterday, there has seen a substantial deterioration in the safety of the residents in southern Israel.  We have responded and will continue to do so to eliminate threats as they develop,” said Lt. Colonel Peter Lerner.

During this latest attack, Gaza’s ruling Hamas movement has not been involved.  Israeli leaders, however, say that they hold Hamas responsible because it rules the coastal Palestinian territory.  Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, responded by saying “Israel bears full responsibility fo the escalation.”

Gaza has been controlled by Hamas since them overrunning the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.  Currently, Abbas governs in the West Bank located on the opposite side of Israel.

“We condemn the aggression and all forms of military escalation, including rockets,” stated Hamas at a meeting in Cameron in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

For more information, please see the following: 

Aljazeera-Attacks continue despite Gaza truce claims-14 March 2014

National-Rockets fired from Gaza despite ceasefire with Israel-14 March 2014

BBC News-Gaza militants and Israel exchange strikes despite ‘truce’-13 March 2014

Jerusalem Post-Sporadic rocket fire from Gaza continues to hit South despite ‘ceasefire’-13 March 2014

 

Holder Calls for Reduced Reliance on Mandatory Minimums

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – US Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday called for shorter sentences for defendants in most of the nation’s drug crimes. Holder endorsed a proposal that would result in shorter sentences for non-violent drug trafficking offenses, citing the rising cost of operating federal prisons and fairer administration of justice.

Holder’s position appears consistent with statements he made last August about the “vicious cycle of poverty and incarceration” gripping communities. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

The proposal, created by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, is part of a larger move by the Department of Justice to lessen the penalties for non-violent drug offenders.  Holder has spoken out against mandatory minimum sentences, arguing for judicial discretion in developing appropriate sentencing guidelines.

“This overreliance on incarceration is not just financially unsustainable, it comes with human and moral costs that are impossible to calculate,” said Holder in a hearing before the Commission.

Holder insisted that removing these mandatory minimums would not prevent application of harsher sentences to violent drug offenders.

This proposal is just the latest step in an on-going move by the Justice Department to reduce the prison populations.  In August, Holder instructed prosecutors to stop charging non-violent drug traffickers with offenses that carried these mandatory minimum sentences.  The Sentencing Commission took notice, convening in January to consider eliminating mandatory minimums altogether.

Justice Department officials said the proposed amendment would result in a 17 percent decrease in the average length of prison sentences for non-violent offenders.  Moreover, it would shrink the federal prison population by 6,550 inmates over the next five years.

Holder’s proposal has been met with criticism from Raymond Morrogh, director-at-large for the National District Attorney’s Association, who considered the proposal to be “[r]ewarding convicted felons with lighter sentences because America can’t balance its budget.”

The seven member Sentencing Commission is expected to vote as soon as April to amend the sentencing guidelines.  The mandatory minimums will remain in effect, however, until such time that the Commission votes on the proposed amendment.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Eric Holder to push for shorter US drug sentences – 13 March 2014

CNN – Holder: I back a plan to reduce some drug-related sentences – 13 March 2014

Fox News – Holder backs reduced sentences for some drug traffickers – 13 March 2014

The New York Times – Holder Endorses Proposal to Reduce Drug Sentences – 13 March 2014

The Washington Post – Holder calls for reduced sentences for low-level drug offenders – 13 March 2014