Hikers Savagely Attacked by Robbers Wielding Machetes in PNG

By Kevin M. Mathewson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea — A group of Australian and New Zealand hikers along with their local tour guides were attacked by robbers wielding machetes on Tuesday in Papua New Guinea.

Injured trekkers Nick Bennett (front left), Peter Stevens (center) and Steve Ward (right) arrive at the airport in Cairns, Queensland on Thursday following their brutal attack by bandits in Papua New Guinea. (Photo courtesy of AFP)

The eight tourists were settled in their tents on Black Cat Track, a remote jungle clad, when a mob of six armed men struck around dusk. Two tour guides were hacked to death with machetes, one reportedly partially decapitated. Six others were seriously wounded, including one hiker who was speared through the leg.

“It started to rain and some of us were inside the tents when there was a whole lot of noise, shouting. I thought the boys had found a bush kangaroo, an animal or something like that.” one of the survivors, Nick Bennett told Channel Nine after arriving in the capital Port Moresby.

“Next thing, I thought ‘what’s going on’, I put my head outside the tent and smack – I thought I’d been shot actually. “ Bennett said of being hit with a rifle butt.

“Blood just erupted out of my head and I looked up and I saw this guy with a mask on standing over me, and then the whole thing unfolded. They were laying into the porter boys. I realized they were butchering the porters. It was just appalling and we’re very fortunate.” Bennett added.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said the attackers, once captured, would face the death penalty. “These are appalling crimes, and they attract the death penalty under laws passed by the national parliament.” he said.

No arrests have been made in relation to the attack, and the precise motive remains unclear. Papua New Guinea trackers and police are working to the find the group. Some suggest that local rivalries, or resentment at the beneficiaries of the trekking industry, were the cause.

The Australian hikers were transported and treated in Port Moresby where they were expected to meet with Australian high commissioner before flying home on Thursday.

Due to the attack, Australia has issued a warning for hikers wanting to take on Black Cat Track. The Black Cat Track is notorious for its toughness and takes an average of six days for experienced hikers to complete. The Tacks was the scene of vicious fights in 1943 between Australian and U.S. troops against Japanese forces.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – PNG machete attackers should ‘face death penalty’ – 12 September 2013

South China Morning Post – Trekkers attacked by PNG bandits tell of horror – 12 September 2013

IOL News – Tourists tell of PNG machete attack – 12 September 2013

Yahoo! News – Trekkers recount savage attack by PNG bandits – 12 September 2013

The Guardian – PNG prime minister calls for death penalty for trek attack – 12 September 2013

Dutch Government Issues Apology for Mass Killings in 1940s Colonial Indonesia

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The Dutch government formally apologized last Thursday for the mass killing of thousands of Indonesians during colonial occupation which ended in 1949.

Ambassador Tjeerd de Zwaan issued the formal apology at a ceremony in Jakarta last Thursday. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

The Dutch ambassador for Indonesia, Tjeerd de Zwaan, officially presented the state’s apology at a ceremony in Jakarta.

Dutch Special forces carried out thousands of “summary executions” between 1945 and 1949 in Indonesia, which it colonized during this time.

In total, roughly 40,000 people were executed during this colonial era, as the Indonesian government reports; however, the Dutch government has only acknowledged a few thousand of these deaths, to date.

One of the most notorious incidents occurred in South Sulawesi on January 28, 1947. There, Dutch special forces executed 208 men on a field outside of a local government office.

“On behalf of the Dutch government I apologize for these excesses,” De Zwaan said at the ceremony on Thursday.

“The Dutch government is aware that it bears a special responsibility in respect of Indonesian widows of victims of summary executions comparable to those carried out by Dutch troops in what was then Celebes [Sulawesi] and Rawa Gede [now West Java],” De Zwaan added.

The Dutch government had already apologized for some specific murders, and paid compensation to victims’ families in those cases, but this was the first general apology for all of the murders during the colonial era.

Friends and family of the victims who were present at the ceremony welcomed the apology.

“We feel grateful and very happy to be here. Before that we never imagined that it would be like this,” said one family member, Nurhaeni.

Notorious Dutch captain Raymond Westerling carried out many of these executions back in the colonial era. Westerling and his troops held executions in dozens of villages for a period of three months in a bid to wipe out resistance against Dutch colonization. No one has been prosecuted for these murders, to date.

Most of present-day Indonesia was ruled by the Netherlands from the 19th Century until World War II, when the Japanese army forced out the Dutch.

When the Dutch attempted to reassert control of the country after the defeat of the Japanese, they met great resistance. The Netherlands recognized Indonesia’s independence in 1949.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Dutch Apologize for Indonesian Executions – 12 September 2013

BBC News – Netherlands Apology for Indonesia 1940s Killings – 12 September 2013

Daiji World – Dutch Envoy Apologises for Utions in Colonial Indonesia – 12 September 2013

Dutch News – The Netherlands Apologizes for Indonesia Executions – 12 September 2013

Argentine Police Arrest Teen Hacker for Stealing $50,000 a month

By Ellis Cortez
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentine police say they have arrested an alleged 19-year-old hacker on suspicion of leading a gang of hackers who targeted international money transfers and gambling websites.

Magnifying glass being held before a computer screen
The man is said to have hacked thousands of computers, using them as proxies. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

Named “the superhacker”, the teenager was making $50,000 a month, working from his bedroom police say. The teenager, whose identity has not been revealed, is the son of an information systems engineer. Police have been following the teenager for over a year.

Argentine police raided the home of the young man on September 13th in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of San Cristobal. The arrest operation shut down the power in the entire neighborhood to prevent the deletion of sensitive data.

Police raiding the teenager’s residence found that the young man had set up a “technological cave” with high-capacity computers which he used as a base to administer his online fraud network. Police seized electronic equipment, including cables, routers and over 14 hard drives. Officials identified six more people who were involved in the criminal network.

The arrest of the 19-year-old comes as part of Operation Zombie, an extensive police manhunt which began in 2012 when a businessman providing hosting services for personal web pages said that a hacker was remotely entering the servers to intercept monetary transfers.

Argentina’s chief prosecutor, Graciela Gils Carbo, ordered a federal investigation, which found that the same person was stealing from money transfers and online gaming sites. A Security Ministry statement said, “Internet users were victims of a ‘malware’ virus that the hacker hosted in a server for downloading online gaming applications.”

It was called Operation Zombie because the suspected hacker carried out a “denial of service” attack that used a network of thousands of “zombie” computers to overload the server, making it impossible for the users to access their accounts around the time of the attack. This would let him divert the money unnoticed and avoid alerting victims to an illegal money transfer.

The young man is being accused of three crimes, and if convicted of all, could be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – Argentina arrests 19-year-old ‘super-hacker’ – 14 September 2013

RT News – Argentina arrests teen ‘superhacker’ for stealing $50,000 a month – 14 September 2013

The Telegraph – Argentinian ‘super-hacker’ arrested over online scams – 14 September 2013

BBC – Argentina arrests teen hacker who netted $50,000 a month – 13 September 2013

Univision Noticias – Hacker que robaba 50 mil dólares al mes fue capturado en Argentina – 13 September 2013

 

 

Grenade Attack Kills Two in Rwanda

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

KIGALI, Rwanda – Two people were killed in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, by grenade blasts. These blasts also wounded about twenty-two people, police report.

Rwandan marketplace where blast occurred (photo courtesy of AFP)

The first attack occurred on Friday in a marketplace, which killed one and wounded fourteen.

“Two grenades were thrown” during the attack at a market on Friday that had already left one dead and 14 wounded, spokesman Damas Gatare said. “One was caught in the roof of the market but people didn’t identify it.”

Another grenade detonated on Saturday night, in the same area of Kigali. This grenade injured eight people and killed one. Police say that three people have been arrested since this day.

Although police have arrested three people, they gave no further details about who was likely responsible for the blasts.

Kigali, Rwanda is known for as one of Africa’s safest capital cities. However, these blasts are similar to blasts that occurred earlier this year in the capital and in 2010 before the presidential elections.

Since 2010 the country has been hit by grenade blasts that authorities sometimes blame on political dissidents.

This attack has occurred before a parliamentary vote on Monday.

Authorities believe these attacks may have been by political dissidents and Hutu rebels from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) based in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

“I don’t think it is going to impact on the election… everything is in control,” police spokesman Damas Gatare told AFP news agency.

In 2010, Kagame won the presidential election by a landslide. However, rights groups stated that members of the opposition faced threats and attacks.

A coalition, led by Kagame’s party the Rwandan Patriotic Force, is expected to comfortably win in Monday’s parliamentary elections for the chamber of deputies.

Rwanda has undergone a dramatic transformation in the past two decades, with strong economic growth and a drop in corruption, which is credited to Kagame.

Last year 22 people were found guilty of launching a series of grenade attacks around Rwanda, including some former soldiers who were accused of having links with the FDLR rebel movement.

Some FDLR leaders are accused of links to Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.

For more information, please visit:

BBC News – Blasts in Rwanda capital Kigali kill two ahead of vote – 14 September 2013
SABC – Grenade attacks kill two, injure 22 in Rwanda – 14 September 2013
Business Recorder – Grenade attack kills at least one in Rwanda – 14 September 2013
Aljazeera – Two die in grenade attacks in Rwanda – 14 September 2013
Fox News – Rwanda grenade blast kills one ahead of polls – 14 September 2013

President Obama Defends Syria Policy on “This Week”

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – President Obama defended his shift policy with Syria over the past two weeks in an interview with George Stephanopoulos.  He commented that style was not the critical factor in his decisions. Good policy was.

President Obama reversed his position on the need for military action in Syria last week, opting to pursue diplomatic avenues. (Photo courtesy of Fox News)

The President’s comments, which aired Sunday on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” suggested that the current policy of allowing Syria to voluntarily disarm would not preclude a future use of military action.  However, President Obama said a diplomatic solution might end the Syrian Civil War without the need for US intervention.

President Obama accepted criticism that his shifts in policy lacked style, but also criticized Washington for its propensity to “grade on style.”  He drew a comparison to early support for the Iraq War, saying Washington would likely praise a policy that “was very smooth, disciplined, and linear” even if it were a substantive disaster.

While the President conceded his plan lacked style, he explained that there has been progress in negotiations with Syria over the past two weeks, citing as examples Syria’s willingness to join the Chemical Weapons Convention and turn over their current stockpiles to international control.  “If that goal is achieved, then it sounds to me like we did something right,” he remarked.

 

When the conversation shifted to Iran, the President remarked that a nuclear arms race in the Middle East hits closer to the “core values” of the US than chemical weapons in Syria.  He cautioned Iran not to look at the use of diplomatic measures in Syria as an indication that the US would not make military strikes against a “nuclear Iran.”

While speaking on Iran, President Obama revealed that he and Hassan Rouhani, the newly elected President of Iran, have exchanged letters in an effort to reach out.  Rouhani is expected to usher in a more conciliatory foreign policy, already giving authority to his foreign minister to discuss their nuclear program with the US.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Obama says Iran nuclear row ‘larger’ than Syria crisis – 15 September 2013

ABC News – Obama Rejects Criticism of Shifting Syria Policy: ‘I’m Less Concerned About Style Points’ – 15 September 2013

The LA Times – Obama defends deal with Russia on Syria, says it could end war – 15 September 2013

The Guardian – Kerry insists Syria strikes still an option as Obama defends deal with Russia – 15 September 2013

Fox News – Obama defends Syria policy, says Washington too ‘style’ conscious – 15 September 2013