Israel and Palestine Resume Peace Talks

By Thomas Murphy
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have confirmed that late Wednesday night the two sides resumed peace talks during a secret meeting in Jerusalem. The peace talks are the first between the two sides in three years.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas greets the twenty-six Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prison on Wednesday. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

The general purpose of the talks is to negotiate a final end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The main solution that the parties have focused on is a two-state agreement that allows for the existence of Palestine and Israel side-by-side.

An anonymous Israel official described the talks as “long and serious,” but did not describe the substance of the talks. The specifics of the talks are expected to be kept private because both parties believe that it increases their chance of success.

The Palestinian side is represented by Saeb Erekat and Fatah official Muhammed Shtayyeh. Israeli is represented by Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni and prime ministerial aide Isaac Molcho.

Tzipi Livn posted on Facebook regarding the peace talks:

“Today, I will continue the important mission I began – to achieve a peace agreement that will keep the country Jewish and democratic and provide security … for Israel and its citizens.”

Leading up to the peace talks both parties have made gestures of good faith. Earlier on Wednesday, Israel freed twenty-six Palestinians, many of whom had been imprisoned for deadly attacks on Israelis. Additionally, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas dropped demands for an Israeli settlement freeze before talks resumed.

Although the news of peace talks generally breeds optimism, members of both side seemed to cast doubt over any chances of success.

“Israel will resort to feints and evasion and put up impossible demands in order to say that these negotiations are fruitless and to continue its policy of stealing land as it has done until this moment,” said Yasser Abed Rabbo. “The talks might collapse any time because of the Israeli practices.”

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said, “We’ve been trying for 20 years since Oslo, and for over 120 years of the conflict. The scepticism in the tone of my remarks is apparent, but we’ve decided to give it a chance.”

“Both for the Palestinians and for us, the hourglass is running out. We will not have many more opportunities to resolve this dispute,” said Israeli cabinet minister Yaakov Peri.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Israel-Palestinian peace talks resume – 15 August 2013

BBC – Israel-Palestinian peace talks resume in Jerusalem – 15 August 2013

Jerusalem Post – Abbas: First round of peace talks dealt with final-status issues  – 15 August 2013

Reuters – Analysis: Abbas chooses unpopular peace talks over bruising U.N. battles – 15 August 2013

Increasing Deaths in Egypt Prompt the International Community to Speak Out

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt-As raids and massacres continue to increase in Egypt, the international community is finally taking a stance against what many have called “blood baths” in Cairo.  In an attempt to remove ex-President Morsi supporters Wednesday morning, 278 people were killed with many more injured.

Supporters of ex-President Morsi count the bodies of the victims (Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Times)

In light of the escalating death toll, Egypt has declared a month-long state of emergency and issued a 7pm to 6am curfew.  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the U.S. opposes the issued state of emergency and Egyptian leaders should do everything to calm matters and avoid death.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest stated, “We have repeatedly called on the Egyptian military and security forces to show restraint and for the government to respect the universal rights of its citizen, just as we’ve urged protesters to demonstrate peacefully.”

Earnest continued, “We also strongly oppose a return to a state of emergency law and call on the government to respect basic human rights such as freedom of peaceful assembly and due process under the law.”

Following Wednesday morning’s killings, other international entities have raised their voices to oppose the increasing deaths in Egypt.  United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has condemned police violence against protestors that have caused hundreds of deaths.

Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman, Martin Nesirky, stated, “In the aftermath of today’s violence, the secretary-general urges all Egyptians to concentrate their efforts on promoting genuinely inclusive reconciliation.”

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, issued a statement saying that “confrontation and violence” are not the proper methods for Egypt to deal with its own citizen and that security forces should be acting with the “utmost restraint.”

Ashton also stated that the future of Egyptian diplomacy depends on “a dialogue among all concerned aimed at overcoming differences in an inclusive process of political reconciliation, with fully empowered civilian government and functioning democratic institutions.”

Other countries have spoken out against Egypt’s use of violence and amassing amounts of death.  Those countries include: Turkey, Qatar, Iran, France, Great Britain, Germany, and the Palestinian movement Hamas.

France’s Foreign Minister issued a statement offering condolences to those who have lost loved ones in the bloodshed while “strongly deploring” all violence that has occurred.  “France calls on all parties to exercise the utmost restraint and warns against disproportionate use of force.”

Qatar, a country that strongly supported Morsi, has condemned all attacks by the security forces and urged Egyptian authorities to “refrain from the security option in dealing with peaceful protests, and to preserve the lives of Egyptians at protest sites.”

Despite the calling for restrain and peaceful protests, the U.S has refused to classify the happenings in Egypt as coup, which would have implications for continued U.S. aid flowing to Egypt.  Earnest stated, “We have determined that it is not in the best interest of the United States to make that determination.”

For more information, please see the following: 

Aljazeera – Restraint urged amid Egypt violence – 14 August 2013

CBC News – Egypt violence a ‘serious blow’ to reconciliation, democracy – 14 August 2013

Los Angeles Times – White House calls for restraint in Egypt amid deadly clashes – 14 August 2013

Sky News – Egypt: 278 People Killed In Nationwide Clashes – 14 August 2013

Bradley Manning Speaks at Sentencing Phase

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Private First Class Bradley Manning, a former intelligence analyst for the US Army, read a statement at the sentencing phase of his court martial Wednesday.  Pfc. Manning was convicted of 17 of 22 charges brought against him for leaking military intelligence to the information distribution system WikiLeaks. 

Manning, 25, attends his court martial before a military judge in Fort Meade, Maryland. (Photo courtesy of NBC News)

While Pfc. Manning originally faced a maximum sentence of 136 years, Judge Colonel Denise Lind set aside some of the duplicate charges.  Pfc. Manning now faces a potential sentence of up to 90 years in military prison.

Manning took the stand, stating “I’m sorry [my actions] hurt the United States.”  Manning went on to say “When I made these decisions I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people.”

Earlier in the day, Judge Lind heard testimony from Army Commander David Moulton, a military psychiatrist, who explained that Manning showed signs of stress-induced behavioral disorders.  Cmdr. Moulton offered an example from April 2010, when Manning struck a fellow soldier with a knife after soldiers found Manning curled up in ball.  Moulton further revealed that Pfc. Manning was struggling with gender identity crisis during his deployment to Iraq.

Moulton noted that Manning’s lack of a support structure in dealing with his crisis added “incredible” pressure to the Private First Class.

Judge Lind also heard testimony that Manning emailed a picture of himself wearing a wig and lipstick to his superior, Master Sergeant Paul Adkins, who did not notify the brigade leaders.  The email, which contained the subject line “My problem,” came to Adkins at a time when he admitted having increasing concerns about Manning’s mental health. NBC news reports that, in a memo written to psychologists at the time, Adkins stated that Manning’s mental health was a “constant source of concern.”

Adkins added that a when a captain saw the photograph of Manning several months after his arrest, the unnamed captain would have immediately pulled Manning from working in the vault where classified information was processed.

For more information, please see:

Daily News – Revealed: Photo of WikiLeaks source Pfc. Bradley Manning dressed as a woman released – 14 August 2013

NBC News – ‘I’m sorry that I hurt the United States’: Bradley Manning apologizes in court – 14 August 2013

NPR – Bradley Manning: ‘I Am Sorry … I Hurt The United States’ – 14 August 2013

USA Today – Pfc. Bradley Manning’s apology – 14 August 2013

The Guardian – Bradley Manning supervisor ‘ignored photo of soldier dressed as woman’ – 13 August 2013

Russian Authorities Conduct Massive Sweep Against Immigrants

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – The attempted arrest of a single rape suspect has snowballed into a massive citywide raid on immigrants across Russia, though the suspect was not an immigrant.

Hundreds of immigrants from Vietnam are being held in a temporary tent camp in Moscow. (Photo courtesy of NY Times)

Khalimat and Magomed Rasulov, natives of Russia’s Dagestan region, were involved with an altercation with police on July 27 which lead to a fight, and a head injury to a police officer. Police had come to arrest one of the brothers on rape charges at a Moscow market in which they vended watermelons, when a relative of the brothers struck an officer with brass knuckles; gravely injuring the officer.

Two days later on July 29, Moscow police began raiding street markets, underground factories, and the subway system all across the city and arresting immigrants whom didn’t have requisite paperwork on their person. Russia’s Federal Migration Service has reported that nearly 1,500 immigrants have been detained thus far, with almost 600 of those individuals being held in a temporary tent camp that some have stated resembles a war zone.

“This is absolutely normal. In any society, in any country, if an emergency situation happens, then the government and society begin to act more harshly,” Moscow’s mayor, Sergei S. Sobyanin has stated.

The nearly 1,500 immigrants have included individuals from Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Syria, Morocco, Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan, and Egypt. The nearly 600 occupants of the tent camp were detained during a raid at an underground textile factory which had been shut down in 2009. According to Mayor Sobynin, counterfeit products were being made on three floors. There has been an inundation of the city’s detention centers due to all of the raids in the past few weeks, so the Emergency Services Ministries constructed the tent camp to accommodate.

The Ministries has claimed that the tent camp has the potential to accommodate over 900 individuals, however many have reported cramped conditions in too little tents, with only four outdoor showers and inadequate portable toilets.

Vladimir Lukin, Russia’s human rights ombudsman, has expressed concerns that the conditions at the tent camp “do not comply with government provisions.”

Russian authorities have prepared a bill that would create an additional 83 detention centers across the country.

Some point to the rampant corruption among police and politicians who charge illegal immigrants high fees for legal documents. It is widely believed that the July 29 incident that spawned these raids escalated due to the Rasulov’s refusal to pay the officers a bribe.

Meanwhile, the citywide raids have continued almost every day, and they are supported by a majority of Russians who attribute most crimes to illegal immigration. Mayor Sobynin, who is up for reelection on September 8, has seen his poll numbers rise. His opponents have also taken on the issue.

“For me this isn’t just a number. For me it means one simple thing: that the women in my building are afraid to go out on the street at night,” stated Aleksei A. Navalny, the most prominent mayoral challenger.

But some do not support the raids with the same fervor that the mayoral candidates do.

“Everything about this massive sweep violates Russia’s obligations under international law. Prolonged detention without counsel, ethnic profiling, inhuman conditions-it should stop now,” stated Human Rights Watch’s director in Russia, Tanya Lokshina.

For more information, please see:

NY Times – Russia Steps Up Raids Against Migrants – 12 August 2013

RIA Novosti – Police Round Up Illegal Migrants Across Russia – 12 August 2013

The Atlantic – Behind Russia’s Migrant Raids, a Vast Network of Bribes and Opportunism – 7 August 2013

The Guardian – Russia Detains Immigrants in ‘Concentration Camps’ – 6 August 2013