Priest Is Expelled From Ministry For Supporting Gay Marriage

 

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – After faithfully serving the catholic church for 30 years as a priest, Nicolas Alessio was cast from the church, and expelled from the ministry. With the media ablaze with stories of catholic corruption, sex abuse and ineffectual leadership many might come to the wrong conclusion for Alessio’s expulsion. In reality he was expelled for speaking in favor of gay and equal marriage when the issue came to a vote in Argentina.

Alessio who was expelled from the ministry after publicly endorsing the concept of equal marriage. (Photo courtesy of Clarin)

When Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2010, there was considerable outrage from many organizations. Chief among them was the Catholic Church which has maintained its staunch disagreement and criticism of the homosexual lifestyle. Among the chief insults to the Catholic Church, Alessio was determined to have made and was actively supporting gay marriage, and when it became legalized, marrying and divorcing same-sex couples.

Documents released earlier this week indicated that Alessio was punished “by dismissal from the clerical state, through the Congregation for the Clergy,” and as thus has lost “the clerical state’s own rights and remains excluded from the whole exercise of the sacred ministry.” The Archbishop of Cordoba, Monsignor Carlos Jise Nanez apparently reported that the canonical ecclesiastical court was brought forth due to Alessio’s public statements made in favor of same-sex marriage.

Unfortunately for Alessio, his conviction is not subject to any appeal. During the course of the trial, Alessio was forbidden from publicly exercising his position as a priest, and not allowed to publicly celebrate mass, or administer sacraments to the congregation. At the canonical trial Alessio did not exercise a defense, as he believed that trial itself was without foundation, and to do so would effectively endorse their actions.

Despite being officially ostracized by the church for exercising his freedom of speech and expression, Alessio has refused to stop his work. “Over 30 years serving the people of God did not mean anything to the Catholic Church. It was enough to opine different Archbishopric getting fired. I personally do not affect me at all, because I will continue sharing the sacraments as heretofore. The faithful do not care about these official decisions.“

With Uruguay becoming the second south American country to legalize same-sex marriage, the catholic church may need to readjust their stance and position on the subject. Alessio has indicated, that despite being excised from the priesthood, he will continue to do the job of a priest, “I will have to admit they can not erase what I am: a priest.”

For more information, please see:

El Puercoespin – Argentina: The Priest Who Made The Option For Gays, Politics And His Own Son, John D’Alessandro – 13 April 2013

Info Catolica – Nicolas Alessio Ha Sido Penado Con La Dimision De Estado Clerical – 13 April 2013

La Arena – A Nicolas Alessio Took Away The Cure Condition For Demonstrating In Favor Of Equal Marriage – 12 April 2013

Aica – El Vaticano Pena Con Dimision Del Estado Clerical A Jose Nicolas Alessio – 12 April 2013

Clarin – The Vatican Began To Cure Cordoba Who Supported Gay Marriage – 12 April 2013

New Media Law Provokes Outrage from Human Rights Groups

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BUJUMBURA, Burundi – Despite its recent adoption by the Burundian National Assembly on April 3, Burundi’s new media law is already receiving fire from various human rights organizations.

Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza addressing the press at the National Assembly in Paris last month. (Photo courtesy of Eyewitness News/AFP/Pierre Andrieu)

According to the groups, the newly passed bill is an unconstitutional restriction on freedom of expression and independent journalism. Among other things, it increases penalties, reduces safeguards for sources, and bars journalists from reporting a list of topics that could be detrimental to the government.

Under one provision, journalists are prohibited from publishing news that could affect “national unity; public order and security; morality and good conduct; honor and human dignity; national sovereignty; the privacy of individuals; the presumption of innocence.” They are also not allowed to tackle issues that involve “propaganda of the enemy of the Burundian nation in times of peace as of war” and “information that could affect the credit of the state and the national economy.” Doing so would be considered illegal, especially if it were interpreted as affecting national unity or order, and could lead to exorbitant penalties.

Although the bill eliminated imprisonment as punishment, it replaced prison terms with “extortionate fines” which were substantially increased to up to 8 million Burundian francs (roughly US$5,000) – a substantial amount in the struggling Eastern African country.

Another provision of the bill requires news agencies to “rigorously check” their sources without elaborating on how to carry it out.

“This sweeping language means that topics journalists could legally cover would be severely restricted,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “They might not even be allowed to write about inflation, much less security issues or political killings,” he continued.

The Union of Burundian Journalists (UBJ) said the bill is unconstitutional. If nothing else, its main aim is to “close independent media” according to UBJ’s president, Alexandre Niyungeko. “This bill denies the freedom of expression and media, it is against the country’s constitution and other international laws such as the universal declaration of human rights,” Niyungeko added.

For the new media bill to be passed into law, the Senate has to approve it and turn it over to the President for his signature.

Reporters Without Borders released a statement last week urging the Senate not to pass the bill because it “would considerably reduce the freedom of Burundi’s journalists and media.” “What with this law and the impact of the recent Ruvakuki case, the Burundian media could be prevented from playing its role in the democratic debate,” the statement pointed out.

Reporters Without Borders discussed the same bill with government authorities last year where they agreed on several positive amendments to the law, removing a number of restrictions. However, for reasons that remain unclear, the version that was approved by the national assembly was the original draft.

 

For further information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Burundi: New Law Would Muzzle Journalists – 12 April 2013

WAN-IFRA – Journalists in Burundi and Kuwait suffer setbacks – 12 April 2013

IFEX – New law would limit protection of sources, increase fines for journalists in Burundi – 5 April

Afrique Jet – Burundi: Media bill triggers protest in Burundi – 4 April 2013

Reuters – Burundi parliament passes tough media law – 4 April 2013

Ivorian Soldiers Accused of Crimes Against the Population Face Military Trial

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

YAMOUSSOUKRO, Cote d’Ivoire – The military trial against the Republican Forces of Côte d’Ivoire (FRCI) began last Thursday. 33 soldiers have been charged with committing crimes against the population, including premeditated murder, voluntary and involuntary homicide, and theft.

Republican Forces soldiers patrolling the town of Dabou last August. (Photo courtesy of Human Rights Watch/Getty Images)

All 33 soldiers are accused of abusing civilians during the post-election crisis from November 2010 to May 2011. In the span of six months, at least 3,000 people were reportedly killed. Some of the deaths were allegedly linked to former President Laurent Gbagbo’s refusal to concede despite international recognition of the results that proclaimed his opponent, Alassane Ouattara, the victor.

After the crisis, a national commission of inquiry created by President Ouattara, in cooperation with international and local human rights groups and a United Nations-mandated international commission of inquiry, have documented war crimes and crimes against humanity by both pro-Gbagbo forces and the FRCI during the crisis.

According to the military prosecutor’s office, the first trial on Thursday involved cases related to events that happened December last year in the central town of Vavoua. Reports say that a number of FRCI soldiers who are currently under trial opened fire on protesters, killing at least five people.

However, both international and local human rights groups are not too impressed with the trial.

“The opening of trials against soldiers from the Republican Forces is an important step forward in Côte d’Ivoire’s fight against impunity,” said Matt Wells, West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW). “But Ivorian authorities need to also pursue the more sensitive cases involving the Republican Forces for which victims have seen no justice, particularly the grave crimes committed during the post-election crisis.”

Civil society organizations interviewed by HRW are worried that “ongoing impunity for one side of the conflict – the government forces – risks sowing the seeds for future violence.” According to them, this is because of the sensitive nature of the cases of abuse during the post-election period — cases that not only involve large scale atrocities, but also deal with serious political, ethnic, and religious issues.

“Prosecuting people for serious international crimes can be difficult, but the lack of justice can carry high costs,” Wells added. “Chronic impunity has appeared to feed the repeated episodes of violence in Côte d’Ivoire over the last decade, with civilians paying the greatest price.”

HRW urged Ivorian authorities to strengthen support for prosecuting those implicated in the war crimes and crimes against humanity during the post-election crisis. The human rights group also demanded the government to “investigate and prosecute any soldiers involved in the July 2012 attack on the Nahibly displaced persons camp, and in the cruel and inhuman treatment of detainees in August and September.”

 

For further information, please see:

Amnesty International – Annual Report 2012 –  11 April 2013

Human Rights Watch – Côte d’Ivoire: Soldiers on Trial for Abuses – 11 April 2013

istockAnalyst – HRW: Ivorian justice lacks balance – 11 April 2013

Tamil Guardian – Trial of soldiers accused of abuse begins in Côte d’Ivoire – 11 April 2013

Yahoo News – Report: Uneven justice could hurt stability in Ivory Coast – 5 April 2013

Syrian Network for Human Rights: Friday, 12 April 2013

Syrian network for human rights documented 114 victims , Friday  12/4/2013 all across Syria,  including 8 children, 3 ladies , 4 under torture , 41 free army
Damascus and countryside : 39 victims
Homs : 13 victims
Aleppo : 21 victims
Hama : 9 victims
Daraa : 10 victims
Idlib : 5 victims
Hasaka: 7 victims
Lattakia: 3 victims
Raqqa : 7 victims

Syrian Revolution Digest: Friday, 12 April 2013

United in Suffering, Divided in Purpose!

With more and more Kurdish-majority areas about to become fully embroiled in the conflict, the fragmentation and destruction of Syria is getting near total, with only few towns in the south and along the coast still spared, for now. But at least more and more of us are now united in suffering. This is probably the only thing that could unite us at this stage. Will a history of joint suffering be sufficient for the formation of a new sense of identity, even as our purposes clash? It remains to be seen.

 This Friday’s Slogan: “Syria is Stronger than Those Who Divide It”

Death Toll: 119 martyrs, including 6 women, 5 children and 10 martyrs under torture: 47 in Damascus and suburbs; 21 in Aleppo; 16 in Homs; 12 in Daraa; 9 in Raqqa; 9 in Hama; and 5 in Idlib (LCC).

 

News

West claims ‘hard evidence’ of Syria chemical weapons “There are several examples where we are quite sure that shells with chemicals have been used in a very sporadic way,” added the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity and without giving details of the evidence. A diplomat from a U.N. Security Council nation also said that “quite convincing” evidence had been sent to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to back accusations against Assad’s forces.

Syrian Rebels Break With Group Over Qaeda Wing Alliance “The relentless pursuit of power should not be one of our goals,” said a statement by the coalition, the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front, referring to the alliance between Syria’s Nusra Front and the Qaeda branch. “This is not the right time to declare states, or to unify a state with another state.” Expressing “surprise and dismay” at the development, the coalition statement said, “We don’t need imported charters or a new understanding of the nation’s religion.” And in a further criticism of Nusra’s loyalty to outsiders, the statement said, “We won’t be doing our population, and our nation, any service if we pledge our allegiance to those who don’t know a thing about our reality.”

Syrian Troops Battle Rebels near Lebanon Border The province of Homs and its capital of the same name were the scenes of some of the heaviest fighting during the first year of Syrian conflict. The violence has escalated there in recent weeks, with Syrian war planes hitting the city daily. On Friday, troops clashed with rebels on the edges of the province along the Lebanese border. The border area is strategically important to both sides fighting in Syria‘s civil war and battles there have been frequent in past weeks, particularly in and around the town of Qusair in Homs province. The area is considered vital to the Syrian regime because of its location along a road linking Damascus with the city of Homs, a strategic supply route for the military. The rebels also have been using the road to transport supplies and weapons from Sunni supporters in Lebanon.

 

Special Reports

Syrian rebel courts restore order to life in Aleppo Marriages, inheritances, commercial contracts … they are now all passing through courts manned by lawyers and judges who have abandoned the regime of President Bashar Assad and joined the rebellion against it. There are some 20 rebel brigades operating in Aleppo, and the court is run by the most important among them: two jihadi groups – the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and the Salafist Ahrar al-Sham – and Liwa al-Tawhid, which is linked to the broad-based opposition National Coalition. And while the commanders of these groups are primarily concerned with waging war against Assad’s troops, their presence is also felt behind the lines.

Syria: Proxy war heats up as endgame inches closer Over the past few months the Americans – without being obliged to announce any policy changes involving military commitments – have apparently tipped the wink to their regional allies, mainly Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, to step up the quantity and quality of arms supplies to the rebels. At the same time, the Americans are reported to be involved in helping train supposedly moderate Free Syrian Army (FSA) elements in Jordan and sending them across the border into southern Syria, where the rebels, enjoying better anti-air and anti-armour weapons than before, have begun to make gains that are being compared to their advances in the far north. With western support being made contingent on loyalty to the FSA and the opposition National Coalition, this has clearly put pressure on the Nusra Front and other jihadi groups.

The Revolution is Being Televised The story of six Syrian activists who risk their lives to capture the horrific daily realities of the conflict.

My new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “Syria 2013: Rise of the Warlords.” It should be read in conjunction with my previous briefing “The Shredded Tapestry,” and my recent essay “The Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.”

 

Video Highlights

Rebels in the neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud, Aleppo city, take a little dance break in between clashes, literally http://youtu.be/G27tjzVLynM

In the town of Talbisseh, Homs Province, rebels storm the little village of Um Sharshouh, a loyualsit strongholds http://youtu.be/fwwD7lHOXSI the storing comes after days of siege and pounding by rebel forceshttp://youtu.be/G7Om3RAIdQQ

As tensions in the town of Qamishly mount, after its designation as an official governorate by the Assad regime, rebels head there to liberate ithttp://youtu.be/TauEtu-bOxU It is not yet clear how Kurdish members of the local defense committees (YPGs) will react to this. But the YPGs and Islamist rebels have been working together in Aleppo City for the last couple of weeks. As such, Kurdish and Islamist rebels could be working together here, at least for now. The initial target for the rebels is the military base at Tourtob, and the Qamishly Airport. Indeed, the pounding of the airport with home-made rockets began http://youtu.be/AmOfOnq_9yc , http://youtu.be/RLe8S9ywiyM Loyalist troops hit back and the outskirts of the city of Qamishly get hithttp://youtu.be/SfSULmKSLRc Helicopters begin surveying the scenehttp://youtu.be/dzzD9TsE-A4

Scenes from the clashes in Jobar Neighborhood, Damascus Cityhttp://youtu.be/3GXcZTJHM_w , http://youtu.be/YjhGv1q6FZQ The nearbyZablatani neighborhood gets pounded http://youtu.be/2nyhbZs3jgUMeanwhile, fighter jets keep pounding rebel strongholds in the southern parts of the city http://youtu.be/O_K5TmHQdis

An ambush by Islamist rebels in Damascus Suburbs against loyalist militiamenhttp://youtu.be/E8G0iA51wC4