Brazilian Police Storm Rio Slums In Preparation For Soccer

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil – The allure of the world cup draws near, and Brazil has taken drastic actions to prepare Rio de Janeiro before crowds and crowds of people descend upon the city. After the relative success of past military incursions into the favelas, or to put it more aptly, slums of Rio, police, tanks and military units stormed multiple favelas over the past months in order to reestablish control over the population.

Brazilian police and military storm Rio’s slums in order to pacify the areas before the World Cup arrives next year. (Photo Courtesy of AFP)

Previously drug backed gangs took control of the slums and the people languished in poverty without access to many basic necessities. Since the military occupation, spokesmen claim that the pacification has benefited over 400,000 impoverished people, with another 1.1 million people left that could still benefit. The overall plan is to provide social services and improve the quality of care of those at risk while quashing any illegal activity that could harm their reputation when FIFA and the Olympic Committee arrive to assess the suitability of Brazils shinning gem that is Rio de Janeiro.

The operation which began in earnest back in January, represents a massive shift to clean up the slums. Early last week, a Brazilian Police force supported by military tanks and helicopters stormed gang occupied slums near Rio’s international airport. Fortunately most of the pacification incursions have gone without a hitch. The police have taken to celebrate their victories by raising the Rio’s and Brazil’s flags on the roofs of buildings, symbolizing the end of the drug traffickers dominion over the impoverished parts of the city.

Critics of the operation state that while the pacification program is effective, the favelas targeted are not the poorest areas, and are simply focused on areas that would be popular during the World Cup and the Olympic Games. Civilians living within the favelas have had different reactions to the pacification. Some note that while there is less major crime, petty crime has increases as they no longer fear retaliation from local crime bosses.

After the pacification of the controlling gangs, staff from Rio’s municipal authority could start entering the areas safely without fear, and begun implementation of new social services, such as schools, healthcare centers and trash collection. Eduara La Rocque, president of the Instituto Pereira Passos has noted that there are over 150 new schools within the favelas as well as formalizing the area into the confines of Rio’s boundaries and maps. Ms. Law Rocque has hoped to implement many new training courses so the previously disenfranchised can acquire legitimate work experience in the future.

However because of the lack of resistance from drug traffickers many believe that the gangs have simply been relocating to other favelas, or to towns outside Rio, effectively just spreading out the problem.

For further information, please see:

Publico – Brazilian Police Occupy Slums 13 – 3 March 2013

Voice of Russia – Brazil: Police Occupied The Favelas In Rio De Janeiro – 3 March 2013

Terra – Police Ranks Near The Slums Of Rio De Janeiro Airport – 3 March 2013

BBC – Rio’s Shanty Towns Spread Their Wings – 8 February 2013

Bolivian Soldiers Detained in Chile Released After a Month

By Pearl Rimon
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SUCRE, Bolivia – An agreement reached between the district attorney of Tarapacá, Chile and the defense for the Bolivian soldiers arrested in Chile earlier this month, allows for the soldiers to return to Bolivia after more than a month of being detained in Chile. The soldiers were accused of illegal entry into Chile armed with weapons, which has strained the already tense relations between the countries.

The recently released soldiers united with their families after detainment. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

The soldiers are José Luis Fernández Choque (18), Augusto Cárdenas (19), and Alex Choque Quispe (20). The soldiers were arrested on January 25, as they chased suspected car smugglers. The Chilean Court changed their ruling of holding the soldiers in custody until their trial dates to allowing Cárdenas and Choque’s release on bail and Fernández’s release to house arrest. Fernández was the only one charged with possession of weapons.

The deal between the two sides allows for the soldiers to return to Bolivia on the condition that they do no return to Chile for a year, in exchange, prosecutors will drop the charges against the soldiers.

“What progress has been made is exactly what the soldiers requested publically in the sense that there is equal treatment for all,” said Celedón, a lawyer for the soldiers.

After the new agreement was made public, the district attorney for the Tarapacá Region, Manuel Guerra, explained why it had not been reached earlier.

The reasoning behind the long negotiations is explained by district attorney Manuel Guerra,“It was important to verify that the soldiers consent to the terms…They are the ones who have to say if they accept or don’t accept the deal offered by the [prosecution.] We don’t want to generate situations which can hinder the possibility of agreement.”

Bolivian President, Evo Morales, demands that the Chilean military should issue an apology for the detainment. While Chilean Foreign Minister, Alfredo Moreno, urged for the Bolivian military to instruct the soldiers to refrain from illegally crossing the border.

The agreement was made public a day after the Chilean Senate announced that a commission of senators were to travel to Bolivia in an attempt to improve relations.

Relations between Chile and Bolivia have historically been strained due to Bolivia trying to reclaim the Pacific coastline territory that it lost to Chile during the 1879-1884 war. President Morales wrote to Chilean President Pinera and accused him of wanting to keep Bolivia “geographically amputated, economically weak and socially dependent” by “blocking our legitimate right to access to the sea.”

 

For more information, please see:

BBC News — Bolivian Soldiers Held in Chile Return Home – 01 March 13

Prensa Latina — Bolivian President Praises Liberation of Soldiers – 01 March 13

Santiago Times — Bolivian Soldiers Held in Chile to Return Home After Tense Stay – 28 Feb 13

Global Post — Bolivia-Chile Tensions Rise Over Border Incident – 25 Feb 13

Syrian Conflict Reaches Iraqi Border

By Dylan Takores
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – The ongoing conflict between the Syrian army and rebel forces approached the Iraqi border, prompting warning shots to be fired.

Syrian rebel troops training. (Photo Courtesy of AFP)

Syrian rebels captured the northeastern town of Yaarabiya, which shares a border crossing with neighboring Iraq.  On Friday, a scud missile fired from Yaarabiya landed in Iraqi territory, terrifying locals.  Since that time, shots have been fired at the rebels from the direction of the border.

The Syrian rebel forces contend that the shots were warnings fired by Iraqi troops.  Iraqi military officials denied this contention.

According to Ali Shibaib, an Iraqi native who lives less than 300 meters from the border, “Syrian regular army troops are stationed between the Iraqi army and the Free Syrian army.”

The Syrian conflict spilled over the Iraqi border once before.  Last September, a five-year-old girl died when three rockets were fired into a border town near the al Qaim area of northwestern Iraq.

The Syrian army fighting in support of the President Bashar al-Assad is backed by Shi’ite Islamic Iran.  The Sunni Muslim rebels have received support from the United States.  Though a Shi’ite Muslim himself, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, publicly stated that his government has a non-interference policy regarding the conflict in Syria.

The ethnic and sectarian balance in Iraq has been shaken by the neighboring war.  However, Iraq is not the only nation feeling the effect of the struggle in Syria.  The influx of refugees from Syria has escalated the tension in many neighboring countries, including Iraq, Turkey, and Jordan.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned that the war may spread into other countries if the situation is not soon resolved.  He stated that the window of opportunity to resolve the civil conflict is quickly closing.

An estimated 70,000 people have been killed in less than two years since the war began in Syria.  The UN anticipates that the total number of Syrian refugees may surpass one million in the next week.

 

For further information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Syria fighting sparks tension on Iraq border – 2 March 2013

Yahoo! News – Syrian army, rebel clashes bring conflict to Iraq doorstep – 2 March 2013

The Daily Star, Lebanon – Scud missile fired in Syria lands near Iraqi village: mayor – 1 March 2013

Voice of America – UN Chief Warns of Syrian War Spreading Regionally – 1 March 2013

UN Appeals Court Overturns War Crimes Conviction

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – On Thursday, a United Nations appeals court overturned Momcilo Perisic’s, former Yugoslav Army chief, conviction of war crimes. He was originally sentenced to 27 years for aiding and abetting killings in Bosnia and Croatia, including attacks on Sarajevo and Srebrenica.

In 2011, Momcilo Perisic was convicted of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

In a 4 to 1 decision, the judges ruled that Perisic did not order Serbian forces into Bosnia-Herzegovina to commit war crimes. Furthermore, the judges also determined that he was not in a position to discipline soldiers for attacking the Croatian capital, Zagreb.

During Perisic’s trial, the record showed Perisic regularly attended the Supreme Defense Council’s meetings where Slobodan Milosevic, then the Serbian president, and other leaders approved sending weapons, fuel, police officers and military personnel to fight on behalf of the Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia.

However, the appeals judges said that regardless if Perisic knew about the crimes Serb or pro-Serb fighters committed in Bosnia and Croatia, he did not “directly or knowingly assist” in the atrocities, but rather he made decisions to support the war.

The United Nations appeal court ultimately decided that lower court committed an error by not showing that he was “physically present when criminal acts were planned or committed.”

Theodor Meron, president of the appeals chamber in the tribunal in The Hague, stated, “While Mr Perisic may have known of VRS [Serb Army of Republika Srpska, VRS] crimes, the Yugoslav Army aid he facilitated was directed towards the VRS’s general war effort rather than VRS crimes.”

However, this overturned conviction created some concerns. Various lawyers in The Hague said the ruling confused them.

The court’s ruling, which follows other recent acquittals by appeals court judges, can be seen as changing the story line of war. As a consequence, these recent reversals tightened the definition of crimes for which military commanders can be held responsible.

In the past, the crime of “aiding and abetting” only required knowledge that assistance was being used to commit serious crimes. Yet, the appeals court said that the “intention to commit crimes” is required for a conviction.

Nicholas Koumjian, a lawyer who has worked in several international courts, stated,  “I think this is a step backwards in the law; it contradicts all jurisprudence of this tribunal, even back to the findings of trials at Nuremberg after World War II.”

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia’s appeals chamber in The Hague ordered Perisic’s immediate release.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Momcilo Perisic: Yugoslav Army Chief Conviction Overturned – 28 February 2013

CNN – Tribunal Reverses Balkan War Crimes Verdict – 28 February 2013

RFE/RL – UN Appeals Court Overturns Ex-Yugoslav Military Chief’s Conviction – 28 February 2013

The New York Times – Court Overturns War Crimes Convictions of Former Chief Yugoslav Army – 28 February 2013

Violent Protests Erupt in New Delhi After Brutal Rape of a 7 Year Old Girl at School

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DELHI, India – Violent protests erupted in Delhi after a seven year old girl was reportedly sexually attacked and raped by an unknown man while at school.

Protesters damaged a government bus with stones outside Sanjay Gandhi Hospital. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)

The young female victim was taken to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital to be treated for her gruesome injuries after she was found lying in a pool of blood near her house.  The police report places the girl missing around 8pm on February 28th, and she was allegedly raped by the at large perpetrator on school grounds.

Dr. Sanjay Kumar, the young girl’s treating physician, reported to the press that her injuries were consistent with a patient who had suffered a rape.  Delhi’s chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, released a press statement calling the incident at the school “shameful” and “shocking.”

Protestors gathered outside of the hospital, in the Mangolpuri area of Northern Delhi, where the girl was being treated to show their outrage regarding the recent string of sexual crimes being committed against women in India.

India has been under intense international scrutiny over sexual violence against women after a student was raped and murdered on a local bus in December.  In a separate incident, another seven year old girl in the city of Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh state, was raped, murdered and her body was dumped in a sewer.  These sexual assaults have sparked protests across the nation.

This most recent incident involving the young girl being raped in the school has sparked demonstrations that turned violent outside of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital.  Police resorted to beating protesters with clubs in an effort disperse the angry crowd.  The protestors retaliated by throwing stones at the police and caused damage to government property.

The protestors allege that the police have been doing a poor job at speedily investigating and resolving these heinous incidents of sexual assault.  The police report for the girl’s rape in Mongolpuri district was not filed until March 1.  Additionally, no arrests have been made yet, and police currently do not have any suspects.

Sushil Kumar Shinde, Home Minister in the area, told the press that at least one policeman had been suspended for their slow work of locating three sisters that had been abducted in Maharashtra last month.  Police in the current case, however, have been making efforts to interview all employees of the school and parents of the children who attend the local school where the violent sexual attack occurred.

The young girl has yet to identify any suspects for the police to investigate.  Rekha Gupta, chairperson for the New Delhi Municipal Council’s Education Committee, has vowed support for the family in the medical treatment of their child as well as full cooperation with the police during the investigation.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Delhi protest over ‘sex attack’ on seven-year-old girl – 1 March 2013

International Business Times – New Delhi Rape Crisis: 7-Year-Old Girl Abducted and Raped inside School – 1 March 2013

News Bharati – Minor girl raped inside Delhi school premises – 1 March 2013

Tiger News International – Another shocker from Delhi: 7-year-old girl raped inside municipal school – 1 March 2013