California Church To Host Muslim Convention Despite Hate Mail

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States — Church leaders in California are not backing down from plans to host a Muslim convention despite receiving hate mail and threats from across the country.

Salam al-Marayati (podium), President of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and clergy at All Saints Church in Pasadena, Calif., address hate messages they have received about an upcoming Muslim convention at the church. (Photo Courtesy of the Pasadena Sun)

All Saints Church in Pasadena will host the 12th annual Muslim Public Affairs Council convention on Dec. 15.  The event is expected to draw about 1,000 people.

Officials for the church, known for its liberal positions, said the 25 messages they have received since Friday are unlike other criticisms the church usually receives.

One message called Muslims “Body Snatchers” and compared them to Nazis, said Rev. Susan Russell.  Another message warned the church was “[c]onsorting with the Enemy that is Killing Christians Worldwide.

Russell said the church’s rector described the messages as “some of the most vile, mean-spirited emails” he’d ever read, especially the ones about the church participating in terrorism.  But she said All Saints hoped that hosting the event would send the opposite message.

“We want to light a candle of hope as Christians this Advent season that people of different faiths can stand in solidarity against polarization and for mobilization around our common values,” Russell said.

MPAC, a Muslim civil rights group, is hosting its annual convention at a church for the first time.  The group’s president, Salam al-Marayati, said the reason for doing so was to promote an interfaith dialogue.

“When we approached Rev. Ed Bacon to have the convention [at All Saints Church], he opened this church, which to us is a safe space for conversations,” al-Marayati said.

Church leaders said the hate mail was prompted, in part, by an online posting from the conservative Institute for Religion and Democracy.  The Contra Costa Times published a criticism posted on the Institute’s website that said, “Yet again, the Islamists are taking advantage of naïve Christians with a desire to show off their tolerance.”

But organizers said they would not let opponents get in their way of holding the convention.

“This is what we have to say to the fear mongers: We want to convert you,” al-Marayati said.

“We don’t want to convert you to our religions, but we want to convert you so we can remove hatred and prejudice in your hearts and replace it with understanding and security,” he continued.

Church leaders said they were working with the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Department of Homeland Security to make sure the convention is a safe place from the threats.

For further information, please see:

Contra Costa Times — Pasadena Episcopal Church Hosting Muslim Convention Gets Hate Emails — 6 December 2012

KTLA News — Pasadena Church Gets Threats over Muslim Convention — 6 December 2012

LAist.com — Hate Mail to Pasadena Church Hosting Muslim Event Calls Islamists ‘Body Snatchers,’ ‘The Enemy’ — 6 December 2012

Pasadena Sun — All Saints Church Receives Threats over Muslim Convention — 6 December 2012

Democratic Republic of the Congo Prepares Peace Talks with Rebels

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo—A United Nation’s spokesperson said yesterday that the humanitarian and security situation in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to be fragile even as the United Nations continues to aid the country on both fronts.

M23 rebels walks out of Goma as the occupation came to an end. (Photo Courtesy of Voice of America News)

The province of North Kivu, in the eastern region, has been in a state of upheaval since the region’s capital city, Goma, has been occupied by the M23 rebel group. The group is composed of a number of soldiers who mutinied in April of this year against the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s own national army. The rebels have defeated the Congolese army in a number of battles earlier this year.

The insurgency of M23 rebels has lasted for eight months now and poses one of the biggest threats to the current Congolese President Joseph Kabila. Any new risks of this conflict developing into a war may even draw in armies from neighboring countries. Further, the fighting has displaced more than 100,000 people in the Congo’s North Kivu province, creating an even more unstable and serious humanitarian issue in the region.

As concerns were brought to the United Nations, the international organization began to send in its own peacekeepers to help with the stabilization of the region. Since the United Nation’s began its monitoring process, the M23 fighters withdrew from the city this past weekend—one of the requirements laid out by a local regional group, the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region. United Nations spokesperson Martin Kesirky told reporters that, “in North Kivu, the withdrawal of the M23 rebel group has continued. The Congolese army is deploying back to Sake, west of Goma.”

On another note, a panel of United Nations experts recently accused both Uganda and Rwanda of supporting the group. Both countries deny these allegations.

The United Nations is not the only group attacking this problem. The Congolese government and the eastern rebels are expected to get together later this week to being their own negotiation process, noted regional officials on Tuesday after the group finally withdrew from Goma.

 

For further information, please see:

Council on Foreign Relations – Congo’s Weak Peace Process – 6 December 2012

Voice of America News – Congo Government, Rebels Prepare for Talks – 6 December 2012

All Africa News – Situation in DR Congo’s Kivu Provinces Remain Fragile – 5 December 2012

The Telegraph – Peace Talks with Congo Rebels Expected This Week – 4 December 2012

Sri Lankan Police Arrest Student protesters suspected of terrorism

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The Sri Lankan government arrested and detained multiple alleged terrorists last week after a clash between police security forces and student protestors at Jaffna University.

Sri Lankan police arrest students in Jaffna. (Photo courtesy of BBC)

Students at Jaffna University were organizing a celebration of “Maveerar Naal,” Martyr’s Day, to commemorate fallen Tamil Tigers, a separatist movement which was quashed in 2009.  The celebration of Maveerar Naal is seen as separatism which is illegal under the current Sri Lankan government’s anti-terrorism laws.

The separatist movement, the Tamil Tigers, fought with the present Sri Lankan government in a civil war in hopes of achieving an independent Tamil state in their northern and eastern homelands.  After their defeat in 2009, the Tamils have suffered systematic repression at the hands of the Sri Lankan government.

Four of the main student leaders organizing the event to commemorate fallen Tamil Tigers were brutally attacked, arrested and detained by police.  Around 400 peaceful, unarmed students were also attacked by police security forces for their demonstrations against the unfairness of the arrests and the government’s bar on their right to protest.

The police also broke into and ransacked the rooms of a women’s student hostel.  The violent actions of the Sri Lankan police security forces are viewed by many in the Tamil community as a continual strategy for intimidating and punishing the subpopulation for their prior separatist activities.

Although the civil war has ended and the Tamil fighters have long been disarmed, the central Sri Lankan government continues their assault on the civil rights of the Tamil population.  The government has gone as far as stripping the Tamil population of their Sri Lankan citizenship.

In addition to the four main student organizers who were arrested and labeled as suspected terrorists, official reports say that as many as 20-25 more suspects have been arrested and detained in connection with this outbreak of violence against student protestors in Jaffna.

The Sri Lankan police and government officials assured the public that their anti-terrorist activities and violent assaults and arrests of the alleged terrorists are entirely legal.  The police say they have followed proper procedures and have informed all of the suspects’ families of the proceedings and the specific locations of where the suspects are being held.

However, the families of some of the suspects say that they have been kept in the dark regarding the arrests of their family members.  One family says that they received information on the arrest of their son long after the arrest occurred and only after they alerted the local human rights officials.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Sri Lanka arrests: Jaffna police detain ‘terror’ suspects – 6 December 2012

Socialist Worker Online – Tamil students and lecturers strike in Jaffna against repression – 6 December 2012

Tamilnet – Sri Lanka intensifies terror campaign against Tamil students – 6 December 2012

Sri Lanka Internet Newspaper – Sri Lanka Tamil parties protest in Jaffna against arrest of students – 4 December 2012

Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka – Jaffna student leader, three others arrested in midnight raid – 2 December 2012

The Washington Post – US expresses concern about attack on student demonstration in Sri Lanka’s former war zone – 29 November 2012

Kim Kardashian: Her Milkshakes Bring the Hardcore Islamists to Protest

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain – Earlier this week, American celebrity Kim Kardashian arrived in Bahrain to promote the new Middle Eastern franchises of the Millions of Milkshakes chain. Her visit to Bahrain brought delight to Sheikh Khalifa and his regime, anger to hardcore Islamists, and mixed emotions to many human rights activists.

Kim Kardashian poses in front of camels during her trip to Bahrain. (Photo Courtesy of Al Arabiya)

Bahrain’s human rights report card has been far from stellar over the past couple of years. The regime’s security forces have tear-gassed and killed protesters, detained and tortured demonstrators, tortured and jailed medics who helped the demonstrators, and its government has changed the law to curtail freedom of expression and has revoked the citizenship of individuals.

Many human rights activists like Maryam Al-Khawaja were hoping that Kim Kardashian would actively use her presence in Bahrain to shed light on the human rights tragedies that were taking place within the country. Such people would ultimately be disappointed as Kardashian, or at least her twitter personality, would be used as a propaganda tool of the regime.

Instead of highlighting injustice, she documented her encounter with camels in the desert and her glass of camel milk. She also tweeted, “I just got to Bahrain today. This place is incredible! Prettiest place on earth!” which was re-Tweeted by Bahrain’s foreign minister.

Furthermore, she Tweeted, “Thanks Sheikh Khalifa for your amazing hospitality. I’m in love with The Kingdom of Bahrain.”

Tweets like these upset the likes of the Washington Post’s Foreign Policy analyst March Lynch who believes that, “Kardashian’s visit generates positive publicity for a Bahraini regime which carried out an unspeakably brutal crackdown last year, continues a fierce campaign of repression and has been utterly unrepentant.”

In the end, however, Kardashian’s visit would expose some of the human rights violations that take place in Bahrain. Upon her arrival to the country, fifty hardcore Islamists were waiting for her, carrying signs like “God is Great.” These protesters denounced her presence stating that she had a “bad reputation” and believed that “it is not part of Bahraini culture and traditions to receive [a] reality star.”

These protesters were dispersed by teargas fired by riot police which has become a normal practice when individuals gather to demonstrate.

Kim Kardashian may not have intended to take part in the revealing of the Bahraini regime’s human rights abuses, but her notoriety turned the tear-gassing of the Islamic hardliners into a newsworthy event. For this reason, human rights activists can be happy that Kardashian visited Bahrain.

For further information, please see:

Avaaz Daily Briefing – Kim Kardashian Sheikhs Things up in Bahrain – 5 December 2012

Washington Post – Why People are so Upset About Kim Kardashian’s odd Visit to Bahrain – 3 December 2012

Al Arabiya – ‘Prettiest Place on Earth’: Kim Kardashian in Love with Bahrain – 2 December 2012

Guardian – Bahrain Police Deploy Teargas at Anti-Kim Kardashian Protest – 1 December 2012

 

Cardin Statement on Status of the Magnitsky Act

Press Release
Office of Senator Cardin

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and author of the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, made the following statement regarding his legislation:

“I am pleased that the Senate finally will be voting on passage of the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act. In the memory of one courageous Russian, we are setting a precedent for future trade agreements that tells the world that gross violators of human rights cannot escape the consequences of their actions even when their home country fails to act. Visiting the United States and having access to our financial system, including U.S. dollars, are privileges that should not be extended to those who violate basic human rights and the rule of law.

“We are creating a precedent for future trade agreements”

“This bill may only apply to Russia, but it sets a standard that should be applied globally. I encourage other nations to follow our lead. I will continue to work with my bipartisan cosponsors towards passage of the Magnitsky sanctions for other countries so that human rights violators in all corners of the world understand that the United States is still committed to the universal cause of liberty and human dignity for those who stand up against oppression.”

For further information please contact:
Sue Walitsky: 202-224-4524 or 202-320-0819