MOSCOW, Russia – Two members of Pussy Riot, a Russian feminist punk band, had fled the country in order to avoid prosecution for their involvement in an anti-Putin performance held at the alter of Christ the Savior cathedral. Their decision to leave the country comes after the conviction of three of their band mates for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. The three women were sentenced to two years of jail time, but their defense lawyers are expected to soon appeal their sentences.
Members of Pussy Riot wearing colorful balaclavas. (Photo Courtesy of The Guardian) Continue Reading
By Heba Girgis Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
ASUNCION, Paraguay—We all know what it is like to be stuck in the security line at the airport for an hour anxiously wondering if we will make our flight departure, or wondering if just because we possess certain traits we will be held up at customs. Now take this situation and multiply it by two months of waiting.
The Cats Have Been Held in Paraguay for Almost Two Months at the Zoo in Asuncion. (Photo Courtesy of The Cortez Journal)
This is the situation that 16 lions and tigers face on the border of Paraguay because Argentine officials refused to approve the big cats’ paperwork for re-entry into the country.
The group of cats includes nine Bengal tigers and seven African lions. They all belong to an Argentine circus that travels to the capital of Paraguay every August to perform. The group’s owner, Oswal Wasconi, travelled with them to this year’s performance and ran into trouble when the group attempted to return to Argentina. Apparently a new law was passed in Paraguay banning live animal acts in performing circuses.
After realizing that they had no choice of putting on the live animal show, Wasconi decided to try to ship the lions and tigers back to Argentina. It was at this point in the game that these animals got stuck at the customs border between Argentina and Paraguay. While the animals all have good-health forms and certificates, their entry back into Argentina was blocked by government border officials who demanded more information about the protected species of cats.
Estela Gomez, the director of Paraguay’s wildlife agency, noted that her ministry decided to move the performing cats to the Asuncion Zoo in pairs “so that they can live in some comfort and not in a strange area” until the issue with the border patrol is resolved. The cats’ owner will be providing the zoo with enough food and water to care for the cats while this matter is investigated further.
Gomez said also that, “In the next few days we will continue investigating the true reasons why the Argentine authorities aren’t authorizing their return. I can’t anticipate whether these beasts will remain forever in Paraguay or eventually go to Argentina.”
Paraguay is not the only country to develop this type of ban on live animal acts. Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador have also passed a similar law and the legislation process is under way in both Colombia and Brazil to develop their own laws of this nature.
As Wasconi awaits the news from Argentine border officials, his animals await the verdict in the Asuncion Zoo in Paraguay’s capital city.
TOKYO, Japan – On Friday, Japan demanded South Korea end its unauthorized occupation of small islands under Japanese control. In addition, Japan criticized China for its unrightful claims over other islands and occupation by Chinese activists.
Japanese Nationalists with on island with Japanese flag. (Photo Courtesy of New York Times)
“Since earlier this month, a series of incidents have occurred, threatening to violate our sovereignty, which we find extremely regrettable. We do not tolerate these actions,” voiced Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
On Friday, Japan’s lawmakers passed a symbolic resolution banning South Korea’s President, Lee Myung-bak, from Japan’s island, Takeshima in Japanese and Dokdo in Korean.
“We condemn [Lee’s landing] and strongly demand South Korea end its illegal occupation of Takeshima as soon as possible,” read the resolution. According to the Washington Post, the strong language in the dispute worsened relations between both countries.
On the other front, on August 17th, Japan deported 14 Chinese activists previously detained after landing on an island concurrently claimed by Japan and China in the East China Sea. The island, Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, lies near rich gas reserves, and in April, Tokyo’s governor announced that he would purchase the cluster of islands.
As reported by the Washington Post, critics pressured Prime Minister Noda to take harsher action monitoring and protecting the islands. Accordingly, Mr. Noda announced that Japan would bolster its security near Senkaku or Diaoyu to prevent further “incursions by foreigners.” Mr. Noda further stated that Japan would continue to push its position in international forums.
In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei claimed, “It is illegal and futile for Japan to strengthen its claim by approving the resolution. It does not change the fact that the islands belong to China.”
In September 2010, a Chinese fishing boat collided with Japanese coastguard patrols near the disputed islands. According to the Guardian, a Japanese coastguard claimed that the collision occurred after the captain disregarded requests to leave the area and subsequently refused to allow Japanese authorities to inspect his boat. The Japanese further demanded that China pay for the damages.
Such events have lead to thousands of anti-Japanese protests the last few weeks in China. As a result, Japan has urged China to protect its citizens.
“With a rising China and a more self-confident South Korea, the region is entering an era of turbulence,” shared Narushige Michishita, a security expert from Japan’s National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
BANJUL, Gambia – Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh declared that his government vows to execute all prisoners who had been sentenced to death by September.
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. (Photo courtesy of Gambia News)
According to Jammeh, the executions are meant to end the rise of “brutal killings” and “heinous crimes” in the country. “I will set an example on all those who have been condemned,” he proclaimed in a televised meeting with the country’s Muslim elders and religious leaders last Sunday.
Human rights groups report that Gambia has currently sentenced 44 inmates to death, including 2 women, since last year. Crimes that receive the capital punishment as penalty include murder and treason.
Once implemented, the President’s decree will mark the end of an execution-free regime that has been in place for almost 30 years. Gambia last executed a prisoner in 1985. The resumption of the death penalty will also make Gambia the only West African country to inflict capital punishment upon its prisoners. Togo, Burundi, Gabon and Rwanda have abolished the death penalty for all crimes in the last five years.
Known in Gambia as His Excellency, Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, the Gambian Leader has already made similar threats several years ago. For instance, in 1995, Jammeh’s government reinstated the death penalty. Almost a decade later, he issued another statement saying that his administration will see to it that all death row inmates will be executed as soon as possible. None of these intended executions, however, have been carried out. Despite this, Human Rights groups such as Amnesty International still consider President Jammeh’s recent announcement “a matter for serious concern”.
“Any attempt to carry out this threat would be both deeply shocking and a major set-back for human rights in Gambia,” said Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty International’s Africa director. “The President’s statement is in stark contracts to the trend, both in West Africa and globally, towards ending the use of the death penalty,” she added.
In his article for Think Africa Press, Journalist Bubacarr Sowe expressed his dismay regarding the President’s administration. He writes that over the past couple of years, President Jammeh has made decisions that run counter to the President’s “promises of transparency, accountability and probity” – promises he made when he led a coup that ended former Gambian President Dawda Jawara’s 30-year rule. “Instead,” Sowe writes, “the administration is, like its predecessor, tainted with evidence of corruption and misappropriation of state resources.”
Notwithstanding the backlash against Jammeh’s regime, the President has maintained a steady number of supporters due to a recent boost in infrastructure projects which include the building of schools and hospitals, a new airport and the Gambia’s first university.
PARIS, France – The French government has made it easier for Roma immigrants to obtain work and residence rights.
Many Roma live in makeshift camps on the edges of large cities. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)
This change in policy comes after police raids on makeshift Roma campsites located near Lille and Lyon. French Housing Minister, Cecile Duflot, defended the dismantling of the camps and called for: “integration through work, by widening and softening constraints that weigh heavily on Roma populations who wish to work, by eliminating the tax paid by the employers of the Roma and widening, in a very big way, the professions they can have access to.”
There are an estimated 20,000 Roma living in France.
One of the main changes in policy is waiving the tax that French employers are required to pay the immigration office when hiring a Romanian or Bulgarian worker, the tax can run as high as $2,200. The government-approved list of jobs that are open to Roma people will be expanded from the current 150 jobs.
“The Roma people are EU citizens like anyone else and would like to work like anyone else,” Malik Salemkour, a human rights activist who met with Socialist Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, told reporters.
Ayrault told reporters that the measures taken towards the Roma and the new measures were a “question of humanity and respect.”
Citizens of Romania and Bulgaria, which include the Roma, are subject to employment limitations until the end of 2013 in the European Union. This policy was supposedly imposed due to the fear of an excessive influx of immigrants looking for work. Roma are required work permits to stay legally beyond three months in a host country. This leads to many Roma living in makeshift camps near the edge of large cities illegally.
Earlier this month, police evicted around 300 people from illegal campsites. They also sent 240 Roma back to Romania and offered a stipend for those who voluntarily returned.
The Council of Europe, a governmental organization for human rights, has urged France to seek a solution for Roma immigrants. The European Commission, in charge of monitoring EU treaties, began monitoring the situation in France after the campsite raids.
Members of Pussy Riot wearing colorful balaclavas. (Photo Courtesy of The Guardian) Continue Reading
