Clashes Continue in Syrian Cities

By Mark McMurray
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria — On Thursday, Syrian forces increased efforts to reclaim areas in the capital Damascus and the city of Aleppo from rebels.  The violence resulted in the deaths of about 100 people throughout Syria, with nearly 50 civilians dying in Damascus and more than 20 government troops losing their lives.

Rebels in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo. (Photo Courtesy of Voice of America)

The military bombed the towns of Daraya and Moadamiyeh near the capital.  A London-based group, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported raids on houses in Daraya and heavy fighting in the Hajar al-Aswad district of Damascus.

Activist Abu Zeid spoke with Reuters about the violence in Daraya.  “They are using mortar bombs to clear each sector then they enter it, while moving towards the centre,” he said.  In Moadamiyeh, the army used the nearby Qassioun mountain as a staging area for bombing the city.

Additionally, districts of Aleppo came under attack, with reports of foreign fighters joining the opposition.  According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the army had previously claimed that they had “cleansed” the area of rebels.  On Thursday, Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces had again routed “terrorists” in Aleppo.

Thursday also marked the release of an 11-page report by Amnesty International detailing the treatment of civilians in Aleppo.  Syria’s largest city has witnessed the brunt of the violence since the uprising.

“Civilians are enduring a horrific level of violence in the battle between Syrian government forces and opposition fighters for control of Aleppo,” the report’s summary read.

“The use of imprecise weapons, such as unguided bombs, artillery shells and mortars by government forces, has dramatically increased the danger for civilians,” Donatella Rovera of Amnesty International added.

“As the conflict continues there are also growing concerns about increased abuses, including unlawful killings and ill-treatment of captives by opposition fighters belonging to a plethora of armed opposition groups, including the Free Syrian Army, operating in the city,” the report said.

The upheaval in Syria has continued to impact its neighboring countries.  In Lebanon, fighting broke out again on Thursday.  The Lebanese city of Tripoli saw its fourth day of violence with clashes between pro-Assad and anti-Assad forces.  A cease fire between political leaders representing the groups was broken less than 24 hours after its formation on Wednesday.

Tripoli and other parts of Lebanon have witnessed growing tensions between Sunni and Alawite Muslims who often live in neighboring communities.  Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has enjoyed the support of most of his Alawite sect while the Sunni community supports the Sunni led revolt seeking to topple his government.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Syria Crisis: Fighting Continues in Damascus and Aleppo – 23 August 2012

NY Times –Syrian Forces Renew Raids on Damascus Suburbs – 23 August 2012

Syria Arab News Agency – Terrorists Confronted in Aleppo and Homs – 23 August 2012

Voice of America – Syrian Forces Carry Out Assault on Damascus – 23 August 2012

South Africa Reacts to Lonmin Massacre

By Tara Pistorese
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

PRETORIA, South Africa—Police, armed with automatic rifles and pistols, opened fire on a crowd of 3,000 workers of the Lonmin mining firm on August 17, killing 34 and injuring 78. The incident has been called the most lethal police action since the end of apartheid.

Police officer walks among bodies the shooting. (Photo courtesy of News24)

The miners had been on illegal strike for six days in an effort to have their wages raised from 4,000 rand per month (approximately $484) to 12,000 rand per month (approximately $1512). Bearing spears, traditional fighting sticks, and machetes, 250 miners were arrested for public violence. They are expected to appear in court soon.

“We are angry,” said a victim’s family member. “Why must people be killed because they are protesting?”

Mangwashi “Riya” Phiyega, the newly appointed Police Commissioner, said officers were acting in self-defense when they fired on the miners after they had attempted to dilute the crowd with tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets.

While the circumstances surrounding the tragic event are somewhat unclear, some witness accounts suggest the shooting was a response to the workers rushing a line of police officers.

On the Wednesday following the shooting, President Jacob Zuma spoke with a crowd of survivors, informing them that the government had no intentions of killing anyone that day. The crowd reacted by shouting “phansi amaphoyisa phansi,” which means “down with the police.”

President Zuma has been criticized for his handling of the situation, which has had a critical impact on the nation’s investors. Financiers have previously expressed distrust in the nation’s legal system in light of statistics showing the country suffers 43 murders each day, which is more than six times the murder rate in the United States.

The tragedy “will make it more difficult for South Africa to attract foreign investment,” Carmen Altenkirch, a sovereign analyst at Fitch Ratings in London, told Bloomberg.

South Africa is one of the largest platinum producers in the world and the nation’s economy relies on mining of resources for almost two-thirds of its exports. The day news of the massacre was released, the rand fell 1.8% against the dollar.

President Zuma created a judicial inquiry and committee of cabinet ministers to investigate and take action against those responsible, if necessary. However, he has publicly announced he will not terminate Phiyega.

“We need answers,” said Julius Malema, a spokesperson for the mineworkers. “I don’t trust President Zuma and his inquiry.”

President Zuma has declared a week of national mourning from August 20 through 26. Flags across the country and at missions outside South Africa’s borders will fly at half-mast this week.

Lonmin threatened surviving workers with dismissal, however, if they failed to return to the job by August 20.

 

For further information, please see:

Mail & Guardian Online—Zuma on Lonmin: Government Didn’t Plan to Kill Anyone—22 August 2012

Bloomberg—Zuma Rejects Criticisms of Handling of Lonmin Mine Deaths—22 August 2012

Mail & Guardian Online—Deep Read: In the Eye of the Lonmin Storm—20 August 2012

BBC News Africa—S. Africa Lonmin Killings: National Mourning Declared—19 August 2012

 

Israeli Teenagers Arrested on Suspicion of Assaulting Palestinians

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel — Several Israeli teenagers were arrested last Sunday on suspicion of assaulting a group of Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Zion Square last Thursday.  The attack left one 17-year-old, Jamal Julani, unconscious and hospitalized.  The police said that hundreds of bystanders had witnessed the beating, but no one intervened.

Israeli teenagers are brought into court on suspicion of assaulting Palestinian Jamal Julani, 17, last Thursday night. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

Several of the suspects, including a 13-year-old girl, appeared in court last Monday.  A 19-year-old who was arrested last Saturday for his involvement in the attack against four young Palestinians was brought in front of a judge in Jerusalem’s Magistrate Court, and was sentenced to spend three additional days in jail.  Their identities have not been disclosed.

“For my part, he can die,” one of the suspects, who admitted to having taken part in the assault, said to assembled media.  “He’s an Arab,” he added. “He cursed my mother.  If it were up to me, I would have murdered him.”

Authorities say that Julani remains in a serious condition.  The East Jerusalem resident was admitted to Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem, in critical condition, and is on a respirator.  His mother told Haaretz that he woke up from his coma, but that he had no recollection of the attack and was confused about being in a hospital.  The other three  victims, who were not seriously injured, are cousins of Julani.

“There were four of us,” Mohammed Mujahad, a cousin of Julani, said as he described the attack.  “We were walking and suddenly maybe 50 Jews came toward us shouting, ‘Arabs, Arabs.’  I don’t understand what they said.  They weren’t calling us.  They were generally just shouting.”

According to eyewitnesses, the mob of teenagers looked as if they were on a witch hunt for Arab victims, yelling “Death to Arabs,” and other anti-Arab slurs.  The Jerusalem Post reported that one bystander wrote on her Facebook page that “When one of the Arab teenagers fell to the floor, the teenagers continued to hit him in the head, he lost consciousness, his eyes rolled, his angled head twitched, and then those who were kicking him fled and the rest gathered in a circle around, with some still shouting with hate in their eyes.”

Israeli politicians immediately condemned the attacks.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu said that this was a “very serious incident.” Last Sunday, the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs, Moshe Ya’Alon, described the assault as “a terrorist attack.”

“The hate crimes committed over the weekend against Arabs in Judea and Samaria [the biblical terms for the West Bank] and Jerusalem are intolerable, outrageous and must be firmly dealt with,” Ya’alon said. “These are terrorist attacks. They run contrary to Jewish morality and values, and constitute first and foremost an educational and moral failure.”

For further information, please see:

BBC News — Israeli Youths Arrested Over Assault on Palestinians — 20 August 2012

New York Times — Young Israelis Held in Attack on Arabs — 20 August 2012

The Guardian — Jewish Settler Attacks on Palestinians Listed as ‘Terrorist Incidents’ by US — 19 August 2012

Haaretz — Israel Police Arrests 3 More Suspects in Connection with Jerusalem ‘Lynch’ — 19 August 2012

Jewish Telegraphic Agency — Jewish Youth Accused of Attacking Arabs in Jerusalem — 17 August 2012

Australia Stands by Plan to Reopen Offshore Detention Centers for Asylum-Seekers

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

CANBERRA, Australia — Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Sunday that the decision to send asylum-seekers to detention centers on Pacific Islands rather than letting them on Australian soil could result in saved lives.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the controversial plan to send asylum-seekers to reopened detention centers on Pacific islands could result in saved lives. (Photo Courtesy of Bloomberg Businessweek)

Australian leaders announced last week that they plan to reopen the camps on Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island, a move critics called regressive.  The asylum-seekers would remain in the detention centers while their immigration cases are processed.

“Yes, this is a tough policy,” Gillard told Sky News.  “I understand for many people that it’s hard for them, that it’s emotionally hard for them.”

Gillard said the move could result in preventing lives from being lost at sea.  According to a report released last week by a former Australian Defense Force chief, nearly 1,000 asylum-seekers have drowned in the waters between Indonesia and Australia in the last decade.  More than 60 percent of them have drowned in the last three years.  These numbers helped prompt the policy change.

“We stood on a policy of not having offshore processing, but we’re seeing large numbers of people losing their lives at sea because they are enticed by people smugglers,” Gillard told Sky News, admitting that she compromised her position “in the nation’s interest.”

“We’ve got to be very clear with asylum-seekers that they will get no advantage by having paid a people smuggler,” she added.  Gillard said people could wait in the island camps for “an extended period of time,” but she would not say how long that might be.

But many have expressed concerns about the change, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.  Navi Pillay said there is no evidence the effort would dissuade asylum seekers and could even lead to human rights violations.

“[Australian leaders must] break an ingrained political habit of demonizing migrants and asylum-seekers,” he said.

In fact, people smugglers have already adopted a new effort to counter Australia’s changed policy.  The West Australian reported that smugglers are telling asylum-seekers that Nauru is “just another Christmas Island,” in reference to Nauru being just a different stop on the path to be resettled in Australia.

The West Australian said Nauru and Manus Island processed 1,637 people between 2001 and 2008, the vast majority of whom were resettled in Australia or New Zealand.

Since Parliament approved the policy change last week, 10 boats of asylum-seekers have arrived.  These are just the latest in what has been a record year of immigrants attempting to reach Australia, mostly from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iran, and Iraq.  The centers at Manus and Nauru can hold up to 600 and 1,500 people, respectively.

For its part, Nauru has indicated it wants to exert some level of control over the process.  According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the island country’s foreign minister, Kieren Keke, told the Sunday Age that “his country would have ‘no problem’ with giving journalists access to report the stories and conditions of asylum seekers in its care who wanted to speak publicly.”

For further information, please see:

News.com.au — Australia out of Reach for Resettled Refugees — 21 August 2012

The West Australian — People Smugglers Using New Sales Pitch — 21 August 2012

Bloomberg Businessweek — Gillard Says Australia Asylum Policy Change in National Interest — 19 August 2012

The Daily News — Australia Defends ‘Tough’ Asylum-Seeker Policy — 19 August 2012

The Sydney Morning Herald — Nauru Demands Rights, Freedom for Asylum Seekers — 19 August 2012

Kidnapping in Nigeria Continues

By Vicki Turakhia
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – Police in Nigeria have denied the accusation that almost 1,000 people have been kidnapped from January of 2008 until August of 2012, but a group called Campaign for Democracy states differently.

Nigeria has a reputation for kidnappings. (Photo Courtesy of George Esiri/Reuters)

Previously robberies were more common than kidnappings, but criminals are learning that there is a higher chance for profits in a kidnapping. These kidnappings have led to ransoms costing people a total of 1.2 billion naira during that time period. The costs range anywhere from 5 million to 30 million naira per person kidnapped.

Victims of the kidnappings include singing and dancing Nigerian stars and prominent members of society, which is a change from the foreign oil company officials previously kidnapped. The Enugu State University Vice Chancellor was abducted on August 15th,  causing the University’s security to be questioned.

The Vice Chancellor is known for his hard work and dedication to the school, he has brought about change and reform to Enugu State University. The authorities are hopeful about his release.

Nigeria is the eighth highest in kidnapping around the world. In 2010, 512 people had been kidnapped compared to the 353 for the total of 2009. In January of 2008 the average rate of reported kidnappings was about one every 10 days.

Not only is there a rise in kidnappings, but in other crimes as well such as assassinations, armed robberies, and arson. These criminal acts are said to occur due to joblessness, homelessness, and the decreasing access to education. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) blames the government for the difficulties that spread across the nation.

A U.S. based social group has stated that the insecurity has led to a lack of foreign investments. The group calls for a permanent solution otherwise the instability in Nigeria will continue to hurt the economy.

Solutions to the kidnappings include removing the buildings used for housing kidnapped victims. The local government is looking to increase the penalties for kidnapping. The government has also included development centers, these centers provide greater knowledge and communication about the growing rise in kidnapping.

However, the police do question the source of information obtained by the Campaign for Democracy, so the numbers are being confirmed by the Deputy Force. But, the U.S. State Department maintains that a majority of kidnappings go unreported.

 

For further information, please see:

All Africa – Nigeria: 938 Persons Kidnapped in South East – Campaign for Democracy – 17 August 2012

All Africa – Nigeria: ASUU Blames Bombings, Kidnappings on Injustice – 14 August 2012

All Africa – Nigeria: U.S. Based Group Wants Govt to Tackle Kidnapping – 29 July 2012

Global Post – Nigeria’s Kidnapping Culture on the Rise – 30 May 2010

The Guardian Nigeria – Pharmacists Seek Release of Kidnapped ESUTH VC – 18 August 2012