As More Refugees Reach Australia, Political Debate Heats Up

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

CANBERRA, Australia — For the twenty-fifth time in the last month, another boatload of asylum seekers arrived on Australian soil Saturday hoping to find refuge.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young urges Australia to share the refugee burden with Indonesia or more asylum seekers could be forced to risk their lives. (Photo Courtesy of The Sydney Morning Herald)

A total of 32 Sri Lankans, including one girl, were intercepted on their small fishing vessel and taken to Christmas Island.  According to The Australian newspaper, the island has roughly 1,400 asylum seekers in detention facilities.  But the recent surge has the government scrambling to transfer many of them to detention centers on the mainland.

It is also calling into question Australia’s policies on refugees.

“The turn-back-the-boats option is what wee need if we are going to discourage reckless behaviour by people-smugglers and their clients,” said Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in The Australian, affirming his commitment to force asylum-seekers back to Indonesia despite warnings that the policy is dangerous and potentially illegal.

Many in the opposition party blamed Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who they said refused to restore border protection policies.

“Two years ago [Friday], Julia Gillard promised she would break the people smugglers’ business model by building an offshore processing centre on East Timor,” said Scott Morrison, an opposition immigration spokesperson, in a statement.

“Since that time, she has overseen the largest number of illegal boat arrivals under any prime minister, with 206 boats and over 13,600 people arriving on her watch.”

Saturday’s arrival capped a week that saw more than 200 refugees make it to Australia.  On Thursday, the Navy picked up 162 Middle Easterners after they sent a distress signal 50 nautical miles offshore.  On Friday, 38 Iraqis and four Indonesians were transferred to Christmas Island after their asylum boat was intercepted a week earlier.

“[The perception is that] everyday we’re being flooded by boat people who are cheating the system,” said Kon Karapanagiotidis, head of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Australia.

“Everyday the news is reporting another boat has arrived and another boat has arrived,” he added.  “It’s feeding this idea that we’re being flooded.”

Karapanagiotidis said that makes it easy to turn asylum seekers into “scapegoats” and a “political football” without any compassion or understanding for why they are refugees in the first place.

A recent report by the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees identified “a time of rising anti-refugee sentiment in many industrialized” countries.  According to the report, European countries on the Mediterranean Sea saw an 87 percent increase in asylum requests in 2011 compared to the previous year, due in large part to the Arab uprisings at that time.  Australia and New Zealand actually saw a nine percent decrease in 2011.

But as more asylum seekers flock to Australia now, some say the only way to stop the rush of refugees is to be more willing to help.

On Friday, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young warned that more people might be forced to risk their lives on boat trips to Christmas Island unless Australia agrees to share more of the regional asylum burden with Indonesia.

“There is a very real concern from those working on the ground,” she told The Saturday Age, “that unless there is a lot of work put into the relationship, Indonesia is going to get tougher on the asylum seekers and refuges who are here and make life even more unbearable for them, which is going to force people onto boats.”

“Unless we deal with that, there’s no way of stopping people from taking that dangerous journey,” she added.

Her comments came after two days of meetings with asylum seekers, non-government bodies, and Indonesian officials, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.  Unlike the government and opposition, the Greens’ prefer a regional approach that would see Australia take more refugees from countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.

“The ALP and the Coalition accuse the Greens of not understanding this issue and being naive,” she said, “but the real naivety is thinking that pushing people anywhere else but Australia will stop them from coming [here].”

For further information, please see:

The Australian — In One Month, 25 Boats Arrive in Australia — 7 July 2012

The Australian — I Will Still Turn Boats Around, Tony Abbott Says — 7 July 2012

The Sydney Morning Herald — Share Refugee Burden, Green Senator Urges — 7 July 2012

CNN — Which Countries Take in Most Refugees?  Not the West — 5 July 2012

UN Approves a Special Rapporteur to Belarus

By Pearl Rimon
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

GENEVA, Switzerland – The Human Rights Council of the United Nations’ approved a resolution to appoint a special rapporteur to focus on Belarus’ allegations of human rights violations.

Belarus President, Alexander Lukashenko (Photo Courtsey of Mizozo)

The Human Rights Council’s vote was based on the human rights report released in April that documented human rights violations since the 2010 presidential elections. Belarus President, Alexander Lukashenko was the winner of the elections despite protests alleging voting fraud. Forty-three opposition leaders, activists and journalists were sentenced during the election protests, as well as five out of the nine opposition candidates.

The April report was compiled by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights lists the following violations: political opponents beaten, sentenced to prison where they were further tortured and denied medical treatment.

Tensions between the European Union and Belarus have been on the rise. The EU added sanctions against Belarus by adding 21 names to a list of Belarussian officials who face assets freezes and are banned from traveling to EU countries due to alleged human rights violations. The EU has also announced the recalling of its ambassadors to Belarus due to the country asking the EU and Polish ambassadors to leave.

Twenty-two of the 47 member council approved the resolution. China, Russia, India, Ecuador and Cuba voted against it, the remaining 20 members abstained.

“The cross-regional support to the establishment of the special rapporteur clearly shows that the concerns over the deterioration of the human rights situation in Belarus go far beyond Belarus’ neighborhood,” a statement from the EU delegation said. “The council sends a clear political signal to Belarus’ authorities that continuous suppression of fundamental rights, harassment of the opposition, civil society and free media and disrespect for a fair trial and the use of torture are not acceptable,” it said.

In response to the U.N.’s actions, Belarus ambassador, Mikhail Khvostoy said, “Belarus will not recognize the mandate of the special investigator and will not cooperate with him.” If Belarus stays true to this, they would be going the same route as Iran and North Korea.

The U.N. previously appointed a rapporteur in 2004 but was discontinued in 2007 due to a request from the Belarussian government.

 

 

For further information, please see:

Expatica UN rights body votes to appoint Belarus investigator – 05 July 2012

Reuters Africa UN sets rights probe on Belarus, Russia against – 05 July 2012

Washington Post UN expresses ‘grave concern’ at human rights in Belarus, appoints special investigator – 05 July 2012

Libyans to Elect New Assembly

By Mark McMurray
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Libya – On Saturday, Libyans will vote in their first free national election since a multi-party election in 1952 under King Idris.

A Libyan girl campaigns in Tripoli. (Photo Courtesy of the Washington Post)

The election, the first to follow Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year reign, which ended last year, has 3,700 candidates.  From the candidates, Libya’s 2.7 million registered voters will select the two-hundred members of the new General National Assembly.  Seats in the assembly will be divided according to a mixed system.  Candidates on party lists will be elected by proportional representation, while independent candidates will be chosen by a simple majority vote.

After the election, the assembly will choose a cabinet to replace the National Transitional Council (NTC), the current interim government comprised of former rebels.  The assembly will also pick a new prime minister and help draft a constitution.  A referendum will be held after the new constitution has been drafted.   If a parliamentary system of government is chosen, a full legislative election will take place six months later.

Political analysts have found it difficult to predict the party make-up of the assembly ahead of the vote.  While a number of candidates are women as result of parity rules, their campaign posters have been destroyed in the capital, highlighting the uphill battle women face in Libyan politics.  The dominant theme amongst parties and candidates has been an expression of Islamic values, with few promoting a strictly secular campaign.

The vote, an effort to create a more credible government with a mandate to rule, could be undermined if voter turnout is low due to fear of violence.  Further, the potential for violence resulting from post-election disputes between rival forces has caused further apprehension among Libyan voters.  These fears have arisen as a result of the present environment in post-Gaddafi Libya, where militias with regional loyalties have been operating within the country amid the chaos of the revolution.  Clashes between these tribal forces have prevented election observers from visiting some isolated areas within the country, raising questions about how successful the vote will be in those districts.

Almost a year after the revolution, Libyans are enjoying rights they were previously denied under Gaddafi.  The ongoing violence within the country lies in stark contrast to this newfound freedom.  While there are days without violence, battles often erupt between rival militias over land rights.  The hope is that the election will provide for a path towards a unified Libya.

U.N. envoy Ian Martin has a more positive outlook.  “The basic elements of life are continuing in Libya,” he told Reuters in June.  “When you put it in the context of Libya and in the context of other post-conflict countries, the glass is half full rather than half empty.”

For further information, please see:

Euronews – Security Fears Around Libyan Election – 5 July 2012

Reuters – Nervous Libyans Ready for First Taste of Democracy – 5 July 2012

Tripoli Post – Suspected Arson in Ajdabiyah Poll Office Fire – 5 July 2012

Washington Post- As Libya Holds Post-Gaddafi Election, Islamists’ Strength to be Tested – 3 July 2012

Syrian Revolution Digest – Thursday 5 July 2012

THE COMMENTARY IN THIS PIECE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF IMPUNITY WATCH.  

*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

Who Let the Dogs Out!

 

So, Jihadi groups are now operating in Syria. But the question remains: who let the dogs out? And whose party are they crashing? We see Assad and his militias pounding towns clamoring for freedom and arresting pro-democracy activists, but we are yet to see any serious effort meant to target these groups. Assad and his militias are clearly uninterested in weeding out Jihadi groups at this stage, because they ultimately serve Assad’s cause. Al-Qaeda and the Shabbiha, who are nothing more than the Alawite equivalent of Al-Qaeda, are two instruments of strike and control in Assad’s arsenal.

 

Wednesday July 04, 2012

 

Today’s Death toll: 67. The Breakdown: the dead include 10 children and three women. 17 were killed in Idlib, 15 in Damascus (13 in Suburbs and 2 in City), 12 in Daraa, 7 in Aleppo, 6 in Homs, 6 in Deir Ezzor, 2 in Hama, 1 in Lattakia and 1 in Raqqah.

 

News

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Op-Eds & Special Reports

 

 

 

 

 

Video Highlights

 

People from Homs City, including a local imam and local fighters give their opinion of the Cairo Conference and the vision regarding the nature of the future state of Syria that was agreed by opposition groups. The Imam believes that excluding those who are sacrificing their lives for the sake of the future state in Syria from the talks and making decisions without consulting them is a “redline” and is “wholly unacceptable.” As the Imam speaks, we can actually hear the pounding in the background. Fighter 1 says that “only the Syrian people, the revolutionaries and the martyrs” have the right to decide the nature of the future state in Syria. Fighter 2 says “only we on the inside have the legitimacy to determine the future state.” Fighter 3: “who are they to determine the shape of the future state” who allowed them to?… Let them do what they want, we will decide matters here.” A Local activist says that regime’s violent crackdown and opposition activities are all meant to impose a solution on all that will meet with popular approvalhttp://youtu.be/UDi7VpfqM3Q All interviewed want an Islamic State. Fighter 3 points to the black flag overhead with the inscription “There is no god but god, Muhammad is the Messenger of God” and says: this is our future flag. Local activist says he wants an Islamic State, but he wants people to decide on this, he believes that most people would vote for an Islamic State, and says that this is exactly what the opposition is afraid of. The views expressed here are those of the few fighters that remain in the city. Naturally the pounding of Homs City continues http://youtu.be/5IjTe1ywr2A , http://youtu.be/LOuhlowHXXM ,http://youtu.be/fcuuk4uWuEw

 

Ma’arrat Al-Nouman, Idlib Province, the victims of continuous shelling of the town by pro-Assad militias included this little girl http://youtu.be/PXRVp3CynRA More martyrshttp://youtu.be/JgJIDJ5zCNU , http://youtu.be/_lIAoENHhx4 ,http://youtu.be/xxgO9PBytLc Killed at home: a family of fourhttp://youtu.be/XlhXrmmLu1c

 

After intense battles, local fighter took control of the town of Salkeen, Idlib Province, arresting dozens of pro-Assad militias http://youtu.be/4XNsvTDfHYI The plan is to use them to negotiate for the release of local activists. A local mother identified her son’s murders among the arrested. This is her reaction http://youtu.be/aSK68KaQi7I Local activists say that the two killers have not been harmed. It’s interesting to note that the pro-Assad militias in Salkeen are not Alawites, but members of a Sunni clan, Al-Jalkhi, with old ties to the regime’s security apparatus.

 

Meanwhile, tensions in the Kurdish-majority towns of Efrin and Kobani in Aleppo Province continue to rise as result of ongoing attempts by members of the PYD, the Syrian branch of the PKK, to intimidate their rival Kurdish groups, especially those who are pro-revolution, and establish their control over the towns. The last few weeks witnessed increasing acts of intimidation, including beatings and kidnappings, culminating in the murder of few activists belonging to the revolutionary movements. The situation finally attracted the attention of the local FSA group, the Salaheddine Brigade, whose membership is made up of Arab and Kurdish fighters. The leaders of the Brigade issues a statement calling for reconciliation, calling on PYD members to curb their activities, but saying that they don’t want to be involved in internecine Kurdish disputes http://youtu.be/lMAgtwv6xHA

 

In Daraa Province, local fighters carry out an attack on a security checkpoint near the town of Saida: The attack http://youtu.be/qkQoS_-dlcI The get-awayhttp://youtu.be/ghvslseTsNY The loot http://youtu.be/c1ZuvT5p3Ps In Nearby Mseifrah, local bury two dead brothers below the age of 10 http://youtu.be/taPrIUxeReA  ,http://youtu.be/ythzHyALitw

 

 

In Damascus Suburbs, Arbeen was pounded by a helicopter gunshiphttp://youtu.be/4to5dMlENa8 , http://youtu.be/H50vd4NVREo So does nearbyHamouriyeh http://youtu.be/TsWnQwi380E The nearby Douma has been transformed into a ghost town http://youtu.be/CLx5Bx7ELxQ , http://youtu.be/Ejc8yOSHhh0 ,http://youtu.be/E4YbndiY8h8

 

Syrian Revolution Digest – Tuesday 3 July 2012

THE COMMENTARY IN THIS PIECE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF IMPUNITY WATCH.  

*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*

Torture!

It’s not about what the international community wants any more than it is about what Assad wants. It’s about what we want and need as a people in order to regain and protect our basic freedoms. And what we want and need is for all decent people in the world to abide by their moral and legal obligations towards us. Intervention to support the pro-democracy revolutionaries in Syria, be it simple of complex, is a moral and legal obligation, and we will never stop rallying for it as it is an essential component of our fight against corruption and tyranny.

Tuesday July 03, 2012

Today’s Death toll: 71. The Breakdown: 14 in Deir Ezzor, 13 in Homs, 12 in Daraa, 13 in Damascus (12 in Suburbs and 1 in City), 10 in Aleppo, 5 in Hama, 3 in Idilb, and 1 in Raqqah.

A video showing the chaotic scene during one of the failed sessions in the opposition conference in Cairo http://youtu.be/ZtX-h_A-_wQ

In regard to the recently released report by Human Rights Watch on torture, this is a leaked video showing pro-Assad troops torturing a civilian http://youtu.be/6bW2AHfyw_oAll through the torture session security officers keep taunting their prisoner: “You want freedom?” “You want to kill the Aalwites?” “Say Assad is your God.”

News

Op-Eds & Special Reports

Let it be clear to all: Demanding international intervention is our moral and legal right as a people who belong to a country that is a member of the United Nations. When we call for international intervention to help put an end to Assad’s tyrannical and corrupt rule, we are not demanding anything that is outside the purview of international law and the legal obligations to which all states that are signatories of the UN Charter are subject. Asking the international community to abide by its moral and legal obligations towards us as a people is part and parcel of our struggle to free ourselves of oppression. We do not want to be ruled by a corrupt and oppressive government any more than we are willing to remain part of an oppressive and unfair international system. We want all those politicians who make decisions that impact our lives to be accountable to us, no matter where they happen to be. We want both the national and international institutions that were established in our nameand whose decisions have real impact on our way of life to be transparent, fair and accountable. This is what our revolution is about, and this is why our revolution will go on, until the tyranny of the Assad is no more and the international community has accepted to abide by its legal and moral obligations towards us.

Video Highlights

More high level defections: A colonel from the 1st Division http://youtu.be/-b8LLRRJm1Y A lieutenant from Air Force security http://youtu.be/U6FrgxVfOfc

Helicopter gunships taking part in pounding restive communities in Sahel Al-Ghab valley in Hama Province http://youtu.be/n03ShNXLNUI

The pounding of Khan Shaikhoon, Idlib Province http://youtu.be/QZQesHpm5kU

The pounding of Maarabah, Daraa Province http://youtu.be/39hMX_lU03k and Daraa City http://youtu.be/Au4wK6m9S2M

The horrible destruction of Jouret al-Shayah, Homs City http://youtu.be/a-AMgprTMIIThe pounding of Rastan continues http://youtu.be/DteiiKR3GSo