ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Sudan’s Defense Minister & Calls for More Help in Darfur

By Tamara Alfred
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

 The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Sudan’s defense minister, Abdul -Rahim Mohamed Hussein, for 41 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in Darfur.

Sudan’s Defense Minister Abdul-Rahim Mohamed Hussein (Photo Courtesy of Sudan Tribune.)

Hussein is wanted for actions taken during the time of August 2003 to March 2004 in Darfur, where rebels have fought government forces and allied militiamen since 2003.  Hussein was Sudan’s interior minister at the time when attacks were made upon the towns and villages of Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar and Arawala in West Darfur.

The ICC said “there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Hussein is criminally responsible for 20 counts of crimes against humanity (persecution, murder, forcible transfer, rape, inhuman acts, imprisonment or severe deprivation of liberty and torture) and 21 counts of war crimes (murder, attacks against civilian population, destruction of property, rape, pillaging and outrage upon personal dignity.)”

The court continued, explaining that “Mr. Hussein made essential contributions to the formulation and implementation of the common plan…through his overall coordination of national, state and local security entities and through the recruitment, arming and funding of the police forces and the Militia/Janjaweed in Darfur.”

The court has at least six other cases involving Darfur.  Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is wanted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, while Sudanese government official Ahmad Harun, Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, and rebel leaders Abdallah Banda, Saleh Jerbo and Abu Garda also face war crimes charges.  However, Sudan does not recognize the ICC and refuses to hand over suspects.

The government in Khartoum was quick to dismiss the ruling, reiterating that Sudan is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty.

“We are not concerned with the court and the decisions that come out of it,” foreign ministry spokesman Al-Obeid Marwih said.  “We, like the United States and Russia, are not signatories to the Rome Statute governing the court.”

Sudan’s Minister of Information Sana al-Awad said Sudan was equally unconcerned with this latest arrest warrant.  “The court has become a political tool and not one that seeks justice,” she said.  “Sudan considers the arrest warrant an outcome of lobbying by anti-Sudan groups in the U.S.  It is an unjustifiable allegation.”

Marwih suggested that the timing of the warrant was meant to coincide with the “recent victories” of Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) against the rebels in Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Darfur.  “The court’s decision is more of a message to the rebellion than it is to frustrate the armed forces,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, urged the international community to find “the final solution” for the problem of impunity in Darfur, where he says war crimes have continued despite the various arrest warrants.

“I think we did something complicated – we investigated the crime, we collected the evidence, we clarified the responsibilities,” Moreno-Ocampo told reporters at UN Headquarters.  “But our effort is not enough if the crime is not stopped.”

The case against Hussein will be Moreno-Ocampo’s last involving Darfur before his tenure as ICC Prosecutor ends in June.

The United Nations (UN) estimates as many as 300,000 people have been killed and almost 3 million people have been displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict.

For more information, please see:

UN News Centre – Sudan: ICC prosecutor urges world to do more to end impunity in Darfur – 5 March 2012

CNN – Sudan’s defense minister wanted for war crimes – 2 March 2012

Sudan Tribune – Sudan downplays ICC arrest warrant issued for defence minister – 1 March 2012

TIBET SEES THREE SELF-IMMOLATIONS IN THREE DAYS

by Hibberd Kline
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – A 32 year old mother, an 18 year old boy and a middle school student each died after setting themselves on fire in protest of Chinese rule in Tibet over the past three days.

The recent string of self-immolations has largely been carried out by Buddhist monks who felt that the Chinese Government suppresses their religion. (Photo courtesy of the Guardian).

The three protesters lit themselves on fire in separate incidents in two different provinces in China’s restive Northwestern region.

The first of the weekend’s immolations took place on Saturday, when a student set herself on fire at a vegetable market in Gansu province’s Maqu county. The girl died at the scene.

Radio Free Asia reported the girl to be “in middle school.” London-based group, Free Tibet, later identified her as 20 year old Tsering Kyi.

Free Tibet quoted the student as saying before she died that Tibetans were burning themselves in Aba, a town in Sichuan province as well as in other areas under a widespread security clampdown by the Chinese authorities.

According to Tibetan exiles, unidentified market-goers threw stones at the girl’s burning body.

On Sunday, in an apparently uncoordinated second incident a 32 year old woman by the name of Rinchen lit herself on fire in front of a police station in Aba prefecture in Sichuan province. The act was especially symbolic to Tibetans because, like many police stations in heavily Tibetan populated areas in China, the station was by the main gate to a Buddhist monastery.  China is rapidly expanding its security presence in Tibet and neighboring Xinjiang  and it has become a common practice for the government to build police stations inside or next to Buddhist monasteries in order to maintain closer control over Tibetan religious leaders.

The particular monastery that Rinchen chose is known as the Kirti Monastery and is significant because it has been central to a recent string of protests and more than twenty self-immolations undertaken by Tibetans in protest of Chinese rule. Rinchen reportedly quoted a Tibetan monk, who is currently exiled in India, calling for the return of the Dali Lama and freedom for Tibet.

According to Free Tibet, Rinchen was the mother of four children.

The third self-immolation was carried out by an 18 year old boy identified by Free Tibet as Dorjee, who set fire to himself in the town of Chara in Sichuan province on Monday.

According to a Tibetan in exile in India, Dorjee set himself on fire and then marched from a nearby bridge to a government building, where he collapsed and died.

Local authorities refused to comment on any of the three incidents.

Tibet has been ruled by China since 1950, when Chinese troops occupied the region. The Chinese Government claims that the self-immolations have been carried out by “terrorists.”

The back-to-back immolations took place on the eve of the annual opening of the Chinese Parliament. This year’s parliamentary session is expected to effect the transfer of power to a younger generation of leaders within the Chinese communist party. The planned transfer has put much of the government in a heightened state of alert and has led to a sizable increase in China’s security presence in its restive northwestern region.

In addition to the enhanced security ahead of this year’s Parliamentary session, security is traditionally bolstered in Tibetan-populated areas in March, which marks the anniversaries of the 1959 uprising, which sparked the flight of the Dali Lama, and the anti-government protests that took place in the regional capital of Lhasa in 2008.

Human rights activists claim that China’s attempts to tighten its grip on the region merely exacerbates the problem by alienating the indigenous Tibetan populous.

Last Thursday, the regional government ordered authorities inside Tibet to increase control over mobile phones and the internet, both of which are already monitored in the region and have reportedly even been blocked completely in some areas.

Foreign journalists are largely banned from entering the region. Therefore the recent increase in censorship makes events in the region even more difficult to independently confirm.

Human rights activists and Tibetan exiles claim that the Chinese Government oppresses Tibetans and that it is deliberately undermining Tibetan religion and culture. The Chinese Government rejects this, claiming that China has improved the Tibetan economy and improved the lives of people in a “backward” region.

For more information, please see:

BBC News —  Tibetan Women ‘Die after Self-Immolation’ — 05 March 2012

The Guardian — Tibetan Women Set Themselves on Fire, Say Reports — 05 March 2012

The New York Times — Three Tibetans Die after Self-Immolations — 05 March 2012

Radio Free Asia — Third Self-Immolation in Three Days —  05 March 2o12

Voice of America — Reports: Tibetan Teenager Sets Himself on Fire — 05 March 2012

The Washington Post — Reports Say Teenage Tibetan in Sichuan Sets Self on Fire and Dies; Third Immolation in Three Days — 05 March 2012

AP News — Tibetan Woman, Student Set Selves on Fire — 04 March 2012

The Guardian — Tibetan Woman Dies after Setting Herself on Fire in Protest at Chinese Rule — 04 March 2o12

Bahrain Delays The Visit of UN Investigator

By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MANAMA, Bahrain– The UN human rights office in Geneva, Switzerland stated that on Thursday 01 March 2012, the Bahraini government had formally requested that the visit of the special rapporteur on torture be delayed until mid-July. The investigator, Juan Mendex, had originally been scheduled the visit the Gulf island nation from 8 March to 17 March. The Bahraini government has also imposed restrictions on groups attempting to monitor reforms inside the nation, clearly desiring to keep all foreign influence away from its citizens.

Anti-government protesters at a demonstration organized by al-Wefaq in Manama.(Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

While the protests and violence continues, three international human rights groups were informed last week by the Bahraini government of new restrictions on visiting the nation. Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International stated that Bahrain’s Human Rights and Social Development Ministry told them that new rules limited them to five-day trips and those trips must be arranged through a Bahraini sponsor.

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, a regional Amnesty deputy director, shared these words in a statement concerning the situation.

“Regrettably, we have cancelled the fact-finding visit to Bahrain as the new five days limit imposed by the Bahraini authorities for visits by international human rights organizations is a serious impediment. The Bahraini authorities have repeatedly stated their commitment to undertake human rights reform and to cooperate with human rights organizations. These new restrictions contradict such commitment.”

The UN also released a statement concerning the inability to enter and inspect the nation. A spokesman for the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Xabier Celaya, stated that Mendez would express his regrets to Bahraini representatives in meetings this week concerning the “last minute postponement.”

“Mr. Mendez will seek to secure new dates as he remains very committed to undertaking this important visit. Bahrain is still undergoing major reforms and wants some important steps, critical to the special rapporteur’s mandate, to be in place before he visits so he can assess the progress that Bahrain has made to date.”

Bahrain is ruled by the Sunni Muslim al-Khalifa family and has been under tremendous pressure to institute political and rights reforms since the violent crackdown on the uprising. Bahrain’s Minister for Social Development, Fatima al-Balooshi, told the UN Human Rights Council this week that the kingdom had learned important lessons from the demonstrations and protests against the government.

“Mistakes were made. Serious wrongs were committed. We believe we are on the right track.”

The road leading up the delay of Mendez’s visit is rather peculiar one. In January, Bahraini officials told a number of human rights organizations that they should delay trips to the country until after 22 February 2012, the date that the government had set for a review of the changes in the way the country functioned as a whole. This included changes for the police, the judiciary, the educational system, and the media. Also, as recommended by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), a body of international legal experts, the reforms included the payment of compensation to torture victims and a process of national reconciliation. The recommendation from the BICI came in November 2011.

On Thursday 01 March 2012, the Bahraini government said that it needed as many as 20 more days to complete its plans for implementing the recommendations of the BICI. The BICI reported that demonstrators and protesters, who come primarily from the majority, non-ruling Shia population, had suffered from systematic torture to elicit confessions that were subsequently used in military trials.

The ruling, minority Sunni Muslim community in Bahrain has been under pressure from the non-ruling, majority Shia Muslim community to change the rules on the appointment of government officials. The Shia community believes that if they had more officials, more policies would better serve their interests. The Sunni ruling party has been very reluctant to allow this to occur. Thus, demonstrations and protests have occurred across the Gulf island nation.

The Bahraini government has moved swiftly to control any widespread, anti-regime movement. It has even strengthened its tourist visa restrictions, after some Western activists took part in anti-government demonstrations last month that marked the first anniversary of the uprising on 14 February 2012. Bahraini police officers allowed the main parties, led by the al-Wefaq group, to hold a rally inside the nation’s capital of Manama last week.

On Thursday 01 March 2012, Wefaq released a statement concerning the situation.

“Many villages were repressed brutally by security forces, leaving at least two people seriously injured. One of the injured had been hit in the head by a tear gas canister, while another had sustained injuries from shotgun pellets.”

Inspired youth protesters and activists have regularly held demonstrations in Shia districts, although Bahraini police usually quell any momentum using armored vehicles, teargas, and stun grenades. The Bahraini government has repeatedly reported that the youth protests are rioters simply causing chaos with no aim of political objectives. Until the voices of the majority are genuinely heard and addressed, it seems that the suffering and violence will continue. The continued denial of human rights groups into the country projects the message that the rights of those not in power do not matter.

 

For more information, please see: 

Al-Jazeera – Bahrain Delays UN Investigator Visit – 02 March 2012

AllVoices – Bahrain: Government Delays Visit by UN Torture Investigator – 02 March 2012

Chicago Tribune – Bahrain Delays U.N. Investigator, Limit Rights Group Visits – 01 March 2012

Reuters – Bahrain Delays U.N. Investigator, Limits Rights Group Visits – 01 March 2012

 

Red Cross Denied Access to Civilians as Shelling Continues in Syria

By Adom M. Cooper
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syrian security forces resumed their attacks on the city of Homs, causing more civilian deaths and preventing relief access to the wounded. On Sunday 04 March 2012, activists reported that a bombardment came to Syria’s third-largest city of approximately one million residents as China presented a proposal to end the violence in the country. It called for an immediate ceasefire and dialogue between all of the parties but stood firm against any type of intervention by outside forces.

 

A member of the Syrian Free Army. (Photo Courtesy of NYT)

In addition to Homs, the Syrian security forces also descended upon the rebel-dominated city of Rastan on Sunday 04 March 2012. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, four children were said to be among seven civilians killed in the shelling. The victims included as many as six family members when a rocket crashed into their home, causing the building to collapse.

The focal point of the attacks by security forces has been the western Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr, where the situation has been described as “catastrophic.” On Saturday 03 March 2012, there were reports of power outages, shortages of food and water, and no medical care for the sick and wounded. The Red Cross has desperately been trying to gain access to the city for three days, attempting to deliver aid and supplies to those in need. The closest that the organization has come to assisting Baba Amr is handing out food and blankets to those fortunate enough to have the ability to flee the city to nearby areas.

Syrian officials informed the Red Cross that Baba Amr had to be cleared of booby traps before they could enter the area. But activists reported that troops were carrying out reprisal attacks around the city, causing more death and violence at the expense of thousands of civilians. While the attacks continue to occur, the bodies of two foreign journalists who lost their lives for the sake of letting the world know what was happening on the ground left Syria and were headed to France. The bodies of Remi Ochlik and Marie Colvin were placed on an Air France flight from Damascus on the evening of Saturday 03 March 2012.

Rebels from the Free Syrian Army withdrew their forces from Baba Amr late last week, as the weeks of shelling from government forces made it increasingly difficult for the rebels to maintain their positions. The Syrian government gave the Red Cross permission to access Baba Amr but once the help actually arrived in the form of a convoy, the government refused to allow it to enter the city. BBC correspondent Jim Muir, reporting from Lebanon, stated that this is when the Red Cross decided to assist those who were lucky enough to flee Baba Amr. Muir also stated that the ICRC had dispatched a 15-man team to the Abil area, a southern part of Baba Amr.

ICRC spokesperson Hicham Hassan shared these words with Reuters about the developing situation.

“The plan is to continue to the neighborhoods of Inshaat and Tawzii in order to assist local populations and families displaced from Baba Amr. We really don’t know how many people are still in there. It’s all a bit of a mystery to us.”

The Syrian state television has been broadcasting pictures of deserted streets laden with debris, being careful not to display any strife on the part of civilians. There have been a multitude of unconfirmed reports of revenge killings and summary executions by Syrian forces in Baba Amr. Opposition activists believe that a government-wide cover up is responsible for the delay in bringing these reports to public attention. The reports detail mass arrests of males over the age of 11, with the local cooperative building being transformed into a detention facility.

Another report detailed that truck full of bodies was seen driving away from Baba Amr.

Sunday Times photographer Paul Conroy, who fled Syria after being wounded while working in Homs, told the BBC that what he saw on the ground in Baba Amr classified as “systematic slaughter.”

“I’ve done a fair few wars, I’ve never seen anything on this level.”

Activists have reported that approximately 7,500 people have lost their lives since the demonstrations and protests against President Bashar al-Assad began almost a year ago. The government had repeatedly and staunchly blamed “terrorists and armed gangs” for the violence. Regardless of who the government chooses to throw the blame on, the people of Syria continue to pay a fatal toll as each day goes by.

The international community continues to debate the appropriate course of action and each day seems to bring a new idea to the table. The proposal by China and Turkey strictly rules out the use of foreign intervention, a theme that seems so necessary at this point but will not be used. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the lack of consensus among the international community has only emboldening the Syrian government to proceed with its crackdown. Davutoglu stated that the gravity of the killing closely resembles the bloodshed of the Balkans war of the 1990s.

He described the actions of al-Assad’s regime as “crimes against humanity.” And these crimes will only continue while the rest of the world watches and reports on the situation, instead formulating and agreeing on a plan to end it.

 

 

For more information, please see: 

Ahram – China Demands End To Violence As Syria Blocks Aid – 04 March 2012

Al-Jazeera – Syrian Forces Renew Assault On Homs – 04 March 2012

BBC – Syria Crisis: Red Cross Pushes For Baba Amr Access – 04 March 2012

CNN – Rockets Fall On Syrian City of Rastan, Opposition Activists Say – 04 March 2012

The Guardian – Syria: Red Cross Blocked Again From Baba Amr – 04 March 2012

NYT – Bearing Witness in Syria: A Correspondent’s Last Days – 03 March 2012

 

20 DEAD IN XINJIANG INCIDENT

by Hibberd Kline
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Regional authorities have increased the death toll from Tuesday’s violence near the city of Kashgar in China’s western Xinjiang region to 20 up from an initial figure of 12 reported by China’s official Xinhau News Agency.

China has maintained a heavy police presence in Xinjiang since riots between ethnic Uighurs natives and Han Chinese migrants in 2009 left approximately 200 dead and 1,700 injured. (Photo courtesy of the Guardian).

According to the regional government, the “attack” was instigated by knife-wielding “terrorists” who attacked passers-by on a busy shopping street. The authorities attribute 13 deaths to the alleged terrorist attack. State news agency Xinhua previously described the incident as a “riot.”

The official government report also increased the number of alleged terrorist assailants shot dead by police officers from the earlier reported 2 to 7.

According to Xinhua, the authorities are in pursuit of an unspecified number of additional suspects thought to have taken part in the alleged terrorist attacks.

Details are still not forthcoming about what may have set off the violence. However, the region has a long history of ethnic tension between the native, muslim, ethnic Uighur population and Han Chinese migrants. That history has often been punctuated by oubursts of violence, which are often portrayed officially as terrorist attacks.

Uighur activists groups claim that China oppresses their culture and religion and say that instances of violence, which the Chinese government claims to be the work of “mobs” or “terrorists” are actually anti-government riots or peaceful protests turned violent.

Foreign media access to the region is restricted. Therefore, China’s official accounts of violence in Xinjiang are generally difficult to independently confirm and are often the subject of dispute by human rights organizations. Following the attack, Chinese censors were quick to block internet searches including the name of either the county “Yecheng” or the town “Kashgar” in which the attack took place.

The Chinese Government is currently expanding its security footprint inside Xinjiang. Last month, authorities in Xinjiang announced plans to recruit 8,000 additional security officers to help maintain control in the region.

China sees Xinjiang with its vast oil, natural gas and mineral deposits as strategically vital to Chinese economic expansion. The Chinese Government has adopted a policy of intensive economic investment in the region coupled with a stifling security presence in order to reduce the potential for open unrest.

Following the attack in Xinjiang, a Chinese woman was shot to death in Peshawar, Pakistan. An element of the Pakistani Taliban took responsibility for the woman’s death. According to a Taliban spokesman, the killing was carried out as “revenge for the Chinese Government killing… [the Taliban’s] Muslim brothers” in Xinjiang.

China and Pakistan have long been close allies and recently staged joint anti-terrorism drills. The Chinese Government responded to the killing by demanding that Pakistan investigate the incident and take steps to protect Chinese nationals inside Pakistan. Pakistan’s ambassador to China has promised that Pakistan will hunt down the attackers.

China often asserts that alleged terrorist activity in Xinjiang, Tibet and other restive regions within China are encouraged and supported by foreigners.

For more information, please see:

Reuters — Pakistani Militants Say Chinese Woman Killed for Revenge — 01 March 2012

BBC News — China Violence: ’20 Dead’ in Kashgar City in Xinjiang — 29 February 2012

AP News — China Says at Least 12 Killed in Xinjiang Riot — 28 February 2012

The Telegraph — ‘Violent Mob’ Riots Leave 12 Dead — 29 February 2012

BBC News — China Violence: 12 Dead in Kashgar City in Xinjiang — 28 February 2012

The Guardian — China Unrest Kills at Least 12 — 28 February 2012