The
www.ictj.org
October 15, 2006 Issue
HEADLINES
Democratic
Fiji: Vanuatu Leaders
Apologize for Ancient Crimes
France: Draft Law Would Make
Denial of Armenian Genocide a Crime
Germany: Nazi-era Mass Grave
Uncovered
Iraq: Saddam Hussein’s
al-Anfal Trial Resumes with Ejection and Testimonies
Liberia: TRC Reaches Out to
Diaspora Community
Sudan: Partial Success in AU
Mandate Extension
Uganda: Government Says ICC
Indictments to Stay in Place
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ARGENTINA
Disappearance of Witness is Reminiscent of Dirty War Tactics
October 5, 2006
Jorge Julio López, a 77-year-old victim of The Dirty War, disappeared just hours after giving crucial testimony in court against the former Argentine police commissioner, Miguel Etchecolatz, who was charged with crimes against humanity for his role in running secret detention camps. López’s disappearance has revived memories and fear around right-wing death squads, widely thought to be a thing of the past in contemporary Argentinian society. The recent overturning of amnesties for several former leaders accused of committing human rights abuses during the 1976-83 military dictatorship has been accompanied by an increase in incidents of intimidation of witnesses and judges, as well as public protests both for and against efforts to finally prosecute the leadership of that era.
See, Guardian Unlimited, Terror tactics return in Argentina
International Herald Tribune, Fear haunts Argentina as witness disappears
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOSNIA
160 Bodies Exhumed
from Mass Grave near Srebrenica
October 11, 2006
Forensic teams
working at a mass grave exhumed the remains of 160 people killed at the Bosnian
Muslim enclave of Srebrenica in 1995. Experts unearthed 96 complete and 64
incomplete skeletons in the town of Snagovo, which borders Serbia. The victims
are believed to have been Bosnian Muslim men and boys from Srebenica who were
tortured and executed en masse after being herded into a local school. Many of
the bodies were found blindfolded and riddled with bullet shells. In 1995, Serbian troops overran the eastern Bosnian enclave
of Srebrenica, which the United Nations had declared a safe zone, killing as
many as 8,000 Muslim men and boys. Thousands were bulldozed into “secondary mass graves”
in neighboring towns in an effort to hide evidence of the scale of the
atrocities committed. Location details were disclosed by a survivor of the
massacre.
See. Washington Times, 160 Bodies
Exhumed from Mass Graves
B92, Experts exhume
bodies of Srebrenica victims
Peninsula, Srebrenica
mass grave yields 160 victims
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAMBODIA
Khmer Rouge Probes
to Start Soon
October 10, 2006
A prosecutor for the hybrid
tribunal investigating crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge regime of 1975-79
announced he will hand cases to the investigating judge by the end of the 2006,
slightly ahead of schedule. The
tribunal—known as the ECCC, an abbreviated acronym for the
“extraordinary chambers in the courts of Cambodia for the prosecution of
crimes committed during the period of Democratic Kampuchea”—will
feature both domestic and international prosecutors and judges. Suspects will
be prosecuted for breaches of Cambodian criminal law in force in 1975,
international law on human rights, and international conventions ratified by
Cambodia, as well as crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes
and violations of the Geneva Conventions. To date, none of the leaders alleged
to have played a part in the deaths of 1.7 million people have faced criminal
charges. The remaining few are elderly, with several in poor health, a factor
that has added urgency to the tribunal’s work.
See, Reuters, Prosecutor
sees Khmer Rouge probe this year
Le Monde Diplomatique, Cambodia: Khmer Rouge in court
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
OF CONGO (DRC)
Former Militia Leaders Appointed to Army
October 11, 2006
Two former commanders from rebel militia groups in DRC were appointed to leadership roles in the Congolese army. According to Defense Minister Adolphe Onusumba, the appointment of Peter Karim, the former leader of the Front des Nationalistes et Intégrationnistes (FPRI), and Martin Ngudjolo, former leader of the Mouvement des Révolutionnaires Congolais, was part of an effort to quell the troubled northeastern Congolese district of Ituri. In addition to the appointment of high-ranking militiamen, the government announced that eight other fighters from these groups had also been commissioned to serve in the national army. Human rights groups have criticized the DRC’s integration of former fighters, calling the measure a “reward for war.” A leading Ituri militia leader, Thomas Lubanga, is currently on trial at the ICC in The Hague, for the alleged recruitment of child soldiers and other crimes against humanity.
See, Reuters, Two militia leaders appointed army colonels
IRIN, DRC: Two militia leaders appointed army
colonels
African News
Dimension, Two
militia leaders appointed army colonels in DRC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FIGI
Vanuatu Leaders Apologize for Ancient Crimes
October 7, 2006
In a public ceremony in the Fijian capital of Suva, a delegation of Vanuatu tribal leaders offered a public apology to the people of Fiji for crimes committed in the 1800s. The president of Fiji welcomed the apology as the first public effort in the reconciliation process over the history of slave trade in the islands. During a 40-year period in the mid-1800s, it is estimated that more than 60,000 people were forcibly taken from the islands of Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, and Fiji to work in sugar fields in Queensland, Australia. Fiji is currently exploring other possible transitional justice approaches to help it reconcile with this troubled chapter of its past.
See, Fiji Times, Vanuatu apology for ancient crimes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FRANCE
Draft Law Would Make
Denial of Armenian Genocide a Crime
October 12, 2006
France's lower house of parliament approved a bill which—if consequently passed by the upper house Senate and the French president—will make it a crime to deny the 1915 Armenian genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks. Successive Turkish governments have repeatedly denied accusations that some 1.5 million Armenians were massacred during the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, arguing that their deaths were the result of partisan fighting in which both sides suffered. The proposed legislation calls for a one-year prison term and a fine of 45,000 Euros for anyone who publicly denies the genocide, the same exact penalties that apply to denying the Jewish holocaust at the hands of Nazi Germany.
See, Reuters, French
MPs back Armenia genocide bill
EU Observer, Brussels
and Ankara condemn French law on Armenia genocide
Scotsman, French MPs back
Armenia genocide bill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GERMANY
Nazi-era Mass Grave
Uncovered
October 3, 2006
German authorities unearthed the remains of 51 people in a mass grave near the cemetery of a Catholic church in the village of Menden-Barge. The skeletons of 22 children and 29 adults are believed to be the remains of victims of Hitler’s extensive euthanasia campaign against people with physical and mental disabilities. Several of the bodies show signs of severe disability but forensic experts have yet to reach a final conclusion about the likely demographics of the group. The localized search for a mass grave thought to contain more than 200 bodies began in early October, following rumors and testimony from surviving eyewitnesses who reported seeing frequent transports of bodies to the cemetery at the end of World War II.
See, Deutsche Welle, World War II
Euthanasia Victims Found in German Mass Grave
Spiegel, Possible
Victims of Nazi "Euthanasia" Program: Mass Grave of Young Children
Reuters, Germany uncovers Nazi-era mass
grave
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IRAQ
Saddam Hussein’s al-Anfal Trial Resumes with Ejection and Testimonies
October 10, 2006
Following another recess in the trial, Chief Judge Mohammed al-Uraibiy al-Khalifa ejected Saddam Hussein and a co-defendant from the courtroom for disrupting trial proceedings. Hussein shouted verses from the Qur’an before al-Khalifa ordered his removal from the court room. Meanwhile, defense lawyers continued their boycott of the trial after former Chief Judge Abdullah al-Amiri was fired for stating to Hussein that he believed he was “not a dictator.” The judge’s removal has been criticized by several human rights groups who believe this compromises the independence of the judiciary and gives in to political pressure. After the ejections, four Kurdish witnesses gave testimony to the horror of prison camps, mass arrests, and the live burial of family members in al-Anfal under Hussein’s regime.
See, al-Sumaria, Four Kurdish Witnesses Testify in Saddam Trial
Kuwait News Agency, Saddam’s Trial Adjourned for 45-minute Break
Xinhua, Saddam
Trial Resumes in Baghdad
al-Jazeera, فوضى ومشادات حادة تنهي جلسة محاكمة صدام ورفاقه
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LIBERIA
TRC Reaches Out to
Diaspora Community
October 9, 2006
A key member of the
Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) toured several cities in the
United States in an effort to actively engage the sizeable Diaspora community
in its proceedings. On the same week that the TRC started taking statements
from victims and alleged perpetrators in Liberia, the Commission’s Massa
Washington visited Washington DC and Staten Island, New York to conduct
outreach and educational training around the work of the TRC. The Commission
hopes to engage in a parallel process of taking statements and holding hearings
in several Diaspora communities over the next two years. The TRC is mandated to
investigate gross violations of human rights and other abuses committed from
1979 to 2003. It is estimated that 20 percent of the Liberian population fled
during this time, many of whom resettled in the United States.
See, Voice of America, Liberia:
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Tours the U.S.
NPR, To Correct
Rights Record, Liberia Sends Team to U.S.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SUDAN
Partial Success in AU Mandate Extension
October 3, 2006
The African Union (AU) received authorization to continue its peace keeping mission in Sudan through the end of 2006. The Sudanese government has sternly resisted any attempts to place UN peace keeping forces in Darfur. Sudanese government officials appear to believe that a UN force would act as a Trojan horse for ICC indictments. Despite this, Sudan has permitted a limited number of UN specialists to provide logistical and economic support the AU forces.
See, BBC, Sudan Welcomes Darfur
Extension
Reuters, Sudan
Rejects Indefinite African Force in Darfur
al-Jazeera.net, السودان
يوافق على خطة
أممية لدعم
القوات الأفريقية
بدارفور
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UGANDA
Government Says ICC
Indictments to Stay in Place
October 11, 2006
The Ugandan government declared its tacit support for the indictments issued by the ICC against leaders of the Ugandan rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) who have led a 20-year insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people and internally displaced 1.7 million. The LRA has repeatedly said it will not sign a final peace deal at the talks being held in the southern Sudanese capital of Juba unless the ICC indictments against four of its leaders are dropped. Government officials recently stated they would reconsider the necessity of maintaining the indictments once a peace deal has been signed.
See, Reuters, Uganda says no
authority to remove ICC indictments
All Africa, Rugunda Explains
Government Line On ICC
International Herald
Tribune, Uganda
will ask for rebel arrest warrants to be reviewed after peace deal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editors: Veerle Opgenhaffen and Kasia Reterska
Contributing Editors: Marieke Wierda and Miranda Sissons
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