The International Center for Transitional Justice
www.ictj.org
February 29, 2004
HEADLINES
Cambodia: Exhibition on Khmer
Rouge Execution Methods Opens; Detention Extended for Two Former
Khmer Rouge Leaders
Croatia: Veritas Releases New
Data on Serb Victims
Democratic Republic of Congo:
Consultations Begin on Establishment of a Truth Commission
Iraq: Human Rights Ministry
Opens
Liberia: Human Rights
Commission Calls for Special Court
Mexico: Former Spy Chief
Arrested in “Dirty War” Probe
Rwanda: Final Amnesty Offered
for Genocide Suspects Who Confess; ICTR Convicts One, Acquits Two
Serbia and Montenegro:
Prosecutors Rest Their Case in Milosevic Trial
Sierra Leone: Special Court
to Open March 10
South Africa: Former Security
Police Officer Arrested for Apartheid-Era Killing
Timor-Leste: Judge Rules
Against Public Hearing on Wiranto Case
Uganda: ICC to Investigate
Recent Massacre
United States: Greensboro
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Seats Selection Panel
CAMBODIA
Exhibition on Khmer Rouge Execution Methods Opens
February 27, 2004
An exhibition displaying the methods used to execute Khmer Rouge victims has opened at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. The original exhibition was to display the skulls of 10 victims with accompanying descriptions of the executioners’ methods. After King Norodom Sihanouk criticized the showing of actual skulls, organizers opted to display photographs instead.
See: Voice of America, Human Skull Exhibition Opens
Detention Extended for Two Former Khmer Rouge Leaders
February 27, 2004
The government has granted approval to a military court to extend for another year the detention of Ta Mok, a former military chief, and Duch, former head official of the Tuol Sleng S-21 interrogation center. The two have been detained since 1999 and will likely be tried by a United Nations-backed court established specifically to try former Khmer Rouge leaders.
See: Reuters, Cambodian Court Extends Khmer Rouge Detentions
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CROATIA
Veritas Releases New Figures on Serb Victims
February 17, 2004
The Veritas Documentation Center has released new figures on the number of Serb victims from the war in Croatia and the former Republic of Srpska Krajina. Veritas lists 6780 Serbs as killed or missing, and 2805 are still listed as missing. Exhumations and attempts to identify the victims are ongoing.
See: B92, New data on Serb victims in Croatia
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DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Consultations Begin on Establishment of a Truth Commission
February 20, 2004
Members of the United Nations, the DRC government, and local and international nongovernmental organizations will meet soon to discuss the establishment of a truth commission as part of the country’s democratic transition. Resolutions in peace negotiations, as well as the 2003 Transitional Constitution, stipulate that a Truth Commission is to be established.
See: United Nations, DR Congo to Hold Meeting On Establishing Truth Commission, UN Reports
MONUC, National Consultations on DRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission
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IRAQ
Human Rights Ministry Opens
February 18, 2004
Iraq’s Human Rights Ministry, which will investigate atrocities committed under the regime of Saddam Hussein, has recently opened. The ministry will also draft a human rights declaration and promote organizations in the country defending civil liberties. In related news, the Iraqi Governing Council has requested that the United States hand over Saddam Hussein so that he can be put on trial through the Iraqi judicial system.
See: Reuters, Iraqis
Want to Try Saddam Without POW Status
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LIBERIA
Human Rights Commission Calls for Special Court
February 23, 2004
Dempster Brown, president of Liberia’s Human Rights Commission, has called for the creation of a Special Court to prosecute warlords from all sides of the country’s 14-year civil war. Brown has stated that a special court is needed to end the culture of impunity. The Commission recently accused forces loyal to ex-president Charles Taylor of killing 360 civilians in the southeast region of the country in April 2003.
See: Reuters, Liberia
Panel Accuses Taylor Forces of Massacre
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MEXICO
Former Spy Chief Arrested in “Dirty War” Probe
February 21, 2004
Authorities in Mexico have arrested Miguel Nazar Haro, the former head of the Federal Security Directorate, a disbanded spy agency. Nazar Haro is the first suspect arrested in a prosecutor’s investigation of Mexico’s “Dirty War” against leftists in the 1960s and 1970s. He is accused of the 1975 kidnapping and disappearance of Jesus Piedra Ibarra, a member of an antigovernment guerrilla group.
See: BBC, Former Mexican spy chief arrested
AP, Ex-Mexican
Domestic Spy Chief Arrested
Washington Post, Former Spy Chief Arrested In Mexican “Dirty War” Case
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RWANDA
Final Amnesty Offered for Genocide Suspects Who Confess
February 21, 2004
Thousands of genocide suspects, currently in prison, have been offered a final chance to confess their guilt and ask for forgiveness in order to be released. Category one defendants--those who organized, instigated, or took a particularly zealous role in the genocide--are not eligible for the amnesty. Those who are released still may have to face a traditional judicial system, gacaca, in their communities. The deadline for the confessions is March 15, 2004.
See: Reuters, Rwandan
Genocide Suspects Who Confess to Go Free
The Guardian, Final
amnesty for perpetrators of Rwanda genocide
Hirondelle, Genocide Suspects Rush to Confess Ahead of Deadline
ICTR Convicts One, Acquits Two
February 27, 2004
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has acquitted two former senior government officials accused of genocide and convicted their co-accused, sentencing him to 27 years in prison. André Ntagerura, former Minister of Transport and Communications, and Emmanuel Bagambiki, former prefect of Cyangugu, were acquitted. The court found Samuel Imanishimwe, former commander of Karambo military barracks in Cyangugu, guilty on six counts, including genocide, extermination, and murder.
See: AP, Rwanda Tribunal Convicts Genocide Suspect
UN IRIN, ICTR Convicts Imanishimwe, Acquits Ntagerura And Bagambiki
Hirondelle, ICTR Acquits Two Former Officials and Convicts Co-Accused to 27 Years
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SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
Prosecutors Rest Their Case in Milosevic Trial
February 27, 2004
Prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have rested their case against former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic earlier than expected. Milosevic has been ill, causing delays in the trial, and presiding judge Richard May has announced that he will resign from the ICTY because of health concerns. Milosevic will be given three months to prepare his defense, but this period will likely be extended due to his ongoing medical problems. His lawyers have announced that he will not seek a retrial.
See: BBC, Case against Milosevic cut short
AFP, Prosecution rests its case against Milosevic
Reuters, Milosevic Not to Seek Retrial, Says Lawyer
For more detailed weekly updates on the ICTY, please see Tribunal Update by The Institute for War and Peace Reporting, the UN Public Information Services’ ICTY Weekly Update, and the Coalition for International Justice’s Latest Reports. See also the International Center for Transitional Justice/Bard College’s audio/video archive of the Milosevic trial.
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SIERRA LEONE
Special Court to Open March 10
February 21, 2004
The Special Court for Sierra Leone will open on March 10 ahead of trials for nine defendants currently in custody for crimes against humanity. The prosecution and defense teams will make pretrial presentations to the judges, who will then fix dates for the trials, which are likely to start by late March or early April.
See: Vanguard (Lagos), Sierra Leone War Crimes Court to Open March 10
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SOUTH AFRICA
Former Security Police Officer Arrested for Apartheid-Era Killing
February 18, 2004
Former security police officer Gideon Nieuwoudt has been arrested in connection with the 1985 murders of three anti-apartheid activists. In 1999, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) refused Nieuwoudt’s application for amnesty for not fully disclosing all of his crimes. The arrest likely paves the way for further prosecutions of those who were denied amnesty by the TRC.
See: iafrica.com, Nieuwoudt’s arrest vindicates TRC--Tutu
News 24, Former generals may face trial
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TIMOR-LESTE
Judge Rules Against Public Hearing on Wiranto Case
February 20, 2004
United Nations Judge Phillip Rapoza has denied a demand by a prosecutor with Timor-Leste’s UN-backed Serious Crimes Unit to have a public hearing on a requested arrest warrant for Indonesia’s former military commander General Wiranto. Rapoza said a panel of judges will continue to review the evidence.
See: The Age (Australia), Judge gives Wiranto breathing space
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UGANDA
ICC to Investigate Recent Massacre
February 25, 2004
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has announced it will investigate a massacre that took place on February 21, 2004, in northeastern Uganda. Initial reports indicate that 200 people died in a Lord’s Resistance Army attack on Barlonyo, a camp for displaced persons.
See: News.com, ICC to investigate Uganda massacre
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UNITED STATES
Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission Seats Selection Panel
February 18, 2004
The first Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the United States has seated a Selection Panel that will appoint commissioners. In Greensboro, North Carolina, the truth commission is being established to examine the November 3, 1979, shooting deaths of five antiracist community activists who were shot and killed by Klansmen and Neo-Nazis as an anti-Klan march was forming. The Commission will research the incident and call for testimony, then issue a report along with recommendations on how the Greensboro community can achieve reconciliation.
See: ZNet, Creation of First Truth and Reconciliation Commission in USA Begins
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Editor: Patrick J. Pierce
Patrick J. Pierce serves as a consultant to the ICTJ.
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