News Clips - All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of

News Clips - All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide/
Coupures de presse - Groupe parlementaire multipartite pour la prévention
du génocide
Good day / Bonjour,
Le français suit
For your information, attached are articles from the past week on the subject of
genocide and crimes against humanity. Please note that the documents are
provided in their original language of publication.
À titre de renseignement, veuillez trouver ci-joint des articles parus la semaine
dernière touchant le génocide et les crimes contre l’humanité. Veuillez noter que les
articles transmis sont dans la langue officielle dans laquelle ils ont été rédigés.
Thank you / Merci
EVENTS – EVENEMENTS
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Presentation and Discussion: “An African Answer” featuring Imam
Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye, former militia leaders
turned peacemakers from Kaduna, Nigeria
REPORTS – RAPPORTS
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Syria: Health crisis: Syrian government targets the wounded and
health workers
NEWSCLIPS – COUPURES DE PRESSE
Sudan / Soudan
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Sudan Dispatch: Government Forces Target Civilians in Blue Nile,
Refugees Say
Sudan forces accused of killings, rape
South Sudan rebel group attacks town in oil-rich state
Democratic Republic of Congo / République démocratique du Congo
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RDC: Quand la guerre devient nomade
RDC: le spectre de nouvelles "violences électorales"
RD Congo : qu’attendre des élections du 28 novembre ?
Why We All Have A Role in Congo's Conflict
Other Related News / Autres Nouvelles
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Gadhafi son seeks flight to Hague war crimes court
Libye : "Guerre humanitaire", ou sale, très sale ?
Syrie. Le risque d’une révolte armée
Why Obama Sent Troops to Africa
War crimes in Australia's too-hard basket?
As Yemen crisis grows, south separatists see opportunity
Yemeni Airport Closed After Explosions; Syrian Clashes Kill 61
Occidental Petroleum Bankrolled War Crimes, Union Families Say
Génocide Arménien - La Cour européenne des Droits de l’Homme
donne raison à Taner Akçam
Sikhs Plan March on Canadian Parliament to Push for A Genocide
Motion
L'ONU souhaite un plus grand rôle des femmes dans la prévention
des conflits
REPORTS – RAPPORTS
Presentation and Discussion: “An African Answer” featuring Imam
Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye, former militia leaders turned
peacemakers from Kaduna, Nigeria
PUBLICATION: Initiative of Change
DATE: 2011.11.01 7:30 pm St. Paul University Auditorium, 223 Main Street,
Ottawa
INFORMATION: www.iofc.org please contact Mary Ella Keblusek, Initiatives of
Change Canada 613-230-7197, [email protected]
Presentation and Discussion: ―An African Answer‖ ―An African Answer‖ featuring
Imam Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye, former militia leaders turned
peacemakers from Kaduna, Nigeria, whose amazing story of reconciliation is told in
the film ―The Imam & the Pastor‖, will visit Ottawa from October 31 to November 2,
2011. With them will be Joseph Karanja from Kenya’s Rift Valley, where they
facilitated a mediation process documented in a second film ―An African Answer‖,
and Alan Channer, Director of the two films. The two leaders share trust-building
and reconciliation techniques they have used effectively in their country and
beyond. The presentation on November 1 will include 30 minutes of extracts from
these award-winning films plus footage not seen before. Suggested donation: $10$15.Presented by Initiatives of Change Canada, part of an international network
(www.iofc.org) of diverse peoples working to inspire individuals to experience
positive personal change, thus empowering communities to build a more equal and
trusting mosaic. [...]
Syria: Health crisis: Syrian government targets the wounded and health
workers
PUBLICATION: Amnesty International
DATE: 2011.10.25
INFORMATION: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE24/059/2011/en
The Syrian authorities have been blocking and manipulating access to health care
for people wounded during the unrest that has swept across the country since midMarch 2011, putting many lives at risk. They have routinely deemed those wounded
by firearms as opponents of the government and treated them as detainees and
held them incommunicado. The patterns of abuse recorded in this report show how
the authorities are preventing health care professionals from treating those
wounded freely and without fear. Such actions flagrantly violate Syria's obligations
under international human rights law. […]
NEWSCLIPS – COUPURES DE PRESSE
Sudan / Soudan
Sudan Dispatch: Government Forces Target Civilians in Blue Nile, Refugees
Say
PUBLICATION: Enough
DATE: 2011.11.01
INFORMATION: http://www.enoughproject.org/
―I saw bodies all the way from Damazine to Ethiopia,‖ said Kasmero, who was in
the Blue Nile state capital of Damazine when fighting broke out in early September.
―When you run, you don’t go through the main roads,‖ he explained. ―You run
through the villages, along trails through the tall grass.‖ Along the way, he would
see bodies, ―Three here, four there.‖
In particular, Kasmero recalled running through the town of Um Darfa. As he ran
through, he said helicopter gunships and Antonovs had already attacked, and
militias affiliated with the Sudanese government had begun to indiscriminately kill
civilians in the town. ―There is no discrimination, the common theme is you are
black,‖ he said. […]
Sudan forces accused of killings, rape
PUBLICATION: AFP
DATE: 2011.10.25
INFORMATION:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5grXTfGF54y
DfIJdlbqOpiTG8WPuQ?docId=CNG.9f8ab213788f933b28e4a5419c9f6d30.231
Sudanese government forces and militias are "killing and raping civilians in Blue
Nile state" as they flee violence and bombing, a human rights watchdog said on
Tuesday.
The Enough Project, a group backed by Hollywood star George Clooney, repeated
calls for further investigation into alleged atrocities and for humanitarian access to
the southern state where conflict has raged since September.
While many flee across the border for fear of Antonov bombers, "some Blue Nile
residents also reported that government forces were targeting, killing, and raping
civilians," it said in a statement.
The report came after members of the group visited the Sherkole refugee camp in
Ethiopia, which almost 29,000 people have fled to, and the town of Kurmuk which
straddles the border with Sudan. […]
South Sudan rebel group attacks town in oil-rich state
PUBLICATION: BBC
DATE: 2011.10.29
INFORMATION: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15507138
Among the dead, nine were soldiers, 15 were civilians and at least 50 were rebels,
an army spokesman told the BBC. South Sudan became independent in July after a
peace deal with Khartoum that ended decades of civil war. Afterwards, some of the
region's rebel movements struck deals with the government but several remain
defiant. 'Corruption'
Both sides produced widely differing accounts of the number of casualties after the
attack in Unity State, which happened in the early hours of the morning.[…]
Democratic Republic of Congo / République démocratique du Congo
RDC: Quand la guerre devient nomade
PUBLICATION: Slate Afrique
DATE: 2011.11.01
INFORMATION: http://www.slateafrique.com/43539/la-guerre-devient-nomade-rdc
A l’heure où les manifestations du parti d’Etienne Tshisekedi sont réprimées à
Kinshasa et que Jean-Pierre Bemba est empêché de se présenter aux élections par
son inculpation à La Haye, il est bien temps de réfléchir aux causes et aux
mécanismes de la violence guerrière qui a ensanglanté pendant trop longtemps les
Grands Lacs, région d'Afrique de l'Est.
En réfléchissant autour d’un modèle conflictuel développé à l’origine en Afrique de
l’Ouest, on pourra voir qu’il n y a pas que la violence de l’autocratie nationale ou la
répression symbolique du système de pouvoirs occidentaux: la «guerre nomade» a
bien une certaine autonomie et les mêmes causes peuvent reproduire les mêmes
effets —justement parce le système électif, perverti, et la politique internationale,
plus soumise à la force qu’au droit, ne permettent pas d’autre exutoire. […]
RDC: le spectre de nouvelles "violences électorales"
PUBLICATION: L’Express
DATE: 2011.10.28
INFORMATION:http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/monde/afrique/rdc-le-spectre-denouvelles-violences-electorales_1045670.html
A l'occasion du lancement de la campagne électorale en République démocratique
du Congo, ce vendredi, un collectif d'ONG appelle au renforcement de la sécurité.
La République démocratique du Congo doit élire son président et ses députés, dans
un mois, le 28 novembre prochain. La campagne débute ce vendredi sur fond
d'inquiétude alors que les violences qui ont ponctué la période pré-électorale en
font craindre d'autres d'ici au scrutin. Et l'incertitude plane toujours sur la tenue
des élections à la date prévue.
Le pays ne semble pas prêt, estiment 41 ONG qui émettent "de sérieux doutes
quant à la possibilité de tenir des élections crédibles, transparentes et
démocratiques dans les délais officiels". Leur collectif publie un communiqué de
presse alarmant ce vendredi, à l'occasion du lancement de la campagne électorale.
De nombreux motifs d'inquiétude. […]
RD Congo : qu’attendre des élections du 28 novembre ?
PUBLICATION: Le Monde
DATE: 2011.10.31
INFORMATION:http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2011/10/31/rd-congo-quattendre-des-elections-du-28-novembre_1596268_3232.html
Répondant aux doutes nombreux exprimés par les partis politiques et les
chancelleries étrangères, la Commission électorale nationale indépendante (CENI)
vient de confirmer que la campagne électorale sera ouverte à compter du 28
octobre et que les élections générales se tiendront le 28 novembre. Le doute était
permis tant les difficultés d'organisation sont considérables dans cet immense – 5
fois la superficie de la France – avec de nombreux territoires enclavés faute
d'infrastructures routières. La logistique représente le premier défi des élections.
Sans les moyens considérables mis en place par la Mission des Nations Unies de
maintien de la paix (Monusco), forte d'un contingent de 20 000 casques bleus et
d'un parc d'aéronefs (plus de 50) qui en fait la troisième compagnie aérienne
d'Afrique, les élections ne pourraient pas se tenir. Cet appui est indispensable pour
aider à l'enregistrement des 32 millions d'électeurs, puis au transport du matériel
électoral dans les 62 000 bureaux de vote et enfin pour le contrôle du scrutin. Le
nombre très élevé des candidats aux législatives, arrêté à 18 000 et à 11 pour les
présidentielles, crée un autre défi pour l'impression et la distribution des bulletins
de vote. […]
Why We All Have A Role in Congo's Conflict
PUBLICATION: Enough
DATE: 2011.11.01
INFORMATION :http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/why-we-all-have-role-congosconflict
Imagine your 15-year-old daughter walking to the corner store to get a carton of
milk. She has walked along this street nearly every day growing up. But this
afternoon on the way home, a group of men pull her into the bushes. Each man
takes a turn raping her, the last one with the barrel of his AK-47. Left bleeding and
unable to walk, she takes shelter in the nearby forest. Why doesn’t she go home,
you ask? She can’t. The rape is considered her fault. She is now disowned by her
family. After surviving weeks on berries and sugar cane she is discovered by a man
who thought he smelled a rotting corpse. But the stench is the result of a rape so
brutal that the passageway between her vagina and anus broke down, becoming
one gaping wound. […]
Other Related News / Autres Nouvelles
Gadhafi son seeks flight to Hague war crimes court
PUBLICATION : Vancouver Sun
DATE: 2011.10.27
INFORMATION:
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Gadhafi+seeks+flight+Hague+crimes+court/
5617301/story.html
Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, fearing for his life if captured in Libya, has tried to arrange
for an aircraft to fly him out of his desert refuge and into the custody of the Hague
war crimes court, a Libyan official said on Thursday.
Details were sketchy and confirmation not available but a picture has built up since
his father's grisly killing while in the hands of vengeful rebel fighters a week ago
that suggests Moammar Gadhafi's 39-year-old heir-apparent has taken refuge
among Sahara nomads and is seeking a safe haven abroad.
Even if he can still draw on some of the vast fortune the Gadhafi clan built up
abroad during 42 years in control of North Africa's main oilfields, his indictment by
the International Criminal Court at The Hague over his efforts to crush the revolt
limits the options open to Saif al-Islam. […]
Libye : "Guerre humanitaire", ou sale, très sale ?
PUBLICATION: Agora Vox
DATE: 2011.10.28
INFORMATION:http://www.agoravox.fr/tribune-libre/article/libye-guerrehumanitaire-ou-sale-103130
Je regarde les infos, alternant les Chaînes Parlementaires et France24 pour
l'International.
Subitement, un reportage, un vrai, comme on les aime. Qui dit la vérité, tout
simplement. Mais n'ayons aucune illusion : France24 n'a pas arrêté de désinformer,
en présentant Kadhafi comme un dictateur, ou un tyran, sanguinaire, et les Libyens
(fidèles au Colonel, la majorité) comme des rebelles, des mercenaires, des
snippers.. Comme dans tous les Médias, les exactions sont celles des combattants
libyens, jamais celles de l'OTAN. Et quand France24 présente un fait, c'est pour
dissimuler l'essentiel : Par exemple, "les libérateurs vont de maison en maison"...
sans dire pourquoi : Tuer les habitants mâles (et pas seulement), violer les femmes
et piller les lieux. Un joli nettoyage, un authentique génocide ! Le pays le plus
prospère d'Afrique, grâce à Kadhafi (§ 1), est en ruines, et des massacres ont été
commis par l'OTAN et ses mercenaries. […]
Syrie. Le risque d’une révolte armée
PUBLICATION: l’Humanité
DATE: 2011.10.31
INFORMATION:http://www.humanite.fr/monde/syrie-le-risque-d%E2%80%99unerevolte-armee-482728
Une « Armée syrienne libre », basée en Turquie, revendique les attaques contre les
troupes fidèles au régime de Bachar Al Assad. Un scénario « à la libyenne » n’est
pas à exclure.
Tout peut arriver en Syrie. L’insurrection populaire tend désormais à se transformer
en conflit armé avec la multiplication des affrontements entre soldats, membres des
forces de sécurité et déserteurs, qui ont notamment fait, samedi, 47 morts en
vingt-quatre heures dans les rangs des forces du régime, selon l’Observatoire syrien
des droits de l’homme (OSDH). Les défections se sont multipliées ces dernières
semaines dans les rangs de l’armée, de nombreux déserteurs rejoignant l’« Armée
syrienne libre », une force d’opposition armée dont la création a été annoncée en
juillet par le colonel déserteur Riad Al Assad, soutenu par la Turquie, où il s’est
réfugié. […]
Why Obama Sent Troops to Africa
PUBLICATION : Enough
DATE: 2011.10.24
INFORMATION: http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/why-obama-sent-troops-africa
This month President Obama announced that he is sending 100 U.S. military
advisers to central Africa to assist regional forces in ending the reign of terror
orchestrated by the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA. In a letter to House Speaker
John Boehner, Mr. Obama noted that the LRA "continues to commit atrocities
across the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and
South Sudan that have a disproportionate impact on regional security." He
concluded, "I believe that deploying these U.S. armed forces furthers U.S. national
security interests and foreign policy."
There is also a human interest.
In improvised camps near Yambio in South Sudan, parents keep children close.
"When we go to sleep, we don't know if we will be alive in the morning," a young
mother revealed to one of us (Ms. Farrow) this year. Everyone there has a story of
murder, torture, mutilation, or abduction. […]
War crimes in Australia's too-hard basket?
PUBLICATION : The Drum
DATE: 2011.10.27
INFORMATION: http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3604294.html
The charges filed in the Melbourne Magistrates Court against Sri Lankan president
Mahinda Rajapaksa claiming civilians were bombed in breach of the laws of war in
2009 during Sri Lanka's civil war raise a number of important questions. While it is
clear that the Attorney-General would not authorise the commencement of war
crimes charges as sought, the issues raised and the nature of the response speak
volumes about where Australia is placed politically in relation to the investigation
and prosecution of war crimes in this country.
The Sri Lankan authorities, and Australia's Attorney-General, were quick to
announce that international law would never support the issuing of proceedings
against a head of state, as this would violate the principle of sovereign immunity.
[…]
As Yemen crisis grows, south separatists see opportunity
PUBLICATION: Reuters
DATE: 2011.10.26
INFORMATION:http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/26/us-yemensecessionists-idUSTRE79P4FX20111026
Under a blazing sun, Yemeni men sling rifles across their backs and drag burning
tires to block streets plastered with graffiti: "Death to unity ... the southern
revolution is coming."
With security visibly weakened in the nine months since mass protests erupted
against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year rule, many in the southern seaport of
Aden openly question the benefit of maintaining unity with the north.
"In Aden, we weren't used to seeing such sights. Gunmen? Burning tires? We were
a civilized society," said a 28-year-old hotel worker who identified himself only as
Feras.
"The northerners are bringing all their problems to us, and the south is suffering ...
It's time for some change. Maybe secession really is the best option." […]
Yemeni Airport Closed After Explosions; Syrian Clashes Kill 61
PUBLICATION: Bloomberg Business Week
DATE: 2011.10.31
INFORMATION:http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-31/yemeni-airportclosed-after-explosions-syrian-clashes-kill-61.html
Yemen’s international airport in the capital Sana’a was closed after explosions at
the nearby al- Dailami air force base yesterday, the independent online publication
al-Masdar reported.
Flights, including one from Beirut that was preparing to land at the time of the
blast, were redirected to the coastal city of Aden, about 300 kilometers (190 miles)
to the south, al- Masdar said, citing unidentified aviation officials. Two military
aircraft could be seen on fire, Al Jazeera television reported.
In Syria, clashes over the weekend in Syria killed 31 civilians and 30 soldiers, Al
Jazeera reported. Any move by the West to interfere in Syria would create ―another
Afghanistan‖ Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview with the U.K.’s
Sunday Telegraph newspaper as Arab League foreign ministers called for an end to
violence in the country. […]
Occidental Petroleum Bankrolled War Crimes, Union Families Say
PUBLICATION : Courthouse News
DATE: 2011.11.01
INFORMATION: http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/11/01/41089.htm
Occidental Petroleum Corp. gave millions of dollars to the Colombian army unit that
carried out the cold-blooded murder of three union activists, while the Colombian
government gave "perverse incentives" to its soldiers for killing "guerrillas," which
"led to soldiers killing innocent civilians and then falsely reporting them as guerrilla
combat deaths to gain rewards," the dead unionists' families say in Federal Court.
In a federal complaint, 18 plaintiffs say that Los Angeles-based Occidental hired the
Colombian National Army (CNA) to secure its Cano Limon oilfield - a joint venture
with Colombia's state oil company, Ecopetrol - through a 2004 security agreement,
as civil war raged between armed leftist groups on one side, including the FARC and
ELN, and the Colombian army and right-wing death squads on the other. […]
Génocide Arménien - La Cour européenne des Droits de l’Homme donne
raison à Taner Akçam
PUBLICATION : Nouvelle d’Armenie
DATE: 2011.10.26
INFORMATION: http://www.armenews.com/article.php3?id_article=74042
La Cour européenne des Droits de l’Homme a jugé mardi à l’unanimité que la
reconnaissance du génocide arménien ne peut pas être criminalisée en Turquie. Le
verdict découle d’une affaire portée devant le tribunal par le célèbre érudit Taner
Akçam.
Dans le cas Taner Akçam, la Cour a statué que les poursuites pénales de la Turquie
sur la question du génocide arménien constitue une violation de l’article 10 (liberté
d’expression) de la Convention européenne des Droits de l’Homme.
Ci-joint la décision : La législation turque expose un professeur d’histoire à la
crainte constante d’être poursuivi pour ses opinions sur les événements de 1915
concernant la population arménienne
Dans son arrêt de chambre, non définitif(1), rendu ce jour dans l’affaire Altuğ Taner
Akçam c. Turquie (requête no 27520/07) la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme
dit, à l’unanimité, qu’il y a eu : Violation de l’article 10 (liberté d’expression) de la
Convention européenne des droits de l’homme. […]
Sikhs Plan March on Canadian Parliament to Push for A Genocide Motion
PUBLICATION : Market Wire
DATE: 2011.10.28
INFORMATION:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sikhs-plan-march-on-canadianparliament-to-push-for-a-genocide-motion-2011-10-28-9220
Sharing their stories of the violence and persecution inflicted upon them as a
people, hundreds of Canadian Sikhs will voice their demands for justice outside
Canada's Parliament on Tuesday, November 1st to mark the anniversary of the
November 1984 genocide of Sikhs in India.
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) a human rights advocacy group is spearheading the justice
campaign for the victims of November 1984, pleading with Members of Parliament
to take up their cause. The goal is to introduce a motion in Parliament to debate
whether organized killing of Sikhs in India during November 1984 was "Genocide"
as defined in Article 2 of the UN Convention on Genocide.
"The Sikh communities in Canada, the U.K., the U.S. and around the world fled
India because there was a systematic campaign of killing and persecution organized
against them," explains Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a legal advisor to SFJ. "People
attending the rally next Tuesday saw their fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters
killed in the streets or rounded up never to be seen again. The emotional impact
extends to the children too, the next generation who refuses to let this genocide be
forgotten. […]
L'ONU souhaite un plus grand rôle des femmes dans la prévention des
conflits
PUBLICATION: News Press
DATE: 2011.10.31
INFORMATION:http://www.newspress.fr/Communique_FR_247305_780.aspx
A l'occasion d'un débat sur les femmes, la paix et la sécurité au Conseil de sécurité,
le Secrétaire général de l'ONU, Ban Ki-moon, et la Directrice exécutive de l'ONUFemmes, Michelle Bachelet, ont appelé les Etats Membres et la société civile à
augmenter la présence et le rôle des femmes dans la prévention et la résolution des
conflits afin de favoriser la paix, la stabilité et la démocratie.
« Le Conseil de sécurité a souligné à plusieurs reprises que l'implication des
femmes dans la prévention et la médiation des conflits est essentielle pour la
consolidation de la paix et le renforcement des fondations de la démocratie », a
déclaré Ban Ki-moon dans un discours prononcé devant le Conseil de sécurité.
« Ceci a été reconnu cette année par la remise du Prix Nobel de la paix à trois
extraordinaires femmes pacificatrices : la Présidente du Libéria Ellen Jonhson
Sirleaf, Leyman Gbowee du Libéria, et Tawakkul Karman du Yémen. Ces exemples
doivent nous inspirer afin d'intensifier nos efforts pour la participation entière des
femmes dans la prévention et la résolution des conflits », a-t-il ajouté. […]