Just Foreign Policy News
April 13, 2011
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I) Actions and Featured Articles
*Action: Urge Congress to Block Escalation of the Libya War
Despite President Obama’s promise not to put U.S. ground troops in Libya, General Ham, the former U.S. commander of the military mission, said last week that U.S. ground troops in Libya are a possibility. Rep. Conyers has proposed an amendment prohibit U.S. ground forces from being introduced into Libya. Urge your Representative to support this prohibition.
https://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/nogroundtroops
Norman Solomon Announces for Congress
Solomon has been a leader of the Healthcare Not Warfare campaign.
http://www.normansolomonnow.com/index.php/page/norman_solomon_launches_run_for_congress_in_the_north_bay
Rethink Afghanistan: War Tax Calculator
How much are you paying for the war?
http://rethinkafghanistan.com/iou
Democracy Now: Journalists, Activists Targeted as Honduran Repression Grows
DN talks with Gerardo Torres, independent journalist and member of the National Front of Popular Resistance in Honduras.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/4/13/journalists_activists_targeted_as_honduran_repression
Congressional Progressive Caucus: The People’s Budget
Ends the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=70§iontree=5,70
"Friends of the White Intifada" on Facebook
Are you on Facebook? Are you following nonviolent resistance against the Israeli occupation? Use this page to share information with others.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-the-White-Intifada-no-violence/199836420048690
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II) Summary:
U.S./Top News
1) The Obama Administration’s regime change policy in Libya is obstructing a peaceful resolution of the conflict, writes Rep. Dennis Kucinich on the Huffington Post. The administration asserted that it had not even read the African Union’s plan to bring about a peaceful agreement.
2) Bahrain’s main opposition party said Wednesday that another one of its supporters, the fourth to date, had died in police custody, AP reports. The party said Haji Karim Fakhrawi died in "mysterious circumstances," while his relatives pointed to a body covered in bruises saying he had died of torture. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. was deeply concerned about the deaths of individuals while in custody in Bahrain.
3) Human Rights Watch said Bahraini authorities should immediately drop politically-motivated charges against Mansoor al-Jamri, allow him to return as chief editor of Al Wasat, and cease their campaign to silence independent journalism. "Bahrain’s rulers are showing they have no shame by muzzling the one media outlet that was widely regarded as the country’s only independent news source," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
4) Reporters Without Borders called for the immediate reinstatement of three Haitian journalists who were apparently fired from the state TV station for their political views. Two of the journalists have accused the station’s management of orchestrating a propaganda campaign in favor of President-elect Martelly in its coverage of the run-up to the second round of the presidential election.
5) The Pentagon said U.S. fighter jets have continued to attack Libyan air defenses even after NATO took over command of Libya operations earlier this month, Reuters reports. The U.S. military says the attacks are defensive by nature and are not considered "strikes."
6) Rep. Kucinich says that since he requested to visit Bradley Manning on February 4, the Department of Defense has consistently sought to frustrate attempts to communicate with Manning regarding his well-being. Kucinich charged that the obstruction not only violated Manning’s rights, but Kucinich’s rights and responsibilities as a Member of Congress to conduct oversight.
Egypt
7) The administration is weighing a request from the new government in Egypt to forgive a debt of $3.3 billion, and another appeal from Tunisia to forgive a far smaller debt, about $7 million, the Los Angeles Times reports. Rep. Gary L. Ackerman (D-N.Y.) argued that forgiving Egypt’s debt would encourage European nations, which are owed about $9 billion, to follow suit. But some officials said it would be difficult amidst the current budget wars. Administration officials also have considered redirecting some of the $1.3 billion that Egypt receives annually in U.S. military aid to economic aid. But some lawmakers fear that would mean cutting sales of U.S. military hardware.
Israel/Palestine
8) The UN praised Palestinian Authority efforts at strengthening its institutions in a report on Tuesday, describing aspects of its administration as sufficient for an independent state, the New York Times reports. A meeting of the so-called quartet of Middle East peacemakers – the US, the EU, the UN and Russia – that was scheduled for Friday has been canceled amid disagreements over how to proceed, the Times says. [The article explicitly doesn’t say what the disagreement was, but earlier reports said this meeting was supposed to take a position on the Palestinian push for diplomatic recognition at the UN, something the US has opposed and the Europeans seem inclined to support – JFP.]
Honduras
9) Human rights advocates say the Honduran government is complicit in increased killings of journalists, lawyers, women, and gays, lesbians or transgender people because of its failure to investigate or prosecute, McClatchy reports. Homicides roiling the gay, lesbian and transgender community have earned Honduras comparisons to Uganda.
Colombia/Venezuela
10) In a letter to the Washington Post, Colombian Ambassador to the US Gabriel Silva responds to a Jackson Diehl column accusing Colombia of a "dirty deal" to extradite a criminal suspect to Venezuela rather than the US. The Ambassador explains that Colombia was just following Colombian law, which requires Colombia to honor the extradition request associated with the more serious charge (murder, in this case, as opposed to drug trafficking.)
Contents:
U.S./Top News
1) Obama Administration Policy of Regime Change Has Become an Obstacle to Peace in Libya
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Huffington Post, 04/12/11
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-dennis-kucinich/obama-administration-poli_b_847949.html
With the support of the U.S. and the U.S.-backed NATO the "rebels" have rejected an African Union peace plan which included a ceasefire, an end to U.S./NATO air strikes, humanitarian aid, and political reforms.
It’s easy for the rebels to reject a peace proposal: The U.S. is spending more money on this war than any other nation. The cost of the war has reportedly passed $600 million and there is no end in sight.
The mysterious "rebels," who by themselves have been unable to force Gaddafi to terms, want the U.S./NATO to hand over control of Libya to them — this even though they have not been able to demonstrate broad-based public support throughout the country. It is understandable the rebels would demand regime change. That’s the Obama administration position.
In the past week the administration has rejected a communication from Gaddafi which sought to end the war and to bring about a peaceful agreement. The administration yesterday asserted that it had not read the African Union’s plan to bring about a peaceful agreement; nevertheless, Secretary Clinton continued to call for regime change. If regime change is the price of peace there will be no peace in Libya, and consequently, millions of innocent civilians will be caught up in the middle of an intensifying civil war.
Humanitarian intervention has quickly given way to covert operations, regime change, and unending civil war. The U.S./NATO have taken sides in a manner that puts politics ahead of protecting civilians and undermines the argument that the United States and NATO attacked Libya to avert a humanitarian disaster. It is beginning to appear that the potential for a massacre was not a justification for action, it was pretext.
We’re now prolonging a civil war. We are putting civilians at risk: Regime change, providing extraordinary air combat assistance, rejecting peace plans, assisting in rebels gaining control over oil resources, continuing covert operations, consideration of arming the rebels, all adds up to more innocent people getting killed.
If we in fact diverted one humanitarian crisis, we are about to start another. Inevitably, Libyans must resolve their own internal affairs without outside intervention. When the people of the United States truly understand the cost of these interventions, this administration may have more to be concerned about than regime change in Libya.
2) Bahrain’s Shiite opposition says a fourth supporter has died in police custody
Associated Press, Wednesday, April 13, 12:56 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/bahrains-shiite-opposition-says-a-fourth-supporter-has-died-in-police-custody/2011/04/13/AF5wxpWD_story.html
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Bahrain’s Shiite opposition party said Wednesday that another one of its supporters, the fourth to date, had died in police custody.
Al Wefaq, Bahrain’s main opposition party in the Sunni-ruled Gulf country, said Haji Karim Fakhrawi died in "mysterious circumstances," while his relatives pointed to a body covered in bruises saying he had died of torture.
Bahrain’s official news agency cited the medical examiner from the army hospital saying Fakhrawi died of kidney failure.
At least 30 people have been killed since anti-government protests by Bahrain’s Shiite majority began in February. Hundreds have been detained in the crackdown on the rebellion.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. was aware of Fakhrawi’s death and was deeply concerned about the deaths of individuals while in custody in Bahrain.
"We strongly urge the government of Bahrain to ensure the security of all arrestees," Toner told reporters in Washington.
He said Bahrain’s government must guarantee transparent judicial proceedings in line with Bahraini and international standards. It should also conduct complete and transparent investigations into all the deaths, he said.
[…]
3) Bahrain: Drop Charges Against Editor of Independent Daily
Following Crackdown, Al Wasat No Longer Presenting Critical Reports
Human Rights Watch, April 11, 2011
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/11/bahrain-drop-charges-against-editor-independent-daily
Manama – Bahraini authorities should immediately drop politically-motivated charges against Mansoor al-Jamri, allow him to return as chief editor of Al Wasat, and cease their campaign to silence independent journalism, Human Rights Watch said today. Al-Jamri’s resignation under duress and his subsequent indictment on charges of knowingly publishing news has left Bahrain without a single independent mass media outlet to report about the fierce repression that has killed more than two dozen people, wounded hundreds, and created a state of fear, Human Rights Watch said.
On April 11, 2011, the state-run Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported that the Public Prosecutor will charge al-Jamri and two other editors "with publishing fabricated news and made up stories … that may harm public safety and national interests." Bahrain’s Information Affairs Authority had previously suspended Al Wasat on April 2, 2011, following a program on state-controlled Bahrain television claiming that the paper had published "false news" and photos in its March 26 and March 29 editions and would not be allowed to publish on April 3. The Information Affairs Authority allowed Al Wasat to resume publishing on April 4, but only after al-Jamri, the founder and editor in chief, resigned, along with the managing editor and local news editor.
"Mistaken information is no justification for shutting down a newspaper and prosecuting its editor," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Bahrain’s rulers are showing they have no shame by muzzling the one media outlet that was widely regarded as the country’s only independent news source."
Human Rights Watch has monitored Al Wasat’s contents since the editors’ departure. It found that paper has largely ceased publishing news and analysis differing from that of the rest of Bahrain’s mass media, which are effectively controlled by the state or government supporters. Coverage of subjects such as arbitrary arrests and deaths in custody, and other sensitive information, has been considerably reduced.
Al-Jamri and his colleagues told Human Rights Watch they examined the alleged false news and photos, and that the six items had been sent as emails from different addresses, but from a single external internet protocol (IP) source, based in a neighboring country. All of the false news items and photos dealt with alleged incidents, such as raids on homes by riot police, that have been frequent and routine in Bahrain since March 15. The emails appeared to have been sent also to other Bahraini newspapers, making them appear more authentic, but with small mistakes in the addresses so that in fact Al Wasat was the only recipient.
The authorities announced on April 3 that they would initiate legal proceedings against Al Wasat "following compelling evidence of press law violations including forgery and falsification." On April 11, authorities summoned al-Jamri, managing editor Walid Nouwaihidh, and the head of the local news department Aqeel Mirza to the Public Prosecutor’s office, where they were questioned for more than two hours. The announcement that the three would be charged followed immediately.
[…] "In normal circumstances, even in Bahrain, authorities would inquire about the source of a news item and if it couldn’t be verified the newspaper would publish a correction or retraction," Stork said, "The rush to force Mansoor al-Jamri out of the paper he founded was clearly aimed at silencing all critics, not at correcting misinformation."
After Bahrain television aired its program, al-Jamri publicly acknowledged that the reports identified by authorities were false and misleading, but he rejected accusations that he and his staff knowingly published false information. He told Human Rights Watch that on April 3 Al Wasat had opened an internal investigation into the source of the false information, and found that all of it originated from one internet protocol source in a neighboring country.
Al-Jamri also told Human Rights Watch that the fabricated information was released at a time when the newspaper was operating with reduced staff following attacks on its employees and offices, and that the articles had not been properly vetted to verify their authenticity. Unknown assailants attacked Al Wasat’s printing press at about 1 a.m. on March 15, reducing printing capacity. The unstable security situation had also affected operations at Al Wasat’s main office, forcing employees to shut down evening operations to prepare the next day’s paper, and instead work from their homes.
"Under normal circumstances, Al Wasat would have some 30 desk editors, reporters, photographers, page-makers, proof-readers, and other supporting staff available to check and process incoming news," al-Jamri told Human Rights Watch. "However, under the emergency situation, staff had to stay away and process the work from their homes."
Al-Jamri also told Human Rights Watch that, since the declaration of martial law on March 15, Al Wasat had been in close contact with authorities, including the Interior Ministry, regarding the content of material it planned to publish.
Human Rights Watch said that Bahrain’s efforts to end Al Wasat’s critical reporting violated the country’s international human rights obligations. Article 19 of the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, to which Bahrain acceded in 2006, protects the right to freedom of expression, including "freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice." Any restrictions on this right must be provided by law and necessary to "respect the rights or reputations of others" or "for the protection of national security or of public order or public health and morals."
"The actions to tame Al Wasat are symptomatic of a full-scale clampdown against any form of dissent in Bahrain," Stork said. "Since mid-March, the government has methodically targeted and attempted to silence critics of every stripe inside the country. Now they have managed to eliminate Bahrain’s only independent mass media outlet."
4) State TV chief fires three journalists, brings criminal defamation suit against them
Journalists persecuted
Reporters Without Borders, 12 April 2011
http://en.rsf.org/haiti-state-tv-chief-fires-three-12-04-2011,40011.html
Reporters Without Borders condemns the criminal defamation action that Pradel Henriquez, the director-general of state-owned Télévision Nationale d’Haïti (TNH), filed in Port-au-Prince on 8 April against three TNH journalists – Eddy Jackson Alexis, Josias Pierre and Jacques Innocent – who say they were fired for being critical of President-Elect Michel Martelly. Alexis was TNH’s news editor.
Henriquez, who also heads state-owned Radio Nationale, accuses the three journalists of waging a smear campaign against him. He fired them on 5 April – shortly after a courtesy visit to TNH by the president-elect – on the grounds of "grave insubordination" and their alleged inability to prevent their political affiliations from affecting their professional duties
"We call for their immediate reinstatement as they appear to have fired because of their political views," Reporters Without Borders said. "At no time did their opinions affect the quality of their work or cloud their objectivity. This seems to be a case of political persecution and, as such, is a very bad start for Michel Martelly, who was proclaimed president-elect a week ago."
The press freedom organization added: "We appeal to the future president to take a clear position and we hope that media freedom and editorial independence will be respected during his five-year term of office."
Alexis and Pierre have accused the TNH management of orchestrating a propaganda campaign in favour of Martelly during the run-up to the second round of the presidential election, at the expense of his rival, Mirlande Manigat.
They claim that on Henriquez’s orders, there was massive imbalance in the air-time that TNH assigned to the candidates, with Martelly getting 45 minutes for every 10 minutes given to Manigat. They also accuse Henriquez of authorizing full coverage of a four-hour concert-cum-meeting that Martelly, a Haitian pop music singer, gave during the campaign. His rival was offered nothing in return.
[…]
5) U.S. Continues to Conduct Air Strikes in Libya
Reuters, April 13, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2011/04/13/world/africa/news-us-libya-usa-strikes.html
Washington – U.S. fighter jets have continued to attack Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s air defenses even after NATO took over command of Libya operations earlier this month, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
The disclosure came as Libyan rebels are struggling to gain ground from Gaddafi’s forces and NATO allies squabble publicly over stepping up air strikes to help topple him.
It also followed Pentagon assurances that the United States had halted regular strike sorties after its April 4 handover of full command of international operations to NATO and would conduct attacks only if asked by the Brussels-based military alliance.
Pentagon officials said the ongoing attacks on Libyan air defenses did not mean the United States had reconsidered its decision to take a limited support role in the Libya conflict. "It is completely consistent with how we have described our support role ever since the transition to NATO lead," Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters.
But the strikes raise fresh questions about the future of the U.S. role in Libya as Gaddafi hangs on and Britain and France call for more allied participation in the air campaign against Gaddafi’s heavy weapons and on arming the rebels.
The U.S. military says the attacks — known as Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, or SEADs — are defensive by nature and are not considered "strikes."
Eleven U.S. aircraft have flown 97 sorties in Libya since April 4 and fired on air defense targets three times, the Pentagon said. The aircraft involved are six F-16 fighter jets and five EA-18 Growler electronic warfare planes.
All of the aircraft had been placed under NATO command.
"These are defensive missions that are simply to protect the aircraft flying the no-fly zone," a U.S. military official said on condition of anonymity.
The operations underscore concern about Gaddafi’s mobile air defenses after an initial U.S.-led air campaign degraded his fixed anti-aircraft positions.
Grappling with conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama administration has been seeking to limit the U.S. role in Libya, where poorly organized rebels so far have failed to topple Gaddafi from power.
[…]
6) Kucinich Describes "Kafkaesque" Experience with DoD Over Manning
Congressman Dennis Kucinich, April 13, 2011
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/04/13-11
Washington – April 13 – Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who has requested to meet with Private First Class (Pfc.) Bradley Manning to witness the conditions of his confinement, today made the following statement after news that the United Nations (U.N.) Special Rapporteur on Torture was denied an unmonitored meeting with Manning.
"Since my initial request to visit Private First Class (Pfc.) Bradley Manning on February 4, 2011, the Department of Defense (DoD) has consistently sought to frustrate any attempts to communicate with Pfc. Manning regarding his well-being.
"I or my staff have been shuffled between the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Office of Secretary Gates. I was initially told that I would need Pfc. Manning’s approval in order to meet with him. When Pfc. Manning indicated his desire to meet with me, I was belatedly informed that the meeting could only take place if it was recorded because of a Monitoring Order imposed by the military’s Special Courts-Martial Convening Authority on September 16, 2010, which was convened for the case. Confidentiality is required, however, to achieve the candor that is necessary to perform the oversight functions with which I am tasked as a Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. I was also told that I could be subpoenaed to testify about the contents of my conversation with Pfc. Manning.
"This is a clear subversion of the constitutionally protected oversight process and it severely undermines the rights of any Member of Congress seeking to gather information on the conditions of a detainee in U.S. custody.
"Though he has been held in custody since July 29, 2010, Pfc. Manning has not been convicted of any crime. His lawyer reports that he continues to be held in isolation 23 hours a day. He was also forced to strip naked at night and to stand at attention during roll call in front of other prisoners. The conditions of his treatment may violate his right to be protected from ‘cruel and unusual punishment,’ and punishment without trial as enshrined in the 8th and 5th Amendments of the Constitution.
"We now hear that the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan E. Mendez, was denied a private meeting with Pfc. Manning in order to determine whether the conditions of Manning’s confinement amount to torture. The very existence of a U.N. Special Rapporteur on torture investigation speaks volumes about the conditions of his treatment.
"The continued delays I have experienced amount to a subversion of Pfc. Manning’s legal rights as well as my own rights and obligations as a Member of Congress to conduct oversight. The whole world is now watching.
"What is going on with Secretary Gates and the Department of Defense with respect to Pfc. Manning’s treatment is more consistent with Kafka than the U.S. Constitution," said Kucinich. "I will not cease in my efforts to determine whether or not the conditions under which he has been held constitute torture."
Egypt
7) Debt worries stymieing U.S. financial aid to help Arab nations in transition
U.S. lawmakers not only have shut the door on new spending to stabilize countries rocked by the so-called Arab Spring. They have resisted proposals to shift money from other foreign aid programs.
Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times, 5:14 PM PDT, April 12, 2011
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-fg-mideast-aid-20110413,0,6197175.story
Washington – The Obama administration’s efforts to use foreign aid to help Middle East and North African nations undergoing democratic transitions have been stopped short by a Congress focused on paring federal debt and other spending priorities.
The administration is weighing a request from the new government in Egypt to forgive a debt of $3.3 billion, and another appeal from the fledgling administration in Tunisia to forgive a far smaller debt, about $7 million. But the budget battles raging in Washington have made debt relief unlikely, officials said.
U.S. lawmakers not only have shut the door on new spending to stabilize countries rocked by the so-called Arab Spring. They have resisted proposals to shift money from other foreign aid programs.
Administration officials say such aid offers a way to shape historic change sweeping the region. They fear steep economic declines could cripple nascent democracies in Cairo and Tunis, where popular uprisings toppled dictators this year, and could turn their populations toward Islamist groups that threaten U.S. strategic interests.
[…] Administration officials also have considered redirecting some of the $1.3 billion that Egypt receives annually in U.S. military aid. But some lawmakers fear that would mean cutting sales of U.S. military hardware. Many also worry that the move might require cuts in military assistance to Israel. Such aid to the two nations has been linked since the early 1980s.
Administration officials also are exploring whether they could cancel Egypt’s $3.3-billion debt. The debt is mostly from U.S. wheat sales to Egypt before President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February.
Some Egyptians argue that Cairo should not be required to pay debts accumulated under the former regime, noting that in 2004 the U.S. forgave Iraq $4 billion in debts accumulated under Saddam Hussein.
Rep. Gary L. Ackerman (D-N.Y.) argued that forgiving Egypt’s debt would encourage European nations, which are owed about $9 billion, to follow suit. "It’s big, it’s fast, it’s meaningful," he said in a congressional hearing last month.
But a senior Senate aide said debt relief "would be hard for Congress to swallow."
The American response has come as a jolt to the region.
When Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Cairo on March 15, she announced that the administration would provide $90 million in emergency economic assistance and would seek $60 million more from Congress for a special enterprise fund.
"When you’re talking about what a superpower can do, you expect big numbers," said Hisham Fahmy, chief executive of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt. He said Egyptians compared the offer to the far larger sums that the U.S. spends in Afghanistan, "and they were surprised."
[…]
Israel/Palestine
8) U.N. Praises Palestinians’ Progress Toward a State
Isabel Kershner, New York Times, April 12, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/world/middleeast/13mideast.html
Jerusalem – The United Nations praised Palestinian Authority efforts at strengthening its institutions in a report on Tuesday, describing aspects of its administration as sufficient for an independent state.
The endorsement came at a crucial time for the Palestinian Authority, which has set a September deadline for the completion of its state-building program and is working toward international recognition of Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem that month.
September is also the target date set by Israel and the Palestinians to reach a negotiated agreement for a Palestinian state, but the latest round of peace talks has been stalled for six months.
A meeting of the so-called quartet of Middle East peacemakers – the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia – that was scheduled for Friday in Berlin has been canceled amid disagreements over how to proceed.
The United Nations report, published on the eve of a Palestinian donor meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, echoed similar assessments by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in reports issued last week.
In the six areas in which the United Nations is most engaged – governance, rule of law and human rights; livelihoods; education and culture; health; social protection; and infrastructure and water – it said that the authority’s functions were "now sufficient for a functioning government of state."
It warned, however, that the authority’s achievements were limited by the political and physical restrictions that the Israeli occupation has placed on further development. Some 60 percent of the West Bank’s territory remains under full Israeli control.
The report said that the Palestinian economy was helped by Israeli measures to facilitate movement and access, but that further steps were needed.
"I believe Israel needs to roll back measures of occupation to match the P.A.’s achievements," Robert H. Serry, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said in a statement. "I also stress the urgent need for Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations on a two-state solution to resume, if the state-building and political tracks are to come together by September."
The report noted an easing of restrictions on goods entering Gaza from Israel, but said an increase in construction materials was important to helping socioeconomic conditions in the coastal enclave, which is controlled by the authority’s rival, Hamas.
[…]
Honduras
9) Report: Honduran police ignore rise in attacks on journalists, gays
Tim Johnson, McClatchy Newspapers, Tue, Apr. 12, 2011
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/12/v-fullstory/2163169/honduran-police-ignore-rise-in.html
In a nation with the highest murder rate in the Western Hemisphere, it’s perhaps not a surprise that someone armed with a 9mm pistol opened fire last month on Franklin Melendez, wounding the radio journalist in the thigh.
What astonishes is what happened next: Police refused to go to the crime scene. Later in the evening, the three officers on duty also didn’t budge when the alleged assailant waved his gun out of a moving vehicle and threatened to shoot another reporter for the radio station.
"He pointed the pistol at me and said, ‘You’re next, bitch. We’re going to kill you,’" recalled Ethels Posada, a 30-year-old part-time reporter.
Numerous witnesses saw the assailant shoot Melendez and threaten Posada, but the police wouldn’t act without a formal complaint. Once the complaint arrived, eight days later, they still refused to do anything, saying an arrest order was needed. The assailant has now fled the area.
"They didn’t lift a finger to help us," Posada said of the police.
That inaction underscores why gunmen in Honduras have gotten away with a string of attacks that have claimed the lives of at least 10 journalists, 60 lawyers, 155 women, and 59 gays, lesbians or transgender people since 2008.
Those cases remain unprosecuted, a trend that’s alarmed international human rights advocates. In its annual human rights report last week, the U.S. State Department noted the upswing in "hate crimes" against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Honduras, including two transvestite leaders, one of whom was executed by gunmen on a motorcycle.
The Obama administration has deployed FBI agents and prosecutors to Honduras to help investigate murders in several of the more prominent cases. In response, Honduran Security Minister Oscar Alvarez in March announced the creation of a special unit to look into the murders.
Yet no one is expecting much to happen.
The number of murders committed in Honduras has soared, from 4,473 in 2008 and 5,265 to 2009 to 6,236 last year, a 39 percent increase in two years. One is five times more likely to be murdered in Honduras (population 8 million) than in Mexico (population 112 million), making Honduras the deadliest country in the hemisphere.
Experts say killings have risen because of a surge in narcotics trafficking, general crime and the chaos after the June 2009 coup, which monopolized Honduras’ attention for months. Of the 10 journalists killed, most died in the year after the coup.
They also say the government bears some blame for the murders.
"This isn’t to say that the state commits the crimes, but by not investigating … it is complicit. It sends a message to the criminals, the paramilitaries and the hit men that they can do as they please," said Osman Lopez, who heads the Committee for Free Expression, a news media advocacy group.
Homicides roiling the gay, lesbian and transgender community have earned Honduras comparisons to Uganda, the African nation that recently debated a proposed law that would make homosexuality subject to the death penalty in some instances.
In late December, two assailants kidnapped and stabbed a 45-year-old transgender leader in Honduras, Oscar Martinez Salgado, known as Lady Oscar, tied him to a chair and set him on fire.
[…]
Colombia/Venezuela
10) Why an accused drug trafficker is being extradited to Venezuela
Ambassador Gabriel Silva, Letter to the Editor, Washington Post, April 11, 2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-an-accused-drug-trafficker-is-being-extradited-to-venezuela/2011/04/11/AFr7YvSD_story.html
[Silva is Colombia’s ambassador to the US.]
In his April 11 op-ed column "Colombia’s dirty deal," Jackson Diehl questioned the Colombian government’s decision to extradite alleged Venezuelan drug trafficker Walid Makled Garcia to Venezuela and not to the United States. Under Colombian law and as the Colombian Supreme Court recently reaffirmed, when there are competing extradition requests, the request from the state that includes the most serious crime shall prevail. Mr. Makled is wanted for drug trafficking in the United States but faces the more serious charge of murder in Venezuela. Since his arrest in August 2010, Colombian authorities have facilitated several meetings of U.S. officials with him.
Since President Juan Manuel Santos took office eight months ago, he has authorized 103 extraditions and continued Colombia’s firm commitment in the fight against organized crime. As the State Department recently said, "Colombia has made important advances in combating the production, exportation, and consumption of illicit drugs. These efforts have kept several hundred metric tons of drugs each year from reaching the United States."
–
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