ICTR appeals chamber sends another genocide suspect to Rwanda

 (News of Rwanda) by gahiji

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) prosecution has contended that the case of Rwandan genocide suspect, Bernard Munyagishari should go ahead and be transferred to Rwanda for trial as earlier on decided

On 6 June 2012 the Referral Chamber Designated (“Referral Chamber”) referred Munyagishari’s case to the authorities of the Republic of Rwanda for trial before the High Court of Rwanda.
However, the transfer came to a deadlock when both Munyagishari and the Prosecution filed their notices of appeal against the Impugned Decision on 19 and 20 June 2012, respectively.

During the May, 2013 appeal hearings granted by the referral chambers, Bernard the suspect (Munyagishari) stated that his transfer case was being center played by the Rwandan local media and other reputed media houses to have the case tried in Rwanda.

He submits that the media reports provide new and relevant information concerning Rwanda’s readiness to comply with the requirements set out by the Tribunal in referring cases to Rwanda and to enable the Tribunal Monitors to perform their duties.

He contends that the Media Reports were not available in the proceedings before the Referral Chamber and support His appeal against the Impugned Decision. Munyagishari argues that the contents of the Media Reports are corroborative and for this reason, he submits that the Media Reports should be found credible.

Munyagishari also submits that the Media Reports Show that Rwanda “seemingly Intends to Stop cooperating” with the Tribunal Monitors. According to Munyagishari, this “is significant and relevant to the instant case because the [Tribunal Monitors] cannot perform their duties without Rwanda’s cooperation”.”

He further contends that since the establishment of a monitoring mechanism was the ‘sine qua non’ of the referral of his case to Rwanda, had the Referral Chamber been aware of the media reports, they would have been a decisive factor in denying the motion for referral

The appeal chamber decided that since the media reports were not used as a decisive aspect in the proceeding in reaching the impugned decision, Munyagishari’s request to have them admitted as additional evidence is therefore denied.

In light of his claims that Rwanda would not provide necessary assistance during his trial in Rwanda, the prosecution argues that Rwanda is prepared to handle the case basing on fact that there is/ are written agreement(s) between the Rwanda Bar Association and a binding assurance from the Rwandan prosecution.

The referral chambers adds that if the accused is to be transferred, he should be given legal assistance without paying for it, the defense team include a lawyer with “familiarity  with video-link technology,  ensure that the prospective counsel has an international experience and the issue of any emerging witnesses outside Rwanda would be worked on outside the country.

Though prosecution agrees on some of the requests, The  Prosecution  submits  that  there  is  no  recognized  right  under  international  law  for  an indigent accused  to  be  appointed  only a  lawyer  who has  prior  international experience.

However, prosecution  advances one  ground  of  appeal  against  the  Impugned  Decision  challenging the  Referral Chamber’s  decision  to  subject  the  referral  of  Munyagishari’s  case  to  the  High Court  of  Rwanda  since there are some bidding documents which Rwanda has agreed upon to have the case transferred.

The Indictment on the accused alleges that Munyagishari was the Secretary General of the MRND for Gisenyi city and President of the Interahamwe for Gisenyi prefecture. These crimes were allegedly committed in Kayove sector, but apparently Munyagishari cannot face charges of genocide and be tried by the Kayove Gacaca courts due to lack of jurisdiction- of which the Kayove Gacaca courts have referred to a superior court in the country to proceed the charges.

On 9 June 2005, the Prosecution filed the original Indictment charging Bernard Munyagishari with conspiracy to commit Genocide, complicity in Genocide, murder and rape as Crimes against Humanity pursuant to Article 6(1) and 6(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal (“ICTR Statute”).

On 25 May 2011, the accused was arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) He was transferred to the United Nations Detention Facility in Arusha on 14 June

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UN Security Council Press Statement On Central African Republic

The following press statement was issued today by Security Council President Eugène-Richard Gasana ( Rwanda):

The members of the Security Council heard a briefing by Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, on the situation in the Central African Republic.

The members of the Security Council expressed strong concern at the worsening humanitarian and security situation, and the weakening of the Central African Republic institutions.

They called on competent authorities to restore peace and security in Bangui and outside of Bangui by deploying adequate forces.

They called on all parties to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access in the country. They called on "Seleka" leaders to ensure that all "Seleka" armed groups abstain from all violent action and be regrouped without delay into cantonment sites, according to the Libreville agreement.
The members of the Security Council expressed serious concerns at reports of human rights violations and abuses.

They emphasized that those responsible for violations and abuses of international humanitarian and human rights law, including those involving violence against civilians, torture, summary executions, sexual and gender-based violence and recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, must be held accountable. They called for a swift investigation of those cases in order to bring to justice all such perpetrators.

The members of the Security Council recalled their support for the efforts of the Economic Community of the Central African States (ECCAS) and the African Union to solve this crisis.
They expressed their support for the transition process and the results of the N'Djamena Summit, in the framework of the Libreville agreements of 11 January 2013.

They encouraged the continued strong involvement of the ECCAS and the African Union and called for the strengthening of MICOPAX [ Mission for the Consolidation of Peace in Central African Republic] with a view to restoring security and helping restructure Central African security forces, in accordance with the N'Djamena Declaration of 18 April.

The members of the Security Council, looking forward to the first meeting of the International Contact Group in Brazzaville on 3 May, called for the quick implementation of the N'Djamena Declaration and encouraged the Prime Minister to fully exert the executive powers vested in him by the Libreville agreement and the N'Djamena Declaration.

They called for the restoration of the rule of law and the reestablishment of constitutional order.
They further called for the swift designation of an inclusive government and the holding of elections within 18 months, recalling that according to the N'Djamena Declaration of 18 April, the transitional Head of State, the Prime Minister, members of the transitional government as well as some members of the National Transition Council will not run for election.

The members of the Security Council expressed concern over the recent pause of operations to counter the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the Central African Republic.

They urged all countries concerned to resume their efforts to address the threat posed by the LRA, as soon as possible.

The members of the Security Council supported and saluted the efforts of the United Nations, including through BINUCA [United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic] and its staff, in a very challenging environment, to address the crisis. They expressed their willingness to consider further options to stabilize the Central African Republic.

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Myanmar Muslims face uncertain future after attack

Khin Maung Win

Muslims people remove debris from a damaged mosque following fresh anti-Muslim violence broke out in Okkan, 64 kilometers (40 miles) north of Yangon, Myanmar, Wednesday, May 1, 2013. Hundreds of rampaging Buddhists armed with bricks on Tuesday, stormed a clutch of Muslim villages in the country's latest outbreak of anti-Muslim violence. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)

Posted: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 9:31 am 
Updated: 11:02 am, Wed May 1, 2013.

(Associated Press)

They slept terrified in the fields, watching their homes burn through the night. And when they returned on Wednesday, nothing was left but smoldering ash and debris.

One day after hundreds of Buddhists armed with bricks stormed a clutch of Muslim villages in the closest explosion of sectarian violence yet to Myanmar's main city, Yangon, newly displaced Muslims combed through the wasteland of their wrecked lives. Unable to go home, they faced an uncertain future _ too fearful of more attacks even to leave.

"We ran into the fields and didn't carry anything with us," Hla Myint, a 47-year-old father of eight, said after the mobs overran his village.

Tears welling in his eyes, he added, "Now, we have nothing left."

Thet Lwin, a deputy commissioner of police for the region, put the casualty toll from Tuesday's assaults at one dead and nine injured. He said police have detained 18 attackers who destroyed 157 homes and shops and at least two mosques in the town of Okkan, 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Yangon, and three outlying villages.

The unrest was the first reported since late March, when similar Buddhist-led violence swept the town of Meikthila, further north in central Myanmar, killing at least 43 people. It underscored the failure of reformist President Thein Sein's government to curb increasing attacks on minority Muslims in a nation struggling to emerge from half a century of oppressive military rule.

Muslim residents said a mixture of local villagers and people from nearby areas were responsible for the attacks around Okkan. Police gave no details on who was behind the assaults. But a local politician from the pro-government National Union party, Myint Thein, said members of a Buddhist campaign called "969" were involved.

The movement, which urges Buddhists to shop only at Buddhist stores and avoid marrying, hiring or selling their homes or land to Muslims, is small but has spread rapidly in recent months, and human rights activists say it has helped fuel anti-Muslim violence.

Stickers and signs bearing the 969 emblem _ each digit enumerates virtues of the Lord Buddha, his teachings and the community of monks _ have been popping up on shops, taxis, and buses in numerous towns and cities, including Yangon.

Hla Myint said that after the March violence, residents of Okkan began conducting informal security patrols to protect the village. But nothing happened for weeks and authorities told them not to worry.

"Things happened unexpectedly," he told The Associated Press. "When the crowds came, they shouted things like `Don't defend yourselves, we will only destroy the mosque, not your homes, we won't harm you.'"

They burned his village's mosque, whose corrugated iron roof lay crumpled on the ground between the building's charred walls, and "they destroyed our houses" anyway, he said.

Around 300 police stood guard Wednesday in the area, which was quiet. Debris from trashed shops in Okkan spilled into dirt roadsides. The town's market was crowded, but Muslims were absent.

It was not immediately clear what would happen to the newly displaced in Okkan. Some were taking refuge in the few houses that were not razed; others simply sat in the open, under the shade of trees.
Several Muslims said they didn't feel safe, but would not leave because they feared more attacks elsewhere. They wondered how they would survive and get food.

Hla Aung, a 39-year-old Muslim who lost his home in the violence, said police did nothing to protect him _ echoing reports of idle security forces in Meikhtila and elsewhere. "They didn't help us. They did not do anything. That's why it's really difficult to trust them."

Aung Myint, 46, who lives in a predominantly Buddhist area nearby that was undamaged, said several men from his village were beaten after they tried to convince the attackers to stop. "We didn't dare to help them because we were worried for our own security," he said.

Stopping the spread of sectarian violence has proven a major challenge for Thein Sein's government since it erupted in western Rakhine state last year. Human rights groups have recently accused his administration of failing to crack down on Buddhist extremists as violence has spread closer to Yangon, at times overwhelming riot police who have stood by as machete-wielding crowds attacked Muslims and their property.

Last week, New York-based Human Rights Watch accused authorities in Rakhine state _ including Buddhist monks, local politicians and government officials, and state security forces _ of fomenting an organized campaign of "ethnic cleansing" against a Muslim minority known as the Rohingya. Hundreds of people were killed there, and some 125,000 people, mostly Muslims, remain displaced with large swathes of the state effectively segregated along sectarian lines.

On Monday, a government-appointed commission investigating the Rakhine violence issued proposals to ease tensions there _ including doubling the number of security forces in the volatile region and introducing family planning programs to stem population growth among minority Muslims.

Muslims account for about 4 percent of the nation's roughly 60 million people. About one third of the nation's population consists of ethnic minority groups, and most have waged wars against the government for autonomy.
___
Pitman reported from Bangkok. Associated Press video journalist Raul Gallego Abellan in Okkan contributed to this report.

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World Press Freedom Declines

(Voice of America)

Carla Babb

May 01, 2013 

WASHINGTON — Freedom House, an independent watchdog dedicated to expanding freedom around the world, has released its annual report on global press freedom ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Friday. Media and press freedom have declined in several areas across the globe.

Just one out of six people across the globe enjoyed a free press last year. Freedom House President David Kramer says the global decline in press freedom is a huge concern.

"A free press is critical to any country's democratic development. It acts as a check and balance. It acts as a check on corruption. It promotes transparency. It promotes good government, and so a  free press is indispensable," Kramer said.

The report says the percentage of people enjoying a free media environment fell to its lowest point in more than a decade due to repression by authoritarian regimes, political instability and threats from radical Islamists.

Mansour Ali is a reporter in the tribal areas of Pakistan, one of 64 countries the group says is "unfree" for media.

"Security is the foremost problem, because just two days ago my colleague was injured in a suicide attack and another was killed," Ali said.

Mali, once Africa's freest media environment, suffered the year's biggest decline in press freedom. It slid from a "free press" nation to one of 70 "partly free" countries following a military coup and the capture of its northern half by Islamist militants.

In Europe, Greece also slid into the partly free category. Its economic troubles led to widespread staff cuts in the media and closures.

In the Middle East, Libya and Tunisia retained gains in press freedom won during the Arab Spring revolts.  But in Egypt the media environment declined and is now described as unfree.

Karin Karlekar of Freedom House, says many factors are behind Egypt's decline.

"Partly it was the new constitution, which was worrying in terms of the provisions for freedom of expression, the polarization of the media after the president's election and the very high levels of attacks and harassment of journalists, particularly by Islamist groups," Karlekar said.

Despite the declines, the report noted improvement in some countries, including Burma.

"Compared to where it was two years ago, it has been a huge improvement, and so in that regard I would say it is a model for other repressive governments," Karlekar said.

The world’s eight worst-rated countries for press freedom-dubbed the worst-of-the-worst, were Belarus, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Independent media in these states are nonexistent or barely able to operate.

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EU debates biopiracy law to protect indigenous people

Men chop up roots and plants for use in Zulu medicine at the Muti market in Durban, South Africa, 2010. Photograph: Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images

 (The Guardian by Marc Hall)

Pharmaceutical firms would need to compensate indigenous people for using their knowhow in creating new medicines

Marc Hall for EurActiv, part of the Guardian development network guardian.co.uk,  
Wednesday 1 May 2013 11.59 EDT

The European parliament is debating a draft biopiracy law requiring industry to compensate indigenous people if it makes commercial use of local knowledge such as plant-based medicines.
Under the law – based on the international convention on access to biodiversity, the Nagoya protocol – the pharmaceuticals industry would need the written consent of local or indigenous people before exploring their region's genetic resources or making use of their traditional knowhow.
Relevant authorities would have the power to sanction companies that fail to comply, protecting local interests from the predatory attitude of big European companies.

German firm patents South African herb

The draft report on access to genetic resources by Green MEP Sandrine Bélier cites as an example a German pharmaceutical company's dealings in South Africa.
Pelargonium sidoides, a variety of geranium known for its antimicrobial and expectorant qualities, has been used by indigenous communities in South Africa for centuries to treat bronchitis and other respiratory diseases. As it stimulates the nervous system, it has also been used in the treatment of Aids and tuberculosis.
In 2000, the German company Schwabe made significant profits on Umckaloabo, a product derived from the geranium, without compensating local communities. It then filed patents claiming exclusive rights to the medical use of the plant.
In 2010, however, the patents were cancelled following appeals from the African Centre for Biosafety in South Africa and the Berne Declaration in Switzerland, calling the patents "an illegitimate and illegal monopolisation of genetic resources derived from traditional knowledge and a stark opposition to the convention on biodiversity".
Bélier said the law would help to protect biodiversity and ensure that people from the region are adequately compensated for their resource and their traditional knowhow.
"In order to participate in the conservation of biodiversity, the people and knowledge that are associated with it, we must ensure today that the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources and the associated traditional knowledge are shared in a fair and equitable manner," she said.
The need to ensure the property rights of indigenous populations becomes more pressing as industry looks increasingly to plant and animal-based cures for common diseases. "The cure to Aids may be within an insect, for example," Bélier said.

Vested interests

Only 16 countries have ratified the Nagoya protocol. The EU and 24 of its 27 member states have signed the convention, but are yet to ratify it. When they do, Nagoya should soon reach the 50 states needed for it to come into force.
But obstacles remain due to vested interests, particularly in the European pharmaceuticals industry. "90% of genetic resources are in the south and 90% of the patents are in the north," Bélier told EurActiv.
"The 16 states are countries in the south. Benefit-sharing applies to European territory as well," she said, adding that vested interests were strong in French Guiana, a biodiversity-rich French territory in South America.
Europe's adoption of the protocol has implications for business. Indigenous and local populations are likely to reward countries and companies which seek to protect their biodiversity and intellectual property rights, Bélier said.
"US companies are becoming interested in biodiversity. There is trust, for example in Africa, towards the EU," she said.
A number of companies have already begun voluntary initiatives to compensate indigenous communities, Bélier said. "Private actors appear favourable … wanting to challenge biopiracy. We have to highlight the companies which are going to do it."
The EU council of ministers will debate the parliament's amendments in the coming months. "I hope to have the support of the council and an adoption at the first reading," Bélier said. "If not, we [Europe] will lose its leadership in the protection of biodiversity."
It is believed the UK intends to adopt the Nagoya protocol at an international conference on the biological diversity convention (CBD), due to be held in October 2014 in South Korea. The World Health Organisation estimates that 4 billion people, 80% of the world's population, use herbal medicine in primary healthcare.

Background

In 2010, the international conference on the CBD adopted the Nagoya protocol on access and benefit-sharing. The CBD, which was finalised during the 1992 Earth summit in Rio, said:
• states have sovereign rights over their biological resources
• access to genetic resources requires prior informed consent and shall be granted on mutually agreed terms
• benefits arising from the use of genetic resources shall be shared in a fair and equitable way with the country providing the resources.
The CBD also referred to the traditional knowledge of indigenous and local communities on the use of biological resources and to equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of such knowledge.

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Knesset Marks Turks' Genocide of Armenians

MK Rivlin: "We cannot ignore the catastrophes of others because of diplomatic considerations."

By Arutz Sheva

First Publish: 4/23/2013, 11:22 AM

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan

AFP/File

The Knesset will hold a ceremony to mark the memory of the Turkish genocide of Armenians, almost 100 years ago, on Tuesday.
MK Reuven Rivlin (Likud) said before the ceremony that he believes that "as human beings and as Jews, we must not ignore the catastrophe of another nation for any reason, including diplomatic considerations, important as they may be."
"We will mark the annual memorial day for the massacre of the Armenian people regardless of the relations with today's Turkey, which is an ally."
Turkey is highly displeased with the Knesset's decision to mark the day, as relations between the countries continue to be tense, despite a recent rapprochement brokered by U.S. President Barack Obama.
The genocide of the Armenians took place in the course of World War 1, and it is generally estimated that between 1 and 1.5 million Armenians were murdered, making up about one third of the entire Armenian people.
The massacre began when about 250 Armenian leaders in Istanbul were shot to death, on orders from the Turkish government. Later on, men, women and children were put to death on a daily basis in various ways, including forced marches that ended in their death from exhaustion, cold and hunger. Women and children were placed on boats and drowned at sea, or crucified. There is also evidence that children were put to death with poison gas in schools that were converted to death camps.
Turkey has consistently denied responsibility for the genocide, which is sometimes referred to as the Armenian Holocaust. Various events devoted to the subject, which were supposed to be held at the Knesset, were cancelled in recent years because of Turkish pressure.

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