These are the archives for the week ending 11th March 2005
Annan attacks erosion of rights
The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, launched a fierce attack on Britain and the US yesterday for weakening human rights in the name of the war on terror.
"We cannot compromise on core values," he said in Madrid on the first anniversary of the train bombings that killed 191 people in the Spanish capital. "Human rights and the rule of law must always be respected."
"Compromising human rights cannot serve the struggle against terrorism," he said. "On the contrary, it facilitates the achievement of the terrorists' objectives by provoking tension, hatred, and mistrust of governments among precisely those parts of the population where he is most likely to find recruits."
Although he did not mention Britain's detention of suspects without trial, the use of torture, or the practices of sexual humiliation and other abuses uncovered at US-run prisons for foreigners, western governments' treatment of terrorist suspects was unmistakably one of Mr Annan's targets.
Human rights law already made ample provision for strong counter-terrorist action, "even in the most exceptional circumstances", he said.
Guardian 11/3/05
US hands over prisons
American forces have agreed to hand over control of the infamous Abu Ghraib prison to the newly elected Iraqi authorities in an attempt to draw a line under one of the most shameful episodes of the Iraq war.
Iraq's human rights minister, Bakhtiar Amin, said the US had agreed to the pullout at the four main detention facilities, including a British run prison in the south.
A US army official said the US would probably transfer only high security detainees to another facility at the US base at Baghdad's airport, while the majority of the 'common criminals' would remain under Iraqi control.
The US run prison system in Iraq is currently bloated with detainees. More than 10,000 are estimated to be behind bars - the highest number since the insurgency began in 2003. Their ranks have been swollen during the crackdowns by US and Iraqi security forces before and after the January 30 elections. However the rounding up of large numbers of suspects appears to be having little effect on the operational effectiveness of the insurgents.
Guardian 10/3/05
Lebanon opposes US intervention
In the largest demonstration of Lebanon's weeks-old political upheaval, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese yesterday celebrated Syria's long military presence in this country and cheered as the influential leader of a militant Islamic party warned the United States and the opposition movement it supports to cease disrupting the country's volatile political system.
The rally, organized by the armed Shiite Muslim party Hezbollah, filled a huge plaza in central Beirut and spilled down streets and highways for miles in every direction. The size served notice to Lebanon's anti-Syrian opposition that its weeks of dominating the political debate had ended. Hezbollah's leader pointedly warned those who favor Syria's withdrawal and his party's disarmament that they do not represent most Lebanese.
Washington Post, 9/3/05
Protesters were 'the historically downtrodden'
Trying to estimate the number was futile, but half a million would be plausible and a million not unbelievable.
The anti-Syrian protesters who have attracted worldwide attention are mostly Christians, plus Sunni Muslims and Druze, and they are generally from the better-off sections of Lebanese society. Yesterday's masses were overwhelmingly the poorer - and historically downtrodden - Shia, who form 40% of the population.
Guardian, 9/3/05
Hard line US choice for UN
President George Bush has nominated one of his most controversial and hardline officials to become the American ambassador to the UN. The nomination yesterday of John Bolton, now undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, sends a forceful message that Mr Bush remains more interested in getting his way at the UN than he is in diplomacy.
Critics of Mr Bolton, who has played an important role for Mr Bush in strengthening the alliance between the Christian right and the neoconservatives, say that he had previously condemned numerous international treaties and bodies including the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the International Criminal Court.
In 1994, he was quoted as saying: "There's no such thing as the United Nations ... If the UN building in New York lost 10 storeys, it wouldn't make a bit of difference."
Independent, 8/3/05
Judges will make no difference
It is a delusion to think that imposing a judge at any stage in the process, whether it be at the outset or further down the unjust line, can remedy the fact that all of this construct is created to avoid our constitutional protections of fair, public and open trial, by a jury of your peers, in which the most important aspect of all is that your accuser tells you at the earliest possible moment what the accusation against you is, so that you have the opportunity of replying.
None of this construct can be improved or affected by amendments since the very purpose of the new legislation is to avoid these central obligations.
Gareth Pierce, Human Rights lawyer, Guardian 8/3/05
US soldiers made video of abuse
U.S. Army soldiers in Iraq filmed themselves kicking a gravely wounded prisoner in the face and making the arm of a corpse appear to wave, then titled the effort "Ramadi Madness" after the city where it was made. The video, made public on Monday, was shot by Florida National Guard soldiers. They edited and compiled it into a DVD in January 2004, with various sections bearing titles such as "Those Crafty Little Bastards" and "Another Day, Another Mission, Another Scumbag."
One section of the video showed a bound and wounded prisoner sprawled on the ground, and showed his bullet entry and exit wounds. At one point, a U.S. soldier kicked the prisoner in the face. Army documents quoted a soldier at the scene as saying he "thought the dude eventually died. We weren't in any hurry to call the medics."
Documents released by the Pentagon showed that Army criminal investigators looked into the matter and decided no criminal charges were warranted against the soldiers. Documents showed that the Army deemed the actions shown on the video "inappropriate" rather than criminal.
Reuters, 8/3/05
Another 'friendly fire' death
U.S. ally Bulgaria blamed U.S. troops on Monday for the fatal shooting of one of its soldiers in Iraq and demanded punishment of those responsible. A Bulgarian inquiry into the shooting last Friday found that soldier Gurdi Gurdev -- Bulgaria's eighth casualty since the start of the war in March 2003 -- was almost certainly killed by "friendly fire" from nearby U.S. forces.
On the same day, U.S. soldiers shot dead an Italian secret service agent as he was taking freed hostage journalist Giuliana Sgrena to safety.
Reuters, 8/3/05
90 countries blighted by mines
More than 90 countries or disputed territories are contaminated by unexploded weapons, and more than 50 by anti-vehicle mines, according to the first global survey of their impact on civilians.
The report is published by Landmine Action, an independent campaigning group. Richard Lloyd, the director of Landmine Action said "Anti-tank mines are stopping the delivery of water, food, healthcare and other humanitarian services in impoverished countries such as Sudan, Afghanistan and Angola. This leaves the most vulnerable populations even weaker".
The report says that in Iraq, more than 2,200 sites contaminated by unexploded cluster 'bomblets' have been identified along the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Many accidents in the south and centre of the country are the result of people handling unexploded bombs, mortars and grenades to sell on, partly as scrap metal. There are believed to be 800 refuse sites around Baghdad contaminated by cluster bombs and dumped munitions.
In Kosovo, 75 areas of cluster munition contamination remain, six years after Nato's bombing campaign. Continuing civil unrest has resulted in criminal gangs using anti-tank mines as booby traps.
Guardian 7/3/05
Checkpoint deaths an everyday occurence
Next to the scandal of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, no other aspect of the American military presence in Iraq has caused such widespread dismay and anger among Iraqis, judging by their frequent outbursts on the subject. Daily reports compiled by Western security companies chronicle many incidents in which Iraqis with no apparent connection to the insurgency are killed or wounded by American troops who have opened fire on suspicion that the Iraqis were engaged in a terrorist attack.
American and Iraqi officials say they have no figures on such casualties, just as they say they have no reliable statistics on the far higher number of civilian deaths in the fighting that began with the American-led invasion nearly two years ago. But any Westerner working in Iraq comes across numerous accounts of apparently innocent deaths and injuries among drivers and passengers who drew American fire, often in circumstances that have left the Iraqis puzzled as to what, if anything, they did wrong.
New York Times, 7/3/05
More British abuse and murder cases
A member of the Royal Air Force is at the centre of a murder investigation into the deaths of five women in Iraq. The case could witness the first RAF serviceman ever to be charged with the murder of civilians.
The latest case emerged as fresh figures came to light indicating the extent to which the British army's chain of command has become involved in abuse accusations. Government documents reveal that three officers are facing prosecution over abuse allegations along with eight non-commissioned officers who would have soldiers under their command.
Details that another high-profile trial embroiling an entire regiment could materialise comes just over a week after four British soldiers were convicted of mistreating Iraqi prisoners.
Observer, 6/3/05
Americans protect themselves
U.S. military spokesmen say the tactics they have adopted to protect against suicide bombers, including shooting to kill drivers who ignore hand signals and warning shots to stay away from military convoys, have resulted in an increasing number of attacks that kill civilians but spare Americans.
New York Times, 6/3/05
Iraqi parliament deadlock
More than a month after Iraq's historic election, ethnic and sectarian divisions have stymied efforts to form a government, deepening political uncertainty and delaying badly needed reconstruction. So far Ibrahim Al-Jaafari, proposed as prime minister by the Shi'ite bloc that won half the seats in parliament, has been unable to secure enough votes in the assembly to get the job.
Jaafari is challenged by pro-American interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, with 40 seats, and both men are seeking the support of the Kurds, who have emerged as the potential kingmakers.
"We could see a hung parliament, and Allawi effectively running the country in a caretaker role until the writing of the constitution and the next elections," Ali al-Lami, spokesman for the Shi'ite Political Council, part of the Shi'ite bloc, said.
Reuters, 4/3/05
Trigger happy troops
Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena was freed by her captors on Friday but U.S. forces in Iraq mistakenly opened fire on the convoy taking her to safety, wounding her and killing an Italian secret service agent.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he had immediately summoned the U.S. ambassador, declaring someone had to take responsibility for American soldiers opening fire.
Reuters, 5/3/05