War Crimes

The Article 32 hearing is proceeding for the murder probe of U.S. Staff Sft. Frank Wuterich for the murder of Iraqi civilians in November 2005.  Wuterich is charged with 18-counts of murder during a “clearing operation” following in IED - improvised explosive device - on a military convoy of the U.S. Marine’s Kilo Company in the town of Haditha.  24 Iraqi civilians were killed in what prosecutors say was an example of collateral damage in a violent insurgent campaign.  Wuterich admitted to shooting a group of Iraqi’s at the onset of the engagement, but claims he was within rules of engagement when he did so.

Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz testified that Wuterich’s account was not as he had experienced the events.  Cruz stated that he was present during the initial engagement with the Iraqi men, noting

“They were just standing, looking around, had hands up.   Then I saw one of them drop in the middle.  I don’t know what was going on, sir.  Looked to my left, saw Staff Sgt. Wuterich shooting.”

Cruz also stated in May that Wuterich ordered him to lie about the event, telling him to say the Iraqi’s had tried to escape.  However, defense attorneys for Wuterich have countered that Cruz had varid his account several times during the hearing   Cruz was also charged with murder, but was granted immunity to testify against Wuterich.

Lance Cpl. Humberto Mendoza testified yesterday that did not witness Wuterich fire his weapon during the clearing operation, which consisted of house-to-house combat operations.  Mendoza acknowledged that he was engaged with Iraqi’s during the operation, noting one incident; “I got scared thinking he was trying to get a weapon so I started shooting.”  Mendoza, however, has not been charged with any crimes in the Haditha case.  Asked by the defense about Mendoza’s opinion of his squad leader, Wuterich, Mendoza replied “I think he’s a great Marine, sir.”

Murder charges were dropped against Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt and Capt. Randy Stone in the case earlier this month.   Cruz was granted immunity for his testimony, leaving four Marines yet to be prosecuted.   Wuterich faces a life sentence if convicted, as well as a dishonorable discharge.

AP/Reuters

A military courts martial tribunal has completed its proceedings investigating the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steven Jordan, 51, was acquitted of responsibility for the actions of 11 other soldiers for their actions against prisoners of the U.S. military in Iraq. Jordan was formally reprimanded, however, for disobeying an official order to keep silent about the investigation. Prosecutors have asked that Jordan be fined one months pay - about $7,400.

Photographs were leaked to the media regarding degrading acts committed by U.S. military personnel against prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib detention facility in Iraq. The pictures, which surfaced in April 2004, show prisoners in various acts of physical abuse and sexual humiliation. In one depiction, Iraqi prisoners are shown stacked naked in a human pyramid. In another, prisoners are shown cowering before snarling dogs. Other pictures show various degrees of degradation of the dead.

Four soldiers of the 320th MP Battalion were convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for abuse of detainees. Janice Karpinski, the military commander of the battalion, was demoted from Colonel to Brigadier General for dereliction of duty in the Abu Ghraib scandal. Spc. Charles Graner was given a 10-year prison sentence for war crimes, including assault and obstruction of justice. Spc. Lyndie England, notoriously depicted leading a prisoner on a leash, was given 3-years for her role in the abuses at Abu Ghraib.

Human Rights Watch has called for an independent investigation in the scandal, stating there there are “huge gaps in the accountability process.” Colin Powell, who was Secretary of State at the time of the scandal, stated that “the system worked” in prosecuting military personnel for war crimes. Others, however, say that the lack of prosecution for high ranking military officials portrays the military courts martial as a show trial. Allen Keller, a professor of medicine at New York University and an expert on torture, states that “Such lack of accountability sends a chilling message to the rest of the world.”

AP/Reuters

Dutch officials have arrested a self-exiled Philippines leader of the communist National Democratic Front (NDF) for ordering the assassination of two former allies in Manila.  Jose Maria Sison, who founded the Marxist party and established its military wing - the New People’s Army (NPA) - has been allegedly commanding an insurgent campaign for over two decades from his exile base in the Netherlands.  The rebel uprising has been an ongoing part of a 39-year old insurgency in the Philippines that has cost the lives of over 40,000 people over the past 20 years.

Sison is accused of ordering the assassination of Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara, for which the NPA claimed responsibility.  Kintanar was a former commander of the NPA and led efforts to assassinate U.S. Army Col. James Nicolas Rowe in 1989.  He later fell out of favor with the communist faction for hiding the kidnapping of a top Japanese business leader from top leaders.  The NPA stated he was killed for crimes against the revolution.  Tabara was murdered for alleged counterrevolutionary activities, including the murder of bank employees during a hold-up and the murder of a peasant leader.

Kintinar was murdered in a Japanese restaurant on Jan. 20, 2003 and Tabara was assassinated after pulling a gun on a group trying to “arrest” him on Sept. 26, 2004.

Sison’s supporters have vowed to ramp up the insurgency following his arrest.  Peace talks to end the insurgency have been largely stalled since 2004 and Philippines officials worry that the arrest of Sison will “result in an all-out war.”  The Philippines president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, however, hailed the arrest as “a giant step toward peace.  A victory for justice and the rule of law.”

Sison states he no longer has operational control over the insurgency and has made formal asylum requests to Dutch officials.  Dutch prosecutors have stated they will put Sison on trial there for murder.

Sison was placed on the European Union’s terrorist list in 2002.

AP/Reuters

Alberto Gonzalez, U.S. president George W. Bush’s long-time friend and associate, resigned yesterday after increasing pressure from Republican and Democratic lawmakers.  Gonzalez, who served as White House counsel and later as attorney general, held the highest cabinet position of any hispanic-American.  He was an unflappable supporter of the neo-conservative agenda launched by vice-president Dick Cheney and former aide, Karl Rove.  Recently, Gonzalez was a key figure in the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, as well as Congressional inquiries into domestic surveillance programs.  The solicitor general, Paul Clement, will serve as the interim attorney general.

Gonzalez also played a crucial role in many aspects of constitutional and international law pertaining to the U.S. led “war on terror.”  Domestically, the Justice Department has made the claim in support of the Bush administration that the Supreme Court no longer has the ability to issue a writ of habeas corpus, citing the passage of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA).  The MCA revises the authority of the Supreme Court as it pertains to foreign nationals.  The issue is being tested at the Supreme Court under the case, In re Ali.

Previously, a foundation of domestic law was seen to derive from international law.  The decision in the case, The Paquete Habana, cites the universal obligations of states, noting that international law “like all the laws of nations,  … rests upon the common consent of civlized communities.  It is of force, not because it was prescribed by any superior power, but because it has been generally accepted as a rule of conduct.”  The rights to contest ones detainment is outlined in the “great writ” of habeas corpus, which derives from common usage in the English courts of Henry II in the 12th century - “a generally accepted” rule indeed.

Looking to the Geneva Conventions, Gonzalez also played a key role in the treatment of detainees captured in the “war on terror.”  Shortly after the attacks against the U.S. in September, 2001, Gonzalez drafted a memo stating that the Geneva Conventions regarding human rights protections were “obsolete” considering captured affiliates of terrorist organizations.  In August, 2002, Gonzalez spearheaded rulings - the “torture memo” - that would allow the use of torture to gather information pertaining to the national security of the United States.  Gonzalez also declared prosecution for detainees would be held by military tribunal.

The Supreme Court later ruled that the legal applications of the Justice Department violated the laws of the United States and encroached upon universally recognized human rights - including habeas and the right to be not tortured while in detention.  “Exceptional interrogations” are allegedly conducted at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the current Congressional mandated legislation outlining those proceedings allows the use of evidence derived from these interrogations.  These rules are being examined again by U.S. lawmakers, however.

Gonzalez will formally depart in September, 2007 and it is widely speculated that the current head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, will succeed him.  Solicitor general, Paul Clement, will serve in the interim.

Washington Post/SCOTUS blog

The war crimes trial for former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, has been delayed until January, 2008.  Debates over counsel, logistical concerns, and financial hurdles have postponed the trial.  The Sierra Leone tribunal was to take a lessons-learned approach, taking note from the war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.   Mr. Taylor faces 11 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes for allegedly cooperating with militants to gain access to the diamond trade, recruiting child soldiers, and other atrocities.

After Taylor initially boycotting the tribunal for inadequate counsel, his new defense team has requested an extension to review over 40,000 pages of evidence and 50,000 pages of his personal records.  Courteny Griffiths, Taylor’s new counsel, stated while the court has had since 2002 to review allegations and various records, Taylor’s defense team has had a scant few weeks.

The tribunal also operates in two locations; Freetown, Sierra Leone and the new International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands.  Taylor’s trial is taking place at The Hague at the urging of the international community, which fears his trial in Sierra Leone would spark civil unrest.  The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCL) operates in the capital city of Freetown and is prosecuting 10 cases in tandem with the Taylor proceedings. In certain circumstances, legal teams shuttle back and forth between both systems.

The system is also facing increasing financial burdens.  The original mandate, expected to extend for three years, was budgeted for $54-million.  That amount has tripled, and the trial is expected to last at least eight years.  Taylors personal allowance was originally slated for $30,000 a month for rent, fees, and other services, but has ballooned to about $70,000 a month.

False starts, shuttle reconciliation, and financial hurdles have had a detrimental impact on the war crimes trial for Sierra Leone.   What was supposed to be a model system, using international and national judges, and a “cheaper, faster and leaner” system has limped along.  While Taylor is the first president from an African nation to face prosecution for war crimes in the troubled region, it is not developing as the benchmark of international justice its advocates had hoped for.

AP/BBC

The last Croatian fugitive for war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavian republic has requested a temporary release from The Hague.  Ante Gotovina, a former Croatian general, has filed a motion from his release from custody at the U.N. facility in the Netherlands.  Prosecutors, however, have produced formerly unknown charges against Gotovina for armed robbery in France and cite evidence that “past history demonstrates a determination to avoid standing trial.”

Gotovina evaded arrest for more than 4 years after being indicted in 2001.  He, and fellow servicemen Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac, were indicted for operating a joint criminal enterprise to remove the Serbian population from occupied Croatian territories.  Gotovina has been charged with killing 150 Serbs and the forced displacement of at least 150,000 others.  Croatian forces orchestrated the events to recapture land seized by Serbian rebels in 1995.   Many Croatians view Gotovina as a national hero.

France has played an integral part in war crimes prosecutions recently.  An appeals court in France ordered the release of two Rwandan men suspected of complicity in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, noting the arrests were improperly processed and ordered their immediate release.  With cries of “that’s enough”, however, French officials have been leading international efforts to moderate the atrocities in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan.  France, the former colonial overseer of Lebanon, also vowed its continued support for Security Council resolutions regarding investigations into assassination of former prime minister, Rafik Hariri.

Ante Gotovina was convicted in abstentia by French courts for armed robbery, extortion, and abduction.  He faces prison terms of over 3 years if he were to serve his sentences for crimes committed in France.

AP/Reuters

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a report detailing mass rapes against the woman of Darfur. The U.N. has asked the Sudanese government to investigate the rapes and further allegations of sexual slavery, however, the Sudanese government at Khartoum has failed to look into the matter. Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in the report that “the abuses may also constitute war crimes.”

The report highlights attacks on the village of Deribat in late December, 2006, conducted by members of the Sudanese military and affiliated militias. According to the report, approximately 50 woman were allegedly subjected to multiple rapes “and other forms of violence which constitute war crimes.” Victim testimonies cite allegations that the systematic rapes were conducted in front of one another and many of the woman were impregnated as a result.

Propoganda examined

The Save Darfur Coalition is being investigated by the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for embellishing the number of dead in the ongoing atrocities in Sudan. The ASA noted that the 400,000 death toll cited in a recent advertisement from the Save Darfur Coalition should have been issued as an opinion, stating that many reports vary in the total numbers and factual claims can not be verified. The Save Darfur Coalition cites research from John Hagan of Northwestern University in the United States, who cites the figure as a high-end estimate based on witness testimony. International experts typically use a figure of 200,000, though the Sudanese government says 9,000 is a more accurate estimate.

The United States and several other nations have termed the atrocities in Darfur as genocide, though the United Nations, while recognizing war crimes, states there has been no deliberate attempt a genocide. According to the Geneva Conventions, “genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
BBC/AP

UPDATE:  The Save Darfur Coalition makes this formal response:

We believe Sam Dealey’s opinion article regarding the magnitude of atrocities in Darfur misses a critical point in the debate over how many people have actually died. The real point is that, unfortunately, mortality estimates cannot be verified or updated because the Government of Sudan actively denies the international community – including diplomats, humanitarian workers, and epidemiology experts – real access to the Darfur region.

 

History reminds us that the full scope and scale of genocide is unknown until it has ended. Past perpetrators, most notably the Nazis, actively concealed their campaigns of mass murder from public scrutiny and accountability. When the scale of this genocide did become known, a shocked world cried out, “Never again.”  The same was true in Cambodia and Rwanda. And that is what is happening now in Darfur.

 

We believe that as many as 400,000 Darfuris have been killed in this conflict because there is sound analysis to support that – analysis that is impossible to confirm only because of Sudan’s willful obstruction. Ultimately, no level of genocide is acceptable. The international community must continue to press the Sudanese government and President Omar al-Bashir to provide access to both international peacekeepers, humanitarian workers and experts who can more accurately document the scale of this tragedy, as well as provide protection and assistance to Darfur’s civilian population.

The director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Abraham Foxman, has stated that the World War I - era massacres of Armenians at the hands of Muslim Turks “were indeed tantamount to genocide.” Foxman’s statement comes after weeks of turmoil and internal wrangling among pro-Jewish and Holocaust memorial organizations. Earlier this week, the ADL fired the New England regional director for making the same statements. Foxman, however, did not state his support for a pending U.S. congressional resolution that would call the Armenian atrocities a genocide.

The Ottoman government rounded up members of the Armenian elite beginning in April, 1915. Forced deportation of Armenians followed and a special unit known as the Teskilat-i Mahsusa, or Special Organization, had the mission to exterminate the Armenians. According to Vahakn Dadrian, a preeminent scholar on the Armenian genocide, The Special Organization’s mission “was to deploy in remote areas of Turkey’s interior and to ambush and destroy convoys of Armenian deportees … [The Special Organization’s] principal duty was the execution of the Armenian genocide.” It is estimated that millions of Armenians died of starvation and disease during their forced deportation.

The media in the U.S. at the time, notably The New York Times, published several accounts of the atrocities and U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt called the massacre “the greatest crime of war.” A Harvard professor of Armenian studies, James Russell, notes that the term genocide “was invented to describe what had happened to the Armenians in the first place.”

The ADL reversal comes after controversy among various similar groups in New England questioning the legitimacy of Holocaust memorial groups who do not recognize the Armenian massacres as genocide. Allegedly, 1.5 million of the Christian Armenian population died at the hands of the Muslim Turks between 1915 and 1923. The Assembly of Turkish American Associations notes that Turks also suffered during the war and official declarations of genocide would cause tensions in the delicate U.S. relationship with Turkey.

Turkey is viewed as a bastion of Western ideals in a hostile Middle East.

AP

Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as “Chemical Ali” for his use of chemical agents against civilians, and 14 other former Iraqi aids to Saddam Hussein are facing war crimes prosecution for actions committed in response to a Shi’ite uprising in 1991.  It is estimated that tens of thousands were killed suppressing the uprising and buried in mass graves.  Around 90 witnesses are expected to testify in the case and the court is expected to also hear audio files and after-action reports.  The official orders from Saddam’s Baathist regime, however, were destroyed by the former Iraqi president, who himself was executed for war crimes in December 2006.

The Shaaban Intifada began in March 1991 after U.S. -led forces trounced the Iraqi military and forced them to withdraw from Kuwait.  The Shi’ite rebellion, which corresponded with a Kurdish uprising in northern Iraq, was successful in seizing control of several cities and brought rebels within 60-miles of the capital, Baghdad.  Many Shi’ites claim they were galvanized by outside support.  U.S. President George H. W. Bush encouraged Iraqis to “take matters into their own hands” and “force Saddam Hussein to step aside” following the Iraqi defeat in the first Gulf War.  Others cite the influence of Iranian agents operating in the southern provinces of Iraq, which are predominately Shia.

The intifada was crushed by reconstituted Iraqi forces under Saddam Hussein.  The rebels site the ceasefire called by the first president Bush, which Shi’ites claim gave Saddam a free-hand to launch attacks against the intifada.  Bush has stated that he did not advance to topple the Baathist regime out of fears of the collapse of Iraq into sectarian violence.

The trial will examine accusations of crimes against humanity  “for engaging in widespread or systematic attacks against civilian populations.”  Prosecutors have stated that many of the men, including al-Majid, had personally executed prisoners; “Majid used to come to detention centers, tie the hands of the detainees, and then shoot them dead … “

Al-Majid, and several other of the accused, have already been sentenced to death for violations of the laws of war and crimes against humanity for their actions in the al-Anfal campaign.  Tens of thousands of Kurds were killed in 1998 in response to a Kurdish uprising.  Many of the Kurds were killed using chemical weapons, giving al-Majid his nickname of “Chemical Ali.”

Reuters/BBC

The Dutch prime minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, sent a letter to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon “informing him that the government of the Netherlands is favorably disposed to hosting the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.”  The United Nations narrowly passed a resolution to establish an international tribunal to investigate the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, and 17 other cases.  The U.N. resolution comes after Lebanon was unable to act independently, thereby agreeing to establishing the special tribunal outside the country.  The Dutch foreign minister stated that the Netherlands will host the tribunal on the condition that convicted defendants serve their sentences in another country.   Dutch officials have also requested assurances of the tribunal’s funding.

In February, 2005, a suicide bombing killed Rafik Hariri and 22 others in Beirut.  Hariri had opposed Syrian intervention in Lebanon and his murder sparked protests against Syria.  As a result, Syrian troops were coerced into terminating its 29-year presence in Lebanon.  The Hariri assassination also stoked divisions in the Lebanese government.  Violent conflicts have erupted between the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and the opposition led by pro-Syrian Hezbollah.

U.N. investigators have identified a number of suspects who either took part in or knew of the plot against Hariri.   Serge Brammertz, the Belgian prosecutor for the United Nations, did not issue the names of any suspects in his latest report to the Security Council, though he did express concerns that recent civil conflicts in Lebanon may inhibit his investigation.  Brammertz’s predecessor, Detlev Mehlis, strongly implied in his investigations that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officers were complicit in the Hariri assassination.  Syria has denied any involvement.

The Netherlands hosts the international communities highest judicial bodies, including the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.  It also hosts the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the current trial for Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president.

The United Nations has also proposed the extension of the mandate for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a 13,600 strong peacekeeping force.  The formulation of the Special Tribunal is expected to take roughly a year.

AP/Reuters