Showing posts with label Human Rights Watch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Human Rights Watch. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
[Guinean news] 28 Sept. massacre impunity criticized; 4 killed in opposition rally
On this Guinean National Day, Human Rights Watch has a report (both in English and in French) criticizing the Guinean state for its failure to punish those responsible for the massacre of peaceful protesters committed in Conakry's main stadium on 28 Sept. 2009.
On a somewhat related note, an opposition march in Conakry yesterday protesting the manner of organization of upcoming legislative elections was violently dispersed by the authorities. Opposition leaders say four people were killed in the repression.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
[Guinean news] Sept. 28 massacre, rapes 'premeditated,' 'likely crimes against humanity': HRW
The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch has issued a report described the Sept. 28 killings in Conakry's main sports' stadium as 'premeditated' and 'likely crimes against humanity.'
HRW came to this conclusion after interviewing 240 victims, witnesses, military personnel, medical staff, humanitarian officials, diplomats, and journalists.
The NGO collected chilling witness accounts describing how members of Guinea's security forces burst into the stadium and opened fire on tens of thousands of opposition supporters who had gathered to demand a return to civilian rule... Witnesses described how bodies were strewn across the field, crushed against half-opened gates, and draped over walls. Others told how the panicked demonstrators were gunned down as they tried to scale the stadium walls; shot point blank after being caught hiding in tunnels, bathrooms, and under seats; and mowed down after being drawn out by soldiers who were pretending to offer safe passage.
"The serious abuses carried out in Guinea on September 28 were clearly not the actions of a group of rogue, undisciplined soldiers, as the Guinean government contends," said Peter Bouckaert, Emergencies director at Human Rights Watch. "They were premeditated, and top-level leaders must at the very least have been aware of what was being planned, our investigation shows."
-The HRW summary is here
-The full report can be accessed here
HRW came to this conclusion after interviewing 240 victims, witnesses, military personnel, medical staff, humanitarian officials, diplomats, and journalists.
The NGO collected chilling witness accounts describing how members of Guinea's security forces burst into the stadium and opened fire on tens of thousands of opposition supporters who had gathered to demand a return to civilian rule... Witnesses described how bodies were strewn across the field, crushed against half-opened gates, and draped over walls. Others told how the panicked demonstrators were gunned down as they tried to scale the stadium walls; shot point blank after being caught hiding in tunnels, bathrooms, and under seats; and mowed down after being drawn out by soldiers who were pretending to offer safe passage.
"The serious abuses carried out in Guinea on September 28 were clearly not the actions of a group of rogue, undisciplined soldiers, as the Guinean government contends," said Peter Bouckaert, Emergencies director at Human Rights Watch. "They were premeditated, and top-level leaders must at the very least have been aware of what was being planned, our investigation shows."
-The HRW summary is here
-The full report can be accessed here
Monday, November 02, 2009
[Guinean news] Sept. 28 massacre was 'premeditated': HRW
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I post there links to news articles and columns related to the Guinea, Peace Corps and other stories that may be of interest to FOG members. Since I am usually just re-posting what I've found elsewhere, the Twitter feed gets updated more often than this blog, several times a week (But don't worry, any updates to this blog are also posted there).
One of the most prominent stories since the infamous Sept. 28 massacre was a report by Human Rights Watch (found here) which concluded that the massacre was in fact premeditated.
This is in stark contrast to claims by junta leader Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara that the killings were committed by out-of-control elements of the army and presidential guards and were not indicative of anything systematic. Dadis also claimed that the actions were in response to "provocation" by demonstrators protesting his decision to run in next January's presidential election.
HRW wrote that it found that members of the Presidential Guard carried out a premeditated massacre of at least 150 people on September 28 and brutally raped dozens of women. Red berets shot at opposition supporters until they ran out of bullets, then continued to kill with bayonets and knives.
The Africa director of HRW said, "Security forces surrounded and blockaded the stadium, then stormed in and fired at protesters in cold blood until they ran out of bullets. They carried out grisly gang rapes and murders of women in full sight of the commanders. That’s no accident."
HRW also discounted claims that the massacre was provoked.
Witness accounts and video evidence obtained by Human Rights Watch showing the stadium crowd just before the shooting shows a peaceful and celebratory atmosphere with opposition supporters singing, dancing, marching around the stadium with posters and the Guinean flag, and even praying.
Human Rights Watch has not seen any evidence that any opposition supporters were armed, and no security officials were wounded by opposition supporters at the stadium, suggesting that there was no legitimate threat posed by the opposition supporters that required the violence that followed.
Witnesses said that as soon as the Presidential Guard entered the stadium, its members began firing point-blank directly into the massive crowd of protesters, killing dozens and sowing panic.
The NGO also warned of an ethnic nature behind the killings, noting that majority of the victims were from the Peuhl ethnic group, which is almost exclusively Muslim, while most of the commanders at the stadium – and indeed key members of the ruling CNDD, including Camara, the coup leader – belong to ethnic groups from the southeastern forest region, which are largely Christian or animist.
twitter.com/friendsofguinea
I post there links to news articles and columns related to the Guinea, Peace Corps and other stories that may be of interest to FOG members. Since I am usually just re-posting what I've found elsewhere, the Twitter feed gets updated more often than this blog, several times a week (But don't worry, any updates to this blog are also posted there).
One of the most prominent stories since the infamous Sept. 28 massacre was a report by Human Rights Watch (found here) which concluded that the massacre was in fact premeditated.
This is in stark contrast to claims by junta leader Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara that the killings were committed by out-of-control elements of the army and presidential guards and were not indicative of anything systematic. Dadis also claimed that the actions were in response to "provocation" by demonstrators protesting his decision to run in next January's presidential election.
HRW wrote that it found that members of the Presidential Guard carried out a premeditated massacre of at least 150 people on September 28 and brutally raped dozens of women. Red berets shot at opposition supporters until they ran out of bullets, then continued to kill with bayonets and knives.
The Africa director of HRW said, "Security forces surrounded and blockaded the stadium, then stormed in and fired at protesters in cold blood until they ran out of bullets. They carried out grisly gang rapes and murders of women in full sight of the commanders. That’s no accident."
HRW also discounted claims that the massacre was provoked.
Witness accounts and video evidence obtained by Human Rights Watch showing the stadium crowd just before the shooting shows a peaceful and celebratory atmosphere with opposition supporters singing, dancing, marching around the stadium with posters and the Guinean flag, and even praying.
Human Rights Watch has not seen any evidence that any opposition supporters were armed, and no security officials were wounded by opposition supporters at the stadium, suggesting that there was no legitimate threat posed by the opposition supporters that required the violence that followed.
Witnesses said that as soon as the Presidential Guard entered the stadium, its members began firing point-blank directly into the massive crowd of protesters, killing dozens and sowing panic.
The NGO also warned of an ethnic nature behind the killings, noting that majority of the victims were from the Peuhl ethnic group, which is almost exclusively Muslim, while most of the commanders at the stadium – and indeed key members of the ruling CNDD, including Camara, the coup leader – belong to ethnic groups from the southeastern forest region, which are largely Christian or animist.
Friday, January 23, 2009
[Guinean news] Junta summons industry leaders, is warned by Human Rights Watch
Guinea's military junta summoned industry leaders earlier this week, including representatives of the country's lucrative and controversial mining sector, before a commission investigating corruption.
Meanwhile, the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch called on the junta to hold members of the former regime accountable for human rights' abuses.
"Guinea stands at an historic crossroads," said Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Improving the chronic human rights problems that have undermined the civil, political, social, and economic rights of the Guinean population for decades must be a top priority of the current government."
Since 2006, Human Rights Watch has done extensive research into patterns of human rights abuses against ordinary Guineans, including torture, extrajudicial executions, widespread extortion, and the brutal repression of street protests. The evidence in the vast majority of these cases shows that the abuses have been committed by members of the security forces, but the government has rarely investigated these cases, much less brought those responsible to justice. This failure to act, coupled with a weak judiciary, characterized by a lack of independence from the executive branch, inadequate resources, and corruption, has left ordinary Guineans with scant hope for redress.
In 2007, then-head of state Lansana Conté agreed to set up a commission to investigate extrajudicial killings and other abuses related to the repression of that year's general strike. However, the commission never really started its work. In an interview with Radio France Internationale, Dufka called on Dadis to order the commission to start its work and cooperate with it.
Meanwhile, the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch called on the junta to hold members of the former regime accountable for human rights' abuses.
"Guinea stands at an historic crossroads," said Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Improving the chronic human rights problems that have undermined the civil, political, social, and economic rights of the Guinean population for decades must be a top priority of the current government."
Since 2006, Human Rights Watch has done extensive research into patterns of human rights abuses against ordinary Guineans, including torture, extrajudicial executions, widespread extortion, and the brutal repression of street protests. The evidence in the vast majority of these cases shows that the abuses have been committed by members of the security forces, but the government has rarely investigated these cases, much less brought those responsible to justice. This failure to act, coupled with a weak judiciary, characterized by a lack of independence from the executive branch, inadequate resources, and corruption, has left ordinary Guineans with scant hope for redress.
In 2007, then-head of state Lansana Conté agreed to set up a commission to investigate extrajudicial killings and other abuses related to the repression of that year's general strike. However, the commission never really started its work. In an interview with Radio France Internationale, Dufka called on Dadis to order the commission to start its work and cooperate with it.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
[Guinean news] Inquiry into general strike deaths 'obstructed'
The Inter Press Service has a profile of some of the families who lost loved ones during the repression of the early 2007 general strike.
IPS notes: More than 186 people died in the wave of repression that followed anti-government demonstrations and strikes in January and February 2007. However the government only acknowledges 137 victims.
"For now we just want to know what happened. We can forgive, but we have to know the truth," said one resident of a Conakry suburb who lost his son.
Another man who lost his son was less clement. "I can't forgive. They killed my son under false pretenses. He was completely unarmed -- not a gun, or a rock, or a even a stick. But they shot him," he explained.
Observers state that inquiries into the 2007 events and a series of shootings in 2006 have been obstructed.
Human Rights Watch researcher and Guinea RPCV Dustin Sharp says that a truly effective national inquiry is necessary to bring the military under control. "A very dangerous message is being sent to armed forces: that violence and lack of discipline are acceptable behavior," he explained.
IPS notes: More than 186 people died in the wave of repression that followed anti-government demonstrations and strikes in January and February 2007. However the government only acknowledges 137 victims.
"For now we just want to know what happened. We can forgive, but we have to know the truth," said one resident of a Conakry suburb who lost his son.
Another man who lost his son was less clement. "I can't forgive. They killed my son under false pretenses. He was completely unarmed -- not a gun, or a rock, or a even a stick. But they shot him," he explained.
Observers state that inquiries into the 2007 events and a series of shootings in 2006 have been obstructed.
Human Rights Watch researcher and Guinea RPCV Dustin Sharp says that a truly effective national inquiry is necessary to bring the military under control. "A very dangerous message is being sent to armed forces: that violence and lack of discipline are acceptable behavior," he explained.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
[Guinean news] Thousands of girl 'slaves' in Guinea: HRW
The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch revealed that thousands of girls in Guinea face abuse as domestic workers, often live in conditions comparable to slavery and many are victims of human trafficking.
The research in Guinea showed that thousands of girls spent their childhood and adolescence doing housework, such as cleaning, washing and taking care of small children, often for no pay.
The report said the girls were vulnerable to sexual abuse and many were beaten with whips, electric cords and sticks.
They are often trapped in this cycle of abuse partly because they are deprived of an education, reports the BBC.
Human Rights Watch says most of the employers in Guinea are women from the urban middle class who demand a girl from poorer relatives or from an intermediary in the countryside.
Update: The HRW press release (in English) is available here. The full report (in French) is available here.
The research in Guinea showed that thousands of girls spent their childhood and adolescence doing housework, such as cleaning, washing and taking care of small children, often for no pay.
The report said the girls were vulnerable to sexual abuse and many were beaten with whips, electric cords and sticks.
They are often trapped in this cycle of abuse partly because they are deprived of an education, reports the BBC.
Human Rights Watch says most of the employers in Guinea are women from the urban middle class who demand a girl from poorer relatives or from an intermediary in the countryside.
Update: The HRW press release (in English) is available here. The full report (in French) is available here.
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