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Thalif Deen - Journaliste - , SRI LANKA
Pas encore contacté par LCBC,
Thalif Deen has been Inter Press Service's U.N. Bureau Chief since 1992. A
former Information Officer at the U.N. Secretariat and a one-time member of
the Sri Lanka delegation to the General Assembly sessions, he is currently
editor of the Journal of the Group of 77, published in collaboration with
IPS. A Fulbright-Hayes scholar, he holds a Master's degree in Journalism
from Columbia University in New York.
Sympathisant(e) ou membre de : Inter Press Service,
Idées + Actions :
irak, U.N. Faulted for Legitimising Iraqi Governing Council (24 07 2003)
irak, U.N. Fears its Workers May Become Targets (23 06 2003)
idées, US faces growing charges of war crimes (30 05 2003)
Info sur le Web (Google)Idée LCBC : Les Etats-Unis sont dangeureux et hors la loi
US faces growing charges of war crimes
Le 30 05 2003 Thalif Deen,
[from United Nations] When General Tommy Franks, who coordinated the recent US-led military attack on Iraq, was asked about civilian casualties, he shot back: 'We don't do body counts.'
Less than two months after the invasion of Iraq, there are no definitive figures of the civilian casualties--unarmed men, women and children who died in the 44-day military assault. But there are a growing number of attempts to determine that number and to hold Washington and its allies responsible.
Several human rights groups are calling for the creation of either a war crimes tribunal or an international commission of justice. Additionally, several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) say they will pressure Washington to pay compensation for the killings of innocent civilians--a common practice in US law courts.
The Commission on Human Security (CHS), which is overseeing the 'Iraq Body Count Project' estimates between 5,000 and 7,000 civilians died in the attack, or more.
Marla Ruzicka of the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC) says her door-to-door survey teams in Iraq have concluded that, 'Somewhere between 5,000 to 10,000 people died in this conflict'.
?A number is important?
'Yes, a number is important,' she says, 'but it's not as important as making sure that we recognize that each number is a life. Our goal, beyond getting assistance to the innocent families that are harmed, is to get a proper accounting of war.'
Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights says Washington should be hauled before an international war crimes commission and held accountable for civilian deaths in Iraq.
'In any war, the number of civilians killed is critical,' Ratner told IPS. 'It is that number that can help determine whether or not the military complied with the Geneva Conventions (governing the conduct of wars).'
'And in each military engagement, the number of civilians killed cannot be out of proportion with the value of the military target. Franks? statement is practically saying that the laws of war do not apply to the United States,' he added.
Last week, a Belgian lawyer filed a lawsuit in Brussels charging Franks with war crimes. The action was submitted on behalf of 19 Iraqis, allegedly victims of cluster bombs and US bombings of civilians, under a law that permits Belgian courts to try foreigners for war crimes.
Committee to Protect Journalists
This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) challenged a US military accounting of the bombing last April of a hotel in Baghdad in which two journalists were killed.
After an investigation, the CPJ concluded there is no evidence that US forces were fired on from the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, where nearly 100 journalists were holed up before the building was shelled by US forces.
The family of a Spanish journalist killed in that attack has already filed a lawsuit against three US soldiers for war crimes and murder. The suit, based on a provision of the Rome Statute (of the International Criminal Court or ICC), could be expanded to include other people, 'independent of their rank or nationality', said Pilar Hermoso, the attorney for Jose Couso?s family.
But the high court's chief prosecutor, Eduardo Fungairiño, said this week he opposes the complaint, meaning a delay of 15 days before it is decided if the case will proceed.
'It is very clear that war crimes were committed in Iraq,' says James Jennings, president of Conscience International.
Non-military objectives bombed
First, US-led forces targeted and killed many civilians during massive bombing of facilities unrelated to military objectives, such as government ministries serving civilian needs, as well as hospitals, schools and homes.
Secondly, he told IPS, the military used disproportionate force with its so-called` 'covering fire' technique, which means indiscriminate shooting at shops, homes and mosques, killing many civilian non-combatants, including women and children.
Jennings said that at least one Marine battalion commander admitted as much to Time magazine when he said--after the killing by his unit of nearly 100 Iraqis without an injury to his men--'Let's quit pussyfooting, and call it what it is. It's murder, it's slaughter.'
'Now that the United States has accepted the status of an occupying power under international law, officials in Washington cannot claim exemption from prosecution of war crimes during the period of conflict,' Jennings added.
The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and Amnesty International have both called for the establishment of a commission of experts to examine past and recent international war crimes and genocide committed in Iraq.
But since the United States and Britain hold veto powers in the United Nations Security Council, most human rights groups doubt that the world body will create a war crimes tribunal for Iraq. That does not mean it is not essential, says one expert.
'Whether or not the question of accountability in Iraq is addressed successfully could make or break the prospects for peace and stability in that country,' said Michael Posner, executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.
Disappointment over SC resolution
Meanwhile, a coalition of over 150 peace and human rights groups has expressed disappointment that a recent Security Council resolution lifting sanctions on Iraq never addressed the issue of war crimes.
'We have just sent letters both to the Security Council and members of the General Assembly about the issue of war crimes and the killing of both civilians and journalists by the US military,' said Rob Wheeler of the Uniting for Peace Coalition.
'These issues, along with many others, were irresponsibly ignored when the Security Council approved the recent US resolution on Iraq. These matters must be investigated as part of a wider discussion by the General Assembly on the invasion of Iraq,' he added in an interview.
'The United States says it cares about the 3,000 people killed during the attack on Sept. 11 (2001), but it doesn't seem to care about the tens of thousands or even millions of civilians that have been killed by US attacks on other countries over the years.'
Wheeler said that his coalition believes that the invading powers must be forced to pay reparations for the death and destruction they have caused in Iraq. 'Yes, compensation is due for all of the damages, and civilian loss of life, caused by this illegal and unprovoked war,' he added.
Jennings pointed out that besides civilian killings, 'the use of tons of depleted uranium munitions, which cause genetic defects into the next generation, and of 1,500 cluster bombs that have killed and maimed numerous children, may also be classified as war crimes.'
'In short,' he said, 'US technological progress has far outstripped its moral development.'
+Center for Constitutional Rights (http://www.ccr-ny.org)
+Uniting for Peace Coalition (http://www.uniting-for-peace.net)
+Conscience International (http://www.conscienceinternational.org/main.htm)
| | | http://www.lescasquesbleuscitoyens.com
Mise en ligne le : 2005-05-05
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Présent aux Evénements (non exhaustif) :
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Les Actions (non exhaustif) :
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irak : U.N. Faulted for Legitimising Iraqi Governing Council
Le 24 07 2003 Thalif Deen,
The United Nations provided a semblance of legitimacy to the recently
U.S.-appointed, 25-member Iraqi Governing Council when three of its senior
officials participated in a meeting of the Security Council.
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 22 (IPS) - But the meeting was briefly disrupted Tuesday
by two members of an anti-war U.S. group, the International Occupation Watch
Centre (IOWC), who shouted at the Iraqi delegates, accusing them of
representing an 'illegal Council hand-picked by the United States'.
Gael Murphy, one of the protesters who was dragged from the visitor's
gallery by U.N. security guards, dismissed the Governing Council and its
three-member delegation as frauds.
'The United Nations should not have endorsed the Governing Council,' Murphy
told IPS. 'This is another example of the continued collusion of the United
Nations with the United States.'
She was also critical of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan who, in his
address to the Security Council Tuesday, described the Governing Council as
'an important first step towards the full restoration of Iraqi sovereignty'.
Murphy said the Governing Council, whose members have been described as
'American puppets', was the creation of the United States and did not
represent the will of the 27 million Iraqis.
'Moreover,' she said, 'How can the United Nations give legitimacy to a
Governing Council, three of whose members are being investigated by Interpol
(the international anticrime agency)?'
Murphy also said that two other members of the Governing Council are known
to have their own private militias in Baghdad.
'The credibility of the United Nations has been undermined,' she said.
The three-member delegation to the Security Council included Adnan Pachachi,
a former foreign minister, Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the London-based Iraqi
National Congress, and Aquila al-Hashimi, a diplomat who served in the
foreign ministry under the former Saddam Hussein regime.
Murphy said that it was common knowledge that one of the members of the
Iraqi delegation to the Security Council was a 'convicted criminal' in
Jordan. 'If this is an indication of democracy -- as preached by the United
States -- Iraq is in deep trouble.'
The International Occupation Watch Centre -- which is supported by United
for Peace and Justice, a major U.S. anti-war coalition with over 600 member
groups -- opened its office in Baghdad about two weeks ago.
Medea Benjamin, one of the other protesters at the Security Council meeting
Tuesday, said the Centre will enable ordinary Iraqis to inform people around
the world about conditions under U.S. military occupation. 'Americans have
no idea of the total chaos in Iraq,' she said.
'Not only are there dozens of attacks on U.S. soldiers every single day, but
regular Iraqis are suffering with no electricity in 120-degree heat, and
have no protection from thieves and other criminals, who are running
rampant,' said Benjamin who represents the San Francisco-based anti-war
group Global Exchange which backs the International Occupation Watch Centre.
While welcoming the presence of Iraqi delegates, Annan told the Security
Council: 'Our collective goal remains an early end to the military
occupation through the formation of an internationally recognised,
representative government.'
It is vital, he argued, that the Iraqi people should be able to see a clear
timetable with a specific sequence of events leading to the full restoration
of sovereignty as soon as possible.
'In practical terms,' he said, 'this means that the establishment of the
Governing Council must be followed by a constitutional process run by and
for Iraqis.'
The United Nations, he said, will continue to play an active role in
facilitating and supporting the political process, working together with the
Governing Council, and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) which is in
charge of the civil administration of post-war Iraq.
Sergio Vieira de Mello, Annan's Special Representative in Iraq, told the
Security Council that he had spent the past few weeks traveling the country
and meeting with a wide array of Iraqis: politicians, civil society leaders,
lawyers, spiritual leaders, doctors, journalists, artists, and human rights
activists.
'They want to see themselves back at the helm of their country. They also
want to see the arrival of security and of the rule of law.'
Equally, he said, Iraqis want to see the restoration of basic services:
reliable electricity, clean water, schools up and running, and functioning
of hospitals.
'These are the traumas, the anxieties and the aspirations and frustrations
of the Iraqi people with which we all must empathise and to which we must
respond if we are to succeed in this endeavour,' he added.
Endorsing the U.S.-created institution, Vieira de Mello said that the
formation of Iraq's Governing Council 'was a significant step towards that
goal'.
The Council, he said, will soon be appointing Iraqi interim ministers and --
more importantly -- designating Iraqi representation at international bodies
such as the United Nations.
The Iraqi Mission to the United Nations has remained headless since the
outbreak of the war in March. The former Iraqi envoy, Mohammed Al-Douri,
packed up his bags and left New York in early April.
Pachachi, who lead the three-member Iraqi delegation, told delegates that
the Governing Council had been formed as an embodiment of the national free
will to safeguard the sovereignty of the country and achieve a better future
for Iraq. He insisted that the Council represented 'the full spectrum of
Iraqi society'.
Among the goals of the Council, he said, was the adoption of a constitution
and free elections open to all.
The proposed new Iraqi constitution, he said, would establish a federal
political system, which would consolidate the rule of law in an independent
judicial system, and would subject the armed forces to elected
representation. | | | http://www.lescasquesbleuscitoyens.com
Mise en ligne le : 2005-05-05
irak : U.N. Fears its Workers May Become Targets
Le 23 06 2003 Thalif Deen,
The United Nations is 'concerned', U.N. Coordinator for Iraq Ramiro Lopes Da Silva told reporters Monday, because 'we may be targeted one day'.
'The situation (in Iraq) is not fully under control.'
Since the United States is currently the occupying power in Iraq, the United Nations says that U.S. military forces are primarily responsible for security inside the war-devastated country.
But Washington has been more pre-occupied with the growing number of attacks on its troops.
According to published reports, about 91 U.S. soldiers have been killed since the ouster of the Saddam Hussein regime in early April. Additionally, about 102 American soldiers were killed during the fighting in March and April, for a total of 193.
In June alone, U.S. troops have been killed by guerrilla attacks at the rate of about one per day.
Da Silva complained that the 'lack of security' has continued to inhibit the work of U.N. humanitarian workers in Iraq.
But this insecurity is now being aggravated by fears that the Iraqis may also turn their anger on the United Nations, whose 12 years of sanctions against Saddam's regime caused immense suffering to citizens. The sanctions were lifted by the U.N. Security Council only last month.
Da Silva said U.N. workers still faced 'severe restrictions' on their movements inside the country. 'We have parts of the country where U.N. staff cannot operate. I am afraid it is going to remain so for a while'.
Asked if humanitarian workers were being viewed as part of the UK-U.S. coalition, Da Silva said, 'The concern exists'.
The United Nations has also suffered heavy casualties in Afghanistan, where humanitarian workers -- some of them working for de-mining agencies -- have been kidnapped and killed by remnants of the Taliban, which was ousted from power following U.S. military strikes in October 2001.
Since the fall of Baghdad in April, Iraq is being governed by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), administered by the United States in its capacity as the occupying power.
| | | http://www.lescasquesbleuscitoyens.com
Mise en ligne le : 2005-05-05
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