Indonesia Executes Drug Trafficking Offenders

 

Eight men were executed in Indonesia on Wednesday morning. What has the world scrutinizing the country’s policies and humanitarian position is that these deaths were sentences for nonviolent crimes.

Two Australians, four Nigerians, one Indonesian, and one Brazilian were killed by firing squad for various drug trafficking crimes. They spent their last moments praying and singing together, and chose to not wear blindfolds as they met their end.

The men were detained in the years ranging from 1998-2005 for heroin and marijuana offenses. Indonesia is known to administer severe punishments to those found involved in illegal drug activities in efforts to curtail drug users and traffickers. For anyone caught trafficking more than 1 kilogram of drugs, the death penalty becomes a potential punishment.

The prisoners were given roughly 72 hours notice of their impending execution, leaving little time to say their final goodbyes to their families who visited.

Mary Jane Veloso was also scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, but was spared at the last moment after another woman in the Philippines voluntarily turned herself in, claiming she had recruited Veloso.

Those executed include Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, both Australians, who were the leaders of a heroin trafficking group named “The Bali Nine”. They were caught at an airport smuggling 8 kilograms back to Australia. Their appeals against execution went un-awarded, although their 10 years in jail was a time of rehabilitation. Sukumaran became an artist and Chan even earned a degree in theology.

Indonesia has received a significant amount of international scrutiny over this imprudent decision. This marks the 14^th death by execution Indonesia has ordered in this year alone. Amnesty International reported that these men did not receive fair trials nor appropriate legal counseling and interpretation.

In response to the killings, the Australian government withdrew its country’s ambassador to Indonesia and will return to Australia to consult with officials.

 

Sources

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/28/asia/indonesia-firing-squad-executions/

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/04/indonesia-defends-execution-drug-convicts-150429043046432.html

http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/news-item/indonesia-reprehensible-executions-show-complete-disregard-for-human-rights-safeguards

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32491980

http://goseasia.about.com/od/indonesia/a/Drug-Laws-In-Bali-And-The-Rest-Of-Indonesia.htm

Islamists move towards Syrian coast with the capture of Jisr al-Shoughour

On April 25, 2015 a loose alliance of Islamist groups, which calls itself the Army of Fatah, seized control of the Syrian city of Jisr al-Shoughour in what they call the “Battle of Victory,” increasing the amount of territory already seized by Islamist in the northwestern province of Idlib. The invasion and takeover of the city began on Thursday, April 23rd and after two days had officially been captured. The move is widely seen as a step towards the groups’ goal of taking control of the currently government-controlled Syrian coastline. Last month, the Idlib capital of Idlib city was captured by Sunni Islamists and has since been unable to reclaim by the Syrian government. This isn’t the first time Jisr al-Shughur has been involved in the war: in June 2011, large anti-Assad protests led to the controversial deaths of 120 troops that are still disputed by both the government and the protesters.

The coalition of Islamist groups that took over the Idlib province’s second-largest city, and the last major city in the province still under government control, includes: al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch called the Nusra Front (rival of ISIS), the hard-line Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, and the relatively moderate nationalist groups (such as Fursan al-Haq) that collectively call themselves the Free Syrian Army. The major Islamist group ISIS, or ISIL, was not a part of the seizing of Jisr al-Shoughour; this adds to the fact that the recent Islamist advances in both in northern and southern Syria are not only largely against President Bashar al-Assad’s government but against ISIS as well.

Released photos and videos of the takeover show that before the government in Jisr al-Shoughour withdrew, it killed at least two dozen prisoners being held by the military. Other videos and photos released by the Army of Fatah show that the Islamist alliance used antitank missiles – some of which were obtained by the Nusra Front from rebel groups that had originally received them from the United States last year – in the battles with the Idlib military fought to obtain the city; as of April 25th the death toll from the battles is at least 60 pro-government fighters, with most city residents having fled. Even with the recent hesitations of the United States to provide more weapons to the rebel groups (in part fueled by the Syrian government’s blaming of the United States for the Islamist advancements), there are suspicions that the anti-Assad Turkey and Saudi Arabia are willing and prepared to give even more support to the Islamist groups with or without the backing of the United States.

The most important aspect of the seizure of Jisr al-Shoughour, however, is not in the weapons that were used to take it but how it puts the various Islamist groups one step closer to taking over the government-controlled coastal provinces, such as Latakia and Tartous, which have been relatively untouched by the war: Jisr al-Shoughour is located five miles from Latakia and is located along one of the main routes between Latakia and city of Aleppo. The coastal territory is also the core of the Sunni Islam’s rival of the Alawite sect of Islam, of which the Assad family belongs, painting the territory as a major target in the anti-Assad groups’ goals. These areas, which hold the government’s crucial supply routes, are also home to large numbers of refugees who had fled from cities that have been taken over by Islamist groups.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32461693

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/25/us-syria-crisis-town-idUSKBN0NG09220150425
http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-islamist-rebel-alliance-seizes-northwest-syrian-city-20150425-story.html
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Apr-25/295718-nusra-allies-overrun-syria-govt-holdout-in-northwest.ashx
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article19510551.html

850 Migrants Dead in Mediterranean Boat Capsize

On April 19^th, 2015 yet another boat capsized in the Mediterranean. Tragically, only 28 people survived. UN officials have estimated that as many as 850 people may have been on board the severely overcrowded 20 foot long vessel. Tragically only 28 people survived. The rest, many of which were women and children trapped below deck, perished in the rolling sea. This makes it one of the worst maritime accidents the Mediterranean has seen since World War II.

The victims of the tragedy are of a class increasingly spotted in the Mediterranean. They are refugees fleeing their war torn countries. This particular boat was carrying desperate passengers out of Libya with a hope for a safer future in Europe. This capsizing brings the current estimated migrant death toll for April to well over 1,000. This makes it one of the worst months on record. Official estimates show April having three times as many migrants as the same time last year. They also estimate that as many as one million migrants have bottle necked in Libya from other war torn parts of the Middle East and Africa.

So just what is the world doing about this problem? Well the short answer is arguing. The closest country for many of the vessels is Italy. However, just this year Italy shut down their Mare Nostrum Search-and-Rescue Mission. It was replaced by Operation Triton, run by the EU’s border control agency, Frontex, which has a much narrower responsibility to patrol Italy’s territorial waters and a budget of less than a third that of Mare Nostrum. That combined with the increasing desperation of migrants to resettle in a safer continent has led to an increased death toll.

Sometimes other forces are called in to help. Just Monday, the Italian coastguard were called in to rescue a sinking fishing boat with 446 migrants aboard. All passengers — including 59 children and 95 women — were brought aboard an Italian Navy vessel.

The smugglers themselves are also seeing hard times in their operation. Rescue attempts have seen an increased number of smugglers forcibly take back their vessels when possible. This indicates that they are seeing a shortage of boats in which they can continue their operations. So in their thinking, the more people crammed on a boat, the larger the profit, but only if the boat is returned after the mission.

Just where these migrants will go once rescued remains to be seen. The people in charge have advocated for different plans anywhere from allowing the migrants to stay as refugees to sending them back to the danger they were trying to leave. The migrants’ future remains uncertain.

• http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21648896-another-boat-capsizes-between-libya-and-italy-europe-debates-migration-policy-worst-drowning-yet
• http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/21/world/europe/european-union-immigration-migrant-ship-capsizes.html?_r=0
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/hundreds-presumed-lost-at-sea/2015/04/19/d1693d16-e6ef-11e4-aae1-d642717d8afa_graphic.html
• http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/media/images/82436000/png/_82436964_mediterranean_migration_routes_624_v6.png
• http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32399433
• http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/20/migrants-drown-in-mediterranean-as-europe-refugee-/

Sinai Group Kills Officers in Bombings

Militants from the Sinai Province group, a terrorist group affiliated with ISIS, have claimed responsibility for two separate bombings that collectively killed 14 and injured almost 50 more in Egypt on April 11. The first explosion took place outside of a police station in El-Arish and killed 8 officers. The second explosion targeted soldiers traveling in an armored vehicle near Sheikh Zuweid and killed 6.

After Islamist president Mohammed Morsi was forced from power in 2013, the new President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, commanded new security forces to crack down on Morsi’s Muslim brotherhood supporters in the northern Sinai peninsula. As a result, a group formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Champions of Jerusalem), which was “initially known for launching attacks on Israeli targets and interests,” began directing attacks towards Egyptian governmental authorities, pledged affiliation to the Islamic State, and changed their name to the Sinai Province Group (bbc2). In October 2014, for example, this group claimed responsibility (through its twitter account) for two attacks on Egyptian “military positions in the Sinai that killed more than 30 soldiers” (bbc2). Since the October bombing, “Sinai has been under a state of emergency and a curfew” (bbc1). The state of emergency in Sinai has not proved effective in curbing militant attacks, however. In April, “Sinai militants killed 15 soldiers in one of the deadliest attacks in months” (nytimes). These ISIS affiliated militants have effectively waged war on Mr. Sisi’s government.

These most recent bombings are only a continuation of the attacks that began when The Sinai Province Group started targeting government/military officials in order to seek revenge for the police crackdown on Morsi supporters.

The police station bombing in El-Arish was caused when a suicide bomber driving a pick up truck (Facebook) drove through security barriers and rammed the building (bbc1) even after being shot at multiple times. In fact, the gunfire shot on behalf of security forces may have even detonated the bomb that ended up killing 8 and wounding 45.

Just hours before, militants affiliated with the same group attacked a fuel tanker and an armored vehicle with explosives.  The Egyptian military released a statement which said the attack killed an officer, a sergeant and four soldiers (bbc1).

“Sunday’s attacks bring April’s death toll to at least 41” (bbc1) in the Sinai, leaving us to wonder if President Sisi’s military-based crackdown upon Islamist terrorist groups in Egypt is the most effective way to protect the Egyptian people from violent political/religious extremism. Maybe a shift in strategy is needed.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32277286 (bbc1)

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25882504 (bbc2)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.882041485172849.1073745449.181662475210757&type=1

ISIS Executes Ethiopian Christians

On Sunday, April 19^th, the Islamic State struck out again, this time in the form of a mass execution of Ethiopian Christians in Libya. The Islamic State released a twenty-nine minute video that explains why these Christians were targeted, and other reasons why ISIS continues these attacks. At one point in the video, the narrator states, “Muslim blood that was shed under the hands of your religion is not cheap”. Over the past couple months, the Ethiopian government has initiated military strikes against Islamic extremists groups in Somalia. Therefore, it is speculated that this mass execution was in retaliation of the fighting occurring in Somalia.

The video came out a day after the Afghanistan President condemned the Islamic State for a suicide attack in Afghanistan that killed at least thirty-five, and injured over a hundred. This video also mirrors a video that the Islamic State released in February. In their February video, the Islamic State executed twenty-one Egyptian Christians in a similar fashion. After the release of that video, Egypt responded by conducting precise air strikes against the extremist group. Currently, it is still unclear whether Ethiopia will respond in a similar fashion; however, the Egyptian Ambassador to Ethiopia said that his country could partner with Ethiopia to strike at the militants. With this offer, it will be interesting to see if Ethiopia agrees to it, significantly increasing their effort and position in opposition of the Islamic State.

The video shows the militants and prisoners split between different provenances in the country, making it difficult for Ethiopia and the UN Security Council to get a concrete number of those that were executed. Those that were killed were thought to be migrating from Ethiopia to Europe, and with this event, ISIS hopes to prevent future migrants from attempting to cross the Middle East. This is no new tactic for the Islamic State; they have been targeting Christians and other religious groups that are unlike Islam for many months. Abba Mulugeta, an official within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, said, “No religion orders the killing of other people, even people from another religion”.

References:

“White House Condemns ISIS Video That Purportedly Shows Killing of Ethiopian Christians in Libya.” Fox News. FOX News Network, 20 Apr. 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/04/20/isis-video-purports-to-show-killing-ethiopians-in-libya/

“ISIS Executes More Christians in Libya, Video Shows – CNN.com.” CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/19/africa/libya-isis-executions-ethiopian-christians/

Onyanga-Omara, Jane. “ISIL Video Purports to Show Killing of Ethiopian Christians.” USA Today. Gannett, 19 Apr. 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/04/19/isil-ethiopian-christians/26026769/

MailOnline, Lydia Willgress for. “Slaughter on the Beach: ISIS Behead and Shoot Ethiopian Christians in Sickening New Propaganda Video .” Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 19 Apr. 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3045711/Slaughter-beach-ISIS-behead-shoot-Ethiopian-Christians-sickening-new-propaganda-video.html

“ISIS Claims Beheadings of Ethiopian Christians.” YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8gbx6LdFgQ

Boko Haram Violence in Nigeria Forces 800K Kids From Homes

According to a new United Nations report released today, 800,000 children have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the conflict in northeast Nigeria between Boko Haram, military forces and civilian self-defense groups. Released a year after the mass abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that the number of children forced from their homes from the violence has nearly doubled in less than a year. The UNICEF has reported 1.2 million displaced civilians.

Many of the children in Nigeria have been exposed to extreme violence in response to Boko Haram. UNICEF’s spokesman for West and Central Africa, Laurent Duvillier, told NBC News, “They are literally being hunted by Boko Haram, village after village,” he added. “They’ve seen with their own eyes sometimes their parents killed, sometimes their brothers and their sisters abducted… Many of these children cannot sleep, speak or eat normally because they are so affected by what they’ve seen.”

More than 1.5 million people have fled their homes due to Boko Haram related violence and nearly 15,000 civilians have died since the 2009 campaign of terror began. The UNICEF report released today stated that children “have become deliberate targets, often subjected to extreme violence — from sexual abuse and forced marriage to kidnappings and brutal killings.” Children are also being used as cooks, porters, and lookouts for the terrorist organization.

Many children subject to the Boko Haram violence are also being deprived of education. As many as 10.5 million of primary school aged children are not attending school in Nigeria. According to UNESCO figures, this is the highest in the world. 196 teachers and 314 schoolchildren were killed in 2014, and more than 300 schools were damaged or destroyed.

These children are in critical danger according to the Missing Childhood’s report. The UNICEF has continued in its humanitarian response to the crisis by providing psychosocial support and health services to children affected by the conflict. Facing a severe lack of funding, UNICEF is urging “international donors to ramp up their financial support for relief efforts in Nigeria and the neighboring countries”.

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-nigeria-schoolgirls/boko-haram-violence-has-forced-800-000-children-their-homes-n340406

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50556#.VSwfsbr92S0

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/13/world/nigeria-children-boko-haram/

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/apr/13/children-nigeria-conflict-unicef-boko-haram

http://www.unicef.org/media/media_81518.html

Garrissa University Assault Leaves 148 Dead

On Thursday, April 2, al-Shabab militants entered Garissa University in north-eastern Kenya and shot and killed 148 people. Most of the victims were students at the university who were attacked while they slept.

A timeline reported by states that the militants entered the university around 5:30 am, where they immediately killed 2 security guards. The men then made their way to the library and main campus where they began shooting students indiscriminately. Students were then attacked in classrooms while preparing for exams. Nearly 500 students were  able to escape through a fence near the dormitories where the gunmen were eventually  isolated by police.

According to a report by The Independent, when the militants entered the dormitories, they went from room to room asking the students if there were Muslim or Christian. Those who identified themselves as Christian were shot on the spot, according to eye witness reports.

The mastermind of that attack, named by the Kenyan government, was Mohamed Kuno, a high ranking official in al-Shabab. Kuno, according to CNN, has been put on a Kenyan ministry’s most wanted list, and a reward for $215,000 has been posted for his capture.

All four gunmen were killed after a 15 hour siege at the university, and several others have been arrested in connection with the attack.

One of the gunmen, Abdirahim Mohammed Abdullahi, was the son of a Kenyan government official in Mandera County. Fox News has revealed that the official had reported his son missing last year, and had feared that he had gone to Somalia.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations , al-Shabab is an al-Qaeda affiliated group fighting for the creation of an Islamic state in Somalia. The organization is reported to control most of southern and central Somalia with a few thousand members. Although their objectives vary, al-Shabab strictly enforces harsh interpretations of sharia, and is known for public stoning  adulterers and thieves.

References

Dearden, Lizzie. “Kenya Garissa University Attack: Al-Shabaab Vows to Make Kenya ‘run Red with Blood'” The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 4 Apr. 2015. Web. 08 Apr. 2015.

“Kenya Attack: 147 Dead in Garissa University Assault.” BBC News. N.p., 3 Apr. 2015. Web. 08 Apr. 2015.

“Kenya Launches Airstrikes against Al-Shabaab in Response to College Attack.” Fox News. FOX News Network, 06 Apr. 2015. Web. 08 Apr. 2015.

Masters, Jonathon, and Mohammed Sergie. “Al-Shabab.” Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 13 Mar. 2015. Web. 08 Apr. 2015.

Purefoy, Christian, Greg Botelho, Jethro Mullen, and Eliott C. McLaughlin. “Sources: Kenyan Airstrikes Hit Al-Shabaab Somalia Camps – CNN.com.” CNN. Cable News Network, 6 Apr. 2015. Web. 08 Apr. 2015.

Rhino Poachers Shot in South Africa

In the last week, there has been increased news coverage about rhino poaching, particularly in South Africa. The fact that rhinos are on the endangered species list is not news. Rhinos have been poached for their horns for decades. The news this week, however, is the death of poachers hunting for rhino horns in South Africa and Zimbabwe. With the number of rhinos killed increasing from in the double digits to over a thousand in the last decade, South African police and rangers are using drastic measures to protect the wild life and stem the illicit trade of Rhino horns, believed to cure cancer by many Asian cultures according to the BBC. In fact, according to traffic.org, the USAID Traffic Report, over 18,000 white rhinos and 1,700 black rhinos were killed by poachers last year in South Africa alone.

According to many accounts, the rhinos are left to one of two fates. They are either killed, their horns cut off, and their bodies left as worthless. The other animals, less lucky, are shot or tranquilized. While the animal is unconscious or impaired, the poachers cut off the horn for their profit and leave the animal, still alive. Most rhinos have become critically endangered, with wild populations only left in parts of Africa, especially South Africa.

While scientists look into ways of helping the rhinos who survive these attacks recover, there is still the issue of how the state deals with the poachers they catch. In the last week, rangers have leaned toward the extreme, shooting and killing suspected poachers before they could commit the crime, in action, or post crime. According to News24, these shootings are not unprovoked but in response to poachers first firing at the rangers in Zimbabwe. The rangers stated that the country is “stepping up” their protection of large game as attacks on the animals are continuing to increase.

While the illicit trade of ivory and rhino horns is not a new story, the increased poaching is creating new problems for the governments in African countries such as Zimbabwe and South Africa. Now a new question has been raised. How far must the police and rangers go in order to protect these animals? Will poachers continue to hunt these rare and endangered species if they know their own lives are at risk? The South African rangers (like those pictured above) will continue to fight in what they consider the “war against poachers” (CBC world news)

Sources:

Evans, Margaret. “South Africa Faces Uphill Battle against Rhino Poaching.” CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 2 Apr. 2015. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/south-africa-faces-uphill-battle-against-rhino-poaching-1.3018216&gt;.

Hosea, Leana. “Poaching the Creature That’s More Valuable than Gold.” BBC News. 4 Apr. 2015. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. <http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32151983&gt;.

Milliken, Tim. “ILLEGAL TRADE IN IVORY AND RHINO HORN: AN ASSESSMENT TO IMPROVE LAW ENFORCEMENT UNDER THE WILDLIFE TRAPS PROJECT.” Traffic.org. 1 Dec. 2012. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. <http://www.traffic.org/storage/W-TRAPS-Elephant-Rhino-report.pdf&gt;.

“Zim Rangers Shoot Dead Suspected Poachers Report.” News24. 2 Apr. 2015. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. <http://www.news24.com/Africa/Zimbabwe/Zim-rangers-shoot-dead-suspected-poachers-report-20150402-3&gt;.

Kenya University Attack caused at least 147 Deaths

On 04/03 Somalian religious extremist organization Al-Shabab “Youth Movement” claimed to be responsible for the attack in Garissa University. The assault caused deaths of at least 147 people, mostly students on a university in north-eastern Kenya.

5:30 AM, the militants with face mask entered the campus after blowing up the gate with grenades and killing two security guards. They then attacked a mosque on campus and hided into student dormitory buildings. The militants held students and staffs as hostage while the Kenyan official military started open fire on the attackers. Witnesses said the armed gunmen singled out Christians and shot them. As the Vice President of the Student Council recalled, the gunmen opened the dorm doors and asked if there was anyone hiding inside and if there was any Christian. He said they later saw people in uniforms from the government military, who managed students to escape and warned students to stay low when running. The Kenyan government claimed four gunmen were killed and a fifth one has reportedly been arrested.

The Kenyan government has named Mohamed Kuno, a high-ranking al-Shabab official, as the mastermind of the attack. Plus, the government have been offering a reward of 20 million Kenyan shillings (US $ 217,000) to apprehend Mohammed Kuno.

Later the news reported that one of the four gunmen who killed 148 people at a Kenyan college last week was the son of a government official. He used to be one of the top student in law school but withdrew from family and friends last year. This underscored the country’s challenges in tackling homegrown extremism.

Sources Used:

1. “Government Names Kenya Attack Mastermind – CNN.com.” CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/05/africa/kenya-attack/&gt;.

2. “Gunman in Kenya College Attack Was Son of Government Official.” WSJ. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/gunman-in-kenya-attack-was-son-of-government-official-1428251863&gt;.

3. “Kenya Attack: 147 Dead in Garissa University Assault.” BBC News. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32169080&gt;.