Government Grants for All

Evil Takes a Holiday

Chapter One: A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts

Once upon a time there were two men, living at the same time in the same country. These two men were as different as night and day, and yet they possessed one common thread: the protection of their country against terrorism.

David Meerschaum was a very tall, dark and handsome mild-mannered man, worldly and sophisticated, soft-spoken but firm in his beliefs. Shlomo Palmer was a medium-height blondish, handsome and slightly excitable man, also worldy and sophisticated, but not very soft-spoken. He also had firm beliefs and voiced them often, although always under clever disguises. It was instant friendship from the beginning, each of them recognizing in the other, the commonality between them. They could even read each other’s thoughts, and occasionally finish each other’s sentences. They decided to team up and develop their own organization, which they called “A.U.N.T.” (America Under No Terror). Their arch-enemy, an evil organization called “F.L.U.S.H.” (Foreign Liars Under Sleazy Hooligans), was soon on their heels, their one goal: to annihilate A.U.N.T. and all that it stood for.

The first case of Meerschaum and Palmer began in the little known island of Bongo-bongo, somewhere in the South Pacific. Lush vegetation, clear waters and beautiful women all added up to an adventure that both were looking forward to. Unfortunately, agents from F.L.U.S.H. had already ensconced themselves there quite comfortably several months ahead of our two heros, and had bribed the inhabitants with a never-ending supply of the best Kobe beef money could buy. They held the local population at their mercy, and enjoyed the hedonistic life-style so absent in their own countries.

When our two heros arrived, they were greeted by a bevy of beautiful island women, eager to get to know these strangers to their shores. As Meerschaum and Palmer were both in disguise, playing the roles of Hollywood movie agents, throngs of men and women followed them from their launch to their luxury beach cabana, inundating them with questions and generally being a nuisance. Only the mayor knew their true identity. Once safely in the privacy of their home for the next few weeks, they breathed a sigh of relief that the first step was over: fooling the public. With luck, the F.L.U.S.H. agents wouldn’t have a clue that these two sleuths were on their tails. Their mission: to flush F.L.U.S.H. down the toilet of evil forever.

After a peaceful night they awakened to the sound of loud drumming just outside their cabana. The custom of this island is to greet the dawn of each new day by making the loudest noise possible, in this case some timpani that were left behind by the New York Philharmonic on their last visit there. Meerschaum pulled his heavy down pillow over his head, groaning, while Palmer shot up like a rocket, suspicious of the cacaphony and what it could mean.

“Hey, Meerschaum!” Palmer barked at him.
“Oh . . . leave me alone, Palmer, I had a bad night, ” mumbled Meerschaum from underneath his pillow.
“Bad night, good night, there’s something going on out there and we’ve got to find out what it is.” Palmer got out of bed and walked over to the window, pulled up the bamboo blinds and squinted into the bright sunlinght. Immediately he saw the source of the noise, and emitted an expletive.
“Gotta stop that right now! Don’t want that happening every morning.” Palmer opened the door, and asked the band to stop playing in his most polite manner. The band didn’t seem to respond and kept on beating the drums just as loudly as before.
“HEY!!!! I asked you guys to be QUIET!” Yelled Palmer. Suddenly the band stopped, wide-eyed and shocked at the vehemence in Palmer’s voice.
“Please, Mr. Palmer, this is a custom of our little island. They don’t mean any harm. I am very sorry.” explained the hotel owner. Palmer asked him if they could just tone it down in the future, to which the hotel owner promised to comply with Palmer’s wishes.

Breakfast passed pleasantly enough, with dark red papaya and strong island-grown coffee. Meerschaum stood up, stretched and announced that he was going inside to catch up on the latest news from his laptop, while Palmer decided to take a walk around the island to listen to the locals gossiping. If they were supposed to be Hollywood agents, they had better look and act the parts, thought Palmer, and suggested to Meerschaum that they both wear sunglasses all the time; besides, it would help keep them incognito. They were attempting to look laid-back, wearing sandals, Bermuda shorts and t-shirts, trying to fit into the local scene of vacationers. It was going to be slowly, slowly, catchy monkey if they wanted to defeat the enemy. Jumping in at the deep end and ruining everything before it began was not on the agenda; all successes were based upon perfect timing and execution. They decided to meet up for lunch at 1:00 sharp at the Gazebo, the outdoor restaurant on the beach.

“Find out anything?” asked Meerschaum, while sipping his Mai Tai.
“Not yet, ” replied Palmer, while crunching his coconut-dipped deep fried shrimp. The sun was straight overhead, beating down on the roof of the restaurant, although a cooling sea breeze occasionally wafted towards the two sleuths.
“We’ve got to mingle with the people more, get to know who’s who here, that kind of stuff,” remarked Meerschaum. He had his own ideas about how to extract information from the locals and tourists alike, but wasn’t about to divulge his plans to Palmer—-at least, not yet. Although they were fast friends, there was that tiny amount of professional one-upmanship that sometimes happens when super-sleuths are thrown together on a mission. Palmer had his own ideas, too, but kept them close to his chest for the time being.

“I’ve been mingling, Meerschaum, but really, these people just don’t seem to gossip. I mean, I had three Island Hoppers at the bar, trying to listen in to these two guys wearing suits, but then they noticed me and moved away. Funny, those suits . . . in this climate? ” Palmer’s voice trailed away into his own private ponderings while Meerschaum looked at him through his drink.
“Did it ever occur to you, Palmer, that these ‘guys in suits’ could be F.L.U.S.H. agents?” queried Meerschaum.
Palmer spit out a shrimp tail, and it landed on Meerschaum’s plate. Meerschaum merely looked down at it and brushed it off.
“Meerschaum! That is the absolute most obvious trick in the book! An evil agent looking like an evil agent? C’mon, you should know better than that. No F.L.U.S.H. agent is going to look like a F.L.U.S.H. agent, are they?” Palmer had that knowing look in his eyes, confident in his assumption about what evil agents really looked like.

“O.K., Palmer, but you know they are very clever. Yes, very clever indeed, and could be using the old dress-like-an-evil-agent disguise to fool us. You know, they are evil agents but think that by dressing like evil agents, no one in their right mind would suspect that they really are evil agents. Get it?” And with that, Meerschaum finished his Mai Tai and started into his hot Singapore noodles.

Palmer hated it when Meerschaum was right, and he very well could be in this instance. Perhaps those two thug-looking men were F.L.U.S.H. agents, just floating around the island. What were they doing here and how long had they been enjoying this tropical paradise and WHERE was their headquarters here? Two great minds think alike and both men quickly rose from their bamboo chairs, signed the tab for lunch, then strode off together. It was about time to get into their roles as Hollywood agents and hold bogus auditions for the next big fake flick, “Pirates of the South Pacific” . It was in this way that they hoped to capture the F.L.U.S.H. agents, but it was going to be a long haul.

Chapter Two: Who Are Those Men in the Foster Grants?

“Could we PLEASE have some order here? I said ORDER!!! One at a time, please!” yelled Palmer as he tried to hold the crowd of Hollywood hopefuls at bay. This was going to be harder than he thought, as Palmer frantically waved to his counterpart in espionage.
“Hey, Meerschaum, I could use a little help here!” he called out in his most Hollywood-agent sounding voice.
“Oh, yeah, right, Palmer. I’ll be over in a minute.” Meerschaum quickly closed his laptop, which he never left behind. It was his lifeline, his main addiction. Women could be considered his other addiction but when he was on an assignment, it was all business and no pleasure. Which was going to be difficult when surrounded by all these island beauties. . . . He strode over in double-time to where Palmer was attempting to explain what parts were needed for this film.
“We need a lot of extras, you know, people to work on the ships, on the shores, fishermen, etc. Would the women please get into this line, and the men in this? Thank you. ” After about an hour into the auditions, small beads of sweat were beginning to appear on Palmer’s upper lip, which he quickly wiped off with the back of his wrist. The wind had died down and the sun was scorchingly hot. It was going to be a long day; this play-acting at pretending to be Hollywood agents isn’t that easy, thought Palmer to himself, and then he spied something strange going on near the quay.

There were the two men he saw earlier, still in their suits and sunglasses, measuring something next to the beach bar, the Lee Shore. Palmer was determined to get to know these gentlemen a little better, and suggested to Meerschaum that they take a well-deserved break and have a drink at the bar. Meerschaum complied with this plan, as it had been a grueling day and he could just feel that ice-cold Margarita sliding down his parched throat.
As they sipped their drinks, they tried to listen to what the two sunglasses-clad men were saying, but with the sound of the surf and a beach volleyball game going on, it was difficult. One of the men noticed Meerschaum and Palmer, stopped what he was doing and walked over to them.

“Hello, I noticed you watching us. Aren’t you the Hollywood agents for that new movie, Pirates of the South Pacific?” the heavier of the mysterious men asked.

“Yeah,” answered Palmer, “We’re the ones; he’s David Meerschaum and I’m Shlomo Palmer. Nice to meet you, Mr. . .?”
“Smith. John Smith, at your service,” offered the stranger. “Yeah, yeah, I know, but it’s my real name. No one believes it, but it’s true. My parents didn’t have much imagination . . .” His voice trailed off and he grew bleary-eyed, as if he was remembering something in his past. “Just call me Johnny. That’s what my dear mother called me.”
“O.K., Johnny,” answered both of them in unison. “Join us for a drink?”
“Oh, no, sorry I never drink while working; that’s one of my rules. ” And before they could ask if he would join them for dinner later, he had turned around and walked back to his colleague, who was still busy measuring something.

“That was the oddest exchange I have ever encountered,” said Palmer. “Did you hear his weird accent? Sort of cross between Russian and Chinese. And he doesn’t look like a John Smith either. ‘it’s my real name’ what a load of bull . . . . .” but Meerschaum hadn’t heard a thing Palmer said because just at that moment, the most beautiful woman appeared from behind the bar and stood in front of Meerschaum.

“Hi, David, it’s been a long time . . .” Meerschaum couldn’t move from his bar stool, so stunned he was at this vision of lovliness, this strawberry blond from another time in his life.

“Serena . . .” Meerschaum announced her name as if she were a ghost. . . in a way, she was an apparition.
“So, you do remember me after all these years?” asked the lovely Serena. “I heard you were coming here, but darling, Hollywood agents? Now what are you up to?”

“SH-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” hushed Meerschaum in his loudest stage whisper. “How did you know we were coming here? And aren’t you still working for the government?”
“No, darling, I quit that business a long time ago. Got so tired of all the murders, suicides, etc. so decided to cut out and come here. I live here now, it’s wonderful to be so cut off from all that nasty stuff that I used to love.” At this, she moved closer to Meerschaum and ran her finger down his cheek. This had the desired effect and Meerschuam blushed profusely.
“Ha ha ha ha, I can still do it to you, David!” laughed the evil Serena. “Now, tell me who is your handsome friend?”

“Oh, no, you aren’t getting your claws into Palmer! He’s too nice for you to ruin.” At that retort, Meerschaum stood up and blocked Serena’s view of Palmer, who had been totally absorbed in watching the two men, still measuring.
“Out of my way, you party pooper!” Serena pushed past him and made a direct beeline for Palmer.
“Hello, l’ll introduce myself since your friend is so rude. I’m Serena Samson, formerly of the F.B.I.”
“I’m Shlomo Palmer. Hollywood agent,” stumbled Palmer.
“Oh, cut it out, Mr. Palmer. I know you work for A.U.N.T. I know everything about that organization, except that I don’t know you yet,” purred Serena, while stroking Palmer’s cheek. It had the same effect on Palmer that it had on Meerschaum, the rising redness on his cheek was proof of this.
Meerschaum looked upon this little scene with a mixture of envy and fear; envy because he had once loved Serena, and fear, because he knew that she could destroy Palmer and all their plans with one wicked word from her beautiful lips. Something had to be done, and done quickly, to quell this evil vixen.

Chapter 3: You Dirty Rat

“Where’s my red tie?” demanded Palmer, as he scoured the wardrobe for his beloved silk cravat.
“I can’t believe that you are actually going out with her!” quipped Meerschaum, annoyed and even a little jealous of his friend. “You know she is up to no good, so why are you putting yourself through this torture?”
“Because” answered Palmer, as he created a beautiful knot in his tie, “I plan to bribe Little Bo-Peep with lots of pretty baubles if she tells me how we can get to the F.L.U.S.H. agents before they get to us.” His dinner jacket the finishing touch to his evening clothes, Palmer grabbed his key and swept out of their cabana into the balmy night, whistling a merry tune, while Meerschaum scowled and although he knew he couldn’t stop his friend, was certain that something bad was going to happen. Palmer was a big boy, he could take care of himself, but that woman was Pure Poison and sure to get into his system. Once that happened, he was hooked and the mission may as well be chucked altogether. One bright hope, however, was that Palmer would come to his senses before it was too late.

Serena and Palmer walked along the shore in the twilight, on their way to the hotel’s best restaurant, the Kontiki Room. Ceiling fans, white wicker chairs and impeccable service made the evening fly by. Palmer was the perfect host, plying his lady with more wine, more foie gras, more Cointreau, until he was sure she was pliable enough to talk. What he didn’t know was that Serena had slipped a sleeping tablet into Palmer’s wine and it was starting to take effect.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I feel like I need to sleep,” yawned Palmer as he signed the tab, and they left the restaurant. He knew he hadn’t had that much to drink, he’d made sure that Serena had more wine than he did, so why did he feel like so drowsy?
“Listen, Serena, I have to go back to my cabana, something’s wrong with me . . . I don’t feel very well—”

Suddenly Palmer collapsed and Serena took out her tiny penlight and flashed a signal to her cohorts, the men in suits. They appeared from under the pier, dragged Palmer onto a makeshift wagon, and pulled him out of sight. That accomplished, they paid Serena her usual charge, $1,000 cash on the spot. She greedily stuffed it down her dress and made her way surreptitiously back to her own cabana. There she put the money into her safe, where there was a lot more of the dirty green stuff. She smiled the smile of the Cheshire cat, another day’s work done. Stripping off her dress, she flung back the cool white sheets and flopped into bed, satiated and exhausted from too much wine. Tomorrow she would have to face Meerschaum, but she would invent something plausible that she hoped he would believe. After all, he was going to be her next victim. With Meerschaum and Palmer out of the picture, F.L.U.S.H. would once more flourish and the world of terror would reign supreme.

Chapter 4: Pandora’s Box

Meerschaum slept poorly, and sometime in the early hours of the morning, woke up to look at his travel clock. It read 4:17; he looked over at Palmer’s bed but there was no Palmer in it. Strange, he thought, Palmer usually isn’t a party animal. . . a sick feeling swept over him and he realized that something nasty had happened to him. He quickly pulled on his trousers, picked up his cell phone, the room key, put on his sandals, and stealthily left the cabana to search for his friend. He was certain that he was in deep trouble but had no idea what kind. At first he only thought that Palmer had had a great time with Serena and decided to stay at her place, but then remembered exactly what kind of woman she was. No man ever had a great time with her; she had a great time with them and afterwards, tossed them away like so much refuse. No, Palmer was in danger, he was certain of that, and it was time to find him.

“WAKE UP, SERENA! C’MON, I KNOW YOU ARE IN THERE!” Meerschaum yelled into Serena’s bedroom window. Serena lazily lifted the bamboo blind, looked out to see a very angry Meerschaum glaring straight into her golden eyes.
“Dah-ling, what is it? What’s wrong?” she asked in between yawns.
“You know what’s wrong. Where’s Palmer?” Meerschaum demanded.
“How should I know? He left from here hours ago. He had too much to drink, poor thing.” There wasn’t a sincere word in that entire statement and Meerschaum knew it.
“I know you know where he is. Now TELL ME!” Meerschaum’s voice sounded ominous and for the first time, Serena was actually afraid.
“I swear to you, darling. I haven’t the slightest idea where he is! “That was the truth; she had no idea where the two men had dragged Palmer.
“But you know something happened to him, I know you do. So you’d better tell Daddy everything, dah-ling, if you value your life.” For only the second time in his life, Meerschaum pulled out a handgun, complete with a silencer. He knew how to use it but hesitated this time, because he really loved women and found it very difficult to even contemplate shooting one, even one as evil as Serena. When Serena realized that Meerschaum was serious, she became agitated and pale.
“O.K! O.K! I will tell you what happened! BUT PLEASE, DON’T SHOOT ME!” Serena pleaded. So she told him about the two F.L.U.S.H. agents, her drugging of Palmer, and the dragging away of him.
“But I really don’t know where they took him! Please, David, you MUST believe me, I only did it for the money! There is nothing to do here, and I need to eat, after all.” Serena had put on the little-girl-lost look, but it wasn’t lost on Meerschaum. He knew that he couldn’t trust her as much as he couldn’t trust a king cobra.
“So, the F.L.U.S.H. agents have been here for six months? And you are working for them now? Serena, I thought you had better taste than that,” Meerschaum remarked, but still holding the gun on her. His slightly sardonic smile enervated her, and she dropped to her little bedroom chair, shaking. When she did this, she was in full view of Meerschaum.
“Hadn’t you better put something on and help me look for Palmer?” Meerschaum averted his eyes from the lovely scene before him, and Serena suddenly remembered that she never slept in nightgowns, and grabbed the top sheet from the bed, wrapping it around her.
“Of course, Mr. Meerschaum, all things must be done with propriety, mustn’t they?” The sneer in her voice was obvious but Meerschaum ignored it, telling Serena to hurry to get dressed.

They walked out into the early morning, with only a few hours left until the glorious sunrise that only the South Pacific can produce. Meerschaum had a grip on Serena’s arm and was roughly pulling her over the cool sand, when she stumbled on a rock and winced. Meerschaum stopped for a moment, told her he was sorry, and she tried one of her smiles on him, but he wouldn’t be fooled ever again by that smile. Once burnt, twice shy, as the saying goes. So on they trod until they came to the quayside.
“This is where I saw the men drag him and then I went home. I swear to you I don’t know where they took him!” Serena repeated her plea of innocence, while Meerschaum gazed intently onto the pier.
“Wasn’t there a small yacht tied here yesterday?” Meerschaum asked.
“Yes, there was, it belongs to one of the big real estate companies here on the island,”answered Serena. “The name of it is the Island Princess,” she offered.
“The Island Pincess. Hm-m-m-m- . . .”Meerschuam was contemplating this when suddenly heard a loud sound coming from underneath a small fishing boat.
“Help! Help! Somebody, help me! “Meerschaum instantly recognized the voice of Palmer.
“Here, Palmer, it’s Meerschaum! We’ll get you out!” Serena and Meerschaum heaved the boat off of Palmer, who had been tied up at the ankles and wrists with marine rope. In his attempt to loosen it, he had only caused chafed skin, which was not a pretty sight. Meerschaum quickly intied the knots, but Palmer still couldn’t move.
“What took you so long?” asked an anxious Palmer. “I’ve been here all night!! “
“Well, Goody Two-Shoes here double-crossed us,” explained Meerschaum. “It seems she now works for F.L.U.S.H. and was only trying to make a little money.” Serena dutifully blushed at this, but she was able to turn on emotions like a faucet. This time neither men were fooled. Palmer slowly stood up, stretched his aching muscles, and then noticed a briefcase that had been next to him underneath the boat.
”Say, look at this, Meerschaum! Hey, there could be loads of dirty money in here. What do you think—-” But Palmer was cut off, while Meerschaum grabbed him and Serena, ran as far away as possible and then the explosion came: there had been a bomb in the briefcase, one of the tactics frequently used by F.L.U.S.H. to destroy its enemies. All three fell to the ground, but thankfully were unhurt, except for some damaged egos.
“How did you know, Meerschaum?” Palmer asked incredulously.
“Elementary, my dear Palmer. You: A.U.N.T. Them: F.LU.S.H. Briefcase on the beach? Bomb!” Meerschaum brushed the sand from his trouser leg, all the time looking at Serena, and still using his gun for threat purposes.
“Oh, David, you don’t think that I had anything to do with this? I told you, I just got paid for getting Palmer for them, not putting this bomb here! I am telling you the truth!!!”" Serena nearly screamed this, and the two men put their hands on her mouth to quiet her shrill voice.
“Get your dirty hands off my mouth!” She yelled at them, trying to bite their hands.
“O.K. sweetheart, but you are coming with us. You are going to tell us where Mr. John Smith and his buddy are.” With one man on each side of her, painfully grasping her arms, she had no choice but to take them where they wanted to go, but in all the commotion, they hadn’t realized just how loud the bomb was, and soon the entire island was awake and running toward the beach.

“Mister! Mister! What happened? We heard something like a bomb! What happened?” asked the hotel owner. Meerschaum made up a story about the bomb being part of the movie, and was extremely sorry to have awakened and frightened everyone.
“So sorry, everyone, we didn’t mean to disturb the peace. Everything’s all right now, so you can go back to whatever you were doing. Sorry . . .” With that, the three players walked away, to enjoy a much-deserved breakfast, while the island’s tourist population gazed in amazement at how realistic Hollywood movies were these days. . . .

Chapter 5: Just The Facts, Ma’am
During breakfast, Palmer briefed Meerschaum on what he overheard while the two F.L.U.S.H. agents were tying him up.
“They definitely have a grip on this island. Everything’s imported here, you know, food, clothes, etc. There are no industries here, no natural resources except for the usual island fare, coconuts, their by-products, bamboo, that sort of thing. The people here love Kobi beef and would do anything to get it, so when F.L.U.S.H. got wind of the numbers of really wealthy retirees living here, they thought up the Kobe Beef for Money scheme. They go to Japan several times a year, buy up a huge stock of Kobe beef, send it frozen to Bongo-bongo, a voila! Instant success. Dirty green stuff for them, Kobe beef for the islanders.”
“O.K., Palmer, but that doesn’t sound much like terrorism to me,” argued Meerschaum, digging into his quail egg omelet.
“No, Meerschaum, you don’t get it. The terrorism isn’t the Kobe beef, it’s the dirty green stuff that F.L.U.S.H. sends to the terrorist organizations. They make a small profit by holding back some 20% of the earnings, the rest goes to the real terrorists. In other words, the F.L.U.S.H. agents are just flunkies.”
Meerschaum absorbed this interesting bit of information while masticating his chicken by-product. He then took a long swig of the excellent freshly-ground very very strong island-grown coffee.
“So, what we are supposed to do is to stop F.L.U.S.H.’s very lucrative little business between Japan and Bongo-bongo, thereby depleting the enemies of necessary funds for their evil empires, and thereby depleting this lovely tropical island of its main source of income: the rich retirees. How does that sound, Palmer?” Meerschaum gingerly finished his breakfast and pushed the plate away, raised one eyebrow and gave Palmer one of his famous “Got any solutions?” looks.
“Look here, Meerschaum. These guys are criminals. That means that the rich retirees are doing business with criminals. Yeah, I know they don’t know it, but they are going to have to know it, and soon.” Palmer wasn’t about to let Meerschaum’s sentimentality about beautiful tropical islands get in the way of justice. He was right, of course, the big Kobe beef game had to stop, but was there a legal alternative to this addiction? While he sipped his morning espresso, he contemplated what other source of income these good people could employ in order for their livelihoods to survive. They would have to be told about the Kobe beef problem, and an alternative solution would have to present itself to him a.s.a.p.
Meerschaum cleared his throat and looked over at Serena, who had been handcuffed to the table. She hadn’t really been listening at all to this conversation, but instead was staring out at the sea, calm at this time of the morning before the first tide came in. She hadn’t touched her breakfast and seemed depressed.
“As far as the problem of Kobe beef being substituted for another imported product, that is easily solved by asking the people what else they would like that isn’t available here. But the real problem is exterminating F.L.U.S.H. before they exterminate us. We have slightly got away from our mission here, which is to destroy our enemy.” Meerschaum’s sensible words activated Palmer’s quick brain cells, and he realized that their time was running out. Money was still going to the terrorists on a daily basis from this island paradise and it had to stop. John Smith and his colleague were still on the run (perhaps they had already left on that yacht?), so their mission wasn’t over with yet. Serena had proved that she couldn’t be trusted. Too many problems followed the agonizing night Palmer spent under that boat.

“I say we take a small break. I need a shower, change of clothes, connecting to headquarters. See you in an hour, Meerschaum.” Palmer strode off toward their cabana, purpose in his stride and in his heart.
“Ditto,” replied Meerschaum, and, leaving Serena chained to the table, instructed the maitre’d not to let her out of his sight. It was time for him to connect to his laptop and see what was going on in the rest of the world.

Serena Samson was conveniently placed in protective custody by the Bongo-bongo Police Department. Her little cell had all the amenities that a woman of her caliber required: a private toilet, a little sink, a comfortable camp cot, even a little window for her to look out into the world. Unfortunately she wasn’t very happy about this arrangement and protested loudly to the prison guards.

“I said let me out of here! I’m an American citizen! You can’t do this to me! I want a lawyer!” All for naught; the guards simply ignored her until her screaming and yelling started to really get on their nerves.
“Look, Ms. Samson, you had better stop this nonsense or else you will have to be gagged,” one of the guards said.
“You wouldn’t dare touch me,” sneered Serena. “I have diplomatic immunity.”
“Oh, yeah? Since when does a common criminal get diplomatic immunity?” The familiar voice of Palmer startled Serena into silence, but only for a moment.
“Shlomo, oh Shlomo, why did you do this to me? If you let me out, I will help you find the F.L.U.S.H. agents. I know where they went.” Serena decided to change her tune, realizing that cooperating with them would mean gaining her freedom and then she would escape on the next oceanliner that came along.
“Sorry, little one, but this is the safest place for you. After what you did to me last night, do you really think that we trust you anymore?” Palmer unwrapped a Tootsie Roll and popped it into his mouth, and, turning away from the cell, walked out into the warmth of the afternoon. Meerschaum soon met up with him, and they decided they needed an emergency meeting.
“Look, Palmer. This mission isn’t going very smoothly. We are supposed to be squashing F.L.U.S.H. and then getting out of here, and all we’ve accomplished is you getting Micky Finned by that nasty bit of work named Serena, and two of our arch enemies escaping on the yacht. We’ve got to make more progress today, so I bought this stuff to help us.” Meerschaum pointed to a big bag of snorkeling equipment. “We’re going out there in about an hour. There’s a diving boat that will take us out to a reef, where we can snorkel; there’s a small island with some caves that we need to explore. Ever done spelunking?”
“No, not really into that kind of sport,” Palmer answered slowly,” and I’m not sure where we’re going with this. Did you get a tip?”
“Naturally. I don’t usually choose to enter unknown caves in the South Pacific. It’s a known fact that F.L.U.S.H. has an outpost in one of these islands, and according to my sources, it’s that island over there.”
Meerschaum pointed to a distant mountainous little island, which resembled the Rock of Gibraltar. “If my sources are correct, and I have every reason to believe that they are, then our agents will be there. I’ve already got help coming from Fiji and Tonga, so we’ll have cover if needed.” Meerschaum downed the last of his iced tea and beckoned for the waiter. “I’ll have another ice tea; Palmer, what about you? Need another iced chai?” Palmer declined a second drink. If they were going snorkeling and then spelunking, any extra liquids in his system would create a negative balance.

Chapter 6: A Brilliant Deduction

It took just over an hour to reach Tipi. The reef there was beautifully clear and crisp. The shallow water provided a great opportunity for snorkeling and most of the passengers rolled out of the diving boat, to view the sea life. Although neither Palmer nor Meerschaum were very experienced snorkelers or divers, they had some cursory training by Navy Seals just in case of an event such as this. Since they were still in their role of Hollywood agents, they had to maintain that aura of exclusivity that surrounds such people, and had only the best equipment and the finest wet suits available.
Meerschaum waved for Palmer to follow him around the west side of the island, to gain entrance into the grotto. Both men were strong swimmers, and were soon upon the entrance of the cave.
“O.K., Palmer. This is it. Get your magnum ready, we may need it.” Meerschaum checked his weapon and proceeded into the cave. It seemed that someone had been there before them, as a chewing gum wrapper floated past them. Palmer grabbed the little piece of paper and looked at the name: Big Bubble, a well-known American brand. But that didn’t tell him much; this kind of stuff was available all over the world, and didn’t necessarily mean that the gum was being chewed by an American. He decided to keep it anyway as evidence.
The two men hoisted themselves up onto some rocks and rested for a few minutes. It was ominously quiet, the only sound the dripping of water from a small hole in the wall of the cave. The echo it produced made it sound louder than it really was, and Meerschaum was trying to listen intently to any other sound inside the cave, but all was quiet. He put his finger to his lips to signal to Palmer not to make a sound, as they stealthily walked further into the cave, their weapons ready for action.
Suddenly Palmer stopped in his tracks and crouched down, Meerschaum doing the same. He had heard the distinct voice of John Smith, as clear as a bell, coming from somewhere inside the cave. There was someone else with him, probably the other F.L.U.S.H. agent.
“This is it, Meerschaum. This is where we shine. I hear the copters overhead, so let’s go in slowly and wait for our reinforcements before we open fire. Could be nasty.” And with that, the two sleuths inched their way further into the cave. But what they saw through a small crack shocked them to paralysis: Standing only about ten feet from them was the largest counterfeiting operation they had ever seen. Not only was F.L.U.S.H. sending dirty money to terrorists, they were sending funny dirty money, printing it in this unbelievably idyllic place. It seemed a sin, a real sin, to ruin the lovliness of this natural beauty, with the workings of evil, Meerschaum thought. Now they would have to change their strategy, and change it quickly. Reinforcements were on their way, but would they arrive in time?

Chapter 7: In the Eye of the Storm

“Good afternoon, Mr. Meerschaum and Mr. Palmer, Hollywood agents—-or is that A.U.N.T. agents?” The very distinctive voice of John Smith shattered the silence of the cave. Meerschaum and Palmer turned around quickly to notice Mr. Smith, and his colleague, who’s name they still didn’t know. Frozen with terror, neither sleuth said a word as the two antagonistas closed in on them, both carrying Kalishnakov’s. “Gentlemen, drop your weapons! You are up against greater power.” Our two heros had no choice but to do as they were bid, the guns clanging to the ground, echoing throughout the cave. The hitherto unnamed Mr. Jones, Mr. Smith’s colleague, slithered over to snatch the weapons, keeping his gun aimed on Meerschaum and Palmer.
“Isn’t it just too bad that you found out where we’ve been hiding?” Mr. Smith said as he stood there, glaring at the two captives, a twinkle in his beady eyes. “I can’t decide if you are more valuable to us dead or alive. If we kill you, we will not find out any more secrets about your organization, but if we allow you to live, you will be our prisoners and there’s always the possibility that you will escape and ruin our little business here,” went on Smith, sweeping his hands over the counterfeit works.
“”Keep talking, Smith, and by the time you’re finished with your little soliloquy our reinforcements will be on top of you; maybe you’ll be atomized right in front of our eyes.” Palmer felt the disadvantage of their positions but wasn’t about to let their enemies know this.
Trying desperately to think of their next move, the one that would save their lives, Meerschaum and Palmer heard the sound of helicopters overhead. The two thugs heard them too, and in their panic, lost concentration for a moment. In that second, the two A.U.N.T. agents, who were still in their wet suits, dropped into the nearby water. Smith and Jones opened up fire on them but it was too late, our two sleuths had escaped out into the sea, and waved down the helicopters. Their help had arrived in the eleventh hour; a ladder fell down from the copter and the two men climbed up to safety. They explained the situation to the two agents who rescued them and they flew to the other side of the island.
Smith and Jones were now trapped inside the cave and the only way to escape was their little yacht, but that was taking a huge chance. They ran through to the other side of the cave and heard a huge explosion. Their yacht had just been decimated and now they were truly trapped. Thinking to destroy their own counterfeiting machines, they laid dynamite at strategic points and were about to ignite it when a team of twelve divers, more A.U.N.T. agents, surrounded them. Now they knew it was over.

“Don’t bother to blow it up or swallow that cyanide pill. We want you guys alive. Drop your weapons.”
The two criminals dutifully did as commanded. Four agents whipped handcuffs on them and they were shoved into a small boat.

Meerschaum and Palmer had been dropped down again onto the island to find out who their captors really were.
“I would like to introduce you to Alexei Stronakov and Boris Ching, two of the most wanted terror-supporting slimes in the world.” The spokesman for the arriving agents beamed as he announced this amazing bit of information.
“Russians. That figures,” said Palmer, as he spit in the water, making a little wave. Meerschaum looked just as repulsed as Palmer, and just stared at the two men who nearly took their lives. He was exhausted and just wanted to go home. All the exhilaration had gone out of this mission and he felt flat and depressed. He was thinking of Serena, still back at Bongo-bongo, still in prison, still the same wicked woman she always was. A familiar voice shook him out of his reverie.
“Hey, Meerschaum, are you still with us?” Palmer put his hand on Meerschaum’s shoulder. His buddy just nodded his head, too tired to speak.
The counterfeiting operation was exposed, the criminals justly arrested, and Meerschaum and Palmer boarded another dive boat back for Bongo-bongo. It was early evening by the time they arrived and most of the island was still in the enchanting time of siesta. They made their way back to their cabana and sat for a few minutes, absorbing the day’s exciting action. Meerschaum suggested that Palmer shower first, that he had something to do. He opened his laptop, unlocked it and read his emails. He immediately saw one from an old girlfriend from university days, and wondered how she got his email? Was it a trick? He had learned in this business to be suspicious first, trusting last. He read through the message and couldn’t see anything more in it except a friendly “hello, how are you?” type of message, so decided to reply. The Serena days were over; Palmer could have her, if he wanted her. It was time for him to move on to better things.

Chapter 8: All in a Day’s Work

The next morning broke sunny and promising. Meershaum and Palmer were having breakfast in the seaside restaurant, the Mermaid, when Serena walked up to their table.
“May I join you gentlemen?” She asked in that unnerving way.
“Of course, please sit down.” Both men stood up, and pulled a chair out for the siren. She sat demurely, fluffing her beautiful hair and straightening her skirt. “Could I please have an orange juice?” she asked the waiter.
“Orange juice? Since when do you drink orange juice? What happened to your usual breakfast cognac?” Meerschaum asked.
“I’ve reformed, David. It was that prison time that did it. I realized that my life was such a mess, and I just want to go straight.” As she said this, she took a small book from her handbag, entitled: ‘You Can Do It’.
Meerschaum stared at her. Could this be the end of a beautiful foeship? Is this for real?
“Look, Serena, if you think you can pull the wool over our eyes, you are sorely mistaken.” Meerschaum continued eating his papaya, avoiding Serena’s gaze.
“It’s true, David. I really have changed. Palmer and I are going to get married.”
Meerschaum choked on his fruit. “MARRIED? YOU? PALMER? I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!”
“Hold on, buddy, ” Palmer said, laughing. “You don’t want her anymore, and we discovered we have a lot in common. We really get a long great, don’t we sweetheart?” Palmer gave Serena a little kiss and she blushed.
Meerschaum could hardly believe this mushy stuff going on in front of his eyes. “You mean to tell me that even after she tried to sell you to F.L.U.S.H. you two are a team?” Palmer merely nodded, too absorbed in his new love. “Well, I suppose I should say congratulations. I think I’ll leave you two alone while I go pack.” Meerschaum left the couple and walked back to their cabana. His mind was spinning at this shocking piece of news. Had Palmer lost his mind? Oh well, never underestimate the power of women.

As the two men and Serena were about to board their launch to take them to the arriving oceanliner, the King of the Sea, the mayor of Bongo-bongo ran up to them.
“Please, Mr. Meerschaum, Mr. Palmer. I just want to thank you for ending this reign of terror by F.L.U.S.H. When we found out what these supposed traders were up to, we were very very shocked. Thank you for “flushing” them out. Ha-ha-ha!!! And thank you for our new trade—coffee. Now we can market our own product and sell it all over the world. No more Kobe beef for us! It’s coffee forever! Starbuck’s, move over, Bongo-bongo coffee shops will be even bigger than you!” With that last triumphant blast, the mayor strutted away towards the hotel for a celebration drink of his brew.

On the plane back to the States, Palmer and Serena were fast in conversation, while Meerschaum was thinking about all that transpired. Another mission accomplished, but that feeling of elation would soon wear off, as it always did. He looked over at Palmer and his new love, with a little envy, but he had his own new life to start. He opened his emails again and re-read the one from his former girlfriend. A slow smile grew on his face, as he remembered her lovely blond hair, those freckles, hazel eyes . . . yes, he was looking forward to going home.

Fin

Tags: Evil, Holiday, Takes

Indict Rwanda’s Tyrant Kagame! Cancel His Evil Agenda in Congo! HRW Report on Kampala Conference

One of the most vital issues for all Africans, and in general people allover the world, is the impunity of tyrants and their subordinates, the various dictatorial administrations. The forthcoming Kampala Conference (May 31 to June 11) consists in an extraordinary event whereby representatives of the countries – members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), along with court officials, representatives of non-states parties, the United Nations, and other intergovernmental and regional organizations, and civil society activists from every region of the world will deploy an effort to erase impunity from our world and to underscore the great imporatnce of bringing to justice those responsible for the worst violations of international criminal law.

The Kampala Conference can be the beginning of a new era in East Africa whereby impunity is the reason for which the Khartoum butcher Al Bashir, the Abyssinian gangster Zenawi, the Ugandan Genocide perpetrators, the Hargeisa Mafia lord Rayaale, and many other criminals still play an important political and military role to the detriment of the Civil and Human Rights of hundreds of millions of oppressed Africans.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has just published a lengthy and comprehensive Report, involving in-depth analysis and extensive recommendations. This Report can also be a tool in the hands of leaders of oppressed nations, fighters of liberation fronts, Human Rights activists and every member of a tyrannized and terrorized nation or ethno-religious group, because it clarifies every point for which a tyrannical administration, like the racist Amhara – Tigray Ethiopianists, can be held responsible, accountable and impeachable.

In four earlier articles that have been published under the titles “Impunity for African Tyrannies to End with Forthcoming Kampala Conference” (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/156538), “Sudan’s Butcher Al Bashir Must Be Brought to Justice. HRW Report on Kampala Conference” (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/156593), “Arrest Africa’s Most Evil Freemason, Kenya’s Thug-in Chief Kibaki. HRW Report on Kampala Conference” (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/156604), and “Paranoid Gangster Museveni of Uganda to Face Charges for Genocide. HRW Report on Kampala Conference” (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/156605), I republished the HRW Report’s Summary, Recommendations, and the chapters on Cooperation, Complementarity, and the Impact of the Rome Statute System on Victims and Affected Communities. In the present article, I republish the Report’s chapter on Peace and Justice, along with the Introduction and the Contents. With the forthcoming article, I will complete the republication of the enlightening HRW Report.

Making Kampala Count – Advancing the Global Fight against Impunity at the ICC Review Conference
May 10, 2010

http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/05/10/making-kampala-count-0

This 102-page report assesses progress and recommends steps to strengthen international justice. The report addresses the four themes identified as part of the conference’s “stock-taking exercise”: peace and justice, strengthening national courts, the ICC’s impact on affected communities, and state cooperation.

Contents

http://www.hrw.org/en/node/90282/section/1

Making Kampala Count
Advancing the Global Fight against Impunity at the ICC Review Conference
I. Summary
II. Key Recommendations
Cooperation
Complementarity
Impact of the Rome Statute system on victims and affected communities
Peace and Justice
III. Cooperation
A. Introduction
B. Discussions in Kampala
C. The Assembly of States Parties
1. Strengthening ASP procedures
2. Targeted initiatives on cooperation
D. Judicial cooperation and logistical support
1. Implementing legislation
2. Domestic institutional arrangements
3. Framework agreements
E. Diplomatic and political support
1. Arrest and surrender
2. Integrating the court in the United Nations system
3. Integrating the ICC into the work of regional organizations
4. Addressing new challenges: The backlash against the al-Bashir warrant
IV. Complementarity
A. Introduction
B. Overcoming inability: Bolstering a state’s capacity to try serious international crimes
1. The role of states and intergovernmental organizations
2. The role of the court
C. Reversing unwillingness: Raising the political cost of failing to prosecute ICC crimes
1. The role of states
2. The role of the ICC
V. Impact of the Rome Statute system on victims and affected communities
A. Introduction
B. Assessing impact at Kampala
C. Outreach and field engagement
1. Early and often
2. Two-way communications
3. Creative and engaging communications
4. Mass media
5. Field offices and input from field staff
6. In situ proceedings
7. Opportunities for impact presented by the Review Conference
D. Prosecutorial strategy
1. Sequencing
2. Selection of cases
E. Broadening the ICC’s impact: ending impunity and preventing future crimes
1. Deterrence
2. National Prosecutions
VI. Peace and Justice
A. Introduction
B. The importance of justice in securing peace
1. Afghanistan
2. Democratic Republic of the Congo
3. Sowing seeds for future violence
C. Managing the challenges of integrating justice efforts and peace processes
1. Charles Taylor
2. Radovan Karadzic
3. The Lord’s Resistance Army
4. Including accountability in peace negotiations
D. Truth-telling and reconciliation processes as a complement to criminal justice
E. Safeguarding the interests of victims
VII. The Crime of Aggression
A. Introduction
B. Concerns regarding the crime of aggression
1. The debate over jurisdictional filters: Consequences for the ICC’s independence
2. Potential negative consequences of adopting the crime of aggression
C. Discussions at Kampala
Acknowledgments

VI. Peace and Justice

http://www.hrw.org/en/node/90282/section/7

A. Introduction

The adoption of the Rome Statute, and its speedy entry into force, mark a high point in the battle against impunity. Abusive leaders, whose crimes would have gone unaddressed a mere 20 years ago, now must consider the possibility that they may one day have to answer for their crimes.

But the threat of prosecutions is not without its complications. Because the ICC can, and does, issue arrest warrants while conflicts are ongoing, it has already created considerable controversy over whether the prospect of prosecution stands in the way of peace. Negotiators and diplomats, under pressure to end a conflict, sometimes view the ICC as an insurmountable obstacle to their work.

They fear that the prospect of arrest will cause abusive leaders to cling to power more tenaciously and thus prolong the conflict. The ICC’s mandate to investigate and prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in the course of ongoing conflicts means that this controversy is likely to arise more often in the future. Already the call to suspend or “sequence” justice in exchange for a possible end to a conflict has arisen in conjunction with the court’s work in a number of country situations. For this reason, managing tensions that may arise in the context of negotiations is an area that can benefit from closer examination of past experience.

The important question of pursuing justice for grave international crimes and its interface with peace negotiations is the fourth stocktaking topic. While the topic does not lend itself to a resolution or pledges in Kampala, greater clarity on this subject is nonetheless crucial for the future of the court’s work.

In preparations for this topic and interventions in Kampala, we urge states parties to consider the relationship between peace and justice with a view toward affirming the integral relationship between peace and justice. It is important to highlight the importance of justice as an objective in its own right and not a tool toward other ends. In addition, the review conference is an opportunity to take note of some of the misperceptions about the relationship between the two important objectives discussed above and reflect on country experience to date pursuing these two objectives simultaneously to end conflicts where horrific crimes have been committed. Finally, we urge states parties to affirm that forgoing accountability often does not result in the hoped-for benefits, while remaining firm on justice can yield short- and long-term benefits for peace.
In terms of concrete outcomes for this topic, our expectation is that serious, substantive consideration of the relationship between peace and justice will be reflected in a summation of the session, and that states parties will move beyond stale conventional wisdom and achieve a better understanding of the relationship between these objectives.

B. The importance of justice in securing peace

There is ample experience to demonstrate that failing to address serious human rights crimes can lead to unforeseen negative results. Explicit amnesties that grant immunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide, may effectively sanction the commission of grave crimes without providing the desired objective of peace. All too often a peace that is conditioned on impunity for serious crimes is not sustainable. [186] Even worse, it can set a precedent of impunity for atrocities that encourages further abuses. Tolerance of impunity can in the longer term also contribute to renewed cycles of violence both by implicitly permitting unlawful acts and by creating an atmosphere of distrust and revenge that may be manipulated by leaders seeking to foment violence for their own political ends. If the objective is more than a brief break in hostilities, then leaving the past in the past is not an option.

In recognition of experience demonstrating that general amnesties covering war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide are neither effective nor consistent with efforts to end impunity, the UN Secretary-General issued guidelines prohibiting appointed envoys from associating themselves with agreements that provide amnesties for these crimes. Blanket amnesties are no longer as common as they once were. A recent study by the Humanitarian Dialogue Center shows that general amnesties that cover war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide have been used less frequently since 2000 than in previous years.[187]

Yet indications that blanket amnesties may be declining is no reason to rest easy. Implicit, or de facto amnesties, can have equally destructive consequences. In Sudan, longstanding impunity for the state’s use of brutal ethnic militias to attack civilians in the south set a precedent that suggested that there would be no price to pay for similar atrocities elsewhere. This factored into Khartoum’s decision to use the same strategy again with devastating results for civilians in Darfur. The peace agreement that ended the north-south civil war did not include provisions for accountability because negotiators were concerned that raising the issue would disrupt the talks.

De facto amnesties may also take the form of incorporating alleged rights abusers into the government. Negotiators have sometimes opted to include human rights abusers in a coalition government or a unified military in the hope of neutralizing them or enhancing stability. But including alleged perpetrators in government has not proved to be the panacea that it was hoped to be. While efforts to bring human rights abusers to justice undoubtedly present challenges, making deals with criminal suspects in order to achieve peace can have far-reaching negative consequences. Rewarding alleged war criminals with government positions might encourage others to engage in criminal activity with the expectation of receiving similar treatment. It may also erode public confidence in the new order by sending a message to the population about the acceptance of such abuses and by further entrenching impunity.

1. Afghanistan

After the fall of the Taliban in November 2001, the United Nations brought together leaders of Afghan ethnic groups in Germany to create a road map for representative government in Afghanistan.[188] The resulting Bonn Agreement called for creation of a loya jirga (grand council), which was convened in June 2002, to choose an interim government.[189]

The loya jirga’s selection process explicitly called for the exclusion of delegates who had engaged in human rights abuses, war crimes, looting of public property, or the drug trade.[190]However, the Special Independent Commission for the Convening of the Loya Jirga was unable to monitor and enforce this prohibition. Nor was it made a priority: the warlords’ cooperation was seen by the UN facilitator Lakhdar Brahimi as crucial to the success of the loya jirga, so there was little willingness to confront the issue of their past records.[191] The EU special envoy to Afghanistan, Francesc Vendrell, described the sentiment at the time: “In early 2002, the Americans were relying on the warlords and commanders to pursue the War on Terror. There was a lot of emphasis on stability and therefore justice had to wait. These unsavoury characters were seen as providing stability.”[192]

In 2005-06 Human Rights Watch documented that many leaders implicated in egregious human rights abuses in the 1990s became Afghan ministry officials or presidential advisors, or controlled puppet subordinates who held official positions.[193] They include several of the worst perpetrators from Afghanistan’s recent past, such as Abdul Rabb al Rasul Sayyaf, Mohammed Fahim, Burhanuddin Rabbani, Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, and Karim Khalili, who despite having records of war crimes and serious abuses during Afghanistan’s civil war in the 1990s have been allowed to hold and exploit positions of power.[194] Mohammed Fahim, whose troops were implicated in abuses such as rape and summary executions in 1993, is now serving as first vice president of Afghanistan.

Abusive actions by local strongmen and their forces have undermined the government’s legitimacy and caused widespread fear and cynicism among Afghans.[195] As Afghan human rights activist Nader Nadery said, “The militia leaders became part of the structure and began using their powers again. They made institutions unprofessional, unqualified and corrupt. There’s a culture of impunity. Everyone thinks they’re immune from prosecution, so they do whatever they want.”[196]As a result, by 2006 the Taliban and other insurgent groups in Afghanistan had gained increased public support. A December 2008 International Crisis Group report on policing in Afghanistan concluded that the lack of rule of law lies at the heart of much popular disillusionment and that the weakness of law enforcement has contributed to the appeal of insurgents in Afghanistan.[197]The ongoing lawlessness helps the Taliban portray its rule in the 1990s as one of relative law and order.[198]The Taliban is able to use the presence of warlords in the government and the poor perceptions of police to discredit President Karzai’s administration and its domestic backers.

Incorporating warlords into the government also minimizes chances that Afghans will ever see accountability for the crimes they have suffered, despite the fact that large majorities favor prosecutions.[199]The parliament recently enacted a general amnesty which states that all those who were engaged in armed conflict before the formation of the Interim Administration in Afghanistan in December 2001 “shall enjoy all their legal rights and shall not be prosecuted.” [200] Though victims and their families are entitled to bring civil or criminal claims, doing so is dangerous and not likely to be a viable path to justice. The amnesty law is further demonstration of the entrenchment of the culture of impunity in Afghanistan that resulted from choosing not to address crimes from its past.

2. Democratic Republic of the Congo

A pervasive culture of impunity has also been one of the greatest obstacles to sustainable peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In an effort to buy compliance with the transition process, the government gave posts of national or local responsibility, including in the army and police, to dozens of people suspected of committing international human rights violations.[201]One result of this policy is to create incentives for armed groups to engage in violence in the hope of being rewarded with government or army positions in exchange for laying down their arms. In addition, the decision not to hold perpetrators to account for their crimes has in some cases left them free to continue to wreak havoc in the region. The consistent failure to hold perpetrators to account has created an environment in which former rebels who have been incorporated into the armed forces continue to murder, torture, and rape civilians.[202]A number of other key factors have contributed to the brutal violence in eastern Congo, including competition for control over natural resources, land rights, and ethnic cohabitations, but incorporating warlords into the armed forces in an effort to obtain peace has only worsened the situation.

The 2002 agreement forged in Sun City to establish a transitional government for the DRC excluded the possibility of amnesties for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. However, individuals with a known record of human rights abuses were integrated into the government and the army, with officials making no serious effort to investigate or prosecute them.[203] Known rights abusers were promoted or granted important posts with few diplomats condemning the promotions.[204]The promotions, the lack of justice, and the failure to launch a credible truth and reconciliation commission (also established by the Sun City accords), sent a clear signal early on that the new government was unwilling or unable to end the culture of impunity.

The signal was a dangerous one as peace remained elusive. Continued violence, with devastating results for civilians, was perceived by armed groups as the best way to strengthen their negotiating position or secure a seat at the table. As one commander told Human Rights Watch in 2003, “Our government only listens to guns and violence and we need to make them hear us.”[205]

The negative consequences of rewarding warlords responsible for serious human rights abuses was most evident in Ituri, often described as the bloodiest corner of Congo, where tens of thousands were brutally slaughtered on an ethnic basis between 1999 and 2009.[206] The transitional government lacked effective control of the area and six armed groups (backed at different times by Uganda, Rwanda, and the Congolese government) vied for control of the region.[207]

In August 2003 President Joseph Kabila called the leaders of the armed groups to Kinshasa to discuss establishing order in Ituri. On December 11, 2004, despite mounting evidence of their abuses, Kabila signed a decree granting five leaders of the Ituri armed groups positions as generals in the newly integrated Congolese army and a further 32 militiamen positions as lieutenant-colonels, colonels, and majors. The generals were welcomed into army ranks in January 2005.[208] The Congolese authorities contended that integrating commanders with abusive records was a way of removing them from Ituri, thus making it easier to end the fighting there.[209]But by doing so the government reinforced the message that brutalities would not only go unpunished, but might be rewarded with a government post. The message was clear: violence brings rewards.[210]

Within six months of the appointments, new armed groups were formed in Ituri all claiming, as others had done before, that they represented marginalized communities and demanding high ranks in the army. The failure to adequately disarm combatants and to provide peace dividends for local communities contributed to the emergence of the new armed groups, but so did the perception that violence was an effective route to power. These groups continued the terror tactics that previous armed groups had used so successfully: killing civilians, raping women and girls, and arbitrarily arresting and torturing those who opposed them.

In August 2006, Congolese government officials, supported by the UN, once again held peace discussions with the Ituri armed groups. Two months later, in November 2006, the groups signed a new peace agreement.[211]Their leaders were all granted the rank of colonel in the Congolese army. Dozens of others were appointed as lieutenant-colonels and majors. One of the newly appointed officers later remarked to Human Rights Watch, “Maybe if we had killed more people, I would have become a general.”[212] A similar pattern has emerged in Katanga province.

The Congolese government has yet to demonstrate that it has learned from its failed policy of placating rights abusers. In August 2006, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against UPC leader Bosco Ntaganda for the war crime of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 and using them in hostilities between 2002 and 2003 in Ituri.[213] The Congolese government, which requested the ICC to investigate crimes in Congo, and which to date has been cooperative with the court, in this case failed dramatically in its legal obligation to arrest Ntaganda. In a televised press conference on January 31, 2009, President Kabila invoked the peace versus justice dilemma, stating that he faced a difficult choice between justice and peace, stability, and security in eastern Congo. He said his choice was to prioritize peace. Congolese authorities attempted to legitimize Ntaganda as a “partner for peace,” reinforcing the perception that those who commit heinous crimes against civilians in Congo will be rewarded rather that punished.[214] Dozens of local human rights organizations condemned the decision. Ntaganda has since served as a high-ranking advisor in the army that has the full backing of UN peacekeeping forces in Congo, despite his status as a wanted man at the ICC.[215]

3. Sowing seeds for future violence

Absence of accountability in fair and impartial trials for those most responsible for crimes leaves the desire for retribution through legitimate channels unsatisfied. Without individualizing guilt, the notion of collective responsibility for crimes has greater resonance and it is easier for blame focused on a group to be passed from one generation to the next.

A well-known example of this is Yugoslavia. Assumptions of collective ethnic guilt rooted in atrocities dating back to the Second World War were important in enabling ultra-nationalist politicians in the 1990s to divide communities in Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia and help sow the seeds for intercommunal violence. Over 40 years after the end of the Second World War, the lack of accountability for atrocities laid the groundwork for propaganda seeking to instill in Serbs a fear of genocide. Influential academics at the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1986 tapped into deeply held sentiments when they proclaimed that except during the Ustasha (Croatian pro-Nazi) period during the Second World War, “Serbs in Croatia have never been as endangered as they are today.”[216] Serbian media gave increasing prominence to this alleged threat facing Serbs in Yugoslavia in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The ICTY noted that following Slovenia’s and Croatia’s declarations of independence, “[p]ro-Serb propaganda became increasingly visible … The Serb media propagandised the idea that the Serbs had to arm themselves in order to avoid a situation similar to that which happened during World War II when the Serbs were massacred. Terms like ‘Ustasa’, ‘Mujahideen’ and ‘Green Berets’ were used widely in the press as synonyms for the non-Serb population.”[217] The failure to establish individual accountability and address the past in Yugoslavia during Tito’s iron-fisted reign created suppressed resentments that were later tapped by ambitious politicians for their own political and nationalistic ends. In other places as well, including Kenya and Burundi, previous unaddressed episodes of violence have been used to foment new cycles of violence. [218]

These are some of the reasons why justice is important for securing peace.

C. Managing the challenges of integrating justice efforts and peace processes

In the short term, it is easy to understand the temptation to forego justice in an effort to end a war. Peace negotiations may be carried out almost literally at gunpoint, with war-weary participants desperate to end the conflict at any price.

However experience has shown that efforts at justice, so often just assumed to be antagonistic to peace negotiations, do not categorically have the predicted dampening or damaging effect on peace talks.

For example, on May 27, 1999, the ICTY announced its most significant indictment: that of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and four other top officials for “murder, persecution, and deportation in Kosovo” from January 1 through May 1999.[219] The indictment was announced in the midst of the armed conflict between Serbia and NATO forces over Kosovo. The conventional wisdom at the time was that the indictment would make the situation in Kosovo worse and would likely undercut the prospect of any compromise by Milosevic.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the war crimes indictment “will add to the obstacles to a Yugoslav settlement” and “severely undermine” the authority of the negotiators. Russia’s envoy to the Balkans, Viktor S. Chernomyrdin, denounced the warrant as a “political show” and “incomprehensible and unpleasant.”[220]

Yet less than a week later, on June 3, negotiators announced that Milosevic had accepted the terms of an international peace plan for Kosovo.[221] Despite their strong opposition at the time, when asked about the indictment and its effect on the talks, the Russian and Finnish intermediaries later admitted that the indictment did not affect negotiations and was never on the agenda.[222]Because Milosevic did not travel much and felt secure at home, he did not fear ending up in The Hague.[223]

The ICC prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant against Sudan’s President al-Bashir in July 2008 similarly triggered a backlash by numerous actors, including the African Union and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which asked the UN Security Council to defer the ICC’s work in Darfur for 12 months out of concern about the possible impact of the ICC’s work on “efforts aimed at promoting lasting peace.”[224] Many were also understandably concerned about the potential impact on UNAMID, the AU/UN hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur. Shortly after the prosecutor’s request for a warrant was made, one of Bashir’s top advisors threatened various reprisals including expulsion of UNAMID, stating: “Send them out because the U.N. has declared us Public Enemy No. 1, why shouldn’t we?”[225]Sudan experts Alex de Waal and Julie Flint publicly criticized the ICC prosecutor for pressing charges against high officials in the government of Sudan, stating, “Attempts to deploy UNAMID [the AU/UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan] in Darfur are at a critical point. At this sensitive time, to lay charges against senior government officials, and to criminalise the entire government, will derail attempts to pull Sudan from the brink.”[226] They argued that justice should wait until after those culpable are no longer in positions of authority.[227]

Following the issuance of arrest warrants, the Sudanese government expelled 13 international aid agencies, putting further at risk millions vulnerable to malnutrition and disease. However, the other anticipated devastating consequences flowing from the warrant have not occurred.[228]Peace talks, which had not been robust before the prosecutor’s announcement, continued after the prosecutor’s announcement and after the arrest warrant had been issued. On November 12, 2008, al-Bashir announced an immediate unilateral ceasefire and the government of Sudan and the rebel movements pledged to work on a framework agreement for peace talks.[229] In February and May 2009, the government of Sudan and representatives of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) met in Qatar for peace talks and on February 23, 2010, agreed to a framework for peace discussions, which committed the two parties to an immediate ceasefire, the release of prisoners, and the negotiation of a final peace agreement.[230]

The warrants also did not slow the government of Sudan’s cooperation with deployment of peacekeepers. Indeed, UNAMID deployment rose significantly following the prosecutor’s announcement. Between July 31, 2008, and January 21, 2010, deployment of UNAMID’s military, civilian, and police personnel rose from 12,341[231] to 24,223.[232] Over 3,000 UNAMID personnel were deployed in the first few months after the prosecutor’s announcement.[233] Also in the months following the prosecutor’s announcement, the government of Sudan agreed to provide blanket clearance for airlift operations and to remove other administrative hurdles to UNAMID.[234]

The Kosovo and Darfur experiences suggest at a minimum that indictments need not upend peace talks.

In other instances, justice may even have helpful side benefits. Justice is an important end in and of itself, and is not an instrument to bring about political marginalization. But arrest warrants sought as a means of bringing to justice leaders responsible for serious international crimes have also at times had the effect of marginalizing those leaders in ways that may benefit peace processes. This was true with Liberian President Charles Taylor and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. The ICC warrants for LRA leaders may have also contributed to the group’s at least temporary marginalization from its base of support in Sudan, pushing it towards more serious peace negotiations in Juba in 2006.

1. Charles Taylor

On June 4, 2003, the prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone “unsealed” an indictment against Charles Taylor as one of those “bearing the greatest responsibility” for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in Sierra Leone.[235]The unsealing of the indictment against Taylor caused a great deal of consternation at the United Nations Secretariat and elsewhere.[236]The cause of concern was triggered in part by the timing of the announcement, as it coincided with the opening day of Liberian peace talks convened in Accra, Ghana.[237] Peace, which had mostly been elusive in Liberia since 1989,[238] was a priority, and many felt that the indictment would undermine chances at reaching a negotiated settlement.[239]The African presidents who were meeting in Accra to work on the peace process felt ambushed by the news and betrayed, as they had not been informed of the indictment earlier.[240] Ghanaian Foreign Minister Nana Akufo-Addo expressed his embarrassment and stated a belief held by many that the prosecutor’s action “in unsealing the indictment at this particular moment has not been helpful to the peace process.”[241]

In retrospect, however, it is clear that the unsealing of Taylor’s indictment was a key factor in bringing peace to Liberia. The International Center for Transitional Justice’s study of the 2003 peace negotiations concluded that the reason the 2003 agreement ultimately succeeded while over a dozen previous agreements had failed was because Taylor offered to vacate the presidency and not take part in transitional elections. That offer resulted directly from his indictment by the Special Court.[242]The report noted almost universal agreement among those present at the talks—even those who had been skeptical at the time—that the unsealing of the indictment had a largely positive effect.[243] Furthermore, the expected retaliatory violence in Liberia resulting from the indictment never occurred. Although other important factors worked with the indictment to bring about peace in Liberia—including the impending rebel offensive threatening the capital, the involvement of the international community, and blocking by the peacekeeping force the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) of arms’ delivery to Taylor—the Taylor case shows that an indictment may inadvertently strengthen peace processes and that the feared consequences resulting from indicting a sitting head of state do not always come to pass.

2. Radovan Karadzic

Similarly, the indictment of Radovan Karadzic facilitated peace talks to end the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Negotiations to end that conflict opened near Dayton, Ohio, in early November 1995, less than four months after the worst atrocity in Europe since the Second World War: the massacre of over 7,000 men and boys following the fall of the Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica on July 11, 1995. On July 24, 1995, less than two weeks after the fall of Srebrenica and in the midst of the conflict, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia confirmed indictments against Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. The charges included genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for crimes alleged to have occurred between 1992 and 1995 in several locations across Bosnia, including Sarajevo. A second indictment against Karadzic and Mladic was confirmed on November 16, 1995, during the Dayton peace negotiations. It charged both men with genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes based on the mass execution of civilians after the fall of Srebrenica.

At the time negotiations in Dayton began, a number of politicians and political commentators suggested that the ICTY’s work was getting in the way of peace.[244] Indeed, the former ICTY chief prosecutor Richard Goldstone said that after he indicted Karadzic and Mladic, the UN secretary-general was furious, castigating the prosecutor in a meeting shortly afterwards and asking why he had not been consulted.[245]

However, the indictment of Karadzic ultimately aided the Dayton peace accord.

If Karadzic, the Bosnian Serbs’ political leader, had not been indicted, he would have likely attended the peace conference. Because those meetings began only two months after the massacre at Srebrenica, Bosnian Muslim and Croat leaders would not have entered the same room or sat at the same table with Karadzic.[246]A US State Department official said the tribunal “accidentally served a political purpose: it isolated Karadzic and left us with Slobo [Slobodan Milosevic].”[247] In his memoirs, the US negotiator Richard Holbrooke said he made it very clear to Milosevic that Mladic and Karadzic could not participate in a peace conference. When Milosevic said the attendance of the indicted men was necessary for peace, Holbrooke offered to arrest them personally if they set foot in the United States.[248]

Thus the ICTY’s indictments, rather than being an obstacle to peace negotiations, helped move them forward.

3. The Lord’s Resistance Army

In Uganda as well, community leaders and commentators feared the involvement of the ICC would end all hope for peace talks with the Lord’s Resistance Army which had been terrorizing civilians in northern Uganda since 1986. Acholi leaders said that the issuing of “international arrest warrants would practically close once and for all the path to peaceful negotiation as a means to end this long war, crushing whatever little progress has been made during these years.”[249] The Roman Catholic Archbishop in northern Uganda saw the ICC’s decision to issue indictments against the LRA leadership as “the last nail in the coffin” for efforts to achieve dialogue.”[250]

Yet less than a year after the warrants were unsealed, in mid-2006, the LRA sat down at the negotiating table in Juba for the most serious peace talks they had had to date. Many believe that the ICC warrants were one of the factors that pushed the LRA to the table in part by isolating them from their base of support, the government of Sudan. Not long after the ICC referral was announced, Sudan agreed to a protocol allowing Ugandan armed forces to attack LRA camps in Southern Sudan. In October 2005 the government of Sudan signed a memorandum of understanding with the court agreeing to cooperate with the arrest warrants issued against LRA commanders. Because Sudan severed many of its ties with the LRA, it forced them into “survival mode,” at least temporarily.[251] A local leader noted that a number of LRA combatants defected following the change in attitude by the government of Sudan.[252]

The increased attention to the conflict resulting from the ICC’s involvement also galvanized international engagement in the peace processes for what has been described as “the biggest forgotten, neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today.”[253]This support was crucial in moving the peace process forward.

Finally agreements made as part of the peace process may yet help encourage national accountability efforts through the Uganda High Court Special Division agreed at Juba.

Firm conclusions about the impact of the ICC’s arrest warrants on peace prospects for northern Uganda are difficult to draw, not least because the conflict remains unresolved and civilians remain at risk. However, there are reasons to believe that the ICC’s involvement was not the reason why the final peace agreement was not signed. LRA leaders have never made clear their reasons for refusing to sign the final peace agreement; meanwhile, interim agreements which included justice provisions were successfully concluded over the course of two years of negotiations. The justice provisions called for national proceedings, which if seen as genuine by the ICC’s pre-trial chamber, would have rendered the pending ICC cases inadmissible. Thus the ICC had been taken out of the equation, though fear of national prosecutions may have remained an obstacle. Meanwhile, the resumption of LRA attacks on civilians and the failure of the LRA to implement commitments to assemble their forces in specified locations while the talks were ongoing reinforced concerns about the sincerity of the LRA’s commitment to conclude peace under any circumstances, despite the robustness of the negotiations.[254] In any event, ICC involvement did not preclude a dialogue with the LRA as many had feared, rather it may have been helpful in some unexpected ways.

4. Including accountability in peace negotiations

This is not to say there is not tension between peace and justice in negotiations. The challenge is to learn from experience where this tension has been handled well. The negotiations to end the conflict in Bosnia andHerzegovina are worth examining more closely for this reason.

The 1996 Dayton Peace Accords is an example of an agreement in which the tension between peace and justice was successfully managed. Despite rumors of amnesties, the Dayton peace talks did not undermine justice. Nor did they include provisions for the immediate arrest of ICTY suspects as Bosnian Muslim leaders had hoped. As one senior US official put it, “The war crimes tribunal isn’t going to mess with our peace talks; we’re not going to mess with the war crimes tribunal.”[255] A negotiator at Dayton pointed out that “the Dayton Framework Agreement, in its Bosnian constitution, implicitly commended the work of the Tribunal by stipulating that ‘no person who is serving a sentence imposed by the ICTY and no person who is under indictment by the Tribunal and who has failed to comply with an order to appear may stand as a candidate or hold any appointed, elective or other public office in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.’”[256] This provision helped speed Karadzic’s removal from his position in July 1996. The ICTY’s activities also did not affect Milosevic’s role in negotiating the agreement: he accepted the Dayton Peace Accord ending the Bosnian conflict without obtaining an amnesty, even though he too was an obvious ICTY target.[257]He (and Karadzic, who signed the agreement) agreed to the above-mentioned clause despite some early misgivings.[258]

The Dayton peace agreement is just one example of an accord that managed to end a conflict and include provisions relating to accountability. Numerous other agreements, including those for Burundi and Liberia, have also contained explicit provisions for accountability or truth and reconciliation measures. These are worth studying for lessons to be applied in future negotiations.

D. Truth-telling and reconciliation processes as a complement to criminal justice
Criminal proceedings, of course, are not the only tool that can assist in addressing the needs of victims. As important as they are, trials only address a small subset of crimes. Broader truth-telling mechanisms, in addition to reparations, vetting of “bad actors” from positions in government and security forces, economic development, and reconstruction are needed as part of the larger toolbox to move society forward in a way that respects human rights.
Victims and their families have a right to know the truth about violations they suffered. The UN General Assembly has endorsed the principle that victims’ right to remedies includes having access to relevant information concerning human rights violations. [259] International principles adopted by the former UN Commission on Human Rights state that “irrespective of any legal proceedings, victims, their families and relatives have the imprescriptible right to know the truth about the circumstances in which violations took place.” [260] International human rights bodies have emphasized the state’s obligation to provide information to victims, particularly in cases of enforced disappearance.

The UN Human Rights Committee has held that the extreme anguish inflicted upon relatives of the “disappeared” makes them direct victims of the violation as well. [261]

In addition to informing the victims and their families, the state has an obligation to inform society in general about human rights abuses, particularly when the violations are serious. [262] Only by exposing crimes and those responsible can they be avoided in the future. Nor does truth-telling undermine existing judicial mechanisms. Rather they reinforce them both by baring evidence necessary for prosecutions, but also by helping societies understand and address the failings of the judicial institutions that allowed crimes to go unpunished. For these reasons, Human Rights Watch believes truth-telling processes can and should be an important complement to criminal justice mechanisms, whether international or domestic.

E. Safeguarding the interests of victims

Victims of any conflict have a wide range of interests and needs. These may vary over time. While some demand justice immediately, others would prefer to bury the past. Issues such as security and return home for those who have been displaced may be a priority, and justice may be viewed as an obstacle to these other immediate needs. Victims’ interests may change after they return home and find their believed abusers living in their communities not having faced any consequences for their alleged crimes. Other factors may also come into play and add to the complexities involved in determining what victims’ interests are and how to accommodate their diverse needs.

While consulting victims is an essential part of reconstructing society and determining the appropriate steps to be taken to move forward, international legal obligations place some constraints on what the options are. International law mandates prosecutions for serious crimes, such as crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes, which help to ensure individual victims’ rights to truth, justice, and an effective remedy, along with combating impunity. Major international treaties, including the Geneva Conventions, and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, place an obligation on states parties to take steps to provide effective penalties for those responsible for certain crimes.

But it is not only international legal obligations that make justice necessary. Apart from the potential contributions justice can make to peace described above, prosecutions send the message to perpetrators and would-be perpetrators that no one is above the law. They also help to consolidate respect for the rule of law by solidifying society’s confidence in judicial institutions. This in turn helps cement peace and stability. As former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, “Impunity… can be an even more dangerous recipe for sliding back into conflict.”[263] Ensuring that justice is done for the most serious crimes is an important way of safeguarding the interests of victims.

Notes

[186] Sierra Leone is one example of the failed broad amnesty policies of the past. Three blanket amnesty provisions in different accords failed to consolidate the hoped-for peace during its 11-year civil war. Rather than solidify peace, successive amnesties had the opposite effect. Inclusion of a general amnesty in the initial peace agreement created the expectation that other agreements would contain the same provision, thus further emboldening potential rights abusers. War and war crimes resumed within a short period after each peace agreement had been reached. As the conflict went on, Human Rights Watch observed an increased number of serious abuses (including rape, systematic extortion, looting of villages and torture and summary execution of suspected rebels) by the Civil Defense Forces, a pro-government militia. In the final 1999 Lome accord, rebel leaders associated with horrific atrocities were even rewarded with high-level government positions. The pardons, and ultimately the high government position for rebel leader Foday Sankoh, showed that combatants would pay no price—and, indeed, would even be rewarded—for their horrific crimes. In Angola as well, six successive amnesties failed to end the Angolan civil war. The consistent failure to address violations of international humanitarian law undermined attempts to secure peace. Abuses worsened with each cycle of conflict. See Human Rights Watch,Selling Justice Short, pp. 57-68.

[187] Leslie Vinjamuri and Aaron P. Boesenecker, Accountability and peace agreements: mapping trends from 1980-2006, HD Centre, Geneva, September, 2007, http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900sid/EVOD-77MERJ/$file/Full_Report.pdf?openelement (accessed April 15, 2010), Appendix 1. See also Priscilla Hayner, Negotiating Justice: Guidance for Mediators, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and International Center for Transitional Justice, February 2009.

[188] The Taliban is a movement started by religious students (talibs) from the Pashtun areas of eastern and southern Afghanistan who were educated in traditional Islamic schools in Pakistan.

[189] Agreement on Provisional Arrangements in Afghanistan Pending the Re-Establishment of Permanent Government Institutions (“Bonn Agreement”), December 5, 2001, http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/afghan/afghan-agree.htm (accessed April 20, 2010); and Joe Havely, “The loya jirga: A very Afghan gathering,” CNN, June 11, 2002, http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/06/10/afghan.loyajirga/index.html (accessed April 20, 2010). The selection process for the Emergency Loya Jirga which took place in May-June 2002 was conducted in two stages. During the first stage, candidates were elected in their home districts by traditional local shuras, or councils; during the second stage, these candidates attended a regional election where they chose a smaller number of delegates from among themselves to attend the loya jirga in Kabul. See Procedures for the Elections of the Members of the Emergency Loya Jirga, UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/178/33093.html (accessed April 20, 2010), arts. 6-11.

[190] Procedures for the Elections of the Members of the Emergency Loya Jirga, art. 14(4).

[191] See Laura Secor, “The Pragmatist,” The Atlantic, July/August 2004, http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200407/secor (accessed April 20, 2010).

[192] Debbie Whitmont, “Winter in Afghanistan: Travels Through a Hibernating War,” The Monthly (Melbourne), March 2007, http://www.themonthly.com.au/tm/node/478 (accessed April 20, 2010) (“Winter in Afghanistan”).

[193] Ibid. See also “Afghanistan: Bush, Karzai, Musharraf Must Act Now to Stop Militant Abuses,” Human Rights Watch news release, September 26, 2006, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/09/26/afghanistan-bush-karzai-musharraf-must-act-now-stop-militant-abuses.

[194] “Afghanistan: Bush, Karzai, Musharraf Must Act Now to Stop Militant Abuses,” Human Rights Watch news release, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/09/26/afghanistan-bush-karzai-musharraf-must-act-now-stop-militant-abuses. See also Isabel Hilton, “Now We Pay the Warlords to Tyrannise the Afghan People,” Guardian, July 31, 2003, http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/jul/31/afghanistan.world (accessed April 20, 2010); Ahmed Rashid, “Afghan Human Rights Abuses: A Chance for Change,” commentary, Eurasianet, August 4, 2005, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/46f257f9c.html (accessed April 20, 2010); and Nick Meo, “Afghan Warlords Poised to Take Up Power,” Independent, October 14, 2004, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/afghan-warlords-poised-to-take-up-power-543691.html (accessed April 20, 2010).

[195] Human Rights Watch, Afghanistan on the Eve of Parliamentary Elections, September 2005, http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2005/09/15/afghanistan-eve-parliamentary-and-provincial-elections, p. 9.

[196] Whitmont, “Winter in Afghanistan.”

[197] See, for example, International Crisis Group (ICG), “Policing in Afghanistan: Still Searching for a Strategy,” December 18, 2008, http://www.ciaonet.org/pbei/icg/0014389/f_0014389_11772.pdf (accessed April 20, 2010) (“there is a general perception in Afghanistan that lawlessness is on the rise”), p. 1.

[198] ICG, “Afghanistan: New U.S. Administration, New Directions,” March 13, 2009, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,ICG,,AFG,4562d8cf2,49ba4c53ed,0.html (accessed April 20, 2009), pp. 5-6.

[199] Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, “A Call for Justice: A Report on National Consultations on Transitional Justice in Afghanistan,” January 2005. According to the survey (4,151 Afghan respondents), 94 percent found justice for past crimes to be either “very important” (75.9 percent) or “important” (18.5 percent). In addition, almost half believed that war criminals should be brought to justice “now.”

[200] Resolution of National Assembly on National Reconciliation and General Amnesty to the President, No. 44, dated 16/02/1386, published in the official gazette no. 141712, dated 9/9/1387, art. 3(1).

[201] Human Rights Watch, World Report2005 (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2005), Democratic Republic of Congo chapter, http://www.hrw.org/legacy/wr2k5/wr2005.pdf.

[202] Anita Powell, “Congo ex-rebels accused of rape and killings,” Associated Press, May 18, 2009 (citing reports by UN peacekeeper commanders in the DRC that the former rebels are now committing human rights violations as part of the Congolese Army).

[203] Amnesty Decree-Law [Democratic Republic of Congo], Journal Officiel de la RépubliqueDémocratique du Congo¸ No. 03-001, April 15, 2003, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/47305aae2.html (accessed April 20, 2010); Amnesty Law [Democratic Republic of Congo], No. 05/023,December 19, 2005, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/47305d032.html (accessed April 20, 2010). In May 2009 the DRC parliament passed another amnesty law for armed groups in North and South Kivu, providing an amnesty similar to that in the 2005 law but extending it to 2009. The law has not yet been signed by President Joseph Kabila. See “Amnesty law for DR Congo militias,” BBC News Online, May 7, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8037891.stm (accessed April 20, 2010).

[204] Human Rights Watch, Renewed Crisis in North Kivu, vol. 19, no. 17(A), October 2007, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2007/drc1007/drc1007web.pdf, pp. 75-77. These included Gabriel Amisi, who was promoted to the rank of general, and Laurent Nkunda, who were responsible for the brutal suppression of a mutiny in Kisangani where at least 80 people were summarily executed. Human Rights Watch, Democratic Republic of Congo − War Crimes in Kisangani: The Response of Rwandan-backed Rebels to the May 2002 Mutiny, vol. 14, no. 6(G), August 2002, http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2002/drc2/DRC0802.pdf, p. 2. The UN later put the figure at 163. See also “Death Toll in Congo Raid,” New York Times¸ July 17, 2002, http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/17/world/death-toll-in-congo-raid.html (accessed April 20, 2010).

[205] Human Rights Watch interview with armed group leader (name withheld), Bunia, September 18, 2003.

[206] At this writing, killings continued in Ituri with at least two militia groups continuing to fight the Congolese army. There has been considerably less violence since 2007 than in previous years. See “Top UN official signals improvement, tough challenges in eastern DR Congo,” United Nations News Service, April 9, 2009, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30442&Cr=democratic&Cr1=congo (accessed April 20, 2010); Médecins Sans Frontières, “DRC: LRA Attacks’ ‘Lasting Effect,’” May 18, 2009, http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=3626&cat=voice-from%20the%20field&ref=home-sidebar-right (accessed April 20, 2010).

[207] Human Rights Watch, Ituri: “Covered in Blood”: Ethnically Targeted Violence in Northeastern DR Congo, vol. 15, no. 11(A), July 2003, http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/DRC0703.pdf, pp. 14-18; and Human Rights Watch, The Curse of Gold: Democratic Republic of Congo (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2005), http://www.hrw.org/en/node/11733/section/5 and reproduced at http://www.anglogoldashanti.com/NR/rdonlyres/CBB6C75C-EE9C-439E-962F-DDB5C52FB968/0/HRWDRCreport.pdf, pp. 21-22.

[208] New appointees to the rank of general included Jérôme Kakwavu, the commander of the People’s Armed Forces of the Congo (FAPC) responsible for summary executions (including child soldiers who attempted to flee the ranks), the torture of dozens of civilians, and rape of women and girls in Ituri; and Floribert Kisembo Bahemuka, one of the UPC commanders responsible in late 2002 for a campaign of executions and forced disappearances of civilians in Bunia. “D.R. Congo: Army Should Not Appoint War Criminals,” Human Rights Watch news release, January 13, 2005, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2005/01/13/dr-congo-army-should-not-appoint-war-criminals; Human Rights Watch, The Curse of Gold, http://www.hrw.org/en/node/11733/section/8, or http://www.anglogoldashanti.com/NR/rdonlyres/CBB6C75C-EE9C-439E-962F-DDB5C52FB968/0/HRWDRCreport.pdf, pp. 27-34, 84-94.

[209] See, for example, “DR Congo warlord generals accused,” BBC News Online, January 14, 2005, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4174811.stm (accessed April 20, 2010) (quoting Information Minister Henri Mova: “Now we need peace in our country and we decided to appoint them because we can’t condemn them before judgement.”); Human Rights Watch, “Army Should Not Appoint War Criminals.”

[210] The problem seemed to be acknowledged by presidential spokesman Kudura Kasong who stated, “The big dream of all warlords is to be a general, educated or not, and this is a big problem.” “DR Congo warlord generals accused,” BBC News Online,http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4174811.stm.

[211] Accord Cadre Pour La Paix En Ituri entre le Gouvernement de la République Démocratique du Congo et les Groupes Armes de L’Ituri (MRC, FNI, FRPI), Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo, November 29, 2006, copy on file with Human Rights Watch.

[212] Human Rights Watch interview with former armed group combatant (name withheld), Bunia, September 8, 2006.

[213] Prosecutor v. Ntaganda, ICC, Case No. ICC-01/04-02/06, Decision to Unseal the Warrant of Arrest Against Bosco Ntaganda, August 22, 2006, http://www2.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc305330.PDF (accessed April 20, 2010).

[214] Prior to the unsealing of his arrest warrant, Ntaganda had already been implicated in brutal human rights abuses, including leading military operations in which hundreds of civilians were slaughtered on an ethnic basis. Human Rights Watch, Covered in Blood, http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/DRC0703.pdf,pp. 23-27; Human Rights Watch, The Curse of Gold, http://www.hrw.org/en/node/11733/section/6, or http://www.hrw.org/en/node/11733/section/6, or http://www.anglogoldashanti.com/NR/rdonlyres/CBB6C75C-EE9C-439E-962F-DDB5C52FB968/0/HRWDRCreport.pdf, pp. 23-34.He was nonetheless one of the five Ituri leaders who in December 2004 had been granted positions as generals in the newly integrated Congolese army though he did not take up the post.

[215] “Congo conflict: ‘The Terminator’ lives in luxury while UN peacekeepers look on,” Guardian , February 10, 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/05/congo-child-soldiers-ntaganda-monuc (accessed May 5, 2010).; “Congo ex-Rebel ‘working with UN,’” BBC News Online, April 29, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8023978.stm (accessed April 20, 2010). The government’s inclusion of abusive leaders in the army has also set the stage for further atrocities by its own forces. Human Rights Watch has documented how since late January 2009 soldiers from the integrated Congolese armed forces have attacked villages, killing at least 19 civilians and raping more than 143 women and girls. See “DR Congo: Hold Army to Account for War Crimes,” Human Rights Watch news release, May 19, 2009, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/05/19/dr-congo-hold-army-account-war-crimes.

[216] Laura Silber and Allan Little, Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation [Rev. Ed.] (New York: Penguin Books, 1997), pp. 31-32.

[217] Prosecutor v. Milomir Stakic, ICTY, Case No. IT-97-24-T, Judgment, July 31, 2003, para. 52.

[218] Human Rights Watch, Selling Justice Short, pp. 77-92.

[219] “President Milosevic and Four Other Senior FRY Officials Indicted for Murder, Persecution and Deportation in Kosovo,” ICTY Press Release, JL/PIU/403-E, May 27, 1999, http://www.icty.org/sid/7765 (accessed April 19, 2010).

[220] David Hoffman, “Russia Says Peace Talks Sideswiped,” Washington Post, May 28, 1999, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/stories/diplomacy052899.htm (accessed April 19, 2010); “Despite Milosevic Indictment Peace Talks Continue,” U.N.Wire, May 28, 1999, http://www.unwire.org/unwire/19990528/2885_story.asp (accessed April 19, 2010). See also Roger Cohen, “Crisis in the Balkans: The Indictment; Tribunal is Said to Cite Milosevic for War Crimes,” New York Times, May 27, 1999, http://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/27/world/crisis-balkans-indictment-tribunal-said-cite-milosevic-for-war-crimes.html (accessed April 19, 2010); Marcus Tanner, “War in the Balkans, Milosevic Charge Splits Allies,” Independent, May 28, 1999, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/war-in-the-balkans-milosevic-charge-splits-allies-1096257.html (accessed April 19, 2010).

[221] “Milosevic Accepts Peace Plan, Finnish envoy says,” CNN.com, June 3, 1999, http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9906/03/kosovo.peace.04/ (accessed April 19, 2010).

[222] Herbert Okun, “The Role of International Criminal Justice in Peace Negotiations” (contribution to panel discussion “Future of International Criminal Justice – Evolving Accountability from Nuremburg to the International Criminal Court,” October 30, 2006), Penn State International Law Review, vol. 25, 4 (2007), p. 788.

[223] Ibid.

[224] Communique of the 142nd Meeting of the Peace and Security Council, PSC?MIN/Comm(CXLII), July 21, 2008, para. 3.

[225] Sam Dealey, “Sudan: Retaliation Against The Hague?” Time, July 15, 2008, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1822833,00.html (accessed April 20, 2010).

[226] Julie Flint, Alex de Waal, and Sara Pantuliano, “ICC approach risks peacemaking in Darfur,” letter to the editor, Guardian (London), June 10, 2008, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/10/sudan.unitednations (accessed April 20, 2010).

[227] Julie Flint and Alex de Waal, “Justice Off Course In Darfur,” commentary, Washington Post, June 28, 2008, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/27/AR2008062702632.html (accessed April 20, 2010).

[228] United Nations Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the deployment of the African Union—United Nations Hybrid Operations in Darfur,” April 14, 2009, http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N09/296/93/PDF/N0929693.pdf?OpenElement (accessed April 20, 2010). The seriousness of the expulsion of aid agencies – who employed 40 percent of humanitarian staff working in Darfur at the time and supplied food, water, and medical care to over a million people – should not be understated. Though emergency measures were undertaken to avert the worst consequences of the expulsion, including a “combination of enhanced government capacity, an increase in responsibility assumed by the remaining humanitarian actors, and new capacities on the ground,” humanitarian aid has still not recovered nearly one year later to where it was before the expulsions. See United Nations Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the deployment of the African Union—United Nations Hybrid Operations in Darfur,” S/2009/297, June 9, 2009, http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N09/363/65/PDF/N0936365.pdf?OpenElement (accessed April 20, 2010).

[229] United Nations Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the deployment of the African Union—United Nations Hybrid Operations in Darfur,” December 12, 2008, http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N08/640/80/PDF/N0864080.pdf?OpenElement (accessed April 20, 2010).

[230] United Nations Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission in Sudan,” S/2010/168, April 5, 2010, http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N10/299/70/PDF/N1029970.pdf?OpenElement (accessed April 20, 2010).

[231] United Nations Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the deployment of the African Union—United Nations Hybrid Operations in Darfur,” S/2008/558, August 18, 2008, http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2008/558 (accessed April 20, 2010).

[232] United Nations Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the deployment of the African Union—United Nations Hybrid Operations in Darfur,” S/2010/50, January 29, 2010, http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2010/50 (accessed April 20, 2010).

[233] On November 30, 2008, total UNAMID personnel numbered 15,444. United Nations Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the deployment of the African Union—United Nations Hybrid Operations in Darfur,” December 12, 2008, S/2008/781, http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2008/781 (accessed April 20, 2010).

[234] United Nations Security Council, “Report of the Secretary-General on the deployment of the African Union—United Nations Hybrid Operations in Darfur,” S/2008/659, October 17, 2008, http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/DEN/No8/553/95/PDF/No855395.pdf?OpenElement (accessed April 20, 2010).

[235] Chief Prosecutor for the Sierra Leone Special Court David Crane said he had unsealed the indictment when he learned Taylor would be in Ghana and susceptible to arrest, stating, “To ensure the legitimacy of these negotiations, it is imperative that the attendees know they are dealing with an indicted war criminal.” Felicity Barringer and Somini Sengupta, “War Crimes Indictment of Liberian President is Disclosed,” New York Times, June 5, 2003, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/05/international/africa/05LIBE.html (accessed April 19, 2010).

[236] Jacqueline Geis and Alex Mundt, “When To Indict? The Impact of Timing of International Criminal Indictments on Peace Processes and Humanitarian Action,” Brookings report for the World Humanitarian Studies Conference, February 2009, http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2009/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2009/04_peace_and_justice_geis/04_peace_and_justice_geis.pdf (accessed April 19, 2010), pp. 3-4. See also “Liberia chaos as leader returns,” BBC News Online,June 5, 2003, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2964098.stm (accessed April 19, 2010); and Charles Cobb Jr. “Liberia: Diplomatic Dismay as Liberia Rebels Poise For Final Push and Foreigners Flee,” allAfrica.com, June 10, 2003, http://allafrica.com/stories/200306100002.html (accessed April 19, 2010).

[237] See, for example, interview with Dapo Oyewole, Center for Democracy and Development, indicating that the timing of the unsealing of the indictment undermined some of the proceedings at the peace talks and that the humanitarian situation in Nigeria needed to be addressed first. Jonathan Mann, “Insight,” CNN TV, July 29, 2003, reproduced in writing by CNN Transcripts, http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0307/29/i_ins.01.html (accessed April 19, 2010). See also Cobb, “Diplomatic Dismay as Liberia Rebels Poise for Final Push and Foreigners Flee,” allAfrica.com.

[238] Liberia is also an example of how impunity can lead to more atrocities. In a quick bid to end the first brutal Liberian civil war and in the face of massive crimes committed against civilians, UN and West African leaders agreed to a peace plan that dispensed with justice and rushed an election that installed warlord Charles Taylor as president in 1997. Not surprisingly, within a short time, the country was back at war. The ensuing six years of repressive rule by Taylor, and the next war, were characterized by the same egregious abuses against civilians as the earlier war, and set the country back further. Corinne Dufka, “Combating War Crimes in Africa,” Human Rights Watch testimony before the US House International Relations Committee, Africa Subcommittee, June 25, 2004, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2004/06/25/combating-war-crimes-africa.

[239] “The executive secretary [of the Organization of West African States], Mohamed Ibn Chambas, said that announcing the charges against Charles Taylor as he was about to open the peace talks had ‘put a damper on the negotiations’ where President Taylor was making helpful offers ‘opening up tremendous opportunities’ to end the Liberian conflict.” Virginie Ladisch, “Liberian President Indicted for War Crimes,” Crimes of War Project news release, June 16, 2003, http://www.crimesofwar.org/print/onnews/liberian-print.html (accessed April 19, 2010).

[240] Barringer and Sengupta, “War Crimes Indictment of Liberian President is Disclosed,” New York Times; Lansana Gberie, Jarlawah Tonpoh, Efam Dovi, and Osei Boateng, “CHARLES TAYLOR: Why me?” New African, May 2006, reproduced at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5391/is_200605/ai_n21391043/ (accessed April 19, 2010), p. 13.

[241] Douglas Farah, “Tribunal Indicts Liberia’s Leader,” Washington Post, June 5, 2003, reproduced at http://www.genocidewatch.org/images/Liberia5Jun03Tribunal_Indicts_Liberia_s_Leader.pdf (accessed April 19, 2010).

[242] Priscilla Hayner, (International Center for Transitional Justice) “Negotiating Peace in Liberia: Preserving the possibility for Justice,” November 1, 2007, http://www.ictj.org/static/Africa/Liberia/HaynerLiberia1207.eng.pdf (accessed April 19, 2010), p. 6.

[243] Ibid., p. 9. See also Priscilla Hayner, “Seeking Justice as War Crimes Rage on,” Chicago Tribune, July 16, 2008, reproduced at http://www.ictj.org/en/news/coverage/article/1868.html (accessed April 19, 2010).

[244] Richard J. Goldstone, “Justice as a Tool for Peacemaking: Truth Commissions and International Tribunals,” NYU. Journal of International Law and Politics, vol. 28: 485 (1996), p. 488.

[245] Okun, “The Role of International Criminal Justice in Peace Negotiations,” Penn State International Law Review, p. 787.

[246] Ibid., p. 788.

[247] Gary Jonathan Bass, Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000), p. 239 (“Stay the Hand of Vengeance”).

[248] Ibid., p. 233; Richard Holbrooke, “The Arrest of Sudan’s Bashir Should Proceed,” commentary, Financial Times (London), September 21, 2008, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/57d9e354-87ee-11dd-b114-0000779fd18c.html?nclick_check=1 (accessed April 19, 2010).

[249] “UGANDA: Amnesty and Peace groups urge ICC to probe government army too,” IRINnews, February 3, 2004, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2004/02/mil-040203-irin03.htm (accessed May 15, 2009), quoting a statement issued by a chief negotiator of the Acholi Religious Leaders’ Peace Initiative.

[250] “Justice for a Lawless World? Rights and reconciliation in a new era of international law,” IRIN In-Depth, July 2006, http://www.irinnews.org/pdf/in-depth/RightsAndReconciliationPart1.pdf (accessed May 15, 2009), p. 72.

[251] John Prendergast, “End This African Horror Story,” Washington Post, April 7, 2005, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32735-2005Apr6.html (accessed May 18, 2009).

[252] Father Carlos Rodriguez, a Spanish missionary who was based in northern Uganda for many years, stated,
Between April and September [2004] 500 or so combatants have come out of the bush with their guns including senior officers. So the ICC might not be so discouraging as we thought. Also those who have come out of the bush have told us that the Sudan Government has not been giving them anything since January this year. So the ICC may have had an influence on Sudan. The LRA will only reduce violence out of pressure and Sudan has changed its attitude because of the ICC. They are concerned about being prosecuted… Now that Sudan is not involved, it forces the LRA to talk about peace.
Tim Allen, Crisis States Research Center, “War and Justice in Northern Uganda: An Assessment of the International Criminal Court’s Intervention,” February 2005, http://www.crisisstates.com/download/ others/AllenICCReport.pdf (accessed May 15, 2009), p. 58.

[253] “War in northern Uganda world’s worst forgotten crisis: UN,” Agence France-Presse, November 11, 2003, quoting Jan Egeland, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator. See also Akhavan, “The Lord’s Resistance Army Case,” American Journal of International Law, p. 420.

[254] See Elise Keppler, “Managing Peace and Justice in the Juba Process,” (forthcoming)(manuscript on file with Human Rights Watch). At the same time, communication between LRA representatives in Juba and the LRA leadership appeared to be intermittent and suffered from a relative breakdown in the final months of the talks, raising questions as to the degree of involvement of the LRA leaders in negotiating the agreements, especially the February 2008 agreement on accountability. See International Crisis Group, “Northern Uganda: The Road to Peace, With or Without Kony,” Africa Report No. 146, December 2008, pp. 1-4; and Joe Wacha,”Kony Adds to Peace Process Turmoil,” Institute for War and Peace Reporting, July 3, 008, http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/207/39840.html (accessed September 23,
2009).

[255] Bass, “Stay the Hand of Vengeance,” p. 243.

[256] Okun, “The Role of International Criminal Justice in Peace Negotiations,” Penn State International Law Review, p. 781.

[257] Kenneth Roth (Human Rights Watch), “It’s Worth Bringing Tyrants to Justice,” commentary, International Herald Tribune, August 10, 2005, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2005/08/10/its-worth-bringing-tyrants-justice.

[258] Bass, “Stay the Hand of Vengeance,” p. 233.

[259] Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of international Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law, March 21, 2006, adopted by the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly, A/RES/60/147, paras. 11 (c) and 24.

[260] Set of Principles for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights Through Action to Combat Impunity, October 2, 1997, adopted by the UN Commission on Human Rights, E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/20/Rev.1, principle 3 (“UN Principles to Combat Impunity”).

[261] The U.N. Human Rights Committee articulated this principle in the case Quinteros v. Uruguay, concluding that the mother of a “disappeared” person was entitled to compensation as a victim, for the suffering caused by the failure of the state to provide her with information. Quinteros v. Uruguay, U.N. Human Rights Committee, Case No. 107/1981: “The Committee understands the anguish and stress caused to the mother by the disappearance of her daughter and by the continuing uncertainty concerning her fate and whereabouts. The author has the right to know what has happened to her daughter. In these respects, she too is a victim of the violations of the Covenant suffered by her daughter in particular, of Article 7.”

[262] “UN Principles to Combat Impunity,” principle 1.

[263] United Nations Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts, UN Doc. S/2004/431, May 28, 2004, http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900sid/LHON-634JZY/$file/ UNGA_Protection_civilians_Jun2004.pdf?openelement (accessed May 27, 2009), para. 55.

Tags: agenda, Cancel, Conference, Congo, Evil, Indict, Kagame, Kampala, Report, Rwanda's, Tyrant

All the Kambaatas’ troubles are due to Evil Abyssinian Colonialism and Tyranny

In an article ‘Oppressed Kambaatas Envision an Independent Future Outside the ‘Ethiopian’ Tyranny’ (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/67876), I presented a socio-economic outline of the Kambaatas, another tyrannized, massacred, and dehumanized nation of the African Cemetery of Peoples ‘Abyssinia’ (fallaciously re-baptized ‘Ethiopia’).

As the Kambaatas realize that socio-economic progress and national – historical identity preservation are possible only within an independent, free and sovereign state, outside the ‘Ethiopian’ tyranny, they try to systematize their efforts along with the Shekachos, the Sidamas, the Anuak, the Ogadneis, the Oromos and others who struggle for preservation of their National Identity, Cultural Diversity, Linguistic Distinctiveness, Spiritual Individuality, Political Freedom and Socio-economic Emancipation.

The Kambata Development Network (KDN) deploys a great effort to alleviate the difficulties of the dispossessed and tyrannized Kambaatas, and it is from their informative website that I republished chapters on the ‘Current Environmental, Social and Economic Conditions in Kambata’, the ‘Population-Resource Imbalance and Resource Degradation’, and a brief information about KDN itself.

In the present article, I will expand and illuminate the KDN scope of work, republishing from their website texts about their Concerns, Objectives, Strategies, Structure, as well as the Scholarships they offer to impoverished and needy schoolchildren. Through the analysis of the KDN groundbreaking work in the Kambaata Land, one can get another viewpoint on the troubles and the misery that have befallen on the Ancient and Noble Nation of the Kambaatas, as consequence of their occupation by the Abyssinian armies and their annexation to Africa’s most obscurantist, tyrannical and inhuman colonial tyranny.

Concerns

http://www.kdneth.org/concerns.html

KDN has seven areas of concern that need to be addressed immediately. First and foremost, it is much concerned that the current demographic conditions in Kambata are signaling that the population-resource equilibrium has been badly affected and the long-term sustainability of agricultural land is questionable as population pressure increases.

Second, youth unemployment is rampant and rural poverty is pervasive in Kambata due to scarcity of farmland. Thousands of destitute young farmers have no farm plot, a basis of livelihood, and could not support their families. Most live on incomes less than $0.50 per day. Some have lost their traditional coping strategies including the well-known seasonal migration to other regions in search of farm jobs.

Third, with increasing poverty and resource degradation, there is a sharp decline in the standard of living of the Kambatas. Recent anthropometric findings suggested that more than half of the region’s children and women are undernourished.

Fourth, the measures taken so far to conserve natural resources and promote rural development are uncoordinated, unsustainable, insufficient, and ineffective to avert the increasing trend of resource degradation, unemployment and mass poverty.

Fifth, congested living conditions resulting from high population density have accelerated the spread of communicable diseases such as typhus and tuberculosis.

Sixth, the bulk of population uses dirty and polluted water that causes water-borne diseases. Surface water sources are scarce and are far from the reach of most farm households. As a result, rural women spend much time in search of water especially during dry season.

Seventh, there is hardly any vocational training or program development to promote rural technology and cottage industries that could provide alternative employment to the unemployed youth and landless peasants.

Eighth, in the absence of functional literacy programs, adult illiteracy rate is alarmingly very high and the quality of grades 1-12 education has deteriorated. Consequently, the number of school dropouts has quadrupled, swelling the number of the army of the unemployed youth.

Ninth, to date rural artisans especially potters (locally known as fuga) who play a significant role in the lives of the Kambatas are socially discriminated, denied the right to own land, and are unable to send their children to school.

At last, not least, it appears that there is not an easy fix to the current environmental, social and economic crises unless a multi-faceted rehabilitation and development programs are initiated in the short and long run.

Objectives

http://www.kdneth.org/objectives.html

As an organization, KDN strives to wage a two-pronged struggle in the region: fight poverty and illiteracy and promote a sustainable, self-reliant, cost-effective development based on local resources that is likely to give lasting solutions to Kambata’s current problems. KDN’s aim is not replacing what the local and regional governments do in Kambata. Its primary objective is to assist people-centered local initiatives that help improving and alleviating resource degradation, youth unemployment, mass poverty, disease, and adult illiteracy that persist in the region.

KDN is a nonprofit public benefit organization, organized under the Nonprofit Public benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. It is dedicated to providing services to the benefit of Kambata people and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is committed to changing the lives of poor people.

The objectives, stated in the bylaws, for which KDN is established is to relieve poverty and advance education by:

Supporting, facilitating, or implementing activities that promote the economic and social development of the Kambata community.

Empowering the Kambatas to take charge of development initiatives.

Promoting sustainable self-help projects that are undertaken by Kambatas and their adjoining communities.

Fighting against diseases affecting the health of Kambata community.

Empowering rural women and promoting gender equality and equity among the Kambatas.

Reducing harmful traditional practices that particularly affect women and children in Kambata society.

Eliminating adult illiteracy among Kambatas.

Preserving and promoting linguistic, cultural, and historical heritage of Kambata.

Fostering the practice of cooperation and self-help among Kambatas as well as between Kambatas and other neighboring communities in their efforts to eliminate poverty, illiteracy and diseases.

The Network shall pursue the objects described therein without discrimination with regard to sex, political, religious or other opinions.

Strategies

http://www.kdneth.org/strategies.html

Some people have suggested that introduction of family planning programs would be a viable solution for the development crisis in the Kambata region. While population policy could be one of the remedies in the future, the current social and economic crisis have already reached a catastrophic level. It appears that there is not an easy fix or a single solution to the current environmental, social and economic crises unless a multi-faceted rehabilitation and development programs are initiated in the short and long run.

KDN asserts that investing on the people, its physical infrastructure and environment is a viable strategy to avert the crises, and focusing investments on these important areas would help creating a sustainable development in the region in particular and Ethiopia in general. It aims at providing vocational training to the youth who can create jobs, not seek for jobs. This requires the commitment and cooperation of the local people, government, and non-government agencies. To achieve the goal of a sustainable development, KDN is committed to work in tandem with the local people and in cooperation with the federal, regional and local government. KDN also seeks to collaborate with the non-government agencies that are willing to help the rural poor and those operating legally in Ethiopia.

The Network shall use whatever strategies it deems appropriate to the achievement of its mission and that may be lawfully undertaken. Specific strategies to be pursued in the short-term and long-term include, but are not limited to, the following activities:

Promotion of reforestation and resource conservation methods.

Development of cottage industries and employment generation schemes, including training the youth in modern farming techniques, industrial and information technology.

Recommending viable strategies that help mitigating scarcity of farmland and population pressure.

Providing micro-credit to rural women and rural artisans such as fugas (potters), tummanos (black smiths), weavers, etc.

Undertaking field research on development issues and publishing the results in the Network’s newsletters and annual reports.

Raising the public health awareness of fatal, contagious and incurable diseases.

Supplying teaching material, such as books, videos, magazines, laboratory and computer equipment.

Providing scholarship and financial assistance to students, educators, and prospective immigrants to USA.

Organizing educational seminars, workshops, and conferences from time to time.

Inviting scholars and other informed persons to talk on topics covering the history and culture of Kambata and its people, current affairs and other issues of special interest to members of the Kambata community at home and abroad.

Assisting local efforts in the construction of bridges, roads, water wells, schools, health posts, and other rural infrastructure.

Promoting rural technology including improvement of rudimentary enset decorticating devices

Short-term Plan

Within the following 12 months, KDN aims to support schools by providing educational resources that help improving the quality of education in Kambata. The immediate goal is to donate educational materials by the start of the 2002-2003 academic years to selected secondary schools. Depending on the needs of the schools, the materials include:

Reference materials – encyclopedia, dictionaries, almanacs, atlases, and subject-area reference books, etc. that can be placed in school libraries or resource centers (if they have any) and used by teachers and students.

Science Lab equipment – materials needed to conduct biology, chemistry and physics experiments.

Audiovisual equipment (overhead projectors, transparencies, markers)

Selected educational videos & audio cassettes, and

Used or low-cost desktop computers and software.

KDN hopes that most of these materials can be obtained free from donors based in North America, Europe, Africa including Ethiopia, and other regions. The educational materials can be directly shipped to the benefiting schools from the US or other sources after each school identifies and prioritizes its needs.

Structure

http://www.kdneth.org/structure.html

KDN has a head office currently based in the State of Maryland, USA. Preparations are underway to establish regional offices in Europe and Ethiopia. Each regional office is established according to the laws of individual countries and can adopt its own bylaws consistent with the current KDN bylaws. Besides, each regional office will have the autonomy to raise and manage funds, finance projects identified by KDN, and remain accountable to its financing sources.

The major role of the head office is to coordinate programs of regional offices, formulating policy framework, and identifying projects to be financed by each regional office. KDN head office is organized into the Board of Directors, executive committee, and advisory committees. The powers, duties and term of office of elected board members, executive officers (president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer) and advisory committee members are clearly stated in the KDN Bylaws. All elected officers serve the Network without compensation. KDN Board and executive officers conduct the day-to-day activity through personal contact, email, and teleconferencing.

KDN Advisory Committees consist of members and, in some occasions, non-members having interests, expertise and/or specialization in topics or projects identified by the Board of Directors. The current Advisory Committees include, but are not limited to:

Scholarship Committee

Grant Writing and Fund Raising Committee

Curriculum Development & Literacy Campaign Committee

Employment Generation Scheme Committee

Project Planning and Budget Committee

Infrastructure Committee

Health Committee

Science & Technology Committee

Research & Publications Committee

Public Relations, Web-Site Design and Maintenance Committee

KDN Leadership is collective and each registered member shares the credit or blames that may result from implementing the Network’s programs.

Scholarships

http://www.kdneth.org/scholarship.html

Providing scholarship to outstanding and needy students has been one of KDN’s key objectives since its inception. However, a recent decision to establish a Distinguished Kambata Scholars Memorial Fund (DKSMF), was occasioned by the untimely and sudden deaths of three Kambata scholars – Dr. Tamire Hawando (picture attached), Drs. Desta Shamebo and Milkias Shamebo. The contributions of the late scholars goes beyond the confines of their native place. They were beloved sons of Ethiopia who were accomplished in their field of specialization (Dr. Tamirie in Agriculture, Dr. Desta Shamebo in Community Health, and Dr. Milikias Shamebo in Hematology) and deserve a memorial.

Their expertise and advice on the field of their specialization were the most sought after by the successive Ethiopian governments, and the world scientific community. Indeed, it is astounding to see the scholars who came from a poor family background, attained terminal degrees and obtained international accolades by transcending adverse conditions. The purpose of the memorial fund is to encourage others who come after them to follow their footsteps and emulate their example, with the scholars serving them as their role models.

KDN asserts that recognition of such individuals (deceased and alive) who stand out locally, nationally and internationally is appropriate. The recognition is supposed to encourage those scholars who are Kambatas but do not want to be known as such to come forward and be proud of their Kambata identity. The Scholarship Advisory Committee is entrusted with the task of suggesting detailed ways and means of broadening the scope of the scholarship in the future. Living scholars, civic activists, farmers, development workers, etc. who play exemplary role in the Kambata society ought to be identified and recognized in such occasions.

KDN has started accepting tax-deductible pledges for the scholarship fund, and a separate and independent KDN scholarship account in Ethiopia and abroad is set for this purpose. KDN will administer the Memorial Scholarship Fund according to the provisions listed in its constitution (bylaws) and Articles of Incorporation (Article 5 L).

The scholarship will be awarded on a permanent basis with funds obtained from donors, KDN members, supporters & corporate members. Each year, academically outstanding or promising but economically disadvantaged students attending various high schools (9-12) and/or colleges in Ethiopia will be selected for the Scholarship. The scholarship is not intended to fully cover the financial needs of poor students but it is expected to serve three main purposes: (1) It serves as a token appreciation for students’ hard work, (2) It provides a moral support to students from economically and social disadvantaged families to continue their education and not to drop out from school for lack of financial support, and (3) it encourage female participation in elementary, secondary & tertiary education.

Scholarship Award and Conditions

1. Each student selected for the scholarship will receive a stipend of Birr 100 (one hundred) per month, from September-June, when the school is in session. The total maximum award will not exceed Birr 1,000 per academic year.

2. The stipend will be provided to each beneficiary by KDN and be administered or paid monthly by the school the student is enrolled.

3. For the scholarship to continue from month to month or from year to year, the beneficiary must: (i) be attending the school regularly, (ii) maintain the required minimum GPA or percentile, and (iii) prove that he or she continues to face financial hardship. Those who don’t meet these conditions will immediately be dropped from the list of beneficiaries.

Eligibility Criteria

Any students who meets all four criteria listed is eligible to apply for the scholarship:

1. Full-time student attending grades 9-12 or colleges in current academic year (Applicants must provide a proof of registration or a letter from the school registrar’s office attesting this).

2. A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or above for college students, and 99th percentile or first place ranking in the previous and current grades for high schools students. If the letter grading system is not applicable the student must be the top in class ranking to be eligible for the scholarship. The ranking process incorporates scores in Eighth and 10th Grade National Examinations. A copy of the latest transcript in progress or grade report must be submitted together with the application form.

3. Provides a personal letter stating that he/she is attending high school education under financial hardship and, hence, can’t continue his/her education without external support. Priority will be given to those applicants who adequately prove that their parents or other family members have no resources and can’t fully support their needs. The validity of such claims will be verified, directly and indirectly.

4. Priority will be given to female applicants and to those who have volunteered in public programs, especially HIV/AIDS Awareness Education, Adult Literacy Campaign, Environmental Protection/Reforestation campaigns or to those who have contributed significantly to programs that promote the local culture.

Selection Procedure

Eligible candidates will be nominated by local committees set up in each high school from the school administrators and teachers. KDN Executive Committee selects the beneficiaries based on the recommendations of the local committees and the amount of funds available. A detailed selection procedure is provided in the scholarship announcement letter.

Note
Picture: Kambaata children: malnourished, mistreated, abandoned, and disregarded by the ‘Ethiopian’ racist state that does not recognize the Kambaatas as a distinct nation.

Tags: Abyssinian, Colonialism, Evil, Kambaatas', troubles, Tyranny

All the Kambaatas’ troubles are due to Evil Abyssinian Colonialism and Tyranny

In an article ‘Oppressed Kambaatas Envision an Independent Future Outside the ‘Ethiopian’ Tyranny’ (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/67876), I presented a socio-economic outline of the Kambaatas, another tyrannized, massacred, and dehumanized nation of the African Cemetery of Peoples ‘Abyssinia’ (fallaciously re-baptized ‘Ethiopia’).

As the Kambaatas realize that socio-economic progress and national – historical identity preservation are possible only within an independent, free and sovereign state, outside the ‘Ethiopian’ tyranny, they try to systematize their efforts along with the Shekachos, the Sidamas, the Anuak, the Ogadneis, the Oromos and others who struggle for preservation of their National Identity, Cultural Diversity, Linguistic Distinctiveness, Spiritual Individuality, Political Freedom and Socio-economic Emancipation.

The Kambata Development Network (KDN) deploys a great effort to alleviate the difficulties of the dispossessed and tyrannized Kambaatas, and it is from their informative website that I republished chapters on the ‘Current Environmental, Social and Economic Conditions in Kambata’, the ‘Population-Resource Imbalance and Resource Degradation’, and a brief information about KDN itself.

In the present article, I will expand and illuminate the KDN scope of work, republishing from their website texts about their Concerns, Objectives, Strategies, Structure, as well as the Scholarships they offer to impoverished and needy schoolchildren. Through the analysis of the KDN groundbreaking work in the Kambaata Land, one can get another viewpoint on the troubles and the misery that have befallen on the Ancient and Noble Nation of the Kambaatas, as consequence of their occupation by the Abyssinian armies and their annexation to Africa’s most obscurantist, tyrannical and inhuman colonial tyranny.

Concerns

http://www.kdneth.org/concerns.html

KDN has seven areas of concern that need to be addressed immediately. First and foremost, it is much concerned that the current demographic conditions in Kambata are signaling that the population-resource equilibrium has been badly affected and the long-term sustainability of agricultural land is questionable as population pressure increases.

Second, youth unemployment is rampant and rural poverty is pervasive in Kambata due to scarcity of farmland. Thousands of destitute young farmers have no farm plot, a basis of livelihood, and could not support their families. Most live on incomes less than $0.50 per day. Some have lost their traditional coping strategies including the well-known seasonal migration to other regions in search of farm jobs.

Third, with increasing poverty and resource degradation, there is a sharp decline in the standard of living of the Kambatas. Recent anthropometric findings suggested that more than half of the region’s children and women are undernourished.

Fourth, the measures taken so far to conserve natural resources and promote rural development are uncoordinated, unsustainable, insufficient, and ineffective to avert the increasing trend of resource degradation, unemployment and mass poverty.

Fifth, congested living conditions resulting from high population density have accelerated the spread of communicable diseases such as typhus and tuberculosis.

Sixth, the bulk of population uses dirty and polluted water that causes water-borne diseases. Surface water sources are scarce and are far from the reach of most farm households. As a result, rural women spend much time in search of water especially during dry season.

Seventh, there is hardly any vocational training or program development to promote rural technology and cottage industries that could provide alternative employment to the unemployed youth and landless peasants.

Eighth, in the absence of functional literacy programs, adult illiteracy rate is alarmingly very high and the quality of grades 1-12 education has deteriorated. Consequently, the number of school dropouts has quadrupled, swelling the number of the army of the unemployed youth.

Ninth, to date rural artisans especially potters (locally known as fuga) who play a significant role in the lives of the Kambatas are socially discriminated, denied the right to own land, and are unable to send their children to school.

At last, not least, it appears that there is not an easy fix to the current environmental, social and economic crises unless a multi-faceted rehabilitation and development programs are initiated in the short and long run.

Objectives

http://www.kdneth.org/objectives.html

As an organization, KDN strives to wage a two-pronged struggle in the region: fight poverty and illiteracy and promote a sustainable, self-reliant, cost-effective development based on local resources that is likely to give lasting solutions to Kambata’s current problems. KDN’s aim is not replacing what the local and regional governments do in Kambata. Its primary objective is to assist people-centered local initiatives that help improving and alleviating resource degradation, youth unemployment, mass poverty, disease, and adult illiteracy that persist in the region.

KDN is a nonprofit public benefit organization, organized under the Nonprofit Public benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. It is dedicated to providing services to the benefit of Kambata people and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is committed to changing the lives of poor people.

The objectives, stated in the bylaws, for which KDN is established is to relieve poverty and advance education by:

Supporting, facilitating, or implementing activities that promote the economic and social development of the Kambata community.

Empowering the Kambatas to take charge of development initiatives.

Promoting sustainable self-help projects that are undertaken by Kambatas and their adjoining communities.

Fighting against diseases affecting the health of Kambata community.

Empowering rural women and promoting gender equality and equity among the Kambatas.

Reducing harmful traditional practices that particularly affect women and children in Kambata society.

Eliminating adult illiteracy among Kambatas.

Preserving and promoting linguistic, cultural, and historical heritage of Kambata.

Fostering the practice of cooperation and self-help among Kambatas as well as between Kambatas and other neighboring communities in their efforts to eliminate poverty, illiteracy and diseases.

The Network shall pursue the objects described therein without discrimination with regard to sex, political, religious or other opinions.

Strategies

http://www.kdneth.org/strategies.html

Some people have suggested that introduction of family planning programs would be a viable solution for the development crisis in the Kambata region. While population policy could be one of the remedies in the future, the current social and economic crisis have already reached a catastrophic level. It appears that there is not an easy fix or a single solution to the current environmental, social and economic crises unless a multi-faceted rehabilitation and development programs are initiated in the short and long run.

KDN asserts that investing on the people, its physical infrastructure and environment is a viable strategy to avert the crises, and focusing investments on these important areas would help creating a sustainable development in the region in particular and Ethiopia in general. It aims at providing vocational training to the youth who can create jobs, not seek for jobs. This requires the commitment and cooperation of the local people, government, and non-government agencies. To achieve the goal of a sustainable development, KDN is committed to work in tandem with the local people and in cooperation with the federal, regional and local government. KDN also seeks to collaborate with the non-government agencies that are willing to help the rural poor and those operating legally in Ethiopia.

The Network shall use whatever strategies it deems appropriate to the achievement of its mission and that may be lawfully undertaken. Specific strategies to be pursued in the short-term and long-term include, but are not limited to, the following activities:

Promotion of reforestation and resource conservation methods.

Development of cottage industries and employment generation schemes, including training the youth in modern farming techniques, industrial and information technology.

Recommending viable strategies that help mitigating scarcity of farmland and population pressure.

Providing micro-credit to rural women and rural artisans such as fugas (potters), tummanos (black smiths), weavers, etc.

Undertaking field research on development issues and publishing the results in the Network’s newsletters and annual reports.

Raising the public health awareness of fatal, contagious and incurable diseases.

Supplying teaching material, such as books, videos, magazines, laboratory and computer equipment.

Providing scholarship and financial assistance to students, educators, and prospective immigrants to USA.

Organizing educational seminars, workshops, and conferences from time to time.

Inviting scholars and other informed persons to talk on topics covering the history and culture of Kambata and its people, current affairs and other issues of special interest to members of the Kambata community at home and abroad.

Assisting local efforts in the construction of bridges, roads, water wells, schools, health posts, and other rural infrastructure.

Promoting rural technology including improvement of rudimentary enset decorticating devices

Short-term Plan

Within the following 12 months, KDN aims to support schools by providing educational resources that help improving the quality of education in Kambata. The immediate goal is to donate educational materials by the start of the 2002-2003 academic years to selected secondary schools. Depending on the needs of the schools, the materials include:

Reference materials – encyclopedia, dictionaries, almanacs, atlases, and subject-area reference books, etc. that can be placed in school libraries or resource centers (if they have any) and used by teachers and students.

Science Lab equipment – materials needed to conduct biology, chemistry and physics experiments.

Audiovisual equipment (overhead projectors, transparencies, markers)

Selected educational videos & audio cassettes, and

Used or low-cost desktop computers and software.

KDN hopes that most of these materials can be obtained free from donors based in North America, Europe, Africa including Ethiopia, and other regions. The educational materials can be directly shipped to the benefiting schools from the US or other sources after each school identifies and prioritizes its needs.

Structure

http://www.kdneth.org/structure.html

KDN has a head office currently based in the State of Maryland, USA. Preparations are underway to establish regional offices in Europe and Ethiopia. Each regional office is established according to the laws of individual countries and can adopt its own bylaws consistent with the current KDN bylaws. Besides, each regional office will have the autonomy to raise and manage funds, finance projects identified by KDN, and remain accountable to its financing sources.

The major role of the head office is to coordinate programs of regional offices, formulating policy framework, and identifying projects to be financed by each regional office. KDN head office is organized into the Board of Directors, executive committee, and advisory committees. The powers, duties and term of office of elected board members, executive officers (president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer) and advisory committee members are clearly stated in the KDN Bylaws. All elected officers serve the Network without compensation. KDN Board and executive officers conduct the day-to-day activity through personal contact, email, and teleconferencing.

KDN Advisory Committees consist of members and, in some occasions, non-members having interests, expertise and/or specialization in topics or projects identified by the Board of Directors. The current Advisory Committees include, but are not limited to:

Scholarship Committee

Grant Writing and Fund Raising Committee

Curriculum Development & Literacy Campaign Committee

Employment Generation Scheme Committee

Project Planning and Budget Committee

Infrastructure Committee

Health Committee

Science & Technology Committee

Research & Publications Committee

Public Relations, Web-Site Design and Maintenance Committee

KDN Leadership is collective and each registered member shares the credit or blames that may result from implementing the Network’s programs.

Scholarships

http://www.kdneth.org/scholarship.html

Providing scholarship to outstanding and needy students has been one of KDN’s key objectives since its inception. However, a recent decision to establish a Distinguished Kambata Scholars Memorial Fund (DKSMF), was occasioned by the untimely and sudden deaths of three Kambata scholars – Dr. Tamire Hawando (picture attached), Drs. Desta Shamebo and Milkias Shamebo. The contributions of the late scholars goes beyond the confines of their native place. They were beloved sons of Ethiopia who were accomplished in their field of specialization (Dr. Tamirie in Agriculture, Dr. Desta Shamebo in Community Health, and Dr. Milikias Shamebo in Hematology) and deserve a memorial.

Their expertise and advice on the field of their specialization were the most sought after by the successive Ethiopian governments, and the world scientific community. Indeed, it is astounding to see the scholars who came from a poor family background, attained terminal degrees and obtained international accolades by transcending adverse conditions. The purpose of the memorial fund is to encourage others who come after them to follow their footsteps and emulate their example, with the scholars serving them as their role models.

KDN asserts that recognition of such individuals (deceased and alive) who stand out locally, nationally and internationally is appropriate. The recognition is supposed to encourage those scholars who are Kambatas but do not want to be known as such to come forward and be proud of their Kambata identity. The Scholarship Advisory Committee is entrusted with the task of suggesting detailed ways and means of broadening the scope of the scholarship in the future. Living scholars, civic activists, farmers, development workers, etc. who play exemplary role in the Kambata society ought to be identified and recognized in such occasions.

KDN has started accepting tax-deductible pledges for the scholarship fund, and a separate and independent KDN scholarship account in Ethiopia and abroad is set for this purpose. KDN will administer the Memorial Scholarship Fund according to the provisions listed in its constitution (bylaws) and Articles of Incorporation (Article 5 L).

The scholarship will be awarded on a permanent basis with funds obtained from donors, KDN members, supporters & corporate members. Each year, academically outstanding or promising but economically disadvantaged students attending various high schools (9-12) and/or colleges in Ethiopia will be selected for the Scholarship. The scholarship is not intended to fully cover the financial needs of poor students but it is expected to serve three main purposes: (1) It serves as a token appreciation for students’ hard work, (2) It provides a moral support to students from economically and social disadvantaged families to continue their education and not to drop out from school for lack of financial support, and (3) it encourage female participation in elementary, secondary & tertiary education.

Scholarship Award and Conditions

1. Each student selected for the scholarship will receive a stipend of Birr 100 (one hundred) per month, from September-June, when the school is in session. The total maximum award will not exceed Birr 1,000 per academic year.

2. The stipend will be provided to each beneficiary by KDN and be administered or paid monthly by the school the student is enrolled.

3. For the scholarship to continue from month to month or from year to year, the beneficiary must: (i) be attending the school regularly, (ii) maintain the required minimum GPA or percentile, and (iii) prove that he or she continues to face financial hardship. Those who don’t meet these conditions will immediately be dropped from the list of beneficiaries.

Eligibility Criteria

Any students who meets all four criteria listed is eligible to apply for the scholarship:

1. Full-time student attending grades 9-12 or colleges in current academic year (Applicants must provide a proof of registration or a letter from the school registrar’s office attesting this).

2. A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or above for college students, and 99th percentile or first place ranking in the previous and current grades for high schools students. If the letter grading system is not applicable the student must be the top in class ranking to be eligible for the scholarship. The ranking process incorporates scores in Eighth and 10th Grade National Examinations. A copy of the latest transcript in progress or grade report must be submitted together with the application form.

3. Provides a personal letter stating that he/she is attending high school education under financial hardship and, hence, can’t continue his/her education without external support. Priority will be given to those applicants who adequately prove that their parents or other family members have no resources and can’t fully support their needs. The validity of such claims will be verified, directly and indirectly.

4. Priority will be given to female applicants and to those who have volunteered in public programs, especially HIV/AIDS Awareness Education, Adult Literacy Campaign, Environmental Protection/Reforestation campaigns or to those who have contributed significantly to programs that promote the local culture.

Selection Procedure

Eligible candidates will be nominated by local committees set up in each high school from the school administrators and teachers. KDN Executive Committee selects the beneficiaries based on the recommendations of the local committees and the amount of funds available. A detailed selection procedure is provided in the scholarship announcement letter.

Note
Picture: Kambaata children: malnourished, mistreated, abandoned, and disregarded by the ‘Ethiopian’ racist state that does not recognize the Kambaatas as a distinct nation.

Tags: Abyssinian, Colonialism, Evil, Kambaatas', troubles, Tyranny

All the Kambaatas’ troubles are due to Evil Abyssinian Colonialism and Tyranny

In an article ‘Oppressed Kambaatas Envision an Independent Future Outside the ‘Ethiopian’ Tyranny’ (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/67876), I presented a socio-economic outline of the Kambaatas, another tyrannized, massacred, and dehumanized nation of the African Cemetery of Peoples ‘Abyssinia’ (fallaciously re-baptized ‘Ethiopia’).

As the Kambaatas realize that socio-economic progress and national – historical identity preservation are possible only within an independent, free and sovereign state, outside the ‘Ethiopian’ tyranny, they try to systematize their efforts along with the Shekachos, the Sidamas, the Anuak, the Ogadneis, the Oromos and others who struggle for preservation of their National Identity, Cultural Diversity, Linguistic Distinctiveness, Spiritual Individuality, Political Freedom and Socio-economic Emancipation.

The Kambata Development Network (KDN) deploys a great effort to alleviate the difficulties of the dispossessed and tyrannized Kambaatas, and it is from their informative website that I republished chapters on the ‘Current Environmental, Social and Economic Conditions in Kambata’, the ‘Population-Resource Imbalance and Resource Degradation’, and a brief information about KDN itself.

In the present article, I will expand and illuminate the KDN scope of work, republishing from their website texts about their Concerns, Objectives, Strategies, Structure, as well as the Scholarships they offer to impoverished and needy schoolchildren. Through the analysis of the KDN groundbreaking work in the Kambaata Land, one can get another viewpoint on the troubles and the misery that have befallen on the Ancient and Noble Nation of the Kambaatas, as consequence of their occupation by the Abyssinian armies and their annexation to Africa’s most obscurantist, tyrannical and inhuman colonial tyranny.

Concerns

http://www.kdneth.org/concerns.html

KDN has seven areas of concern that need to be addressed immediately. First and foremost, it is much concerned that the current demographic conditions in Kambata are signaling that the population-resource equilibrium has been badly affected and the long-term sustainability of agricultural land is questionable as population pressure increases.

Second, youth unemployment is rampant and rural poverty is pervasive in Kambata due to scarcity of farmland. Thousands of destitute young farmers have no farm plot, a basis of livelihood, and could not support their families. Most live on incomes less than $0.50 per day. Some have lost their traditional coping strategies including the well-known seasonal migration to other regions in search of farm jobs.

Third, with increasing poverty and resource degradation, there is a sharp decline in the standard of living of the Kambatas. Recent anthropometric findings suggested that more than half of the region’s children and women are undernourished.

Fourth, the measures taken so far to conserve natural resources and promote rural development are uncoordinated, unsustainable, insufficient, and ineffective to avert the increasing trend of resource degradation, unemployment and mass poverty.

Fifth, congested living conditions resulting from high population density have accelerated the spread of communicable diseases such as typhus and tuberculosis.

Sixth, the bulk of population uses dirty and polluted water that causes water-borne diseases. Surface water sources are scarce and are far from the reach of most farm households. As a result, rural women spend much time in search of water especially during dry season.

Seventh, there is hardly any vocational training or program development to promote rural technology and cottage industries that could provide alternative employment to the unemployed youth and landless peasants.

Eighth, in the absence of functional literacy programs, adult illiteracy rate is alarmingly very high and the quality of grades 1-12 education has deteriorated. Consequently, the number of school dropouts has quadrupled, swelling the number of the army of the unemployed youth.

Ninth, to date rural artisans especially potters (locally known as fuga) who play a significant role in the lives of the Kambatas are socially discriminated, denied the right to own land, and are unable to send their children to school.

At last, not least, it appears that there is not an easy fix to the current environmental, social and economic crises unless a multi-faceted rehabilitation and development programs are initiated in the short and long run.

Objectives

http://www.kdneth.org/objectives.html

As an organization, KDN strives to wage a two-pronged struggle in the region: fight poverty and illiteracy and promote a sustainable, self-reliant, cost-effective development based on local resources that is likely to give lasting solutions to Kambata’s current problems. KDN’s aim is not replacing what the local and regional governments do in Kambata. Its primary objective is to assist people-centered local initiatives that help improving and alleviating resource degradation, youth unemployment, mass poverty, disease, and adult illiteracy that persist in the region.

KDN is a nonprofit public benefit organization, organized under the Nonprofit Public benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. It is dedicated to providing services to the benefit of Kambata people and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is committed to changing the lives of poor people.

The objectives, stated in the bylaws, for which KDN is established is to relieve poverty and advance education by:

Supporting, facilitating, or implementing activities that promote the economic and social development of the Kambata community.

Empowering the Kambatas to take charge of development initiatives.

Promoting sustainable self-help projects that are undertaken by Kambatas and their adjoining communities.

Fighting against diseases affecting the health of Kambata community.

Empowering rural women and promoting gender equality and equity among the Kambatas.

Reducing harmful traditional practices that particularly affect women and children in Kambata society.

Eliminating adult illiteracy among Kambatas.

Preserving and promoting linguistic, cultural, and historical heritage of Kambata.

Fostering the practice of cooperation and self-help among Kambatas as well as between Kambatas and other neighboring communities in their efforts to eliminate poverty, illiteracy and diseases.

The Network shall pursue the objects described therein without discrimination with regard to sex, political, religious or other opinions.

Strategies

http://www.kdneth.org/strategies.html

Some people have suggested that introduction of family planning programs would be a viable solution for the development crisis in the Kambata region. While population policy could be one of the remedies in the future, the current social and economic crisis have already reached a catastrophic level. It appears that there is not an easy fix or a single solution to the current environmental, social and economic crises unless a multi-faceted rehabilitation and development programs are initiated in the short and long run.

KDN asserts that investing on the people, its physical infrastructure and environment is a viable strategy to avert the crises, and focusing investments on these important areas would help creating a sustainable development in the region in particular and Ethiopia in general. It aims at providing vocational training to the youth who can create jobs, not seek for jobs. This requires the commitment and cooperation of the local people, government, and non-government agencies. To achieve the goal of a sustainable development, KDN is committed to work in tandem with the local people and in cooperation with the federal, regional and local government. KDN also seeks to collaborate with the non-government agencies that are willing to help the rural poor and those operating legally in Ethiopia.

The Network shall use whatever strategies it deems appropriate to the achievement of its mission and that may be lawfully undertaken. Specific strategies to be pursued in the short-term and long-term include, but are not limited to, the following activities:

Promotion of reforestation and resource conservation methods.

Development of cottage industries and employment generation schemes, including training the youth in modern farming techniques, industrial and information technology.

Recommending viable strategies that help mitigating scarcity of farmland and population pressure.

Providing micro-credit to rural women and rural artisans such as fugas (potters), tummanos (black smiths), weavers, etc.

Undertaking field research on development issues and publishing the results in the Network’s newsletters and annual reports.

Raising the public health awareness of fatal, contagious and incurable diseases.

Supplying teaching material, such as books, videos, magazines, laboratory and computer equipment.

Providing scholarship and financial assistance to students, educators, and prospective immigrants to USA.

Organizing educational seminars, workshops, and conferences from time to time.

Inviting scholars and other informed persons to talk on topics covering the history and culture of Kambata and its people, current affairs and other issues of special interest to members of the Kambata community at home and abroad.

Assisting local efforts in the construction of bridges, roads, water wells, schools, health posts, and other rural infrastructure.

Promoting rural technology including improvement of rudimentary enset decorticating devices

Short-term Plan

Within the following 12 months, KDN aims to support schools by providing educational resources that help improving the quality of education in Kambata. The immediate goal is to donate educational materials by the start of the 2002-2003 academic years to selected secondary schools. Depending on the needs of the schools, the materials include:

Reference materials – encyclopedia, dictionaries, almanacs, atlases, and subject-area reference books, etc. that can be placed in school libraries or resource centers (if they have any) and used by teachers and students.

Science Lab equipment – materials needed to conduct biology, chemistry and physics experiments.

Audiovisual equipment (overhead projectors, transparencies, markers)

Selected educational videos & audio cassettes, and

Used or low-cost desktop computers and software.

KDN hopes that most of these materials can be obtained free from donors based in North America, Europe, Africa including Ethiopia, and other regions. The educational materials can be directly shipped to the benefiting schools from the US or other sources after each school identifies and prioritizes its needs.

Structure

http://www.kdneth.org/structure.html

KDN has a head office currently based in the State of Maryland, USA. Preparations are underway to establish regional offices in Europe and Ethiopia. Each regional office is established according to the laws of individual countries and can adopt its own bylaws consistent with the current KDN bylaws. Besides, each regional office will have the autonomy to raise and manage funds, finance projects identified by KDN, and remain accountable to its financing sources.

The major role of the head office is to coordinate programs of regional offices, formulating policy framework, and identifying projects to be financed by each regional office. KDN head office is organized into the Board of Directors, executive committee, and advisory committees. The powers, duties and term of office of elected board members, executive officers (president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer) and advisory committee members are clearly stated in the KDN Bylaws. All elected officers serve the Network without compensation. KDN Board and executive officers conduct the day-to-day activity through personal contact, email, and teleconferencing.

KDN Advisory Committees consist of members and, in some occasions, non-members having interests, expertise and/or specialization in topics or projects identified by the Board of Directors. The current Advisory Committees include, but are not limited to:

Scholarship Committee

Grant Writing and Fund Raising Committee

Curriculum Development & Literacy Campaign Committee

Employment Generation Scheme Committee

Project Planning and Budget Committee

Infrastructure Committee

Health Committee

Science & Technology Committee

Research & Publications Committee

Public Relations, Web-Site Design and Maintenance Committee

KDN Leadership is collective and each registered member shares the credit or blames that may result from implementing the Network’s programs.

Scholarships

http://www.kdneth.org/scholarship.html

Providing scholarship to outstanding and needy students has been one of KDN’s key objectives since its inception. However, a recent decision to establish a Distinguished Kambata Scholars Memorial Fund (DKSMF), was occasioned by the untimely and sudden deaths of three Kambata scholars – Dr. Tamire Hawando (picture attached), Drs. Desta Shamebo and Milkias Shamebo. The contributions of the late scholars goes beyond the confines of their native place. They were beloved sons of Ethiopia who were accomplished in their field of specialization (Dr. Tamirie in Agriculture, Dr. Desta Shamebo in Community Health, and Dr. Milikias Shamebo in Hematology) and deserve a memorial.

Their expertise and advice on the field of their specialization were the most sought after by the successive Ethiopian governments, and the world scientific community. Indeed, it is astounding to see the scholars who came from a poor family background, attained terminal degrees and obtained international accolades by transcending adverse conditions. The purpose of the memorial fund is to encourage others who come after them to follow their footsteps and emulate their example, with the scholars serving them as their role models.

KDN asserts that recognition of such individuals (deceased and alive) who stand out locally, nationally and internationally is appropriate. The recognition is supposed to encourage those scholars who are Kambatas but do not want to be known as such to come forward and be proud of their Kambata identity. The Scholarship Advisory Committee is entrusted with the task of suggesting detailed ways and means of broadening the scope of the scholarship in the future. Living scholars, civic activists, farmers, development workers, etc. who play exemplary role in the Kambata society ought to be identified and recognized in such occasions.

KDN has started accepting tax-deductible pledges for the scholarship fund, and a separate and independent KDN scholarship account in Ethiopia and abroad is set for this purpose. KDN will administer the Memorial Scholarship Fund according to the provisions listed in its constitution (bylaws) and Articles of Incorporation (Article 5 L).

The scholarship will be awarded on a permanent basis with funds obtained from donors, KDN members, supporters & corporate members. Each year, academically outstanding or promising but economically disadvantaged students attending various high schools (9-12) and/or colleges in Ethiopia will be selected for the Scholarship. The scholarship is not intended to fully cover the financial needs of poor students but it is expected to serve three main purposes: (1) It serves as a token appreciation for students’ hard work, (2) It provides a moral support to students from economically and social disadvantaged families to continue their education and not to drop out from school for lack of financial support, and (3) it encourage female participation in elementary, secondary & tertiary education.

Scholarship Award and Conditions

1. Each student selected for the scholarship will receive a stipend of Birr 100 (one hundred) per month, from September-June, when the school is in session. The total maximum award will not exceed Birr 1,000 per academic year.

2. The stipend will be provided to each beneficiary by KDN and be administered or paid monthly by the school the student is enrolled.

3. For the scholarship to continue from month to month or from year to year, the beneficiary must: (i) be attending the school regularly, (ii) maintain the required minimum GPA or percentile, and (iii) prove that he or she continues to face financial hardship. Those who don’t meet these conditions will immediately be dropped from the list of beneficiaries.

Eligibility Criteria

Any students who meets all four criteria listed is eligible to apply for the scholarship:

1. Full-time student attending grades 9-12 or colleges in current academic year (Applicants must provide a proof of registration or a letter from the school registrar’s office attesting this).

2. A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or above for college students, and 99th percentile or first place ranking in the previous and current grades for high schools students. If the letter grading system is not applicable the student must be the top in class ranking to be eligible for the scholarship. The ranking process incorporates scores in Eighth and 10th Grade National Examinations. A copy of the latest transcript in progress or grade report must be submitted together with the application form.

3. Provides a personal letter stating that he/she is attending high school education under financial hardship and, hence, can’t continue his/her education without external support. Priority will be given to those applicants who adequately prove that their parents or other family members have no resources and can’t fully support their needs. The validity of such claims will be verified, directly and indirectly.

4. Priority will be given to female applicants and to those who have volunteered in public programs, especially HIV/AIDS Awareness Education, Adult Literacy Campaign, Environmental Protection/Reforestation campaigns or to those who have contributed significantly to programs that promote the local culture.

Selection Procedure

Eligible candidates will be nominated by local committees set up in each high school from the school administrators and teachers. KDN Executive Committee selects the beneficiaries based on the recommendations of the local committees and the amount of funds available. A detailed selection procedure is provided in the scholarship announcement letter.

Note
Picture: Kambaata children: malnourished, mistreated, abandoned, and disregarded by the ‘Ethiopian’ racist state that does not recognize the Kambaatas as a distinct nation.

Tags: Abyssinian, Colonialism, Evil, Kambaatas', troubles, Tyranny

EVIL SPIRITS: Bush in Latin America

Spirit Guides of the Mayan community in Guatemala vowed to cleanse their sacred lands of evil spirits in the wake of the American president’s footsteps.

Said spokesperson Juan Tiney: “That a person like him, with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk [on] our sacred lands, is an offense [to] the Mayan people and their culture.” [1]

In a hastily organized press conference, vice president Dick Cheney countered that the Mayans have their own corpses to bury. [2]

“Spanish intelligence has learned that the Mayans were responsible for literally thousands of ritualistic sacrifices of innocent women and children.

“We’re forwarding the case to the State Department to see if the Mayans, along with other so-called ‘indigenous’ communities like the Aztecs and the Lakota, should be classified as terrorist organizations.”

The vice president also noted that indigenous Bolivian president “Evil” (Evo) Morales was causing enough trouble opposing the privatization of water, defending coca plants, and cozying up to the “elected dictator” of Venezuela, without the Mayans erecting new barriers to America’s march of corporate freedom through the badlands of the dark-skinned lower hemisphere.

“We know what’s best for these people and anyone who doesn’t understand that is quite simply a terrorist or terrorist sympathizer.”

When a reporter asked how a twice-elected president (Hugo Chavez) could be considered a dictator, the vice president snapped, pulling a pen and a little black book from his pocket and demanding, “What’s your name, young man? Who do you work for?”

The reporter lit incense and waved it back and forth to cleanse the evil spirits now clearly visible in the heavily guarded bunker doubling as the vice president’s pressroom.

A Guatemalan reporter pointed out that the alleged crimes of the Mayans were centuries old while America’s were ongoing.

The vice president retorted: “Crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations.”

The Native American Rights Fund immediately filed suit, quoting the vice president and demanding that all sacred lands of the North American tribes be returned to their rightful owners with just compensation for the crime of genocide, centuries of exploitation and irreparable harm to the earth.

The vice president responded: “If these people think we can’t do anything because we’re tied down in the so-called ‘quagmire’ in Iraq, they’ve got a lot to learn. We took a vow to protect this nation, its people and our corporate interests from all terrorist threats, foreign or domestic, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

A rumor wafted through the room that the Lakota and the Mayans (with the knowledge and support of Evo Morales and Hugo Chavez) were meeting in Prague with representatives of Nigeria to arrange the transfer of yellow cake uranium for the protection of sacred lands.

“I don’t know who these people think they are,” said the vice president with a wry grin. “You’re either with us or you’re against us.”

“Keep in mind,” he added, “we know who you are.”

“I’ve got your names right here,” he said, waving his little black book.

Attempting to change the subject, a reporter asked if he had any new thoughts on the conviction of his former aide Scooter Libby on perjury and obstruction charges.

“What’s your name, young lady? Who do you work for?”

The vice president declared that we are winning the war on all fronts and the outcome was never in doubt.

The conference was abruptly halted when the VP began choking on the fumes of Mayan incense. A Justice Department spokesperson noted there would be an inquiry into whether the incident was a terrorist attack.

“We know who you are!” repeated the VP as he was shuffled out the door.

“I’ve got your names right here!”

All reporters were detained pending an investigation of terrorist ties and terrorist sympathies.

Jazz.

[1] “Priests to Purify Sacred Mayan Site of ‘Bad Spirits’ After Bush Visit” by Juan Carlos Llorca, Associated Press, March 9, 2007.

[2] The press conference and all quotations of the vice president completely fabricated.

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES (CROW DOG PRESS) AND GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION (DRY BONES PRESS). THE CHRONICLES HAVE APPEARED ON THE ALBION MONITOR, PEACE-EARTH-JUSTICE, THE NATIONAL FREE PRESS, PACIFIC FREE PRESS, LEFTWARD, DISSIDENT VOICE AND COUNTERPUNCH.

Tags: America, Bush, Evil, Latin, SPIRITS

Your Credit Card Company is Playing Evil Tricks on You

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

I recently reviewed my wife’s FICO scores and I nearly fell out of my chair…they suggested she was carrying balances on her credit cards that were too high.

What?!

It couldn’t be…she never carries a balance on her credit cards. I knew something was wrong, so I reviewed her credit reports to see what her credit card balances were.

There it was…two of her credit card lenders were reporting her “highest balances” as her credit limits. Highest balance is defined as: the highest balance you’ve ever had on that specific credit card.

The difference between “highest balance” and “credit limit”

You may be thinking, “What’s the big deal? You’re overreacting.”

I’m not. You see, when lenders do not report your actual credit limits to the credit reporting agencies it can wreak havoc on your FICO credit scores.For instance, let’s say the issuer is Capital One® (Crap One, as I like to call them). They should report your account as follows:

Credit limit (your real limit):
$5,000

Current balance owed:
$1,000

You’re using 20% of your available credit on this credit card. Ideally, it should be lower, but this is certainly not bad.However, let’s say that Capital One reports your highest balance as your credit limit. Assuming $1,000 is your highest balance ever, they may report the account like this:

Credit limit:
$1,000

Balance owed:
$1,000

Now it looks like you’re using 100% of your available credit—which is not true. It’s evil, because it will drastically lower your FICO credit scores. It’s as if your son earned five A’s and one C in his science class at school—but his final grade is a C because the teacher’s policy is to use his lowest grade as the final grade.

Some lenders don’t report credit limits at all

Some lenders refuse to report your credit limits.

Why’s this bad? Because when there’s nothing in the credit limit field on your credit reports, that account isn’t helping your FICO scores as much as it could. If your credit cards aren’t helping you increase your credit scores, they’re useless to your recovery from bankruptcy. Remember, how much you owe (your balances) versus how much you’re approved for (your credit limits) makes up a large part of your FICO credit scores (see Life After Bankruptcy Issue #16). So if you have high credit limits and low credit usage, that’s a good thing. It will help raise your scores.

How can credit card issuers get away with these dirty deeds?

Some lenders do this out of ignorance (unfortunately, they’re in the minority). Most do it to gain a competitive advantage. Credit card issuers know that when they don’t report your credit limit accurately it can screw up your credit scores. In fact, about 5 years ago a disturbing trend started taking place with the top 50 credit card issuers.
Two of the largest issuers stopped reporting credit limits to all three credit reporting agencies. Soon after, other large credit card issuers jumped on the bandwagon and withheld their customers’ credit limits. After about six months it was more common to see a missing or manipulated credit limit than it was to see an accurate one.

It got so bad that Fair Isaac Corporation performed a quick analysis and determined that the practice of not reporting accurate credit limits hurts some consumers’ FICO scores. Why in the world would credit card companies refuse to report real credit limits when they know it will hurt their customers’ FICO scores?

In two words…monetary gain. In 123 words…The credit card issuers thought they were losing customers to their competitors. Here’s an example…

Let’s say I have a National City Bank® credit card with a $2,500 credit limit reporting on my credit reports. When a limit is reported on credit reports, all the other credit card companies can see it. If Capital One saw that my limit with National City Bank was $2,500, they could then offer me a $3,000 or $5,000 limit to entice me to switch cards.

Credit card issuers were stealing business from each other by making their credit limit offers a little better than what you already had. This is called “poaching.” And the easiest way to prevent poaching was to not report their customers’ credit limits.
Who cares if it hurts your FICO scores? The credit card companies sure didn’t.
But I care. And I know that some credit card issuers still don’t report any credit limit information at all. Capital One is the most notorious offender. (Surprised?) Others just report your highest credit balance as the credit limit.

So how can you determine if your FICO scores are being damaged?

1. Review your credit reports.

2. Look to see if your credit limits on your credit cards are being reported properly. If you’re not sure, look at the last statements you received from each of your credit card issuers and write down what the limits should be.

3. If they’re not listed on your statements, call the credit card issuers and ask them what your credit limits are. Then compare them to the limits showing on your credit reports. You may ask yourself, “How do I do that?”

If you find one of your lenders incorrectly reporting your credit limits, or not reporting anything, here’s what to do:

1. Telephone the credit card companies and alert them of the problem and how it affects you. Ask them to start reporting the accurate credit limits. Remember, it takes 30 to 60 days for any change to post to your credit reports. So the sooner you take action the sooner you’ll see results.

2. On the same day you telephone them, follow up with a written letter (via registered mail) to the person you spoke with on the telephone summarizing the problem in writing and outlining the plan of action they gave you over the phone. Be sure to date the letter and keep a copy.

3. If after 45 days you don’t get a response…your next line of defense is to hire an attorney to represent you. Hopefully it won’t come to this…but a threatening letter from an attorney can work wonders.

4. If the lender refuses to adjust their policy for you, then you have a decision to make. Will you take them to court? Or will you transfer your balance to a more reputable lender? I’m not a big proponent of transferring balances, but this would be a situation where you may have no other choice.

Here’s my take on things…

The Fair Credit Reporting Act says that any accounts that are inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, unverifiable, or outdated have to be deleted or corrected—or it’s a violation of federal law.I would argue that an account with an inaccurately reported credit limit is not only inaccurate, but is also grossly misleading—especially to FICO credit scoring models. This is especially important for people recovering from bankruptcy—it’s hard work to increase our credit scores and we need every FICO score point that we earn.

In summary: Make sure you know the reporting policies of all your current lenders, and any lenders you’re thinking of applying with. You should use only lenders that are willing to give full credit for your good credit habits.

Stephen Snyder is the founder of the After Bankruptcy Foundation a non-profit organization that helps people recover after bankruptcy. He has helped thousands of people obtain a credit card after bankruptcy with a fair interest rate.

Tags: Card, Company, Credit, Evil, Playing, Tricks

YouTube - Funding Evil

Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, the author of the book Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed and How to Stop It

FOX News
Page Hopkins
FOX & Friends Weekend

http://www.foxnews.com/foxf…

Ehrenfeld: Sinc…

Tags: Evil, Funding, YouTube

YouTube - Funding Evil

Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, the author of the book Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed and How to Stop It

FOX News
Page Hopkins
FOX & Friends Weekend

http://www.foxnews.com/foxf…

Ehrenfeld: Sinc…

Tags: Evil, Funding, YouTube