Stray Bullets - 31ers Plan Global Protests, Nokia Sued And Sudan's Child Soldiers

Russian Protests Set To Go Global:

A Russian protest group, known informally as the 31ers, are planning to stage global protests against the Russian government’s breaching of the national constitution. Started on July 31 2009, Strategy 31 [1] is a civic movement which holds public protest meetings in Triumfalnaya Square, Moscow, on the 31st day of every month that has 31 days. This is a symbolic reference to article 31 of the Russian Constitution [2], which asserts the right to peaceful assembly.

January of this year saw more than 150 protesters arrested [3], including 82-year-old [4] renowned human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva [5]. In July 2010, city officials helped organise a bike festival from 30 July to 1 August, in Triumfalnaya Square; in what many see as a deliberate move to foil the protests. Now, the government has announced the square is out of bounds to the protest group because an underground car park is being built beneath the square, which has been partially fenced off.

In retaliation, the 31ers are planning demonstrations to take place outside the Russian Embassy in Kensington Palace Gardens, London, and in New York, Helsinki, Berlin and Tel Aviv. Viktor Korb, secretary of the Omsk Civic Coalition, told Open Democracy:
“Observe the Constitution, the message from our Soviet past, has now become relevant. The possibilities afforded by this disaffection with life in a false imitation of democracy are potentially massive. Unfortunately, our civil society is still fragmented, but Stratergy-31 offers the possibility of uniting on the basis of a common idea.”

Iranian Activist Sues Nokia:

Isa Saharkhiz, a jailed prominent Iranian activist and journalist, is suing Nokia Siemens Networks [6] over allegations that the company provided the Iranian government with monitoring systems [7] used to spy on protesters. The lawsuit, filed in a US federal court in Virginia, alleges that officials at the Ministry of Intelligence and Security in Iran tracked down Saharkhiz using mobile phone monitoring devices provided by NSN.

"(NMN) knowingly and willingly delivered very capable and sophisticated equipment for unlawful intercepting, monitoring and filtering of electronic communications."

The company insists that the technology it sold to the government is used by dozens of countries. However, Saharkhiz’s lawyers argue that NSN could have sold the service without the monitoring capability [8], which should have been withheld from Iran due to its record of human rights abuses.

Saharkhiz was arrested in June 2009, had several of his ribs broken during his arrest and was held in solitary confinement for more than 60 days. The lawsuit, drafted by Maryland law firm Moawad & Herischi, says:

“(NMN) knowingly and willingly delivered very capable and sophisticated equipment for unlawful intercepting, monitoring and filtering of electronic communications. In effect, defendants are directly involved in the unlawful monitoring of journalists, activists, and citizens in Iran."
 

South Sudan To Free Child Soldiers:

The Sudan People’s Liberation Army has pledged to discharge all child soldiers [9] by the end of the year. The UN children’s agency has estimated that the SPLA has discharged more than 20,000 of its child soldiers, but over 900 remain in its ranks. The SPLA fought for the independence [10] of South Sudan during the Sudanese civil war [11], which displaced more than 4 million people and ended in 2005 with a peace agreement and a pledge for an independent referendum in January.

Willaim Deng [12], heads of the South’s Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration, said: “The SPLA by the end of this year will be child free.”
 

UN Says DR Congo Killings Could Be Genocide:

A draft UN report [13] claimed that crimes committed by the Rwandan army and rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo could be classified as genocide [14]. The 545 page report, prepared by more than 20 human right officers, documents fighting that occurred in DR Congo between 1993 to 2003. The report’s accusation that the Rwanda’s army committed genocide [15] has been called “rubbish” by Rwanda’s justice minister.

Louise Mushikiwabo, Rwanda’s Foreign Minister, wrote to Ban Ki-moon earlier this month, strongly criticising the UN’s report and threatening to remove Rwanda’s support of the UN [16]. Louise wrote:

“Attempts to take action on this report - either through its release or leaks to the media - will force us to withdraw from Rwanda’s various commitments to the United Nations, especially in the area of peacekeeping.”

Words: Richard Lemmer
Photos: Top - Flickr user vladimir_telegin
Second - Flickr user sabzphoto