Two women shot dead on way back from church by Austalian security company Unity Resources Group

[David Guyatt]

Shot on their way home from church: theatre to shine a light in dark cornersThe deaths of two Iraqi women at the hands of contractors working for an Australian security company is the starting point for a work that strives to be as political as it is personal

What happens when control of war falls into "private hands"? Two Iraqi women, Marou Awanis and Geneva Jalal, were shot dead in their car on Tuesday 9 October 2007 as they were travelling through the streets of Baghdad on their way home from church. Awanis was driving; in the back were two young passengers who, from what we can tell, were students. The people who shot Awanis and Jalal were contractors for Unity Resources Group, an Australian company working in Iraq.
The two contractors say they signalled to the car to stop, from a distance. Awanis did not stop perhaps she did not understand what was happening. Forty bullets hit the car, 19 of which entered her body. Both women were killed but the passengers in the back survived.
The women's deaths were reported in Australia, presumably because the shooters were Australian, but this is the sort of thing that happens in Iraq on a regular basis. An Amnesty International report that mentions the shooting also discusses the issue of privatisation in official war zones. It might give you a sense of why we at version 1.0 the company with which I am a performer thought this was a really important story to tell.
The story of Awanis and Jalal is the point of departure for The Vehicle Failed to Stop, our new work. We strive to make theatre that is as political as it is personal we want people to be active participants in the democratic process. We are very true to our source material and, as verbatim theatre makers, we see our responsibility as being to preserve and protect the facts of a story through our text, in an involving and imaginative way.
Our sources have included transcripts of congressional hearings, articles by reputable investigative journalists, documentaries, images, statistics, public documents, personal stories and facts that we have uncovered ourselves. This kind of factual material provides the textual basis of our work: we aim to shine the light in dark corners and ask difficult questions in a public arena.
It seems incredible that a provision put into place in the early days of the US-led occupation of Iraq means that private "security contractors" have almost complete immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. The deaths of Awanis and Jalal were investigated by the Iraqi interior ministry but punitive action was not taken, because the company "admitted to and apologised" for what had taken place.
Our key responsibility is to develop a process and a product that asks the hard questions most significantly whether democracy has become a commodity for export; if privatisation has now transgressed into the public policy arena; and what that means.
We want to examine the issue of modern-day mercenaries. The concept of some people profiting from the misfortune of others, with immunity and impunity. And the profound lack of accountability that has been seen in the Iraq war and its aftermath.

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Guardian.

[Magda Hassan]

Oh, this is interesting..... I do have to wonder if they paid off the Pinochet goons with residency in Australia? Also some appalling justification of the unforgivable by the Australian military spokesthingy. Another thing I wonder about it if this company had any role in the Shock Therapy that the Howard government tried to inflict on the Maritime Union here in the government sponsored attack on them which involved training new non unionised workers in Dubai organised by Australian mercenaries.

Oh, and they have an office in Kenya.

Who is Unity Resources Group?

Jessicah Mendes and Scott Mitchell
Updated Wed 15 Sep 2010, 2:38pm AEST
[URL="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-09-15/bullet-holes-riddle-the-car-in-which-armenian/2261616"]
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Unity Resources Group, the Australian private military firm that handles security for the Australian embassy in Baghdad as part of a $9 million contract, is one of only two military contractors to have killed an Australian in Iraq.
It is also facing a civil suit in Washington DC courts over another shooting and has come to the attention of a United Nations working group over both incidents.
The firm, which the ABC has revealed is fulfilling the embassy security contract with around 60 Chilean military veterans, was involved in the shooting of 72-year-old Australian Kays Juma.
Professor Juma was shot in March 2006 as he approached an intersection being blockaded for a convoy URG was protecting.
Professor Juma, a 25-year resident of Baghdad who drove through the city every day, allegedly sped up his vehicle as he approached the guards and did not heed warnings to stop, including hand signals, flares, warning shots into the body of his car and floodlights. The incident occurred at 10am.
Also in 2006, URG was involved in another shooting incident. This time two Armenian women, Genevia Antranick and Mary Awanis, were killed when their car came too close to a protected convoy.
The family of Genevia Antranick was offered no compensation and has begun court proceedings against URG in the United States.
If successful, the lawsuit would be the first in history to hold private military contractors responsible for actions committed in the theatre of conflict using the legal system back in the Western countries where they conduct business and keep their assets.
American lawyer Paul Wolf took the Antranick case pro-bono and has filed a claim in Washington DC courts. He says the hardest part has been finding the right jurisdiction to file a case against URG.
Having been founded in Sydney in 2000 the company has since been relocated overseas.
"We don't really know where they are, to tell you the truth," Mr Wolf said.
"They are incorporated in Singapore, I don't know why, and they claim that their corporate headquarters is in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and have given two different addresses for that - one a post office box in Dubai and another a hotel room in Dubai."
Mr Wolf located an office for Unity Resources Group in the US, only to find that the people on site simply forwarded on any mail they received for the company to another address.
"Unity denies having an office in the US and hasn't admitted it even has an office in Australia. I'm not sure if they're trying to avoid lawsuits or just trying to hide from the public," Mr Wolf said.
But ABC investigations show URG has a significant presence in Australia, a two-storey harbour-front office in Sydney.
The company registered the Millers Point address as a headquarters with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in January and the premises is full of staff, including one of three company directors, Evangelos Koutavakis.
In the 10 years since it was founded, URG has changed its registered Australian place of business eight times, including locations inside the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art building and at the offices of a business called Opulence Accountants and Advisors.
URG's operations have not escaped the interest of international agencies; on July 14, 2008 the United Nations Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries corresponded with the Australian Government over some of the company's actions.
The chairman of the working group, Jose Gomez Del Prado, asked the Government whether it knew the nationalities of the men who shot Mary Awanis and Genevia Antranick, as well as whether the Government had conducted any investigations into the killing of Kays Juma.
Mr Del Prado told the ABC that after over two years, "the working group has not received a reply from the Government of Australia".
These incidents, now three years old, continue to dog the company, which has received plaudits from within the Australian Defence Force for its high standards and professionalism.
A senior Australian Army officer speaking to the ABC said of these outstanding controversies, "if this happened in the context of World War II", when it was common practice to destroy entire cities filled with civilians, "this wouldn't even make the news".
"Australians have no idea how lucky they are. They don't have to live with the threat of death from a random source," he said.
"They don't have to live with that, then they throw rocks at people who are taking action to protect lives."
Unity Resources Group did not immediately respond to questions about its Chilean staff or its operations in Iraq.
A DFAT spokesman says the ADF Security Detachment works closely with contracted security personnel to ensure the security of the embassy and safety of Australian diplomats.
"The transition from an ADF-led security operation towards more standard DFAT-controlled, commercial security arrangements reflects the improving security situation in Iraq and both countries' intent to normalise bilateral relations," the spokesman said.
"Every stage of this transition has been based on a careful military risk assessment of the security environment, and the ADF will continue to mentor and supervise contracted security personnel during the transition."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-09-15/wh...up/2261606

Chilean mercenaries guarding Australian embassy

Jessicah Mendes and Scott Mitchell
Updated Wed 15 Sep 2010, 2:37pm AEST


The Defence Department plans to fully privatise security at Australia's Baghdad embassy by the end of the year, after quietly outsourcing most of the guard duties to Chilean paramilitary and army veterans, the ABC can reveal.
Senior army sources say 60 Chilean contractors work 12-hour shifts at the embassy - almost twice as long as the Australian Defence Force (ADF) allows its personnel to be on duty for in summer months.
The men are paid $2,200 a month, the equivalent of Australia's minimum wage, to guard the front gate and man machine gun nests, security cameras and alarm systems.
The Chilean contractors are overseen by a former Australian serviceman and employed by Australian private contractor Unity Resources Group (URG).
URG, which won the $9 million government contract already in place and would be expected to secure any future contracts, was founded by former Special Air Service (SAS) commander Gordon Conroy and several other Australian veterans.
The Government is supposed to publish all government contracts on a public tender registry but the embassy deal has never been declared.
A statement from the Department of Finance explained that contracts can only be suppressed by the chief executive of a department if they believe "that the information is genuinely sensitive and harm is likely to be caused by its disclosure".
A senior Army officer who spoke to the ABC says Australian soldiers still conduct just one security duty at the embassy: the personal security detail of the Head of Mission, Bob Tyson, and of visiting dignitaries if they leave the compound and travel through Baghdad.
It is this final function that the department plans to privatise by the end of the year.
But the moves have met resistance from within the embassy.
The ABC understands Mr Tyson has requested the Personal Security Detail stay in the hands of the ADF.
The presence of Chileans at the embassy has not been without incident.
On March 22, one of the men on perimeter duty was Esteban Lara Pina, a 35-year-old father of one. He had worked in Iraq for a number of employers since 2005 but his income had steadily declined as more and more willing men arrived in Baghdad.
Over time he developed what he called "psychological problems". That day, standing in full view of the street, he took his weapon, pointed it at his own chest and fired.
Afterwards, the former Chilean army sergeant was airlifted to Amman, Jordan.
There he underwent six operations to save his life and eventually flew back to Santiago, Chile to recover with his family.
Since being put on a plane home from Jordan he has been unable to contact anyone from URG, from which he is trying to recover ongoing medical costs.
"They've never contacted me, not even to see how I am, and certainly not offered to help me in any way and I can't get hold of them," he said.
"I've been ill, I've had psychological problems from which I'm still recovering."
In Chile, it is illegal to recruit men for private military work.
In the past, private military companies like Blackwater and Triple Canopy have avoided Chilean law by recruiting Chileans in countries like Honduras.
But Mr Lara Pina says Unity Resources Group used an American company called Beowulf International to recruit men on its behalf.
He explains that Beowulf "contacted us in Chile but there was no contract until we got to Iraq".
Beowulf International lists Chilean offices on its website and if it recruited men for URG on Chilean soil it could have breached laws which forbid "the act of providing or offering the services of private armed guards, in any form or designation".
If prosecuted, the people who orchestrated the employment of guards at the Australian embassy could face jail time.
Senator Alejandro Navarro has led a crusade to stop private security firms recruiting mercenaries in Chile, and helped to bring charges against a Pinochet-era general named Jose Miguel Pizarro under the same law in 2005.
After speaking with the ABC he says he is requesting a formal investigation by the Chilean Defence Ministry into the Lara Pina shooting and URG's Chilean workforce.
Despite these ethical concerns, Australian soldiers have commended the Chilean contractors' conduct.
A veteran of Australia's Iraq mission commended the professionalism of the Chileans, saying they were "highly adaptable", "professional" and "more than robotic" in carrying out their duty.
Australians serving at the embassy have felt safer since their arrival, particularly because prior to the new contract the Government had outsourced parts of security - including vehicle searches - to teams of Ugandans working for American contractor Triple Canopy.
Another veteran of Iraq operations describes the former Ugandan guards as "not the most professional bunch around", adding: "I'm not surprised they've been replaced."
A senior Army officer explains that privatisation of Iraq operations began after the change of government in 2007.
"The new Government as an election promise said 'We will pull out of Iraq'. True to their word they are minimising and pulling forces out of there."
The officer argues that privatisation was politically expedient as it minimised the number of Australians still serving in the country and prevented potential Australian casualties from drawing attention to a war the public wanted finished.
The decision to privatise the remainder of embassy security, as well as the apparent concerns of Bob Tyson, will confront incoming Defence Minister Stephen Smith this week.
Unity Resources Group did not immediately respond to questions about its Chilean staff or its operations in Iraq.
A DFAT spokesman says the ADF Security Detachment works closely with contracted security personnel to ensure the security of the embassy and safety of Australian diplomats.
"The transition from an ADF-led security operation towards more standard DFAT-controlled, commercial security arrangements reflects the improving security situation in Iraq and both countries' intent to normalise bilateral relations," the spokesman said.
"Every stage of this transition has been based on a careful military risk assessment of the security environment, and the ADF will continue to mentor and supervise contracted security personnel during the transition."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-09-15/ch...sy/2261610