Human Rights Concerns

[spaero2011]

National Assembly of the Federacion Iberiana

Board of Investigation for Human Rights

Unclassified Report of Inquiry

Chairperson: Don Alejandro de la Sierra, CC

We, the Board of Investigation for Human Rights, do hereby present our final report on the inquiry into alleged instances of genocide and war crimes in the Catalan district beginning in the month of November 2008 and continuing to the present day.

Testimony of General Julio Vega, MOE

On the day in question [29 December 2008], Jose [Classified] called me on a personal cellular phone and informed me that I needed to inspect warehouse [Classified] at the Special Operations Command installation in Barcelona. He suggested that I wait to carry out my inspection until he could deliver certain documents which he claimed would direct my inspection. As I understand it, the documents he delivered to me have been added into evidence, but for the record they consisted of two telephone conversation transcripts and two classified orders, as well as a satellite surveillance image marked with no fewer than five locations.

The first transcript was dated 2 November this year, and was placed by the Deputy Chief of National Intelligence for Mediterranean Affairs [Roberto Vasquez] and a major on the Operations staff of the Special Operations unit based at Barcelona [MAJ Diego Garcia]. It consisted of a short notification that the major would be deployed on a classified mission - not uncommon for our command - with a top-secret joint task unit. The major was less than impressed in this first conversation, but agreed to the tasking.

The first orders were dated the next day, and explained that the major was to report to Joint Task Unit DUSTSTORM at Sabadell, Catalonia. JTU DUSTSTORM was to be tasked with "aggressive counterinsurgency" in that district for "an indeterminate period of time" with authorization from the Minister of Defense. This was later proven to be false, but Major Garcia had no reason to believe this to be the case. The satellite imagery was included with these orders, but had apparently not been marked at that point.

The second set of orders was dated 25 December, again nominally from the Minister of Defense, dissolving JTU DUSTSTORM and returning Major Garcia to his parent unit. Normally such an order would include a short review of the task unit's performance, but these notably did not. This was apparently a no-notice end to the unit, as Major Garcia immediately called the DCNI-MED to verify his orders.

The final transcript, of this call from Major Garcia to the DCNI-MED, revealed that Major Garcia had in fact been the commanding officer of the task unit, that it had been active in two locations, and had "rendered inaccessible" certain evidence - this would later be found to be human corpses - in another. The Deputy Chief ordered Major Garcia to send him all his operational notes and a map of all locations where the task unit had operated, and not to make any copies.

I arrived at the installation in Barcelona as the final box of documents was being loaded for delivery to the DCNI, and Major Garcia agreed to detain the shipment until after I interviewed him. He revealed that the rest of the documents had apparently been destroyed by the recipient, and this load was to receive the same treatment. I asked what his mission had been, and I have to quote him, he said, "Sir, we were eliminating an insurrection. You know the only way to do that is to deny the rebels support. So we denied them support." At that point I demanded that he escort me to the sites marked on the satellite image in evidence. The first two sites were the burned remains of mountain villages, but the other was a series of recently dug mass graves. As best as I could gather, the major's unit slaughtered all of the villagers, transported the bodies to this site, buried them, and then returned and burned the villages. Further investigation revealed a total of seventy-three bodies - men, women, and children - in the mass graves, almost the entire population of Granera, and not one of them a known rebel.

It is my belief that the task unit was dissolved when the DCNI discovered that Jose [Classified] had tumbled to the operation, and that had he not delivered this information to me, several more "rebel" villages would have been razed. The Minister of Defense is under no suspicion for having authorized this; one of Vasquez's aides admitted to falsely claiming Ministry authorization in the orders. All members of the former Joint Task Unit DUSTSTORM have been detained and are either before this Board or a military tribunal for war crimes and genocide.

After hearing General Julio Vega's testimony, the board requisitioned the following evidence:

- Telephone Transcript, 2NOV08, DCNI-MED to MAJ Diego Garcia (Delivered)

- Orders, MAJ Diego Garcia, "Notice to Report", JTU DUSTSTORM (Delivered)

- Orders, MAJ Diego Garcia, "Notice of Unit Disbandment", JTU Duststorm (Delivered)

- Telephone Transcript, 25DEC08, MAJ Diego Garcia to DCNI-MED (Delivered)

- Personal Notes, MAJ Diego Garcia, JTU Duststorm

- Operational Map, JTU Duststorm

Further, the Board issued subpoenas for the following individuals:

- Major Diego Garcia, Mandato de Operaciones Especiales

- Roberto Vasquez, Deputy Chief of National Intelligence for Mediterranean Affairs

OOC: I'll be posting more information soon once I write it up. Feel free to post reactions or to RP either of the two characters (Garcia or Vasquez)... They're going to disappear, and I'd be happy to have them turn up elsewhere.

Edited February 14, 2009 by spaero2011

[Arkantos]

We watch this with mild interest, as the war against Gebiv is more important at the moment.

[spaero2011]

Telephone Transcript - 2 November 2008 - VASQUEZ to GARCIA

VASQUEZ: Major Garcia, do you recognize my voice?

GARCIA: Yes, sir, I do. Might I ask what this call is about?

V: It's a notice of deployment for you, fairly standard procedure.

G: For my unit?

V: No, just for you. Your... skills... are required for a Top Secret operation my office is heading.

G: Where and when do I report, sir?

V: You'll be reporting to Joint Task Unit DUSTSTORM at Sabadell, Catalonia as soon as you get your orders.

G [confusion]: There's... not an MOE or Defense Ministry installation at Sabadell, sir... Is there?

V: Not according to the registry, no.

G [confusion]: I... think I understand, sir.

V: That will be all, Major.

G: Yes sir.

V: Have a good day, Major.

G: You too, sir.

Notice to Report - 3 DEC 08 - TOP SECRET

MAJ Diego Garcia is hereby ordered to report to the Commanding Officer, Joint Task Unit DUSTSTORM at Sabadell, Catalonia, no later than 1200 5 DEC 2008. Personal transport may be used; use of military transport is strictly forbidden. Subject is ordered to bring such equipment as shall be necessary for a one-month field deployment. Deployment is for an indeterminate period of time; JTU DUSTSTORM is tasked with aggressive counterinsurgency under authorization from MINDEF. These orders are Classified TOP SECRET. Message ends.

Notice of Unit Disbandment - 25 DEC 08 - TOP SECRET

JTU DUSTSTORM is hereby dissolved. All personnel are to be returned to their parent units. All equipment not provided by unit personnel is to remain in position. Classified documents are to be destroyed; destruction of these documents to be verified by unit commander and reported to DCNI-MED. These orders are classified TOP SECRET. Message ends.

Telephone Transcript - 25 December 2008 - GARCIA to VASQUEZ

Garcia: Sir, this is Major Garcia at DUSTSTORM.

Vasquez: Right, what do you require? Is there an issue with the disbandment?

G: No sir, we're on schedule for complete disbandment tomorrow, but this is highly irregular, sir. We didn't get any prior notice whatsoever. Has there been an issue with our performance, sir?

V: You're the CO, you know what your unit has done. Has there been an issue?

G: No sir, but we're --

V: You're being disbanded for other reasons than performance. Now, the two sites?

G: They've been destroyed.

V: And the... evidence?

G: It's been rendered inaccessible, sir.

V: Good, we're covered then. Send me all your personal notes and maps regarding this unit and its operations. Do not [emphasis] make any copies, understand?

G: Loud and clear, sir. They'll be on a courier truck this afternoon.

V: Make it so. You never existed, remember? Anyone asks where you've been --

G: I was on a staffing deployment in Valencia. Nothing like shuffling paper to make soldiers cringe.

V: Right. Now you stick to that story, and we'll be fine.

G: Yessir.

V: We're done here.