By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

Naypyidaw, Myanmar – Yesterday, a parliamentary report ordered by President Thein Sein revealed that the Myanmar Police Force (MPF) used smoke bombs containing phosphorous against protestors on November 29th of last year.

According to the Huffington Post, the November incident was the biggest use of force against protesters in Myanmar since President Thein Sein’s reformist government took office in March 2011.

Protestors have been opposing the $1 billion copper mine in Monywa, a city in the northwest of Myanmar.  The mine is owned by a Chinese company and Myanmar Economic Holdings, the latter owned by the Myanmar military.

These protestors, including local villagers, activists, and Buddhist monks, claim that they have been unfairly forced to give up their land and subjected to environmental, social, and health problems.

A panel, led by opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, stated that the protestors suffered “unnecessary burns.”

“We have found that unexpected and unnecessary burns were caused to some monks and civilians because the police used smoke bombs without knowing what their effect would be,” stated the report.

Although the report did not specifically mention white phosphorus, it stated that devices used on the protesters contained phosphorus.

According to BBC News, the Myanmar government subsequently apologized to the injured protestors and created an investigation commission led by Ms. Suu Kyi. She is also expected to travel to the mine on Wednesday and speak with local villagers.

In response, the MPF stated that they only used water cannons, tear gas, and smoke grenades against the protestors.

Despite the opposition, the parliamentary report suggested that the mine operations continue. “This massive project is beneficial to the country even though the benefit is slight,” read the report.  The report also stated that eliminating the mine would create tension with China and may discourage or deter future foreign investments.

“Some people are afraid of China, but the people in general are not, and they don’t feel any obligation toward China,” said Aung Thein.

Others are equally outraged. “I am very dissatisfied and it is unacceptable,” said Thwe Thwe Win, a protest leader. “There is no clause that will punish anyone who had ordered the violent crackdown. Action should be taken against the person who gave the order,” continued Thwe Thwe Win.

A separate report last month by Burmese lawyers and the US-based Justice Trust accused the MPF of using military-issue white phosphorus grenades to diffuse protesters.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Burma Confirms phosphorus used at mine protest – 12 March 2013

Washington Post – Myanmar protestors hit by police crackdown outraged over report that supports mine operations – 12 March 2013

Huffington Post – Myanmar police used phosphorus at mine – 11 March 2013

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

LAHORE, Pakistan – An angry mob of Pakistani Muslims rampaged through the Christian neighborhood of Joseph Colony in eastern Lahore attacking the homes of innocent Christians, burning more than 100 homes.

The attack on innocent Christians was prompted by an argument between two friends of different religions.  One friend, a Christian, allegedly made blasphemous comments regarding the prophet Mohammed to his Muslim friend while the two were conversing under the influence.

The police report states that a mob of angry Muslims went to the home of the Christian man, located in Joseph Colony, seeking revenge for the blasphemous comments.  The police arrested the Christian man and held him in custody in hopes to appease and disperse the angry mob.

The crowd, however, was not appeased, and continued to move through Joseph Colony attacking innocent Christian homes and burning them to the ground.  No reports have counted any casualties during the violent burning of the homes.

The Pakistani police have made a large number of arrests and are still investigating the inciters of the mass arsons against innocent Christians.  Reports vary as to how many Muslim arsonists and rioters have been taken into custody.  The numbers range from roughly 60 to 150 arrests.

Blasphemy is a sensitive issue and taken very seriously in Pakistan.  97% of the Pakistani population is observant Muslims and even blasphemy allegations that lack any shred of evidence can trigger violent, public outbreaks of violence.

After the burning of Christian homes in Joseph Colony, Christian protestors took to the streets in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and elsewhere to condemn the actions of the angry mob.

Jani Masih, a Christian man whose home was burned to the ground, questioned why all Christians in Pakistan were being punished for the alleged blasphemy of one man.  Others believed that the incident was extremely cruel, and it was unjust to hold an entire community responsible for one man’s actions.

The Christian demonstrations in the streets of major Pakistani cities were largely peaceful.  Some of the younger protestors, however, allowed their anger to bubble to the surface and attacked public and private citizens and property by throwing stones and other debris.

Preliminary reports suggest that the public consensus was that the innocent people affected by this tragedy should be compensated for having their homes destroyed.  Pervez Rashid, an official spokesperson for the Punjab provincial government in Lahore, told a local news channel that the affected families would have their homes repaired and given 200,000 rupees (US $2,050).

For further information, please see:

Channel News Asia – Protests over Pakistan anti-Christian riot – 11 March 2013

International Herald Tribune – Joseph Colony tragedy: Outcry against arson attacks – 11 March 2013

BBC – Pakistan arrests scores over Lahore anti-Christian riot – 10 March 2013

Hurriyet News – ‘Drunken row’ sparked Pakistan anti-Christian riot – 10 March 2013

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SUVA, Fiji – A nine-minute video was recently posted on the video-sharing site, “YouTube,” showing Fijian officials brutally beating two men who were allegedly runaway prisoners.

Both of the captive men in the video are handcuffed and maliciously attacked by their captors with weapons.  One man is repeatedly beaten with wooden batons and metal sticks, stripped down to his undergarments, and is further beaten while unclothed.

At one point in the video, one of the attackers can be seen sexually assaulting the victim who had been stripped down to his undergarments with a baton.  Large purple welts are also clearly visible on the victim’s legs.

The second captive man can be seen in the video being attacked by a dog under the direction of the captors.  The captive man’s clothes seem torn with blood on them.  The attackers can be heard laughing and jeering in the background throughout the video.

Amnesty International had raised concerns regarding a different incident involving five runaway prisoners last year.  The men were allegedly recaptured and severely beaten and tortured by their captors.  One of the men allegedly had a leg amputation due to an untended open fracture in his leg after his brutal beating.

The police, however, investigated the incident and said that the information regarding the victim’s leg amputation was inaccurate.  Police released official statements to local newspapers stating that the prisoner had diabetes, and the leg amputation was related to his illness.

Last year’s incident had been brought to the attention of Fijian autocratic leader, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who had promised the restoration of democracy and an end to brutal incidents, like the one involving the recaptured prisoners.

This most recent incident, involving the two recaptured prisoners and the video of their beating being posted on YouTube, seems to be similar to the incident involving the five recaptured prisoners last year.  This raises doubts in the eyes of international rights groups as to whether or not Bainimarama will follow through with his promises.

The international community sought comment regarding the video from the current Fijian government, however, Sharon Smith-Johns, an official government spokesperson declined to comment, stating that no official statements were to be released until after the police completed their official investigation.

The Fijian Police Force did release a statement calling the video of the two recaptured prisoners being beaten disturbing and said they would investigate the incident thoroughly.  Although the video was described as disturbing, the police noted that the men being beaten were supposedly escaped prisoners.

For further information, please see:

Radio New Zealand International – Fiji police and regime refuse further comment on beating video – 8 March 2013

ABC News – Fiji Police Probe Apparent Beatings of 2 Prisoners – 6 March 2013

BBC – Fiji police to investigate abuse video – 6 March 2013

Australia Network News – Fiji police ‘disturbed’ by graphic beating video – 5 March 2013

Yahoo News – Fiji police ‘disturbed’ by graphic beating video – 5 March 2013

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Unjust central government usurpation of villager farmland led to a violent clash between hired government thugs and local villagers in the Chinese village of Shangpu.

Residents of Shangpu village protested the government taking of a 33 hectare parcel of land used by the villagers to grow rice for their personal consumption and livelihoods.  The parcel had been sold without the consent of the villagers to a third party to be used as an electric cable factory as part of the central government’s plan to urbanize and industrialize much of the once rural countryside.

The central government hired thugs to disperse and intimidate the thousands of residents into agreeing with the unfair land grab, however, the protesters turned violent when the hired thugs threatened violence with steel pipes and metal spades.

The villagers fought back, expelling the thugs from their land, destroying their vehicles, and recently set up barricades and outposts to guard their village against further intrusion and intimidation.  The countryside near their village is now littered with the overturned, smashed vehicles the intruders rode in on.

China’s push to urbanize and industrialize the rural outskirts of major metropolitan areas has generated mass land seizures by the central government.  Parcels of land destined for commercial development have also caused soaring land prices.

This push to urbanize and industrialize has left local farmers and villagers who depend on these parcels of farmland for their livelihoods with inadequate compensation from these land grabs and no legal options to fight these unjust usurpations of their land.

The Landesa Rural Development Institute, a group calling for fairer laws on land ownership and rights, estimates out of the 90,000 social unrest incidents that occur in China each year, roughly two thirds of these incidents is related to land disputes like the one in Shangpu.

With the incoming wave of new politicians currently being installed, Chinese lawmakers are attempting to increase protections allotted to farmers, however, the process is slow and arduous.  The current rule of law specifies that farmers who have their land taken only need to be compensated with 30 times the annual agricultural output of the parcel of land that is taken.

The current system allows for cheap takings of farmland and selling the cheaply acquired land to commercial developers at a huge mark up.  The proposed system currently being debated in China’s parliament allows for the payment of fair market value on farmers’ land that is taken by the government for commercial development.

For further information, please see:

Global Times – China stresses farmers’ property rights in land transfers  – 7 March 2013

Reuters – China village seethes over land grabs as Beijing mulls new laws – 7 March 2013

Cuyoo.com – Stand-off in Chinese village over land grab – 6 March 2013

NPR – Chinese Farmers Revolt Against Government Land Grab – 5 March 2013

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Human Rights Watch (HRW), a New York-based human rights watch dog, recently released a report highlighting Indonesia’s rising religious intolerance and failure to protect religious minorities.

The one hundred and seven page report was compiled using research conducted from August 2011 to December 2012.  It includes over 100 interviews of local Indonesians, 71 of which were victims to crimes of religious intolerance.

The report also included information from the nonprofit Setara Institute, based in Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta, which found that 264 attacks of religious minorities occurred in 2012, 244 attacks were recorded in 2011, and 216 attacks were recorded in 2010.  These numbers show a steady increase in the amount of attacks motivated by religion against minorities in Indonesia over the course of the previous three years.

Indonesia is the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world.  Muslims, of the Sunni variety, dominate the nation’s population, numbering around 210 million.  This massive majority has perhaps contributed to the growing religious intolerance.

Brutal attacks and constant harassment has been commonplace in Indonesia against the minority populations of Christians, Shia Muslims, and Ahmadiyah.  In addition to the attacks and harassment, the government’s actions, and lack of action, has exacerbated the situation.

Discriminatory regulations passed by the central government have had a significant effect on the religious minorities.  Local governments have allegedly refused to grant religious minorities permits to build new places of worship.  A Supreme Court decision which granted religious minorities the ability to build new places of worship has also been largely disregarded by many local authorities.

Local law enforcement has failed to curb the rising number of violent attacks being perpetrated against the religious minorities in the country.  Prosecutors have also failed to properly prosecute the few that have been brought in on charges of violence and have chosen to apply weak punishments for their crimes.

Secretary General of Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Ministry, Bahrul Hayat, released a statement, citing a government survey which was compiled at the end of last year, alleging religious harmony within the country is incredibly strong.   Bahrul Hayat urges the international community to disregard the few violations that may have occurred against religious minorities in the country.

The Secretary General believes that the few violations he noted should not be seen as the norm, but as the exception to the rule.  Many of the causes of conflicts within the country that may have been blamed on religious intolerance are actually socially, politically, culturally, or economically motivated.

HRW, however, still calls for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to adopt a “zero tolerance” policy with regards to religious intolerance, discrimination, and the rising violence perpetrated against the religious minorities in the country.

For further information, please seeL

India Talkies – Indonesia urged to protect religious minorities from growing violence – 1 March 2013

BBC – Indonesia urged to tackle religious intolerance – 28 February 2013

Breitbart – Report: Religious violence rising in Indonesia – 28 February 2013

Business Mirror – Religious violence rising in Indonesia – 28 February 2013

Human Rights Watch – In Religion’s Name – 28 February 2013