Former head of China SFDA executed

Former head of China SFDA executed

China on Tuesday executed the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), Zheng Xiaoyu. The Supreme People’s Court approved the death sentence of Mr. Zheng, 62, for accepting 6.5 million yuan (approximately $850,000) in bribes to allow substandard medicine slip past regulations. He was accused of taking bribes from eight pharmaceutical companies.

Mr. Zheng’s execution follows a string of food and drug safety lapses on products made in China. This is, however, the first time China has imposed a death sentence on an official of his rank since 2000. The People’s Daily, the voice of the ruling Communist Party, said the harsh punishment was intended to deter other corrupt officials and President Hu Jintao’s attempt to promote a tough, clean government image.

Under Mr. Zheng’s tenure at the SFDA from 1997 to 2005 dozens died in China from fake or bad drugs. One antibiotic caused the deaths of at least ten people. In another case, a gallbladder medicine containing the wrong ingredients is believed to have led to the deaths of at least five people. An SFDA spokesperson, Yan Jiangying says the agency is working hard to tighten its safety procedures.

Skeptics, however, say this harsh sentence may deter corrupt officials momentarily, but Mr. Zheng’s execution cannot stop corruption because it is so widespread and the risk to officials are so low.

For more information, please see:

–http://www.ft.com/cms/s/86ea503c-2eb4-11dc-b9b7-0000779fd2ac.html

–http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118412346727663053.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

–http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-China-Tainted-Products.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

–http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSP32731420070711

Darfur Violence Threatens Relief Workers

By Impunity Watch Africa

Escalating violence in Darfur has caused 160,000 people to be forced out of their homes and 4.2 million to aid relief since January.  Attacks against relief works have increased 150 percent in the past year according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).  In June, one out of every six convoys leaving capitals in Darfur were attacked or ambushed by “armed groups,” generally bandits or anti-government rebels.  OCHA states that since January, 64 vehicles have been hijacked and 132 staff temporarily detained.

“This kind of lawlessness by armed groups of different political affiliations has forced relief organizations to suspend programming and relocate out of dangerous environments on 15 occasions, temporarily depriving over 1 million beneficiaries of life-saving assistance,” OCHA said.

U.N. and African envoys have set a August deadline to start peace negotiations and have called an international meeting in Libya July 15-16 to hopefully move the process along.  Invitations have been sent to Sudan, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, the Arab League, the US, and UN Security Council’s other four permanent members, as well as key donors.  The hope is to begin negotiations towards ending this 4-year conflict that has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million.

Sudan has previously agreed to a UN-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force of 20,000 troops and police.  However, this force is not expected to be in place until next year, when it will help the current 7,000 member AU force.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Darfur Actors to Discuss Road Map for Peace – 11 July 2007

AllAfrica – Attacks On Aid Workers in Darfur Threatening Relief Efforts, Warns UN Official – 10 July 2007

Relief Web – The Humanitarian Community in Darfur Under Increasing Pressure – 10 July 2007

Reuters – Violence overwhelms relief workers in Darfur – 10 July 2007

Yahoo – Darfur Conference Called for Mid-July – 05 July 2007

Indonesia sues Suharto, former dictator

Indonesia sued Suharto, the former dictator, for $1.54 billion. Suharto fell from power nine years ago.

The Indonesian government has claimed that Suharto and his foundation stole $441 million from state institutions between 1978 and 1998. The government also seeks $1.1 billion in damages. Suharto has avoided criminal corruption charges by claiming bad health.  He is 86.

Transparency International has estimated that Suharto and his family amassed up to $35 billion between his ascent to power in 1966 and the end of his rule in 1998. Suharto pressed state banks, other government institutions, and Indonesian businesses to give part of profits to his foundations. Suharto claimed that he collected the money to give scholarships to poor children. Instead, prosecutors accuse him of diverting the money to his other family foundations and companies.

Mr Suharto’s youngest son, Tommy, and half-brother Probosutedjo are the only family members convicted of corruption.

Tommy (Hutomo Mandala Putra) served five years for ordering the murder of a Supreme Court judge who convicted him of corruption in a land scam. The government seeks to seize $48 million of his frozen assets.

Probosutedjo is serving four years in prison for stealing $11 million from a government reforestation fund.

For more information, please see:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/297a8c78-2df1-11dc-821c-0000779fd2ac,_i_email=y.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/09/suharto.sued.ap/index.html

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/09/asia/AS-GEN-Indonesia-Suharto-Lawsuit.php

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/17ADABE2-EFDB-4F91-BB7F-79431210A9A3.htm

Bloody Clash Between Police Forces in Liberia

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch, Africa

In Monrovia, the main port capital of Liberia, dozens of police officers have been injured in a clash between rival police forces and seaport police. Twenty two police officers have been hospitalized and eighteen officers were seriously injured. The clash erupted when regular police officers went to the port on suspicious reports that seaport police were stealing fuel shipments.

At the port, the police director, Beatrice Munah Sieh, was taken hostage by the seaport police. Curious onlookers watched, as the sea police threw stones at the regular police reinforcements. Ultimately United Nation troops were able to end the fighting. Red trails of blood mark the ground where the violent clash took place.This clash is the first bloody battle between rival police forces since Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected to office last year promising to end corruption in Liberia.

Moreover, just recently, more than 3,500 officers have graduated from Liberia’s Police Academy. UN police have been supporting and mentoring members of the new LNP police force to ensure that Liberia’s security force is properly trained and will ensure citizen’s rights. The force was implemented to “improve the rule of law in the West African country and help the nation rehabilitate after more than a decade of brutal civil war.”

Currently, more than 15,000 UN peacekeepers are stationed in Liberia to try to alleviate destruction that resulted from a decade of civil war. Moreover, UN forces are trying to implement a peaceful return to stability and democracy in a region which was poorly damaged by ex-President Charles Taylor.

For more information, please see:

Independent – Dozens Injured in Brawl at Liberia Ports – 10 July 2007

BBC – Rival Liberia Police Forces Clash – 09 July 2007

UN News Centre – Liberia: Liberia And UN Mission Achieve Key Target in Police Recruitment – 09 July 2007

Increase in sectarian violence across Iraq

On July 7, a truck exploded in the Iraqi town of Amerli.  Estimates of causalities vary; however the local police reported 140 people are dead, 20 are missing, and more than 270 were injured.  The truck carried over two tons of explosives and was set off during the busy hours of the local market.  The explosion left a twelve foot crater and destroyed more than 50 houses and 45 shops.  Many of the causalities resulted from inhabitants being crushed as the buildings collapsed.  Rescuers worked to remove victims from the rubble and to transport the injured to hospitals.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the bomb, government officials, both Iraqi and American, blame Sunni insurgents, like Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. 

In addition to this attack, the past two days saw an increase in violence across all of Iraq.  On July 8, another car bomb exploded in the town of Haswa, located 30 miles west of Baghdad; killing 20 new army recruits and wounding 27 others.  Two more car bombs exploded in Baghdad on July 9, killing twelve and wounding 35.

In addition, 29 unidentified bodies have been found in Baghdad on July 8; among them were the bodies of twelve abducted factory workers.  Officials believe that the workers were on their way home when Shia militants stopped the vehicle and then separated the Sunni workers from their Shia colleagues.  Of the group that was abducted, nine are still missing.

The recent increase in violence caused some Iraqi lawmakers to call for civilians to be given weapons and training to protect themselves.  Prior to July 7, local officials and residents of Amerli asked for an increased police force to provide protection against such attacks.  Many citizens are frustrated with the lack of security against sectarian violence.  Abbas al-Bayati, a Shiite Turkoman lawmaker, stated that in the absence of effective policing, residents should be able to take up arms and provide their own protection.

These sentiments were echoed by Sunni Arab vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi.  He stated that when the police and army are unable to protect civilians, that they have the right to defend themselves.  This idea has had a mixed reception among Iraqis.  Some Iraqis are frustrated by the lack of protection and feel that they cannot count on Iraqi police to provide the necessary security.  Others fear that arming civilians would lead to more sectarian violence and thereby decrease overall security.

For more information please see:

BBC:  “Abducted Iraqi Sunnis found dead”  9 July 2007. 

CNN:  “12 killed in Baghdad area attacks”  9 July 2007. 

The Independent:  “Iraqi politicians call on civilians to arm themselves”  9 July 2007. 

Washington Post:  “In Iraqi hamlet, ‘a funeral service in every house’” 9 July 2007. 

BBC:  “Iraqi PM slams ‘heinous’ bombers”  8 July 2007. 

NY Times:  “Around 150, death toll in Iraq attack among the war’s worst”  8 July 2007. 

Reuters:  “Iraq truck bomb death toll may be 150”  8 July 2007. 

Al Jazeera:  “‘More than 150’ dead in Iraq blast”  7 July 2007. 

CNN:  “At least 117 killing in Iraqi village market blast”  7 July 2007.