By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Former Tamil Tiger leader, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, more widely known as Colonel Karuna, was appointed as Member of Parliament by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday.  President Rajapaksa made the appointment with the advice of Karuna’s brother and Sri Lankan Secretary of Defense, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

Karuna stated, “Tamil people can now have the faith of solving their own problems through parliamentary democracy. We should forget the bitter past experiences and work to win the trust of the Tamils.”

Karuna faces opposition from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).  The JVP has filed a Fundamental Rights petition against the appointment calling it “immoral” and suing him in the Supreme Court to have him removed.  The JVP alleges that the vacancy Karuna took belongs to them because it opened up when one of their politicians won a powerful provincial post in August.

Karuna’s new appointment also meets serious protests from human rights activists.  After recently having been arrested in the United Kingdom for carrying a false passport and serving jail time, human rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Coalition to Stop Child Soldiers have called for authorities there to investigate and prosecute Karuna for his past international war crimes.  Authorities in the UK replied stating that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.

Karuna served as the eastern commander for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which fought against the government and killed hundreds of police officers.  The Tamileela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP),the paramilitary group of which Karuna led after his leadership of the Tamil Tigers, has been accused of abducting children to serve as soldiers, torture and extortion. The TVMP was a group that split from the LTTE and was loyal to Karuna.

For more information, please see:

BBCSinhala – MP Karuna:  “Travesty of Justice” – 7 October 2008

Reuters – Breakaway Tiger Leader Sworn into Sri Lanka Parliament – 7 October 2008

Tamil Sydney – Sri Lanka Bestow Democratic Decoration to a War Lord – War Criminal Karuna Becomes Nationalist MP – 8 October 2008

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

GUWAHATI, India – In the northeast state of Assam, India, violence erupted between Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh and Bodo tribal groups on Friday resulting in almost 50 people dead, 500 homes set on fire, and more than 85,000 displaced and seeking housing in government relief camps.  Twenty-one thousand paramilitary officers were deployed to the three districts that have been affected in addition to the already-imposed curfews and shoot-on-sight orders.  More than 15 of the killings were done in police firings.

The conflict has arisen from a history of the local tribes’ fear of being overrun by Muslim immigrants. Almost half of Assam’s population are Muslim settlers.  Analysts claim that the clashes were sparked by a student movement campaigning ainst the immigrants.

Despite the history of tension between Muslims and Bodo tribes, state officials blame the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) for fueling the violence.  NDFB is a Christian rebel group that wants independence and secession from India.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, a minister supervising security and relief measures, says that the NDFB has implemented a plan of “ethnic cleansing” in order to “drive out all the non-Bodos from the area.”  Moreover, in 2005, the NDFB entered into a ceasefire with the Indian government in New Delhi, though it has never renounced its independence struggle.  It claims that the government has neglected their welfare, ignored development of the region and flooded it with immigrants.

Sarma stated that four cadres of the NDFB were arrested on Sunday for firing at the police with machine guns in one of the districts and that if NDFB members continue to engage in violence, then the government might have to reconsider the ceasefire agreement.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Troops Sent to Quell Tribal Clashes in India’s Assam – 6 October 2008

Assam Tribune – Death Toll 40:  80,000 Displaced:  500 Houses Burnt – 6 October 2008

Reuters – More Die as Clashes Continue in India’s Troubled Assam – 7 October 2008

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand – On October 5th, another regional journalist was gunned down in Thailand. Wallop Bounsampop was the editor of Den Siam, a local newspaper in Chonburi province in the south of Bangkok. Wallop is the fourth journalist to be murdered this year.

Wallop was murdered in a motorcyle drive-by shooting when he was helping his wife at a local restruant. Two men on a motorcyle dorve by and shot at Wallop five times hitting him twice and killing him instantly.

Wallop was an active member of the district council, and he was reporting on corruption of local politicians. Some allege his murder was linked to the controversial articles written about his opponents who are scheduled to run against him in elections next month.

Only a month earlier, Jaruek Rangcharoen, a regional correspondent for the Bangkok-based Matichon Daily, was gunned down in the central province of Suphanburi. Like Wallop, Rangcharoen was reporting on local politicians. Rangcharoen’s case is still unresolved. However, police said they have a few witnesses that could lead to descriptions to key suspects.

The string on voilence against journalist in Thailand has led to a public outcry. Reporters without Borders said, “We call on the police and judicial authorities to give themselves the means to deal with it,” and “If no real progress is made in solving these four cases, more journalists are likely to be killed at a time when Thailand is still embroiled in a political crisis.”

For more information, please see:

Guardian – Fourth Thai Journalist Murdered – 8 October 2008

Interesting Times – Murder of Journalist Raise Death Toll to 4 in 2008 in Thailand – 8 October 2008

Reporters without Borders – Local Newspaper Editor Gunned Down, Fourth Journalist Murdered This Year – 7 October 2008