Tongan Women Lobby For Increased Representation

Tongan Women Lobby For Increased Representation

By Sarah E. Treptow
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

NUKUALOFA, Tonga– A group of more than 50 women has started lobbying for a greater voice in Parliament.  The group wants a quota of 30 percent political representation and has started a campaign to gather support to begin the quota under the new system of government being developed for 2010.  Betty Blake of the Catholic Women’s League says the group believes mixed political decision-making would lead to a more prosperous economy.  Ms. Blake said, “We feel that women have a place, they have a lot to say.  They can contribute to the development of our country economically, socially, and any other aspects of life.”  She reports that half of the male MPs support the proposal, with one objection being the possibility of all women MPs taking maternity leave at the same time.

Polotu Fakafanua Paunga from the Women’s Affairs Division of the Ministry of Education said the primary objective of today’s consultation meeting was to discuss their proposal that will be submitted before the deadline on February 23.  He said the next step will be to draft the written submission and gather signatures.  A follow-up meeting will be held next week.  The Electoral Commission requires signed submissions from the public be made by a group of at least 200 people over 21 years of age.

Only five women have entered the Tongan Parliament since 1975, including the first woman appointed as Cabinet Minister, Hon ‘Alisi Taumoepeau.

For more information, please see:

Pacific Islands Report – Tongan Women Seek Better Representation in Parliament – 16 February 2009

Radio New Zealand International – Tongan women lobby for 30% representation in Parliament – 16 February 2009

Solomon Star News – Tongan women lobby for 30% representation in Parliament – 17 February 2009

Tight Security in Tibet

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – China has sentenced 76 people involved in rioting during the March 14 violence in Lhasa, and detained more than 950 since last year’s deadly riots in Tibet, state media reported. The report comes at the most sensitive time in years: the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan rebellion on March 14.  The local government has launched a “strike hard” campaign to stop rebels from celebrating the 50th anniversary.

Tsering Shakya, from the Institute for Asian Research at the University of British Colombia, said: “The security setup and the preparedness of the security is on very high alert, so there is no element of surprise that the protesters could use. It is really very, very unlikely that there could be any protests like there were last year.”

The deputy mayor of Lhasa, Cao Bianjiang, said fresh unrest could not be ruled out.  He emphasizes he wanted to focus on fostering growth that would ensure stability, but exiled Tibetans were scared this would make them irrelevant. “We hope for peace and stability in Lhasa. However, some people do not want to see Lhasa enjoy economic growth and people enjoy happy life, ” Cao said.

A year after monks’ protests, Buddhist monasteries have reopened, but officials keep a very tight security.  Inside of the historic Drepung monastery, monks take patriotic education classes on Chinese law, and their Buddhist scripture studies.  Monks were kept closeted away from foreign journalists and tourists accepted government-organized and tightly controlled visits.

For more information, please see:

AP – Official: Tibetan areas closed to foreigners – 12 February 2009

BBC – Economics ‘masking China rights record’ – 11 February 2009

Reuters – More Tibet unrest cannot be ruled out: official – 10 February 2009

Reuters – Tibet’s religious life still bruised by Lhasa riots – 10 February 2009

Times of India – China releases details of detention of Tibetan rebels – 11 February 2009

U.S. Urges Pakistan to Help Capture Taliban Leaders

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PAKISTAN – U.S. and NATO forces are concentrating their military efforts in Quetta, the capital of the Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. Quetta is believed to be the center of operations for Taliban leaders and where the group has been sending supplies such as arms, money and fighters to southern Afghanistan.

Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar is one of many said to be hiding in Quetta. It is claimed that he guides commanders in southern Afghanistan, raises money from Gulf donors and delivers arms and fighters.

The U.S. intends to send about 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, but military officials say that this effort may be fruitless unless Pakistan assists in capturing Taliban leaders and cutting supply lines into Afghanistan.

U.S. and other western officials claim that Pakistani security forces do little to address the presence of Taliban military commanders in Quetta.

Pakistani officials state that their intelligence does not indicate where Taliban leaders are located.

“Pakistan will act against any individuals involved with Al Qaeda or the Taliban about whom we have actionable intelligence,” said Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S. “The problem is we do not always get actionable intelligence in Quetta in particular. It’s a very messy area.”

Some officials understand the hardship of the Pakistani government in Islamabad in capturing Taliban leaders. The Baluchistan Province has been a known hostile area to the government and it is difficult for government spies to get sources there.

However, members of the Obama administration believe that it must put pressure upon the Pakistani government to aid in U.S. efforts. “We’ve made some progress going into the tribal areas and North-West Frontier Province against Al Qaeda, but we have not had a counterpart war against the Quetta shura,” said a senior Obama administration official. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the Obama administration will threaten to cut off military aid to Islamabad unless Pakistan carries out a crackdown on militants operating throughout the country.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Pakistan Complicit in Killing by Taliban, a Polish Official Says – 10 February 2009

International Herald Tribune – The Taliban in Pakistan are Raising U.S. Fears – 10 February 2009

Newsweek – Pakistan’s Dangerous Double Game – 13 September 2008

Guatemala’s Child Malnutrition Rate Approaches Fifty Percent

By Karla E General
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – A study released on Thursday in Guatemala City indicates that 45.6 percent of Guatemalan children suffer from chronic malnutrition. The lack of adequate nutrition has led to a significantly lower physical growth rate than the average established by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The national census determined that children between the ages of eight and nine were most affected by malnutrition with girls being disproportionately affected; for instance, Guatemalan girls are, on average, eight to twelve centimeters shorter than the average set by the WHO.

The effects of malnutrition are intensified within the Indigenous provinces of Solola and Totonicapan where the study found that 49.7 percent of children suffer from malnutrition and one in every sixteen will die before reaching the age of five. An earlier study by the Catholic Relief Services attributed the high malnutrition rate to the thirty year civil war and decades of political policies that have excluded Mayan Indigenous people from accessing basic services such as health care and education. Juan Aguilar, head of the presidency’s Food Security Secretariat, added that the high malnutrition rate among children was a result of inadequate food, high levels of poverty, and a dearth of basic services.

For more information, please see:

Relief Web – Breaking Malnutrition’s Cycle in Guatemala – 25 January 2009

Baltimore Sun – Viewpoint: School Lunches Can Nourish Hope – 26 January 2009

Latin American Herald Tribune – Nearly Half of Guatemala’s Children Suffer from Malnutrition – 15 February 2009

Fiji Interim Government to Hold Second Political Dialogue Meeting in March

By Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – Fiji’s interim Attorney Generals says that, before the President’s Dialogue Forum convenes, the interim government should hold a second political dialogue meeting to discuss the agenda and terms of reference to be discussed at that Forum.

Interim Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, called for this second meeting during his discussions with a joint technical team made up of representatives from the United Nations and Commonwealth. Last week, the joint team traveled to Fiji to conduct a fact-finding mission on the country’s political situation.

Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum says his discussions with the joint team included the scope of issues to be discussed at the impending President’s Dialogue Forum.

The interim Attorney General also says that interim Prime Minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, is eager to use the Forum to better assess political opinions among Non-Governmental Organizations as well as civil society groups.

FijiLive reports that the second political dialogue is scheduled for the first or second week of March.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International – Fiji’s interim administration says second political dialogue meeting to be held in March – 15 February 2009

FijiTimes – Our last chance – 10 February 2009