South Korean Fishermen Freed

South Korean Fishermen Freed

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea– After one month of detention for accidently entering North Korean waters when their satellite navigation malfunctioned, four South Korean fishermen were released and have returned home. 

SK fishermen freed Freed South Korean Fishermen (Source: AP)

Fishermen and their boats from both North and South Korea are often accused of straying into each other’s maritime border, because the two countries disagree on the exact location of the demarcation line.

The four fishermen, who were detained since July 30, 2009, were handed over to the South Korean Coast Guard at the two Koreas’ shared eastern maritime border on Saturday.  Park Kwang-sun, captain of the detained boat, said upon his arrival back to South Korea, “I am sorry to the public for causing concern, but I am deeply grateful for the support that secured our quick return.”  South Korean citizens have been holding protests demanding the fishermen’s return.  Park’s wife also thanked the South Korean government for her husband’s safe return.

A North Korea expert Kim Young-hyun of Seoul’s Dongguk University said, “The release turned on the green light for the overall improvement of inter-Korean ties.” 

Relations between the two Koreas have been strained for the past year.  However, the release of the detained fishermen is being considered as a conciliatory move on the part of North Korea, in addition to a sign that tensions are being eased between North and South Korea.

Furthermore, the two Korea’s have agreed to resume family reunions of those who have been separated since the end of the Korean War in 1953.  The last family reunion was held in 2007.

For more information, please see:

BBC – N Korea frees S Korea fishermen – 29 August 2009

MSNBC – North Korea frees four South Korean fishermen – 29 August 2009

NYT – North Korea Releases Fishermen – 29 August 2009

VOA – North Korea Releases 4 Detained South Korean Fishermen – 29 August 2009

Tensions Between Russia and Georgia Unresolved at Significant Anniversary

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TBILISI, Georgia – The status of the two South Caucasus regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia remains uncertain as the region marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s recognition of the breakaway regions’ independence on August 26.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia’s independence from Georgia on August 26, 2008, two weeks after intense fighting between Georgian military forces and separatists from the two regions, with support from the Russian military.  Abkhazia and South Ossetia have traditionally been ethnically mixed.  It is home both to those who claim Russian cultural identities as well as those who have cultural ties to Georgia.

International observers say that Abkhazia and South Ossetia remain in a legal gray zone:  Russia and Nicaragua remain the only two countries to recognize their independence.  They are a de facto part of Russia while remaining a de jure part of Georgia, though political power in the provinces is steadily slipping out of Georgia’s control and into that of Russia. 

Some experts speculate the situation may remain unresolved for the foreseeable future.  The situation is akin to situations in Cyprus and Taiwan.  On August 26, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said that Russia’s decision to recognize the breakaway provinces’ independence was “unavoidable” and “irreversible.”  It seems equally unlikely that policies of non-recognition by the European Union and the United States will shift.

The situation has caused uncertainty for those living in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.  Georgia has attempted to establish a naval blockade around the area, threatening to arrest anyone who enters either area without Georgian permission.  Russia has also staked an economic claim to the area, as the Russian state oil company set up a subsidiary in Abkhazia on August 25.  The Georgian government has accused Russia of exploiting its sovereign natural resources, as well as unlawfully continuing its occupation of Georgian soil.  For its part, Russia has pledged its support for the reconstruction in the breakaway regions.

For more information, please see:

Georgia Today – Kremlin’s Victory or Confession – 28 August 2009

China View – Putin Pledges Firm Support for South Ossetia, Abkhazia – 27 August 2009

The Messenger Online – Russia is Continuing its Occupation of Georgia – 27 August 2009

Anti War.com – South Ossetia, Abkhazia to Celebrate Independence Day – 25 August 2009

Radio Free Europe – One Year After ‘Independence,’ Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Legal Gray Zone – 25 August 2009

Sofia News Agency – Russia:  South Ossetia, Abkhazia Independence Irreversible 1 Year Later – 25 August 2009

Update: Trial for Charles Taylor Still in Progress

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Charles Taylor claimed in court this week that he had the international community’s approval to grant Sam Bockarie’s political asylum in 1999.  He also claimed that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders decided unanimously that Bockarie’s political asylum in Liberia would be the best for Sierra Leone’s peace process.

“Bockarie did not voluntarily leave Sierra Leone.  ECOWAS extracted Bockarie from Sierra Leone.  That’s how he left.  He did not leave Sierra Leone voluntarily.  He came to Liberia in December of 1999.  People did not know the inside story.  But this is what happened.  It was an ECOWAS extraction, they took him out of Sierra Leone, he had no choice,” Taylor testified.

Among Taylor’s claims the United States government is said to have made an agreement to provide military training and scholarship for Bockarie during his asylum.  Taylor said he was surprised when the United Nations and the United States opposed Bockarie being in Liberia.

Taylor said once Bockarie and his men got Liberian citizenship he recruited them to join his Anti Terrorist Unit (ATU).  The ATU was an elite security force that protected Taylor and was headed by his son, Chuckie Taylor, who was convicted of crimes of torture committed in Liberia.

In regard to military and financial support that Taylor allegedly gave to Sierra Leonean rebels in exchange for diamonds, he contends that the expert who testified was unfairly biased against him.  Taylor said that Ian Smillie had previously accused him of diamond-for-arms trade when he was appointed an expert by the UN Secretary General.  Taylor said questions to the Secretary General regarding Smillie’s appointment went unanswered.

“I had concerns about pople who had made allegations against Liberia being on the panel.  You have already prejudiced the report by doing that,” he said.

Taylor called the 2000 UN Expert Panel Report “disgraceful” and said it was full of “disinformation,” maintaining that the report is biased.

Today is the fourth day Taylor has been responding to allegations made against him in that report.

For more information, please see:

CharlesTaylorTrial.org – United Nations Panel is at the Heart of Case Against Taylor, he says – 26 August 2009

CharlesTaylorTrial.org – Charles Taylor Dismisses United Nations Report on Sierra Leone as ‘Disgraceful’ – 25 August 2009

CharlesTaylorTrial.org – Taylor Says UN Report on Diamonds and Guns was Biased Against Him; CIA Helped his Rebel Group – 24 August 2009

CharlesTaylorTrial.org – International Community Sanctioned RUF Commander Sam Bockarie’s Relocation to Liberia; ECOWAS Leaders Changed Rebel Leadership in Sierra Leone, Not Taylor Acting Alone – 23 August 2009

Argentina Joins Growing Number of Latin American Nations to Decriminalize Small-Scale Drug Use

By Mario A. Flores
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — In what is the latest blow to America’s “War on Drugs,” the Argentine Supreme Court ruled that possession of small amounts of marihuana, meant for personal use and that do not represent a threat to someone else, is no longer a crime, making this nation the latest Latin American country to reject punitive policies toward drug use.

The Argentine Court’s unanimous decision, which found unconstitutional the arrest of five youths for possession of three marijuana cigarettes, came only days after Mexico’s Congress voted to end the practice of prosecuting people found to be carrying small amounts of illicit drugs, including marijuana.

Mexico now has one of the world’s most liberal laws for drug users after eliminating jail time for small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and amphetamine. The decision has resulted in some friction between Mexico and the United States, considering that Mexico’s northern neighbor contributes millions for the purchase of equipment destined to the fight against the drug cartels.

Argentine legislators vowed to start working immediately on a bill that would modify current drug laws to reflect this week’s Supreme Court decision and expect to submit it to Congressional vote by the end of this year.

If passed, the Argentine law would be part of a growing trend across Latin America to treat drug use as a public health problem and make room in overcrowded prisons for violent traffickers rather than small-time users.

The decriminalization of drug usage in Mexico and Argentina comes at a time when a respected group of former Latin American presidents have been calling for the legalization of marihuana.

Former presidents Fernando Cardoso of Brazil, Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, and Cesar Gaviria of Colombia led a 17-member group of journalists, academics and others to form the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, which concluded earlier this year that the “war on drugs” strategy pursued in the region over the past three decades had been “a failed war, negative and ineffective.”

The study called for an urgent “in-depth revision of current drug policies” in Latin America, including decriminalizing possession of marihuana.

Brazil basically decriminalized drug consumption in 2006 when it eliminated prison sentences for users in favor of treatment and community service but imposes some of the stiffest sentences in the region to drug traffickers.

Peru, the world’s second largest producer of coca leaves and cocaine, allows small-scale possession for individual use. Venezuela is more restrictive albeit small amounts of cocaine and marihuana possession are not a crime but administrative penalties can be imposed. Uruguay is holding presidential elections in October and the legalization of marihuana is expected to be a campaign issue.

However, a large group of nations (Paraguay, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Chile) remains to decide whether to lift penalties in cases of possession of drugs for personal use.

Countries in the region hope that new laws help counteract prison overcrowding, a rise in organized crime and rampant drug violence affecting all levels of society, but in particular the poor and the young.

Argentina has one of the highest per-capita rates of cocaine use in the world and a growing problem with synthetic drugs like Ecstasy. But the use of marijuana is not an especially serious problem in the country.

For more information, please see:

The New York Times – Latin America Weighs Less Punitive Path to Curb Drug Use – 26 August 2009

The Washington Post – Mexico’s new drug use law worries US police – 26 August 2009

The Washington Post – Argentina decriminalizes small-scale marijuana use – 25 April 2009

La Nacion – América latina, más permisiva con los ´porros´ – 27 April 2009

China to Curb Illegal Organ Trafficking

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – About two-thirds of all transplant organs in China are provided by executed prisoners.  However, this will soon change as the Chinese government is launching a voluntary organ donor program so as to stop harvesting organs from black market sellers and executed prisoners. 

In China, at least one million people are in need of organ transplants annually, but only about 10,000 actually receive organ transplants.   Such scarcity of available organs has led to corruption and a thriving black market for trafficked organs despite the fact that Chinese officials passed a law in 2007 banning organ trafficking. 

By creating an organ donation system, Vice Minister of Health Hugan Jiefu hopes that such program “will benefit patients regardless of social status and wealth.”

Furthermore, human rights groups have criticized the lack of transparency in China’s organ donation program and have been extremely concerned with the use of body parts from executed prisoners.  A Chinese newspaper, citing anonymous sources, reported that more than 65% of organ donations came from executed prisoners. 

China execute the most China executes the most number of prisoners than any other nation (Source: AFP)

Nicholas Bequelin at Human Rights Watch said, “If you’re a prisoner and you’re about to be executed, you do not have a real choice, especially in a system…(that) is completely untransparent and notorious for abuses against prisoners, as the Chinese system is.”

Minister Huang has stated that prisoners were “definitely not a proper source for organ transplants.”  Therefore, the new organ donation scheme is to reduce reliance of organ donation from death row prisoners and to combat the illegal trafficking of organs.

This new organ donation program will initially start pilot programs in ten provinces and cities where financial aid will be provided to donors’ families before being instituted nationwide.  Since 2003, only 130 people in mainland China have signed up to become organ donors
 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – China launches organ donor scheme – 27 August 2009

BBC – China admits death row organ use – 26 August 2009

NYT – China Announces a System for Voluntary Organ Donors – 26 August 2009

USA Today – China sets up national organ bank to reduce dependence on prison donors – 27 August 2009