Japan’s Recent Resolution Around Disputed Islands Exacerbate Tensions

Japan’s Recent Resolution Around Disputed Islands Exacerbate Tensions

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

TOKYO, Japan – On Friday, Japan demanded South Korea end its unauthorized occupation of small islands under Japanese control.  In addition, Japan criticized China for its unrightful claims over other islands and occupation by Chinese activists.

Japanese Nationalists with on island with Japanese flag. (Photo Courtesy of New York Times)

“Since earlier this month, a series of incidents have occurred, threatening to violate our sovereignty, which we find extremely regrettable.  We do not tolerate these actions,” voiced Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

On Friday, Japan’s lawmakers passed a symbolic resolution banning South Korea’s President, Lee Myung-bak, from Japan’s island, Takeshima in Japanese and Dokdo in Korean.

“We condemn [Lee’s landing] and strongly demand South Korea end its illegal occupation of Takeshima as soon as possible,” read the resolution.  According to the Washington Post, the strong language in the dispute worsened relations between both countries.

On the other front, on August 17th, Japan deported 14 Chinese activists previously detained after landing on an island concurrently claimed by Japan and China in the East China Sea.  The island, Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, lies near rich gas reserves, and in April, Tokyo’s governor announced that he would purchase the cluster of islands.

As reported by the Washington Post, critics pressured Prime Minister Noda to take harsher action monitoring and protecting the islands.  Accordingly, Mr. Noda announced that Japan would bolster its security near Senkaku or Diaoyu to prevent further “incursions by foreigners.”  Mr. Noda further stated that Japan would continue to push its position in international forums.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei claimed, “It is illegal and futile for Japan to strengthen its claim by approving the resolution.  It does not change the fact that the islands belong to China.”

In September 2010, a Chinese fishing boat collided with Japanese coastguard patrols near the disputed islands.  According to the Guardian, a Japanese coastguard claimed that the collision occurred after the captain disregarded requests to leave the area and subsequently refused to allow Japanese authorities to inspect his boat.  The Japanese further demanded that China pay for the damages.

Such events have lead to thousands of anti-Japanese protests the last few weeks in China.  As a result, Japan has urged China to protect its citizens.

“With a rising China and a more self-confident South Korea, the region is entering an era of turbulence,” shared Narushige Michishita, a security expert from Japan’s National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.

For further information, please see: 

Tapei Times – Japan talks tough in row with South Korea on Islands – 26 Aug. 2012

The Washington Post – Japan condemns ‘illegal’ landings by Chinese activists, SKorean president on disputed islands – 24 Aug. 2012

Euro News – Japan and China clash over disputed islands – 20 Aug. 2012

The Guardian – Japan to deport 14 Chinese island activists – 17 Aug. 2012

The Guardian – Japan-China row escalates over fishing boat collision – 09 Sept. 2010

 

 

Gambia vows to Execute all Death Row Inmates

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BANJUL, Gambia – Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh declared that his government vows to execute all prisoners who had been sentenced to death by September.

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.
(Photo courtesy of Gambia News)

According to Jammeh, the executions are meant to end the rise of “brutal killings” and “heinous crimes” in the country. “I will set an example on all those who have been condemned,” he proclaimed in a televised meeting with the country’s Muslim elders and religious leaders last Sunday.

Human rights groups report that Gambia has currently sentenced 44 inmates to death, including 2 women, since last year. Crimes that receive the capital punishment as penalty include murder and treason.

Once implemented, the President’s decree will mark the end of an execution-free regime that has been in place for almost 30 years. Gambia last executed a prisoner in 1985. The resumption of the death penalty will also make Gambia the only West African country to inflict capital punishment upon its prisoners. Togo, Burundi, Gabon and Rwanda have abolished the death penalty for all crimes in the last five years.

Known in Gambia as His Excellency, Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, the Gambian Leader has already made similar threats several years ago. For instance, in 1995, Jammeh’s government reinstated the death penalty. Almost a decade later, he issued another statement saying that his administration will see to it that all death row inmates will be executed as soon as possible. None of these intended executions, however, have been carried out. Despite this, Human Rights groups such as Amnesty International still consider President Jammeh’s recent announcement “a matter for serious concern”.

“Any attempt to carry out this threat would be both deeply shocking and a major set-back for human rights in Gambia,” said Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty International’s Africa director. “The President’s statement is in stark contracts to the trend, both in West Africa and globally, towards ending the use of the death penalty,” she added.

In his article for Think Africa Press, Journalist Bubacarr Sowe expressed his dismay regarding the President’s administration. He writes that over the past couple of years, President Jammeh has made decisions that run counter to the President’s “promises of transparency, accountability and probity” – promises he made when he led a coup that ended former Gambian President Dawda Jawara’s 30-year rule. “Instead,” Sowe writes, “the administration is, like its predecessor, tainted with evidence of corruption and misappropriation of state resources.”

Notwithstanding the backlash against Jammeh’s regime, the President has maintained a steady number of supporters due to a recent boost in infrastructure projects which include the building of schools and hospitals, a new airport and the Gambia’s first university.

 

For further information, please see:

CNN – Gambia vows to execute all death row inmates by September, sparking outcry – 23 August 2012

AP – Gambia president vows to execute death row inmates – 22 August 2012

All Africa – Gambia: Murder Convicts Will Be Executed President Jammeh Tells Muslim Elders – 21 August 2012

All Africa – Gambia: President Jammeh Must Retract Call for Execution of Death Row Inmates – 21 August 2012

All Africa – Gambia: Yahya Jammeh – 18 Years and Counting – 2 August 2012

France Relaxes Employment Restrictions on Roma

By Pearl Rimon
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France – The French government has made it easier for Roma immigrants to obtain work and residence rights.

Many Roma live in makeshift camps on the edges of large cities. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

This change in policy comes after police raids on makeshift Roma campsites located near Lille and Lyon. French Housing Minister, Cecile Duflot, defended the dismantling of the camps and called for: “integration through work, by widening and softening constraints that weigh heavily on Roma populations who wish to work, by eliminating the tax paid by the employers of the Roma and widening, in a very big way, the professions they can have access to.”

There are an estimated 20,000 Roma living in France.

One of the main changes in policy is waiving the tax that French employers are required to pay the immigration office when hiring a Romanian or Bulgarian worker, the tax can run as high as $2,200. The government-approved list of jobs that are open to Roma people will be expanded from the current 150 jobs.

“The Roma people are EU citizens like anyone else and would like to work like anyone else,” Malik Salemkour, a human rights activist who met with Socialist Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, told reporters.

Ayrault told reporters that the measures taken towards the Roma and the new measures were a “question of humanity and respect.”

Citizens of Romania and Bulgaria, which include the Roma, are subject to employment limitations until the end of 2013 in the European Union. This policy was supposedly imposed due to the fear of an excessive influx of immigrants looking for work. Roma are required work permits to stay legally beyond three months in a host country. This leads to many Roma living in makeshift camps near the edge of large cities illegally.

Earlier this month, police evicted around 300 people from illegal campsites. They also sent 240 Roma back to Romania and offered a stipend for those who voluntarily returned.

The Council of Europe, a governmental organization for human rights, has urged France to seek a solution for Roma immigrants. The European Commission, in charge of monitoring EU treaties, began monitoring the situation in France after the campsite raids.

For more information, please see:

BBC News — French Government Eases Job Access For Roma – 23 August 2012

Chicago Tribune — France Says to Relax Restrictions on Roma Jobseekers – 22 August 2012

Daily Reporter — After Camp Closures, France Loosening Job Restrictions on Roma From Eastern Europe – 22 August 2012

 

Clashes Continue in Syrian Cities

By Mark McMurray
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria — On Thursday, Syrian forces increased efforts to reclaim areas in the capital Damascus and the city of Aleppo from rebels.  The violence resulted in the deaths of about 100 people throughout Syria, with nearly 50 civilians dying in Damascus and more than 20 government troops losing their lives.

Rebels in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo. (Photo Courtesy of Voice of America)

The military bombed the towns of Daraya and Moadamiyeh near the capital.  A London-based group, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported raids on houses in Daraya and heavy fighting in the Hajar al-Aswad district of Damascus.

Activist Abu Zeid spoke with Reuters about the violence in Daraya.  “They are using mortar bombs to clear each sector then they enter it, while moving towards the centre,” he said.  In Moadamiyeh, the army used the nearby Qassioun mountain as a staging area for bombing the city.

Additionally, districts of Aleppo came under attack, with reports of foreign fighters joining the opposition.  According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the army had previously claimed that they had “cleansed” the area of rebels.  On Thursday, Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces had again routed “terrorists” in Aleppo.

Thursday also marked the release of an 11-page report by Amnesty International detailing the treatment of civilians in Aleppo.  Syria’s largest city has witnessed the brunt of the violence since the uprising.

“Civilians are enduring a horrific level of violence in the battle between Syrian government forces and opposition fighters for control of Aleppo,” the report’s summary read.

“The use of imprecise weapons, such as unguided bombs, artillery shells and mortars by government forces, has dramatically increased the danger for civilians,” Donatella Rovera of Amnesty International added.

“As the conflict continues there are also growing concerns about increased abuses, including unlawful killings and ill-treatment of captives by opposition fighters belonging to a plethora of armed opposition groups, including the Free Syrian Army, operating in the city,” the report said.

The upheaval in Syria has continued to impact its neighboring countries.  In Lebanon, fighting broke out again on Thursday.  The Lebanese city of Tripoli saw its fourth day of violence with clashes between pro-Assad and anti-Assad forces.  A cease fire between political leaders representing the groups was broken less than 24 hours after its formation on Wednesday.

Tripoli and other parts of Lebanon have witnessed growing tensions between Sunni and Alawite Muslims who often live in neighboring communities.  Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has enjoyed the support of most of his Alawite sect while the Sunni community supports the Sunni led revolt seeking to topple his government.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Syria Crisis: Fighting Continues in Damascus and Aleppo – 23 August 2012

NY Times –Syrian Forces Renew Raids on Damascus Suburbs – 23 August 2012

Syria Arab News Agency – Terrorists Confronted in Aleppo and Homs – 23 August 2012

Voice of America – Syrian Forces Carry Out Assault on Damascus – 23 August 2012

South Africa Reacts to Lonmin Massacre

By Tara Pistorese
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

PRETORIA, South Africa—Police, armed with automatic rifles and pistols, opened fire on a crowd of 3,000 workers of the Lonmin mining firm on August 17, killing 34 and injuring 78. The incident has been called the most lethal police action since the end of apartheid.

Police officer walks among bodies the shooting. (Photo courtesy of News24)

The miners had been on illegal strike for six days in an effort to have their wages raised from 4,000 rand per month (approximately $484) to 12,000 rand per month (approximately $1512). Bearing spears, traditional fighting sticks, and machetes, 250 miners were arrested for public violence. They are expected to appear in court soon.

“We are angry,” said a victim’s family member. “Why must people be killed because they are protesting?”

Mangwashi “Riya” Phiyega, the newly appointed Police Commissioner, said officers were acting in self-defense when they fired on the miners after they had attempted to dilute the crowd with tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets.

While the circumstances surrounding the tragic event are somewhat unclear, some witness accounts suggest the shooting was a response to the workers rushing a line of police officers.

On the Wednesday following the shooting, President Jacob Zuma spoke with a crowd of survivors, informing them that the government had no intentions of killing anyone that day. The crowd reacted by shouting “phansi amaphoyisa phansi,” which means “down with the police.”

President Zuma has been criticized for his handling of the situation, which has had a critical impact on the nation’s investors. Financiers have previously expressed distrust in the nation’s legal system in light of statistics showing the country suffers 43 murders each day, which is more than six times the murder rate in the United States.

The tragedy “will make it more difficult for South Africa to attract foreign investment,” Carmen Altenkirch, a sovereign analyst at Fitch Ratings in London, told Bloomberg.

South Africa is one of the largest platinum producers in the world and the nation’s economy relies on mining of resources for almost two-thirds of its exports. The day news of the massacre was released, the rand fell 1.8% against the dollar.

President Zuma created a judicial inquiry and committee of cabinet ministers to investigate and take action against those responsible, if necessary. However, he has publicly announced he will not terminate Phiyega.

“We need answers,” said Julius Malema, a spokesperson for the mineworkers. “I don’t trust President Zuma and his inquiry.”

President Zuma has declared a week of national mourning from August 20 through 26. Flags across the country and at missions outside South Africa’s borders will fly at half-mast this week.

Lonmin threatened surviving workers with dismissal, however, if they failed to return to the job by August 20.

 

For further information, please see:

Mail & Guardian Online—Zuma on Lonmin: Government Didn’t Plan to Kill Anyone—22 August 2012

Bloomberg—Zuma Rejects Criticisms of Handling of Lonmin Mine Deaths—22 August 2012

Mail & Guardian Online—Deep Read: In the Eye of the Lonmin Storm—20 August 2012

BBC News Africa—S. Africa Lonmin Killings: National Mourning Declared—19 August 2012