By Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

JAYAPURA, Indonesia – On October 19, 2011, approximately 1,000 Papuans gathered for a peaceful pro-independence rally in the Papua provincial capital. However, the demonstration turned violent as Indonesian police and the army arrived and fired warning shots to disperse those in attendance.

Witnesses explained that people either began running or immediately surrendered by putting their hands up. Approximately 300 people were arrested. Upon arrest detainees were ordered to take their clothes off and stood in their underwear while police reportedly beat them with pistols, canes and batons.

The army and police pursued those who ran into the nearby wooded area and made several more arrests. It has been confirmed that at least three people died during the crackdown while the Australian Broadcasting Company reports that six people died during the incident. Of the three confirmed dead, witnesses established two of them were shot by the army or police.

Daniel Kadepa, a twenty-five year old law student was shot in the head as he ran away from soldiers. Yakobus Samansabra had bullet wounds to his torso reportedly in the back. The Indonesian Government denies the deaths took place near the rally and were caused by bullets. Instead the government claims the injuries and deaths were caused by a sharp object.

Everyone who was arrested at the event has been released with the exception of six individuals. Five of those individuals are charged with treason and one is charged with possession of a sharp weapon.

Human Rights Watch has called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for the “immediate establishment of an independent investigation into the deaths of the protestors and the ongoing violence in Papua.”

John Baransano, a Protestant minister in Jayapura who was present at the rally, cries for international help. “I call on the churches around the world to care about this. I’m calling for an intervention for us because today’s events show that we need a transitional government and this needs to happen to help the people of Papua,” he said. “We are now in a dangerous situation and we’re calling for a UN intervention to help us.”

The government appears prepared to resolve its differences with the Papuans. On Thursday President Yudhoyono told cabinet members “we have tried to solve the problem using a security approach, but that did not work. Now we will focus on the prosperity of our brothers and sisters.”

Many believe a dialogue between the two parties is essential to ending violence in the region.

For more information, please see:

Jakarta Globe – Activists Call for Dialogue on Papua’s Future – 30 October 2011

Australia Broadcasting Company — Video Shows Aftermath of Papua Crackdown — 28 October 2011

Human Rights Watch – Indonesia: Independent Investigation Needed Into Papa Violence – 28 October 2011

Jakarta Post – Govt ‘Not to Use Force’ to End Violence – 28 October 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar – Burmese authorities have detained and charged up to seven individuals, including a Burmese rights lawyer, following a peaceful demonstration opposing the confiscation of farm land.

The detainees were arrested following a staged sit-in that occurred in front of the government housing department in Yangon and were charged with unlawful assembly and refusing to comply with a police order to disperse. These charges carry a potential sentence of six to twelve months in prison for those charged.

The detained rights attorney, Pho Phyu, was taken by police to an unknown location where the vice police chief allegedly engaged in negotiations with him. Pho Phyu has been an advocate in the campaign for farmer’s rights and has used his legal expertise to help farmers petition the government to prevent their land from being seized from them by with little or no compensation in return.

Pho Phyu explained the reason for the protest when he stated, “we have approached parliament for help but nothing happened, so we decided to take to the street.” He also explained that, “at first, they promised that joint-venture farming would be carried out between the farmers and private businessmen on these lands but nothing happened.”

In addition to dispersing the crowd of approximately 100 individuals, the police also confiscated the group’s signs and banners.

The protesters alleged that government authorities have seized about 10,000 acres of land and did not adequately compensate the owners in return. This figure was confirmed by the deputy agriculture minister who has testified that several thousand acres of farmland have been confiscated for urban development and mechanized farming. In return for the land, the government’s housing department paid the farmers only 20,000 kyat, or twenty-six American dollars, per acre.

Approximately half of the workforce in Myanmar is employed in the agriculture sector but farmers do not generally have the money or legal resources to challenge the evictions compelling them to accept the offers made by the government.

Protests in Myanmar during the reign of the military government were rare and brutally suppressed by the military.

The land grab protests, however, come shortly after the government’s promise of democratic reforms following the acquisition of power by an elected government. The government’s reaction to the protest has been seen as a test of the new government’s commitment to reform. The lack of violence used in dispersing the protesters was seen by some as a positive sign of the government’s commitment to reform.

 

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Myanmar Police Charge Seven for Staging Land Protest – 28 October 2011

BD News – Farmers in Rare Myanmar Protest – 27 October 2011

Radio Free Asia – Police Breakup Rare Protest – 27 October 2011

Reuters – Myanmar Police Shut Down Rare Protest – 27 October 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

HOHHOT, Inner Mongolia – Chinese authorities are being accused of attempting to cover up the killing of an Ethnic Mongolian herdsmen who was struck by an oil truck while protesting the destruction of grazing land in the Uushin Banner district of Inner Mongolia.

Zorigt, was one of several local Inner Mongolian herders involved in protests attempting to prevent the destruction of their land by “… unregulated Chinese oil and gas transport trucks that drive roughshod through their grazing lands and kill livestock.”

Conflicts between herders trying to protect their grazing land and the Shuurhei Oil-Gas Field transporters have resulted in numerous beatings that have caused several herdsmen, including Zorigt, to be hospitalized.

The Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC) has claimed that the Chinese government is attempting to “…prevent possible unrest by the Mongolians…” and that they had “…preemptively reported on the event, calling it a ‘traffic accident.’” This report, however, has since been removed from other Chinese language internet news sites.

The government’s fear of protests stems from demonstrations that occurred after a similar incident last May. On May 10 another herdsman, Murgen, was run down by the driver of a coal truck as he tried to prevent him from driving over the pasture.

The May killing catalyzed mass demonstrations that were fueled not only by the herdsman’s death, but also by Inner Mongolian anger at the exploitation of natural resources and the apparent erosion of Inner Mongolian self-rule by Han Chinese settlers and developers.

The protests resulted in a government crackdown and the execution of the man convicted of killing Murgen with his truck.

Given the lingering anger of many Inner Mongolians, the Chinese government allegedly hopes to avoid a repeat of the May protests by claiming that the death was caused by Zorigt’s own recklessness in attempting to pass a truck on his motorcycle and was not another intentional killing by a truck driver.

According to the SMHRIC, the government has combated the accusations by posting messages in internet chat rooms to encourage people to disregard the rumors that the death was intentional. One message states, “[s]ome people who have hidden intentions are interpreting it as an ethnic problem or a conflict with the oil and natural gas development.”

Ethnic Mongolians claim that mining and desertification, defined as land degradation that is often caused by human activity, have ruined their grazing lands and that the Han Chinese majority has been the main beneficiaries of the resulting economic development.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC – Truck Kills Herder in Inner Mongolia China – 24 October 2011

China Digital Times – Truck Kills Protesting Herder in Inner Mongolia – 24 October 2011

Radio Free Asia – Group Charges Cover-Up – 24 October 2011

Reuters – Truck Kills Herder in China Inner Mongolia Protest: Group – 24 October 2011

Straits Times – Truck Driver Kills Ethnic Mongol Herder in China Land Dispute – 24 October 2011

By Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

SEOUL, South Korea – After a five day visit to North Korea United Nations’ humanitarian aid chief Valerie Amos declared the country to be in dire need of help to fight malnutrition. She continued “six million North Koreans urgently need food aid but the outside world is not giving enough.”

During her trip Ms. Amos said she was allowed to visit all of her requested locations without any restrictions. These locations included a public market, a government food distribution center, two orphanages, two hospitals, and a communal farm.

Ms. Amos found that most people were surviving on corn and cabbage. A few groups of people had access to small amounts of rice. Ms. Amos explained that children are most affected by the food crisis and one out of every two children is malnourished.

David Austin, the North Korea program director for the U.S. based relief group Mercy Corps explained that children are dying because they are eating alternative foods such as corn mixed with roots or leaves. He further explained that this kind of diet, along with the failure to find clean water to drink, has rendered many North Koreas unable to fight simple sicknesses such as the common cold.

Mr. Austin had the opportunity to interview several North Koreans during his time in the country. What he found was families spent all of their household income on food and “every single person knew the exact date of when they last had protein.”

Many critics have pointed fingers at the United States and South Korea for their recent lack of aid to North Korea. Some feel as though the United States is holding back its aid as leverage against North Korea in nuclear talks going on this week in Geneva.

While speaking with reporters Ms. Amos urged the world to not politicize the situation. “You do not judge people on the basis of the political environment in which they are living” she said following her visit.

While North Korea has taken unprecedented actions such as allowing journalists into the country to report the food situation to the world, Ms. Amos understands the world’s skepticism. She explained that she instructed the North Korean authorities about the importance of data collecting regarding the food situation.

In April the U.N. requested 218 million dollars in humanitarian aid for North Korea. Approximately, one-third of that amount has been contributed with the primary donors being the European Union and Russia.

For more information, please see:

Herald Sun — ‘Terrible’ Malnutrition in North Korea – UN – 24 October 2011

Korean Herald — U.N. Says Aid to N.K. Should be Separate from Politics — 24 October 2011

New York Times — Head of U.N. Humanitarian Aid Paints Dire Scene in North Korea — 24 October 2011

Reuters — North Korea food aid should not be politicized – U.N. official – 24 October 2011

Voice of America — UN Calls for Increased Funding to Feed North Korea’s Hungry — 24 October 2011

 

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Burma – Burma’s military has been accused of killing, attacking and exploiting Kachin civilians since hostilities between the Burmese military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) began five months ago.

Abuses by Burmese soldiers have caused an estimated 30,000 Kachin civilians to become displaced after being forced to flee their homes in fear of the army.

One farmer described his ordeal by explaining that they “…were afraid to live in the village so we went to hide in the jungle…we lived there for one month…” Another villager reported that Burmese soldiers are now living in the homes of those who were forced to flee after their village was invaded by the army.

Among the abuses causing citizens to flee their homes is the unnecessary killing of civilians.  In one case, Burmese soldiers entered Hang Htak village in search of KIA members and killed a fifty-two year old woman and her four year old grandson in their home as they tried to leave. There have also been reports of military forces entering villages and aimlessly firing their weapons at civilians.

Other civilians stated that they were held and aggressively interrogated by Burmese soldiers who threatened to kill them. One villager stated, “I was very afraid when they [soldiers] came and asked questions. I was afraid they would kill us.”

Some civilians have also reported being raped or witnessing a rape by soldiers. According to the September 2011 report to the United Nations by the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, at least eighteen women and young girls have been “gang- raped” by the Burmese military and at least four of those victims were killed.

Those who survive encounters with the army have often reported being forced to work for the military without compensation. One woman reported that the army forced her to carry provisions up a steep two mile road despite the fact that she was six months pregnant. She stated that they were forced to make the strenuous three hour trek twice a day and were forced to eat their own food because they were not fed by the army.

Violence by the Burmese army has caused many Kachin civilians to attempt to flee into China. In response, the Chinese government has deployed 2,000 troops to the border to prevent refugees from entering the country and has also prevented the transfer of food and medical supplies to areas where over  20, 000 displaced Kachin are taking shelter.

Fighting between the Burmese army and the KIA erupted on June 9^th after a seventeen year ceasefire between the ethnic Kachin and the Burmese government forces. The KIA has stated that they will not stop fighting until Burma agrees to allow the ethnic group full political power and other rights.

For more information, please see:

Chinland Guardian – Churces Attacked, Women Raped and Civilians Killed in Kachin State – 22 October 2011

Radio Free Asia – Renewed Clashes Near Chinese Border – 20 October 2011

Asian Correspondent – Burma’s Civil War: Who is Really Pulling the Strings? – 19 October 2011

Human Rights Watch – Burma: Army Committing Abuses in Kachin State – 18 October 2011