by Hibberd Kline
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

LAHORE, Pakistan–On Tuesday, protesters took to the streets for a second day across eastern Pakistan to demand that the government put an end to severe, chronic electricity shortages.

Riots broke out in Karachi, Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Gujranwala leading to the arrest of an estimated 200 people.

In Lahore, hundreds of protestors blocked traffic with burning tires. They also set fire to the Lahore Electricity Supply Company office, a Solid Waste Management truck, a Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) car, and several private cars.

Lahore police attempted to disperse the rioters with baton charges and tear gas, but were stopped short by a barrage of stones. Though senior officials eventually convinced the larger crowds to cease the violence, smaller protests continued into the night in other parts of the city.

However, the worst reported violence occurred in Gujranwala, where over two dozen separate protests were held in response to 20 hours of blackouts. Rioters burned down police stations and clashed with police, injuring 30 people including 14 policemen. Gujranwala police responded by arresting 20 people.

Police in nearby Sialkot reportedly took a more cautious approach by maintaining a safe distance from the angry crowds as they attacked WAPDA offices and injured several WAPDA officials.

On Tuesday, residents staged peaceful protests in many other parts of Pakistan including tribal areas, where residents have recently faced up to 16 hour blackouts every day and have often been forced to sleep on the streets at night as a result.

The power crisis has apparently not only reduced the quality of life for many Pakistanis, but has also started to take a toll on Pakistan’s economy. The industrial town of Faisalabad has been one of the hardest hit. Faisalabad’s commercial activity has practically ground to a halt in the face of unscheduled 16-20 hour long power cuts over the past several days.

The power shortages and cycled blackouts known as “load shedding” are widely believed to be due to mismanagement and corruption on the part of WAFDA and government officials.

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who currently heads Pakistan’s main opposition party, lambasted the government for “sleeping and doing nothing for the last 15 months” while Pakistan has “fac[ed] a severe power crisis.”

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani attempted to divert criticism by blaming the United States, whom he said should help Pakistan to solve its energy crisis.

However, according to the U.S. Embassy the U.S. is currently working with Islamabad to construct and rehabilitate six power plants. The Embassy says that the additional electricity supplied by these plants will resolve 20 percent of Pakistan’s current energy shortage.

The US has already provided Pakistan with billions of dollars in military and civilian aid over the past decade, much of which was intended to help boost the country’s energy sector.

Many analysts attribute Pakistan’s electricity woes largely to the government’s failure to charge sufficient prices for electricity. Analysts generally also note that many consumers, including the Pakistani government, often fail to pay their electric bills at all. Accordingly, it has been suggested that a lack of funds compounded with bureaucratic ineptitude and outdated transmission systems have significantly hindered growth in Pakistan’s energy production capacity.

However, most analysts note that the idea of increasing the price of electricity for consumers is a sore political issue among Pakistani voters.

For more information, please see:

The Express Tribune – All-out Mayhem: Continued Outages Fuel Anarchy – 4 October 2011

The Express Tribune – Electricity Blackouts: 200 Rioters Sent to Jail as Power Protests Continue – 4 October 2011

The Miami Herald – Pakistani Police, Protesters Clash over Power Cuts – October 4, 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Two more Tibetan monks, nineteen-year-old Choephel and eighteen-year-old Khaying, protested Chinese rule through self-immolation on Friday in the Tibetan region of the Sichuan province.

Tsering, who is in close contact with the Kirti monastery, reported that “[t]hey folded their hands in supplicatory gestures and shouted protests against Chinese rule.”

Tsering also stated that, after arriving, the police tried to extinguish the flames and beat the monks as they did so.

Both men were taken to the hospital but the condition of the two men is uncertain due to conflicting reports. While some sources have reported that both of the monks received only minor injuries, others have reported that Choephel has died from his injuries.

For over three years the Kirti Monastery has been an active opponent of China’s rule over Tibet. Most notable was their position at the center of the anti-China protests that occurred in 2008.

Since March, the Kirti Monastery has been responsible for all but one of the seven self-immolations that have taken place in China’s Sichuan province. As a result of these protests, the monastery has become increasingly subject to involvement by Chinese security forces.

Poor treatment of monks by authorities, including allegations of physical violence, combined with general tension related to Chinese rule in Tibet has led other monks to declare a willingness to sacrifice themselves.

According to the director of Free Tibet, Stephanie Brigden, “[i]t is now evident there are many courageous young Tibetans who are determined to draw global attention to one of the world’s greatest and longest-standing human rights crises no matter the cost to themselves.”

Interestingly, Chinese state media did not report the self-immolations and an employee of the public security bureau in the city in which the self-immolations occurred stated that “… [n]othing like that happened…” when questioned about the incident.

Both men are former monks from the Kirti monastery. Choephel was expelled following a self-immolation that occurred in March. Khaying voluntarily left the monastery for unknown reasons although it is known that his uncle was among those sentenced to death by Chinese authorities for his participation in the 2008 riots against Chinese rule and the resulting crackdown by Chinese forces.

Sporadic unrest and violence has erupted in response to China’s rule since 1950 when China sent troops into Tibet and assumed control over the region. Many Tibetans feel that they have been mistreated by Chinese authorities and denied the ability to freely exercise their political and religious freedom.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Tibetan Youths Self-Immolate in Protest at China Rule – 7 October 2011

Forbes – Two Tibetans Set Self on Fire in Latest Protest – 7 October 2011

New York Time – Two Tibetan Teenagers Set Themselves on Fire in Southwest China – 7 October 2011

Radio Free Asia – Two Tibetan Youths Self Immolate– 7 October 2011

BBC – Q&A: China and Tibet – 19 June 2008

By Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MANILA, Philippines – On Wednesday Human Rights Watch (HWR) called for the New People’s Army (NPA) to end unlawful killings and detentions of civilians. The communist group has sought for over forty years to establish a Maoist state in the Philippines.

The New People’s Army (NPA) presence is felt throughout the country (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

NPA has claimed responsibility for the killing and detentions of several citizens over the past few months.

“For four decades the New People’s Army has offered excuses for cold-blooded killings of civilians,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Recent attacks show that there has been no real departure from this illegal practice.”

NPA justifies its actions by explaining prior to death, civilians were tried before a “people’s court” and were found guilty of “crimes against the people.” “Crimes against the people” could range from rape and murder to spying on the NPA.

Philip Alston, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions from 2004 to 2010, strongly criticized the NPA’s court system saying it “is either deeply flawed or simply a sham.”

Alston continued “any claim that people who are tried by the NPA’s ‘people’s courts’ are receiving a fair hearing is ludicrous,” Pearson said. “The NPA’s ‘revolutionary justice’ is not just – it is simply old-fashioned murder.”

Currently NPA is holding thirteen people, including Mayor Dano of Lingig, on the island of Mindanao under suspicion of working for the government as spies. HWR reports that at least six members of the group will be tried before the “people’s court” for their alleged crimes.

Last month, during a one day ceasefire, NPA captured and executed two troops. Both troops were in civilian clothing and had just attended a wedding.

NPA admitted to the August and September killings of Raymundo “Monding” Agaze and Ramelito “Ramel” Gonzaga. In addition NPA took responsibility for the accidental injuring of a pregnant woman.

On Monday the rebel group attacked a mine at Claver town in the province of Surigao del Notre, burning down trucks and taking several firearms.

HWR has called for the NPA to abide by international human law and for the government to investigate and prosecute those who have been involved in unlawful killings and detentions.

“Both the NPA and government forces have committed numerous atrocities in more than forty years of armed conflict,” Person said. “Each claims to have the interests of the ordinary Filipino at heart, but neither seems to show it.

The conflict has claimed the lives of over 40,000 people in regions that have been described as poor but resource-rich areas of the country.

For more information, please see:

Philippine Daily Inquirer – Rights Group Slams NPA for ‘Cold-Blooded’ Killings– 6 September 2011

ABS-CBN News – NPA Under Fire for Killings, Attacks on Civilians – 5 October 2011

AlertNet – Philippine Rebels Must Stop Targeting Civilians – rights group – 5 October 2011

Human Rights Watch –Philippines Communist Rebels Target Civilians – 5 October 2011

ABS-CBN News – NPA Kidnapped, Executed 2 Troopers During Ceasefire – AFP – 23 September 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Chinese authorities have renewed the threat that internet users who use the internet to make statements that the government deems to be false will be punished.

Internet use in China has exploded in recent months, causing the total number of internet users in China to become larger than the population of every country on earth with the exception of India and China itself.

A report by the China Internet Network Information Center has indicated that, as of June, 195 million of China’s 500 million internet users were utilizing the internet to operate microblogs. This number represents a 209 percent increase from the number of microblogs found at the end of 2010.

The sudden boom in microblogging has led authorities to express concern about the ability of users to quickly send information and comments that run contrary to the Communist Party’s censors.

The spokesperson from the State Internet Information Office under China’s Cabinet has called on internet users to “abide by the law, show self-discipline and refrain from spreading rumors.” The spokesperson has also ordered local authorities and websites to hold those that spread rumors accountable and penalize them to the full extent allowed by law.

As a result of warnings from government authorities and a visit from a Politburo member, China’s largest microblog operator, Sina Corp. is increasing its censorship over bloggers. The corporation has asked its users to help stop the spread of rumors and has warned that bloggers will have their accounts suspended for one month if they are found to have posted false information.

The apparent catalyst for Sina Corp’s decision to increase its censorship is a controversial blog that has caused Chinese authorities to express frustration at Sina Weibo, a microblog controlled by Sina Corp. In this blog a 31-year-old man posted fictitious stories about working as a prostitute. After his identity was discovered, his account was permanently deleted and he was forced to pay a fine for disturbing public order.

Chinese regulations permit those who spread rumors to be punished by serving five to ten days in jail and a fine of 500 Yuan, the equivalent of eighty American dollars.

China’s regulation of the internet is not a new phenomenon and the country currently blocks Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, and monitors other internet sites to block unfavorable information. Analysts suggest that the anxiety being exhibited by officials in response to the increasing use of microblogs could lead to even stricter regulations being placed on internet users in China.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – China Vows to Punish Posters of Internet Rumors – 1 October 2011

People’s Daily Online – China Calls for Boycott on Online Falsehoods – 1 October 2011

Bloomberg – China Calls for Internet Crackdown After ‘Prostitute Diary’ Shut – 30 September 2011

Reuters – China’s Sina to Step-Up Censorship of Weibo – 19 September 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Activists who attempted to register as independent candidates in district legislative elections, which are generally dominated by the Communist party, are being held under house arrest and detained by Chinese authorities.

Reportedly, dozens of activists across China have filed applications to campaign despite receiving official warnings that there is “no such thing” as an independent candidate in China. As of Friday, there were thirteen candidates who had been detained for several hours after meeting to discuss the upcoming election in Beijing.

Although the capital generally has only a few independent representatives, Li Fan of the World and China Institute Think tank estimates that there are now tens of thousands independent candidates prompting unease among the Communist Party. Li attributes this increase to an awareness of civic rights, an increasingly worse relationship between the government and citizens, and social networking that allows for information to be transferred quickly.

Han Ying, who planned to run for election for the National People’s Congress, described her inability to pursue political office when she explained that, “[t]here are a lot of plainclothes officers near my house, and the police come to my home everyday to stop me from campaigning and to stop me from meeting with journalists.” Han also stated that barriers had been set by the police to prevent journalists from approaching her and that they took her cell phone away when she attempted to make a phone call.

Ye Qingchun, another independent candidate, was held at her home by authorities who intended to prevent her from campaigning in the elections.

In addition, three other potential candidates were detained and given fifteen days detention for “obstructing public servants in the course of their duties.”

Other candidates have reported being detained until after the polls were closed, having their name excluded from the ballot, enduring threats against them self and their family, having their business investigated and being told that males were not allowed to campaign against the communist party.

As a result of government opposition to independent candidates, some were forced to resort to refusing donations and avoiding public campaigning opportunities in order to avoid conflict with Chinese authorities.

The election for the People’s Congress, the lowest level of China’s parliamentary system, seats delegates to represent the townships and urban districts across the country. Elections for the People’s Congress are conducted every five years and are the only elections in which citizen’s can directly vote for their legislatures.

Chinese law allows anyone over the age of eighteen years old to be an independent candidate if they are endorsed by at least ten people although elections are tightly controlled by Communist Party officials who choreograph the outcome of elections.

For more information, please see:

Radio Free Asia – Election Candidates Held in Beijing – 30 September 2011

CNN – Independent Candidates Test China’s Election Experiment – 23 September 2011

NTD Television – China’s Independent Candidates Face Detention, Harassment – 20 September 2011

The Guardian – China’s Boom in ‘Citizen Candidates’ Sparks Backlash – 19 September 2011