BEIJING, China – The self-immolation of a monk has led to three Tibetan monks being convicted as accessories to murder for allegedly helping a fellow monk burn himself to death in protest of government crackdown on Tibetan monks.

Two monks, Tsering Tenzin and Tenchum, were sentenced to ten and thirteen years respectively for “plotting, instigating and assisting” in the self-immolation of the monk.

The third monk, Drongdru, was sentenced to eleven years for “intentional homicide” after a trial lasting only one day. According to authorities the sixteen year old monk, Rigzin Phuntsog, was  kept in the Kirti monastery by Drongdru, his uncle,  for eleven hours following his March 16 self-immolation.

There is disagreement between Chinese authorities and local Tibetans regarding the circumstances surrounding the monk’s death.

While Chinese authorities maintain that he died as a result of self-immolation combined with being hidden by monks to prevent authorities from taking him to the hospital, rights groups are reporting a different story.

Tibetan rights groups insist that police put out the flames and then began to beat the young monk before other monks.  They say local villagers took him to the monastery to avoid the beating and then took him to the hospital a few hours later.

The U.S. State Department has expressed concern that the procedural rights of the three monks were not properly upheld. Other rights groups have expressed concern that the sentencing was a ploy to detract attention from the cause of the self-immolation and that sentences were handed down without evidence of the monks involvement.

Others however, found the sentences to be fair, expressing that “a monk who goes against dharma and against the law should be penalized.” The practice of self-immolation has been condemned by the Dalai Lama.

The death of Rigzin Phuntsog has caused renewed and heightened clashes between Chinese and Tibetans resulting in over 300 monks being taken from the monastery and the death of two villagers who were attempting to prevent the detention of the monks.

China repelled requests made by a U.N. human rights panel in June to provide information about the status of the 300 monks who had been taken from the monastery stating only that the monks were undergoing “legal education.”

“Legal education” refers to the Chinese government’s practice of systematically rounding up monks and forcing them to attend education sessions in which they are ordered to pledge their allegiance to China and denounce the Dalai Lama. This practice has largely fueled the conflict between China and Tibetans who feel that they are having their culture taken from them by the Chinese.

Although, the exact reason for the monk’s self-immolation is unknown, human rights groups have stated that the monk was protesting government policies in Tibet.

The relationship between Tibet and China has been severely strained since 1950 when the Chinese marched into Tibetan territory. Many Tibetans feel that their culture, freedom and worship are being suppressed by the Chinese government. Since fleeing Tibet after a failed uprising, the Dalai Lama has traversed the world advocating for increased Tibetan autonomy.

Some experts, such as Robert Barnett of Columbia University, fear that the stiff sentences given to the three monks at the monastery will aggravate tensions between China and Tibet because the sentences will “…be seen by the Tibetans as a manipulation of the law to intimidate people further.”

 

 

 

For more information, please see:

The Tibet Post –Int’l Rights Groups Condemn Unjust Sentencing of 3 Tibetan Monks – 1 September 2011

BBC – China Jails Two More Tibetan Monks Over Fire Death – 31 August 2011

The New York Time – China: Two Tibetan Monks Receive Lengthy Prison Terms – 31 August 2011

China Daily – Two Tibetan Monks Sentenced in Murder Case – 30 August 2011

Los Angeles Times –Tibetan Monks Get Stiff Prison Terms in Burning Death – 30 August 2011

BBC – Q&A: China and the Tibetans – 15 August 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

BEIJING, China – Beijing is proposing a change in the criminal code that would allow suspects to be detained in an undisclosed location for up to six months without notification being given to family members or lawyers.

The proposed changes would essentially codify the longstanding and much criticized practice of detaining individuals for extended periods of time in unknown locations and without giving loved ones or attorney’s notification of their whereabouts or the reason for their detention.

Chinese law currently allows a suspect to serve up to six months of house arrest without being formally charged. The proposed change in the law would substitute house arrest with detention at a secret location in cases involving national security, terrorism and bribery when the police believe that holding the suspect at home would put a burden on the investigation.

In China, national security crimes encompass subversion which is frequently used to detain dissidents. Under this scheme rights activists and political commentators will be especially susceptible to the new amendment which will first have to be approved by the National People’s Congress.

According to Legal Daily, an official Chinese newspaper, in which the proposed change in the law was announced, the location of the detention would not be a “regular detention center or police station.” It is also reported that prior to detaining an individual under the proposed amendment, the police would be required to obtain permission from either a prosecutor or a public security agency.

Nicholas Bequelin, Human Rights Watch Senior Asia Researcher, stated that the changes would be a “worrisome expansion of the power of the police” and would violate international laws which require a court decision before an individual can be deprived of their freedom.

Some rights activists suggest that China’s attempt to amend the law is a result of widespread criticism the country has received from Western nations for their treatment of dissidents and that Beijing hopes to alleviate the criticism by legalizing the practice of forced disappearances and thereby strengthening China’s argument that their actions are not illegal.

This new proposal is believed to be another result of the call made for a “Jasmine” revolution last February in which Chinese citizens called for an uprising against the government. In the wake of February’s call for revolution, the Chinese government has cracked down on dissident voices, rights activists and lawyers. Many of these individuals, most notably artist Ai Weiwei, were detained in secret locations without notification being given to their families.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – China Announces Plans to Boost Secret Detention Powers – 30 August 2011

Irish Times – Beijing Considering Move That Would Allow Secret Detentions – 29 August 2011

Los Angeles Times – China’s Plan for Secret Detentions Alarms Rights Activists – 28 August 2011

Radio Free Asia – China May Legalize Secret Detentions – 28 August 2011

AFP – China May Legalize Secret Detentions – 27 August 2011

By: Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DEHLI, India – After fasting for twelve days Anna Hazare has been heard loud and clear by the country’s parliament.

After an eight hour session on Saturday, both houses passed a resolution urging for the creation of an independent anticorruption agency to monitor government officials. 

Included in the resolution were three main demands that Hazare required. First, an anticorruption bill had to be passed during the current session of Parliament. Second, anticorruption agencies would also be created at the state level to monitor local officials. Hazare’s last substantial mandate was that a clear process be created for public grievances.

Despite this success, the day nearly ended in a stalemate. After being told the new resolution would be put to a “voice” vote, “Team Anna” received a communication from Parliament that it would make the group aware of the House consensus on the bill but that the resolution would not be voted on that day.

Team Anna immediately accused the government of betrayal and demanded that the resolution be passed by a vote.  Shortly thereafter, a motion was made to vote on the resolution. While a voice vote did not take place, the bill passed unanimously. “Thumping of the desk is akin to passing a motion by voice vote,” House Speaker Meira Kumar explained.

In celebration of the passage of the resolution, Team Anna invited supporters to attend Hazare’s breaking of his fast Sunday morning. Hazare shed over fifteen pounds during the course of his fast but doctors report that his health is stable.

Hazare broke his fast by drinking a glass of coconut juice given to him by a five year old girl.

While Saturday marked a historical day throughout India, many are skeptical about the government’s true intent, believing that they might attempt to drag their feet in passing the resolution into law.

Team Anna announced that it still does not trust the government and it will watch the parliament’s actions to ensure that their “morally binding commitment” is kept.

Many local political scientists do not see the government going against a resolution that it created. Yogendra Yadav explained if the government did go against the bill, the parliament’s legitimacy would plummet.

In the past the government has been accused of corruption but some of that criticism has shifted to Team Anna. Many call the organizations tactics dirty and “political blackmail.”

Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi espressed that people have a right to protest but that threatening to fast until death in order to get your way is incorrect

Hazare’s supporters defend the actions taken noting that  if Hazare had not gone to such extreme measures the resolution would have never passed.

Team Anna has demanded a special session of parliament be called to pass the bill.

For more information, please see:

Times of India – Team Anna demands special session to pass Lokpal Bill – 29 August 2011

Express India – Has Anna Hazare really come out a winner? – 28 August 2011

India Today –Anna Hazare to break his fast today at 10am, govt accepts his key demands – 28 August 2011

Times of India – Anna Hazare wins, Parliament passes resolution on Lokpal Bill – 27 August 2011

New York Times – Anna Hazare Ends Hunger Strike as Indian Parliament Agrees to His Demands – 27 August 2011

by Hibberd Kline
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — On August 12, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced Shahid Zafar, a member of the Sindh branch of the Pakistan Rangers paramilitary force, to death in what many have hailed as an unusual rebuke of Pakistan’s powerful security establishment.

According to attorneys, the speedy trial for the 29 June killing of eighteen-year-old Sarfaraz Shah in Karachi marks the first time that a Pakistani civilian court has sentenced a serving member of the military to death.

The Rangers paramilitary group technically falls under the control of the civilian Ministry of the Interior. However, the Rangers are commonly considered to be a part of the armed forces.

Six other men, including five Rangers and a civilian, were charged with murder and terrorism and sentenced to life in prison.  Zafar was fined 200,000 rupees and the other individuals were each fined 100,000 rupees to be paid to the victim’s family.

The shooting was caught on video and was broadcast on Pakistani TV. Against the background of already widespread criticism of the Pakistani military establishment’s failure to detect the American commando raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, the shooting sparked a rare public outcry leading to the replacement of the Sindh police chief and the director-general of the Sindh branch of the Pakistan Rangers paramilitary force.

However, prosecution lawyer, Muhammad Khan Buriro, took care to distinguish the court case from an attack on the military; “I would like to say that it was the personal action of the soldiers involved, and not an act by the Rangers,” Buriro said.

Attorneys for the defense argued that Shah was shot after trying to rob someone and have vowed to appeal the court’s ruling.

Death sentences are rarely carried out in Pakistan.

The televised shooting of an unarmed man has also instigated criticism of Pakistan’s human rights record and of its government for what many see as its failure to reign in security forces.

Human rights groups say that the approximately 10,000 Rangers in Karachi are not sufficiently trained to keep order amongst civilians. Human Rights Watch (HRW) applauded the verdicts. HRW’s Pakistan director went even further to say that he hopes that the verdict will help to address “the impunity with which Pakistan’s trigger-happy security and paramilitary agencies perpetrate abuses.”

However, some believe that the military may be attempting to increase public accountability of its own accord following the US raid on Osama Bin Laden. Last week, a Pakistani naval official announced that three senior naval officers will face courts martial on charges of negligence relating to the US commando raid in May.

For more information, please see:

Arab News – Death sentence for soldier in Karachi killing – 12 August 2011

BBC – Pakistani shooting film paramilitary sentenced to death – 12 August 2011

Guardian – Pakistani Ranger sentenced to death for killing unarmed civilian – 12 August 2011

Reuters – Pakistan court hands death penalty to soldier for civilian killing – 12 August 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

KATHMANDU, Nepal – A report by Human Rights Watch expressed concern that children living with disabilities in Nepal are denied access to education.

Contributing to this concern is the inaccessibility of school structures, lack of instructors who are properly trained to accommodate children with disabilities and neighborhood schools denying admission to disabled children.

These factors result disproportionately in low school attendance and high dropout rates for disabled children when compared to children who do not suffer from a disability. According to Education Ministry officials, disabled students comprise a significant number of the almost 330,000 students who are not in school despite being school aged.

Shantha Rau Barriga of Human Rights Watch reports, “[t]ens of thousands of children with disabilities in Nepal are being shut out from or neglected by the school system.” Barriga also states that these failures exist despite a national policy of inclusive schools.

According to the Human Rights Watch report, “Futures Stolen: Barriers to Education for Children with Disabilities in Nepal” which is based on 97 interviews, more than half the interviewed families of disabled children stated that their children had been denied admission to schools and many of the parents were not even made aware that their children had the right to an education.

The inability of parents to enroll their children in schools has prompted some parents to state that they have “…no choice but to lock their children with disability in a room or tie them to a post” according to the report.

One parent reported to Human Rights Watch that she would be unable to care for her other child and manage the household  if she had to constantly care for her disabled child and therefore locks him in a room, only letting him out one or two times a day to see the sun.

The problem facing Nepal’s disabled children also extends to those who manage to attend school.  Classes are often segregated and the classes offered to disabled students are generally inferior to classes attended by children who are not disabled.

In one case, Nepal’s failure to take into account differences in learning ability caused a fifteen year old boy to spend three years in Class one, three years in Class two and then one year in Class three. Despite the time spent in school, the student reports that he still does not know the alphabet and only passed because teachers began to take exams for him.

The inaccessible structure of schools also contribute to the difficulties disabled children face. One student interviewed by Human Rights Watch, a sixteen year old named Amman, reported that he is forced to crawl to his classroom because the school entrance has steps that he is unable to access any other way and no other entrance to the school. He is also unable to use the restroom without assistance and because staff is unwilling to help him, another student must either run home to get his mother or he must wait until the end of the school day.

The extent of the problem is unknown because there is no reliable data about the number of children who have a disability but it is estimated that between .45 percent and 1.63 percent of Nepal’s child population is living with at least one disability.

These failures come despite Nepal’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on March 1, 2008.

For more information, please see:

Hindustan Times – Right to Equality, but Only on Paper– 27 August 2011

Nepali Times – Educating Children with Disabilities – 26 August 2011

Daiji World – Nepal’s Hellen Kellers, Stephen Hawkings Await Their Rights – 24 August 2011

The Himalayan Times – Disabled Kids Denied School Admission – 24 August 2011

Human Rights Watch – Nepal: Separate and Unequal Education – 24 August 2011

United Nations – Convection Optional Protocol Signatures and Ratifications– 1 March 2008