By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

BEIJING, China – China has invited Sudanese President Omar al- Bashir to visit the country June 27 through June 30. Following his election to presidential office in 1993, Omar al-Bashir and the Government of Sudan have committed genocide in Darfur which has resulted in over two million displaced persons, another 275,000 refugees and approximately 400,000 deaths.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Al-Bashir’s alleged contribution and orchestration of human rights violations in Darfur have led to two arrest warrants being issued against him in 2009 and 2010 by the International Criminal Court. Al-Bashir is facing a total of ten counts comprised of five counts of crimes against humanity, two counts of war crimes and three counts of genocide.

Al-Bashir is visiting China on the invitation of President Hu Jintao who is highly vested in Sudanese oil production. Two-thirds of the oil produced in Sudan goes to China making Sudan China’s third largest African trading partner and placing China in a position to encourage Sudan’s future success as a nation. Chinese spokesman, Hong Lei, stated that the meeting is intended to conduct talks in efforts to promote peace and stability in Sudan.

U.S. State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland commented on al-Bashir’s visit to China by stating that “China makes its own national decisions” but that they hope China will use the leaders visit as an opportunity to “make strong points to him about the future of his country and the importance of peace.”

Al-Bashir’s invitation to China comes a month before South Sudan is set to split from North Sudan and coincides with a report by the United Nations announcing that the violence on the border of north and south Sudan is currently increasing.

Just as Amnesty International had strongly opposed al-Bashir’s visit to Malaysia, which was subsequently cancelled by al-Bashir, the human rights organization also strongly opposes the leader’s visit to China.

Although China is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and therefore not required to arrest al-Bashir, it is a permanent member of the UN Security Council which referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC prosecutor resulting in a resolution encouraging all states to cooperate with the ICC.

Deputy Asia Pacific Director at Amnesty International, Catherine Baber, has stated that China should not allow al-Bashir to visit the country or should arrest him upon entry because if “China welcomes Omar Al-Bashir it will become a safe haven for alleged perpetrators of genocide.”

For more information, please see:

New York Times – Is Omar Hassan al-Bashir Up to Genocide Again? – 18 June 2011

Business week – China Invites Sudan Leader Accused of War Crimes – 17 June 2011

China Daily – Sudan Leader to Pay Visit – 17 June 2011

Amnesty international – China Must Arrest Sudanese President – 16 June 2011

Forbes – China Invites Sudan Leader Accused of War Crimes – 16 June 2011

International Criminal Court – Darfur, Sudan – 12 July 2010

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

BEIJING, China – Following the discovery of mass lead poisoning among children, Chinese officials are restricting access to available lead testing, altering test results, withholding test results and denying treatment to children who have suffered from exposure to excessive amounts of lead.  In addition, those who speak out about the lead poisoning problem are detained, intimidated and harassed by Chinese authorities.

While there is no official figure on the extent of the lead poisoning problem in China, reports by medical experts say that, in many regions, a majority of children have high levels of lead in their blood.

In the most recent case more than 26 adults and 103 children were sickened from tinfoil processing workshops. In the past two and a half years thousands of adults and children have been found to have toxic levels of lead exposure. In one village, Mengxi, 233 adults and 99 children were found to have seven times the amount of lead deemed safe by the Chinese government in their blood. This exposure is largely due to battery and metal factories located throughout the country.

Children are at a significantly higher risk of lead poisoning because their bodies take in up to half of what they encounter in the environment. Lead poisoning can cause children to suffer permanent intellectual, neurological and developmental disabilities.

The mother of a poisoned child stated, “the doctor told us all the children in this village have lead poisoning. Then they told us a few months later that all the children are healthy. They wouldn’t let us see the results from the tests though.”

Many parents have also stated that despite their children being diagnosed with severe lead poisoning, they were told by doctors to just have their child consume various types of food or drink milk. Joe Amon, health and human rights director at Human Rights Watch added that “children with dangerously high levels of lead in their blood are being refused treatment and returned home to contaminated houses in polluted villages.”

While China has expansive environmental policies, environmental protection officials generally do not have the influence required to compel local government officials to enforce the policies and face substantial resistance when  following the policies may hinder economic interests.

According to a report by Human Rights Watch, in villages that experience the highest levels of lead poisoning, affected children will need significant assistance to overcame the cognitive and physical impairments caused by lead poisoning.

For more information, please see:

Forbes – Report: China Hushing Up Lead Poisoning Epidemic – 15 June 2011

Fox News – China Downplays Risk to Children from Lead Poisoning, Report Says – 15 June 2011

Human Rights Watch – China: Children Poisoned by Lead and Denied Treatment – 15 June 2011

New York Times – Lead Poisoning in China: The hidden Scourge – 15 June 2011

Radio Free Asia – Lead-Poisoned Children ‘Neglected’ – 15 June 2011

By Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – The death of a Chinese legislator, during his detention in police custody, has triggered mass protests throughout the Chinese province of Hubei. Ran Jianxin, a member of the local People’s Congress had been investigating accusations of corruptions in a city-backed land deal, but was arrested May 26^th on bribery charges and died while in police custody on June 4^th.  Mr. Ran’s family alleges that the bribery charges were fabricated in order to halt Jianxin’s corruption investigation.

Xinhua, China’s official news agency, quoted his cousin as saying that Mr. Ran’s body bore signs of an “unnatural death.” Ran’s body had multiple cuts and bruises. The New York Times released several photos online that allegedly show Mr. Ran’s corpse.

On Saturday 2,000 protestors stormed government headquarters in Lichuan to express their rage over the death of the legislator. Local authorities sent armed riot-police to disperse the crowd, but the protesters resisted. After fighting through the police, the crowd tore down the electric iron gate of the government compound according to the Epoch Times. Hundreds were injured as reports alleged that the  police beat the crowd with electric batons and protestors fought back with bottles and eggs. Eventually, officials sent armored vehicles which ended the riot.

Ms. Yuan of Lichuan City told Radio Free Asia (RFA) “the crowd demanded justice and demanded the murderers be captured.” Ms. He who works for a drug store told RFA that many protesters who were wounded and covered with blood came to her store to seek medical help.

Ms. Zhang told RFA that Ran worked hard for the well-being of civilians, and that people wished to seek justice for him. “A good official did many good things for his people, but was killed by officials from another area,” she said.

According to Hong Kong-based Apple Daily, several thousand Lichuan City residents gathered in front of the government offices on June 9, holding banners that read “Secretly Killed for Offending the Leaders.”

Li Jingsong, a lawyer, from Beijing, told RFA that detention centers in China are overseen by the Public Security Bureau, and hence there is a lack of effective monitoring and supervision. According to Li, Ran’s death again demonstrated that the legal rights of detainees in China’s detention centers are not protected.

“The main problem is that they have no regulations on management,” he said. “The detention centers and the public security system are too closely tied together.”

Two city officials have been detained in connection with Mr. Ran’s death, the Communist Party newspaper Global Times reported. Two others, a local prosecutor and a deputy director of the city’s Communist Party, have lost their jobs, according to Agence France-Presse.

For more information, please see:

Tibetan Review – Thousands clash with police in China over sympathetic bureaucrat’s custodial death – 13 June, 2011

BBC News – China unrest: 25 arrested after clashes with police – 12 June, 2011

The Epoch Times – Thousands Protest in China’s Hubei Province, After Official’s Suspicious Death – 12 June, 2011

New York Times – Chinese Street Vendor Dispute Expands into Violent Melee – 12 June, 2011

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch, Asia

BEIJING, China – In February China launched a campaign against dissent that has resulted in the detention of those criticizing the Chinese government without giving the accused a trial.

Chinese blogger Fang Hong was detained on April 24 and sentenced to serve one year in a Chongqing re-education labor camp for using a blog to mock the chief of Chongqing’s Communist party, Bo Xilai, despite his removal of the blog post following the orders of web censors.

Hong’s blog arose from Chongqing’s prosecution of a lawyer, Mr. Li, who defended a man being prosecuted for perjury. Mr. Li was himself charged after his former client testified that he had encouraged him to make false torture allegations. However, many believe that Mr. Li was framed by the government for opposing the campaign of Bo Xilai. Mr. Li was convicted and sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

The April 21 blog, which was posted to the Chinese social network Tencent, accused Bo Xilai of having excessive influence over Chongqing’s court system by comparing the case made against Mr. Li to excrement that Bo Xilai had delivered to Mr. Li who then returned it to Bo Xilai. The post then used Bo Xilai’s name in a sexual pun.

According to Fang Hong’s son, Fang Di, government discomfort with the blog post began to manifest when his father was told to go to the police station, his home was placed under surveillance and his electricity and gas were turned off.  A post on a human rights website states that Fang Di vanished Tuesday after he had notified his lawyer that he was at the public security police office.

Over the past year, Bo Xilai has become known for promoting a campaign to revive Maoism by reviving Mao-era songs and instigating a violent crackdown on corruption which has been opposed by many who believe such a revival to be dangerous. Last month, following the detention of Fang Hong, China set up a command center dedicated to controlling the information that can be found on the internet which has left many fearful that internet regulation will soon become even more severe.

Rights lawyer Ma Gangquan stated in an interview that “Education through labor itself is illegal because the practice has already been annulled by law. But currently, the punishment is still used by police…”

For more information, please see:

New York Times – Scatological Mockery of Chinese Official Brings Swift Penalty – 8 June 2011

Bloomberg – Chinese Blogger Jailed for a Year After Writing About Party Chief, FT Says – 7 June 2011

Financial Times – Dissent Lands Chinese Blogger in Labour Camp – 7 June 2011

Radio Free Asia – Netizen ‘Re-educated’ for Online Rant – 6 June 2011

By Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DELHI, India – Indian police halted a hunger strike late Saturday evening in the capital city. The protest, led by yoga guru Swami Ramdev, only lasted fourteen hours as police moved in to break up the protest just after midnight. Police officers forcibly removed Ramdev and thousands of his supporters by firing tear gas shells. It is estimated that anywhere between thirty and seventy people were injured during the raid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following day Ramdev appeared on national television stating that “the government wants to kill me.” Ramdev pledged to continue his hunger strikes elsewhere and to not be intimidated by the government. Ramdev has been classified as the “rock star of yoga.” Ramdev’s daily two-hour television show has been the most watched show in India since 2003 reports the Washington Post.

Responding to critics of the government crackdown, Prime Minister Manmohan Signh addressed the issue Monday explaining that the crackdown was “unfortunate but unavoidable.” The Delhi police said they decided to end the event since Ramdev only had a permit to conduct a yoga meditation session with 5,000 people, the crowd had risen to 50,000, and Ramdev was encouraging more people to come.

Sunday evening the Prime Minister continued his defense of the crackdown citing past “non-violent” protests that had later turned violent.  Rajan Bhagat, a police spokesman, explained that the confrontation did not begin until after the police ordered the protestors to go home, and then some protestors begin throwing bricks at officers which in turn led to the release of tear gas.

Kapil Sibal, a senior government official, released a letter that he said was written by Ramdev’s aide which promised to end the fast within twenty-four hours. Ramdev said he was forced to write the letter. Surendra Pai, a chemistry professor participating in the strike, said the government “is full of corrupt liars and they are trying to make Ramdev look bad.”The Supreme Court has asked the government for an explanation about their use of “brutal force” to disperse the Ramdev protest.

Ramdev and his supporters are calling for the Indian government to crackdown on those obtaining money illegally and then depositing it into secret back accounts outside of the country. This issue has haunted the government for the past year as several Indian citizens and government officials have been discovered as holding illegal earnings in foreign bank accounts.

Ramdev continues his protest two-hundred kilometers from the capital city in Haridwar.

For more information, please see:

The Hindu — After midnight swoop, battle line hardens — 6 June, 2011

The Times of India — PM defends crackdown on Ramdev, says there was no alternative — 6 June, 2011

New York Times — After Raid, Indian Guru’s Protest Stirs a Firestorm — 5 June, 2011

Washington Post — Fast led by yoga guru prompts India to weigh move against corruption — 4 June, 2011