By Joseph Juhn
Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Asia

Google has accused the Chinese government of interfering with Gmail’s services (Photo courtesy of Reuters).

BEIJING, China– One Beijing entrepreneur called his fiancee to discuss restaurant choices during which he used the word “protest’ as he quoted Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” The second time he said the word “protest,” his phone cut off, according to the New York Times article.

Using the word “protest” in any context, whether through cell phone, text messages, or other electronic devices, it is reported that people’s services get cut off instantly. In the advent of a jasmine revolution sweeping the middle east and North Africa, Chinese government was swift in heightening its censorship level to the current state.

The report said a number of evidence in the past few weeks showed that Chinese authorities were resolute to censor and police cellphone calls, electronic messages, e-mail and access to the Internet in order to quell any hint of antigovernment movement.

“The hard-liners have won the field, and now we are seeing exactly how they want to run the place,” said Russell Leigh Moses, an analyst in Beijing on China’s leadership. “I think the gloves are coming off.”

In addition, a host of other evidence suggests that the government’s computers are equipped to intercept incoming data and compare it with an ever-growing list of banned keywords or Web sites. For example, for six months or more, the censors have prevented Google searches of the English word “freedom.”

According to Peking University professor Hu Yong, the newest technology and social media have not only helped citizens spread information amongst each other on outside events, but also the government in censoring what it perceived to be new threats. “The technology is improving and the range of sensitive terms is expanding because the depth and breadth of things they [government] must manage just keeps on growing,” Mr. Hu said.

China’s censorship has been in effect ever more strictly since the 2008 Olympics, with what first appeared to be temporary ban on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter now considered permanent. Now, Google might be its next target.

On Sunday, Google accused the Chinese government of disabling its Gmail service within the country, and of wrongfully blaming the interruption on technical errors by Google. According to a Mar 4 online article of People’s Daily, China’s main communist daily, Google was accused as being “a tool of the United States government.” Like Facebook and Twitter, the article was reported to have said, Google has “played a role in manufacturing social disorder” and sought to involve itself in other nations’ politics.

Internet expert Bill Bishop suspects that the regime’s grip could only tighten in the months to come, in order to control the transition of power as the Communist Party expects to see a new leader next year. “There’s a lot more they can do,” Bishop said, “but they’ve been holding back.”

For more information, please see:

Tibetan Review – ‘Protest’ a no-no word in China – 23 March 2011

The New York Times – China Tightens Censorship of Electronic Communications – 21 March 2011

Switched – China Ramps Up Online Censorship, To No One’s Surprise – 22 March 2011

David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea – The US atrocities during the Korean War have emerged casting a shadow over the conduct of US officers and generals in command during the conflict.

The Korean War left Korea, North and South, with several million dead and the UN forces involved in the fighting with over 100,000 casualties.

Published testimonies, by BBC, of Korean survivors who recall such killings, and the candid accounts of American veterans brave enough to admit involvement open the World to American atrocities once forgotten.

The Korean War began on June 25^th 1950 when communist North Korea invaded the South with six army divisions. The United States decided to intervene in the defense of the South and, taking advantage of the Soviet absence from the UN Security Council, proceeded to press for UN resolutions condemning the invasion. A resolution was passed, days later, calling upon member countries to give assistance to South Korea to repulse the attack.

The American troops who were rushed to the front line straight from occupation duty in Tokyo in July 1950 were badly led, undertrained and underprepared and quickly defeated by superior North Korean forces. North Korean guerrilla methods were too advanced for US commanders, reports BBC reporter Jeremy Williams.

The surprise attack from the North produced a refugee crisis were up to two million refugees were running across the battlefield.

Fearing North Korean infiltration, the US leadership panicked. All civilians were seen as the enemy.

As a result, on July 26^th the US 8th Army, the highest level of command in Korea, issued orders to stop all Korean civilians. ‘No, repeat, no refugees will be permitted to cross battle lines at any time. Movement of all Koreans in groups will cease immediately’ reports Williams.

The same day US 8th Army delivered its stop refugee order in July 1950, up to 400 South Korean civilians gathered by the bridge were killed by US forces from the 7th Cavalry Regiment. Some were shot above the bridge, on the railroad tracks. Others were strafed by US planes. Local survivors say more were killed under the arches in an ordeal that lasted for three days.

‘The floor under the bridge was a mixture of gravel and sand. People clawed with their bare hands to make holes to hide in,’ recalls survivor Yang Hae Chan. ‘Other people piled up the dead like a barricade, and hid behind the bodies as a shield against the bullets.’

Corroborating the Korean survivors’ testimony are the accounts of 35 veterans of the 7th Cavalry Regiment who recall events at No Gun Ri.

‘There was a lieutenant screaming like a madman, fire on everything, kills ’em all,’ recalls 7th Cavalry veteran Joe Jackman. ‘I didn’t know if they were soldiers or what. Kids, there was kids out there, it didn’t matter what it was, eight to 80, blind, crippled or crazy, they shot ’em all’ said Jackman.

The killings discovered at No Gun Ri mark one of the largest single massacres of civilians by American forces in the 20th century.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Kill ’em All: The American Military in Korea – 17 February 2011

Global Research – The Korean War: The “Unknown War”. The Coverup of US War Crimes – 16 March 2011

New York Times – Korean War Panel Finds U.S. Attacks on Civilians – 9 July 2009

David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – An independent mechanism was requested by the United States to investigate alleged War crimes and crimes against humanity caused by the Sri Lankan military as their civil war drew to a close.

A resolution was passed by the United States Senate calling on the current Sri Lankan administration and the international community to support the United Nations in putting plans together, holding Sri Lanka to an international standard of accountability against human right violations.

Senator Robert Casey presented the resolution as sympathetic to the Tamil cause.

As we approach the two-year anniversary for the end of the 26-year conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka, a “Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC)” was established by the Sri Lanka Government.

This LLRC was established to determine who bears responsibility for incidents that occurred between February 2002 and May 2009. The LLRC also recommends agencies to proactively prevent recurrences of a similar nature in the future, while promoting national unity for all communities.

Panels of Human Rights and International Law experts have been appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in counseling the Sri Lankan Government toward human rights accountability.

The Government of Sri Lanka must “allow humanitarian organizations, aid agencies, journalists, and international human rights groups’ greater freedom of movement, including in internally-displaced persons camps” and make strides in establishing a democracy rule of law.

The growing global voice of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees domiciled in the U.S. and European nations has created outcry for Sri Lanka to face an international commission and for alleged violations of international humanitarian laws.

The Sri Lankan Government claims no civilian were lost during military advances against Tamil separatists.

But, global rights group Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch possess evidence that an estimated 40,000 noncombatants lost their lives during the months of conflict.

The Sri Lankan military projects blame on the Tamil strike forces for their alleged use of nearly “300,000 civilians as human shields”.

Assistant secretary Blake told AFP in an interview “The point I would make is now here we are almost two years after the end of the war and still these kinds of challenges to, particularly to press freedoms and media freedoms continue. It’s a bit unusual and a bit counter-intuitive. Again, the LTTE is no longer a force to be reckoned with.

“It’s important to say that if Sri Lanka is not willing to meet international standards regarding these matters, there would be pressure to appoint an international commission to look into these things, ” says Blake.

This process has become more common in recent weeks as the United Nations Security Council recently passed a resolution unanimously against Libya and the referral of Moammar Qadhafi to the International Criminal Court to impartially investigate suspected war crimes as well as strong arm abuses against his people.

Senate Resolution 84 is a simple resolution, and “although it is non-binding, it does express the concerns of American lawmakers that the government of Sri Lanka provide a credible and fair mechanism of ensuring accountability for possible violations of human rights during the war,” a US Embassy official told the Daily Mirror.

For more information, please see:

Hindustan Times – US call for probe in Lanka – 3 March 2011

Asian Tribune – US Senate/ State Department in consensus to bring Sri Lanka under global scrutiny for alleged war crimes – 3 March 2011

– US call for independent mechanism – 3 March 2011

Colombo Page  – US Senate resolution expressing support for reconciliation in Sri Lanka introduced – 2 March 2011

Tamil Net – US Senate Resolution calls for accountability for Sri Lanka war crimes – 2 March 2011

Times Online – US Senate resolution backs Lanka war crimes panel – 2 March 2011

By Joseph Juhn
Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Asia

Foreign journalists seeking to cover a potential protest in Shanghai were detained by police officers (Photo courtesy of the New York Times)

BEIJING, China – As the anti-government protests continue to spread and topple incumbent dictatorships in North Africa and the Middle East, Chinese officials have begun to crack down on foreign journalists.

On Sunday, about a dozen foreign journalists were detained for two hours in an underground room in Shanghai attempting to cover a protest. Apparently, these journalists showed up to the Peace Cinema near People’s Square to capture images of possible protests when they saw messages on several anonymous Internet sites urging Chinese citizens to conduct a “strolling” protest against the government.

This incident is noteworthy considering the recent pattern of government crack downs on foreign journalists. Only a week ago foreign journalists were reported to being physically harassed by security officers – one videographer even being hospitalized. In response to accusations of violent police actions, China’s foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, denied the police taking any part in beating foreign reporters. He stressed repeatedly that China follows “the rule of law.”

“Foreign journalists should respect and abide by China’s laws and regulations… Beijing is a very big city with a large population. It is important to maintain normal order,” said Jiang, foreign ministry spokeswoman. Although the minister’s denial contradicts eyewitnesses and video accounts, no official investigation is known to be underway.

In Beijing and other major cities, at least a dozen other foreign journalists reported private intrusion, as they were visited in their homes by government officials who repeatedly warned not to cause trouble.

Following the recent controversial events, China announced new restrictions on foreign journalists working in China. Under the new rules, foreign journalists must now have prior government permission to interview anyone in a public area, essentially repealing the loosened reporting policy implemented at the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics to showcase China’s more tolerant face to the world.

Such intimidation of foreign journalists is a notable shift for the communist regime a sign of the government’s fear of any antigovernment revolts like those that have swept the Middle East and North Africa in the past month.

David Bandurski, a professor at the University of hong Kong who heads the China Media Project said: “They have gone into control mode once again. What we are seeing now, in the short term, is China is closing in on itself, because it doesn’t have another answer or response.”

“Intimidation of journalists is the classic response. It is not necessarily entirely new, but it is something we have not seen for a long time,” Bandursky added.

For more information, please see:

The New York Times – Even With Protests Averted, China Turns to Intimidation of Foreign Journalists – 6 March 2011

The Washington Post – Amid fears of unrest, China imposes new restrictions on foreign journalists – 7 March 2011

Tibetan Review – China to expel foreign journalists who cover protests – 4 March 2011

David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan – The efforts to achieve “inter-ethnic reconciliation and integration” following the violent events in Southern Kyrgyzstan last June, when over 435 people dead and nearly 2,500 others injured between the Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities during an inter-ethnic conflict, has been difficult.

The European Union has praised Kyrgyzstan’s reform agenda for stabilization and democratization, describing it as “ambitious”. Further reforms are critical to stability in southern Kyrgyzstan as the situation in the volatile region is “not optimistic,” chief of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Thursday.

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis vowed to help Kyrgyzstan bolster its stability, security and parliamentary system during his March 2-3 trip to Osh and Bishkek.

“It is essential to strengthen dialogue between the ethnic communities. The OSCE supports Kyrgyzstan in meeting these challenges, in particular ready to support a national consultative mechanism on police reform and criminal justice.”

“Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to restore stability after last year’s tragic events are commendable, I encourage the government to continue reforms, particularly ahead of the forthcoming presidential election,” he concluded.

“We must address acute security concerns, including threats to border security. But ensuring long-term security in the country also requires reform of the police and judiciary, policies to promote economic stability and respect for the rights of all members of society,” Azubalis said..

“The efforts of state-building in Kyrgyzstan and of bolstering its democracy and economy should draw on the citizenship of its people – and not simply their ethnicity,” said José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission.

The OSCE is also determined to continue co-operating with Kyrgyzstan in battling trans-national threats like terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime and unsecure borders, by coordinating with international partners like the UN and European Union, said Ažubalis.

Kyrgyzstan President Roza Otunbayeva has played a key role in two revolutions.

Roza Otunbayeva inspired the protest movement; often considered a philosopher and diplomat, she took the helm of the country and guided it through a difficult and dangerous transition period, declaring war on corruption, the clan system, nationalism and religious extremism.

Her first vistory was ridding the country of its then leader, President Akayev in 2005. Five years later President Bakiyev‎ was removed by a similar popular revolution.

A year ago a number of opposition parties came together, united in aversion to Bakiyev‎‘s corrupt regime. Realizing then the need to move toward a parliamentary form of government.

“Recent events in North Africa allow us to see things in a different light. It’s clear that these types of people, who allegedly order mass killings, should be punished”, said Otunbayeva referring to Bakiyev and his family tree of corruption being the center of all atrocities that took place within the countries recent history.

“A society influenced by criminality has no future. So one needs a clear and strong plan of action. The people will always support authorities or leaders who really want to clean up the country,” said Otunbayeva.

For more information, please see:

XINHUA news – Reforms critical to Kyrgyzstan’s stability: OCSE chairman – 4 March 2011

Europolitics – EU Praises Kyrgyzstan Reform Agenda – 1 March 2011

Central Asia Online – OSCE to help Kyrgyz stability, security, parliament – 3 March 2011

Euro News – Kyrgyzstan: Politics post revolution – 4 March 2011