By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– Three more Japanese nationals were executed in the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning on Friday for drug trafficking after another Japanese individual was executed for the same offense on Tuesday.

Under Chinese law, trafficking, making or distributing 50 or more grams of methamphetamine is punishable by death.  Japan also has capital punishment but not for drug trafficking.

Furthermore, Tuesday’s execution of Mitsunobu Akano was the first execution of a Japanese citizen since China and Japan established diplomatic relations back in 1972. 

The other three individuals, Teruo Takeda, Hironori Uka and Katsuo Mori, were caught either distributing or possessing drugs, and all three were convicted.  Takeda was specifically charged with selling five kilograms of methamphetamine in 2004.

The Japanese nationals were reported to have been granted full legal rights during their detention and trial.  Their rights to appeal have also been said to have been upheld.  

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama called the executions “regrettable.”  In addition, he asked Japanese citizens to remain calm after a peaceful demonstration took place outside the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo and to recognize that the two countries have different laws.

Both Japan and China have said that they hope the two countries’ relations will not be affected.

However, Japan’s Justice Minister Keiko Chiba said she was “concerned about relations between Japan and China when I think of the uncomfortable feeling or reaction felt by [the] majority of the Japanese people.”

The Japanese Prime Minister did announce that his government will “work hard to ensure that this does not lead to cracks in the Japan-China relationship.”

Just last week, China was under fire from Amnesty International because the human rights organization alleged that the Chinese authorities are claiming fewer number of executions than those actually carried out.

Amnesty’s Claudio Cordone said, “If [fewer executions are] true, why won’t [China] tell the world how many people the state put to death?”

Under a law introduced in 2007, China’s Supreme People’s Court must approve all death sentences in order to avoid injustice.  However, despite the Chinese government’s refusal to release overall figures, China is still thought to execute the most number of people than any other country in the world.

For more information, please see:

BBC – China executes three more Japanese drug smugglers – 9 April 2010

RTT News – China Executes 3 More Japanese Drug Smugglers – 9 April 2010

Strait Times – China executes 3 Japanese – 9 April 2010

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

Bangkok, Thailand- On Thursday anti-government demonstrators said they will defy the state of emergency declared by the government of the Thai prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva.  They defiantly dared the government to break up their escalating protests, vowing to stage a rally in the capital despite the state of emergency which allows the military to move against large gatherings.

The prime minister declared the state of emergency Wednesday night after protesters briefly broke into Parliament, capping weeks of protests that have paralyzed the government and cost businesses tens of millions of dollars.  Abhisit said on Wednesday that the emergency would help authorities arrest leaders of the anti-government movement, which has been staging protests in the capital for over three weeks.

Jatuporn Prompan, a red shirt leader said “If you have the guts to do it, do it now.  But I warn you that our red shirt brothers and sister would flood into Bangkok in greater numbers, if you crack down on us.”

The state of emergency allows security officials to detain suspects without charge for up to 30 days, and gives them the option of imposing curfews, banning public gathering and censoring media.

The protesters camped in the city have ignored court orders and a large security presence.  Al Jazeera’s Wayne Hay, reporting from Bangkok said “they have completely disregarded the state of emergency that is now in place and have vowed to hold more rallies.” Since 2008, this is the fourth time that emergency law has been declared in the capital because of political turmoil.

Prime Minister Abisit has faced criticism for failing to take stronger measures to end the demonstrations.  Previously he had entered into negotiations with the red shirts and ordered security forces to pull back from possible confrontations.  Because of the volatile situation, he called off a planned visit to Vietnam for a meeting of southeast Asian leaders.  Investors fear this could derail the country’s high-performing economy.

Thai authorities have also shut down a television channel run by the red shirts.  Satit Wonghnongtaey, the minister attached to the premier’s office said the station had been taken off the air for inciting unrest.

The Red Shirts support ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and view Abhisit as a puppet controlled by the unelected establishment and the military.

The Red Shirts say the prime minister,who came to power in a 2008 parliamentary vote after the courts dissolved a pro-Thaksin party in government at the time – should call an election and let the people choose their government.

For more information, please see:

Aljazeera.net- Red Shirts Vow to Defy Emergency– 8 April 2010

Associated Press- Protesters Defy State of Emergency in Bangkok– 8 April 2010

RTT News- Thai Protesters Vow to Defy Emergency-8 April 2010

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

TALAS, Kyrgyzstan – After prolonged street demonstrations and aggressive anti-government rallying, the opposition party successfully ousted the government in the central-Asian state of Kyrgyzstan.  Following a period of extensive unrest and violence, control of the government was taken after opposition leaders were able to gain dominance over security headquarters, television and numerous government buildings.  Command of the interior ministry of Kyrgyzstan, as well as the security structure of the state, have been fully replaced.

Rozun Otonbayeva, former foreign minister of the previous regime, has been instated as a tentative head of state until a more comprehensive governmental structure can be established.  The new regime aspires to build upon the current interim government within six months.  Opposition leaders hope also to draft a new constitution and establish fair election terms within that time.  The leaders of the new regime also hope to create conditions conducive to holding such democratic processes.

Although the actual replacement of Kyrgyzstan’s infrastructure seemed to have happened abruptly, the  causes and actions culminating in such a monumental event have persisted for a number of years.  President Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstan’s head of state prior to the shift in rule, has been continually accused of cronyism and corruption by his people.  He often gave his close associates and family members top economic positions for which they were not qualified, resulting in self-serving and unhelpful financial policies.  Bakiyev’s predecessor, Aksar Akayev, was also charged of similar violations.  Coincidentally, he too was later forcefully removed from the government.

Bakiyev, however, promised numerous reformations and improvements upon then-current mechanisms throughout his five-year rule.  Rather than substantiating these promises, Bakiyev took more counterintuitive measures and even began cracking down on media outlets reporting on his exploits.  He has also used coercive means to quell rallying, such as threatening prominent opposition leaders with violence and abusing his political influence to begin criminal investigations against them.

The rising cost of energy in Kyrgyzstan, identified as the reason for Wednesday’s street protests, has also invoked the ire of the people.   However, many poor nationals joined the rioting because of Bakiyev’s general negligence in taking affirmative steps towards improving their condition.

As of Wednesday, the death toll in the rioting is determined to be forty.  Many more were maimed and injured by security forces.  Despite the tragic costs, however, the new regime of Kyrgyzstan seems to have a plan for a more transparent and fair form of rule.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Kyrgyzstan opposition ‘seizes power’ – 08 April 2010

BBC – Q&A: Kyrgzstan unrest – 08 April 2010

Washington Post – US voices concern as protests plunge Kyrgyzstan into chaos – 07 April 2010

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

GARDEZ, Afghanistan – Nato forces have once again caused the deaths of Afghan civilians through indiscriminate use of military force.  There have been numerous instances of inadvertent killings of civilians by Nato forces.  Unintentional violence against innocent non-combatants have claimed the lives of men, women, children, creating much friction between the Aghan nationals and Nato forces.

One of the most recent controversies stems from an incident occurring in February.  Nato forces executing a raid operation entered the residence of a civilian family, under the impression that an armed combatant had entered the home.  Upon entering the home, the Nato forces encountered two armed men.  The Nato foroces proceeded to shoot down the two armed men, but their fire also took the likes of three women.  It was only later that Nato confirmed that the two men shot down were not Taliban fighters, but merely civilians who took up arms to protect their family against the reasonably perceived threat of Nato forces.  Furthermore, the Nato forces who examined the civilian residence after the discharge of gunfire initially claimed that the women in the home were dead when they got inside, gagged and bound on the floor.  This was later discovered to be not true, as the women were bound in preparation for their burial.

Also, it has been reported that Nato admitted to its killings after a claim was made that soldiers had been removing bullets from bodies to obscure the truth of the matter.  Successful deception may also have the effect of distorting civilian death count.

The case of the bound women highlights the issue of accuracy in civilian death counts.  The UN has reported a respectable decrease in civilian casualties for the year 2009/  However, if it is possible that misconceptions of the circumstances surrounding civilian deaths can be accepted as true for an extended period of time, it seems equally possible that the statistics concerning civilian deaths may be skewed.

In another instance of the battles of Nato forces perpetrating violence against civilians, two children were killed and tow more wounded in an eastern region of Afghanistan.  The unreasonable risks to civilians caused by flare-ups between Nato forces and Taliban fighters compelled Nato to place prohibitions on night-raids to reduce harm to civilians.  However, if misconceptions and deception concerning civilian deaths persist, the breadth and possibly excessive breadth of civilian casualties may never be truthfully known.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Nato admits Afghan civilian resources – 05 April 2010

BBC – Nato investigates new Afghan civilian deaths – 06 April 2010

Christian Science Monitor – Afghan war: Nato under fire… – 05 April 2010

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Reports and news generated almost immediately after China’s latest mining accident in Wangjialing mine,  located in northern China, grossly wrote off the lives of those trapped. However, after more than 190 hours of continuous hard work and rescue efforts, the operation to save the trapped minders proved fruitful. Approximately 115 of the 153 miners trapped have been removed from the mine.

 Photograph of rescue efforts at Wangjialing mine. Image courtesy of The New York Times.

News stories and captions read, that “from the start, China’s latest coal mine disaster likely to end as so many others: a failed rescue effort, grieving relatives, few if any survivors.”  But, on Friday, 2 April, rescuers became hopeful after hearing faint tapping noises even after lost miners had been missing for five days. After hearing signs of life, about 3,000 rescuers worked nonstop to pump water out of the Wangjialing mine. Government officials who investigated the site announced that the mine flooded after workers dug tunnels and caused an old shaft to break and fill with water.  

In an unofficial release of information, sources indicate that even days before the mine flooded, managers ignored water leaks that indicated trouble and danger. According to preliminary findings by the State Administration of Work Safety, miners had been ordered to step up the pace of construction to meet an October deadline to begin production at the mine, the agency said.

Survivors said they had strapped themselves to shaft walls with their belts to avoid drowning. Some claimed to have clung to the sides of the mine for days, and then when a mine cart floated by clung onto it for relief. Others said they ate bark from the pine pillars used to construct the mine. The rescue team’s chief medical officer told reporters that the survivors were weak, severely dehydrated, and suffering from hypothermia and skin infections. Some were in shock, though none were reported to be in critical condition.

Luo Lin, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, commented, “These trapped people have made it through eight days and eight nights — this is the miracle of life.” She went on to say that “[The] rescue plan has been effective. This is a miracle in China’s search and rescue history.”

Even though the Chinese government has managed to significantly reduce the death rate at coal mines since 2002, the country’s safety record still remains among the world’s worst. If rescue efforts at Wangjialing mine failed, this would have been China’s deadliest mining accident in more than two years. 

For more information, please see:

People’s Daily – What survived from Wangjialing Mine disaster? – 7 April 2010

Today – Search continues for 31 still trapped in northern China coal mine – 7 April, 2010

New York Times – With Hope Dwindling, 115 Chinese Miners Are Saved – 7 April 2010