By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DANDONG, China – Korean children are being left to fend for themselves in China where they are not afforded any protection as stateless children.

Some children are left behind in China when their North Korean mothers who defected to China are forced to repatriate to North Korea when caught by the Chinese authorities.  Other children are abandoned by mothers who defected to China and then have fled to South Korea to start a new life away from hunger and oppression.

According to aid workers, there are about 2,000 “defector orphans” in China.  In addition to these children, there is an estimated 10,000-20,000 “stateless orphans.”

“Stateless orphans” are children born between North Korean women who defected to China and then married Chinese men but were subsequently deported back to North Korea.

Stateless orphans do not have official Chinese registration paperwork; therefore, these orphans cannot receive education.  Late registration fee for children without paper is about $750, three times the monthly salary of average Chinese worker.

Support groups from various countries have found schools for ethnic Korean-Chinese children and have paid the registration fee for some children. 

Some children are fortunate enough to live with foster parents.  Despite Chinese laws forbidding taking in a stranger’s child as one’s own, a couple near the North Korea-China border who wished to remain anonymous have taken in some “stateless orphans.”

Another caretaker, Kim Hey-young, said that the children are in a “terrible state of neglect and malnutrition” when they first arrive at foster homes. 

Some children have also been subject to abuse.  One child, whose North Korean mother was taken away by the authorities, was then tortured by her alcoholic Korean-Chinese father.

In addition to the impact on the children of North Korean mothers who defect, Committee for Human Rights in North Korea also pointed out the flight of female North Korean defectors.

The Committee reported that North Korean women who are trafficked to China are usually trafficked into forced marriages.  Many North Korean women flee North Korea to escape famine but after being “sold” to Chinese men, these women have to endure backbreaking labor, physical assault, and sexual abuse.

Under UN’s refugee convention, China should not force defectors back to North Korea where they will face punishment and torture.

 
For more information, please see:

One Free Korea – Benefit Concert for Stateless Orphans in China – 21 January 2010

One Free Korea – China’s Loathesome Treatment of North Korean Children – 14 February 2010

Radio Free Asia – Korean Children Left n China – 12 February 2010

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KUARA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Bernama, a national Malaysian news agency, recently reported upon the first ever time the country executed a caning as punishment under Islamic law.  Although the practice of caning has been performed since the 19th century, during the British colonial period in MalaysiaThree moderate women were caned under Islamic law for adultery.  The women were caned following a decision rendered in December, heard within a religious court of Malaysia.  Sharia requires that Muslim women be caned with a stick called a rotan by a female guard, and the women must be fully clothed.

The Malaysian government took about a week to actually report the occurrence of the caning, which raised much concern in NGOs, the international community, and numerous human rights organizations.  An official from Amnesty International equated caning with torture.

Malaysia’s minister of domestic affairs, Hishamuddin tun Hussein, expressed no repentance for the caning in a subsequent statement.  Hussein justified the purpose and policy of the caning, claiming that this incident would serve as a warning to ‘sinful’ Muslims.  He also said that, although, the caning did not excessively injure the women, it serves as a means of touching and cleaning their conscience.  Hussein’s words suggest a willingness to continue enforcing Sharia in such a manner.

The enforcement of Sharia law may also have another significant impact upon the ethnic minority of the Malaysian state.  Malaysia is considered a secular state with its own set of domestic laws which exist independently of Sharia.  The religious laws make admissible archaic policies that have not been enforced in many years, including the ban on Muslims consuming alcohol.

Although Sharia, which controls family affairs and many other cultural aspects, applies only to the Muslim community of Malaysia, the enforcement of religious law could have the effect of discriminating against Muslim women.  Other discriminatory implications, such as the adverse effects upon Malaysia’s ethnic minorities, perpetuated by the enforcement of Sharia have provoked statements from sister nations and various human rights organizations.  The Malaysian government has not yet addressed the myriad rights concerns which could be violated by the strict enforcement of Sharia to the Muslim majority.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Malaysia canes women for adultery – 18 February 2010

The Christian Science Monitor – Malaysia begins caning women for adultery – 18 February 2010

CNN – 3 women caned in Malaysia for adultery – 17 February 2010

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Human rights groups have expressed significant concern about the recent arrest of General Sarath Fonseka.  The General was apprehended earlier this week by the government military forces of Sri Lanka.

The General was once heralded as a hero of the Sri Lankan military for his prowess during battles with the Tamil Tigers liberation group.  The General was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s victory over the Tamil Tigers, ending a civil war which lasted over twenty-five years.  Despite the General’s achievements for the army, he was allegedly dragged out of his campaign offices by the Sri Lankan government.

The General has been charged with numerous human rights violations, but vehemently denies all charges.  Allegations include fault for the over 7,000 civilian casualties who fell victim to the civil war and underhanded tactics during the war.  Human rights violations charges against the Sri Lankan government also include the mistreatment of members of the Tamil ethnic minority during and after the civil war.  The Sri Lankan government was lambasted by the international community for the sub-human conditions and lack of essential resources in its refugee camps to house internally displaced persons.

General Sarath Fonseka was also charged with cooperating with anti-government organizations.  The current President of Sri Lanka, who recently fell out with General Sarath Fonseka over the post-war elections in Colombo, arrested the General as part of a program aimed at capturing everyone he considers a threat to national security.

General Fonseka’s capture has given many opposition leaders a reason for concern.  They fear that the government will execute an extra-judicial killing in secret while they have General Fonseka captive.  An Asian human rights group has made a claim that the government of Sri Lanka has denied General Fonseka the right of due process.  Because of the military procedure being afforded the General, as opposed to hearings in civilian court, the group seems to suggest there is an element of unfairness against the General.

The General’s capture has also incited rioting in Sri Lankan streets.  The government has yet to release a statement concerning the General’s fate.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Fonseka Challenges S. Lanka Outcome – 16 February 2010

AsiaNews – Colombo under tight control, waiting for General Fonseka’s trial – 12 February 2010

BBC News – Sri Lanka Supreme Court hears Fonseka arrest challenge – 12 February 2010

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PUNE, India- Nine people died and about 60 were injured in a bomb attack at a restaurant popular with tourists in the city of Pune.

The powerful bomb left in a backpack under a table at the German Bakery, and which killed two foreigners, is the first major terrorist strike in India after the three-day siege of nearby Mumbai in November 2008 in which 166 people died.  “It appears that an unattended package was noticed in the bakery by one of the waiters who apparently attempted to open it, denoting the bomb inside,” federal home secretary Gk Pillai said after Saturday’s blast. Vinod Dhale, a restaurant worker, said “We heard a big noise and we all rushed out.  The impact was so great that there were body parts everywhere”.

Six people died instantly while the other three fell to injuries at local hospitals.  Home minister P Chidambaram described the bomb as ” a significant terrorist incident”, stating that the evidence pointed to a well planned plot.  Chidambaram said one or two people acting as customers had left the backpack carrying the bomb inside the bakery.

Preliminary investigations indicate the bomb was denoted remotely, possibly by a mobile phone.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.  A security red alert has been issued in the capital New Delhi, Indore, and Kanpur in the east following intelligence alerts of possible terror strikes in all three places.

Senior security officials suspect the culprits are the Pakistan-based Lashkahr-i-Taiba (LiT, or the Army of the Pure) terrorist group which India holds responsible for executing the Mumbai attack and on “sleeper” cadres of a local militant group called Indian Mujahideen (IM) which it often used.  Security officials said both groups are known to have worked together in the past with the LiT providing the funding and planning to carry out deadly bombing in crowded places.

The blast in Pune comes a day after India and Pakistan agreed to meet for talks in Delhi on February 25th, giving rise to speculation that terror groups were once again trying to derail bilateral peace talks which could eventually lead to action against them.

India has so far refrained from blaming Pakistan directly.

For more information, please see:

ABC News- Restaurant Bomb Blasts Kills 9 In India -15 February 2010

IRISHTIMES.COM- Bomb Blast Kills Nine In Restaurant In Western India– 15 February 2010

BBC NEWS- India Restaurant Bomb Blast Kills Nine in Pune – 15 February 2010

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MARJA, Afghanistan- NATO has confirmed that two rockets fired at militants during its offensive in Helman south Afghanistan, missed their target and killed 12 civilians.

The missiles struck a house in Marjah as thousands of NATO troops continued their operations to remove the Taliban.  General Stanley McChrystal, NATO’s commander said that “we deeply regret this tragic loss of life”.  Coalition forces are aiming to build on gains in Operation Moshtarak.  Operation Moshtarak, meaning “together” in Dari, is the largest coalition attack since the Taliban fell in 2001.

Civilian casualties have been a key concern for the NATO-led offensive.  The areas targeted were leafleted in advance to minimize casualties.  Afghan President Hamid Karzi has called for an investigation into the civilian deaths, his office said.  In a statement the office said that it believed at least 10 of those killed were from the same family.  NATO said in a statement “Two rockets from a High Mobility Rocket System launched at insurgents firing upon Afghan and [Nato] forces impacted approximately 300 meters (980ft) off their intended target killing 12 civilians.”

General McChrystal added “The current operation in Central Helmland is aimed at restoring security and stability to his vital area of Afghanistan…It’s regrettable that in the course of our joint efforts, innocent lives were lost.”

It was unclear whether one or more rockets hit the building.  Officers said the barrage had been fired from Camp Bastion, a large British and American base to the northeast.  The weapon system is known as HIMARS, or High Altitude Multiple Launch Artillery Rockets.  The system is G.P.S- guided and advertised as being accurate enough to strike within a yard of their intended targets.  General McChrystal said that he was suspending use of the weapon system “until a thorough review of this incident has been confirmed.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News- Afghan Civilians Killed Strike by NATO Rockets – 14 February 2010

New York Times- Afghan Civilians Killed In Offensive on Taliban– 14 February 2010

VOANEWS.COM- NATO Acknowledges Responsibility for Killing 12 Civilians During Afghan Offensive– 14 February 2010