Tin Oo, deputy leader of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy Party, talk to journalists at his home in Yangon after he was released Saturday from nearly seven years in detention. Photograph courtesy of MSNBC: World News.

Oo, now 82-years old, helped propel the National League for Democracy along with Suu Kyi. Authorities arrested Oo in May 2003 on politically motivated charges of disturbing public order after pro-government militias attacked the convoy carrying him and other opposition leaders. He has been held under an annually renewed detention order and denied access to visitors and fellow party leaders since 2003.

The release comes shortly before a United Nations envoy, Tomas Ojea Quintana, is scheduled to visit Myanmar on February 20. The visit is viewed by many as a status report, to evaluate the regime’s progress on human rights. Quintana is expected to meet several key ministers and members of the opposition during his five-day visit. He is also to tour Yangon’s notorious Insein prison and another prison in the northwestern state of Rakhine.

National League for Democracy Party spokesman, Nyan Win, said the party welcomes the U.N. envoy’s visit since gross human rights violations continue. According to Win, “His visit won’t be able to totally address the human rights issue but the visit can certainly cover human rights abuses.”

Mark Farmaner, director of the rights group Burma Campaign UK, commented on Oo’s release, stating it is “very welcome, but we should not attach any political significance to the release.  Burmese democracy activists are regularly released when the generals want to score points with the international community, and are then arrested again later.” Human rights groups say the junta holds some 2,100 political prisoners.

In commenting on his release, Oo said, “I am not happy with my freedom. I am very sorry about my colleagues who are still serving time in prisons.” Oo continues to pray for their early release at Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda. Oo, a one-time defense minister, said he hopes to continue to work for democracy. He wants to serve as vice chairman of the league, and coordinate political activities with Suu Kyi and the party’s 20-member Central Executive Committee.

For more information, please see:

Boston Globe – http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2010/02/14/myanmar_releases_deputy_leader_of_opposition_party/ – February 14, 2010

Human Rights Watch – Burma: Release Democracy Leader U Tin Oo – February 13, 2010

MSNBC: World News – Myanmar frees opposition figure after 7 years – February 13, 2010

Mizzima – Hope Mounts Over Tin Oo’s Release –  February 12, 2010

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SHANGHAI, China– A human rights activist, Feng Zhenghu, has returned home to China in time to celebrate the country’s biggest holiday, Lunar New Year, with his family after living at a Japanese airport since last November.

Eager to reunite with his family for the holidays, Feng said, “I think this request [to return home] is humble and reasonable.  They [Chinese officials] should not be so nasty as to keep me from going home.”

Feng has spent more than three months in a limbo at Japan’s Narita Airport surviving on food given to him by airport passengers and personnel after the Chinese authorities refused to let him enter China.

Feng’s predicament of camping out at an airport began after he was refused entry into China eight times despite holding a valid Chinese passport, which reflects the Chinese government’s intent to silence public dissent. 

As a human rights activist, Feng was imprisoned for three years back in 2000 and has angered the Chinese authorities with his support for student protests and accusations of government wrongdoings.

According to Amnesty International, Feng was jailed for his political views and for his activism, such as helping victims of forced evictions explore their legal options.

However, one Feng supporter, Zhou Minwen, said, “Feng is great.  He hasn’t done anything wrong but help us fight for justice.”

During his stay at Narita Airport, Feng carried a suitcase draped with a white tank-top that said “difficulty returning home” in Chinese characters.

Feng communicated with the outside world using his cell phone and laptop via blogs and social networking sites like Twitter.

Feng received word that he would be able to return home last month when Chinese officials met with him at Narita Airport. 

Once the New Year’s festivities are over, Feng said that he would seek medical consultation to see how months of living on instant noodles and sleeping at airport benches have taken a toll on his body.

“After all, 92 days of abnormal life would hurt anyone’s health.  But it’s [OK]…I have a good mentality and will be able to overcome all this.  I will return to normal life,” said Feng.

For more information, please see:

AFP – ‘Terminal’ activist returns home to China – 12 February 2010

AP – Chinese who camped in Tokyo’s airport arrives home – 12 February 2010

BBC – Chinese activist allowed home after living in airport – 12 February 2010

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – One of China’s best known and well-respected democracy advocates, Liu Xiabo, was turned down again by a court in Beijing in an appeal after being sentenced to eleven years in prison.

Human Rights advocates have spoken out that the Beijing Municipal Higher People’s Court convicted Liu, and sentenced him with an unusually harsh sentence. Many believe that he received such a sentence because he not only played a key role in organizing Charter 08 – a petition for political freedom and an end to the ruling Communist party’s monopoly of power. The online petition has garnered thousands of signatures since it was released just over a year ago. Many believe, however, that Liu’s status as a scholar and his academic background are the real reasons he was convicted of “inciting subversion of state power,” say human rights activists. 

According to Amnesty International, several Beijing human rights activists were placed under surveillance following the decision on Liu’s appeal. “By upholding the verdict, the court missed an opportunity to right the wrong,” said Roseann Rife, the deputy director for Asia and the Pacific at Amnesty International. “His harsh sentence is a stark reminder to the Chinese people and the world that there is still no freedom of expression or independent judiciary in China.”

Human Rights activists, however, are not the only voices speaking out against the decision, Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., United States ambassador to China, uttered his concerns. Huntsman denounced Liu’s verdict, stating, “We believe that he should not have been sentenced in the first place and should be released immediately.”

About twenty other foreign diplomats showed their support for Liu by appearing outside the court. A statement from the European Union declared that the decision “is entirely incompatible with his right to freedom of expression.”

The denial of Liu’s appeal is not the only hard-line decision recently issued by Chinese officials. In the same week, one human rights activist in Sichuan was sentenced to five years in jail for having publicly blamed the earthquake deaths of thousands of children on shoddily built schools, another who had helped distraught parents planning to sue the authorities had his appeal against a three-year prison term turned down, and a young factory worker who said he had joined a banned political party because he did not like the Communist party’s abuse of power was found guilty of subversion by a court in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen and sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Many fear the string of convictions and harsh sentencing to continue for activists, but human rights advocates are speaking out and attempting to reform China’s severe treatment.

For more information, please see:

The New York Times – Chinese Court Denies Appeal by Jailed Activist  – 12 February 2010

Wall Street Journal – China Sentences Earthquake Activist – 10 February 2010

The Guardian – Chinese dissident’s appeal rejected – 11 February 2010

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW YORK, United States – According to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Japanese government has violated a series of human rights by detaining Greenpeace activists who uncovered corruption in the Japanese’s government’s whaling program.

While investing corruption allegations regarding Japan’s whaling program, two Japanese men, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, learned that although the program is referred to as a “scientific research,” boxes of whale meat were being shipped to whaling crews’ homes and then sold for personal profit.

Sato and Suzuki reported the embezzlement to the Japanese authorities.  Soon afterwards, the two men were arrested for theft and trespassing and were detained for a month.  Their trial is set to begin next Monday, and both men face up to ten years in prison.

The UN claims that the detention violates international covenants on human rights.  The UNHRC concluded that “[t]he rights of these two environmental activists not to be arbitrarily deprived of their liberty…freedom of…expression…as well as their right to engage in peaceful activities without intimidation and harassment has not been respected by the [Japanese] [j]ustice system.”

Specifically, UNHRC stated that Articles 18, 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Articles 18 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political (ICCP) rights have been violated.  Japan is a party to both the UDHR and the ICCP.

Sato and Suzuki were detained without charge for 23 days, denied access to a lawyer, and interrogated for up to 12 hours a day while being tied to a chair.

Head of Greenpeace, Kumi Naidoo, said that the Japanese prime minister should order a re-examination of the allegations made against Suzuki and Sato.

Sato said, “We were investigating the corruption in the whaling industry that is funded by taxpayer’s money.  So we wanted to show the real face of the whaling industry, how corrupt this industry is, to the Japanese public.”

The stakes are high for both Sato and Suzuki being that Japan has a 99.8% conviction rates for criminal cases.  However, their lawyer said that they do have a strong argument since research activities done by NGO members based on whistleblower evidence are given the same degree of freedom and rights as activities done by investigative journalists.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Anti-whaling activists to front court – 8 February 2010

Common Dreams – United Nations: Japanese Authorities Breached Human Rights of Greenpeace Anti-Whaling Activists – 9 February 2010

The Huffington Post – UN: Japanese Authorities Breached Human Rights of Greenpeace Anti-Whaling Activists – 8 February 2010

TreeHugger – UN Says Japan Violated Anti-Whaling Activist’s Human Rights – 10 February 2010

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

Colombo,Sri Lanka- Government supporters and thousands of activists have clashed in the Sri Lanken capital of Colombo.

Officials said at least eight people were hurt in the violence near the Supreme Court.  Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds.  The opposition is angry at the arrest of losing presidential candidate, General Sarath Fonseka, on Monday night.  Tensions mounted over his arrest with violent clashed erupting in the capital as his wife approached the country’s highest court for his release, citing that she feared for his safety.

Opposition parties also closed ranks behind the jailed defeated presidential candidate, demanding his release and saying that the authorities were framing him.  As protests against the arrest spilled onto the streets, riot police used tear gas, water cannons and canes to break up thousands of clashing pro-Fonseka supporters and ruling party activists as the government said claimed that the arrest of the country’s former four star general was “not an act of vengeance”

The opposition rally near the Supreme Court is the second demonstration to be held in the capital in the space of a week.  A witness said that about 50 supporters of President Rajapaksa had confronted opposition supporters and attacked them with stones and bottles.

Charles Haviland of the BBC in Colombo says opposition activists retreated and then returned attacking in their turn, whereupon the police used gas to drive people away.

Supporter of Fonseka said “government thugs” had attacked a peaceful protest.  One women stated “they stoned us and attacked with clubs even threw glass bottles at us in front of the police.”

General Fonseka’s wife, Anoma, was previously allowed to visit him in detention at navy headquarters.  Mrs. Fonseka has filed a petition claiming his arrest is illegal.  The claim will be heard on Friday.

The opposition parties have said they fear the General may be killed in detention.  A government spokesman has said there is tangible evidence to back up the allegations against the general, which include the accusation that he worked with politicians against the government while still in the forces.  The general denies these allegations.

Mr. Rajapaksa defeated General Fonseka in the presidential elections last month, but the Fonseka rejected the outcome.  Both claimed credit for the defeat of the Tamil Tigers last year but fell out soon after fighting ended.

For more information, please see:

BBC News- Sri Lanka Clashes Erupt Over Former Army Chief’s Arrest – 10 February 2010

Time.Com- Sri Lankan Protesters Take to the Streets – 10 February 2010

Press Trust of India- Violent Clashes Erupt in Colombo Over Fonseka Arrest – 10 February 2010