By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KHAR, Pakistan- A suicide bomber blew himself up at a military checkpoint in a market in northwest- Pakistan on Saturday, officials said.

Senior administration official Iqbal Khattak told the Associated Foreign Press that a man wearing a vest packed with explosives walked up to the post in Khar, the main town in the restive tribal region in Bajaur, and detonated himself.  “So far 12 deaths have been confirmed, two of them were paramilitary soldiers,” he said.  Mr. Khattak also added that more than 20 others, all civilians, were wounded.  A senior military official, speaking anonymously, confirmed the blast and casualties.

The suicide bomber wanted to proceed towards the government buildings and military barracks nearby, but the soldiers stopped him.  The soldiers were killed when the bomber blew himself up.  The checkpoint resides in the town’s main bazaar which was shut down after the blast.  Mr. Khattak said three vehicles and four shops were destroyed in the bombing.

Bajaur lies in Pakistan’s volatile tribal belt region bordering Afghanistan.  Since the ouster of the hardline Taliban regime from Kabul in late 2001, Bajaur has become a stronghold for hundreds of Islamist extremists.

The attack came a day after Pakistani security forces killed at least 24 suspected militants in air strikes and clashes in Bajaur.  One paramilitary soldier was killed and three wounded in Friday’s clash.

Helicopter gunships and jets have pounded suspected militant hideouts since Tuesday, as the military step up operations in the region, the scene of a major anti-militant operation launched in August 2008.

In February 2009, the army said Bajaur had been cleared of Taliban militants following the August 2008 operation.  But security situation has been deteriorating.  The BBC’s Islamabad-based Aleem Maqbool says the numerous attacks over the last six months show the militants still possess a significant presence in the area.

Close to the Afghan border, Bajaur has been suspected of being the hiding-place of top al-Qaeda leaders such as Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Pakistan’s military has been focusing on a major offensive, launched in October, nearby throughout the Talibban stronghold of South Waziristan.

For more information please see:

BBC News- Suicide Bomber Attacks Checkpoint In Pakistan -30 January 2010

AFP- 12 Killed In NW Pakistan Suicide Attack: Officials– 30 January 2010

The Long Way Journal-  Suicide Bomber Kills 12 Pakistanis In Bajaur– 30 January 2010

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

HONG KONG, China– Thousands of people gathered outside Hong Kong’s Legislative Council to show support for pro-democracy lawmakers who resigned recently over “the slow pace of democrati[z]ation” in Hong Kong.

The five pro-democracy politicians who resigned were told by the head of Hong Kong’s Executive Council last week that their plan to push for a referendum on universal suffrage was unconstitutional.

Pro-Beijing media and Chinese authorities have also claimed that the referendum would be unconstitutional because it is not stipulated in the Hong Kong Basic Law agreed to between Chin and the United Kingdom before Hong Kong was returned to China.

This referendum was in response to the government’s proposal on electoral reforms, which pro-democracy parties opined did not sufficiently address the issue of direct representation.

Tanya Chan, one of the resignees, said she hopes the resignation will result in universal suffrage so that Hong Kong’s chief executive and legislators are elected and functional constituencies eliminated.

Pro-democracy proponents have criticized functional constituencies because they allow some voters to vote twice, first in a direct election and then again in functional constituencies.

A former British colony, Hong Kong currently directly elects only half of its 60 legislators and popular vote is not allowed for the chief executive position.  Thus, some feel that despite Hong Kong’s efforts in fighting for democracy for the last two decades, one-person-one-vote is still far away.

Another lawmaker, Alan Leong Kah-kit, said in his resignation speech that the current voting system in unfair and should be changed to “protect human rights and the rule-of-law as well as provide for better governance and quality of life.”

Religious groups have also organized a forum on constitutional reform.  Bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, Card Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, said, “I’m angry at the local government’s political reform proposal which offers neither progress nor any direction.  It gives people no choice….”

A recent survey showed that 60% of Hong Kong residents support universal suffrage.

For more information, please see:

AsiaNews – Card Zen calls for referendum to decide Hong Kong’s democracy – 18 January 2010

Monsters & Critics – Top Hong Kong adviser warns against democracy referendum – 22 January 2010

Spero News – Five democratic lawmakers resign to allow ‘referendum’ on universal suffrage – 28 January 2010

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Human Rights Watch recently released a statement pleading for holding accountable many of the perpetrators of human rights violations in Sri Lanka.  The prominent and influential organization pressed that the thousands of Sri Lankan nationals who have been denied human rights and legal recourse should finally attain their just deserts.  The group further asserts that President Rajapaksa’s first term saw myriad violations of international humanitarian laws, and is pushing for more transparent policies and the proper imposition of accountability during Rajapaksa’s new term.The Sri Lankan government has been ravaged by guerilla warfare against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam for over a quarter-century.  The United Nations itself has described Sri Lanka’s war, in which the government ultimately prevailed in the spring of 2009, as a “bloodbath”.  The war caused over 7,000 civilian casualties and has been the cause of many more human rights violations.

Discrimination against some Tamil nationals has forced many to flee to Australia to seek asylum.  However, many of those who tried to flee to Australia and Christmas Island were intercepted by Indonesian Border Control.  The Australian government employed the assistance of Indonesia to mitigate the influx of Tamil refugees into Christmas Island, which has become a haven for refugees of war-torn nations, particularly those in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

The Sri Lankan government’s establishment of refugee camps for Internally Displaced Persons subsequent to its victory over the Tamil Tigers faced its own plethora of human rights violations claims.  The derisory condition of the camps, along with the lack of adequate food, clothing, and shelter supplies drew the attention of many human rights groups and provoked pressure from the international community.  The Sri Lankan government only recently allowed Sri Lankan nationals housed in refugee camps to return to their own homes.  The Sri Lankan government claimed that prolonged holding was necessary to identify and remove Tamil Tigers among the civilian population.

The Sri Lankan government’s persistent refusal to cooperate with the UN and human rights groups further perpetuated suspicions and criticisms concerning Sri Lanka’s treatment of enemy combatants as well as its own citizens.  Human Rights Watch hopes that accountability will be able to prevent new violations and offer justice to victims of Sri Lanka’s past impunity.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Sri Lanka Refugees on Hunger Strike – 06 October 2009

BBC News – Sri Lanka Tamil refugee camps ‘to be opened next month’ – 21 November 2009

Human Rights Watch – Sri Lanka: President’s New Term Time for Accountability – 26 January 2010

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – A court in China sentenced four more people to death in connection to their part in last year’s ethnic riots in the western Xinjiang region. A fifth person was also given the death penalty, but  was granted a two-year reprieve. and he is expected to see his sentence reduced to life in prison. In addition to sentencing five individuals to death, eight others were given various jail sentences.

The group appeared before the Urumqi Intermediate Court. The sentences for the defendants are said to be carried out immediately. They were charged with “extremely serious crimes,” reported state-run Xinjiang Daily newspaper. The thirteen defendants were charged with the “violent crimes of attacking, smashing, looting and burning”, a Chinese term that refers to violent rioting.

The verdicts bring the number of people who have been sentenced to death for involvement in the riots to about two dozen, including nine who have already been executed.

The verdicts were handed down on Monday, January 25, by a court in the regional capital Urumqi – the site of the violence in July 2009 where Muslim Uighurs and China’s Han ethnic majority fought in turmoil. The occurence left nearly 200 dead and over 1,600 injured.

On July 5 violence began as Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking minority ethnic group, protested the deaths of Uighur factory workers in an earlier brawl in southern China. The protest became a riot as gatherers clashed with police in the Xinjiang regional capital of Urumqi. The crowd scattered and fled throughout the city, attacking majority Han Chinese and burning cars. Nearly 200 people, mostly Hans, were killed, according to the government. Two days later, Uighurs were targeted in revenge attacks, promulgating the incident.

All of the thirteen sentenced this week are believed to be Uighurs, according to local sources.

For More Information, please see:

CNN – Four sentenced to death over Urumqi riots – January 26, 2010

New York Times – China: Four Sentenced to Die for Xinjiang Rioting – January 28, 2010

Al Jazeera – Four sentenced to die in Xinjiang – January 27, 2010