The Sri Lankan government recently designed and carried out the arrest of General Sarath Fonseka.  The General was once heralded by the Sri Lankan government as one of the most valuable military players in the civil war against Tamil Tigers opposition group.  General Fonseka served the government as a leader in Sri Lanka’s struggle against the rebel organization; a war that had been plaguing Sri Lanka for over a quarter-century.   However, due to significant political friction between General Fonseka and President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the two fell out with one another and Fonseka lost his revered status among government officials.

Fonseka has been charged with war crimes and conspiring to execute a coup against the current Sri Lankan government.  It has also been alleged that Fonseka maintains and exploits connections with anti-government groups to further promote and realize his apparent designs to overthrow the government.  General Fonseka, however, denies the allegations.

The arrest of General Fonseka has incited protesting and some violence on Sri Lanka streets, as anti-government protestors, angry civilians, and government forces clash with one another.  Political leaders question the motives behind the extra-judicial arrest, and remain apprehensive about the foreseeable maltreatment of General Fonseka.  The leaders of anti-government groups have released statements relating their concern for the life of the General, fearing the possibility of his execution while in custody.

The details of Fonseka’s actual arrest suggest a denial of fundamental legal rights and perpetuate the bad faith in the Sri Lankan government’s dealings.  General Fonseka, having lost the post-war elections to President Rajapaksa, accused the government of fixing the election.  Government forces subsequently stormed the military leader’s campaign office and “dragged” him away, charging the general with various war crimes.

The civil war in Sri Lanka between government forces and the Tamil Tigers left over 7,000 civilians dead and raised myriad other human rights issues.  The government’s treatment of Tamil nationals during the period following the war’s end and up until now remains questionable and has provoked much international pressure.    President Rajapaksa has undertaken the practice of identifying and arresting military personnel whom he believes threaten national security in post-war Sri Lanka.

Held captive by the government, General Fonseka eats only when his wife brings him food during visits.  His fate, in the hands of an unscrupulous Sri Lankan government, remains unclear.

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – A father, afraid his son would be taken from the same spot where his four-year old  daughter was abducted just two weeks ago, chained the toddler to prevent anyone from snatching the young boy. Chen Chuanliu is unable to afford child care, and secured his son to a lamp post outside Huaguan shopping mall in Beijing so he could go to work as a pedicab driver.

Chen’s daughter is like the tens of thousands of children that go missing each year in China. Many are the offspring of impoverished migrant workers like Chen, whose children are kidnapped and then sold. It is reported that Chinese officials have announced that the problem is on the rise. In fact, the problem has grown so acute that authorities have launched a campaign to crack down on child trafficking. The country is struggling to cope with a wave of child abductions, and allegedly has more than 200 babies and toddlers stolen every day, according to some estimates. It is considered a lucrative business in which an abducted girl child can fetch $1,200 and a boy anything up to $5,000, far more than the average annual salary in urban China.

Last year a national DNA database was created to reunite families. A website featured the photographs and details of rescued children in hopes that their parents could identify and prove they were related. Officials say they have saved around 2,000 children and returned at least some to their parents.

Despite a newly launched effort to reunite abducted children, Chen’s daughter still remains missing. According to him, “The police didn’t tell me anything – I don’t know whether they have opened a case or not. They just told me to look around the area myself.” Officers have apparently begun to look for the girl by reviewing footage from surveillance cameras, however, Chen’s daughter has been missing for over two weeks.

Chen’s story is not all that unique. His wife, Yang Caihong, has learning disabilities and is unable to care for the children, and the couple has no relatives in the city. Although the family has lived in Beijing for several years, China’s household registration system means they are still regarded as migrants, which means that they are not entitled to free nursery care like official residents.

Since the effort has begun to clamp down on child trafficking in China, officials have begun to launch multi-month investigations. In late December, following a nine-month investigation, police arrested eleven people suspected of abducting and trafficking dozens of babies within the last two years. In making the arrests, police were able to rescue 28 boys before being sold.

Chen is not confident that even with China’s new initiative to stop child abductions his son would not go missing. While the world remains shocked by the site of a padlocked toddler to a lamp post, one father believes it is for the child’s own protection.

For more information, please see:

London: Daily Mail – Childcare, Chinese style: Rickshaw driver chains two-year-old son to a post while he’s at work – February 4, 2010

Yahoo! News – Chinese dad leaves toddler in chains – February 4, 2010 

New York Daily News – Boy in China Tied to Lamppost While Father Works – February 5, 2010

China Digital Times – China Arrests 11 Suspected Child Traffickers: Media – December 2009

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Chinese authorities are reacting and trying to calm angered people threatened to be evicted from their homes. For decades now, China has engaged in heavy urban development, causing millions of citizens to relocate. Many are left homeless, sometimes with inadequate or no compensation as crews move in to decimate certain areas. In turn, some regions have implemented rules that are designed to curb abuses by developers and demolition crews which have been the cause of poverty, unrest and deaths.

The draft rules were issued by the state council, China’s cabinet, on January 29. The regulations aim to ban developers and demolition crews from forcing people out through violence or by shutting off their access to essentials such as water or electricity. They would also demand that compensation be set at market price and that where homes are judged “old and dangerous,” 90% of residents would have to agree to the specified project or development. The rules also require that demolitions would be halted if occupants brought lawsuits. These rules are far more interactive and cognizant to the needs of citizens, who at present, have no say thereby allowing developers to go ahead even when challenged.

Despite the named and codified grievances, critics warn of potential loopholes in the rules, and express concern hat enforcement will be difficult because it is at least as important as the changes on paper. Before these rules even entered draft form, academics declared practices by developers as a breach of the constitution. Professors from Peking University said that such unfair practices took place in both cities and the countryside, and that land could be seized in some circumstances.

One professors, Shen Kui, said,: “I’m basically satisfied; this is progress and there are some big changes.” He went on to state that he believed the rules, still in draft form, would take effect within months, and that “the regulations will decrease the new cases where you get violence, but of course it also depends on a change in attitude from local governments … Courts [also] need to be more independent when dealing with these cases.”

What is clear, is that after several highly publicized incidents of individuals setting themselves on fire, China is striving to respond to displacement and forced eviction by developers.

For more information please see:

BBC News – China outlines plans to outlaw forced evictions – January 30, 2010

Telegraph – China moves to calm unrest over property seizures – January 29, 2010

Financial Times – China shakes up rules on land seizures – January 29, 2010

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea – An American crossed into North Korea from China on Monday and is being detained by North Korea for illegally entering the communist country.

The unidentified American is apparently seeking asylum in North Korea and wants to join the North Korean military.

An anonymous source from North Korea said the 28-year old American said he came to North Korea because he “did not want to become a cannon fodder in the capitalist military” and instead “wants to serve in the North Korean military.”

North Korea’s Central News Agency broke the news of this case on Monday.  The news agency reported that the American was arrested for trespassing and that he is currently under investigation.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service unable to confirm the report, and the U.S. Embassy in Seoul had no comment regarding this case.

This is the second case in the past month of Americans being detained by North Korea.  In late December, the North detained an American missionary, Robert Park, for illegally crossing the North Korea-China border.

The U.S. State Department has requested the Swedish government to act an intermediary as the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents U.S. interests in North Korea, because the North and the U.S. have no formal diplomatic relationship.

The State Department spokesman said that the report is being investigated; however, at the present time, there is no information regarding the man’s name or occupation.

The detention of Americans comes at a time when North Korea ignored warnings from both Washington and Seoul and fired live artillery into the sea by the disputed border area between the North and South Korea.

Experts have said that North Korea may use detainees as bargaining chip with the U.S. in negotiations concerning North’s nuclear programs.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – North Korea holding second U.S. citizen, U.S. says – 29 January 2010

Telegraph –American ‘defected’ say North Koreans – 30 January 2010

The Washington Post – Report: Detained American seeks asylum in NKorea – 30 January 2010

American Defects to North Korea to Join the Military