By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

MERAK, Indonesia – A group of Sri Lankan Tamil ethnic minorities have been subject to threats and oppression by the Indonesian Navy.  Approximately 250 Sri Lankan nationals have asserted an absolute refusal to leave the ports of Merak until Australia concedes to giving them asylum.

This particular group of refugees from Sri Lanka are among many more Tamils who fled from Sri Lanka to escape persecution by the government.  After the defeat of the Tamil Tigers insurgency organization earlier this Spring, the Sri Lankan government has continually mistreated Tamils, causing many of them to resort to migrating away from their home land into less hostile territories.  

Thousands of Tamils began fleeing Sri Lanka seeking asylum in Australia.  Christmas Island, a landform off the coast of Australia, has been the desired destination from refugees of many war-torn nations in the middle-east.  However, due to the abrupt influx of refugees, causing  inundation of the island with myriad, refugees, the Australian government called upon the Indonesian government to send vessels to intercept Sri Lankan goats.  

The Sri Lankan Tamils’ desire to leave for Australian territory has produced numerous human rights violations both on the Australian and Sri Lankan ends.  Human smuggling, as colored by the Australian and Indonesian governments, has created a lucrative opportunity for boat operators to exploit many impoverished nationals.  

Further issues have risen concerning the safety peoples on these boat.  In one instance, passengers on a refugee vessel have threatened to detonate their vessel if the Indonesian border patrol came any close to the ship.  

At another point, Tamils on a refugee ship escorted to an Indonesian border engaged in a hunger strike to convey their desperation for achieving asylum in Australia.   

An organization based in Australia called Refugee Action Coalition recently made statements concerning the assurance of the Tamil refugees’ well-being.  Indonesian naval vessels have slowly been approaching the Tamils’ vessels.  The Indonesian forces intend to physically remove the Tamils from their current position along the Merak port city

The Tamils, however, fear being taken off their ships under the belief of facing persecution by the Indonesian government.  They also have expressed apprehensions about being sent back to Sri Lanka, where they will face abuses from the government there.

The Tamils face a situation in which they cannot be safe in either lands, making it more significant that the Australian government grant them asylum.  

For more information, please see:

 Al-Jazeera – Sri Lanka asylum boat ‘threatened’ – 3 December 2009  

 

New York Times – Australia Puts Its Refugree Problem on a Remote Island… – 5 November 2009

Sydney Morning Herald – Rudd took Indonesia for granted over asylum seekers – 17 November 2009

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

NEW DELHI, India- A protest fast by K Chandrasekara Rao, the leader of a regional party in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has entered its 10th day.  Mr. Rao of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) is demanding separate state status for the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh.

The Telangana region is an area surrounding Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, which is comprised largely of people who speak the Telugu language.  The demand for a separate Telangana state dates back over 50 years, and Mr. Rao’s TRS party has been spearheading the agitation since 2001.  The separatists believe that economic development in their region has been neglected in favor of the richer Andhra region.

Mr. Rao began his “indefinite fast” on 29 November at his hometown in the Medrak district, 62 miles from the capital.  He said, “Either a victory procession will come out or my funeral procession will come out.  The decision will have to be taken by the government”.  Fearing a loss of law and order, the police arrested him and sent him to a prison in Khammam district.  However, as his health worsened, he was moved to a hospital in Hyderabad.  Doctors state that Mr. Rao has refused food, and have resorted to giving him saline water and medicine.  They have also suggested he should break his fast to improve his overall health and avoid complications.

Over the last 10 days TRS workers have attacked public transport, government offices and private property in the capital city and nine other districts of the region.  In addition, students from two universities have also launched a movement for a Telangana state.  In response, the state has shut down schools and universities in the state for a fortnight to try to prevent students from protesting. In 1969, the demand for a Telangana state led to widespread violence where over 400 students lost their lives.

According to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, all people have the right of self determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, and social and cultural development.

Various groups supporting the cause for a separate Telengana have called for a march to the state legislature building on Thursday.  The administration fears the rally or a sharp decline in Mr. Rao’s health could lead to street violence.

For more information, please see:

BBC News- Indian Politician on Hunger Strike – 8 December 2009

Earth Times- Indian Politician on Hunger Strike Over Separate State Demand– 8 December 2009

Breaking News 24/7- Telangana Issue, Telangana Movement Updates– 8 December 2009

United Nations- International Covenant On Civil and Political Rights 

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KATHMANDU, Nepal – Nepalese law enforcement has been trying to quell significant, aggressive strikes occurring on the city streets.  Cadres torched and populated the streets of major Nepalese cities in rage at governments security agents’ destruction of over 2,500 squatters’ huts in forests of the Kailali district.  Metropolitan areas of Nepalese cities essentially shut down, with colleges, schools, and even bazaars closed down during the strikes. 

City-wide transportation services also halted, creating significant travel issues for many civilians.  Many strikers also resorted to throwing stones and vandalism to demonstrate contempt for their governments’ violent police actions against the landless squatters.

Maoists previously promised the homeless that they would afford them land on which they could establish  themselves.  However, when Nepalese police arrived to evacuate the area, tension between the Maoists along with the squatters and the Nepalese law enforcement escalated into severe skirmishes leaving six people dead.  

The squatters were being evacuated because Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal was set to deliver a statement on climate shifts in the Kalaili area.  Apparently, even a Maoist majority consented to clearing a forest area to hold the discussion.  However, when police arrived to survey and initiate clearing procedures, including tearing down the 4,000 shanties, they met with resistance from the homeless forest-dwellers and some of their Maoist supporters.  

Per request of the Maoists, a human rights group was called upon to examine the events culminating into the strikes.  The Maoist group further demonstrated their disfavor for the police actions by removing themselves from the government after an attempt to stop the head of the Nepalese army.  

The police actions against landless squatters raises profound concerns on an international plateau.  From the Western perspective, Washington has made a statement the U.S. government finds the police actions contradictory to the democratic process, law, and the pursuit of peace.  This by the Nepalese government initiative represent the sort of violence an unjust acts often oppressing impoverished peoples of South Asian nations.  

Ultimately, the battle between landless squatters and the Nepalese left fifty injured and six dead.  The situation was supposed to have been neutralized on Sunday, yet transportation and other strikes provoked by the attack continue on.

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Maoists stage strikes across Nepal – 6 December 2009

Deccan Herald – Maoists’ strike paralyses life in Nepal – 6 December 2009

The Hindu – Maoist strike shuts down Nepal – 6 December 2009

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PEHN, Cambodia — Amidst the trial of Khmer Rouge prison commander, Comrade Duch,the difficulty of such an undertaking in a country with a reputation for corruption and a compromised judiciary is apparent.  

Kang Kek Ieu, referred to as Kaing Guek Eav in tribunal filings, but better known by countrymen as, Comrade Duch, was responsible for running ehe infamous prison. At the site, Duch oversaw 15,000 supposed enemies of the revolution. It was at the camp where the inmates were tortured before being executed in the nearby “killing fields.”

At trial, Duch expressed  enthusiasm for the job at the notorious S-21 prison, and argued that he and his family would have been killed had he not carried out his superiors’ orders.

For nine months, French lawyer Francois Roux crafted a defense strategy of admission and apology that implied the team would seek a lenient sentence. But in the trial’s final moments, Duch and his Cambodian lawyer, Kar Savuth, broke with this posture, disputing the legitimacy of the court and calling for Duch’s immediate release. Even though the tribunal promised a more inclusive approach than its counterparts at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, instead, the trial ended with strike among Cambodian and foreign defense counsels. The disagreement signifies the difficulty and challenges of carrying out international standards of justice, especially in a country with a reputation for corruption and a deeply compromised legal system.

Over the last two years, claims of governmental interference and kickbacks have underscored the disadvantages of holding the tribunal in Cambodia. The turbulent negotiations in bringing about former Khmer Rouge leaders to justice began in 1997. By 2003, former-U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the extreme politicization of Cambodia’s judiciary required that the tribunal be held outside the Cambodian system. After much deliberation, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia was developed as a local tribunal, namely running under local laws, with the United Nations playing the role of a minor partner. After implementing this model, it is said that, “No one in the U.N. or elsewhere will ever copy the Cambodian model,” said Brad Adams, Asia head of Human Rights Watch. “It’s the lowest standard the United Nations has been willing to go.”  
  
 

For more information, please see:

The Boston Globe – Cambodia and its War Tribunal – December 6, 2009 

Los Angeles Times – Cambodia’s first war crimes trial marred by flaws – December 6, 2009

KI Media – KR Tribunal to instigate civil war in Cambodia?”: CWCI – December 6, 2009

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

SHARIFF AGUAK, Philippines- Civil rights groups in the Philippines have filed a legal challenge against the government’s imposing of martial law in the southern province of Maguindanao.  Late Friday Gloria Arroyo, the Philippines’ president declared military rule, citing a breakdown of order in the province. 

The Philippine armed forces and police say they are pursuing at least 3,000 men loyal to the Ampatuan clan.  The government has accused the clan of killing 57 people last week and inciting rebellion.

There has been criticism from pro-democracy groups, saying that imposing military rule is an overreaction by the government, setting a dangerous precedent which goes against the constitution.  This is the first time in 30 years that martial law has been imposed anywhere in the Philippines since late dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared it nationwide in the late 1970’s.

Harry Roque, a human rights lawyer said the legal challenge “questioned the constitutionality of the presidents declaration”.  Roque said the constitution, which was drafted after the Marcos dictatorship, allows for a declaration of martial law only “when there is a foreign invasion or when there is an actual taking up of arms for the purpose of overthrowing the Philippine government”.  However the situation in Maguindanao, according to Roque, was one of lawlessness, and did not fit into the constitutional requirements for imposing martial law.  He said “The task at hand now is to effectively investigate and prosecute those behind this dastardly act, rather than declare martial law”.

President Arroyo’s critics have also criticized the declaration of rebellion because it politicizes the crimes and allows suspects to be granted bail and presidential amnesty.  The security forces however, say that martial law has allowed them the freedom to move against the Ampatuan clan.  Officials have claimed that a series of raids have uncovered a vast cache of weapons and ammunition stored by Ampatuan supporters.  Commanders have also stated that the Ampatuan followers, numbering up to 4,000, are believed to be heavily armed and capable of carrying out bombing, arson attacks and abductions.

But many Filipinos are wary about the methods being used to do what should have been done long ago, according to Rachel Harvey, BBC’s South East Asia correspondent.

Some critics of the President say she may move to place the entire country under martial law in a bid to hold on to power after her term ends next year.

For information, please see:

BBC News- Philippine Forces Target 3,000 Clan Rebels – 7 December 2009

Aljazeera.net- Philippines Martial Law Challenged– 7 December 2009

Associated Press- Philippine Massacre Suspects Face Rebellion Raps-7 December 2009