By Megan E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DHAKA, India– Jiten Yumnam a journalist, also an anti-Tipaimukh dam and rights activist, remains captured and at risk after being tortured while in Custody in India.

Jiten and seven others (Chungset Koireng, Likmabam Tompok Singh, Shamjet Sabano Nanbo Singh, Irom Brojen Singh, Amom Soken Singh, Toarem Ramanda Singh and Thiyam Dinesh Singh) were arrested in areas surrounding Manipur on September 14. This is based on assertions by the, Asian Human Rights Commission, a Hong Kong-based regional rights organization, which issued a statement on Thursday, September 24. The statement indicated that, “We have obtained court documents which show Jiten and seven others accused and were arrested on mere suspicion and unsubstantiated allegations.” 

Jiten was active in an international campaign against police officers who murdered a young man and a pregnant woman in the Manipur capital this July. In the present matter, the police claimed to have received information that the detained congregated on September 14 to plan further protests against the extrajudicial executions of civilians to intensify the pressure on security forces. Investigation officer, Ibomche Singh, sought a 20-day custody of the eight. Although the police claimed the detained had confessed to the charges during interrogation, when questioned before a court, the protesters denied confessing, and said they had been badly tortured. The court recorded this and agreed to extended police custody until 29 September.

Jiten and the seven other activists arrested, were reported taken into custody without explanation, and it is believed by some sources that cases against them were fabricated using the National Security Act, 1980. The Act is widely misused by the government to lengthily detain human rights defenders and political activists, and there is concern that this will be applied to Jiten and the other activists presently captured.

Evidence shows that Jiten was in need and requested medical attention, however, the detained were examined only once by a doctor despite having been previously tortured.  According to one source, neither the victim nor his family have been told of the charges against him. Unverified reports have suggested that he and seven other persons arrested on the same day will be charged with offenses punishable under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Official Secrets Act, 1923 and the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

For more information, please see:

News from Bangladesh – India anti-dam activists at risk in custody – September 28, 2009 

South Asia Media – India anti-dam activists at risk – September 27, 2009 

Asia Human Rights Commission – INDIA: A detained human rights defender is at risk of false charges and torture  – September 18, 2009

By Megan E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea-A report by the South Korean government’s Ministry of Labour, confirmed that 131 buildings in Sungdong-Gu, Seoul were condemned and slated for removal of asbestos. Parents of local children who attended a nearby nursery school were not informed the operation was underway or the asbestos health threat.

According to a report by World Health Organization(WHO), asbestos has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as carcinogenic to humans. It is reported that asbestos-containing materials are still in place in many buildings and exposure continues during maintenance, alteration, removal and demolition. Asbestos can lead to development of cancer which may stay latent for decades. While many developing countries have been banning asbestos since the early 1990s, the government of Korea banned it only in 2009. As most of the current buildings contain asbestos, their demolition exposes residents and workers to asbestos.

While the demolition occurred in Sungdong-Gu, an area designated to be re-developed, 120 children, all under the age of five, continued to go to school while surrounding buildings underwent asbestos removal. The children were exposed to the toxic matter for seven months. Many children began to experience sicknesses, such as skin inflammation, coughs, phlegm, pneumonia, conjunctivitis. Once parents learned that asbestos was being removed, they made visits to the Seoul City administration, the Sungdong-Gu administration and the Ministry of Labour to make a civil appeal, however, their effort were thwarted by officials who brushed their concern aside. According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), various government authorities continuously avoided calls from parents as they tried to investigate the situation.

After attempting to get an affirmative response as to what was being done at the construction site, civilians began conducting independently commissioned tests. Civilians used the Citizen’s Institute for Environmental Studies and the Institute of Specialized Analysis for Asbestos (ISAA) to test the area, and seven tests have been conducted since April. ISAA, which is authorized by the Ministry of Labour, concluded that nine out of eighteen sites investigated had levels of asbestos beyond the standard – including the area around the nursery school

Consequently, part of the demolition has been stopped, and in May, officials promised to have the school re-located. As of September 15, no steps to relocate the school had yet been taken. The local administration refused to acknowledge the ISAA investigations, and continues to maintain that the levels of asbestos in the area were safe, and presently only one demolition site has been stopped in the Wang-ship-li area after intense pressure from parents and environmental groups continued. Parents still express concern over the remaining demolition as those sites are still near the unmoved school where the children continue to attend.

For more information, please see:

Asian Human Rights Commission – South Korean Government Violated 120 Children’s Human Rights – September 25, 2009

World Trade Organization – Elimination of Asbestos Related Diseases 

Global Post – The Deadly Air They Breathed – July 24, 2009 

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

Burma– Around the various jails in Burma, about 120 political prisoners have been released, as part of the Burmese military regime’s amnesty granted to 7,114 prisoners, on humanitarian grounds.  However, many of the detainees have given reports of torture that they experienced during interrogation. The physical and mental injuries caused during this time period were either not adequately or not treated at all during their time in prison, causing some of them lifelong damage. 

Ko Myo Yan Naung Thein, a technical institute student, was assaulted and taken from a March during September 2007.  While in Sittwe Prison, Thein reportedly suffered injuries to his nerves during torture under interrogation and did not get adequate treatment. He said “I was blind folded and was taken somewhere.  As soon as I reached the interrogation centre, they all started kicking me.” He is now unable to walk.  

Ko Moe Kyaw Thu, a former student leader had been imprisoned since 1992.  In an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA) he said that after his arrest he was taken to Rangoon where a military intelligence unit hooded and repeatedly assaulted him, denied him water and refused access to restrooms. Thu stated “ I was kept in a closed dark room. Sometimes, the prison authorities slapped and tortured me without asking any questions.  But sometimes they questioned me the whole night without giving me any food.”  In addition he also stated that he was often tied and given electric shocks.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has stated that cases of ill-treatment in the prisons across Burma are wide-spread but the situation has worsened since 2005 when the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)’s prison visits were halted.  Between 1999 and 2005, the ICRC carried out regular visits to detainees in prisons and labor camps, but suspended it because of the government’s failure to respect its internationally-recognized conditions.

The AHRC is calling for the ICRC prison visits to be implemented, noting there is no reason for the government of Burma to object to the visits since the agency is bound by confidentiality and the visits cost nothing to the government.

For information, please see:

Asian Human Rights Commission- Burma: Released prisoners tell stories of torture; ICRC role needed– 24 September 2009

Mizzima- ICRC should revisit Burmese Jails: AHRC– 25 September 2009

Human Right Watch- Burma: Surge in Political Prisoners– 16 September 2009

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

TAIPEI, Taiwan – In efforts to push forward “a second round of democratic reforms” and further strengthen the country’s democracy, Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou urged civil servants to be mindful of protecting human rights in the course of their duties.

Speaking at a Ministry of Justice’s training program implementing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, conventions both of which were ratified by the legislature back in March, President Ma asked the government employees how they would feel if their rights were violated. 

President Ma Ying-jeou.  Courtesy of AP. 

He said, “When your rights are being protected, you may not notice it, but if your rights are being infringed upon, you would definitely feel it.” 

President Ma also added, “Not only should civil servants familiarize themselves with the two conventions, they should always keep in mind that current rules and orders do not violate the two conventions.  To put it bluntly, most civil servants have no idea about what human rights are.”

At this workshop, President Ma told the civil servants that he has high expectations that public servants “contribute to enhancing the quality of Taiwan’s democracy.”

Since taking office in May 2008, President Ma has forbidden illegal wiretapping and government interference with media coverage, but he said these measures are not enough to safeguard people’s rights and reduce human rights violations.

Former U.S. President George W. Bush once praised Taiwan as a “beacon of democracy” in Asia, but President Ma remarked that while Taiwan has made progress, sufficiency of Taiwan’s democratization is questionable.

He asked, “[D]o we have a good enough understanding of democracy?  Is our judicial system independent enough?  Do we offer complete human rights protection?  Is our system of law enforcement mature enough?  There is room for improvement…to enrich our knowledge of democracy.”

The Ministry of Justice is planning to review the current laws of Taiwan ahead of World Human Rights Day in December.

For more information, please see:

China Post – President calls civil servants’ attention to human rights protection – 17 September 2009

Radio Taiwan International – Ma to push for “second round of democratic reforms” – 17 September 2009

Taipei Times – Ma calls on civil servants to be mindful of human rights – 18 September 2009

By Alok Bhatt
 Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KOHAT, Pakistan – An immense suicide-blast in the northwestern town of Kohat took the lives of over 30 civilians and wounded 80 others.  The explosion ravaged an urban market area in a predominantly Shia region located approximately 40 miles south of Peshawar.  Victims and witnesses believed the attack to have been perpetrated by an extremist Sunni group.  Sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shias have historically afflicted northwestern Pakistan since al-Qaida and other extremist Muslim groups occupied its surrounding areas.  This recent attack represents only one of many indiscriminate assaults on Shia civilians.  Just one day prior, a bomb detonated in a Kohat bazaar left six wounded, but fortunately caused no fatalities.  An August 30th bombing in the Swat Valley region of northwest Pakistan killed 14 police recruits.  The repeated attacks upon northwest Pakistan demonstrate the extremist Sunni objective to eradicate the Shia Muslim minority.  The geographic proximity of northwest Pakistan to Afghanistan makes the region especially susceptible to insurgencies by Taliban forces and other militant extremist organizations.  

Beside the loss of life and severe injury to survivors, the suicide-attack caused catastrophic damage to Shia-owned kiosks, restaurants, the Hikmat Ali Hotel, and a number of vehicles along the market road.  Witnesses recalled seeing a bearded man drive into the market in a van then detonate his cargo of explosives, destroying himself and the immediate area.  The impact of the blast collapsed the roofs of surrounding buildings, trapping many victims beneath heavy dust and rubble.  Onlookers came to the aid of those pinned under the wreckage until machinery arrived on the scene to lift and clear the debris.  Media footage showed survivors emerging from the target zone covered in blood and bandages.

 

 

A lesser-known Sunni extremist group called Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Almi claimed responsibility for the Korat bomb attacks.  It declared the blast an act of vengeance for their religious leader, Maulana M. Amin, who was killed in June.  

The Pakistan military has been engaging in military offensives against extremist groups in northwest Pakistan since April.  While the strikes have been proving effective against militant groups, officials admit the frustration and difficulty of trying to eliminate suicide-bomb attacks.  However, with the aid of U.S. military strikes, Pakistan’s armed forces will continues to beat back insurgent attacks to avoid attacks in urban areas.   

 For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Deadly blast in Pakistan market – 18 September 2009

BBC News – Carnage in Pakistan Market Attack – 18 September 2009

MSNBC – At least 29 die as blast hits Pakistan hotel – 18 September 2009