By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– Five people were killed and 14 were injured in the latest unrest in China’s western city of Urumqi.  25 people are reportedly being held over the incident where demonstrators clashed with the police when the Han Chinese took the streets of Urumqi demanding better police protection from ethnic Uyghurs.

Chinese troops patrolling streets of Urumqi (Source: AFP)

Uyghurs, who are being blamed for the recent attacks, are Turkic-speaking Muslim minority in China who consider Xinjiang their homeland.  Ethnic tensions between Uyghurs and the Han Chinese have resulted in violent riots since July.

A joint statement released by Urumqi’s court, prosecutor’s office and the police department noted that the syringe attackers who triggered the latest riots will face harsh punishment.  The Chinese officials said attackers who stabbed people with needles containing harmful substances may be jailed for three or more years.  The authorities also added that the attacker(s), if convicted, may receive the death penalty since China’s penal code allows for death penalty for crimes that involve dangerous substances used to harm others.

China’s Xinhua News Agency stated that more than 500 victims of hypodermic needle attacks are being treated in Urumqi hospitals, and the victims include various ethnic groups, including the Han, Uygurand and Kazakstan.

The syringe attacks began in early August, and one resident, wishing to remain anonymous said, “People are angry that the government is not doing much against the Uyghurs’ needle stabbing.”

Another resident said that the government had sent out text messages to citizens warning them of syringes containing unknown diseases.  This is a matter of grave concern since the Xinjiang region has the highest HIV infection rate in China.  In addition, Johns Hopkins University reported that Xinjiang serves as a convenient drug-trafficking route because the region is located between opium growing regions of Afghanistan and Southeast Asia.

Exiled Uyghur activist Rebiya Kadeer is asking the “Chinese officials to guarantee the security of all people living in East Turkestan (Xinjiang), including Uyghurs and Han Chinese.”  People of Urumqi are stocking up on groceries in fear of escalated violence.  Furthermore, there is no traffic around the city and schools have been closed.

For more information, please see:

BBC – China warning to syringe stabbers – 6 September 2009

CNN – Five killed as police face syringe protesters in Chinese city – 4 September 2009

Xinhua – Urumqi syringe attackers may face death penalty – 6 September 2009

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

DHAKA, Bangladesh- At least 2 people have been killed and over 100 injured in clashes between textile workers and police in Bangladesh, police have said.  The authorities delayed the report almost 12 hours after the media first reported the deaths.

The violence erupted as workers protested over unpaid salaries in the outskirts of Dhaka on Saturday.  “Law-enforcers had to fire rubber bullets from shot guns to disperse the workers who hurled stones and bricks at our officers,” said police inspector Shafiqul Alam.  Workers arriving to work at Nippon Garments factory found a notice stating the factory was closing for a month, citing losses and depressed orders.  

The workers then took to the streets to protest, with as many as 15,000 people involved in the protests, police said.  Maleka Begum, a police official, said in addition to at least 100 workers, a number of police officers were injured in the chaos. 

Protesters were demanding three months of back pay, Begum said, “The angry workers became unruly and violent this morning. They threw up barricades on the roads and suddenly attacked police.”  The workers were told they would be paid on Saturday, but when they arrived found the notice announcing the “closure due to economic depression” from Oct 31 to Nov. 29

“We were owed many arrears. As the workers wanted break the lock to enter the factory, police obstructed us,” said Majeda Begum, a factory worker.

Garment factories in the country of Bangladesh have been hit hard by the global economic crisis.  Unions said factories have cut wages to compete for orders with other apparel-producers, such as Vietnam, China and India.  Over forty percent of Bangladesh’s industrials workforce is employed in the garment sector, and this whole has been affected by the economic downturn.

Saturday’s clashes were the most severe since the global downturn began to affect Bangladeshi apparel factories, which accounted for 80 percent of the country’s $15.56 billion dollars worth of exports in the last year.  In June, 50,000 also workers protested wage cuts and unpaid salaries clashed with police and leaving many injured.

For more information, please see:

Aljazeera. Net- Bangladesh Workers Riot over Pay– 31 October 2009

Associated Foreign Press- ‘Two Killed, 100 Hurt’ in Bangladeshi Workers Riot– 31 October 2009

BDNews24.Com- Tongi Violence Leave 2 Dead, 100 Injured – 1 November 2009

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

UNITED NATIONS – A graphic video footage of a naked, blindfolded Tamil civilian sitting on dirt ground who is kicked and then shot in the back of his head by a Sri Lankan soldier aired on British television last week and has outraged the international community. 

The Tamils have been fighting for independence from Sri Lanka but were defeated this May.  The decades-long conflict killed at least 70,000 people, and the Sri Lankan government has been accused of extrajudicial killings in violation of international law in the past.  However, the government had prevented the international media from covering the conflict zone, but this video clip could be the most graphic evidence of Sri Lanka’s war crime allegations.

The High Commission of Sri Lanka claims the video is a fabrication and released a statement saying that they “categorically deny that the Sri Lankan armed forces engaged in atrocities against Sri Lankan Tamil community.”  Nonetheless, the UN wants an independent investigation to verify the authenticity of the video.

UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston said, “These images are horrendous and, if authentic, would indicate a serious violation of international law.”  He added, “The government clearly has nothing to lose and everything to gain by inviting an independent international investigation…and say look, these are fabrications….”

Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, who holds the presidency of the UN Security Council during September, also expressed her concerns saying, “These reports are very disturbing….”  Rice said the allegation against Sri Lanka is not currently on the Security Council’s agenda, but this could change.

Sri Lanka has repeatedly denied that its military has committed war crimes or breached international human rights laws during the fighting.  Nevertheless, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the UN takes all human rights violation reports seriously and the recent execution video will not be an exception.
For more information, please see:

CNN – U.N. envoy seeks probe into ‘horrendous’ Sri Lanka video – 2 September 2009

Reuters – U.S. voices “grave concern” about Sri Lanka video – 2 September 2009

Telegraph – Sri Lanka accused of war crimes after ‘Tamil execution’ videos emerge – 25 August 2009

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

BAKHAKEL, Pakistan – A suicide-bomb attack in Bakakhel, a town within Pakistan’s North West Province Frontier (NWPF), left four Taliban detractors dead and wounded a passing woman.  The attack represents the latest of multiple suicide-bombings which have recently been ravaging the Bannu district of northwest Pakistan.  A suicide-bomb attack on Saturday took the lives of eleven civilians in the Bannu district, and a similar attack in a Peshawar bazaar killed thirteen more non-militant Pakistani nationals on the same day.  While past violence was perpetrated by smaller militant organizations, Taliban fighters claimed responsibility for the death of the tribesmen.     

A police official reported that the assassin crashed a car carrying explosives into the vehicle of Pashtun tribesman Abdul Hakeem.  The bomber and Hakeem were killed instantly, along with three of Hakeem’s fellow tribesmen who served as his protectors.  Hakeem was an avid proponent of anti-Taliban measures, and recently issued a decree against suicide-bomb attacks.   Among his anti-Taliban exploits, Hakeem played an instrumental role in allowing Pakistani forces to cross into the Taliban stronghold in North Waziristan.  The chief of police of the Bannu district stated that this indictment likely incensed Taliban militants to target the tribesmen.   As an influential Islamic cleric and vocal critic of the Taliban, Hakeem signified the will of peoples who have long been suppressed by the Taliban’s militant strikes on the northwestern region of Pakistan.  

 

 

It seems the Taliban has been systematically assassinating prominent local leaders to silence the voice of discontented Pakistani civilians.  On September 24, Taliban fighters shot dead four tribesmen who advocated government-run countermeasures against the Taliban.  These targeted attacks mark a sharp deviation from the indiscriminate bombings which have been occurring in Pakistan’s NWPF.  By removing community leaders with the resolve to voice the grievances of the populous, it appears that Taliban militants aim to undermine civilian objections to their methods of gaining control over the area.  Pakistan’s state military has stated on numerous occasions its resolve to beat back insurgencies and attacks by the Taliban and similar, smaller organizations.  However, without the support of dedicated and sympathetic community organizers, such as tribal elders, the weary civilians of Pakistan’s NWFP lose the vessels for their freedom cries.  
 

 

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Tribesmen killed in Pakistan attack – 28 September 2009

CNN – Pro-government elders killed in Pakistan attack – 24 September 2009

France 24 – Car-bomb attack kills anti-Taliban tribesmen – 28 September 2009

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea– After one month of detention for accidently entering North Korean waters when their satellite navigation malfunctioned, four South Korean fishermen were released and have returned home. 

Freed South Korean Fishermen (Source: AP)

Fishermen and their boats from both North and South Korea are often accused of straying into each other’s maritime border, because the two countries disagree on the exact location of the demarcation line.

The four fishermen, who were detained since July 30, 2009, were handed over to the South Korean Coast Guard at the two Koreas’ shared eastern maritime border on Saturday.  Park Kwang-sun, captain of the detained boat, said upon his arrival back to South Korea, “I am sorry to the public for causing concern, but I am deeply grateful for the support that secured our quick return.”  South Korean citizens have been holding protests demanding the fishermen’s return.  Park’s wife also thanked the South Korean government for her husband’s safe return.

A North Korea expert Kim Young-hyun of Seoul’s Dongguk University said, “The release turned on the green light for the overall improvement of inter-Korean ties.” 

Relations between the two Koreas have been strained for the past year.  However, the release of the detained fishermen is being considered as a conciliatory move on the part of North Korea, in addition to a sign that tensions are being eased between North and South Korea.

Furthermore, the two Korea’s have agreed to resume family reunions of those who have been separated since the end of the Korean War in 1953.  The last family reunion was held in 2007.

For more information, please see:

BBC – N Korea frees S Korea fishermen – 29 August 2009

MSNBC – North Korea frees four South Korean fishermen – 29 August 2009

NYT – North Korea Releases Fishermen – 29 August 2009

VOA – North Korea Releases 4 Detained South Korean Fishermen – 29 August 2009