By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – According to a Pakistani NGO Al Khidmat, over 65,000 civilians have been displaced by the fighting between the Taliban and government forces in Lower Dir district of the North West Frontier Province, Pakistan.  Al Khidmat has been helping these people without assistance from the government.

“There is no sign that the central Pakistan government has prepared for the exodus of civilians,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director. “As the military operations spread, most likely to Swat next, the government has to ensure that the fleeing civilians have adequate food, shelter, and healthcare.”

The hospital in Timergara has reported that 13 civilians have been killed as a result of the fighting.  Eyewitnesses say that over 30 houses have been destroyed.  Casualties and damage have been the result of helicopters gunfire and heavy artillery that have been fired upon the village.

“Jets dropped bombs three times,” said a villager. “There was smoke and dust; I could not tell if they hit houses. We packed our things and then started moving because we thought they might hit us as well.”

Yet the number of civilans displaced is growing, especially due to the government’s offensive launched to recapture the neighboring Buner district from Taliban control.

Despite the number of casualties and property damage, civilians are grateful for the military’s presence.  “People are happy with the operation because the government gave them a deadline to leave and the people are saying that the Taliban really want to take over Tarbela Dam and Islamabad,” said Yaqoub Khan, a local farmer.  “If they had not come, the Taliban would have established positions here in this village by now,” he said.

General Abbas said that the army was concerned about the civilians. “Our constraint is that we are launching an operation in an area where militants have held the local population hostage,” he said. “We are trying to ensure there is minimum collateral damage and minimum displacement of local people.”

For more information please see:

Amnesty International – Pakistan Displacement Crisis Worsens as Fighting Spreads – 30 April 2009

Business Standard – Swat Peace Deal ‘Practically Dead’ Say Taliban – 1 May 2009

New York Times – Civilians Flee as Pakistani Forces Hit Resistance – 29 April 2009

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The civil war between the Sri Lanka government and Tamil Tiger separatists is creating a humanitarian disaster.  According to aid workers, more than 100,000 civilians have fled the territory controlled by the rebel group while the Sri Lanka military blasted an earthen barricade on Monday.  However, another 50,000 civilians remain trapped in the war zone facing starvation.

“The civilian population in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-controlled Mullitivu coastal areas are faced with serious crisis due to the deliberate denial of food and other humanitarian supplies by the Sri Lankan Government,” the LTTE Political Office said in a statement.

News reports have showed the Tamil Tigers refusing civilians to leave, and they are shooting at those who try to escape.  Furthermore, the United Nations and the G8 have accused the rebel group of using civilians as human shields, and forcibly recruiting people to fight. The G8 called for a stop to the fighting to save the civilians.

The United Nations sent John Holmes, the U.N. Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, to Sri Lanka to push for more protection for civilians.  John Holmes described the situation as “very dire” and called for a stop in the fighting to preserve of the lives of the tens of thousands of civilians. The U.N. Security Council urged the Sri Lanka government to allow a humanitarian assessment team in, but Colombo rejected.

The international community is deeply concerned about the rising death toll and reports of humanitarian law violations.  “The EU strongly condemns the killings of civilians and calls on all parties to take all necessary action to avoid further civilian casualties,” the European Union said in a statement.

Internal United Nations tallies say that since the end of January, nearly 6,500 have been killed in fighting. The flood of refugees threatens to overload the existing facilities, aid agencies have warned.  However, the rebel group has vowed no surrender and the government rejected calls to stop the fighting.

For more information, please see:

AP – Rebels warn of starvation in Sri Lanka war zone – 25 April 2009

BBC – Anticipating an end to Sri Lanka’s war – 25 April 2009

Reuters – ReG8 condemns use of “human shields” in Sri Lanka – 25 April 2009

Voice of America – Tamil Tigers Claim 150,000 Civilians on Brink of Starvation – 25 April 2009

Washington Post – U.N. dispatches top humanitarian to Sri Lanka – 25 April 2009

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan –  Human Rights Watch calls upon the Pakistani government to withdraw its peace deal implementing Islamic Sharia law in the Swat Valley, located in the northwestern region of the country.  Human Rights Watch cites to violence among women and other basic rights.

President Asif Ali Zardari signed an ordinance on April 13, 2009 which imposed Sharia law and giving the Taliban complete control of the Swat Valley region.  This came about by way of the peace deal made on Februrary 15.  The parliament unanimously voted in favor of the ordinance.  Pakistani military have since moved out of the region.

“The Taliban are taking Swat back to the Dark Ages and the Pakistani government is now complicit in their horrific abuses,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, senior South Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.  “Tossing out the rights of the people in the tribal areas reflects abysmally on both the government and the Pakistani military’s ability to protect Pakistan’s citizens.”

According to Human Rights Watch, the Taliban have implemented their authority by summary executions, such as beheading, public whippings, and intimidation.

“The government defends this ordinance by saying that the officials implementing the law are still appointed by the provincial government and that they will respect the rights of women and others,” said Hasan.  “But the reality is that any official in the Swat who does not follow the dictates of the Taliban may be signing his or her own death warrant.”

Critics of the peace deal fear that the country is in danger of being taken over by the Taliban.

“They are now threatening to get out of Swat and take other areas into their custody.  So we’ve got to avoid that situation,” said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Sufi Mohammad, leader of the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-Mohammad, a Taliban affiliate stated, “We hate democracy.  We want occupation of Islam in the entire world.  Islam does not permit democracy or election.”

“It is mind boggling that any elected, rights-respecting government would seek to partner with and cede control to entities and individuals to brazen in their rejection of human rights and constitutional rule,” said Hasan.  “Instead of being feted as allies, Sufi Mohammad and his allies should be held accountable for their crimes.”

For more information, please see:

Daily Times – TTP Says Osama Welcome in Swat: Taliban Reject Peace Accord – 22 April 2009

Human Rights Watch – Paksitan: Swat Deal Grave Threat to Rights – 15 April 2009

Reuters – Opposition Grows to Pakistan’s Taliban Pact – 22 April 2009

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Nine men attacked Ms. Yuan Weijing, the wife of imprisoned blind activist Chen Guangcheng, as she was leaving to visit her family.  They punched and kicked her as they forced her back to her house.  The men are thought to be hired by local officials.

Yuan Weijing has been under house arrest for the past three years and seven months.  Her husband, Chen Guangcheng, a self-taught blind attorney, had been involved in investigation of forced abortions and sterilizations cases in China.  He was arrested in June 2006 on charges of “destruction of property” and “assembling a crowd to disrupt traffic”.  The Chinese court sentenced him in prison to four years and three months.

According to Yuan, she has experienced constant harassment by local authorities.  During the past three years and seven months, local authorities hired over 30 people to watch her, even when she was farming in the field.  Not only they have prevented her from meeting journalists and lawyers, she was also prohibited from international traveling.  In 2007, the local government prevented her from travel to the Philippines to accept the Magsaysay award on behalf of her husband.  The couple’s children are not permitted to enroll at school.

According to Yuan, she has been able to visit her husband only one time on December 31, 2008 since Chen’s imprisonment.   She says that Chen has had diarrhea since July 2008, but received no treatment.

Amnesty International called to stop the continuing harassment and attacks on Yang Weijing. Roseann Rife, the deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Programme, says that
“The continued virtual house arrest of Yuan Weijing is illegal. While national authorities are touting the new National Human Rights Action Plan, we see local authorities flagrantly violating the law in this case.”

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – Wife of Chinese human rights activist beaten – 21 April 2009

Epoch Times – Blind Chinese Activist’s Wife Under House Arrest For Over Three Years – 21 April 2009

Time – Chen Guangcheng – 30 April 2006

Human Rights Watch – Chronology of Chen Guangcheng’s Case – 18 July 2006