By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Tibet will mark the 50th anniversary of the failed uprising against Chinese rule on March 10, 2009.  Because of the failed uprising, the Dalai Lama fled the country and established the exiled government in India.  Now, Chinese authorities imposed “de facto martial law”, and deployed police and soldiers throughout Tibet to prevent a repeat of last year’s riot on the anniversary.

Last March, the riots erupted in the region after Chinese security forces suppressed a protest by monks in Lhasa.  At least 19 Han civilians were killed in Lhasa, according to Xinhua, the state news agency.  About 220 Tibetans were killed, nearly 1,300 were injured and nearly 7,000 were detained or imprisoned after the crackdown, according to the Tibetan government in exile, which is based in Dharamsala, India.

Now, Chinese leaders are preparing for the worst situation.  They ordered the largest troop deployment since the Sichuan earthquake last spring. Foreign journalists are not allowed in the region. Police patrols have increased near Buddhist monasteries and the number of checkpoints has increased.

Chinese officials also confirmed a tight security buildup along Tibet’s border with the Himalayan regions of India and Nepal. The Chinese government has warned that pro-independence Tibetans not to enter Tibet.  The Ministry of Public Security’s Border Control Department says it’s preparing to “fully protect the stability of Tibet’s frontier region”.

There are no signs of protests now, residents say, because the city is completely locked down.  “The security forces are everywhere, on every corner, day and night,” said a Tibetan woman. When asked her opinion about the current situation, she says, “we Tibetans who do business is under a lot of pressure, so we have to keep quiet. I can’t say I disagree with the policies of the Chinese. It’s their country, and we’re only a minority.”

Human rights watch reported that hundreds of Tibetans are still unaccounted for a year after China cracked down on March 2008 protests.  The report shows that thousands of arbitrary arrests, and more than 100 trials pushed through the judicial system.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Deep divisions over Tibet anniversary – 09 March 2009

Human Rights Watch – China: Hundreds of Tibetan Detainees and Prisoners Unaccounted for – 09 March 2009

New York Times – 50 Years After Revolt, Clampdown on Tibetans – 05 March 2009

Washington Post – Tibetans Rally 50 Years After Uprising – 09 March 2009

Voice of American – China Braces for Protests on 50th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising – 10 March 2009

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lankan police arrested Nadesapillai Vithyatharan, editor of pro-rebel newspaper, Sudar Oli, on February 26.  Vithyatharan is accused of aiding the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in an airstrike over Colombo on February 20.

Three police officers and three more in plain clothes arrested Vithyatharan while he was attending a funeral.  They hit people who tried to prevent the arrest.

Rights groups, such as the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, call for Vithyatharan’s guaranteed safety and immediate release.

“Nadesapillai Vithyatharan has been a respected journalist for more than 25 years in Sri Lanka,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator.  “The nature of his arrest and the allegations . . . point to more government repression of critical reporting. We call for his immediate release and are concerned that like other arrested journalists he will be held for a lengthy period. This is a tactic we have seen before in Sri Lanka.”

Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the arrest and demands his immediate release.  “Carried out without a warrant, this arrest was a violation of the rule of law,” it said.  “The police must release Vithyatharan without delay.  What is this respected Tamil editor accused of?  Outspoken coverage of the situation in Sri Lanka, including the fate of its Tamil population.”

Sri Lanka Media minister, Laxman Yapa, stated that Vithyatharan was being questioned by the Colombo Crimes Division (CDC).  “He is currently being interrogated and his relatives will be able to see him this evening,”  he said.  “I can assure you that he is all right.  And the press will be informed tomorrow.”

A spokesman for the police stated that Vithyatharan would be questioned to determine whether formal charges would be brought against him.

The CPJ reports that Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places for journalists citing casualties of more than a dozen since August 2005.

Despite government assurances that they are investigating recent attacks on journalists, those responsible rarely face any punishment.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Sri Lanka Editor Accused of Aiding Rebel Airstrike – 26 February 2009

CBC News – Journalists Group Decries Detainment of Tamil Newspaper Editor – 1 March 2009

Reporters Without Borders – Newspaper Editor Accused of Helping Rebels, Reporters Without Borders Rebuts Claim – 27 February 2009

TamilNet – RSF Seeks Guarantee of Vithyatharan’s Safety – 26 February 2009

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SRI LANKA – Human Rights Watch calls upon the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to agree to cooperatively release civilians trapped in the war zone, known as the Vanni.  The rights group states that evacuation is necessary because the civilians are at grave risk of death and aid shortages as a result of the fighting.  In the past two months, over 2,000 civilians have been killed and thousands more have been injured.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) agreed that civilians should be evacuated and aid should allowed into the war zone. Although there have been many deaths, “it would be possible to avoid further unnecessary suffering and death by allowing civilians who want to leave to get out of the area,” said Jacques de Maio, ICRC head of operations for South Asia.

The United Nations (UN) said that the situation in Sri Lanka is an “unfolding humanitarian catastrophe” because of the lack of food and medicine.  “Deaths associated with a lack of food have become a reality,” said Gordon Weiss, a UN spokesman.  “A shortage of medicine led to the deaths of nine children who had preventable diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis in late February.”

Both the Sri Lankan government and the Tiger rebels have been criticized for violating international humanitarian law.

The government is accused of firing at densely populated areas, even those declared as “safe zones.” Dr. Thurairaja Varatharajah, a top government health official, confirms that the safety of civilians seems to be of little concern to the government in the fighting.  “Day and night they are shelling.  There isn’t any gap,” he said.  He added that the firing occurs inside and outside the safety zones and that the death toll is rising because the area is so densely packed with civilians.  However, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara refutes this accusation, stating that the military hardly uses any artillery.  “We don’t even use shells now.  It’s all house-to-house fighting, street-to-street.”

The LTTE is accused of preventing civilians from leaving war zones, deploying forces near civilians using them as “human shields”, firing upon civilians fleeing to government territory, and even recruiting children to fight on their behalf.  On the other hand, the LTTE claims that the civilians want to stay.  “These people belong to this land, so why would they need to leave these areas?” said a rebel leader who identified himself only as Thileepan.

Verification of these allegations is near impossible since journalists are banned from the area.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Rights Group:  Free Civilians from Sri Lankan War – 5 March 2009

Human Rights Watch – Sri Lanka:  Urgently Evacuate Civilians – 4 March 2009

TamilNet – Sri Lanka War Crimes Under U.S. Spotlight – 26 February 2009