By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The Sri Lankan military declared a “safety zone” for the 250,000 civilians trapped in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)’s stronghold.  The military offensives have backed the LTTE into the town of Mullaitivu, located in Sri Lanka’s northeastern province.

Air force planes dropped thousands of leaflets to urge civilians to travel to the safety zone where the army will then transport them into government territory away from warfare.  The safety zone is a 14 square mile zone located in rebel territory.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said, “We will not fire into that area.”

The government says that it has set up temporary shelters in the Vavuniya area, south of the fighting.

The war between the Tiger rebels and the government have raised serious human rights concerns regarding the displaced civilians.  Human Rights Watch has accused the Tigers of preventing the freedom of movement of the people.  On the other hand, the Tigers claim that they protect the civilians who follow them of their own free will.

There is no way to confirm accounts since people are restricted people from going in and out of the area.

A day after the military declared a safe zone, the pro-rebel Tamil website, TamilNet, said that the army shelled a hospital, killing at least five civilians, in the Tiger controlled territory.

The military denied the allegations, stating that there was no need to fire at the hospital and that the statement was merely propaganda.

The LTTE have been fighting for decades to establish an independent homeland for the minority Tamils who claim they have suffered oppression by the Sri Lankan government and majority.  There have been over 270,000 deaths as a result of the violence.

The United Nations calls upon the Tigers to allow free passage to civilians and to UN staff to allow aid inside the territory.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – 250,000 Tamil Civilians Urged to Flee to Safety – 21 January 2009

BBC – Civilians ‘Die in Lanka Shelling’ – 22 January 2009

New York Times – Sri Lanka Presses Rebels, but at a Mounting Cost – 22 January 2009

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

AFGHANISTAN – Human Rights Watch claims that the U.S. investigation into the August 2008 air strikes on western Afghanistan was “deeply flawed” and thereby casts doubt over the military’s commitment to reduce civilian casualties.

On October 1, 2008, the Department of Defense published a summary of a report by Brigadier General Michael Callan of the August air strikes in Azizabad.

Following the summary, Human Rights Watch conducted its own investigations into the matter.

“The weaknesses in the Callan Report Summary call into question the depth of the Defense Department’s commitment to institute reforms that would reduce civilian casualties,” Human Rights Watch said in a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Separate investigations were conducted by the United Nations (UN), the Afghani government, and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.  Their investigations concluded that about 78 to 92 civilians were killed, whereas the Callan summary only reported five to seven.

After receiving much criticism by the UN and Afghani government, and the release of video footage demonstrating a high number of civilian deaths, the U.S. conducted its own investigation led by General Callan.

As a result, the Callan summary accepted that 33 civilians were killed, failing to recognize the numbers arrived at by the UN and government of Afghanistan and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commision; criticized their methodology; failing to acknowledge flaws in their own assessments, and; disimissing villager testimony.

The UN backs the government of Afghanistan.

“This is a matter of grave concern to the United Nations.  I have repeatedly made clear that the safety and welfare of civilians must be considered above all else during the planning and conduct of all military operations.  The impact of such operations undermines the trust and confidence of the Afghan people in efforts to build a just, peaceful and law-abiding state,” stated Kai Eide, the UN special envoy to Afghanistan.

Human Rights Watch, Asia Director Brad Adams stated, “There was great hope in Afghanistan that the Callan report would provide a credible and detailed analysis of the Azizabad airstrikes, place blame where it gell, lead to appropriate disciplinary action, and result in operational changes that would avoid such tragedies in the future.  Unfortunately, this has not happened.”

This year, there is an expected 30,000 increase in U.S. troops in Afghanistan and the civilian death toll could increase if military procedures remain unchanged.

For more information, please see:

Guardian – Afghanistan Demands End to NATO Air Strikes on Villagers – 26 August 2008

Human Rights Watch – Afghanistan:  U.S. Investigation of Airstrike Deaths ‘Deeply Flawed’ – 15 January 2009

Human Rights Watch – Troops in Contact:  Air Strikes and Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan – 8 September 2008

Reuters – U.S. Probe into Afghan Civil Deaths “Flawed” – 15 January 2009

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – An international writers’ organization has called on the Chinese government to release dissident Liu Xiaobo.  More than 300 writers, including Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Chinese novelists Ha Jin and Jung Chang, signed the call for Liu’s release, writers group International PEN said.

Liu was arrested last month after he issued an online petition called Charter 08. Around 300 Chinese dissidents and intellectuals signed the text.  Despite censors repeatedly removing references to the charter from websites, supporters say that 7,000 more have added their names.  Charter 08 called for greater rights for Chinese, direct elections and political and fiscal reforms.

Since the issue of Charter 08, Chinese authority constantly harassed some of the Charter signatories.  But Liu is the only signatory to have been detained for an extended period.  Police appear to believe that he took a lead in drafting the document. Others say they have been questioned repeatedly regarding the Charter and Liu’s role in its preparation.

Under Chinese laws, Liu Xiaobo could be held under “residential surveillance” for a maximum of six months.  He is not allowed to leave his residence or meet people without prior police approval during this time.  The Chinese authority has not yet made public any information concerning the charges against him.

Liu was not allowed to meet his lawyer or family, except during the New Year’s Day lunch (with his wife and two police officers).  “He was unshaven, and to me he looked a little thinner,” Liu’s wife, Liu Xia, said. “We could only really discuss family matters during lunch.”  He does not have the right of access to a judge to challenge the grounds of his detention, unless his detention exceeds the six-month limit.

“The use of such detention without formal arrest or charge against peaceful activists is arbitrary and in violation of international human rights standards, including the rights to liberty, security of person and fair trial,” said Roseann Rife, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Programme.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – China urged to release scholar Liu Xiaobo from ‘residential surveillance’ – 07 January 2009

Guardian – Authors lobby for Chinese dissident’s release – 21 January 2009

BBC – Authors urge Liu Xiaobo release – 21 January 2009

Reuters – Writers call for China dissident’s release – 21 January 2009