By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

BEIJING, China – Recent reports from the state media allege that the Sula Group, the company at the center of the milk scandal in China, asked governmental authorities to help cover-up the extent of the problem, making them aware of the danger months ago.

Shijiazhuang city government spokesman Wang Jianguo said they had been asked by the Sanlu Group for help in “managing” the media response to the case when first told of the issue on August 2nd.  Government officials were told six days before the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

China admitted that the Shijiazhuang city government was aware of the tainted milk problems but refused to release any warnings because China was in the middle of hosting the Olympics.  Recently, Beijing fired several Shijiazhuang officials, including the city’s Communist Party chief, for the attempted cover-up.

In the letter from the Sanlu Group to city officials, the group stated, “Please can the government increase control and coordination of the media, to create a good environment for the recall of the company’s problem products.  This is to avoid whipping up the issue and creating a negative influence in society.”

Reporters Without Borders has also released reports that Beijing ordered news of the tainted milk scandal to remain quiet during the Olympics.  Reporters Without Borders wrote, “Several Chinese journalists have said that it is becoming more and more obvious that the authorities in July prevented an investigation into the toxic milk coming out so as not to tarnish China’s image before the Olympics.”

Chito Sta. Romana, chief of the ABC News Bureau in China, stated the scandal was proof of a “failure of the Chinese system of governance.”  He added, “It’s the result of the greed that has been unleashed on Chinese society by the economic reforms [and is proof] of the failure of the system of governance,” he said at a Sulo Hotel press forum in Quezon City.

China’s latest food safety problem arises out of the illegal addition of the industrial chemical melamine to milk to cheat in quality tests.  Thus far, 53,000 children have gotten sick from the tainted milk and four have died.  

For more information, please see:

AFP – China Vows to Clean Up Dairy Industry, More Children Ill – 6 October 2008

Inquirer.net – China Cover-Up More Damaging—Journalist – 5 October 2008

Reuters – China Milk Scandal Firm Asked for Cover-Up Help – 1 October 2008

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar – A prominent political ally of the detained pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been arrested in Burma.  64-year-old Ohn Kyaing was taken from his home on Wednesday, according to the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD).

NLD spokesman Nyan Win told the Associated Press the reasons for the arrest were still not known, but he pointed that Ohn Kyaing had been very involved in efforts to help the survivors of the cyclone that devastated Burma in May.

Ohn Kyaing joined the NLD after a long career in journalism and won a parliamentary seat in 1990 that was annulled by the military.  The Military Intelligence Service arrested Ohn Kyaing in September 1990.  He was sentenced to 17 years in prison for “writing and distributing seditious pamphlets” and “threatening the security of the state.”  After serving 15 years of a 17-year prison sentence, Ohn Kyaing was released from prison in 2005.

Ohn Kyaing is a close friend and former colleague of Win Tin, another former journalist turned opposition politician, who was the longest-serving political prisoner in Myanmar until his release September 23, 2008.  Win Tin said, Ohn Kyaing’s “is not unusual and something we have to expect. He is a close colleague, a good friend and a highly qualified man.”

Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association call for the immediate release of well-known former journalist Ohn Kyaing.  The two organizations say, “Despite last month’s release of about 9,000 detainees, including a handful of political prisoners, the military regime continues to arrest opposition members.”

Top United Nations human rights officials also called on Myanmar’s military junta to free the estimated 2,000 political prisoners it holds and end the detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

For more information, please see:

AP – Myanmar detains political ally of Aung San Suu Kyi – 02 October 2008

BBC – Burma opposition figure arrested – 02 October 2008

Bloomberg – Myanmar Should Free 2,000 Political Prisoners, Suu Kyi, UN Says – 03 October 2008

CNN – Myanmar detains ally of Aung San Suu Kyi – 02 October 2008

Reporters Without Borders – Journalist and opposition member Ohn Kyaing arrested again – 02 October 2008

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DELHI, India – Religious clashes among the Hindus and the Christian minority has caused violence to erupt in two Christian villages in the state of Orissa.  Two homes and one church were set on fire, resulting in the killing of one person.  Christians have responded with some violence.

What has sparked the violence was the murder of Hindu holy man Swami Laxamananda Saraswati and four of his followers on August 23rd.  Holding Christians responsible, Hindu attacks on Christian villages, churches and people followed.  Since the murder in August, 32 people have died and thousands of Christians fled their homes.  The number of Christians living in relief camps has increased from 12,000 to 20,000.

Christians make up 2.3 percent of India’s population.  Tension began to mount as early as the 1990’s when Hindus blamed missionaries of converting Hindus to Christianity.  In response to the violence, Premier Manmohan Singh’s stated that the attacks in Orissa were a “national shame” and that his government had taken a “firm stand” to halt it.  Authorities have imposed a curfew in at least nine towns and over 3,700 federal police have been deployed in Orissa, yet the violence continues.  It is believed that the government is turning a blind eye to the attacks.

Amnesty International urged that “India should match its words with its actions and ensure that members of the Christian minority community in Orissa are protected against renewed communal violence.”  They also state that New Delhi should “conduct a prompt and impartial investigation into the attacks… publish the results and bring those responsible to justice.”

Pope Benedict has also condemned the attacks and urged the European Union to treat persecution of Christians as a humanitarian emergency.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Amnesty Urges India to Protect Minority Christians – 2 October 2008

The Economist – Hindu-Christian Tensions in India – 25 September 2008

Reuters – India Authorities Impose Curfew, Christians Attacked – 1 October 2008

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – With the coming of Eid al-Fitr, there is a boost in the glass bangles industry, and an increase in the child labor it takes to meet the high demand.  One child worker states, “Usually we work eight or nine hours a day. At busy times like this we work for up to 16.”  He earns approximately $13 per month.  Another child said, “Our parents are very poor. We have to work, though I would like to go to school.  If the workshop owner is happy with our work he may give us some extra money and then our parents will be happy.“

The International Labour Organization (ILO) conducted a study of the glass bangles industry and found that, on average, children worked nearly 12 hours per day.  Children sit hunched over hot furnaces and are subject to toxic chemicals, putting their health at risk.

Non-governmental organizations such as the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), based in Islamabad, estimate approximately 8 to 10 million children are exploited for work.  According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics, 3.3 million are engaged in the glass bangle industry.

SPARC’s national manager for promotions stated that it is not poverty that leads to exploitation, “The notion that poverty is a cause is inaccurate. In fact child labor itself leads to poverty and creates a vicious circle… The high drop-out rate from schools, with 50 percent leaving education within the first five years of primary education, also contributes to child labor.”  Moreover, the lack of awareness attributes to Pakistani child labor since consumers do not know how the bangles are made.

A study conducted by Save the Children said that, “eradication of this labour is not a viable option unless new avenues and opportunities are created.”  They also point out that one impediment is that there are few work alternatives and few pay as much.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Pakistan Labour Effort Praised – 4 May 2006

Irin – Pakistan:  The Darker Side of Glittering Bangles – 3 October 2008

IPS – Rights-Pakistan:  Glass Bangle Industry Rides on Child Labour – 20 June 2003

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – The Khmer Rouge trial has been delayed until next year. The delay results from new charges being brought against Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, one of the defendants on trial. “The chance to have a trial for Duch could be in 2009, early next year,” said a tribunal spokesman.

The United States has also pledged $1.8 million dollars to help the efforts of the tribunal.  This is the first donation from the United States because of worries of corruption since the establishment of the tribunal.

The Extraordinary Chambers in Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) was established by both the United Nations and the Cambodian government in 2001 to investigate and try surviving Khmer Rouge officials. ECCC uses both Cambodian and International law.

In May 2008, the ECCC banned communication amongst defendants during pre-trial. The Pre-Trial Chamber approved the “strict separation between the detainees,” taking away “the right to communicate among themselves.” However, this past Thursday the ECCC overturned the segregation order. The Pre-Trial Chamber found “that there can be no reason related to investigation purposes justifying that contacts between [defendants] be restricted.”

The Khmer Rouge tribunal has been an international effort to bring to justice the 1.7 million people that perished under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime from 1975-1979.

Currently, five key Khmer Rouge officers are on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Pol Pot, the dictator of the Khmer Rouge regime died in 1998 without ever being brought to justice.

For more information, please see:

Boston Globe – Cambodia’s Genocide Trial Delayed Until Next Year – 2 October 2008

Jurist – ECCC Ends Ban On Communication Among Defendants in Pretrial Detention – 2 October 2008

New York Times – Cambodia: U.S. Pledges Funds to Khmer Rouge Tribunal– 17 September 2008