HANOI, Vietnam – Protests and violence broke out between the Vietnamese government and the Catholic Church in Vietnam regarding religious land disputes in central Hanoi. As many as 3,000 Catholics have gathered from all around Vietnam to hold vigils and protests in Hanoi. Tensions rose last Friday when the Vietnamese government started bulldozing the disputed area. Protesters said they were beaten by batons, and the police shot tear gas canisters into the crowds. The Hanoi Police denied the incident and said it was merely an “unintentional scuffle” that happened between the protesters and the police.

Since last December, protesters have been holding protests to what they believed to be an unjustified taking of lands, which was formerly a Vatican embassy and residence. However, the Vietnamese government claimed that under Vietnam law, land under management and socialist reform policies enacted in 1991 cannot be claimed. This law has generated more than 200 land disputes in Vietnam. The recent protests have been the most publicized.

The Vietnamese government criticized the area’s Thai Ha parishioners for instigating “public dissidence” in Hanoi.  In order to avoid more public outcry, Vietnamese authorities attempted to appease protesters by converting the land into a National Park and a public library for the “interest of the people.” However, many Catholics still view the disputed land as sacred and the protests continue.

For more information, please see:

AP – Vietnam Denies Use of Stun Gun to Break Protests – 29 August 2008

BBC – Vietnam Warns Priests Over Land – 23 September 2008

BBC – Prayers and Protest in Vietnam – 2 September 2008

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PYONGYANG, North Korea – An independent report commissioned by the former leaders of the Czech Republic and Norway and a Nobel peace laureate, urged the international community to increase its level of intervention on North Korea’s human rights issues.  The report said the international community has far too long neglected the human rights situation in North Korea because of the nuclear threat.  The report comes as six-nation nuclear negotiations have stalled, with North Korea threatening to restart its nuclear reactor.  It said the discussion of human rights in those disarmament talks has largely been an “issue of secondary concern.”

The report pointed out one of the most pressing problems in North Korea – food distribution.  “Large segments of the North Korean population never receive any of the food provided by international relief agencies and other countries,” it said, noting that prisons still operate with “brutality and massive disregard for basic human rights.”  The report suggested that all dialogue with North Korea must make as a starting point Pyongyang’s commitment under global treaties and laws on rights and other issues, including the nuclear talks.  The report followed a 2006 assessment that accused Pyongyang of failing to live up to its responsibility under international law to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity.

North Korea recently took steps to restart its nuclear program after agreeing in November to dismantle it as part of an aid-for-disarmament deal. North Korea asked the International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday to remove seals and surveillance equipment from a key nuclear facility, the UN nuclear watchdog said Monday.  The request came three days after North Korea confirmed it was working to restart the Yongbyon reactor, and no longer wanted US concessions promised under the aid-for-disarmament agreement. US State Department spokesperson Robert Wood told reporters at a news briefing that Washington is “very concerned” about North Korea’s actions. The six-nation aid-for-disarmament deal is deadlocked due to a dispute over verification of the declaration of the North’s nuclear program, which it delivered in June as part of the agreement.

For more information, please see:

AP – North Korea wants seals removed at nuclear plant: IAEA – 22 September 2008

KBS – NGO Urges Participation in NK Human Rights Issues – 23 September 2008

International Herald Tribune – Report faults North Korean human rights – 23 September 2008

Reuters – World seen neglecting N. Korea human rights abuses – 22 September 2008

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar – Shortly before the anniversary of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising and last year’s Buddhist-monk-led Saffron Revolution, two leading dissident websites in Myanmar have been shut down by a sophisticated cyber attack. The websites, run by the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and the Irrawaddy news magazine, are operated by exiles outside Myanmar.  These websites are one of the few remaining sources of reliable news for people in Myanmar, however both were disabled on Wednesday.

Irrawaddy said Thai web host I-NET had confirmed on Wednesday its site had been under “distributed denial-of-service” assault.  Aung Zaw, editor-in-chief of the Irrawaddy online magazine, says his staff is gathering evidence and believes it will be able to identify the attackers.  He believes that the junta is behind the attack, just as it was behind the shutdown of Internet access in Burma during last year’s uprising.  Myanmar’s military junta has launched a series of crippling cyberspace attacks on dissident websites on the first anniversary of major protest marches by Buddhist monks, the Irrawaddy websites said on Friday.

DVB’s Thailand bureau chief, Toe Zaw Latt, said the agency’s website was only a small part of its reporting operations, and two major sources of news inside Myanmar, its radio and satellite television stations, both remained up and running.  The Internet inside Myanmar had also been running slower than its normal snail’s pace this week and Internet cafes had come under unusually tight surveillance, the Irrawaddy said.  Security was also tight on the streets of Yangon, with some vehicle checkpoints, one diplomat said.

For more information, please see:

Radio Free Asia – Cyber-Attacks on Burmese Web Sites – 19 September 2008

Reuters – Myanmar junta takes out critical websites – dissidents – 19 September 2008

Wall Street Journal – The Generals Go Cyber? – 19 September 2008

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COTABATO, Philippines – The Philippine Military accused the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) of using children as soldiers against the government.  Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita revealed that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will inform the UN General Assembly in New York this Thursday, citing a video clip of MILF’s human rights violations.

A member of the army’s 6th Infantry Division, Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando, stated that troops seized a video from a captured MILF base in Maguindanao.  Footage shows MILF’s recruitment and training of children.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits state governments and armed groups from using children under the age of 18 in armed conflict. However, although they admit to deploying young soldiers, MILF denies the use of children in their ranks.  Eid Kabalu, a senior rebel leader and civil miltary affairs chief, stated, “We have young members and these are the sons and even relatives of MILF []. We teach these young revolutionaries how to defend themselves from aggressors. They are not child warriors . . . .”  Furthermore, Muhammad Ameen, deputy chair of the MILF’s information committee, said, “We hope the United Nations will not try us in absentia and provide us an avenue to air our side and present evidence that the government is the one killing our children.”

The Mindanao conflict ensued last month when the government canceled a land deal with MILF.  It escalated after August 4th, when the Supreme Court entered a temporary restraining order against the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.  The Memorandum aimed to formally open negotiations between the government and MILF to end the four decade conflict and expand MILF territory.  Angered by the aborted agreement, MILF attacked multiple towns and villages in Muslim Mindanao, which has affected more than half a million people.

Peace negotiations have ceased between the government and MILF and the government peace panel has since been dissolved.

For more information, please see:

ABS CBN News – Humanitarian Situation Still “Grim” in Mindanao Conflict Areas– 17 September 2008

Amnesty International – Mindanao Citizens Under Threat From MILF Units and Militias – 22 August 2008

Inquirer.net – MILF Welcomes Gov’t Plan to Bring Child Warrior Issue to UN – 20 September 2008

Mindanao Examiner – Philippine Military Accused MILF of Using Child Soldiers in Mindanao – 12 September 2008

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DELHI, India –  In the northeastern state of Manipur, the army has engaged in various human rights violations such as killings, torture, use of bombs and landmines, forced recruitment and extortion.  This has caused an insurgency in Manipur against the armed forces.

For the past 50 years, pursuant to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), the army has  been granted immunity from their human rights violations.  The Act empowers the military to conduct warrantless arrests, shoot-to-kill and destroy property.  More importantly, it protects them from the prosecution of serious crimes, thus allowing impunity to easily occur.

“Soldiers and police are protected by laws granting immunity and officials unwilling to hold them accountable for serious crimes,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior researcher on South Asia at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “These laws perpetuate human rights abuses, which drive civilians to seek the protection of one or other armed group.”

On September 15, 2008, Human Rights Watch released their report, “These Fellows Must Be Eliminated:  Relentless Violence and Impunity in Manipur.”  This report details several cases where victim suspects are executed and tortured.  Victims also report how they were arbitrarily arrested, subjected to electric shocks, severely beaten and many have been subjected to waterboarding.

Despite various reports by the United Nations and various other human rights organizations, the Indian government has done nothing.  “The Indian government has not only ignored the pleas of ordinary Manipuris and UN human rights bodies to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, but has even ignored the findings of its own committee,” said Ganguly. “This reflects the sort of callousness that breeds anger, hate and further violence.”

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – India:  Army Killings Fuel Insurgency in Manipur – 15 September 2008

Human Rights Watch – Getting Away With Murder:  50 Years of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act – 18 August 2008

Human Rights Watch – India:  Repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Act – 18 August 2008

Human Rights Watch – These Fellows Must Be Eliminated:  Relentless Violence and Impunity in Manipur – 15 September 2008