By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – A Tibetan Buddhist monk, who identified himself as Jigme, went into hiding after Chinese security agents visited his home last week.  According to Jigme, he was detained on March 21 and accused of participating in this spring’s uprising against Chinese rule across Tibet.  He said that he was questioned and abused for two days at the People’s Armed Police guesthouse in the Gansu province town of Xiahe.  “They hung me up by my hands and beat me hard all over with their fists,” Jigme told the AP by phone Friday.  Similar treatment was meted out to other Tibetan prisoners, while family members were refused permission to bring them additional food and warm clothing, he says.  After several weeks of interrogation and abuse, he was released for medical reasons.  Jigme states that he took no part in the violent protests that followed deadly rioting in Tibet’s capital of Lhasa on March 14.

According to Jigme, political indoctrination campaigns had intensified in Tibet.  Monks are forced to attend twice-weekly “patriotic education” classes where they are told to shun all contact with the Dalai Lama and his followers.  The Dalai Lama is accused by China of fomenting the spring protests.
A police officer contacted by phone in Xiahe, who gave only his surname, Liu, said he had no information about Jigme’s case. Officials at the Communist Party management committee also said they had no knowledge of such a case and refused to give their names, making Jigme’s claims impossible to verify.  However, the basic facts of his story correspond with testimony given by monks and nuns detained in previous campaigns and widely reported by credible overseas human rights groups.

Furthermore, Reporters Without Borders calls on the Chinese authorities to release Dhondup Wangchen, and Jigme Gyatso. They have been detained since March 2008 for filming interviews with Tibetans.  Neither of their families has had any news of them for the past five and a half months.  The film produced by Wangchen and Gyatso is a 25-minute documentary entitled Leaving Fear Behind (www.leavingfearbehind.com).  It shows Tibetans in the Amdo region expressing their views on the Dalai Lama, the Olympic Games, and Chinese legislation.

For more information, please see:

AP – Tibet monk in hiding tells of interrogation, abuse – 14 September 2008

Reporters without Borders – Two Tibetan documentary filmmakers held for past six months in Tibet – 16 September 2008

Voice of America – Report: Tibetan Monk in Hiding from Chinese – 15 September 2008

By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysian authorities arrested three persons under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows the government to hold them indefinitely without a trial.

All three were accused of inflaming racial and religious tensions. The three persons included Teresa Kok, a member of Parliament; Tan Hoon Cheng, a journalist; and Raja Petra Kamaruddin, a prominent blogger.

There have been several accusations that the arrests are an attempt to keep the present government in power. The opposition has threatened to bring down the present government by persuading parliamentarians to defect. Last March, the opposition received historic levels of support in a general election. With the election, the government’s ability to change the constitution was removed. .

In response to the arrests, a senior opposition politician Lim Guan Eng said, “The government must be deluded if they think that they can break us because we will not be broken, we will not be bent.”

There have been several protests since the ISA arrests, but police have broken up several demonstrations. However, 400 persons were able to hold a vigil near the capital for Teresa Kok. Protestors lit candles and prayed for the jailed Parliament member. Many shouted, “Free Teresa” and “Abolish the ISA.” A protestor at the vigil said, “I think they are panicking for whatever they are doing now, they are running out of options, and they are trying whatever way that they can to maintain their power.”

Opposition members fear a repeat of the arrests of 1987, where almost 120 activists, politicians, and journalists were charged under the ISA after the then Prime Minster Mahathir Mohamad blamed the media for playing up racial issues.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Malaysian Arrests Draw Protests – 13 September 2008

Reuters – Malaysia’s Anwar Hits Out at Political Arrests – 13 September 2008

Reporters Without Borders – Use of Internal Security Law is Serious Press Violation, Interior Minister Told – 16 September 2008

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. and NATO air strikes in Afghanistan have increased civilian casualties, nearly tripling the number of deaths from 2006 to 2007.  Although deaths have decreased this year, current air strikes undermine international protection efforts in Afghanistan.  These include the July 6, 2008 helicopter attack on two civilian vehicles that claimed 22 lives and the August 22, 2008 bombing in Azizabad.

“Rapid response air strikes have meant higher civilian casualties, while every bomb dropped in populated areas amplifies the chance of a mistake,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Mistakes by the U.S. and NATO have dramatically decreased public support for the Afghan government and the presence of international forces providing security to Afghans.”

Human Rights Watch reported on the use of air strikes by U.S. and NATO forces and its effect on civilians casualties during situations of lack of ground support and emergency, here.  It is reported that few civilian deaths resulted from planned strikes while all deaths occur from unplanned strikes.  The report also found that the Taliban often deployed their troops in populated villages in order for civilians to act as shield from counterattacks, in violation of the laws of war.

In July 2007, in response to the high level of civilian casualties, the International Security Assistance Force declared targeting tactic changes.  Employing smaller munitions, delaying attacks where civilians might be harmed, and turning over house-to-house searches to the Afghan National Army are among these changes.  Despite evidence that there was a reduction in the civilian death toll, civilian deaths still increased on account of air strikes just this past summer.  “The recent air strikes killing dozens of Afghans make clear that the system is still broken and that civilians continue to pay the ultimate price,” said Adams. “Civilian deaths from air strikes act as a recruiting tool for the Taliban and risk fatally undermining the international effort to provide basic security to the people of Afghanistan.”

For more information, please see:

Asia Times Online – Civilians Ravaged by US-NATO Bombs – 12 September 2008

CNN – Afghanistan:  Airstrikes Kill Civilians – 05 July 2008

Human Rights Watch – Afghanistan:  Civilian Deaths from Airstrikes – 08 September 2008

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The Tamils or Tamil Tigers, who make up the minority population have rebelled against the majority Sinhalese since 1983.  The rebels have desired to secede from Sri Lanka due to the marginalization of the government controlled by the Sinhalese.  Since then, 70,000 people have reportedly been killed because of the fighting.

Last week, the Sri Lankan military attacked the Tigers in an effort to regain the rebel controlled territory, primarily in the north and eastern parts of the country.  The government’s military offensive included air strikes, helicopter attacks and ground assaults.  Fighter aircraft attacked a Tiger intelligence center in the north in response to a Tiger air raid of a military base.  As a result, a reported 47 rebels were killed and 13 military soldiers were dead or missing.

Just in this past week, thousands of civilians were forced to flee their homes.  According to Amnesty International, approximately one third are living in open air with no shelter.  Many cannot receive food, tents or other goods due to restrictions on what passes through rebel territory.  The rebels have also restricted the movement of civilians out of the territory.  The government has even held civilians in de facto detention centers, not allowing them to leave except for food.

“Both sides to this long conflict have again shown that they will jeopardize the lives of thousands of ordinary people in the pursuit of military objectives,” said Yolanda Foster. “In the absence of independent international monitors, Sri Lankan civilians lack protection and remain at the mercy of two forces with long records of abuse.”

The UN Secretary General stated that the conflict had “grave humanitarian consequences for civilians”.  Moreover, “he reminds all concerned of their responsibility to take active steps to ensure the safety and freedom of movement of civilians, allowing humanitarian organizations to do their work in safety, as well as to reach persons affected by the fighting who need humanitarian assistance,” a statement said.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – Sri Lanka:  Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Government endangering tens of thousands of lives – 14 August 2008

Asia Times Online – Civilians Caught in Sri Lanka’s ‘Clean War’ – 11 September 2008

BBC – Sri Lanka Jets Bomb ‘Rebel Base’ – 10 September 2008

USA Today – Sri Lankan Military:  47 Tamil Tiger Fighters Killed in Fighting – 03 September 2008

By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand – Sulak Sivaraksa, a prominent intellectual, was arrested on a charge of insulting the Thai monarchy.  The offense may lead to a 15 year sentence for the 75 year old intellectual.

Sivaraksa was arrested for remarks he made in December last year to mark International Human Rights Day. Sivaraksa’s lawyer would not quote the passages from the speech on philosophy, society, and human rights.  However, reports indicate that the speech was broadly critical of government spending on the lavish 2006 celebrations for King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Golden Jubilee. Sivaraksa’s lawyer stated that Sivaraksa considered his critical remarks to be an effort to protect the monarchy.

Although almost all Thais revere the monarchy and admire the king, the specific charge of lese majeste is often used for political purposes.  The timing of Sivaraksa’s arrest comes amid a struggle between the royalist, military “old guard,” represented loosely by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) street campaign, and forces loyal to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.  Although the monarchy is considered to “be in the middle and working in every field,” Queen Sirikit’s recent attendance at the funeral of a PAD protester killed in clashes has led many to believe the monarchy supports the campaign to oust the elected government.

“The more clear it becomes that the monarchy is caught up in politics, the more they are attempting to clamp down on local and international discussion of this role.  It seems that the authorities are trying to keep a lid on discussion of this political role,” said Thailand researcher Andrew Walker of Australian National University in Canberra.

The Thai police are presently investigating 30 other similar cases.  One includes an Australian writer, who is presently in jail, awaiting formal charges for allegedly inappropriate passages in a novel.

Sivaraksa was educated in Britain and has been associated with reformist movements since the 1960’s.  During the 1960’s he was a mentor to students who took part in an uprising against military dictatorship in 1973.  He fled abroad after a right-wing counterrevolution in 1976, the first of several periods he spent in exile.

For more information, please see:

AP – Thai Intellectual Arrested on Anti-Monarchy Charge – 7 November 2008

Bangkok Post – Sulak Arrested – 8 November 2008

Reuters – Arrest of Thai Academic Raises Free Speech Fears – 7 November 2008