By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The Malaysian government arrested Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin, Malaysian’s top anti-government blogger, this past Friday. In 2007, the Malaysian government passed the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA) to allow the government to arrest and detain citizens up to a month without explanation. The ISA has been criticized as an encroachment on free speech.

Raja Petra was arrested for allegedly publishing material that ridiculed Islam and government authorities on his widely read website, Malaysia Today. Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin’s arrest came after the government attempted to stop Internet service providers from allowing access to Malaysia Today. This was the first time the Malaysian government ordered the closure of a website.

Tensions broke out between the leader of the opposition party, Anwar Ibrahim and the Malay Muslim ruling party, who accused ethic Chinese for being power hungry. Anwar and the People Justice Party threatened to march the streets and topple the government.

Raja Petra’s arrest has stirred international attention since it was first brought up by Amnesty International. On September 20, Syed Azidi Syed Abudul Aziz “Kickdefella”, another anti-government blogger, was released. Police seized Kickdefella’s computer and arrested him on September 17 for posting “seditious” material on his blogs. He was the second blogger to be arrested after Raja Petra.

The arrests of Raja Petra and Kickdefella have not silenced bloggers. “We condemn these arrests and call for the release of … blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, arrested under the ISA on 12 September,” a blogger nicknamed RPK wrote. The People Justice Party and Anwar publicly announced “such an attack on democracy will only accelerate the further slide of Malaysia’s dipping economic and political ratings.”

For more information, please see:

AP – Malaysia’s Top Anti-Government Blogger Arrested – 12 September 2008

Guardian – Malaysia Blogger’s Arrest Creates Dangerous Precedent – 12 September 2008

Impunity Watch – Malaysian Government Silences Critics with Arrests – 16 September 2008

Reporters without Borders – Blogger Kickdefella Released – 20 September 2008

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar – A prison court in the central Myanmar City of Thayet sentenced 10 men to jail.  Four of them are the members of the ‘National League for Democracy’ (NLD) from Yenanchaung, Chauk and Magwe of Magwe Division and seven people from Pakokku.  They were arrested in connection with last year’s uprising, and sentenced to various prison terms ranging from two to nine years by Judge Daw Soe Soe Khet this week.  Charges brought against them included inciting public disturbances, discrediting the government, and participating in public demonstrations, several of the men’s wives said.

Tun Tun Nyein, NLD Youth Wing member from Chauk in Magway Division, was given 2-1/2 years for taking part in a demonstration.  “I felt it is unfair as he is innocent. He was just following protesting monks while they were marching in procession. He is my eldest son. I feel extremely sorry to hear the sentence. Please don’t neglect and ignore my son,” mother of Tun Tun Nyein said.

Ko Htay Win, NLD member from Natmauk, in Magway Division, was given two years for taking part in a demonstration.  “Day by day, we have come to realize more and more that we will suffer when we become involved in politics,” Myint Oo’s wife, Sanda Win, said.  Her husband, she said, “has suffered for the past year, and now, after a year, they have sentenced him. I don’t know how difficult or complicated it must have been to question and interrogate him, for it took a year to come up with an answer. We had expected this right from the beginning.”

Amnesty International also reports that police in Myanmar have arrested an anti-government activist after she spent a year in hiding, and says she now faces the risk of torture.  Authorities detained Nilar Thein, known for her role in anti-government protests in 1988 and 2007, while she visited the mother of a jailed associate in Rangoon, according to Amnesty International.  Another activist, Tun Myint Aung, voiced concern and called for her release.

For more information, please see:

Democratic Voice of Burma – Eight sentenced for political activities and media contact – 12 September 2008

Radio Free Asia – Burmese Court Sentences 10 – 12 September 2008

Radio Free Asia – Burmese Activist Arrested – 16 September 2008

Mizzima – Magwe Division activists sentenced to long prison terms – 12 September 2008

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KATHMANDU, Nepal – This past Saturday 106 Tibetans were detained by Nepali authorities. About 20,000 Tibetans live in Nepal, forming the largest Tibetan exiled community. Since the Chinese crackdown of the Tibetan protests in March, even more Tibetans have been crossing into Nepal.

In the 1990s, Tibetans who choose to leave their homeland were allowed to stay. However, since the new Maoist regime took over in August, the Nepali government has implemented a much stricter policy against exiled Tibetans. Tibetans are routinely checked for refugee certificates or United Nation’s documents. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) based in Nepal helps Tibetans migrate to a third country. Many migrate to Dharamsala in northern India where the Dalai Lama lives in exile.  Those Tibetans without proper documents will either be referred to the UNHCR or deported back to China where they could face sanctions by Chinese authorities.

Tibetans have demonstrated in the capital, Kathmandu, mainly outside the Chinese Consular office since the Chinese crackdown earlier this year. The new Nepali government accused Tibetans of disrupting the way of life of the Nepali citizens. Nepal has faced some political pressure from China over the anti-China demonstrations. The new Maoist Prime-minister, Prachanda, recently returned from a visit to China where he met with Chinese leaders. In China, Prachanda met with Chinese President, Hu Jin-tao, and reaffirmed his belief in the controversial One-China policy, which recognizes Tibet, Hong-Kong, Macau, and Taiwan as a part of China. Since Prachanda’s return, the Nepali government has banned anti-China protesting and the recent crack-down on Tibetans have been aimed at discouraging their protests.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Nepal to Tackle Illegal Tibetans – 13 September 2008

BBC – Tibetan Monk Speaks Out – 21 March 2008

Reuters – Nepal Says to Deport Illegal Tibetans Back to Tibet – 11 September 2008

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