DHAKA, Bangladesh – Bengali settlers destroyed seven tribal villages belonging to the Jumma tribal people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region in Bangladesh.

According to the rights group Survival International, “Jumma villagers, including women and children, were beaten in the attack and their belongings looted. One hundred houses were destroyed and the Jumma villagers have fled into the surrounding forests. Bengali setters were also injured.”

Violence in the area increased after the army-backed Bangladesh government took power in January 2007. Several tribal groups have demanded implementation of a December 1997 treaty that had ended a 20-year uprising for autonomy. The government had promised regional councils that it would withdrawal of troops. Although about seventy military camps have moved, hundred remain. Over 2,500 people have been killed in clashes between supporters and opponents of the treaty during the last two decades. Opponents believe that the treaty does not give sufficient autonomy.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Tribal Villages Torched in Bangladesh: Officials – 26 April 2008

HANOI, Vietnam – In 2006 three men were arrested by the Ho Chi Minh police in Vietnam for demonstrating against the Communist government and calling for civil liberties and democracy in Vietnam.  The three men are members of what has been named the Bloc 8406 group.  This group is named after the day April 18, 2006, when its founding members were arrested for posting pro-democracy writings on-line.  The group has been outlawed by the Vietnam government.

The three men, Pham Ba Hai, Nguyen Ngoc Quang and Vu Hoang Hai, have received terms of 2-5 years of jail time by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court.  The Vietnam News Agency and other state-controlled media outlets have reported that the three men were charged with posting documents online that, “distorted history, attacked administrations and tarnished the party and state officials, and incited people to protest.”

More recently, Vietnamese blogger, Nguyen Van Hai, was arrested under charges of “tax evasion.”  Hai is a pro-democracy activist who has reported on the protests against the Olympic torch relay.  Hai is part of a larger network of bloggers called the Union of Independent Journalists.  Other members of this group have been calling protests during the upcoming torch relay and have helped to organize demonstrations against China’s claim of sovereignty over the Paracel Islands.

For more information, please see:

Macau Daily Times – Vietnam Jails Three Pro-Democracy Activists – 27 April 2008

Bangkok Post – Vietnam Arrest Blogger for Reporting Torch Protests – 27 April 2008

By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – After allegations of kickbacks and malpractice, a recent audit of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal shows that there have been significant improvements in management and steps have been taken to reform procedures.

Jo Scheuer, the country director for the U.N. Development Program, said a recent audit showed “significant improvements,” and there were “no questionable financial transactions, misallocated resources and no incomplete or missing documentation in support of disbursements” of money since 2006. Jo Scheuer also added that there was “no conclusive evidence” to support allegation of kickbacks in exchange for jobs with the tribunal.

The positive audit is to serve as a reassurance to potential international financial backers of the tribunal. Rafael Dochao Moreno, charge d’affaires of the European Commission’s mission to Cambodia, said, “This special review has shown that we (now) have a system that can work.” Tribunal administrative director Sean Visoth added, “With the results of the special review we are sharing with you today we can finally close this chapter and move on to continue the very positive achievement the (court) has made in discharging its historic mandate.”

The Khmer Rouge Tribunal is in need of funds to continue proceedings. Although five former Khmer Rouge regime leaders have been charged and arrested, trials have yet to begin. With an original budget of $56.3 million, the tribunal’s costs have soared as a result of undue delays and political wrangling. The decade long delay has caused costs to rise to about $170 million. Presently, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal has sufficient funds until September.

Recently, French Human Rights Minister Rama Yade announced that France will donate an additional $1 million in funds to the tribunal to help with its financial troubles. The recent contribution is in addition to a previous $5 million donation France gave when the tribunal first appealed for financial help. French Human Rights Minister Rama Yade commented, “One of the priorities for French diplomatic action abroad is international justice and the fight against impunity.” She added, “Human rights should not just be words.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Cambodian Genocide Tribunal Denies Financial Mismanagement – 25 April 2008

The China Post – France Pledges Extra US $1mil. to Cambodian Genocide Court– 26 April 2008

International Herald Tribune – Audit Says Management of Cambodian Tribunal Has Improved Since Call for Reforms – 25 April 2008

By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

HANOI, Vietnam – In a recent report from the US Embassy in Vietnam, Vietnam orphanages are accused of paying parents for their children and accepting babies that were not given up knowingly.

The report describes adoption brokers coercing poor mothers in small villages, hospitals selling babies whose parents cannot pay their medical bills, and a grandmother giving her grandchild up for adoption without the parents knowing.

Some brokers offer $450 to birth mothers for their babies, which is a year’s salary for most. In another instance, hospital officials turned over a baby for adoption because a mother could not afford to pay her $750 hospital bill. The large medical bill was purposely inflated by the hospital. In one case, a grandmother, who was taking care of her grandchild for weeks while the mother worked in another province, gave the child up for adoption.

The corruption and fraud in the Vietnamese adoption system stems from the donations foreign adoption services provide the local orphanages. Vietnamese law requires foreign adoption services provide funding to Vietnamese orphanages in exchange for adoption referrals from that orphanage. Typically, there is a set proportion of children for donations.

The report alleged that cash and in-kind donations from adoption services have been diverted by local orphanage officials to personal uses—such as private cars, jewelry, and a commercial real estate development.

The US Embassy report comes at a time when adoptions from Vietnam have jumped. In the last 18 months 1,200 Vietnamese children were adopted. Eight hundred and twenty-eight of the children were adopted by American families, which is a surge of more than 400 percent from the year before.

US law requires that the children be knowingly put up for adoption or be reported as abandoned. If the child is reported as abandoned, it is impossible to know if the children are genuine orphans. In 2003, 20 percent of adoptions were reported as abandonments. Now they make up 85 percent of adoptions.

The United States is asking for stronger regulations that include DNA tests for birth mothers and permission for surprise investigations in provinces that arrange US adoptions. Vietnamese officials, however, say that those regulations are unacceptable because adoption in Vietnam is a very private matter, and Vietnamese authorities should take part in any investigation.

Vu Duc Long, director of the Department of International Adoptions, commented, “The American side is trying to make it seem like this agreement is ending because of violations by the Vietnamese side. It’s not fair for them to blame us.”

For more information, please see:

AP – US Alleges Baby-Selling in Vietnam – 25 April 2008

TOP News – US Reports Adoption Fraud Widespread in Vietnam – 25 April 2008

VOA News – US Finds Fraud in Vietnam Adoptions – 25 April 2008

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – A Chinese ship that was carrying three million rounds of assault rifle ammunition, 3,000 mortar rounds and 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades to Zimbabwe is being brought back to China, the Chinese government said today.  The ship, identified as the An Yue Jiang and belonging to COSCO, a state-owned shipping firm, was forced to abandon plans to unload in the South African port of Durban last week.

The news comes after the United States urged countries in southern Africa — particularly South Africa, Mozambique, Angola and Namibia — not to allow the ship to dock or unload.  It also asked China to withdraw the weapons shipment and halt further arms shipments to Zimbabwe until the post-election crisis is resolved.

However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said, “The cargo was not unloaded because the Zimbabwe side failed to receive the goods as scheduled, so the Chinese company made the decision according to this situation.”  She also reiterated the shipment was a purely commercial transaction that did not break any laws or international obligations and had nothing to do with the ongoing political crisis.

The Chinese ship has sparked international condemnation for attempting to transport weapons to Zimbabwe that could be used to crackdown on Zimbabwe’s political opposition. China’s decision to turn the ship around was welcomed by the dockworkers, trade unionists, religious leaders, Western diplomats, and human rights workers.

China is a major supporter of Zimbabwe’s ruler Robert Mugabe, who has touted a “look East” policy of closer cooperation with China.  However, Beijing has shown signs of increasing embarrassment over its association with Mugabe.  Last year, China said that it had decided to halt all assistance to Zimbabwe except humanitarian aid. It was unclear if the contract of the weapons trade was signed before that pledge.

For information, please see:

AFP – Chinese arms shipment to Zimbabwe turning back: Beijing – 24 April 2008

AP – Zimbabwe arms deal is off – China – 24 April 2008

New York Times – Zimbabwe-Bound Ship Heads Back to China – 24 April 2008

Reuters – China says arms bound for Zimbabwe to be recalled – 24 April 2008

Wall Street Journal – China defended its arms shipments to Zimbabwe – 24 April 2008

XinHua – China arms trade conforms to laws, int’l obligations – 24 April 2008