KATMANDU, Nepal – On the day before a nationwide election that would begin the transition to a republic, eight persons were killed in election-related violence. However, on election day voters were unfazed and came out in record numbers to cast their votes.

Maoists report that at least six members of their Young Communist League were fired on. The party also alleged that Rishi Prasad Sharma, a candidate of the Maoist’s Communist Party of Nepal, was shot and killed in the Surkhet district.

Despite the violence on the eve of elections, voters were undeterred. By Thursday afternoon, the Nepali Times reported that 75% of the electorate in Morang and Sunsari and 60% in the far west region of Nepal had voted. The paper also reported that 55% of voters in the Katmandu Valley, and 70% of voters Sindhuli, Parsa, and Rautahat had visited polling stations by mid-afternoon. More than 17.6 million Nepalis are eligible to vote, and experts predict there to be 70% turnout.

Voters came out in large numbers, early and enthusiastically. The election marks a turning point for the country that has undergone a decade of violence sparked by a Maoist insurgency. In order to create a lasting peace, Maoists will be eligible for seats in the Constituent Assembly and take part in reforming the country. The newly elected Constituent Assembly is expected to transform the country by instilling a republic, removing the monarchy, determining how to represent traditionally marginalized ethnic groups, and writing a new constitution.

Navaraj Suwal, a teacher, commented that Nepal’s elections were unprecedented, saying, “This election will determine the kind of laws that will be around for the next hundred years.” Navaraj Suwal was so excited to cast his ballot that he showed up 45 minutes early to be second in line.

For more information, please see:

Impunity Watch – Fears of Violence and Intimidation Ahead of Nepal’s Historic Election – 8 April 2008

Nepali Times – Bullet to Ballot – 11 April 2008

New York Times – Polls Open in Nepal the Day after Violence Killed 8 – 10 April 2008

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan- The new government in Pakistan introduced a bill today to remove restrictions recently imposed upon the media.  When he implemented emergency rule in November 2007, President Pervez Musharraf had banned television and radio news, as well as any criticism of the government.

The new bill was introduced by Information Minister Sherry Rahman.  It will remove power from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority to close down networks, seize equipment, revoke operating licenses arbitrarily, impose fines for violating the industry code of conduct, and interrupt live coverage.

“We will put our own house in order and we will allow the press to broadcast not just live telecast but all that they feel fit to broadcast,” Rahman announced.

Once these changes are implemented, the new government will return its focus to reinstating the justices removed by Musharraf under emergency rule, a task that is proving to be more difficult.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Pakistan Moves to Lift Media Curbs – 11 April 2008

BBC News – Pakistan drops media restrictions – 11 April 2008

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand – 121 Burmese migrant workers crammed inside a 20 feet long and 7 feet wide seafood container while being smuggled into Thailand as illegal laborers on Thursday.  37 women and 17 men suffocate to dead in the back of the truck.  Another 67 people were still alive when Thai police officers opened the container.  Some Survivors were hospitalized and the others were held for questioning, according to Col. Kraithong Chanthongbai, the local police commander in Ranong Province, on Myanmar’s border.

Survivors told police that they each paid 10,000 baht (US$314) to be smuggled into Thailand.  One of the survivors, Saw Win, said that about 30 minutes into the trip workers pounded on the container, screamed for air and called the driver, who briefly turned on the air conditioning.  The air conditioning later went off, and they called the driver again 30 minutes later but his phone was off. They shouted and banged on the sides of the sweltering container until he stopped the truck about an hour later, unlocked the container and fled when he saw the state of the victims.

“Television reports showed police lifting bodies out of the truck and images of the cargo-like container empty except for a few pieces of clothing,”  AP reports. “The dead migrants—many wearing little more than T-shirts, shorts and flip-flops—were seen laid out on the floor at a storage facility of a local charity.”

The London-based human rights group Amnesty International said in a report in 2005 that workers from Myanmar “are routinely paid well below the Thai minimum wage, work long hours in unhealthy conditions and are at risk of arbitrary arrest and deportation.” These workers are typically brought into the country by large smuggling syndicates in difficult and often dangerous condition.

The deaths illustrated the increasing human trafficking activities across borders into countries as far apart in the world as the United States, Britain and Thailand.  In 2001, 58 illegal Chinese migrants died when they were crammed into a sweltering tomato truck on the way to England.  In a similar incident in 2003 in Texas, 19 Latin American migrants died from overheating and suffocation inside a trailer truck.

For more information, please see:

AFP – 54 Myanmar migrants die while being smuggled into Thailand – 10 April 2008

AP – 54 Myanmar Migrants Die in Thailand – 10 April 2008

New York Time – Migrants Perish in Truck to Thailand – 11 April 2008

Thai News Agency MCOT – Interior Minister calls for urgent probe of Myanmar migrant workers’ tragedy – 10 April 2008

USA Today – Thai police find 54 dead Burmese migrants in truck – 10 April 2008

By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

MANILA, Philippines – A man on a motorcycle gunned down a Benefredo Acabal, a local newspaper columnist for the Cavite paper The Filipino Newsmen, on Monday, April 7^th. According to police reports, Benefredo Acabal was shot five times in the head and body. He died on his way to the hospital. Benefredo Acabal is the first journalist to have been killed in the Philippines this year.

The Philippines is regarded as the most dangerous places for journalists afterIraq. Since 2001, when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo came into office, 56 reporters have been killed. Between 1986 and 2001 there were 35 journalists killed.

Local police, however, are reluctant to connect Benefredo Acabal’s murder to his profession yet. Police Officer Lardy Ignacio said, “We’re still trying to establish the motive for the killing.” He added that it was too soon to say the murder was work-related.

Journalism in the Philippines creates dangers risk for reporters. There are many investigative stories about drug trafficking, gambling and other illegal activities, and underpaid reporters sometimes take bribes to report specific stories.

The Philippine government has been widely criticized for its inability to protect reporters, left-wing politicians, and students. Nearly a thousand persons have been murdered or disappeared in similar situations like Benefredo Acabal. But there have yet to be any convictions regarding past killings. The UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions, Philippine human rights groups, and HRW have all pointed to strong evidence of military involvement in the disappearances and murders.

For more information, please see:

GMA News TV – Cavite Journalist Slain in Pasig Shooting Incident – 8 April 2008

Impunity Watch – No Convictions in Extrajudicial Killings in Philippines – 4 April 2008

Philippine Star – Another Journalist Killed in Pasig – 8 April 2008

Reuters – Gunman Kills Newspaper Columnist in Philippines – 8 April 2008 – 8 April 2008

By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

KATHMANDU, Nepal – After 10 years of insurgency by Maoists and almost 240 years of monarchy by the family of King Gyanendra, Nepal is set to have elections on April 10^th that will elect an assembly which will transform the country. However, ahead of the elections the United Nations fears that voters face violation and intimidation from supporters of political parties.

A UN report attributed most of the acts to the Maoist party. In its report, it wrote, “The Young Communist League and other Maoist cadres continued to be involved in the largest proportion of these incidents.”. In mid-March youth cadres beat up workers of the Communist Party of Nepal, and harmed one person so severely that he needed a hospital stay. In February, the Nepali Congress accused Maoists of setting a candidate’s home on fire. When the candidate attempted to flee, he was hit with a boulder and fractured his hip.

The UN Mission in Nepal and the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights found that during campaigning there have been a number of abductions and explosions near voting sites. There are three reported deaths thus far and numerous injured persons. Some rebel groups in Nepal’s southern plain region have vowed to disrupt the elections.

The organizations also reported there was credible evidence that State resources were being used to buy votes through “donations” of food, clothing, and other goods.

The Nepalese government tightened security to decrease the violent incidents. About 135,000 police were deployed to keep watch until elections on Thursday. In addition, helicopters are patrolling the skies until the election and will later be used to transport the ballot boxes from remote polling stations.

The up and coming elections are crucial to the country’s future because the newly elected assembly will write a new constitution. This will likely result in a republic, a foundation to lasting peace with Maoists, and a change to the workings of the government. The assembly will also decide how ethnic groups will be represented in the government.

For more information, please see:

The Hindu – UN Asks Political Parties to Stop ‘Intimidatory Behaviour’ – 7 April 2008

International Herald Tribune – Nepal Prepares to Vote with an Uneasy Eye on Ex-Insurgent Candidates – 6 April 2

Reuters – Tight Security in Place Ahead of Nepal Elections – 5 April 2008