PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – More than 1,000 Khmer Rouge Regime survivors have filed complaints with the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.  The complaints are a method for greater participation from public in the prosecution.  Survivors are able to share their stories with the Khmer Rouge Regime and give the prosecution additional evidence.

For more information, please see:

Radio Australia – Filed Complaints Bolster Cambodian Trials – 8 April 2008

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SRINAGAR, India – Amnesty International, an international human rights group, urged the Indian government to launch an immediate investigation into nearly 1,000 unidentified graves found in the remote-hit region of Kashmir during the past two years.  Amnesty International wants the government to determine if any of the graves contain the bodies of those listed as missing by local rights groups.  Human Rights Watch also released a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), indicating that HRC should insist that the Indian government take strong steps to hold accountable members of its security forces responsible for torture, arbitrary detentions, killings, and “disappearances”.

The plea from Amnesty International comes after a local rights group, the Association of Parents of Disappeared People, said it discovered nearly 1,000 unidentified graves scattered in cemeteries around the town of Uri. Uri is one of the most violent parts of Kashmir and neighbors the Pakistan-administered zone of Kashmir.

“The grave sites are believed to contain the remains of victims of unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture and other abuses which occurred in the context of armed conflict persisting in the state since 1989,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

Last week police in Indian-administered Kashmir rejected a demand for action to identify the bodies.  At least 200 demonstrators led by senior leaders of Hurriyat held a protest in Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir, against what they called gross human rights violations by security forces.  The protestors carried placards reading “Stop human rights violations” and pictures of “missing persons”.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed by both in its entirety.  Many Islamic groups have been fighting mainly Hindu India in Kashmir since 1989, demanding independence or a union with mostly Muslim Pakistan.  The insurgency has left more than 43,000 people dead by official counts while rights groups put the toll at 70,000 dead and disappeared.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Amnesty urges Kashmir grave probe – 07 April 2008

Human Rights Watch – India: UN Rights Council Should Tackle Impunity – 07 April 2008

International Herald Tribune – International rights group urges India to probe unidentified graves in Kashmir – 07 April 1008

Reuters – Amnesty urges India to probe unmarked Kashmir graves – 07 April 2008

By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer,Asia

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Bangladesh war veterans and intellectuals released a list of 1,597 war criminals, alleging the persons on it committed war crimes which include rape, arson, and mass murder. In explaining the release of the list, M.A. Hasan, a member of the War Crimes Fact Finding Committee, said “We have prepared the list not to take revenge but to break the silence of impunity.”

The list names about 400 Pakistani army personnel, and about 1,100 Bangladeshi collaborators. The war veterans included Pakistanis like Yahya Khan, president of Pakistan during the war, General Tikka Khan, commander of the Pakistani army at the time, and Lieutenant General Ameer Abdullah Khan Niazi, who signed the surrender agreement. A prominent Bangladeshi listed is the head to the Jamaat-e-Islami party, Matiur Rahman Nizami.

The crimes took place during the 1971’s independence from Pakistan. For decades, war veterans have alleged that their fellow countrymen and members of the opposition are responsible for thousands of deaths. The list was created after 17 years of investigation based specifically on field work, mass grave sites, and eyewitness statements.

War veterans and intellectuals are calling for a prosecutions of those listed or at least a truth commission resembling the one set up for post-apartheid South Africa.

The calls for war trials has re-erupted recently because Bangladesh has been under emergency power since early 2007. The government has promised to reinstate a democracy in late 2008. The emergency government is presently attempting to clean-up the corrupt political system. War veterans believe that the war crimes are even more important now because of the up and coming elections. M.A. Hasan said, “We will give this list to the government and the election commission. Our demand to the government is that those perpetrators should be punished and disqualified from the next election.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Bangladesh Group List of Alleged War Criminals– 4 April 2008

The Daily Star – List of 1,597 War Criminals Released – 4 April 2008

The Hindu News Update – Yahya Khan Names “War Criminal” by Bangladesh Group – 4 April 2008

Impunity Watch – Bangladesh Contemplates War Trials – 22 March 2008

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – The Khmer Rouge Tribunal received an additional $459,000 in funds from Australia. The tribunal, however, is still in need of an additional $114 million to ensure the proceedings can go on. Senior minister Sok An expressed his confidence in additional contributions, “We will have no problem with the financial support.” The Khmer Rouge Tribunal’s original budget was $50 million over three years, but because of delays, the tribunal is expected to continue past 2011.

For more information, please see:

Radio Free Australia – Australia Injects Funds into Cambodia Trial – 3 April 2008

Reuters – Cambodia Says Khmer Rouge Court Funds “No Problem” – 3 April 2008

By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

MANILA, Philippines – The European Commission has acknowledged that the number of extrajudicial killings have decreased and more cases are prosecuted, but at the same time, there have been no convictions. Human Rights Watch [HRW] asks that the United Nations should review the Philippine’s government’s failure to hold responsible parties accountable.

The European Union and the Philippine government have pledged to create the EU Justice Assistance Mission [EUJAM], which will help strengthen the country’s criminal justice system. The 18-month program will help build ties between the criminal justice institutions, civil society, and independent agencies like the Commission on Human Rights and the Office of Ombudsman.

The European Commission head of delegation, Alistair MacDonald, said, “We will provide the Philippine government technical assistance in conducting investigation, forensics, training for the judiciary, the Commission on Human Rights and we will even coordinate with members of the civil society.”

For the last 7 years, nearly a thousand members of the left-wing political parties, activists, journalists, and clergy have gone missing or been killed. The UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions, Philippine human rights groups, and HRW all have strong evidence of military involvement in the disappearances and murders.

The Philippine government has said that it is a priority to address the extrajudicial killings and disappearances by bringing the perpetrators to justice and prevent future killings. The government also reported that the number of killings had dropped significantly in 2007.

Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at HRW, pointed out that the drop in killings is only one improvement. She said, “A pause in political killings will mean little in the long run unless those responsible are prosecuted. Of the hundreds of political killings since 2001, not a single military official has been convicted.”

For more information, please see:

HRW – Philippines: Justice Absent in Killings and ‘Disappearances’ – 27 March 2008

The Inquirer – ‘More Prosecutions but No Convictions on Extrajudicial Slays’ – 4 April 2008

The Manila Times – EU, Philippines to Work on Extrajudicial Killings – 5 April 2008