By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

MANILA, Philippines –

Two Chinese diplomats were shot to death in a restaurant in Cebu, a central city in the Philippines, on Wednesday. Another Chinese diplomat was wounded after he was shot in the neck by the same shooter. Two of their colleagues are suspects in the shootings.

Li Qingliang and his wife, Guo Jing, both employees at Cebu’s Chinese Consulate, have been identified as the suspects in the shooting. Police found a .45-caliber pistol left behind by the suspects at the restaurant. Police have not yet determined Mr. Li and Ms. Guo’s motive for the shootings. Mr. Li and Ms. Guo fled from the restaurant but were later arrested at Cebu’s consular office.

According to Colonel Romeo Santander, Superintendent of Cebu Police City Intelligence Branch, Li Hui and Sun Shen, employees of the Chinese Consulate, were shot while dining with their colleagues.

Ms. Li was a finance officer for the Chinese Consulate and Mr. Sun was the Consul General’s deputy. The Consul General, Song Ronghua, was also shot and wounded. He is currently in stable condition.

Colonel Santander said that video footage of the shootings shows an argument breaking out among the people seated at the table. Mr. Li then shot Ms. Li, Mr. Sun, and Consul General Song.

The Philippine Foreign Ministry has stated that both Mr. Li and Ms. Guo have diplomatic immunity pursuant to the Vienna Convention, as they are accredited Chinese diplomats. The Ministry’s spokesman, Charles Jose, says that both will handed over to China and will be subject to China’s legal process. China’s ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the case will be handled according to applicable international treaties and bilateral consular agreements.

China and the Philippines have disputed over territorial claims in the South China Sea. Consul General Song recently took office and has been working to help China improve ties with the Philippines. Local reports say that Consul General Song stated that the two countries had “no excuses to quarrel” at a conference that took place last month.

 

For more information, please see:

CNN – Two Chinese Diplomats Accused of Killing Colleagues in the Philippines – 22 October 2015

BBC – Chinese Diplomats Shot Dead in Philippines Restaurant Attack – 21 October 2015

The New York Times – 2 Chinese Diplomats Shot to Death in Philippines – 21 October 2015

Voice of America – 2 Chinese Diplomats Killed in Philippines Shooting – 21 October 2015

The Wall Street Journal – Two Chinese Diplomats Killed by Gunman in Philippines – 21 October 2015

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

KATHMANDU, Nepal –

Human Rights Watch has released a report on the human rights violations that occurred during protests this year in the Terai region of Nepal. The report calls for Nepali authorities to investigate the abuses and to bring those responsible for the abuses to justice.

The Human Rights Watch report, entitled “‘Like We Are Not Nepali’: Protest and Police Crackdown in the Terai Region of Nepal”, highlights Human Rights Watch’s investigation into the killings of 25 people, including 16 civilians and 9 police officers.

At least 45 people were killed during protests from August to September 2015. Among the atrocities committed were extrajudicial killings of protesters by police, killings of children, and the killings of police officers at the hands of protesters.

While investigating abuses in Nepal, Human Rights Watch visited five districts in Nepal and recorded eyewitness accounts of police abuses and violence by protesters. Human Rights Watch did not find any evidence indicating that any of those killed were posing a threat at the time of their deaths.

Police abuses included invading homes to beat occupants, beating innocent bystanders, killing non-violent protesters, using racial insults, and making death threats against civilians. Two eyewitnesses saw a police officer open fire into a hospital. In another eyewitness account, a 14 year-old protestor was shot in the face by police while an officer stood on his legs. Doctors’ reports from the examination of his body corroborated the account of how the boy died.

Section 8, article 58(3) of Nepal’s Armed Police Force regulation allows police officers to use “necessary or final force in order to defend self, maintain law and order, and to arrest the attacker” if they are attacked or obstructed from their duties. Nepal’s Home Ministry denies that police have used excessive and unnecessary force and states that the Human Rights Report was prepared in a biased manner.

Protesters have also grown violent. In one instance, protesters in Tikapur, a city in western Nepal, beat eight police officers to death with spears and sticks spiked with nails.

There are ongoing protests in Nepal led by ethnic groups, primarily the Tharus and Madhesis, who are unhappy with Nepal’s new constitution. After years of political stalemate, Nepal’s political parties agreed on a constitution, which was ratified in September 2015. Ethnic minority groups such as the Tharus and Madhesis then began to protest against the constitution because they believe that it abrogates previous agreements made with their communities and delineated federal provinces that do not afford them adequate representation as citizens.

Power in Nepal is concentrated in the Pahadi, a group populating the Himalayas and the surrounding areas. The Madhesis and Tharus make up about a third of Nepal’s population, and they generally possess less wealth and education that the Pahadis.

Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli became Nepal’s new prime minister on October 12, replacing Sushil Koirala. Brad Adams, the Asia director for Human Rights Watch, has stated that “Nepal’s new leadership should take immediate steps to stem the tide of abuse that has overtaken Nepal…the government needs to order investigations, and publicly call on all security forces to desist from any excessive use of force.”

 

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – ‘Like We Are Not Nepali’: Protest and Police Crackdown in the Terai Region of Nepal – 16 October 2015

Human Rights Watch – Nepal: Investigate Deaths During Terai Protests – 16 October 2015

The New York Times – Report on Nepal Protests Details Grisly Violence – 16 October 2015

Voice of America – HRW: Nepal Must Investigate Constitution Protests Killings – 16 October 2015

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan –

At least seven people were killed in a suicide bombing on Wednesday in the Dera Ghazi Khan district of Punjab Province in Pakistan. Several other people were wounded in the attack.

The bombing was carried out at the office of lawmaker Sardar Amjad Farooq Khan Khosa, who leads the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz political party. Mr. Khosa was in Islamabad at the time of the bombing, but some of his junior officials and supporters were meeting at his office and were killed.

Police believe that a suicide bomber approached Mr. Khosa’s office on foot, but witnesses have reported that two attackers drove into his office on motorcycles and detonated the bomb.

While the motive for the attack remains unclear, authorities believe that the attack was carried out by the Pakistani Taliban because they have previously taken credit for similar attacks. District Police Chief Ghulam Mubashir Maken stated that the attack could have been made in retaliation for the recent killing of Malik Ishaq, a former leader of anti-Shiite militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Mr. Ishaq was killed by Pakistani security forces in July.

Mr. Khosa told the New York Times that he did not know what the motive behind the bombing could be and that he had not received any threats from militant groups. He also stated that he had no disputes with anyone. Mr. Khosa has condemned the attack and has stated that while many of his close political workers were killed during the bombing, he and his party will not abandon their battle against terrorism.

Last year, Pakistan began a campaign against the Pakistani Taliban and other terrorist groups. Overall, while the campaign has been successful in decreasing violence in Pakistan, there have still been attacks such as the killing of Punjab’s home minister, Shuja Khanzada, earlier this year. Mr. Khanzada was meeting with people in his constituency office in Punjab when he and seventeen others were killed by a suicide bomber.

The bombing comes at the start of Muharram, a holy month in the Islamic calendar which has been marked by terrorist attacks in years past. In the past decade, tens of thousands of people in Pakistan have been killed in attacks initiated by local and al-Qaida-linked foreign Islamic militant groups.

 

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – Seven Killed in Suspected Suicide Bombing at Pakistan MP’s Office – 14 October 2015

Khaleej Times – Bomb Blast Targeting Lawmaker Kills 7 in Pakistan – October 14 2015

Newsweek Pakistan – Bomb Kills Five in Taunsa – 14 October 2015

The New York Times – Suicide Attack at Lawmaker’s Office in Pakistan Kills at Least 7 – 14 October 2015

Pakistan Today – Blast at MNA’s political office in DG Khan, Seven Killed, Several Wounded – 14 October 2015

U.S. News and World Report – Police: Suicide Bombing Targeting Ruling Party Lawmaker Kills 7 in Central Pakistan – 14 October 2015

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar –

Myanmar will hold national elections on November 8^th as scheduled, contrary to an announcement on Tuesday that the elections would potentially be postponed. The leader of Myanmar’s Union Election Commission, U Tin Aye, announced the potential postponement to representatives of Myanmar’s ten biggest political parties on Tuesday morning.

Mr. Aye stated that the possible postponement was due to severe flooding in parts of Myanmar, and that the effects of the flooding could make it difficult for some areas to accommodate voters. Myanmar’s national law permits the election commission to postpone or cancel elections in areas affected by natural disasters or security problems.

The Union Election Commission has stated that it reviewed statements from committee members about the pros and cons of postponing the election and that it decided to hold the election on the already scheduled date of November 8^th.

The possible postponement came at a time when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate and leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), is gaining increasing support. In responding to the possible postponement of this year’s election, the NLD has said that it believes the postponement was an attempt by the government to thwart its chances of winning the election.

The upcoming national elections will be the first time since 1990 that parties will be allowed to freely challenge the military’s control in Myanmar. In the 1990 election, the NLD won 80% of the legislative seats, but the then-ruling military regime refused to hand over power to the party. The military sent the NLD’s leaders in prison and placed Ms. Suu Kyi under house arrest for fifteen years.

Ms. Suu Kyi stated last week that she plans to lead Myanmar if the NLD wins the November elections, in spite of a ban on her serving as president. Under a constitutional provision, Ms. Suu Kyi may not hold the presidential office because she has two foreign children.

Myanmar’s current governing party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, is nominally civilian run but military-backed and is made up mostly of former military generals. The USDP is led by President Thein Sein and took power in 2011 after years of military dictatorial rule.

Myanmar’s government has pledged to honor the results of the election, but critics among the current government’s opposition are distrustful of the military’s continued influence in the current government.

Election monitors and international organizations including the European Union and U.S groups such as the Carter Center are assisting Myanmar in its preparation for the upcoming elections.

 

For more information, please see:

 The Guardian – Hours After Proposed Delay, Myanmar Says Elections to be Held on Time – 13 October 2015

The New York Times – Myanmar Government Seeks to Calm Fears of Election Postponement – 13 October 2015

Voice of America – No Delay to Myanmar Elections – 13 October 2015

The Wall Street Journal – Myanmar Says Election Will go Ahead as Planned – 13 October 2015

 

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

DHAKA, Bangladesh—

A Baptist pastor survived a murder attempt on Monday, after he invited three men who expressed interest in religion into his home.

Reverend Luke Sarker, the pastor of Faith Bible Church in Pabna, a district in northwest Bangladesh, is a Bangladeshi that recently converted to Christianity. In September, he met with two men to discuss religion and their interest in converting to Christianity.

The men then requested a second meeting with Reverend Sarker for Monday and came to his home along with a third man. During their meeting with Reverend Sarker, his wife left the room. The three men then attacked him Reverend Sarker and attempted to slit his throat with a knife. When Reverend Sarker cried out for help, his wife and neighbors rushed to his aid. His attackers then fled and police later found a motorbike near the home. Reverend Sarker’s wounds from the knife attack were not serious.

Police have arrested a member of Islami Chhatra Shibir, which is the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, a political party that opposes Bangladesh’s current government. The member, Obaidul Islam, was detained for questioning after police raided his home in Pabna. According to a local police chief, Rezaul Karim, police also arrested a local businessman and an activist for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, another opposing political party and a key ally of Jamaat-e-Islami.

This attack comes after last week’s murders of two foreigners living in Bangladesh. One, an Italian aid worker employed in Dhaka, and the other, a Japanese famrer residing in northern Bangladesh, were shot to death. According to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors the websites of radical Islamic groups, the Islamic State declared responsibility for their deaths. There has been no independent confirmation that the Islamic State was responsible for the killings.

The Bangladesh government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has rejected the Islamic State’s claim and has instead blamed the attacks on the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami. The Bangladesh government believes that through the attacks, the opposition groups are attempting to destabilize the country. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party denied involvement in the attacks.

There have also recently been a series of attacks against secular bloggers in Bangladesh, whose population is predominantly Muslim. This year, four secular bloggers were hacked to death. Extremist Islamic groups are believed to be behind the attacks.

 

For more information, please see:

Headlines and Global News (HNGN) – Christian Pastor Escapes Murder Attempt in Northwest Bangladesh, Police Arrest Suspect – 7 October 2015

Associated Press – Christian Pastor Survives Knife Attack at Home in Bangladesh – 6 October 2015

BBC – Bangladesh Pastor Survives Knife Attack – 6 October 2015

New York Times – Baptist Pastor in Bangladesh Survives Knife Attack – 6 October 2015