By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China –

Joshua Wong, Alex Chow, and Nathan Law have been charged for their roles in last year’s Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. The three men were among the group of students who gathered last September to protest Beijing’s framework for the election of Hong Kong’s next leader.

The students broke into Civic Square, a fenced government area in Hong Kong, and clashed with police, who arrested them. Tens of thousands then gathered in support of the students and another protest group, Occupy Central. The protests gained strength after police began to fire tear gas into the crowds. 79 days of sit-ins followed, creating one of the largest mass protests in Hong Kong’s history.

Mr. Wong, Mr. Chow, and Mr. Law will have their charges heard on September 2^nd in magistrates’ court. Mr. Wong, one of the leaders of the Umbrella movement and co-founder of the student activist group Scholarism, has been charged with unlawful assembly and for inciting others to unlawfully assemble. He faces up to five years in prison if he is convicted.

Mr. Chow, former leader of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, has been charged with unlawful assembly. Mr. Law, who is currently the leader of the Federation of Students, has been charged with incitement of others to join in unlawful assembly.

Mr. Wong denies doing anything wrong, claiming that other protests have been held in the Civic Square area without incident. He has stated that he believes the charges are an act of political prosecution, in part because the charges have been made almost a year after the protests. Michael Vidler, Mr. Wong’s attorney, has stated that he may ask the courts to end the action against Mr. Wong.

Mr. Wong and Mr. Law also face separate charges for obstructing police during a different protest last year, which occurred outside the liaison office for the Chinese central government in Hong Kong. They have both pled not guilty to those charges and will appear at a court hearing regarding the charges on Friday.

Mr. Wong says that he will not plan another civil disobedience movement for a few years. Mr. Wong has also stated that there was not a clear route for democracy during last year’s Umbrella Movement and that not enough people were willing to pay the price by protesting. He believes that there will be another Umbrella Movement, but that activists need to better prepare for the next movement.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC – Hong Kong Student Leaders Charged Over Umbrella Movement – 27 August 2015

The Guardian – Hong Kong Student Leader Joshua Wong Charged Over Protests – 27 August 2015

The Independent – Hong Kong Student Pro-Democracy Leader Joshua Wong Decries ‘Political Prosecution’ – 27 August 2015

The New York Times – Sit-In Leaders Are Charged in Hong Kong – 27 August 2015

Reuters – Key Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Students Charged after Occupy Protests – 19 August 2015

BBC – Joshua Wong: ‘We had no clear goals’ in Hong Kong Protests – 2 August 2015

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

KATHMANDU, Nepal —

Protests began in Kailali, Nepal on Monday after a revised national constitution was presented to the Nepalese Parliament on Sunday. At least nine people were killed, including police officers and civilians. There have been reports stating that three protestors and a child were also killed. Dozens of people were arrested during the protests.

The new constitution calls for dividing Nepal into seven separate provinces, but excludes a province for the Tharu ethnic group. Members of the Tharu group, who live in the western region of Nepal, have called for the establishment of a separate Tharu province in order that they may have political representation.

Thousands gathered to protest in Tikapur, a town in Kailali. There were also protests in two other districts. In Tikapur, protestors replaced government signs with signs reading “Tharu State”.

Kailali’s chief Administrative Officer, Raj Kumar Shrestha, has stated that security officials were caught off guard and were attacked by the protesters, who were carrying weapons such as spears, knives, and stones. One of the police officers was set on fire by protestors. The death toll is expected to rise, according to Mr. Shrestha.

According to Bam Dev Guatam, Nepal’s deputy prime minister and home minister, the Nepalese government held an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday, during which it authorized the districts affected by the protests to call in troops.

Nepal has been working to put together a new constitution since 2008, after a decade of Maoist insurgency that caused the collapse of Nepal’s Hindu monarchy along with the deaths of around 16,000 people.

There has been much contention over the administrative division of Nepal, which has been centrally governed for over two centuries. That contention has been a barrier to the adoption of a new Nepalese Constitution. Over 100 ethnic groups and castes live in Nepal, and many disagree on how the many local districts should be combined into provinces and whether those provinces should be formed according to ethnicity.

Himal Dandu Sherpa, vice chairman of Nepal’s federation of indigenous nationalities, told Channel News Asia that the proposed constitution does not ensure the rights of indigenous communities and that it breaks up the districts of indigenous groups in different provinces. Minority groups have stated that the new constitution discriminates against them and gives them inadequate autonomy.

 

For more information, please see:

 

Al Jazeera – Deadly Clashes Between Nepali Police and Protesters – 24 August 2015

BBC – Nepal Clashes at Protest Over Constitution Leave Eight Dead – 24 August 2015

International Business Times – Nepal Constitution Protest: At least 7 Police Offers Killed, Dozens Arrested Amid Demonstrations – 24 August 2015

The New York Times – Plan for New Nepal Districts Draws Deadly Protests and Attacks on Police– 24 August 2015

 

 

 

 

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

DHAKA, Bangladesh –

Three men believed to be involved in the murders of secular bloggers in Bangladesh were arrested during a raid in Dhaka on Monday.

Four secular bloggers have been killed this year, including Avijit Roy and Ananta Bijoy Dash, who wrote for a website called Free Mind. Mr. Roy spoke out against religious extremism and formed a network of atheist bloggers in Bangladesh and abroad. Both Mr. Roy and Mr. Dash were hacked to death by machete.

Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan, spokesman for Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion, a police unit, stated that the three suspects are believed to be members of the Islamic organization Ansarullah Bangla Team, which has been banned in Bangladesh. The group was banned in May after it was accused of threatening and killing bloggers and writers.

Muhammad Jasimuddin Rahmani is the leader of Ansarullah Bangla Team. He is currently in prison for his murder of another blogger, Ahmed Rajib Haider, in 2013. It is believed that one of the suspects arrested in Monday’s raid, Sadek Ali, visited Mr. Rahmani in prison to receive instructions for the bloggers’ murders.

Another of the accused men, Tawhidur Rahman, is a British citizen of Bangladeshi origin. He moved back to Bangladesh in 2012 and joined Ansarullah Bangla Team because he was inspired by Mr. Rahmani’s philosophy. Mr. Rahman is believed to have planned the killings of Mr. Roy and Mr. Dash.

The third suspect, Aminul Mollick, worked at a passport office and made fake passports so that members of the Ansarullah Bangla Team could leave the country if needed.

Bangladeshi authorities have been criticized for their failure to prevent the killings and for their slow place in their investigation of the killings. Imran H. Sarker, head of the Blogger and Online Activist Network in Bangladesh, has stated that many are wondering whether the government is supporting the criminals killing the bloggers. Bangladesh’s top police official has denied accusations that police officers sympathize with the killers and are purposely delaying their investigations of the murders.

About a decade ago, a group of mostly atheist Bangladeshi bloggers started speaking out against Islamic and other religious groups online. While the bloggers became popular with secular Bangladeshis, their online posts drew the anger of the Muslim population in Bangladesh.

While most Bangladeshis are Muslims, Bangladesh is ruled by laws based on British common law. Religion-based political parties in Bangladesh have sought the establishment of blasphemy laws to protect their faith, while bloggers have called for those parties to be banned.

In 2013, Hefajat-e-Islam, a body of Islamist groups, submitted a list of 84 atheist bloggers to the Bangladeshi government, demanding their arrest and trial under blasphemy laws. Hefajat-e-Islam also set in motion mass protests calling for the execution of those bloggers, and attacks against the bloggers began occurring.

In the past two and a half years, five atheist bloggers and five secular activists have been killed in similar machete attacks in Bangladesh.

 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Bangladesh Arrests Suspects in Blogger Murders – 18 August 2015

The Guardian – Bangladesh Arrests Three Men Including Briton Over Murders of Secular Bloggers – 18 August 2015

The New York Times – Bangladesh Arrests 3 Men in Killings of Secular Bloggers – 18 August 2015

Voice of America – Bangladesh Blogger Killings Highlight Dangers of Speaking Out – 14 August 2015

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

MOSCOW, Russia —

Russian lawmaker Andrei Klimov said on Thursday that he would propose the establishment of international tribunal on United States war crimes in Vietnam to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA). Mr. Klimov is the deputy head of the International Affairs Committee of Russia’s Federation Council.

Mr. Klimov announced his proposal during an interview with Govorit Moskva radio, a radio station in Moscow. The interview was focused on the anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945. While Mr. Klimov approved of an international tribunal on the bombings, he stated that he thought the United States’ actions against Vietnam should receive equal attention from international lawyers. He also stated that the war between the United States and Vietnam was illegal and that the United States’ military involvement in Vietnam was an obvious aggression.

During the Vietnam War, lasting from 1964 through 1975, around 3 million Vietnamese were killed, along with citizens of bordering countries. The Crimes of War Education Project has reported that there were over 300 war crimes committed by U.S. military during the Vietnam War, including murder, rape, torture, corpse mutilation, and random gun-fire in civilian areas. Mr. Klimov believes that it is necessary to bring the perpetrators of those war crimes to justice.

Mr. Klimov’s proposal came shortly after Sergey Naryshkin, chairman of the Russian State Duma, stated that an international court must look into the United States’ atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Mr. Naryshkin spoke at a meeting at the Moscow Institute of International Relations on August 5th. During the meeting, he stated that the atomic bombings were not a necessary part of the United States’ military action against Japan. The bombings caused the deaths of around 150,000 to 250,000 Japanese civilians.

Mr. Klimov also intends to discuss the possibility of the international tribunal on U.S. war crimes in Vietnam at assembly sessions of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to which Vietnam is a party, in September.

 

For more information, please see:

Meduza – After Vetoing MH17 Tribunal, Russia Proposes Tribunals for Vietnam War and Atomic Bombings of Japan – 6 August 2015

RT – Russian Senator Urges International Tribunal into U.S.-Vietnam War – 6 August 2015

Sputnik International – Moscow to Discuss Creating Tribunal on U.S. War Crimes in Vietnam at OSCE PA – 6 August 2015

RT – Int’l Tribunal Should Try 1945 U.S. Nuke Attacks on Japan – Duma Chief – 5 August 2015

 

 

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar—

 Myanmarese president Thein Sein has pardoned and released 6,966 prisoners, including 210 foreign prisoners. A statement on Myanmar’s information ministry website said that the prisoners were being released on humanitarian grounds and “in view of national reconciliation”.

Around 155 Chinese loggers, who had been detained just last week, were among those released. Most of them, arrested on suspicion of illegal logging in Kachin State in Northern Myanmar, had been given life sentences. The loggers have been deported back to China following their release, according to U Mong Gwang, a liason officer at the Kachin Independence Organization.

Kachin State borders China’s Yunnan Province and has rich natural resources including jade and wood. Jade and wood are in high demand in China, and Chinese citizens are able to cross the border from Yunnan Province to Kachin State to take advantage of those resources. This has led to resentment in Myanmar and could have been one explanation for the life sentences given to the Chinese loggers.

China is a close economic and political ally of Myanmar. Myanmar’s ties with China are important for its trade, security, and energy programs. Recently, however, there has been tension between the nations due to conflict between Myanmar’s army and a rebel militia that has resulted in the deaths of Chinese citizens living near the China-Myanmar border. China had also protested against the loggers’ prison sentences and called for Myanmar to return them to China.

President Thein Sein was elected in 2010 when military-backed civilian government replaced military rule in Myanmar. During military rule, more than 2,000 journalists, activists and politicians were imprisoned, leading to Western sanctions against Myanmar. Those sanctions were lessened once civilian rule was established. Government reform has led to a series of amnesties in which most political prisoners held in Myanmar have been released.

A general election coming up in November could be one of the underlying reasons for the prisoners’ release. Also, U Bo Kyi of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners has pointed out that the prisoners’ release occurred just days before Yanghee Lee, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, was scheduled to visit. As the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Yanghee Lee reports on human rights and electoral reform in Myanmar.

It is unclear whether pro-democracy activists were among the prisoners released in Myanmar. Most of the prisoners released in Myanmarese amnesties have been common criminals. There are no official lists of released prisoners, so any names of those released are generally disclosed by the prisoners or their families.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Myanmar Frees 6,966 Prisoners Ahead of Polls – 30 July 2015

New York Times – Myanmar Frees Loggers From China Amid a Broader Amnesty – 30 July 2015

Reuters – Political Prisoners, Chinese Loggers Among Thousands Freed in Myanmar Amnesty – 30 July 2015

The Guardian – Chinese Loggers Among 7,000 Prisoners Released in Burma – 30 July 2015

United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights – Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar