By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka– State Department officials announced Saturday that the United States will table a United Nations human rights resolution against Sri Lanka, putting new pressure on Colombo to address war crimes allegations.

The UN has already called on Sri Lanka to punish military personnel responsible for atrocities in the civil war that the government won in 2009.  Washington says the human rights climate on the island is worsening each day.

Nisha Biswal, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, held talks with Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris over a range of issues including allegations that government troops killed thousands of Tamil civilians during the final months of the war in 2009.

“Lack of progress in Sri Lanka has led to a great deal of frustration and skepticism in my government and in the international community,” assistant secretary of state Nisha Biswal told reporters in Colombo after her two-day visit.

“There hasn’t been sufficient action taken by the government to address the issues of justice and accountability. We heard from many people about people who are still unaccounted for, whose whereabouts and fates are unknown to their family members.”

Biswal declined to say what would comprise the resolution set to be tabled at the March session of the UN Human Rights Council, but US embassy officials have said it may call for a full-scale international investigation into Sri Lanka and their military affairs.

“We understand growing concern, frustration, and skepticism among many in my country and many in the international community that has led to increasing calls for international investigation and an international process.” Biswal said.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government, which finally put down an exhaustive 26-year rebellion by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, has rejected UN calls for an international inquiry and said repeated requests from overseas were to please the large Tamil diaspora in the west.

A top Sri Lankan official announced last week that an international inquiry into war crimes would bring “chaos” and insisted that the government’s national reconciliation process must be given several more years to work.

Biswal acknowledged that the reconciliation process needed more time, but said credible steps had to be taken now.

“The culture of deterioration of human rights gives us great concern when churches and mosques are burnt down and people feel that they cannot practice their faiths freely and without fear. Then I believe the urgency that has gripped the international community is justified,” she said.

The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has said he will push for the international inquiry into war crimes allegations if Sri Lanka does not conduct its own probe by March.

Some Sri Lankans who met with Biswal told reporters that they had told her an international process was essential.

“We do not have confidence in a local investigation because that would be done by the military, who are accused of war crimes,” one activist from northern Jaffna peninsula told Reuters, on condition of anonymity.

A UN panel indicated that about 40,000 mainly Tamil civilians died in the final few months of the war. Both sides committed atrocities, but army shelling killed most victims, it concluded. Separatist Tamil Tiger rebels renowned for the use of child soldiers and suicide bombings battled with government forces since 1983.

For more information, please see:

New York Times– U.S. Envoy to Visit Sri Lanka as Pressure Builds for War Crimes Inquiry— 30 January 2014

The Guardian– US to table UN human rights resolution criticizing Sri Lanka over ‘war crimes’— 1 February 2014

AFP– US envoy in Sri Lanka as pressure builds over war crimes— 31 January 2014

NDTV– US envoy to visit Sri Lanka as pressure grows for war crimes inquiry— 31 January 2014

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand–Thailand’s government announced Tuesday that it will move forward with an election set to take place this weekend despite a violent opposition boycott, street protests, and the prospect of even greater violence in the country’s political crisis.

The announced its plan after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra met with the Election Commission, which had plans to delay the election.

The decision to hold Sunday’s parliamentary balloting is expected to further inflame tensions and produce violence. One protest leader was killed and at least a dozen others were injured in a clash last Sunday as protesters swarmed polling stations in an effort to stop advance balloting. Since November 30, 10 people have died and at least 577 have sustained serious injuries.

Anti-government protesters occupying parts of Bangkok have demanded that Yingluck step down before the election. Protesters argue that she should be replaced by a non-elected interim government that would institute reforms to remove her family’s weighty influence from the political structures. The opposition Democrat Party, which backs the protests, is boycotting the election.

The crisis places followers and opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra against one another. Thaksin, a billionaire and Yingluck’s older brother, was deposed by a military coup in 2006 after accusations of corruption and abuse of power. Since then the two sides have been engaged in a sometimes violent struggle for power.

Yingluck’s supporters, including many people in the countryside who benefited from Thaksin’s populist policies, are demanding that they be allowed to vote.

‘‘The longer this crisis goes on, the more dangerous it becomes,’’ said Chris Baker, a Bangkok-based political analyst and writer. ‘‘The economy is clearly suffering already. It will suffer more the longer it goes on. The chances of violence keep increasing because emotions are getting stoked up.’’

Several hundred protesters laid siege to Tuesday’s meeting between Yingluck and the Election Commission.

Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said more violence was expected during the polls and would further damage the country.

‘‘I think Thailand has suffered enough and no one should be hurt or die from this election,’’ Somchai told reporters.

Somchai earlier said he would tell Yingluck about the problems enveloping Sunday’s election, including the lack of workers and meager equipment, which has yet to reach many provinces. The disruptions have been caused largely by the protesters, and some senior government officials have accused the Commission of supporting the anti-government side.

Deputy Prime Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana said the Commission and the government had different views and the election would therefore move forward as scheduled. A court ruled last week that the election could only be postponed by mutual agreement between the prime minister and the Election Commission.

‘‘If we postpone the election, will the problems go away? The people who are causing trouble didn’t say they would stop if it’s postponed,’’ Pongthep said. ‘‘The longer it is postponed, the more damage it will cause the people and the country.’’

For more information, please see:

The Hindu–200,000 police to be deployed for Feb 2 snap polls in Thailand— 29 January 2014

Times of Oman–Thailand to deploy 10,000 police in capital to secure voting— 29 January 2014

Channel News Asia–“No” option valid political choice in upcoming Thai election— 29 January 2014

The Boston Globe–Thai government says no delay in Sunday election— 29 January 2014

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MANILA, Philippines– Representatives from the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Saturday signed the final piece of the four annexes to the Framework Peace Agreement, completing a vital cornerstone to a more than decades-old peace process.

Representatives led by Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Teresita Deles, government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and her counterpart in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Mohagher Iqbal, met late in the afternoon Saturday and affixed their signatures to a several page document, the annex on normalization and addendum on Bangsamoro waters.  The resolution came at the end of four days of negotiation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“Today the government and the MILF jointly signed the annex on normalization, the last of the four Annexes to the GPH-MILF Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB), which was completed on 15 October 2012. This paves the way for the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). This is indeed a long-awaited moment that is a gift to our people at the start of a new year of renewed hope and commitment,” Deles said.

Earlier, negotiators from both sides signed the annexes regarding transitional arrangements and modalities, revenue generation and wealth and power sharing.

“Long live peace,” those witnessing the signing of the landmark document during the 43 exploratory talks in Malaysia cheered. Video footage of the event was streamed live across the nation.

Malaysian facilitator Datu Abdul Gaafar Tengku said: “I am very proud to be part of this process. I’ve witnessed in 1986 the People Power and now this.”

Malaysia has played the role of a third party facilitator of the talks since 2004.

Iqbal said the signing of the normalization annex had been an emotional matter.

“All these documents that we had signed are important, but the annex on normalization and addendum on Bangsamoro waters is vital because it is the last of the four annexes that completes the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed in October 2012,” he said.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda, who was in Kuala Lumpur to witness the event, said in his twitter post immediately after the signing of the last annex: “After more than a year of hard work, the peace panel in a moment of joy!”

A substantial portion on the annex on normalization includes the decommissioning of weapons from members of the MILF.

Coronel, during a video streamed press briefing, said the decommissioning and demobilization will be carried out in a multi-phase process.

“It will be gradual,” she said.

The MILF boasts some 12,000 fighters and the normalization process would involve the “decommissioning” of the firearms used by the rebels.  Provisions provide for  the absorption of a number of them into the police force of the yet to be created Bangsamoro.

With the completion of the four annexes, Coronel said negotiators can now proceed to crafting the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in order to complete the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

The BBL is set to be drafted by the Transition Commission which Iqbal also heads, but would also have to pass through a congressional vote, and would be subjected to a plebiscite in areas covered by the FAB.

The conflict in southern Philippines has cost the lives of an estimated 150,000 combatants and civilians over the last four decades.

For more information, please see:

The Australian– Philippines peace deal nears for Muslim south–26 January 2014

Gulf News– Philippines steps closer to Moro peace–25 January 2014

Inter Aksyon– Lacierda: Annex on Normalization signing is President Aquinoas defining moment–26 January 2014

The Wall Street Journal– Philippines, Rebel Group Step Closer to Peace–25 January 2014

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

BEIJING, China– Approximately seven Chinese activists who advocated for greater rule of law, fairer access to education and other issues are being put on trial this week as the government once again reinvigorates its campaign to stomp out dissent.

The premiere case is scheduled for Wednesday morning in Beijing as lawyer Xu Zhiyong, founder of the loose-knit New Citizens Movement, goes to court on charges of gathering a crowd to disrupt public order.

Xu is the highest-profile activist to be tried since Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years in prison on subversion charges in 2009. Xu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. Expectations had risen since then that new President Xi Jinping might be more open to free speech, but those hopes have largely subsided, and a media blackout on Xu’s case has left most mainland Chinese ignorant of the proceedings.

Prosecutors allege that Xu and others incited hundreds of people to gather in front of government buildings, train stations, and universities in Beijing in 2012 and 2013. The demonstrators, according to the government, unfurled banners and handed out leaflets regarding education reform and asset disclosure for government officials. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

But it is the wider spectrum of Xu’s activities that have probably alarmed authorities, at least according to analysts and Xu’s close allies. Although Xu has been more cautious in his public statements than Liu, he has encouraged events such as dinner gatherings at so-called “dissident” discourse is permitted.

Feng Chongyi, an associate professor at the University of Technology in Sydney, who studies Chinese political movements, suggested that “They have been talking about a new sort of activism, the need to take new action, not only talk. The security people have made the judgment that they could be facing serious demonstrations. This is a preemptive strike…. They want to take out the leaders and organizers, and send a clear signal that no one is allowed to organize street protests.”

Xu’s rose to prominence in 2003 when he became involved in an unexpectedly successful campaign to abolish rules regarding police detentions of people found without urban residency permits.  His Open Constitution Initiative law firm took on several dicey cases, defending the editor of a hard-hitting newspaper and representing parents whose children had been sickened or killed by milk additives. In 2009, the firm was hit with tax evasion charges.

Xu then founded the New Citizens Movement, which he said is aimed at treading “a new path for the Chinese nation, a path toward liberty, justice and love.”

Xu was placed under house arrest in April, detained in July and formally arrested in August. His lawyer, Zhang Qingfang, said he visited Xu on Tuesday morning and that he seemed calm ahead of the trial.

Zhang said he and Xu planned to remain silent throughout the hearing as a means of objecting to what they deem to be an irregular and unfair procedure imposed by authorities. Xu plans to provide a brief concluding statement.

A major concern, according to Zhang, was prosecutors’ decision to hold separate trials for the activists.  Prosecutors have also refused to allow witnesses to appear in court and be questioned. Prosecutors had listed 68 witnesses against Xu, Zhang said, but would permit only their statements to be entered into the official record. Zhang’s efforts to bring five defense witnesses to the courtroom were rejected.

“This whole trial is being conducted in a black box, where we cannot actually see the entire process,” he said. “I always hope and strive to represent my clients in a fair trial, but this is not fair, so I will keep silent.”

For more information, please see:

New York Times–In China, a Week Full of Trials over Dissent–21 January 2014

Global Times–Xu Zhiyong set for Wed. Trial–21 January 2014

Voice of America–Prominent Rights Activist Faces Trial in China–21 January 2014

Los Angeles Times–Activists on trial as China steps up campaign against dissent–21 January 2014

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DELHI, India–Leaders of Indian ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) condemned the rape of a 51-year-odl Danish tourist.  The incident occurred near the New Delhi railway station.  AAP stressed a need for expedient court proceedings and a desire to reign in the authority of the Delhi Police, restructuring the institution under the state government.

The 51-year-old was robbed and then raped by a gang of six on Wednesday afternoon when she asked for directions to her hotel.

“This is a dangerous situation, and he (Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal) has spoken to the lieutenant-governor (Najeeb Jung). Now the LG, the chief minister and the police commissioner will meet to review the rape incidents that have occurred in the last one year,” Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia told reporters.

“We will also request the Chief Justice of India to take all the rape cases to fast track courts, so that the strictest punishment is meted out to the culprits,” Sisodia said.

Scrutiny of sexual violence in India has grown since the 2012 gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus. The government tightened laws on sexual violence last year after widespread protests following the attack.

AAP leader Kumar Vishwas stressed that the Delhi Police must be brought under the jurisdiction of the state government to preserve efficiency and integrity. Delhi Police are currently under the jurisdiction of the Union government.

“Delhi Police should be brought under the state government. This is an old demand of ours, so the chief minister and central government should make an effort,” Vishwas said.

He said that since Delhi Police remain under the central government, they cannot work properly.

Demanding a home minister on the state level, Vishwas said: “If any such incidents happen in Delhi, there should be a home minister, so that he can look after the Delhi affairs. It otherwise becomes a long affair which includes contacting and consulting the centre.”

The Danish woman, who came to India on January 1, went to visit a museum on Tuesday afternoon but then lost her way back to her hotel in Paharganj.  Paharganj is a major tourist city at the center of Delhi.

Around 4pm a group of men lured her to an isolated spot where she was robbed of her iPad and cash and then raped by six men, one of whom held a knife.

“She reached her hotel and reported the incident to the manager who called in the police and the investigation is now under way,” police spokesman, Rajan Bhagat said.

No arrests have been made yet, but police are questioning a number of men in connection with the attack

 For more information, please see:

Times of India–Danish woman’s gang rape: AA seeks control over Delhi police–15 January 2014

BBC News–Danish woman gang-raped in Indian capital Delhi— 15 January 2014

The Globe and Mail–Danish tourist gang-raped, robbed after getting lost in New Delhi— 15 January 2014

National Post–Danish tourist gang-raped in Inian capital after asking for directions, police say— 15 January 2014