Asia

Seven Killed by U.S. Drone Strike in Pakistan

By Kevin M. Mathewson

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia          

NORTH WAZIRISTAN, Pakistan – Two missiles, from suspected US drones, have killed seven people in a village in the North Waziristan tribal area, close to the Afghan border on Friday. The troubled border region is known as a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants.

“The U.S. drone fired two missiles targeting a militant compound and killing at least seven militants.” a senior local security official said.

The drone attack came just days after Nawaz Sharif took over as Pakistan’s prime minister for an unprecedented third term and asked the United States to end its drone attacks against militants.

“We respect the sovereignty of others and they should also respect our sovereignty and independence. This campaign should come to an end.” Sharif stated in regards to the U.S. campaign.

Last month President Obama announced stricter targeting rules for the drone campaign against militant suspects.

It is unclear who the target of the attack was, though several militant groups have camps in the area. Pakistan Taliban, whose deputy leader Waliur Rehman was killed in a drone strike on May 29, is said to be stationed there. Rehman was the number two in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction and had a $5 million U.S. government bounty on his head.

On Thursday the families of Pakistani victims of U.S. drone strikes wrote to Sharif urging him to stop the U.S. campaign, even by shooting the U.S. drone’s down if necessary.

Drone attacks are incredibly controversial in Pakistan, where parts of the government and military have been accused of ignoring or even condoning some of the strikes. It has been claimed that between 2004 and 2013, U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan have killed up to 3,460 people.

It has been estimated by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, that of those 3,460 deaths, 890 of them were civilians with a vast majority of strikes being carried out under the Obama administration.

In May, President Obama said the drone strikes were part of a legitimate campaign against terrorism, calling them “legal” and “just.” However, on May 9th the high court in the northwestern city of Peshawar declared the U.S. drone strikes targeting suspected militants a “war crime.”

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Pakistan drone strike kills seven in North Waziristan – 8 June 2013

4 News – Pakistan summons US diplomat over drone strike – 8 June 2013

The Daily Star – US drone strike kills 7 in Pakistan – 8 June 2013

The Voice of Russia – Pakistan protests to US over drone strikes that kill nine – 8 June 2013

Reuters – Pakistan summons envoy after U.S. drone strike kills nine – 8 June 2013

Nine North Koreans Returned to Pyongyang After Fleeing to Laos

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PYONGYANG, North Korea– Nine North Korean youths, ages 14 to 23, were returned to Pyongyang earlier this week after being arrested in Laos and deported through Beijing, China.  Both the Chinese and Lao governments have come under criticism from the UNHCR, the United Nations organ responsible for refugee matters.

Protesters rally outside the Lao embassy in Seoul demanding the Lao government ensure the safety of the nine individuals returned to North Korea. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

The nine individuals fled North Korea in early May and entered Laos through China on May 9.  On May 16, Lao authorities captured the group and arranged their deportation to Beijing.  On Tuesday May 28 the group was flown back to Pyongyang under the supervision of several North Korean officials.

U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville stated that the group will likely face severe punishment upon their return.  North Korean law imposes a mandatory sentence of five years hard labor for defectors and the possibility of life imprisonment.  According to Human Rights Watch, North Korea has a history of mistreating persons that have left the country without authorization.  Such mistreatment has reportedly included forced labor, indeterminate detention, torture, malnourishment, and unsanitary living conditions.  Particularly harsh punishments are utilized against those suspected of attempting to contact or enter South Korea.

The U.N. admonished the DPRK Friday for failing to observe its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights article 7, which states that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

The potential for severe punishment and/or mistreatment at the hands of the DPRK also places the nine individuals within the protective sphere of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol, and the 1984 Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment.  The 1951 Convention defines “refugee” as a person who “owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country…”  The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Handbook establishes that persecution that arises as a result of, or after, fleeing one’s country is also within the scope of the Convention’s protection.

The UNHCR has stated that both China and Laos’ actions are violations of  the aforementioned conventions, and also the customary international law principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the return (refouler) or extradition of any person to a State where there are substantial grounds to believe that she would be in danger of being subjected to torture.

The exact condition and status of these nine individuals is unknown at this time, and North Korea has thus far failed to answer U.N. requests to investigate and/or receive independent reports on the status of the group.  The UNHCR continues to investigate and has expressed concern that in both China and Laos the group was denied an opportunity to lodge claims for asylum.

For further information, please see:

Human Rights Watch — North Korea: Denial of Rights Forces Back Refugees — 30 May 2013

BBC — UN ‘dismayed’ Over North Korea Refugees — 31 May 2013

Reuters — U.N. Fears Nine North Korean Defectors Sent Home by China — 31 May 2013

Bangkok Post — UN Protests Return of North Koreans — 1 June 2013

 

Thousands of Malaysians Protest Over Allegedly Fraudulent Elections

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The Rakyat, Malaysia’s three party opposition alliance to the allegedly corrupt central government, held a protest rally to shun a possible election fraud that may have been present in Malaysia’s May 5th national elections.

Thousands of demonstrators attend the rally put on by Anwar Ibrahim. (Photo Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal)

Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the opposition alliance, vowed to expose the central government’s actions that fraudulently allowed the Barisan Nasional coalition to stay in power.  The opposition alliance bases their allegations on the fact that the Barisan party only won 46% of the popular vote during the national election, however, they still own a majority of the parliamentary seats.

Anwar Ibrahim’s opposition alliance only managed to secure 89 parliamentary seats despite securing a majority of the popular vote (at 51%).  The Barisan managed to hold onto 133 seats.  Investigators have alluded to possible voting irregularities and are now focusing their efforts around 30 seats where the margin of victory was extremely small and perhaps the integrity of the votes was questionable.

Growing concerns over voting integrity and the possibility that the central ruling party has implemented some type of illegal tactic in the recent election triggered a massive number of mass protests in the streets in addition to Anwar Ibrahim’s large stadium demonstration.

Malaysia’s electoral system has been under scrutiny by the public in recent years and the civil society group, Bersih, has pushed for electoral improvements.  The proposed improvements, however, were struck down after being put to a vote and the central government’s elections commission only adopted a small portion of the broad number of proposed changes.

Third party think tanks including Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) had dispatched observers to the Malaysian election scene in order to gather information and verify the legitimacy of their voting practices.

The report compiled by the third party observers noted that mainstream media is dominated by the Barisan ruling party and the content is heavily biased in favor of the current central government.  Furthermore, central government and military facilities are commonly used in campaign efforts by the Barisan.

The third party observers further reported that the lack of transparency in political and electoral financing further exacerbates the problems with allegations of voting fraud.  The irregularities in the May 5th election will have a significant impact on the legitimacy of the ruling party going forward.

The current prime minister’s office has rejected the allegations and accusations of voting fraud because they believe that the evidence brought forward by the third party observations are unsubstantiated.  However, concerns over voting fraud were already in the winds with reports that thousands of constituents were flown in from Borneo to Kuala Lumpur to rig the vote.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Opposition protests Malaysia vote ‘fraud’ – 9 May 2013

The Wall Street Journal – Malaysian Premier Tested by Protests Over Vote – 9 May 2013

Reuters – Malaysian rally to protest election “fraud” draws big crowd – 8 May 2013

BBC – Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim urges protest over poll defeat – 6 May 2013

20 Die in Bangladesh After Violence Clashes Between Muslim Protesters and Police

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DHAKA, Bangladesh – At least 20 Bangladeshi deaths have resulted from a series of violent clashes between Muslim protestors attempting to push for religious reforms and state riot police attempting to quiet the discontent in the streets.

Police attempt to hold back oncoming protesters who are hurling stones. (Photo Courtesy of Voice of America)

On Sunday, 200,000 Muslims and proponents of Islamic religious change marched in the capital city of Dhaka.  The demonstrators were met by state police forces that fired rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd in an attempt to disperse the mobs.

The demonstrators regrouped the next day, on Monday, and retaliated against the police attacks by hurling stones at city officials.  The police again utilized teargas and rubber bullets, as well as water cannons, to try and stop the violence.

The protestors also damaged private and public property during their violent demonstrations by setting fire to vehicles, including at least two police vehicles, and attempted to overrun a police outpost near the edge of the city.

Additional violent clashes erupted in the city of Chittagong in the southeastern portion of the country.  Police opened fire with live ammunition rounds at the protestors attempting to overrun their position.  Another two protestors were killed in the southern city of Bagerhat.

The violence is a result of political actions perpetrated by the Islamist group “Hefajat-e-Islam” which has urged the government to adopt a new blasphemy law, reinstate a pledge to Allah in their national constitution, adopt a new law that bans women from freely associating with men, and making Islamic education mandatory in schools.

The central government of Bangladesh has resisted the demands of the Islamist group and refuses to make the changes.  U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has urged the Muslims seeking religious reform in the country to go about their business peacefully and for the central government to respond in kind.

The country has seen a string of violent protests emerge since January of this year.  An investigative tribunal was set up in order to probe abuses that were perpetrated by possible war criminals during the 1971 war for independence from neighboring Pakistan.  A main Muslim party leader of Jamaat-e-Islami was sentenced to death by the investigative tribunal after the proceedings.

The central party leaders of the Jamaat had been accused of committing the crimes of rape, murder and torture during the war for independence.  Jamaat-e-Islami was also a large opponent to the current central government’s push for independence.

Hefajat-e-Islam emerged in the aftermath of the controversial tribunals that condemned the Jamaat-e-Islami party leaders and the new party has also revived the push for strong Islamic, religious reforms that Jamaat once stood for.

For further information, please see:

Irish Independent – Bangladesh rallies leave 20 dead – 6 May 2013

Reuters – At least 20 dead in Islamist protests in Bangladesh – 6 May 2013

Xinhua World News – Bangladesh closes pro-opposition TV channels after 20 killed in police, Islamists clashes – 6 May 2013

Voice of America – 20 Killed in Clashes Between Bangladesh Police, Islamists – 5 May 2013

U.S. Demands the Release of a U.S. Citizen Currently Detained in North Korea

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PYONGYANG, North Korea – The U.S. demanded North Korea to release a captive American citizen who was recently sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for the alleged crime of attempting to overthrow the central North Korean government.

Pictured above, a photo of the detained, Kenneth Bae. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

Kenneth Bae (44), also known as Pae Jun-Ho, was born in South Korea, studied psychology for two years at the University of Oregon, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States.  Mr. Bae has been detained by the North Korean government since he entered the north as a tourist last year.

He was arrested in November of last year after entering North Korean through the north eastern port city of Rason which is part of a special economic zone near the North Korean-Chinese border.  There is speculation that Mr. Bae was acting as a tour operator when he was taken into custody by authorities.

South Korean activists speculate that Mr. Bae was detained by North Korean authorities because he had been taking photographs of starving children.  Patrick Ventrell, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department expressed concerns regarding the due process aspects of North Korea’s legal system.

One of the gravest concerns is whether or not North Korea’s legal system is actually providing defendants with a fair trial due to the lack of transparency that surrounds their courts.  Reports state that Mr. Bae had received legal counsel from Sweden since Sweden represented the U.S. in their absence in this ordeal due to a lack of diplomatic ties with North Korea.

Now that Mr. Bae has run the full gauntlet of the DPRK’s legal system, the U.S.is asking that Mr. Bae be granted amnesty for the alleged anti-government crimes that he has committed against the communist state.  The U.S. demands that Mr. Bae be released immediately.

Mr. Bae’s April 30th sentence could not have come at a worse time since the U.S. and North Korea have been deadlocked in a diplomatic quagmire regarding Pyongyang’s third nuclear test.  The U.S. doled out harsher sanctions on Pyongyang after its latest nuclear test in February which followed a December long range rocket test.

Pyongyang responded to the U.S. sanctions by threatening to launch a full scale military attack on U.S. military bases and also cut shaky ties with their democratic, southern brother.  Pundits suggest that North Korea is holding Mr. Bae hostage as leverage in future negotiations.

Though Mr. Bae has been sentenced to 15 years in a hard labor camp, he will most likely be housed in a separate, less harsh facility, designed specifically for foreign detainees.

For further information, please see:

BBC – US urges N Korea to grant amnesty to Kenneth Bae – 2 May 2013

Reuters – U.S. seeks North Korean amnesty for American jailed for 15 years – 2 May 2013

The Telegraph – US demands ‘immediate release’ of American imprisoned in North Korea 2- May 2013

Al Jazeera – North Korea to put US citizen on trial – 27 April 2013