By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Today, the director-general of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Major General Anwar Hossain, stated that the last of the frontier force’s mutiny-driven battalion is near disbandment.

“Three of the (mutiny-driven) battalions have been abolished earlier while the fourth one, the 44 Battalion, is set to be abolished early next month on completion of due processes,” stated Major General Hossain.

On Saturday, the Bangladesh military court found 723 border guards, the former Bangladeshi Rifles (BDR), guilty of “joining and leading the mutiny.”  The mutiny, which occurred in 2009, had lasted for 33 hours at BDR’s headquarters in Dhaka.  Moreover, the military courts neither permitted the defendants to obtain legal counsel nor grant a right to appeal.

“In all, 735 border guards were charged. Two died during the trial and 10 were acquitted,” relayed prosecutor Gazi Zillur Rahman to the AFP news agency.  “Of the 723 found guilty, 64 soldiers were sentenced to seven years in jail.”

According to Indian Daily News, hundreds of nurses and sportsmen, who have previously represented Bangladesh internationally, were among those convicted.

Two days after, a Bangladesh court jailed 723 border guards for their involvement.  Moreover, the court stated that the verdict was final in a sequence of mass trials lead by the Bangladesh military.

According to BBC, approximately 6,000 people have been jailed for the mutiny over pay and conditions with 74 people dead.  Moreover, among the deceased were at least 57 senior army officers whose bodies were dumped in sewers.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has faulted the trials for the death of these suspects while in custody of authorities and for others who were tortured and beaten.

In response, the Bangladesh military has casted HRW’s claims as baseless.  Moreover, the Bangladesh military alleged that the death of the suspects were from natural causes, such as heart related complications.

According to News Track India, Major General Hossain stated that four new battalions have been created with nearly 10,000 new recruits to replace the border force’s strength after the disbandment of the 24th, 13nth, 36th and 44th battalions.

The BGB, also known as “The Vigilant Sentinels of the National Frontier,” is the oldest uniformed force in Bangladesh and is predominantly responsible for the country’s border security. It is also the Ministry of Home Affair’s paramilitary force.

For further information, please see:

News Track India – Bangladesh Border Guards to abolish last mutiny-stained battalion – 24 Oct. 2012

Zee News – B’desh Border Guards to abolish last mutiny stained battalion – 24 Oct. 2012

BBC – Bangladesh mutiny: 723 border guards jailed – 22 Oct. 2012

India Daily News – Bangladesh jails 723 guards for 2009 mutiny – 20 Oct. 2012

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

TOKYO, Japan – On Tuesday, Japanese authorities arrested two United States sailors for allegedly raping a Japanese woman on the island of Okinawa.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Osamu Fujimura, shared that ministry defense representatives informed United States officials that “the incident is completely unacceptable.”

“[We] have strongly requested measures to increase discipline and prevent things like this from happening again,” said Mr. Fujimura.

“This should never have been allowed to happen,” stated Japan’s Prime Minister, Yoshihiko, to Japanese reporters.

The two sailors were identified as Petty Officer 3rd Class Skyler Dozierwalker and Seaman Christopher Browning of the Fort Worth Naval Air Base in Texas.  Furthermore, according to information relayed to the Huffington Post, the two men were drinking before they purportedly raped her.

United States Ambassador, John Roos, stated that the United States was “extremely concerned by recent allegations of misconduct” by the two servicemen.

“We are committed to cooperating fully with the Japanese authorities in their investigation,” continued Mr. Roos.

On Friday, Lieutenant General Salvatore Angelella apologized in a statement that announced the United States’ plan to impose a curfew.  “I want to personally apologize for the grief and trauma the victim has endured,” shared the lieutenant.

The curfew confines United States military personnel to the base, a personal home, or hotel between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.  This curfew will affect an estimated fifty thousand servicemen currently stationed in Japan.

It is important to note that the relationship between the United States and Okinawans has already been strained by events in the past.

Last month, more than one hundred thousand gathered to protest the deployment of the Marine Corps Osprey aircraft.  Many Okinawans believe this is adding to the already heavy United States presence in the area.

Furthermore, prior to Tuesday’s attack, in August of this year, a U.S. Marine was arrested for purportedly molesting and assaulting a woman Okinawa’s capital, Naha.

Moreover, in 1992, three United States personnel allegedly gang-raped a twelve-year-old girl on Okinawa.  The event caused the United States to reduce military presence on the island.

The United States currently bases approximately twenty six thousand troops on Okinawa.

For further information, please see:

CNN – U.S. troops in Okinawa on curfew after arrests in rape case – 19 Oct. 2012

New York Times – Curfew is Imposed on the U.S. Military in Japan Amid Rape Inquiries – 19 Oct. 2012

BBC – US troops held over Okinawa alleged rape – 17 Oct. 2012

Huffington Post – Okinawa Military Rape Arrests: Japan Decries U.S. Troops in Sexual Assault Allegations – 17 Oct. 2012

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Local protests erupted in the Chinese city of Luzhou after a truck driver was allegedly beaten to death by police officers over an unknown dispute.

Luzhou, a major city situated in the southwestern Sichuan province, experienced violent riots that lasted well into Wednesday night.  Bystanders took pictures and video footage of unruly mobs throwing rocks, bottles, and other objects at police forces.  Several police patrol vehicles had also been overturned and set on fire.

Amateur photographs and videos of the scene where the truck driver had died went viral on the Chinese “microblogging” site, “Sina Weibo.”  The photos and videos allegedly show the dead truck driver sprawled out on the ground as police tried to keep the smoldering crowd back and under control.  Local bloggers conveyed that the crowd around the scene swarmed the body of the dead truck driver and attempted to protect the corpse from being removed by the local authorities.

A Sichuan province official issued a statement saying the truck driver had died of a disease when traffic police asked the truck driver to stop blocking traffic and move his vehicle away from the middle of the road.  The official attempted to disperse the crowd by telling the protestors that the truck driver died of an illness and had, in fact, not been beaten to death by the traffic police.

Police reinforcements were brought in to contain the violent outburst by the protesting crowd.  Reports of arrests and police reinforcements using tear gas on protestors exploded on the internet.  Onlookers posted photographs, videos and blog post regarding the police brutality and retaliation against the protestors.

The violent riots over the dead truck driver in Luzhou, Sichuan province, comes during a period of political uncertainty in China.  The Communist Party meets next month in Beijing to install a new generation of central government leaders.

There were roughly 80,000 incidents of riots, protests, and other eruptions of unrest in the general population in 2007.  Experts estimate that in 2009, the number of violent eruptions of unrest had risen to 90,000 incidents.  Others estimate that the number may be even higher.

The Chinese Communist Party is in disarray and worries that the thousands of protests may soon transform into a national movement that may threaten the party’s iron grip over the country and the people.  The number of demonstrations and protests have risen in opposition of the Communist Party’s corruption, land grabs, abuse of power, and economic transgressions.

For further information, please see:

People’s Daily Online – Cops blamed for death as crowds riot – 18 October 2012

China Digital Times – Residents Take to Streets After Man Reported Killed – 17 October 2012

Offbeat China – Violent unrest in Luzhou, Sichuan, after traffic police beat driver to death. Censors already at work. – 17 October 2012

Reuters – Chinese residents take to streets after man reported killed – 17 October 2012

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Yesterday, the world’s largest contract electronic maker, Foxconn Technology Group, admitted to using student interns in its Chinese factory.  The Taiwanese company has been employing students as young as fourteen years old.

According to The Guardian, Chinese labor rights activists have accused many big companies, including Foxconn, of using student internship programs as a veil for cheap labor.

On Tuesday, Foxconn shared that it found interns under the legal working age of sixteen at its factory in Yantai, located in the northeastern Shandong province.  Foxconn, however, did not reveal how many of underage interns there were.

“Our investigation has shown that the interns in question, who ranged in age from 14 to 16, had worked in that campus for approximately three weeks,” stated the company.

In defending its internship program, Foxconn stated that workers make up only 2.7% of its staff in China.  Moreover, internships can be long- or short- term, with the average lasting three and a half months.

Foxconn stated that the company would work with the local government to forbid schools involved in the Yantai factory from the internship program.  However, if these schools demonstrated compliance with company policy and, most importantly, labor law then they would not be barred from the program.

“This is not only a violation of China’s labour law, it is also a violation of Foxconn policy and immediate steps have been taken to return the interns in question to their educational institutions,” Foxconn shared.  “However, we recognize that full responsibility for these violations rests with our company and we have apologized to each of the students for our role in this action.”

According to The Telegraph, in order to differentiate student interns from others, Foxconn gave them special worker ID numbers. Nonetheless, they worked alongside adults including night shifts and overtime.

“I did transport work, helping them move goods,” said one fourteen years old using the alias Xiao Wang.  “Right now, the night shift is 7:40pm until the morning. Whenever the work is done is when you get off your shift.”

Moreover, when asked how many days these student interns do not work a month, the response was “[n]ot even one.”

In September of this year, a riot took place at Foxconn’s plant in Taiyuan over living conditions inside the plant’s on-site dormitories for commuting workers.

Foxconn is Apple’s largest manufacturing partner and creates products for, among other companies, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell.  However, the company stated that none of the under age interns were working on Apple products.

After a series of suicides in 2010 and reports of employment abuses, Foxconn and Apple were mandated to improve working conditions in the Chinese factories.

For further information, please see:

The Guardian – Foxconn used 14-year-old interns at its factory in China – 17 Oct. 2012

Los Angeles Times – Underage Foxconn interns working in China plant return to school – 17 Oct. 2012

The Telegraph – 14-year-olds employed on Foxconn factory production line – 17 Oct. 2012

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar – Thousands of Buddhist monks in Myanmar took to the streets to protest the establishment of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) office which would supply aid to Rohingya Muslims in the country.

 

Three thousand monks marched through downtown Yangon, the former capital, holding banners which read “No OIC.”  In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, thousands of protestors said they could not accept the establishment of an OIC office in the country.  Further demonstrations sprang up in the town of Pakokku in the central region of the country.

Plans to set up an OIC office in the northwest Rakhine state had been in the works until the recent protests.  Rakhine had been the stage for violent clashes between native Buddhists and the Rohingya Muslims in June which resulted in at least 77 deaths and displaced thousands more.

The demonstrations by the monks, a powerful political force in the predominately Buddhist country, was followed by an announcement by the president’s office which conveyed that an OIC office would not be opened in Rakhine after all.  President Thein Sein’s office stated that due to the popular desire of the people, the government would not sanction the opening of the OIC office.  It is uncertain whether or not the protests were directly linked to the government’s announcement.

The United Nations has described Rohingya Muslims as one of the most persecuted minority groups in the world.  Human Rights watch has also found evidence of state sponsored discrimination and persecution against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Myanmar is currently home to approximately 800,000 Rohingyas with no state to call home due to their illegal immigrant status.  Thousands of Rohingya were displaced by the violence in Rakhine and have been seeking shelter in temporary homes and refugee camps.  The conditions that Rohingya Muslims are currently living in are described as abject and dire.

Government officials have been criticized by the United Nations as contributing to the problem by allowing violence to occur against the Rohingyas rather than implementing policies to curb it.  Lawmaker Aung San Suu Kyi, an advocate for Burmese rights, is under fire from the international community for failing to advocate for the Rohingyas.  The Burmese are suffering from the same denial of basic rights.

Amidst the arsons, ethnic clashes and other violent displays directed at the Rohingyas, many have attempted to flee by sea to neighboring Bangladesh.  Those that have attempted to fled, however, were met by Bengali security forces and turned away, forcing their return to Myanmar to endure persecution, discrimination and illegal status.

For further information, please see:

Al Arabiya News – Mass monk rallies against OIC in major Myanmar cities – 15 October 2012

Al Jazeera – Myanmar scraps Islamic group’s office plan – 15 October 2012

Press TV – Myanmar bans OIC from opening office for Rohingya Muslims – 15 October 2012

Reuters – Buddhist monks march in Myanmar to thwart Islamic office plan – 15 October 2012