News

China Criticized for Meager Aid Efforts in Phillippines

By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China–China responded to criticism Thursday, and announced that it would increase its aid to the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. Some Chinese bloggers have called for no help at all. 

Survivors erected a sign begging for help and food after Typhoon Haiyan ripped through the Phillippines earlier this month. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

The two countries remain knotted in a longstanding dispute over islands in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety. Manila has accused Beijing of aggressively asserting its claims and says Chinese vessels have occupied the Scarborough Shoal, which Manila has claimed as its own since last year. 

China, enjoying an almost decade long economic boom, announced a $100,000 cash donation on Monday. The donation was to be matched by the Chinese Red Cross. The sum of $200,000 is far less than other countries, and sparked intense criticism overseas. It also stands in sharp contrast to China’s other recent donations: over $10 million for Japan in the wake of its tsunami two years ago and almost $40 million for countries affected by the 2004 Asian tsunami. 

The amount would be low even if China, the world’s second largest and fastest growing economy, were a much smaller or poorer nation: Malaysia, population 29 million, has pledged $1 million in cash, as well as food aid; New Zealand, population 4.4 million, has pledged another $1 million.  

The US magazine Time reported Wednesday under the headline “The world’s second largest economy off-loads insultingly small change on a storm-battered Philippines”. 

“The Chinese government has been made to look mean-spirited in front of the world community,” said the article.

Foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday that the country decided “just days ago” to provide an additional 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) for relief efforts in the form of blankets, tents and other materials. 

“There will be thousands of tents and tens of thousands of blankets,” he told reporters. 

“We hope that these supplies will be delivered to the disaster-stricken areas as soon as possible to show our sympathies with the Philippines.” 

Typhoon Haiyan swept through the central islands of the Philippines Friday, leave mass destruction in its wake. 

Chinese media and Internet users — many of whom are intensely nationalistic — were divided on how the country should respond to the disaster. 

“If (the Chinese government) was generous to the Philippines, it would hurt the Chinese people completely,” wrote a user of Old Beijing on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. 

Another user said: “I think what China has done was rational — facts have long showed the wickedness of the Philippine regime. It will not be grateful even if we hand them much money. Instead, it could use the cash to buy weapons from the US to attack us.” 

Others argued that China was a victim of the storm itself, and had its own disaster relief needs at to be concerned with. 

The typhoon brushed three provinces and regions in south China this week, leaving at least 13 dead or missing and 252,000 people displaced, according to the latest data.

Nevertheless some experts warned that it was not in China’s best interests to minimize its humanitarian aid to the Philippines, particularly with the international community heavily scrutinizing every move the economic giant takes.  

“A country’s status on the world stage does not only rely on its economic and military strength. It is also determined by how much soft power it can master, which includes its approach to humanitarianism,” said a commentary in the state-run Global Times. 

Qin attempted to diminish the value of the online nationalist sentiment, saying that an “overwhelming majority” of Chinese people “understand and sympathize with the sufferings of the Philippines”.

For more information, please see:

BBC News– China’s Phillippine aid controversy — 14 November 2013

ABC News– In Phillippine Relief Effort, China Beat by Ikea — 14 November 2013

Reuters– China says people sympathetic about Phillippines, online criticsm unrepresentative — 14 November 2013

Quartz– China’s paltry response to Typhoon Haiyan illustrates the limits of its soft power — 13 November 2013

Global Post– China to step up aid to Phillippines amid controversy — 14 November 2013

European Court of Human Rights Orders Sweden to Pay Girl Filmed in Bathroom by Stepfather

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

STRASBOURG, France – The European Court of Human Rights      ruled Tuesday that Sweden must pay compensation to a woman for failing to protect her right to privacy after her stepfather was acquitted of sexual molestation charges.

The girl found the hidden camera back in 2002 in a laundry basket. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

Eliza Soederman’s stepfather attempted to film her naked in the bathroom when she was 14 years old. Soederman found the hidden camera in the bathroom in 2002. Her mother burned the film and reported the incident to police two years later, according to a court statement.

Soederman had found a video camera that her stepfather had hidden in the laundry basket in the bathroom. The European Court of Human Rights published a summary of the case on its website:

“The camera was directed at the spot where the applicant had undressed before taking a shower. [She] explained that on the relevant day, just before she was about to take a shower, her stepfather had something to do in the bathroom. When she discovered the camera, it was in recording mode, making a buzzing sound and flashing.”

The Court stated that Swedish law failed to protect her privacy because covert filming was not a punishable offense at the time. A Swedish law covering privacy rights came into effect in July earlier this year.

The stepfather was charged and convicted of sexual molestation over the incident. However he was later acquitted of the charges because Swedish molestation law did not extend to cases of covert filming.

The Court of Human rights ordered Sweden to pay Soederman 39,700 euros in damages, including compensation for legal costs.

The European Court judges stated that the man could not possibly have been convicted of attempted child pornography. The gap in Sweden’s sexual molestation law resulted from the lack of a definition for “pornographic picture” in the Swedish penal code.

Soederman, now 25, took her case to the European Court of Human Rights after the Swedish court of appeal acquitted the stepfather in 2007. He contended that he never intended his stepdaughter to know about the covert filming.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Court: Sweden Failed Girl Filmed by Stepfather – 12 November 2013

BBC News – European Court Fines Sweden Over Girl Video Case – 12 November 2013

Fox News – Rights Court: Sweden Failed to Protect Girl Filmed Nude by Stepfather – 12 November 2013

The Local – European Court to Rule on Swedish Shower Case – 12 November 2013

The Washington Post – Rights Court: Sweden Failed to Protect Girl Filmed Nude by Stepfather – 12 November 2013

Mozambique Officers Arrest Child Smugglers

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

MAPUTO, Mozambique – Mozambican officers have rescued 27 children being smuggled to South Africa.

South Africa is the wealthiest country in the region (photo courtesy of BBC)

The children were between the ages of 1 and 7.

Seven people were arrested for attempting to smuggle these children across the border to South Africa.

Children end up in the hands of smugglers when parents send their children to stay with relatives in South Africa during school holidays. Instead of going to their relatives, many of them end up being smuggled.

Many of the children also end up in the hands of criminal networks.

When parents send their children to South Africa, they risk the potential for the children to be smuggled and forced into prostitution, child labor, illegal adoption, or used in “witchcraft,” BBC reports.

One of the mothers, whose child was smuggled, denies any criminal intentions when she sent her child on a minibus with the group. This group was later arrested for smuggling.

“I always took my child with me to Johannesburg because she was attached to my now-expired passport. This time I could not secure money to get a passport for my child,” said the mother, who has not been named in the local media.

One of the arrested men alleged of trafficking the children denies they were smuggling children. He claims they were paid to bring the children to South Africa to spend the holiday season there.

However, the police are confident they were dealing with child trafficking.

“We are talking about children who are not authorized to cross the border without being accompanied by a relative,” police spokesman Emidio Mabunda said.

“Even with a relative, the child must have a passport or must be attached to a passport of a parent.”

Some of the children found were sent back to their families, whereas others were put into the care of the social welfare department.

For more information, please visit:

BBC News – Mozambique ‘child smuggling’ arrests at South Africa border – 12 November 2013
Ghana Visions – Mozambique Child Smuggling Arrests At South Africa Border – 12 November 2013
Local UK News – Mozambique ‘child smuggling’ arrests – 12 November 2013
NewsForAfrica.com – Mozambique ‘child smuggling’ arrests – 12 November 2013

Thousands of Bulgarians Protest Incumbent Government After Ousting Previous Government in May

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

SOFIA, Bulgaria – Approximately 4,000 Bulgarian protesters marched in the country’s capital on Sunday, demanding that the current ruling party of the government step down to give rise to premature elections.

Thousands protested the country’s education system and current government over the weekend. (Photo courtesy of Novinite)

 

The protesters called for an end to the “rein of the oligarchy,” on a day exactly twenty-four years after the fall of the Communist Party in Bulgaria. Demonstrators gathered outside of government buildings in central Sophia, protesting that Bulgaria was still not a stable, prosperous country.

The protesters congregated at major intersections in the city, and were focusing their chants on pressuring incumbent Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski to resign. Many protesters toted images of Oresharski depicted as a zombie. A few protesters went so far as to burn their pictures. The Prime Minister recently took office in May but has already faced pervasive pressure to resign.

The previous administration was brought down by similar popular protests, but the new Socialist-led administration is already facing the same pressure to resign, as citizens are alleging corrupt ties with business groups.

Protesters are charging that the current government is “connected to the oligarchy” just like the previous administration. Sunday’s protest was the latest in a five-month-old anti-government movement that accuses its leaders of having ties with shady businessmen.

Sunday’s demonstrators carried banners stating, “Down with the mafia”, and “We stay, you emigrate.” Many signs referenced the twenty-four year anniversary of the fall of Communist dictator Todor Zhivkov, as many citizens do not believe the country has achieved true democracy.  “24 years of sham democracy is enough.”

Bulgarian students had also protested the previous day on Saturday, calling for changes to the country’s education system, which they said should develop “independent people with a critical mind, instead of conformists.” “We are protesting against poverty and unemployment”, the students stated in a written declaration. “We are protesting before we become beggars with a higher education.”

Bulgaria is one of the poorest countries in the European Union, and has been politically unstable this year with protests against poverty and corruption in February prompting the previous government to resign. The average monthly wage in Bulgaria is the lowest in the EU at 400 euros and the average pension just 130 euros.

A concert has already been organized for Sunday, also in Sofia, set to headline protest songs from the first anti-communist demonstrations in 1989-1990.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Bulgaria Protests: Clashes Outside Parliament – 12 November 2013

Novinite – Students Reignite Popular Anti-Corruption Protests in Bulgaria – 12 November 2013

The Republic – Protesters Block Bulgarian Parliament, Hoping to Oust Demanding Early Elections – 12 November 2013

Al Jazeera – Bulgarians Protest Against Government Policy – 10 November 2013

San Salvador Archbishop Closes Human Rights and Legal Aid Office

By Ellis Cortez
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – The Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador has abruptly closed its important human rights and legal aid office, which for years denounced and investigated the most egregious massacre cases of the 1980’s civil war.

Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes, responding to the closure of the Tutela Legal office in San Salvador, said he was “worried about the bad signal this sends.”
Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes, responding to the closure of the Tutela Legal office in San Salvador. (Photo Courtesy of Roberto Escobar / European Pressphoto Agency)

The closure triggered national and international condemnation from faith, human rights and solidarity groups. They called for the preservation of Tutela Legal’s extensive archive, which contains evidence for unresolved criminal cases.

On September 30, employees showed up for work at the Tutela Legal office and found the locks changed on the doors and armed guards at the door. They were allowed 10 minutes to clear their desks. Attorneys who have worked with survivors and victims’ families for decades now have no access to evidence in the cases.

The current Archbishop, José Luis Escobar Alas, had closed Tutela Legal and issued a statement saying its work was “no longer relevant.” Employees said they were told that, with the war long over, the office was no longer necessary.

“We had no idea this was going to happen,” Tutela’s director, Ovidio Mauricio Gonzalez, said. “It is a strange coincidence. Just as they are talking about the amnesty, they close Tutela Legal, they close access to the archive, and abandon it to its fate,” he said.

The timing of the closure has caused widespread suspicion. The closure of Tutela Legal comes in the wake of a Supreme Court decision to consider vacating an “Amnesty Law” that has long protected perpetrators of war crimes.

The amnesty law, passed in 1993 by the military-allied Nationalist Republican Alliance government, protected numerous government officials, military officers and guerrilla leaders from prosecution for acts committed during the civil war that took place between 1980 and 1992, in which approximately 80,000 people died.

The court’s decisions renewed hope of the amnesty law being repealed and the possibility of reopening several prominent human rights cases that were investigated and documented by Tutela Legal. 

Late last year, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the law cannot be used to protect those who ordered and carried out the single largest massacre in the war: the 1981 El Mozote massacre in which at least 800 peasants, including children, were killed by the army.

“I am worried about the bad signal this sends,” President Mauricio Funes said in a news conference, adding he did not know the reasons behind the closing. “The Catholic Church, and especially the archbishop of San Salvador, are not determined to accompany the just causes of the people,” Funes added.

Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero founded the Human Rights Office, originally known as Socorro Juridico (Legal Relief) in 1977, in order to document human rights violations from across the country. In addition to counselling the poor and oppressed, it was one of the only places people could go to report state-sponsored crimes. Every Sunday until his assassination in March 1980, Romero would broadcast a homily from the grand cathedral in San Salvador which included the latest denunciations.

Since then, Tutela Legal has documented more than 50,000 cases of human rights abuses. It holds the most comprehensive archive of El Salvador’s bloody history and its lawyers continue to represent survivors of notorious massacres including El Mozote and Rio Sumpul.

In the past two decades Tutela Legal’s work has proven crucial in cases brought against senior military figures living in the United States.Tutela Legal was also active in new cases, such as the 2007 Red car battery factory lead-poisoning case, and ran education programs and human rights training across El Salvador. Tutela’s work has recently included studies of gang violence, abuses tied to the expanded role of the military in policing, and important legal work for the poor.

Members of the Tutela Legal staff have been examining alternatives. There were suggestions that the office reopen as an independent human rights organization, without the auspices of the church.

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera – El Salvador shutters historic rights clinic – 12 October 2013

National Catholic Reporter – Salvadoran archbishop closes legal aid office – 4 October 2013

Los Angeles Times – Catholic Church in El Salvador shuts down rights and legal office – 2 October 2013

Center for Democracy in the Americas – San Salvador Archbishop shuts down historic human rights office, Tutela Legal – 2 October 2013