News

Japan Increases Surveillance of North Korea Nuclear Weapons Program

By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

TOKYO, Japan – Ken Kato, director of Human Rights in Asia and a member of International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea, has made allegations that a scientist with ties to North Korea is working for a Japanese University. More specifically, the scientist is working with technology required to achieve miniaturization of nuclear warheads.

North Korean soldiers look toward Kim Jong Un in 2013 as they march with packs marked with the nuclear symbol. Photo courtesy of AP.

Paragraph 17 of UN Resolution 2270, legislation meant to ban specialized nuclear and missile-related teaching or training currently applies only to individuals who identify as DPRK nationals. Under the current regulation, Kato argues, North Koreans living in Japan who sympathize with the North Korean regime are exempt from the ban.

Kato has addressed the UN Security Council on the matter, warning of North Korean “nuclear spies” operating in Japan. Kato singled out an assistant professor at Kyoto University’s Research Reactor Institute. Dr. Pyeon Cheol-ho is “closely linked to the North Korean regime” and received “grants from the Kim Man Yu Science Foundation for research on nuclear testing in 1997 and 1999,” according to experts speaking to Japanese media.

North Korea’s nuclear agenda is not a new threat to international security. Japan recently launched a surveillance satellite meant to keep an eye on North Korea’s nuclear development program. Japan’s Radar 5 was brought into orbit atop the H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center on March 17. The new satellite is meant to replace an existing surveillance satellite, nearing the end of its time in commission.

Increasingly, international cooperation is crucial to monitoring the development of North Korea’s nuclear missile program.

For more information, please see:

Deutsche Welle – Are ‘nuclear spies’ in Japan providing Pyongyang with weapons technology? – 4 April, 2017

The Japan Times – Japan launches new spy satellite to keep eye on North Korea – 17 March, 2017

NASA – Japanese H-IIA rocket launches latest IGS spy satellite – 16 March, 2017

International Business Times – Eye in the sky: Japan launches spy satellite to watch North Korea amid rising nuclear threat – 18 march, 2017

U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Reaches New Labor Agreement with Better Pay

By Sarah Lafen
Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States — On Tuesday, the United States’ women’s national soccer team and U.S. Soccer, the team’s governing body, agreed to a new five-year agreement.  The new agreement follows a year-long dispute over demands for equal pay.  The team’s previous agreement expired in 2012, but was extended while negotiations took place.  Some players brought the situation to court to explore the possibility of going on strike to protest a lack of progress in negotiations, however U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ruled against the players last year.

U.S. women’s national soccer team members Tobin Heath, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Samantha Mewis at a game in March (Photo Courtesy of the New York Times)

While the new agreement will not match the women’s national team pay with the men’s national soccer team pay, it does outline better working conditions, travel arrangements, increase per diem stipends, and match bonuses.  Because the agreement will last through 2021, the team will not have to renegotiate terms for upcoming major events, such as the 2019 World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati called the agreement an “important step” for women’s soccer.  Gulati praised the agreement and said that “[it] helps to ensure the strength of the women’s national team, provide stability and growth potential for the National Women’s Soccer League, and over time strengthen the elite player development process at the grassroots level.”

U.S. women’s team veteran Megan Rapinoe said she was “very proud” of the team throughout the negotiation process.  Rapione thinks there is still progress to be made for the women’s team and women in general, the Women’s National Team Players Association should be proud of their accomplishment with the new agreement.  National team player Alex Morgan said the agreement “felt very empowering.”  Morgan commented that she “felt really happy with the agreement that [they] reached and the fact that [they] can now do what [they] came for and play soccer.”

The agreement was reached on National Equal Pay Day, which is the date that marks how far into the year women have to work in order to earn the same amount of pay that men made the previous year.  The women’s soccer agreement mirrors that of the women’s national hockey team.  Last week, USA Hockey and the U.S. women’s national hockey team reached an agreement to improve compensation.  Some of the women’s national hockey team players threatened to boycott the women’s world championship tournament unless they saw improvements in pay and financial support.

 

For more information, please see:

NPR — In ‘Important Step,’ U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Reaches New Labor Deal — 6 April 2017

The Huffington Post — On Equal Pay Day, U.S. Women’s Soccer Players Finally Strike a Deal — 5 April 2017

The New York Times — Long Days, Google Docs and Anonymous Surveys: How the U.S. Soccer Team Forged a Deal — 5 April 2017

PBS News Hour — U.S. Women’s Soccer Scores Higher Pay, Better Conditions in New Labor Agreement — 5 April 2017

Thailand’s Voice TV Suspended for Airing Criticisms of Military Junta

By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

BANGKOK, Thailand – Thailand’s media regulator has reprimanded a television station for airing comments which criticized the nation’s military. On March 27, 2017, Lt. Gen. Peerapong Manakit of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) announced the decision to suspend Voice TV, a private television station. The week long suspension is the government’s direct response to the station’s criticism of military rule. The complaints were filed by the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) military junta, which accused Voice TV of broadcasting inaccurate and biased stories.

Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha salutes army officers at Thailand’s Army Headquarters in Bangkok on September 30, 2014. Photo courtesy of Reuters.

Human Rights Watch has criticized the decision to punish Voice TV for the content of its broadcasts. The organization warns that the military junta is simply bullying the media into becoming a mouthpiece for its own advantage. Such regulation will stop the media from reporting on important issues like human rights violations, investigations of official misconduct and government abuse of power.

The controversial statements made by Voice TV related to the raid on Dhammakaya Temple, the army’s killing of a teenage ethnic Lahu activist, the controversial construction of a casino on the border between Thailand and Cambodia, as well as the arrest of anti-government groups for allegedly possessing weapons in a plot to assassinate high-profile politicians.

This is not the first time Voice TV has been punished for reporting uncensored and independent stories. In 2016, the station was sanctioned over 10 times for its controversial reports critical of the junta.

Independent media is crucial to inform the public of rights violations and the honest, uncensored development of news stories. Human rights organizations are therefore calling on Thailand’s government to put an end to the censorship and make a commitment to uphold media freedom.

For more information, please see:

The Nation – Voice TV banned for 7 days – 28 March, 2017

Human Rights Watch – Thailand: Drop Suspension on TV Station for Criticizing Army – 30 March, 2017

Bangkok Post – Media must be wary of losing its voice – 31 March, 2017

Global Voices – Thai Junta’s Media Regulator Suspends Voice TV for ‘Unreasonable Criticism’ and ‘Biased Content’ – 28 March, 2017 

Situation in Congo Worsens as Aids Workers and Police Killed

By Samantha Netzband 

Impunity Watch, Africa Desk Reporter

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo– Violence has increased in the Kasai region of the Congo as more than 40 police officers were decapitated.  The police officers are said to have been fighting with regional militia known as Kamuina Nsapu.  The Kamuina Nsapu are also said to be responsible for the recent deaths of an American and Swedish aid worker.

UN vehicle in Tshimbulu, Kasai province, 20 March 2017
The United Nations Mission in Kasai. (Photo Courtesy of BBC Africa)

The situation in the Congo has worsened since the beginning of the year with violence escalating to include the death of two humanitarian aid workers: American Michael Sharp and Swede Zaida Catalan.  Secretary General Antonio Guterres spoke after the two aids workers death “Michael and Zaida lost their lives seeking to understand the causes of conflict and insecurity in the DRC in order to help bring peace to the country and its people. We will honor their memory by continuing to support the invaluable work of the Group of Experts and the whole UN family in the DRC.”

The United Nations has continued its work in the country despite the increase in violence and has helped to uncover ten mass graves and seven other mass burial sites.  Since last October over 400 have been killed in the country and over 200,000 displaced.  This has only contributed to the many other humanitarian crisis’ that the United Nations is dealing with in Africa and around the world.  The United Nations has said that as of this year they are dealing with the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II.

For more information, please see: 

ABC News – Congolese militia decapitates more than 40 police: Officials- 25 March 2017

BBC Africa – Militia fighters decapitate 40 police officers in DR Congo – 25 March 2017

New York Times – Congolese Militia Beheads Dozens of Police Officers – 25 March 2017

Washington Post – Congolese rebels behead 42 police officers in dramatic escalation of conflict – 26 March 2017 

 

Germany to Investigate Suspected Turkish Spying

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

BERLIN, Germany — Thomas De Maiziere, German interior minister announced last week that it will no longer tolerate “foreign espionage” within its country.  The announcement was made following reports that Turkish secret services were spying on supporters of the Gulen movement within Germany.

Turkish voters in Berlin, Germany wait in line at the Turkish consulate to vote in a constitutional referendum on March 27, 2017 (Photo Courtesy of U.S. News & World Report)

The Gulen movement originated with Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Muslim cleric who has a large following in Turkey and is accused of orchestrating the coup in Turkey last July.

At a security conference in February, Hakan Finda, head of Turkey’s intelligence service MIT, allegedly gave a list of 300 people and 200 organizations that are suspected to be involved in opposition movements to his German counterpart Bruno Kahl.  The list reportedly includes surveillance photos taken by hidden cameras, and personal data.  Finda’s apparent goal in handing over the list was to convince German authorities to assist Turkey’s efforts of surveilling these individuals.

De Maiziere affirmed that Germany has “repeatedly told Turkey that something like this is unacceptable.”  He also noted that despite any amount of evidence that Turkey might have on the Gulen movement, “German jurisdiction applies and citizens will not be spied on by foreign countries.”

The espionage claims further the strain in the relationship between Germany and Turkey, who are Nato allies and have had recent disputes regarding human rights issues.  Boris Pistorius, interior minister of the German state Lower Saxony, called the Turkish espionage “intolerable and unacceptable” and publicly deplored the “intensity and ruthlessness” of Turkey’s attempt to spy on Turks living in foreign countries.

A spokesperson for the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Germany confirmed that they have launched an investigation against an “unnamed entity on suspicion of espionage.”  The spokesperson declined to comment on which specific entity was being investigated, however federal prosecutors will be looking into how Turkey compiled such detailed information on the people on their list.

This Turkish espionage effort is not the first that Germany has seen.  In February, German police raided the homes of four Turks who were suspected of spying on alleged Gulen supporters on behalf of Erdogan’s government.

Germany’s foreign secret service has not yet commented on the situation.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC — Turkey ‘Spied’ on Pro-Gulen Opponents in Germany — 28 March 2017

Daily Mail — Germany Opens New Probe into Suspected Turkish Spying — 28 March 2017

The Guardian — Germany to Investigate Claims of ‘Intolerable’ Spying by Turkey — 28 March 2017

U.S. News & World Report — Germany Tells Turkey not to Spy on Turks Living on its Soil — 28 March 2017