By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar– In honor of a commitment made to European leaders last week, Myanmar’s President, Thein Sein, ordered the release of 73 political detainees. President Sein’s pledge seeks to have all prisoners released by the end of 2013.

Shortly after meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Sein promised amnesty for the prisoners as part of a larger transition from half a century of military rule and authoritarianism to democracy. Sein, a reformist who took power with military support late in 2011 from the former junta, said that over a thousand political detainees have already been released from the country’s jails, and that a committee had been established to work through cases of those that remained locked up. Human rights groups confirmed these statements, and noted that of those already released, hundreds were persons who had been held for political reasons.

In a radio broadcast last month, Sein announced that any prisoners serving jail time for holding, expressing, or acting in accord with political beliefs would be set free. “I don’t want anyone who is imprisoned with particular political beliefs in any jail,” he said during the broadcast, adding that a government investigation into cases that had been “confused with criminal acts” was ongoing and had “taken some time.” Sein did not reveal the number of prisoners which the government considers “political.”

Human rights activists welcomed the release, and the government’s pledge to continue freeing political prisoners, but still had some concerns. According to Bo Kyi of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), “we welcome this release, [but] we are very concerned because of the new trials, they continue to send new (political prisoners) to jail.”

Aung Min, a minister in Thein Sein’s office who negotiated the tenuous peace deal between the government and the  Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in May after two years of hostilities, said that more than two dozen of the prisoners released were from the Kachin state.

“The president released about 70 prisoners including 26 from Kachin state,” he said from the regional capital Myitkyina.

Aung Min personally escorted well-known Kachin political prisoner Brang Shawng, who was sentenced to two years in prison last week under the Unlawful Association Act for his alleged role in the KIA, back to his home Tuesday from Myitkyina Prison.

Thousands of political prisoners have been released in batches over the past two years. But human rights activists say the government has to do more to recognize other individuals who are in prison-–specifically whistle-blowers who were former government workers-–as political prisoners and grant them similar amnesty.

For more information, please see:

BBC — Burma frees a further 73 political prisoners — 23 July 2013

Reuters — Myanmar frees 73 political prisoners: government committee member — 23 July 2013

Radio Free Asia — Myanmar Releases Scores of Political Prisoners — 23 July 2013

AFP — Myanmar frees dozens of political prisoners: official — 23 July 2013

Wall Street Journal — Myanmar Releases New Batch of Political Prisoners — 23 July 2013

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– Violence erupted Wednesday in China’s western Xinjiang region, and continued through Friday with reports of at least 35 dead. Beijing officials reported through state-run media outlet Xinhua Saturday that the two incidents were “terrorist attacks.” This is the deadliest attack in the area since a 2009 clash between ethnic minority Uighurs and the majority Han Chinese left over 200 people dead. President Xi Jinping has authorized a security crackdown in the area, stationing riot police, armored tanks, and other security military personnel throughout the region.

Wednesday’s incidents took place in Lukqun township in Turpan prefecture, a fairly remote area of the vast western region. Reports state that some 11 armed assailants attacked a police station with knives and set fire to nearby police cars. The initial violence culminated in the deaths of 24 people, at least two were police officers. The police forces squashed the brief uprising, however, killing 10 of the assailants and severely wounding one, who died later in the week.

The rioting continued on Friday in the desert city of Hotan, a remote area heavily populated by minority Uighur. According to Xinhua News Agency, approximately 100 people, armed with knives and riding motorcycles, gathered outside of mosques and other local religious venues, before launching an attack on a police station near Moyu county. Additionally, some 200 people, reportedly unaffiliated with the motorcycle group, attempted to “incite trouble” at a nearby shopping mall.

While little information has been uncovered describing any causes or reasons for the incidents, reports suggest that they reflect a continual strife in the region between the minority Uighurs and majority Han.

Uighurs make up approximately 45% of the regions population, the remainder being Han Chinese. The Uighurs are an ethnically diverse group, largely muslim and speaking Turkic, that have inhabited the area for decades. The most recent decade has seen a massive influx of Han Chinese to the area. The Uyghur American Association, a Washington-based advocacy group, argues that the Chinese government has cracked down intensely on religious practice by Uighurs, and restricted their cultural heritage under a guise of trying to eradicate “poverty” from the Xinjiang region.

The Chinese government has dumped billions of dollars into the region in order to decrease poverty, which it perceives as the legitimate source of unrest between Uighurs and the Han settlers. In pursuit of these investments, the government policy has been to foster religious and cultural identity which is legitimate. The government has since taken a harsh stance against most Uighurs whom it believes use Islam to incite violence and repel the Communist regime.

In July of 2009 a massive, seven day riot broke out between Uighurs and Han Chinese in Urumqi, the regional capital. The events began with a relatively peaceful march by approximately 1,000 Uighurs, but quickly degenerated into a violent riot, with a reported death toll of 197, although UAA and Human Rights Watch suspect that this number is a severe under-estimate. Since these riots, the Chinese government has suspiciously watched Uighurs, suspecting them as “separatists” and believing many Uighur groups to be connected with the Taliban in Pakistan. Beijing has issued several reports that connect some violent Uighur groups with terrorist training under the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) based in Pakistan. ETIM affiliations are banned in China, and the UAA disputes claims that Islamic extremists and fundamentalists exist in the Uighur population of Xinjiang.

The latest incidents took place just one week before the four year anniversary of the Urumqi riots.

The Chinese government has vowed to resolve the issues and extinguish any further unrest or terrorist acts. Yu Zhengsheng, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, pledged to “step up action to crack down upon terrorist groups and extremist organizations,” at a meeting of government officials in Urumqi.

For more information, please see:

The Globe and Mail — Death toll from violence in China’s Xinjiang region rises to 35: state media — 28 June 2013

Reuters — China’s troubled Xinjiang hit by more violence — 29 June 2013

VOA — Xinjiang’s Deadliest Violence in Years Renews Focus on Ethnic Tensions — 26 June 2013

Channel News Asia — China blames ‘terrorists’ for sparking riot in Xinjiang clash — 29 June 2013

Indian Express — Violence hits west China’s Xinjiang ahead of key anniversary — 29 June 2013

BBC — China’s Xinjiang hit by fresh unrest — 29 June 2013