CHILEAN PRESIDENT SEBASTIAN PINERA SEEKS TO CRIMINALIZE STUDENT PROTESTS THROUGH NEW LEGISLATION

By Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile — Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter signed a legislative proposal on Sunday that could potentially put a halt to the student and teacher led protests that have paralyzed high schools and universities around the country for over five months.

Student and teacher protests continue in Chile despite threats of criminal sanctions. (Photo Courtesy of Huffington Post)

The legislation seeks to reform article 269 of the Penal Code by criminalizing illegal occupation or invasion of buildings and increasing penalties for public disorder, including the mistreatment of policemen, from 541 days to three years in jail. If approved, the new law will also force television channels to release tape used to record the protests so that authorities can identify and sanction individual protestors.

According to the Chilean government, students protests have incited violence, theft and have caused mass amounts of damage to property. “He that seeks to undermine peace and stability of the people, or damages public or private property will find this a tough legislation,” Pinera warned.

Student leaders, however, remain undeterred and have called for the continuation of street and campus protests this week after failed negotiations with the Chilean government over education reform on Wednesday.

Students are urging the government to increase taxes on the wealthy and fund free and high quality education for all but Pinera remains that “Nothing is free in life,” and that only the very poor will receive federal grants. After the United States, Chile ranks second in most expensive college tuitions in the Western Hemisphere.

Behind the student movement is Camila Vallejo, a 23-year-old geography student who has become an international celebrity with twice as many twitter followers as Pinera. Her quick notoriety on twitter has enabled her to direct the protests, rally student groups and even cast doubt on some of Pinera’s statements through twitter messages.

In response to Pinera’s claim that his 7 percent increase in education funding for 2012 was the biggest in Chilean history, Vallejo tweeted “How can this be an extraordinary effort if in 2011 it increased 13 percent, in 2009 15 percent and in 2008 24 percent?”

Vallejo told Associated Press on Wednesday that she is exhausted and would like to step down for a bit but feels obligated to stay and continue leading the fight. She believes that Pinera’s recent threat to criminalize the student protests shows that he wants to sabotage talks just as they begin.

Student leaders will take a vote on October 8 to decide whether to continue negotiation talks with the Chilean government.

For further information, please see:

Business Week – Chilean Students Prepare March After Government Talks Break Down– 06 October 2011

Associated Press – Pressure Grows As Chile Student Leader Opens Talks – 05 October  2011

Huffington Post – Chile Education Protests: Talks With Government Break Off – 05 October 2011

Latin News – Pinera Tries to Play Hardball – 03 October 2011

Santiago Times – Chilean Government to Criminalize School Seizures – 03 October 2011

 

 

 

Children Evicted from Slums Not Receiving Access to Education

By Carolyn Abdenour
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe – On 5 October, Amnesty International released “Left Behind: The Impact of Zimbabwe’s Mass Forced Evictions on the Right to Education.” This news report found that thousands of children and young people are unlikely to access adequate schools after the government forced them from their homes throughout major cities as a part of Operation Murambatsvina (loosely translated to “Drive Out Dirt”).

Children studying without proper facilities. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)
Children studying without proper facilities. (Photo Courtesy of BBC)

 

Amnesty International recommends that the Zimbabwe government ensure that the children re-housed into settlements during the forced evacuation program six years ago receive the opportunity for education.

In 2005, the government resettled people under the pretense the people lived in deplorable conditions.  It created Operation Garikai (“Better Life”) to provide 700,000 with a promise of better access to services.  The government destroyed schools, markets, and small businesses during the evictions.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change believes President Robert Mugabe initiated the slum clearances to dislocate growing urban opposition and to punish them for supporting his party.

Presently, the settlers do not have access to roads, public transportation, or job opportunities.  They live in plastic shacks, mud houses, or poorly constructed homes on allocated land or housing built under Operation Garikai.  The people struggle to feed themselves, find clean water, and meet basic sanitation needs.  Michelle Kagari, Amnesty International Deputy Africa Director, reported the new settlements are worse than the slums. 

Girls who could not attend school married at a young age to avoid sex work.  Now, community groups are establishing unregistered schools to educate the next generation, but they lack resources such furniture, trained teachers, and support from the Ministry of Education.

Education Minister David Coltart described the report as “credible.”  He asserts the government made “great strides” to remedy the education issues in these communities.

Ms. Kargari commented, “If there is no serious investment by the government, these people will be condemned to a life of poverty and suffering.”  Mr. Coltart stated he desires to stabilize the education sector, and he recognizes the government “still [has] a lot of work to do.”

Between Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 and the country’s collapse in 2000 from hyperinflation and political conflict, it had one of the best education systems in Africa.

Ms. Kargari concluded, “The government’s removal of people from places where they had access to education, and its subsequent failure to provide education has struck a devastating blow to the lives and dreams of thousands of children.”

For further information, please see:

Independent Online – Education Eludes Zimbabwe’s Homeless Children – 6 Oct 2011

Amnesty International, UK – Zimbabwe: Forced Evictions Leave Thousands of Children Without Access to Education – New Report – 5 Oct 2011

BBC – Zimbabwe Children ‘Condemned to Life Without Education’ – 5 Oct 2011

San Francisco Chronicle – Group: Zimbabwe Forced Evictions Stranded Children – 5 Oct 2011

D.R. Congo: UN condemns Attack on Humanitarian Workers

By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo – According to a United Nations relief agency, five humanitarian workers and two other civilians were killed on Tuesday, October 4 by rebels in South Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The United Nations has called on the DRC government to thoroughly investigate this incident, capture the perpetrators, and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. The United Nations Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) claims this was the deadliest attack on humanitarian aid workers in the country’s history.

United Nations personnel on patrol in Eastern DRC. (Photo courtesy of Capital FM News).

The attack occurred when rebels ambushed a vehicle transporting members of a local educational group in the city of Malinda. Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo blame the attack on members of the Congolese Mai Mai Yakatumba militia and rebel forces allied with Burundi’s National Liberation Front (FNL). In DRC, local and foreign militias fight each other and continue to terrorize the civilian population.

In a statement from the United Nations acting coordinator in DRC, Pierrette Vu Thi decried the violence and reiterated the need for the DRC government to take action to protect its citizens and members of national and international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Ms. Thi said “”We deplore with all our energy this aggression and all the other acts which hamper humanitarian work in DRC” and “we call on the Government to immediately open an inquiry to find the perpetrators of this odious act so as to bring them to justice.”

When asked by Reuters about this attack, local administrator, Selestin Kalume Mwanshima said “We are in the process of taking steps to secure the area. It’s each day that Yakatumba and its allies, the FNL and FDLR attack civilian vehicles, boats, even entire villages. This must stop.”

The National Liberation Forces, or FNL is a Burundian rebel group based in Congo that coordinates attacks in both DRC and in Burundi, including last month’s attack on a bar in Gatumda, Burundi that left more than 30 people dead. Meanwhile, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR is a Rwandan rebel group that has been operating in DRC for many years and is accused of carrying out numerous attacks against civilians, including killings and mass rapes.

The UN OCHA claims that roughly 40 incidents involving humanitarian aid workers have taken place since August 2011, 25 incidents taking place in the Nord-Kivu province, and another 15 taking place in Sud-Kivu province. Moreover, since January 2011, 140 such attacks have taken place. According to OCHA, ‘these incidents range from hold-ups to hostage-taking and the hijacking of humanitarian vehicles to transport military equipment.”

Beginning in 1999, and under a cadre of various names, the United Nations has supported a peacekeeping force of up to 20,000 uniformed personnel in DRC. The peacekeeping forces have helped DRC emerge from a fractious civil war and allowed national elections to take place in 2006, the first set of democratic elections in more than forty years. Notably, much of DRC, a nation as large as Western Europe, remains peaceful however; irregular fighting continues to plague the eastern portion of DRC. It is in the eastern portion of DRC where much of the United Nations mission, MONUSCO is focused.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera — ‘Rebels’ Kill Aid Workers in DR Congo — 06 October 2011

All Africa.com — UN Deplores Murder of Five Humanitarian Workers – 6 october 2011

Captial FM News — Rebels Kill Five Aid Workers, Two Others in DR Congo –07 October 2011

IC Publications — Rebels Kill Five Aid Workers, Two Others in DR Congo: UN – 06 October 2011

UN News Centre — DR Congo: UN deplores Murder of Five Humanitarian Workers – 6 October 2011

Philippine Rebels Attack Civilians

By Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

MANILA, Philippines – On Wednesday Human Rights Watch (HWR) called for the New People’s Army (NPA) to end unlawful killings and detentions of civilians. The communist group has sought for over forty years to establish a Maoist state in the Philippines.

The New Peoples Army (NPA) presence is felt throughout the country (Photo Courtesy of Reuters) The New People’s Army (NPA) presence is felt throughout the country (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

NPA has claimed responsibility for the killing and detentions of several citizens over the past few months.

“For four decades the New People’s Army has offered excuses for cold-blooded killings of civilians,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Recent attacks show that there has been no real departure from this illegal practice.”

NPA justifies its actions by explaining prior to death, civilians were tried before a “people’s court” and were found guilty of “crimes against the people.” “Crimes against the people” could range from rape and murder to spying on the NPA.

Philip Alston, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions from 2004 to 2010, strongly criticized the NPA’s court system saying it “is either deeply flawed or simply a sham.”

Alston continued “any claim that people who are tried by the NPA’s ‘people’s courts’ are receiving a fair hearing is ludicrous,” Pearson said. “The NPA’s ‘revolutionary justice’ is not just – it is simply old-fashioned murder.”

Currently NPA is holding thirteen people, including Mayor Dano of Lingig, on the island of Mindanao under suspicion of working for the government as spies. HWR reports that at least six members of the group will be tried before the “people’s court” for their alleged crimes.

Last month, during a one day ceasefire, NPA captured and executed two troops. Both troops were in civilian clothing and had just attended a wedding.

NPA admitted to the August and September killings of Raymundo “Monding” Agaze and Ramelito “Ramel” Gonzaga. In addition NPA took responsibility for the accidental injuring of a pregnant woman.

On Monday the rebel group attacked a mine at Claver town in the province of Surigao del Notre, burning down trucks and taking several firearms.

HWR has called for the NPA to abide by international human law and for the government to investigate and prosecute those who have been involved in unlawful killings and detentions.

“Both the NPA and government forces have committed numerous atrocities in more than forty years of armed conflict,” Person said. “Each claims to have the interests of the ordinary Filipino at heart, but neither seems to show it.

The conflict has claimed the lives of over 40,000 people in regions that have been described as poor but resource-rich areas of the country.

For more information, please see:

Philippine Daily Inquirer – Rights Group Slams NPA for ‘Cold-Blooded’ Killings– 6 September 2011

ABS-CBN News – NPA Under Fire for Killings, Attacks on Civilians – 5 October 2011

AlertNet – Philippine Rebels Must Stop Targeting Civilians – rights group – 5 October 2011

Human Rights Watch –Philippines Communist Rebels Target Civilians – 5 October 2011

ABS-CBN News – NPA Kidnapped, Executed 2 Troopers During Ceasefire – AFP – 23 September 2011

China Threatens Punishment of Internet Users Who Post Rumors

By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Chinese authorities have renewed the threat that internet users who use the internet to make statements that the government deems to be false will be punished.

Chinese authorities have renewed threats to punish internet users who spread false information (Photo Courtesy of Reuters).
Chinese authorities have renewed threats to punish internet users who spread false information (Photo Courtesy of Reuters).

Internet use in China has exploded in recent months, causing the total number of internet users in China to become larger than the population of every country on earth with the exception of India and China itself.

A report by the China Internet Network Information Center has indicated that, as of June, 195 million of China’s 500 million internet users were utilizing the internet to operate microblogs. This number represents a 209 percent increase from the number of microblogs found at the end of 2010.

The sudden boom in microblogging has led authorities to express concern about the ability of users to quickly send information and comments that run contrary to the Communist Party’s censors.

The spokesperson from the State Internet Information Office under China’s Cabinet has called on internet users to “abide by the law, show self-discipline and refrain from spreading rumors.” The spokesperson has also ordered local authorities and websites to hold those that spread rumors accountable and penalize them to the full extent allowed by law.

As a result of warnings from government authorities and a visit from a Politburo member, China’s largest microblog operator, Sina Corp. is increasing its censorship over bloggers. The corporation has asked its users to help stop the spread of rumors and has warned that bloggers will have their accounts suspended for one month if they are found to have posted false information.

The apparent catalyst for Sina Corp’s decision to increase its censorship is a controversial blog that has caused Chinese authorities to express frustration at Sina Weibo, a microblog controlled by Sina Corp. In this blog a 31-year-old man posted fictitious stories about working as a prostitute. After his identity was discovered, his account was permanently deleted and he was forced to pay a fine for disturbing public order.

Chinese regulations permit those who spread rumors to be punished by serving five to ten days in jail and a fine of 500 Yuan, the equivalent of eighty American dollars.

China’s regulation of the internet is not a new phenomenon and the country currently blocks Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, and monitors other internet sites to block unfavorable information. Analysts suggest that the anxiety being exhibited by officials in response to the increasing use of microblogs could lead to even stricter regulations being placed on internet users in China.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – China Vows to Punish Posters of Internet Rumors – 1 October 2011

People’s Daily Online – China Calls for Boycott on Online Falsehoods – 1 October 2011

Bloomberg – China Calls for Internet Crackdown After ‘Prostitute Diary’ Shut – 30 September 2011

Reuters – China’s Sina to Step-Up Censorship of Weibo – 19 September 2011