Amid Violent Protests, South Africa Commemorates Sharpeville Massacre

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Sunday, as South Africa marked the 50th anniversary of one of the darkest days of the Apartheid era, its current Deputy President called for an end to recent violent protests that have engulfed the country.    Rather than use violence, Deputy President Kagame Motlanthe charged South Africans to learn from the lessons of the past and use the democratic institutions available . . . to voice our grievances and demands.”  Mr. Molanthe called upon his citizens to protect everyone’s human rights and to learn from the lessons of the past, especially in light of the current situation in many South African townships.

Street protests have become commonplace in the townships of South Africa over the last two months, with residents speaking out against poor living conditions.  Protesters have also risen up, arming themselves with rocks and stones against housing conditions, lack of basic services and jobs.  In response, police have used everything from water cannons to rubber bullets in order to try and get the protesters to disperse.

Deputy President Motlanthe’s remarks came during the 50th Anniversary commemoration of the Sharpeville Massacre, one of the turning points in the struggle against apartheid.  At Sharpeville fifty years ago three hundred plus citizens, protesting the pass laws, were fired upon by apartheid police.  The pass laws required black citizens to carry identification documents at all times. Sixty-nine protesting South Africans died as a result, many of whom were shot in the back by the apartheid-era police.

The Deputy President called upon his constituents to remember the lessons of the past by upholding the South African constitution and ensuring “the progressive realization of the socio-economic rights as envisaged in the Bill of Rights.”  He went on to say that “as government working with our social partners, we must strive to improve the quality of life of all our people by providing shelter, basic amenities, education, and security.”

His statements were refuted, however, by opposition party members, many of which claim that Motlanthe’s African National Congress (ANC)is the country’s greatest threat to human rights, and not the solution, as they claim.  Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille, for one, accused the ANC of greed, cronyism and power abuse.  And Jan Bosman, representative for the civil rights group, Afrikanerbond, noted that “[i]t is becoming more and more a government that blindly approves or condones abuses against the Constitution and the Bill of Rights by not acting against any abuse or breach.”

For more information, please see:

ABC News  – South African Commemorates Sharpeville Massacre – 21 March 2010

News24.com –Hounor Sharpeville, Defend Rights – 21 March 2010

Reuters – End Violent South African Protests – 21 March 2010

BBC News – South Africa Commemorates Sharpeville Massacre of 1960 – 21 March 2010

References to Gay Rights Removed from Canada’s Citizenship Guide

By William Miller

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

OTTAWA, Canada – Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has removed all mention of gay rights from the new edition of a study guide for candidates for Canadian Citizenship. Kenney has decided to remove the references to gay rights despite recommendations from Deputy Immigration Minister Neil Yeats.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has removed all mention of gay rights from the new edition of a study guide for candidates for Canadian Citizenship.
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has removed all mention of gay rights from the new edition of a study guide for candidates for Canadian Citizenship.

The original study guide contained several notes about gay rights in Canada. The first draft stated that homosexuality was decriminalized in Canada in 1969 and discrimination against homosexuals is specifically prohibited by Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It also stated that same sex marriage was legalized in Canada in 2005.

The first draft was sent to Kenny’s office in the spring. After reviewing the guide Kenny ordered the references to gay rights removed from the draft.

A memo obtained by the Canadian press under the Freedom of Information Act shows that Yeates appealed Kenny’s decision. In that memo which was sent to Kenny, Yeates  “Recommend the re-insertion of the text boxes related to . . . the decriminalization of homosexual sec/recognition of same-sex marriage . . . Recommend the addition of ‘equality rights’ under list of rights. Had noted earlier that this bullet should be reinserted into the list as a means of noting the equality of all based on race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.”

Kenny however ignored Yeates’s Plea. The study guide released last year contains no references to gay rights.

Kenney has long been opposed to same sex marriage and has opposed a bill legalizing it in 2005. When opposing that bill in parliament he said that gays had the right to marry so long as it was not someone of the same sex.

There were 500,000 copies of the new study guide were published and applicants started testing on it on March 15. The project which updated a version released in 1995 cost about $400,000 dollars. the new version expands sections on Canada’s aboriginal and military history. While there is no mention of gay rights the study guide does have a picture of Olympic gold medalist Mark Tewksbury and states that he is a gay rights activist.

For more information, please see:

Seattle Pi – Cabinet Minister: No Gay White North – 3 March 2010

The Canadian Press – Immigration Minister Kenney Nixed Gay Rights in Citizenship Guide: Documents – 2 March 2010

Toronto Sun – Gay Rights Group Outraged by Kenney’s Decision – 21 March 2010

Iranian Police Arrest Dozens During Festival

By Bobby Rajabi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On March 17, Iranian police arrested fifty individuals. The arrests came during clashes between opposition supporters and police in Tehran during a new year festival called The Feast of Fire. This festival comes on the even of the Persian new year, but religious leaders told Iranians that celebrating this year was “un-Islamic.” Despite the warnings, people took the streets leading to conflict throughout the Iranian capital.

Tehran’s police chief confirmed that there a number of clashes between young Iranians and police officers across the capital. Opposition leaders, however, told their supporters that they did not want a protest during the festival.

The BBC’s correspondent in Tehran, Jon Leyne said that there was no indication that these clashes would lead to a larger political purpose. Leyne explained that the clashes were more a show of defiance against the demands made by the religious authorities.

March  17 marked Chaharshanbeh Soori. Held on the final Wednesday before Norouz (New Year), the day celebrates the coming of spring and dates back to a time when Iran was Persia and Zoroastrianism ruled. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told reporters that the event created “a lot of harm and corruption which is why it is appropriate to avoid it.” Khamenei told reporters that the festival had no basis in Sharia law and amounted to heretical fire worship.

Opposition leaders told supporters not to protest during the festivities and to not to provoke security forces. Despite the requests, clashes took place in several parts of Tehran, according to opposition website Jaras. Additionally, videos posted on the internet showed clashes between protesters and security forces. There were also reports that security forces marked the vehicles of individuals who were actively celebrating the Chaharshanbe Soori festivities.

Iran’s deputy police chief, Ahamad Reza Radan, told the press that fifty people had been arrested for causing “an unacceptable level of nuisance to the public.”

Large protests have been held in Iran since June 2009’s Presidential Election. Opposition protesters insist that the election was rigged to ensure the re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian government has vehemently denied this charge.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Party or Protest? Fiery Night in Iran – 17 March 2010

BBC – Iranian Police Arrest 50 People at Traditional Festival – 17 March 2010

CNN – Iranians Celebrate Holiday Under Police Crackdown – 17 March 2010

North Korea Ignores Advice to Improve Human Rights

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

GENEVA, Switzerland – North Korea has rejected a series of recommendations from the United Nations (UN) to improve its “appalling” human rights record.

In its response, North Korea’s Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Ri Chol, rebuffed 50 of the 169 recommendations by the UN. 

At a meeting held on Thursday, Ri said that the recommendations arose out of animosity towards North Korea are aimed at undermining the North Korean regime.  Ri specifically stated that North Korea does not recognize UN’s human rights envoys.

UN urged North Korea to end capital punishment and public executions, forced labor, and military training for children.  The recommendation also included allowing UN human rights envoys to visit Pyongyang as well as improving human rights for the socially weak and allowing reunions of families separated by the Korean War.

The UN recommendation came on the heels of a reported high-profile execution by a firing squad of a former top North Korean government official.  The government official was executed for causing the current inflation and economic crisis in North Korea resulting from last year’s currency reform.

The last high-profile execution took place in 1997 when Pyongyang executed the director of Agriculture Ministry who was blamed for the famine that killed estimated two million North Koreans back in 1990’s.

In addition, Pyongyang has continuously refused to allow UN’s special human rights rapporteurs to investigate first-hand the human rights situation in the country. 

However, “Those who wanted to find some silver lining in the gray clouds of North Korea’s human rights record had pointed to North Korean participation in Geneva at least as evidence that North Korea wanted to put its side of the story,” said Mark Fitzpatrick from International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

Nonetheless, members of the UN, including South Korea, the United States, Japan and France, have expressed their disappointment with North Korea’s response.

For more information, please see:

The Christian Science Monitor – North Korea spurns UN push to stop executions and torture – 19 March 2010

RTT – North Korea Shuns UN Recommendations On Improving Human Rights Record – 19 March 2010

Yonhap News – N. Korea rejects U.N. recommendations on human rights – 19 March 2010

Protesters In Thailand Stage Rally in Bangkok

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand- Anti-government demonstrators took to the streets of Bangkok to press their case for the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign and call fresh elections. Many of the residents are in support of the protest to add pressure on the six party coalition government.

On Saturday thousands joined the protest on Saturday that consisted of motorcycles, vans and trucks that stretched up to eight kilometers along Bankok’s thoroughfares.  Government officials had warned residents to remain at home to avoid being caught in the traffic congestion.

The convoy came after a week of protests by the red wearing demonstrators who have targeted the 15-month-old government of Prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, calling on him to dissolve the parliament and call elections.  In addition to the convoy, other protests which occurred during the week included the pouring of blood on key government administrative buildings in ritual ceremonies.

The demonstrators, also known as the Red Shirts, are led by the United Democratic Front against Dictatorship, or UDD, have the support of the main parliamentary opposition group, the Puea Thai Party.

Both of these groups are supporting the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted from power in a coup in 2006.  The groups claim that Mr. Abhisit’s coalition government is illegitimate as it came after courts removed two pro-Thaksin Government since 2007 elections.

Mr. Abhisit said in recent media comments that he will not b pressed to take the country to elections at the moment but is willing to hold talks with protest leaders.  Representatives from both sides are due to meet on Sunday.

Mr Thaksin is still in exile because of a two year jail sentence for corruption.  Because of the populist economic policies he held while in office, he maintains support from the northern rural areas, along with the poor and low income groups.  The middle class accused Mr. Thaksin of corruption and abuse of power while in office, in particular his government’s attacks on the media, and his perceived attempts to control all branches of power, including parliament and independent government agencies.

The protests have been peaceful so far.  The government was forced to enact security laws and bring in the military when anti-government demonstrations held in April of last year turned violent.

For more information, please see:
English.xinhuanet.com- Thai Anti-Gov’t Protesters End March In Bangkok Peacefully– 20 March 2010