China Increases Security in Tibet

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Instead of releasing those who were arrested without charge during the March 2008 protests in Tibet, the Chinese government is stepping up security ahead of the protests’ anniversary in the Lhasa area.

The 2008 protests was the major protest held by Tibetans against the Chinese in twenty years.  Over a span of four days, hundreds of monks peacefully protested in and around Lhasa against China’s intrusive controls over religious, cultural, and economic activities.

However, Tibetan public began protesting against the police who were preventing the monks from leaving their compounds, which lead to Tibetan rioters burning Chinese shops and government buildings.

Since then, the Chinese have kept a close eye on Tibet.  China executed two Tibetans for the involvement with the 2008 riots last year.

Special police forces have been stationed across the Lhasa region, and the police are checking identification papers and searching homes.  Those who have been to Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, and other Tibetan cities in recent days have reported that police and paramilitary forces with automatic weapons have lined the streets.

Sophie Richardson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said, “Further repression will breed precisely the kind of instability the Chinese government fears.”

“Addressing underlying grievances and allowing Tibetans to enjoy basic rights of expression, assembly and due process is the only way to ensure the ‘harmony’ Beijing so craves,” added Richardson.

Both reports conducted by Human Rights Watch and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) show that Chinese government subjected Tibetans to arbitrary arrests and that little information has been provided as to the whereabouts of the detainees.

UNHCHR said the ethnic violence in China is the result of China’s “discrimination and failure to protect minorities.”

Lastly, Richardson commented, “National security concerns do not exempt Chinese government from its obligation to respect fundamental rights and freedoms.”

For more information, please see:

BBC – Heavy security in Tibet ahead of protests’ anniversary – 13 March 2010

Human Rights Watch – China: Accountability Overdue in Tibet Protests – 12 March 2010

NYT – China Increases Security in Tibet to Prevent Protests – 11 March 2010

Canada Ratifies U.N. Convention on Disabled Persons

By William Miller

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

OTTAWA, Canada – Canada ratified the World Body’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on March 11, 2010. Shortly after the signing, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon announced that Canada would make promoting rights for disabled people a priority.

Cannon asserted that rights for disabled persons were “fundamental Human Rights” at a news conference on Thursday, shortly after he had delivered the ratification. In support of the ratification, Cannon said “this is another addition to Canada’s foreign policy, which is based on the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and certainly based on human rights.”

In ratifying the Convention, Canada has committed to promote non discrimination accessibility and inclusion of disabled persons. The Convention also commits ratifying countries to establish independent organizations to oversee the implementation of the conventions principles.

The ratification will benefit nearly four and one half million Canadian Citizens with disabilities. The signing comes one week before the opening of the Paralympic Games in Vancouver.

Several groups have long promoted Canadian ratification of the convention and welcome the decision to do so.  Ray Smith co-chair of the Persons with Disabilities National Working Group said “ this means the government of Canada is committed to promoting an protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.” Marie White national chairperson of the Council on Canadians with Disabilities referred to the ratification as historic.

The Canadian Human Rights Convention also welcomed the ratification but has said the real test will be implementing the provisions into practice. Canadian Human Rights Chief Commissioner Jennifer Lynch said “ultimately, the successes of this ratification will relate to the degree to which the Convention rights are being enjoyed on the ground, not how they appear on the page.” The Human Rights commission also indicated that it would like to be involved in the implementation of the monitoring organization.

For more information, please see:

Canada.ca – UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities Ratified – 13 March 2010

Benzinga – Announcement: Canadian Human Rights Commission – 12 March 2010

Vancouver Sun – Canada Makes Rights of Disabled a Foreign Policy Focus – 12 March 2010

Prom Cancelled Over Same-Sex Date Issue

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MISSISSIPPI, United States – A Mississippi high school canceled their spring formal prom after prohibiting a lesbian student from bringing her girlfriend to the event.  The School Board canceled the prom after the American Civil Liberties Union asked the school to rescind their initial ruling.

Constance McMillen is an eighteen year old high school student at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Northern Mississippi.  The controversy began when McMillen stated that she was going to bring her girlfriend, a sophomore at the school, to the prom and also wear a tuxedo.  After her proclamation, school administrators posted fliers around the school stating the same-sex dates were not allowed at the prom.  McMillen then contacted the Mississippi division of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).  The ACLU asked the school district to reconsider its position on same-sex dates.  The school district then canceled the entire prom.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of McMillen on Thursday.  According to the suit, McMillen argues that by not allowing her to bring a date of her choosing and by canceling the prom, the school district violated her First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

McMillen’s lawsuit and story has gained enormous attention.  She has received great support from many gay-rights activists as well as civil rights groups and supporters.  She was greatly appreciative of the support she has received all around the country.  Some supporters offered to host a prom at their businesses.  For example, Sean Cummings, a hotel owner in New Orleans, offered his hotel as a place to hold the prom free of charge.  He also offered to provide transportation to the students attending the event at his establishment.

Conservative groups supported the school board’s decision.  They believe that the issue is another way in which same-sex couples are trying to become legally recognized.  They disagree with this position. Attorney Stephen Crampton of the Liberty Counsel, a conservative social policy agency, stated; “The district might be motivated by a desire to prevent the ultimate conduct that is presumptively illegal in this state.”  Mississippi is the only state that still has an anti-sodomy law, even though it is not enforced.

For more information, please see:

CBS News – Lesbian Teen Speaks Out on Cancelled Prom – 12 March 2010

USA Today – Prom offers flood in for Mississippi students – 12 March 2010

ACLU – Mississippi High School Insists on “Straights-Only” Prom – 11 March 2010

Christian Science Monitor – Constance McMillen takes fight over same-sex prom date to court – 11 March 2010

Two Million Zimbabweans Need Food Aid

By Kylie M Tsudama

Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Red Cross Sees Food Crisis in Zimbabwe

HARARE, Zimbabwe – According to the Red Cross, nearly 2.2 million people are in need of food aid.  That number is set to rise due to expected food shortages caused by the poor harvest this year.

Because of poor rains, many crops did not harvest soon enough.  At least eleven percent of the maize crop planted in the 2009/2010 season has been “declared a complete write-off,” according to agency reports.  Maize is a staple crop in Zimbabwe.

“In some parts of the country, the food situation is as bad as many of our volunteers and staff have ever seen it,” said Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society Emma Kundishora.  “In Masvingo, for example, the rains didn’t come in time and the crops have already died.”

In December 2009, the International Red Cross appealed for 38.4 million Swiss francs (33.2 million US dollars) to continue its food operations.  The group is short, however, nearly $25 million.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe blamed the new farmers for the bad harvest, saying that they failed to obtain the proper irrigation for their crops.  Mugabe’s critics, however, blame the President because of land reforms that took white-owned farm lands and gave them to black people “to resettle blacks kicked off their land during British colonization.”  Critics believe that the reforms caused the best lands to be unharvested and gave farmlands to people who were unprepared to harvest them.

The food crisis is especially hard for those that are sick, especially those with HIV.  People affected with the virus are more needy for the nutrients in food, which keep their strength up.

“Hunger is an especially brutal experience for these people. In recent years, for example, we have seen many people default on their anti-retroviral treatment because the drugs are too toxic without food,” Kundishora said.

Zimbabwe was once called “the breadbasket of Africa,” offering much of the country’s food supply.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Two Million Need Food Aid in Zimbabwe: Red Cross – 11 March 2010

CBC News – Failed Harvest Deepens Zimbabwe Food Crisis – 11 March 2010

VOA – Red Cross Says 2.2 Million Zimbabweans Need Food Aid as Poor Harvest Looms – 11 March 2010

China to Impose News Reporting Mandates

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – China’s top print media censor is to introduce a new qualification exam for aspiring journalists this year in a push to tighten up on control of media. China has limited to an even greater extent, the abilities of journalists to report in an effort to further retrain freedom of the press, and rights of expression China will toughen requirements for reporters by launching a new certification system. Now, the Chinese government has implemented a new training system which requires journalists to be familiar with Marxist and communist theories of news.

Chinese officials already routinely censor journalists, but Chinese media has become less restricted in recent years as they have gained more revenue from independent sources as a result of advertising. Government censors keep a tight grip on news content and routinely ban reporting on issues deemed too politically sensitive or destabilizing, and many media outlets in China serve as mouthpieces for the state. Recent efforts, however, have sought to hamper such an outlet.

One theory of the reporting system advocates that the media serve as communicative reinforcement of the government’s political views rather than as a watchdog to report non-bias news about the country’s leadership and international happenings.

It is believed that the reporting initiative is only directed towards journalists operating on the mainland.

Often times, journalists are not only restricted in what they can cover for news stories, they are punished. For instance, in 2008, Li Changqing, a journalist awarded with the World Association of Newspapers Golden Pen of Press Freedom for reporting on an outbreak of dengue fever in Fuzhou province in 2004 before authorities had admitted it. Chinese authorities imposed Li with a jail sentence, and was forced to spend three years in prison.

According to Li, “Comrades who are going to be working on journalism’s front lines must learn theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics and be taught Marx’s view on news, plus media ethics and Communist Party discipline on news and propaganda.”

Despite the current fury by the government to fully control Chinese culture by limiting news sources to primarily all communist based reporting, several journalists are voicing their opinion before all non-communist communication mediums are closed off.

For more information, please see:

Chicago Tribune – China orders reporters trained in Marxist, communist theory to weed out politically incorrect – 11 March 2010

People’s Daily – Minister: China officials must report assets – 11 March 2010

The Guardian – China orders journalists to retrain in communist theory – 11 March 2010

South China Morning Post –  Journalists must face new exam – 11 March 2010