By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

HYDERABAD, India – The Indian government finally announced that it would accept the country’s 50-year old request and make Telangana a state. Leading up to this decision, the people of Hyderabad and nine other surrounding districts endured a turbulent period of limbo.

After issuing the decision, thousands of supporters of Telangana flooded the streets as history was made and news spread that the government had risen to the peoples’ long-standing demands. Men and women of all generations gathered at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences where the leader of the regional Telangana Rashtra Samiti party, K Chandrasekhara Rao, was under observation by doctors. 

The Talngana people and supporters celebrated in Hyderabad the announcement of a Telangana state. Photography courtesy of The New York Times. 

Rao, a 55-year-old supporter of the initiation of Telangana, began a “fast unto death” 11 days ago as a way to press the demand for Telangana state. During the course of his  fasting protest, Rao lost almost half of his original weight and has been suffering from many ailments and complications, although he emerged as a hero for the local masses when he refused to break his fast as his life became gravely in danger due to extreme starvation. In the course of his fast, Rao became known as the “Tiger of Telangana” to supporters of the new state. He swore to starve if India did not reconfigure its political map by carving out a new state anchored by this city, a major technology hub and host to multinationals like Dell and Motorola. The sprawling size of the current state, Andhra Pradesh, wrongly deprived people in the local region, he claimed. His actions sparked a chain reaction of demonstrations on college campuses and plunged Hyderabad into a political crisis. Several universities were shut down, students were jailed and thousands of police and paramilitary officers arrived after a two-day general strike effectively paralyzed the city of four million people.

 
K Chandrasekara Rao has become a hero. Fotograph courtesy of BBC World News

In the few days since India has recognized Telangana and Rao broken his fast, the country has ceaselessly expressed its excitement. “We are happy,” said Uppu Sudhaker, a Telangana supporter. “All these years, people from other regions have slighted us. Our areas were not properly developed. All our resources were misused. The jobs went to outsiders.” Even as many legislative hurdles must be navigated to create a new Telangana state, the drama underscores that while India represents an ancient civilization, it is a relatively young democracy whose internal political shape is likely to keep evolving.

For more information, please see:

Hindustan Times – Telangana does not mean new states everywhere: Pranab – December 13, 2009 

My Bangladesh – Telangana Tiger – December 11, 2009 

BBC World News – India’s ‘Tiger of Telangana’ feted –  December 13, 2009

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Chinese prosecutors have indicted high-profile dissident, Liu Xiaobo, and are likely to bring his case to court within the next month, according to his lawyers. Liu has been detained for over one year in a Chinese prison for what Liu Xiaobo’s lawyer, Shang Baojun, stated were police allegations claiming that the Liu incited the subversion of state power through articles he published on the internet and by helping to write Charter 08, an appeal for democratic reforms and greater civil liberties. 

 Photograph of Liu Xiabo whose image appears in front of the

  Chinese national emblem. Image curtesy of Associated Press.

If the procuratorate conclude that the public security agency has clearly established a case backed by evidence, then it can decide to initiate a prosecution in court,” said Mo Shaoping, another of Liu’s lawyers. Mo went on to say that in the course of the next month, prosecutors also have the option to order additional investigations or to throw out the case entirely. However, Phelim Kine, Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch,  said that given the amount of national attention and international publicity (Liu’s case has drawn protests from western politicians and international authors) states that “The sad fact is by the time it does get to this point, it takes on a momentum of its own and [probably] will unfortunately head to court.”

There is additional concern that the prosecution will prey on Liu’s past. Liu is a literary critic and former academic and spent 20 months in jail after joining the Tiananmen Square pro-reform protests in 1989. He was also sent to a re-education through labor camp in the 1990s. Liu’s present charges regarding his internet and other postings are percieved as a questioning the Communist party’s monopoly on power.

In response to Liu’s indictment, a group of 201 Charter 08 signatories, issued a public letter entitled, “We Are Willing to Share Responsibility with Liu Xiaobo.” The letter reiterated their support for the ideas behind the document as well as for the author and literary critic. Once the letter was posted on the internet, approximately 10,000 people showed their support, although Chinese governmental censors quickly eliminated references to it from Chinese-based sites.

Human rights officials have expressed that Liu’s case means the Chinese government is paying attention to the international response to allegations made against Liu and are hoping that the attention and awareness raised will lead to increasing open-door diplomacy. Human rights leaders are also hoping that Liu’s case will light on other authors facing similar charges such as Wole Soyinka and Salman Rushdie, who are among those who have called for Liu’s release, in addition to their diplomatic efforts.

For more information, please see:

Irish Times – Leading Chinese dissident indicted after year in jail without charges – December 11, 2009 

The Guardian – Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo faces incitement to subversion charge – December 11, 2009

Washington Post – Lawyer says police want Chinese dissident indicted – December 9, 2009