China Divided Over Internet Freedom

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Within the past week, Chinese intellectuals and a government news agency posted two similar media declarations on the Internet.  Both declarations stated the need for more open media, acceptance of new media technologies, and interaction between journalists and audiences.

However, the “Internet Human Rights Declaration” drafted by 15 Chinese intellectuals stipulating ten specific items, including freedom of speech online, disappeared from online viewing soon after its first appearance.

Within two days, the Declaration had been blocked from viewing, and searches of the document on the web, including on China’s biggest search engine called Baidu.com, ended in failure.  This is contrary to President Hu Jintao’s promise at the World Media Summit for more media freedom and protection.

Bei Feng, journalist and one of the drafters of the Declaration, said Chinese government’s increasing severity with Internet censorship is what prompted the drafting of the Declaration. 

Ling Cangzhou, another journalist and drafter of the document said the Declaration’s purpose is to “bring the Chinese people’s attention to the current state of the internet and to stimulate thought on free speech and free media.”  Ling added that the Declaration was drafted within the scope of China’s constitution. 

Contrarily, others feel that China has made progress in protecting free speech online.  For example, criticism of the government can now be found on the web as 300 million Internet users of China have newly but firmly established a culture of “Internet activism” where grievances towards the government are expressed online.  Nevertheless, Chinese officials do maintain a tight control over the Internet, and they do block or filter certain sensitive keywords.

Although China has an iron grip over its web users, online freedom of speech is being encouraged by the authorities because it helps the officials gain a first-hand understanding of the current public sentiment. 

Ironically, there has also been a new movement where Chinese bloggers, despite worries that this could give the authorities the leverage for stricter Internet censorship, are asking for greater government intervention online against those who spread false information online to protect individual’s rights.
For more information, please see:

Asia Times – China torn over Internet freedoms – 8 October 2009

Global Voices Advocacy – China’s Internet: Two Media Declarations – 15 October 2009

Guardian – So, Comrade, tell me: why did you censor my website? – 6 October 2009

Leader of Tonga’s For Women and Families Group Fasts for Women’s Rights

By Cindy Trinh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga – The President of Tonga’s For Women and Families group, Ma’a Fafine Moe Famili’s Betty Blake, has taken a controversial step towards women’s rights. As part of the protest against the Tongan parliament for ignoring women’s rights, Blake has committed herself to fasting until the government makes some significant changes.

Recently, the Tongan government rejected the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). As a result, women who seek refuge from abuse are not receiving the adequate help they need. General Manager Ofa-Ki-Levuka Guttenbeil Likilliki for the Tonga National Centre for Women and Children (TNCWC), an NGO that provides refuge and advocacy for victims of abuse, states that women who seek refuge from abuse have no access to land or financial support because of the Tongan government’s resistance to implement CEDAW.

Tonga’s long history of ignoring women’s rights has brought international human rights concerns. After 15 years of struggling for women’s rights, Betty Blake has resorted to prayer and fasting.

Betty Blake is fasting in support of a petition calling for the removal of the Prime Minister and his deputy from office. Betty Blake states that she is committed to fasting from 6 am until 6 pm until the leaders are replaced.

In offering the reason why Betty Blake has resorted to prayer and fasting, she stated: “We see that they don’t really consider the status of our people. That’s why we are fasting. That’s why we are crying to God. Because we know that there are a lot of things we’ve done in this country but it’s almost like it lands on deaf ears on the people in policy and people in decision-making. So we thought this is the last thing we can do, is to fast and pray.”

Betty Blake further urges the leaders of overseas governments and the international women’s community to fight for change, and join the petition to replace the Prime Minister and his deputy.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International – Fasting last resort for head of Tongan women and families group – 16 October, 2009

Island Voices – Tongan leader for women and families group resorts to fasting for women’s rights – 13 October, 2009

Matangi: Tonga Online – Tongan parliament blatantly ignores women’s rights – 19 September, 2009

Palestinians Must Now Obtain Harvest Permits for own Olive Trees

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

BETHLEHEM, West Bank – On October 14, Israeli forces prevented Palestinians in Wadi Ahmed near Beit Jala from reaching their olive trees for the annual olive harvest. The harvesters told Ma’an News Agency that they went to their lands early in the morning, only to find large gates and barbed wire across the entrance to the groves.

 

When asked why they were barred, Israeli soldiers told the farmers they did not have the proper permits to harvest. Olive harvest season is central in Palestinian culture—many people take time off from work or university to help their families with the harvest. Olive harvest season is also traditionally a time of increased hostility between Israeli settlers and Palestinian farmers. With the construction of the Israeli barrier through the West Bank, many Palestinians have found themselves separated from their olive trees, some of which are thousands of years old and have been in Palestinian families for generations.

 

The farmers in Wadi Ahmed were accompanied by local and international activists, who said they believed their presence would prevent attacks by Israeli soldiers. When the farmers and the activists refused to leave the area, they reported that the soldiers screamed at them and told them “there were no crops on the trees anyway.”

 

Awad Abu Soury, a Bethlehem resident who was with the farmers, said the soldiers “invented false stories about permits needed to access lands,” and speculated that the soldiers did “it on purpose to spoil the harvest and keep owners away from their lands.”

 

Elsewhere in the West Bank, farmers near Nablus reported that Israeli soldiers warned them that if farmers bring international activists to their trees, farmers could be charged with a fine of $1700 (U.S.).

 

Palestinian police forces have promised extra protection for farmers this fall, particularly where clashes between farmers and settlers have broken out in the past. The harvest this fall is expected to be particularly low, and many farmers are concerned about harvesting all the fruit from their trees.

 

For more information, please see:

 

International Middle East Media Center – The Military Fines Local Farmers 1,700 USD if They Bring International Activists to Their Lands – 15 October 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Olive Harvesters Must Now Apply for Permits Before Accessing Lands – 15 October 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Olive Harvesters Get Security Details This Year – 14 October 2009

 

Palestinian News Network – Concerns Over Olive Harvest Increase for Families Under Threat of Settlers – 7 October 2009

 

Halima Hassan, One Of Thousands Losing Hope

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Halima Hassan, 42, a mother of five, fled her home in Hodan district of the Somali capital in 2007 after intense fighting between insurgents and government forces. Now, home is a makeshift shelter in a camp for the internally displaced within the Elsha biyaha area, 20km south of Mogadishu.

The UN refugee agency reports the number of civilian casualties is rising because of the latest upsurge in fighting in the troubled South Central region of Somalia. The UNHCR says the renewed fighting is sparking a new wave of displacement.

Local humanitarian organizations in Somalia say within Somalia during September alone, 17,000 people were displaced including 11,000 from the capital. This figure does not include the 145 people that have been killed and another 285 who were injured in heavy clashes in Kismayo, Beled Weyne and the capital, Mogadishu just in September.

Hassan is one of at least 900,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) struggling to survive under extremely desperate conditions in Mogadishu-Afgoye corridor. Her family used to receive monthly food rations comprising 75kg of sorghum, 10kg of beans, 10kg of porridge and 3l of cooking oil from aid agencies, but this has been cut in half due to lack of funds and insecurity.

Halima Hassan told IRIN in an interview Wednesday, “I sometimes find myself wondering how God decided to put us in this country; I know I should not but sometimes I find myself wishing I was not Somali. I am losing hope. I don’t know whether or not the situation will ever get better. Every day, I keep wondering where our next meal will come from. I struggle to make sure my children have at least one meal a day. I will do anything so my children don’t go hungry as I am the only one they can depend on. They [the warring sides] are merciless. They fire heavy weapons indiscriminately, where is their kindness? They don’t think about the weak and the mothers struggling with orphaned children. There is no peace and no food to speak of; I don’t how long we can live like this. It is very hard to explain to anyone who is not here what is happening to us. Wars end but ours seems endless. In Somalia, every new dawn brings its own problems. We can’t endure any longer what is going on here. It is better to be in a grave than living here.”

Roberta Russo, spokesperson for UNHCR Somalia, said “The main problem of humanitarian agencies is the lack of access to the needy population due to the highly insecure environment. 8 Human Rights officers have been killed this year alone.” “It is important to note that funding is also a considerable constraint on humanitarian programming throughout Somalia. The Consolidated Appeal Process is funded at only 54 percent of the estimated needs. Some sectors have received as little as 10 percent of the resources they require for adequate programming,” said the agency.

Asha Sha’ur, a senior member of civil society, said “The lucky ones may get a plastic sheeting to cover it”, despite the fact that some of the IDPs pay rent to the owners of the land. Sha’ur, who visited the camps on 28 September said, “These people are living in the most miserable conditions. It is heart-breaking. I honestly don’t know how else to describe it.” Sha’ur said the displaced had no access to clean water and sanitation conditions were bad. “Thousands of families are left with no latrines.” Sha’ur said the displaced were getting a “fraction of what they need. This is intolerable.” “No more excuses” Humanitarian agencies have to find creative ways of reaching the needy, Sha’ur said, adding: “I don’t think they can hide behind insecurity any longer.”

For more information, please see:

All Africa – Halima Hassan, “It is Better to Be in a Grave Than Living Here” – 15 October 2009

VOAnews – Civilian Casualties Mount in Somalia – 2 October 2009

Inside Somalia – Insecurity “no excuse” to neglect IDPs – 1 October 2009

Anbar Province Struck By Triple Bombing

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RAMADI, Iraq – On October 11, a triple car bombing in Iraq killed between nineteen and twenty-six individuals, and injured over eighty. The bombings took place in Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s western Anbar province. The attacks took place near the provincial government of Anbar. It is believed that the bombings were targeting a reconciliation meeting between Shi’ite-led government officials and the Sunni groups known as Awakening Councils.

The first bomb targeted individuals who were waiting outside of a municipal building waiting to claim money. Meanwhile, the second bomb went off after police and other emergency workers arrived on the scene. The third bomb went off close a security checkpoint on a road that led to the local hospital. Officials have reported that eighty percent of the individuals hurt by the attack were police.

The violence in Anbar province had been among the lowest in Iraq in the last two years. This was reportedly because many tribal leaders dropped their allegiance to al Qaeda in Mesopotamia (AQM). Those who dropped their allegiance to AQM joined forces with Awakening Councils that linked with the American military and the Iraqi government. The level in violence has, however, increased since American forces have ceded control of the province to Iraqi military forces.

The triple bombing allegedly targeted the reconciliation meeting between the Shi’ite and Sunni factions. The bombings failed to hit any of the individuals involved of the meeting. The goal of the gathering was create new election law. The rise in attacks and the inability of the two groups to come together on new laws increases concerns that the national elections currently scheduled for January will have to be postponed.

The concern for the election date coincides with a fear that insurgency in Anbar has regained its footing. Despite the previous lull in violence that the province had experienced, October has seen a number of attacks hit Anbar.  This attack is the latest in a string of recent attacks focused on tribal leaders and members of Iraqi security forces. Overall, however, violence in the country has gone down as September experienced the lowest death toll for the country as a whole since May.

For more information, please see:

Los Angeles Times – Iraq Bombings Target Reconciliation Meeting, Killing 26 – 12 October 2009

AFP – Triple Attacks Kill 19 In Western Iraqi City – 11 October 2009

Al Jazeera – Iraq Hit By Triple Car Bombing – 11 October 2009

New York Times – Bombings Outside Iraq Reconciliation Meeting Kill 23 – 11 October 2009