Indonesian Government Delays Release of Five Detained Australians Till Next Week

By Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Oceania

JAKARTA, Indonesia – A supporter of the five Australians being detained in Papua for the last nine months, says the Indonesian government is delaying their release until next week.

The “Merauke Five,” as the five Australian detainees have been called, were arrested last September after they were caught flying their small aircraft over Papua without the requisite visas or flight clearance.

The Five were expected to be released over the weekend, but their lawyers fear that the Indonesian government may raise “further hurdles” before granting their release.

“There was a belief that the Indonesian government might not sign off on the Supreme Court decision, that they might not allow them to leave but I think that was more a misunderstanding. That seems to have been cleared. The pilot, (William) Scott-Bloxham, has taken the plane up for a test run for about fifteen minutes yesterday and that was fine. The plane’s ready to go. They’re ready to go. They’re just nervous about something going wrong,” Mark Bousen, editor of Torres Strait News, said.

Bousen said, however, that despite the delay, the Indonesian government is eager to release the five Australians, and put the matter behind them.

“A lot of the paperwork has been cleared now. They’re just waiting on the odd bit now. It seems that everyone’s been very co-operative: the Indonesian officials, the Australian bureaucracy at long last seem to be very proactive – they are very keen to have this case resolved and there seems to be a sense of co-operation between the two governments to have the five home as soon as possible,” Bousen said.

Bousen expects that the Five will be released by Monday.

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International – Supporters of five Australians in Papua fear hurdles will delay return home – 19 June 2009

Radio New Zealand International – Australians’ release from Papua delayed until next week – 19 June 2009

Thai rebels condemned for killing teachers

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand – A human rights organization is demanding that Muslim insurgents in Thailand stop the “sickening trend” of killing teachers.  Since the separatist rebellion began in 2004 in Thailand’s three southern provinces, 115 teachers have been killed and more than 100 have been wounded.  200 schools have also been burned down.

Five teachers have been killed since a new school term began in May as a result of the recent escalation in violence in southern Thailand.  Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch said, “[S]eparatist insurgents are increasingly attacking teachers, who they consider a symbol of government authority and Buddhist Thai culture.  There is no excuse for such brutality”

On June 16, the insurgents shot a school teacher while she was riding her motorcycle from home to school.  Earlier this month, the insurgents also attacked a truck transporting school teachers, and singled out and killed two Thai teachers.

Thai teacher killed

Soldiers guarding the scene where teachers were killed (Source: Daily Mail Online)

Violence increased after 10 Muslims were killed in the June 8 mosque bombing in one of the southern provinces.  Although Thai government has strongly denied the accusation, rumors have spread calling Thai authorities as the mastermind behind the mosque bombing.

The insurgents are fighting to create an independent Muslim state, because they distrust the predominantly Buddhist Thai authorities.  This violence has led to more than 3,500 deaths since 2004 of both Buddhists and Muslims in Thailand.  36 civilians have been killed due to the insurgency so far in June.

“The attacks on teachers not only violate international law prohibitions against targeting civilians, but also threaten children’s basic right to education,” said Human Rights Watch.

The Group also asked the Thai authorities to hold those responsible in a lawful manner and to bolster security at schools. The government has promised to make schools safe and teachers secure at their workplace, but hundreds of teachers have requested that they be transferred from the region.

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Thailand: Insurgents Target Teachers in South – 18 June 2009

Mail Online – Three Buddhist teachers killed in Thai Muslim south – 11 June 2009

MSNBC – Thai rebels blasted for killing teachers – 19 June 2009

Sri Lanka: 280,000 Tamil Civilians Detained

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – After Sri Lanka’s final victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels, the country continues to grapple with the issue of postwar resettlement.

Approximately 280,000 Tamil civilians remain detained, finding themselves living inside barbed wire fences in large tents. Despite challenges to their detention from various human rights agencies, the government maintains that their detention is an imperative security measure. Security in the detention facilities continues to be tightened with limited humanitarian access. Vehicles of aid organizations have been barred after the military suggested they were smuggling out members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Resettlement remains an issue for the Sri Lankan government who have not yet produced a clear plan. No details have been shared with the UN who have ample experience in this area and are willing to provide greater assistance.

The Sri Lankan government has maintained a closed door policy on these matters and have publicly refuted accusations of mismanagement and human rights violations during and after the fighting. There has been little or no probe of the military’s tactics during the fighting, and claims implicating the army’s indiscriminate shelling of civilians have been swept under the rug. Earlier this week a presidential panel set up to investigate human rights abuses during the fighting was also shut down.

Sri Lanka maintains a firm stance on state sovereignty since it has often been undermined in developing countries by the world’s super powers. However that being said, some level of intervention is necessary in order to investigate and respond to matters of human rights – especially when 280,000 displaced civilians are at stake.

For more information, please see:

Christian Science Monitor – Sri Lanka’s Post-war Resettlement Stalls – June 19, 2009

NPR – Sri Lankan Tamils Ponder Future – June 19, 2009

Tamil Sydney – Rising Threat of Post-war Disappearances – June 19, 2009

The Hindu – Sri Lanka Not to Allow Visits to Tamil Camps – June 19, 2009

International Community Urged To Return Fiji To Democracy

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – Australia and New Zealand on Thursday urged China and the rest of the international community to back efforts to return Fiji to democracy and renewed demands that the United Nations stop using Fijian troops for peacekeeping duties, more than two years after a military coup in the South Pacific nation.

Fiji has up to 2,000 troops on peacekeeping duties with U.N. security forces around the world, including Iraq, Lebanon and East Timor. The UN decided last year not to use Fijian peacekeepers for any new missions but it has continued to deploy those already engaged.

Fiji’s military regime “has gained comfort and considerable amounts of cash from those ongoing peacekeeping activities,” said New Zealand’s Foreign Minister, Murray McCully.

McCully said the U.N.’s use of Fiji troops was “particularly unhelpful” to the international community, given former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s warning to Fiji in 2006 that its peacekeepers would be “sent home” if the 2006 coup led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama proceeded.

Since 2006, Bainimarama has suspended the constitution, detained opponents, delayed elections to 2014, suppressed freedom of speech, and required lawyers to get new licenses to practice under his administration.

The military regime has previously stated that Fiji’s soldiers would continue with U.N. peacekeeping duties because the U.N. hadn’t stopped peacekeeping participation by countries like Pakistan and Zimbabwe.

Fiji has also recently received support from China, who has extended its influence into the Pacific with various forms of aid, including money for infrastructure projects. Last month a new bridge was opened in Fiji, funded and built by China.

“We’ve been urging all members of the international community that, if they are having contact with Fiji, that they should certainly make the point that the international community wants to see Fiji return to democracy,” said Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith.

For more information, please see:
BBC – China support for Fiji questioned – 19 June 2009

The Sydney Morning Herald – Aust/NZ FMs criticise UN over Fiji – 19 June 2009

Taiwan News – Australia, NZ want UN to stop using Fiji troops – 19 June 2009

International Outcry Surrounding Deaths of Iranian Protesters

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Human Rights Watch has called for the Iranian government to begin investigations into the deaths of as many as eight protesters, who were allegedly killed by police and pro-government militia.

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, a candidate in Iran’s presidential elections, gathered in Tehran on June 18.  The crowds continued their nearly week-long protests of the results of the June 12 presidential election, which Mousavi’s supporters contend was rigged and maintain that Mousavi was the real winner, rather than the incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Mousavi also asked his supporters to march to commemorate the deaths of those killed in the protests this week, encouraging the supporters to wear black in mourning.

The crowds gathered in Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Square despite an order against such rallies, issued by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader.  The crowds marched silently until they reached the Square, when shouts of “God is Great” began, echoing calls heard by crowds during Iran’s 1979 revolution.

Authorities have arrested those perceived as dissidents, as well as shutting down access to many websites, including BBC Farsi, Facebook, and pro-Mousavi sites, in attempts to stifle the protests.  Foreign journalists have been banned from Tehran’s streets, and most are now reporting from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Though details remain hazy, Mousavi’s supporters report that those killed were students attacked in dormitories by pro-government militia.  As in recent days, during the protest on the 18th, police remained on the sidelines.  There have been reports, however, of police violence against protesters after dark.

Human Rights Watch called on the Iranian authorities to ensure that all security forces follow the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials in policing the demonstrations.  Mousavi has continually asked his supporters to remain non-violent.  The Guardian Council has ordered a recount of approximately 600 ballot boxes, but future government action remains unclear.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Iran’s Mousavi Addresses Protesters – 18 June 2009

Human Rights Watch – Iran:  Investigate Protester Deaths – 18 June 2009

NPR – Opposition Protesters Fill Streets of Iran’s Capital – 18 June 2009

New York Times – Protesters Gather Again, as Iran Panel Offers Talks – 18 June 2009

Associated Press – Iranian Protester Killed After Opposition Rally – 15 June 2009