A Voice for the Voiceless

Tibetan Monks Finally Escape China

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DHARAMSALA, India – Lobsang, and his fellow Tibetan monks courageously broke their silence in front of a group of 20 foreign and Chinese journalists over a year ago. After a long year of hardship, three out of 15 protesting monks have finally managed to find refuge in India, and tell their story.

Lobsang and others bravely unfurled hidden banners reading messages like “We have no human rights” a year ago when journalists arrived at their monastery, despite the obvious dangers that awaited them.

The journalists had been invited by Chinese officials to show that Tibetans were content under Chinese rule; however, the 15 monks outside the monastery seized the opportunity to express their true feelings. “If we monks hadn’t seized the opportunity to express our feelings, which are feelings in all Tibetan monks, then we would have missed a chance to tell the world,” said Lobsang.

Several Chinese officials insisted that the protests were planned by the Dalai Lama, and the Tibetan monks themselves were not unhappy under Chinese rule. The monks from Labrang said harsh Chinese policies sparked the protest. “I and my friends decided on our own to protest. The protests were caused by human rights violations and Chinese policies toward Tibet. We couldn’t tolerate it anymore.”

Alongside Lobsang, a half-dozen other monks scrawled slogans such as “We have no freedom of speech” on Tibetan flags with their wills written on the back, convinced of their death.

Now that Lobsang and two other monks from the protest, Gyatso, and Jamyang have found refuge in India after a year of hiding from Chinese authorities, they speak more freely about the situation in Tibet. Over the years the Chinese government has been limiting the number of monks allowed to live in monasteries and have been cracking down on festivities honoring the Dalai Lama. The protests that began over a year ago have resulted in the detention of numerous monks and have led to the emptying out of monasteries. Chinese authorities have further clamped down on Tibet, making it more difficult for monks to the leave the country.

The tightly controlled conditions have also led to an increase in the number of suicides amongst Tibetan monks.

For more information, please see:

New York Times – Monks Tell Tale of Escape – June 21, 2009

Tibet Custom – Monk Suicide on the Rise in Tibet – June 22, 2009

AFP – Dalai Lama Urges Pressure over Tibet Oppression – June 5, 2009

Canada Denies U.S. Request to Admit Cleared Guantanamo Detainees

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Canada refused a request by the Obama administration to admit Guantanamo detainees from China, of Uighar ethnicity, amid speculation regarding pressure from the Chinese government.  China has actively sought the return of the 17 detainees for prosecution, but the U.S. will not return the men due to fear of torture.
The detainees were cleared for release by the Pentagon in 2004 and will remain in an offshore prison until the United States finds them asylum.  Albania accepted five of the men in 2006, and is the only country to do so.
Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper cited security concerns and “security concerns” and a lack of connection to Canada in saying that ” there is no rational for accepting them into the country”.  Canadian detainee Omar Khadr, accused of killing a U.S. serviceman, would reportedly be “a different case” because he is a Canadian citizen.  However, Canada intends to let his prosecution continue to be handled by the United States.
Two of the detainees, who have been held for over seven years staged a protest with handwritten signs calling for their freedom.  The Pentagon initially refused to allow journalists to release photos of the protest signs, however, the White House approved their release.  The Obama administration has been seeking placements for cleared Guantanamo detainees, asking foreign governments to make sacrifices and unpopular choices to help close Guantanamo Bay.

Last week, the Obama administration argued in a filing to the Supreme Court that a ruling blocking the detainees’ ability to receive asylum in the U.S. should be upheld.  That ruling overturned a federal judge order that the Uighurs be given sanctuary in the U.S., considering the fact that the Pentagon no longer considered them enemy combatants.

Muslim Uighurs from China’s Xinjiang province seek autonomy for their region. The Chinese government has been cracking down on separatist activities.  China has warned that any country that accepts the men will be considered as harboring terrorists.

Pakistani President Bans Jokes Ridiculing Him

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan –The Pakistani government has initiated a crackdown against citizens that joke at the President’s expense. Pakistanis who send jokes by text message, email, or blog, risk being arrested and facing up to 14 years in prison.

According to the country’s Interior Minister Rehman malik, the Federal Investigation Agency will now electronically trace jokes that ‘slander the political leadership of the country’, in particular, jokes regarding Pakistani President Asif Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto.  This initiative will be carried out under the auspice of the new Cyber Crimes Act.

Mr. Malik said the move would punish the authors of “ill motivated and concocted stories through emails and text messages against the civilian leadership.” The government also listed counter-terrorism concerns as a reason for the ban.

President Zardari has long courted controversy. During the late Prime Minister’s Benazir Bhutto’s tenure, he was dubbed “Mr. 10 percent” when alleged evidence revealed he had been receiving “kickbacks on government contracts.” Other alleged nicknames include, loosely translated, “chief thief” and “bandit.”

Human rights agencies in Pakistan have described President Zardari’s ban as “draconian and authoritarian,” and compared it former President Musharraf’s media ban during a time of political opposition – drawing a distinction only in name between a civilian and military government.

 For more information, please see:

Digital Journal – Pakistani President Bans Jokes Ridiculing Him – July 22, 2009  

World Sentinel – Indecent SMS Sender Could Fail Jail Time in Pakistan – July 22, 2009  

Telegraph – Pakistan President Bans Jokes Ridiculing Him – July 21, 20  09 

Mexican Drug Cartels Supplied with Guns from U.S.

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States – A study by the Government Accountability Office found that most firearms linked to drug violence in Mexico come from the U.S.  The report cites Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives data showing that approximately 87 percent of firearms seized by Mexican authorities and submitted to the U.S. for tracing in the last 5 years came from the U.S. Roughly a quarter of the guns seized are high-caliber, high-powered assault style weapons, such as AK-47s and AR-15s.  Most of the guns came from shows and stores in the southwestern U.S.

The majority of the illegal weapons that cross the border are intended to support Mexican drug cartels. Drug-related murders have jumped to 6,200 last year from 2,700 in 2007, according to the study.  Investigators cited a “lack of a comprehensive U.S. government-wide strategy to for addressing the problem”.

The ATF and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are most responsible for tracking illegal weapons and are reportedly ineffective because they “lack clear roles and responsibilities and have been operating under an outdated inter-agency agreement”.

The Department of Homeland Security disputes these conclusions, and notes that a new agreement between the two agencies is awaiting final approval. Gun-rights groups have similarly challenged the assertions of the report and contend that the data is incomplete because only 7,200 of 30,000 seized weapons are submitted for tracing.

The report stated that, while it was possible that some of the weapons used by drug cartels come from outside the U.S. the likelihood is very slim because the weapons are “so easy” to get from the U.S.  The report cited bureaucratic problems in Mexico as a reason that many seized weapons do not make it to the U.S. for tracing.

The Obama administration released a 2009 National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy, in which he called for the deployment of new technology, stepping up intelligence gathering and increasing interdiction of ships, aircraft and vehicles that are smuggling drugs, guns and cash.  The strategy includes, for the first time, a chapter on countering illegal arms trafficking to Mexico.  The report openly acknowledges that the 2007 Merida Initiative to counter the illegal drug trade did not take into consideration the flow of illegal cash and weapons.

Representative Eliot L. Engel (D. N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, which is holding a hearing on arms trafficking said ” It is simply unacceptable that the United States not only consumes the majority of the drugs flowing from Mexico, but also arms the very cartels that contribute to the daily violence that is devastating Mexico.”

U.S. State Department Places Four Middle Eastern Countries on ‘Worst’ List for Human Trafficking

By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – United States Department of State (State Dept.) released its annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) for 2009 on June 16.  It is the ninth TIP Report created by the State Dept. in their efforts to reduce human trafficking.  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that the report “sheds light on the faces of modern-day slavery and on new facets of this global problem,” and that she hoped that the U.S. will be seen as a partner when working towards elimination of human trafficking.   However, the report has not been well received by several Middle Eastern countries that were placed in the ‘worst’ category in the report.

The report creates four categories to define a country’s progress towards compliance with the Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act (TVPA).  Tier 1 countries – those considered to be in complete compliance with the TVPA – are mostly Western, developed countries, including most European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand.   Tier 2 countries – those who are not in compliance but are considered to be making significant progress towards compliance – are most of the remaining Western nations, and is the largest group of countries in the report.  Tier 2 Watch List Countries differ from Tier 2 countries in that the U.S. considers these countries to be losing ground in their progress, or the U.S. has found the number of persons trafficked in these countries to be numerous.  Finally, Tier 3 countries are those who are not in compliance with the TVPA and who appear to be making no progress towards compliance. 

Most Middle Eastern Countries were placed within the Tier 2 Watch List, although four Middle Eastern nations – Iran, Syria, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia – were placed in Tier 3.  Many countries have yet to make an official statement in response to the report. However, human rights groups throughout Bahrain, which was placed on the Tier 2 Watch List, have put out a “Trafficking Battle Call,” asking Bahrain to take steps towards compliance with the TVPA. 

Other countries have not had such a positive response.  Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi made a statement on June 18 harshly criticizing the United States for placing Kuwait in Tier 3.  “I have repeatedly said that Kuwait is not a country of angels but what hurts me is that the United States thinks itself to be a country of angels,” al-Khorafi explained to reporters when asked to comment on the report.  He went on to say that he believed the report falsely depicted Kuwait, stating that the U.S. “is not the world’s police and not a guardian of the world and if it wants to be so it should make sure that the information it gathers is true.”  Countries that have been placed in the Tier 3 category could face economic sanctions, and be barred from any trade not related to humanitarian aid. 

For more information, please see:

Gulf Daily News – Trafficking Clamp Underway – 21 June 2009

Kuwait Times – Khorafi, MPs Blast US over Trafficking Report – 18 June 2009

Time – Human Trafficking Rises in Recession – 18 June 2009

Jerusalem Post – Four Countries ‘Blacklisted’ by US – 17 June 2009

AFP – Malaysia, Six African States Listed for Human Trafficking – 17 June 2009

U.S. Department of State – Trafficking In Persons Report 2009