A Voice for the Voiceless

Families with AIDS evicted in Cambodia

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia– After a week of negotiations, 20 families with HIV/AIDS were evicted from their homes in Cambodia today.  The families have been forced by the Cambodian government to move out of the Borei Keila community in central Phnom Penh and resettle in Tuol Sambo, which is known as the “AIDS village” by the locals.

Families have been protesting the move for months, complaining that they would have no means of income or medical care at the new location.  Tuol Sambo has no clean water or electricity, and the homes are made of metal sheets.  Most families are not in the position to battle the authorities, and they fear that they will face further discrimination by living in Tuol Sambo.

AIDS families evict

A man carries his belongings as another resident watches before being transported to the new resettlement site (Source: AP)

Amnesty International has condemned the move calling it “segregation,” and added, “The site’s long distance from the city hampers access to health services and jobs…[t]he families have urgent humanitarian needs…[t]here is a real risk that the health of the evicted families will deteriorate there.”

However, the Cambodian government is claiming that the families had illegally settled on government land where the authorities now wish to build new offices for Ministry of Tourism.

Last year, around 23,000 Cambodians were evicted from their homes and another 150,000 are at risk of facing eviction due to land disputes and commercial development projects.  Human rights organizations said evictions are a major social problem hurting Cambodia’s stability.

Furthermore, according to the 2008 estimate by the UN, 75,000 Cambodians are infected with AIDS and 100,000 have died due to AIDS-related causes, which is the highest in Southeast Asia.  The government is trying to decrease its HIV/AIDS prevalence to 0.6% by 2010 and have allocated about $50 million to combat the disease.

Despite the government’s efforts, Director of Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights Naly Pilorge said, “It is tragic that the government has chosen to create a permanent AIDS colony where people will face great stigma and discrimination.”

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – Amnesty International Condemns Cambodian Government’s Eviction of 20 Families Living with HIV/AIDS – June 18, 2009

Kaiser Daily Reports – Cambodia Aims to Decrease HIV/AIDS Prevalence to 0.6% by 2010 – 6 April 2009

MSNBC – Cambodian authorities evict HIV-affected families – 18 June 2009

Indonesian Mine Collapse: 28 Dead

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

JAKARTA, Indonesia – A mine collapsed on Tuesday, triggered by a methane explosion, killed at least 28 people and injured several others on the island of Sumatra. However, the numbers continue to rise, and it is believed that 14 people are still trapped.

Seventeen others sustained serious burns in the explosion, and many of them are hospitalized. Rescuers from nearby cities of Sawahlunto and Solok have been dispatched and are trying to rescue those trapped.

A member of the Padang search and rescue team said, “We received reports of the collapsed mine around midday Tuesday. Thirty people are feared still in the mine when it collapsed, while the other nine have been pulled out.”

The current mine collapse is reminiscent of numerous others in Asia in the recent past. Several Asian countries continue to conduct dangerous mining with limited regard to safety. Last year China lost over 77 people in at least three mining accidents that occurred in July and September respectively. In a separate mine blast in 2007 China saw a death toll as high as 105 according to Chinese news sources.

Developing countries with extensive mining operations remain at a risk for fatal accidents. Perhaps the international community should strive for more stringent safety and precautionary requirements in order to curb the danger miners face when conducting such operations.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Indonesian Mine Explosion – June 16, 2009

United Press International – Indonesian Mine Tragedy – June 17, 2009

CNN – Mine Collapse in China – July 6, 2008

CNN – Deaths Rise in Indonesian Mine Collapse – July 17, 2009

Pacific Countries Discuss Women’s Issues

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – Among pleas for gender equality and maternity pay, a workshop on violence against women has sparked calls for legislation encompassing all abuse against women.

The Fiji Women’s Crisis Center hosted the Pacific Regional Meeting on Violence Against Women in Fiji last week with 60 attendees from 11 Pacific countries.

Edwina Kotoisuva, the Deputy Coordinator of the Center, said most organizations at the workshop are strengthening relations with their respective governments to pursue a reform in their laws.

“What we’re hoping to do is that countries look into having overarching violence against women legislation so it includes domestic violence, sexual assault and then can take into account emerging issues that have come through in the Pacific, such as trafficking, which is a cause for concern for some of our Pacific countries,” said Kotoisuva.

During the meeting, the Fiji Women’s Crisis Center also argued for legislation recognizing that maternity leave and pay is a woman’s right and should not be seen as a burden by employers.

Stephen Fisher, an advocate with the Chisholm Institute in Melbourne, spoke at the meeting and argued that a gender-imbalanced society will breed violence, but it can be eliminated when men listen more to women and help them with housework, raising children, cooking and cleaning.

Fisher also stated that he felt much progress was made at the meeting.

For more information, please see:/em>
New Zealand International Radio – Regional conference hears plea for gender equality – 16 June 2009

New Zealand International Radio – Workshop calls for laws to halt abuse of women – 16 June 2009

Fiji Times – Maternity pay is a woman’s right -16 June 2009

Freedom For “Merauke Five” Delayed

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Prosecutors are continuing to hinder the release of five Australians detained in Papua for the past nine months, even though Indonesia’s Supreme Court has cleared them of wrongdoing, the group’s lawyer says.

The so-called “Merauke Five” were arrested last September for flying their small aircraft into Papua without visas or flight clearance.

On Wednesday, Merauke District Court officials received from Jakarta the paperwork that will enable them to return the five Australians’ passports and let the pilot, William Scott-Bloxam, fire up his twin-engined aircraft. However, the group’s lawyer, Mohammad Rifan, says he fears prosecutors may yet raise further hurdles.

“They still have not lifted the ban that prevents them leaving. They say they have to ask the attorney-general’s office for guidance to do this,” said Rifan. “But it seems like there is an effort from prosecutors to hinder the process.”

Earlier, Scott-Bloxham had been given a three year jail term and each of his passengers two-year terms, but their convictions were overturned in March. However, before they could get out of Indonesia, they were banned from leaving while prosecutors appealed to the Supreme Court.

Lawyer Efrem Fangohoy said he expected the bureaucratic process could still have them on the ground in Papua until the end of this week.

For more information, please see:
The Sydney Morning Herald – Australians delayed from leaving Papua – 17 June 2009

The Australian –  Australians detained in Indonesia closer to freedom – 17 June 2009

New Zealand International Radio – “Merauke Five” could still be hindered from returning to Australia – 17 June 2009

Vietnamese Human Rights Lawyer Arrested

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

HANOI, Vietnam– Le Cong Dinh, a prominent lawyer, was arrested by Vietnamese authorities under conspiracy charges and for expressing his views on the Internet.  The international community is voicing concerns over Dinh’s arrest in fear that this detention will have a “chilling effect” on Vietnam’s legal profession.

Vietnamese lawyer
Le Cong Dinh (Source: BBC)

Dinh is a former Fulbright scholar who is well-respected in the Vietnamese and international legal communities.  He has been calling for a wider reform of the Vietnamese political system, and has defended Vietnam’s leading human rights and pro-democracy activists.

However, he was arrested over the weekend for “colluding with domestic and foreign reactionaries to sabotage the Vietnamese state” and was criminally charged for distributing anti-government materials.  Dinh, a well-published writer and columnist, was alleged to have been found with a copy of a constitution he wrote with the hopes of replacing the current one.  Other allegations against Dinh include libeling Vietnam’s top leaders in published documents.

One official from Amnesty International expressed concern saying that the Vietnamese criminal code Dinh is charged with is “so vaguely worded that it criminalises peaceful political dissent,” and a Paris-based group said, “We fear that this arrest is aimed at punishing a respected man who promotes the cause of the rule of law in Vietnam.”

U.S. State Department released a statement Monday calling for Dinh’s immediate and unconditional release, and said “No individual should be arrested for expressing the right to free speech, and no lawyer should be punished because of the individuals they choose to counsel.”
For more information, please see:

AFP – Concern mounts over Vietnam lawyer’s arrest – 16 June 2009

BBC – Vietnam holds high-profile lawyer – 14 June 2009

U.S. Department of State – Vietnam: Arrest of Lawyer Le Cong Dinh – 15 June 2009