US Will Move 8,000 Troops From Japan To Guam

By Sarah E. Treptow
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

OKINAWA, Japan – The US and Japan have signed the Guam International Agreement ordering the relocation of 8,000 US soldiers from the Japanese island of Okinawa to Guam by 2014.  Under the agreement, Japan will provide $6.09 billion of the estimated $10.3 billion it will cost for the transfer of the soldiers and for the building of housing on Guam, a US territory.

The Guam Landowners Association says it is opposed to the plan for military buildup.  The Association’s Antony Sablan says the people of Guam have not been asked if they support the move.  The soldier transfer will boost Guam’s population by ten percent.  Mr. Sablan believes Guam will lose land and part of its identity.  He said, “We are a foster child of a foster parent, where our resources are getting raped by our foster parent.  Somebody has to step up to the plate and take the step to say: ‘hey, you can’t take advantage of this small group of innocent people.'”  Mr. Sablan went on to say the international community should step in to protect the people of Guam.

Meanwhile, Guam’s Chamber of Commerce is looking forward to the population increase for what it will mean for Guam’s economy.  The Chamber’s chair, Frank Campillo says it will bring many opportunities.  Mr. Campillo explained, “We’ll see a huge amount of construction activity: we need to improve our island infrastructure, the streets, the waterways, the distribution of electricity, we need to build new housing.  We understand there’ll be between 8 and 10 billion dollars of construction activity.”

For more information, please see:
Press TV – US to remove soldiers from Okinawa – 17 February 2009

Radio New Zealand International – Guam Landowners oppose US troop build up – 18 February 2009

Radio New Zealand International – Guam businesses eyeing benefits from the US marines relocating – 18 February 2009

Nuns Shot While Escaping War Zone in Sri Lanka

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka – The Liberation Tigers Tamil of Eelam (LTTE) shot at civilians as they were fleeing the rebel controlled territory on Thursday.

Two days earlier the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) helped ferried 240 sick and injured people by boat from Puttumatalan, a village controlled by the Tigers. They were taken to Trincomalee, the eastern port. One of the passengers was Sister Mary Colostica, a 74 year old Catholic nun.

Colostica, along with five other nuns, guided at least 2,000 civilians from village to village in search of food and safety from the war. She gave a first hand account from the war zone.

“When we tried to leave, the LTTE didn’t allow civilians to leave and said only we can leave.” Colostica said. “So we stayed back with the civilians.”

The ICRC said that 16 patients were killed in firings on Monday and another 160 patients were carried from Puttumtalan on Thursday.

The military said it had set up a 7 mile safety zone encompassing Puttumatalan and other villages along the coastline.

Sister Mary was shot and treated for shrapnel wounds. “At least 10 to 15 people die a day and no one is there to bury them,” she said. “The LTTE fired from close to civilians. We had objected, but that didn’t work.”

Sister Louise said that the LTTE shot at people when they begged to leave, “When we tried to escape with civilians, LTTE had fired at me. I got shot in my leg.”

Human rights organizations estimate there are at least 250,000 civilians still trapped in the stronghold.

The Tamil Tigers have consistently denied accusations that they are forcibly keeping civilians inside their territory. Instead they claim that civilians remain of their own free will. Some, they say, even follow them.

The Sri Lankan government refuses to enter into a cease-fire. Both sides deny targeting civilians and blame the other for their deaths.

The LTTE has been fighting a 25 year war with the government in order to secure a separate homeland for the ethnic Tamils.

For more information, please see:

Aljazeera.net – Tamil Tigers ‘Shoot’ at Civilians – 12 February 2009

AsiaNews – Religious Personnel Under Wanni Bombings – 10 February 2009

Reuters – Wounded Sri Lankans, Nuns Make Narrow Escape From War – 12 February 2009

Another Journalist Attacked in Nepal

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KATHMANDU, Nepal – Gyanendra Raj Mishra, a program coordinator for Garima FM, an independent FM radio station, was shot and wounded in the town of Birguni. Unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle shot and wounded Mishra while riding in Southern Nepal. Police say the attack on Mishra is the latest of a series of attacks on journalists in Nepal.

Mishra had just left work before he was attacked. He was passing by Narayani Rangashala, one of the most prominent public places in Southern Nepal.  Mishra was shot in the right hand by unidentified gunmen in front of dozens of witnesses. He was rushed to the Narayani regional hospital for treatment.

Shambhu Shah, a police spokesperson said “[Mishra’s] condition is not critical and he has returned home after treatment at a hospital.”

Police say the motive behind the shooting is unclear. The attack on Mishra is the latest attack on journalists in Southern Nepal. Uma Singh, a young journalist working in Southern Nepal was brutally stabbed to death.

Thousands of people have joined in Uma Singh’s funeral procession.  She had spoken about the plight of workers in south-east Nepal as well as gender and caste discrimination. In an interview last year Uma spoke about the difficulties of working as a journalist in Nepal.  Last month she was killed by a group of 15 men who attacked her with knives and sharp objects. Neighbors of Uma heard the killers say, “This is for writing so much.” The perpetrators are still at large.

Nepal’s media is frequently under attack when the country was at civil war in the 1990’s. Both the Maoist and security forces attacked journalists. Though the civil war ended three years ago and Nepal became a democratic federal republic, Nepal still remains deadly for journalists. Since 2006 four have been killed.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Thousands Mourn Nepal Journalist– 13 January 2009

Reuters –Journalist Shot and Wounded in Nepal– 20 February 2009

Times of India – Democratic Nepal Still Deadly for Journalist– 19 February 2009

Tonga’s Emergency Regulations Renewed Listen to this article. Powered by Odiogo.com

By Ryan L. Maness
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Oceania

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga – Tonga’s Government has elected to renew emergency powers for a further thirty days in parts of capital city.  The acting chief secretary and the secretary to the cabinet, Paula Ma’u, confirmed today that the Public Safety and Public Security Regulations had been extended.  According to Ma’u the regulations were renewed based upon the recommendation by the Minister of Police.
Under these renewed powers the police have the authority to stop and search any vehicle without a warrant, as well as to seek evidence inside of any vehicle.  The powers also allow officers wider authority to make arrests.  These powers have been criticized by international rights organizations for being an abuse of power and an attempt to frustrate the pro-democracy movement.
The emergency powers were originally put into place in November 2006 after a riot broke out in the heart of the capital city of Nuku’alofa.  The riot began when a group broke away from a political reform rally and began looting local businesses.  Throughout the course of the riot 150 businesses, mostly owned by people of Chinese origins, were destroyed.
For more information, please see:
Australian Broadcasting Corporation – Tonga extends emergency rule – 20 February 2009
Radio New Zealand International – Emergency regulations in Tonga rolled over for the 28th time – 20 February 2009
Matangi – Emergency Powers extended another 30 days – 19 February 2009

Mass Strikes Over Living Conditions in El Salvador’s Prisons

By Karla E General
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – Fourteen of El Salvador’s nineteen prisons are now embroiled in mass protests over prisoner living conditions. Inmates have refused to return to their cells, take part in workshops and other activities, allow prisoners to enter or leave the facilities, or allow visitors or medical personnel in. Prisoners are demanding better living conditions before they cooperate with authorities, who are currently on standby in case intervention is needed to restore order.

The protests began on Saturday with eleven prisons and had spread to fourteen by Monday. El Salvador’s prison system is notorious for being massively overcrowded and affording very minimal rights and protections for the prisoner population, which is currently numbered at 20,000 in a prison system that was built to house only 8,000 people. The government has been called upon consistently in the past to address the mass imprisonment of El Salvadorans.

Prisons director Gilbert Caceres blamed the uprisings on inmates who were being manipulated by gangs involved in organized crime.

For more information, please see:

The Earth Times Mass Protests in El Salvador Prisons – 16 February 2009

Radio Netherlands Worldwide – Unrest in El Salvador’s Overcrowded Prisons – 16 February 2009