A Voice for the Voiceless

Journalist Gunned Down in Bihar, India

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BIHAR, India – Journalist Vikas Ranjan was shot dead on November 25 in Bihar, a northern state of India. Ranjan, 32, was killed outside his office in Rosera, located in the Samastipur district, by three armed men. The gunmen waited at the entrance of the office, shot Ranjan and fled on motorcycles. Ranjan was pronounced dead upon arrival to a local hospital.

It is alleged that Ranjan’s murder was connected to his investigations on local drug trafficking in recent weeks.

Bihar regional director of Hindustan’s sister newspaper, the English version of the Hindustan Times, said that his family had received threats about two weeks before his death. He reported them to police but did not get any protection.

“We call for the investigation into Vikas Ranjan’s murder to be immediate, thorough and transparent,” said Bob Dietz, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Asia Program coordinator. “Correspondents in remote areas should be protected from attacks made in retribution for their reporting.”

Relatives of Ranjan and fellow journalists gathered outside the hospital where Ranjan died, calling for immediate action by the police and protesting police failure to afford him protection against threats.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar ordered proper police investigations into the murder. The official in charge of investigations said that three suspects had been identified and would be arrested in the next few days.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has spoken with authorities in Assam and Manipur, two other northeastern states where killings of journalists are prevalent, asking them to effectively investigate their deaths and protect journalists.

“Ranjan was the third Indian journalist to be murdered in the past two weeks,” said Reporters Without Borders.

According to CPJ’s Impunity Index, India ranks at number 13. The Impunity Index is a list of those countries where governments have failed to solve journalists’ murders.

For more information, please see:

Committee to Protect Journalists – Journalist Shot Dead in Bihar – 1 December 2008

Hindustan Times – Hindustan Reporter Shot Dead in Bihar – 2 December 2008

Reporters Without Borders – Journalist Investigating Drug Trafficking Gunned Down in Bihar State – 27 November 2008

Tonga Capital Residents Support Continued Enforcement of Emergency Powers

By Sarah E. Treptow
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

KOLOFO’OU, Tonga– In downtown Kolofo’ou in Nuku’alofa, Tonga’s capital, some residents are speaking out in support of the ongoing extension of the emergency powers in the Central Business District of Nuku’alofa.  The emergency powers have been enforced since November of 2006 when riots led to the death of eight people and millions of dollars in damage.  Rioters burned down most of the major shops and businesses in town.  The emergency powers lapsed in August of this year but were renewed in September.  The renewed emergency powers give soldiers and police a wider ability to detain and arrest.

A number of people expressed disappointment and anger in the prolonged enforcement of the emergency powers.  They claim their freedom is being restricted.  But Tevita Manu Fasi, the town officer of Kolofo’ou, has told Radio & TV Tonga News that he believes the government and authorities should continue protecting  the town so the residents can live in a safe environment.  Mr. Fasi said, “I understand some people say they’re being affected in their movement and feel secluded because of the ongoing imposition of the emergency powers in Nuku’alofa but I know those people do not live here in the capital.”

Another resident, Tu’ipolutu ‘Ilavalu, claims the ongoing enforcement of the emergency powers is to ensure that everyone is safe, especially the city’s residents and businesses.  Ms. ‘Ilavalu said, “I understand that with the emergency powers some freedom is not restricted like the freedom of movement but we fear that some men trespass from time to time and they consume liquor in town, they’re people we do not know.  Such behavior never occurred in this town before.”

The Prime Minister, acting on the advice of the Minister of Police, has formed the opinion that public order in the Nuku’alofa area continues to be seriously threatened and it is necessary to keep the emergency powers in that area.

For more information, please see:

Tonga Broadcasting Commission – Kolofo’ou residents support ongoing enforcement of emergency powers – 05 December 2008

Radio New Zealand International – Some residents in Tonga capital speak out in support of emergency powers continuing – 05 December 2008

Radio New Zealand International – Anger in Tonga after emergency police powers put back in place – 10 September 2008

Unrest Escalates in Hebron

By Yasmine S. Hakimian
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

HEBRON, West Bank – On December 4, Israeli troops forcibly evicted nearly 200 Jewish settlers from a contested building in Hebron. The operation to remove the settlers took about one hour and involved at least 600 Israeli soldiers. At least 20 Israeli settlers and police were injured during the eviction.

According to the New York Times, evacuees were dragged out with four police officers per person. Palestinians watched from rooftops and windows while some settlers shouted at the troops, calling them Nazis. A few settlers had sewn yellow stars on their shirts. On a wall near the confrontation, Hebrew graffiti displayed, “There will be a war over the House of Peace.”

A cloud of black smoke covered much of the neighborhood as militant supporters of the colonists set Palestinian olive fields alight and torched two homes and a dozen cars. In several areas of the city, youths clashed with Israeli security forces, who responded with tear gas.

After the eviction, clashes erupted in numerous West Bank towns as settlers expressed their anger. According to B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, settlers have shot and wounded three Palestinians. The Haaretz newspaper reported that settlers began to throw stones at Palestinian cars in Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron.

The contested building, which occupants had named the House of Peace, is on the road to the Cave of the Patriarchs, where Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their wives are said to be buried.  Muslims and Jews have coveted and fought over this site for centuries.

Ownership of the building has been in dispute. The settlers say that they bought the house from its Palestinian owner, but the owner claims he rescinded the deal. The Israeli Supreme Court ordered the occupants to clear the building until another court could determine ownership. The settlers refused to leave the house after the Supreme Court order.

Riyad al-Malki, the Palestinian Foreign Minister, accused the settlers of “waging war” on Palestinians and urged the United Nations Security Council to help. Robert Serry, the U.N. envoy for the Middle East, issued a statement demanding “an immediate end to the settler attacks and restraint and calm from all parties”.

The southern part of the West Bank is now designated as a closed military area in an effort to prevent further trouble from outside settlers. Now, only those who live there may enter. Within an hour of the order, cars were backed up in enormous lines at new military roadblocks.
 
For more information, please see:

Welt – Hebron Unrest Escalates as Palestinians React – 6 December 2008

BBC – Israeli West Bank Forces on Alert – 5 December 2008

Daily Star – Hebron Colonists Attack Palestinians After Eviction – 5 December 2008

Guardian – Jewish Settlers in Hebron Shoot Palestinian Men – 5 December 2008

Singapore Fines Wall Street Journal Asia

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

Singapore – The High Court of Singapore fined Wall Street Journal Asia, a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co., the amount of $16,573 for publishing articles that criticized the judiciary. This is the largest amount issued by the Singapore court for such a case.

The ruling related to two articles published in June and July and a letter written by leading opposition leader and pro-democracy activist, Chee Soon Juan.  The Attorney General issued a statement saying the published letter alleges “that the Singapore judiciary is not independent” and it “further insinuated that the Singapore judiciary is biased and lacks integrity.”

The first editorial “Democracy in Singapore” was written by Chee, which commented about his lost defamation suit brought by Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, over an article that implied corruption on the part of the government.

The Attorney General further complained about another published letter to the editor that cited a report by the International Bar Association’s Right Institute on “human rights, democracy and the rule of law” in Singapore.

Among those listed as defendants were the newspaper’s publisher Dow Jones Publishing Company (Asia), Inc, international editor Daniel Herzberg and managing editor Christine Glancey. Judge Tay Yong Kwang found them guilty of “scandalizing the court.”

A Dow Jones Company spokesman said “Dow Jones is extremely disappointed with the ruling of the High Court and strongly disagrees with the court’s analysis that the editorials and letter to the editor constitute a contempt of court… contrary to what the attorney general has alleged. The Wall Street Journal Asia has not engaged in a ‘campaign’ of any sort against the Singapore judiciary. We will in the future continue to defend the right of The Wall Street Journal Asia to report and comment on matter of international importance, including matters concerning Singapore.”

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international media watchdog, has continually ranked Singapore as one of the lowest countries among freedom of press indexes. RSF condemned the ruling against The Wall Street Journal, “Another Dow Jones publication, the Far Eastern Economic Review, has also been prosecuted in Singapore … The way this company is being hounded by the government and the judicial system which takes its orders from Lee Kuan Yew and his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is utterly deplorable. We urge the Singaporean authorities to stop prosecuting foreign news media.”

For more information, please see:

APF – Singapore Attorney General Sues Wall Street Journal Asia – 11 September 2008

RSF – Wall Street Journal Asia Unjustly Found in Contempt of Court – 26 November 2008

The Wall Street Journal Asia – Singapore Court Fines Wall Street Journal – 26 November 2008

Yemen Working to Reduce Female Genital Mutilation 30% by 2012

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SANA’A, Yemen– On December 3, Yemen announced the implementation of a five-year plan to reduce the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or female circumcision.  The practice of FGM operations occurs most often in coastal areas of the country.

According to Ali Hashim Al-Seraj, an expert on family and reproductive health issues, Yemen remains the last Gulf country where the rate of FGMs remains high.  The rates of FGM are highest in coastal areas of Yemen; in Hodeidah, 97% of girls are forced to undergo the procedure.  The practice is also frequent in Hadramout (96%), Aden (82%), Al-Maharah (96%), and Sana’a (45%).

Al-Seraj claims the rate of FGM operations in Yemen is comparable to Sudan and Egypt, two countries with the highest rate of FGM operations annually.  According to UNICEF Director of the Childhood Protection Program, Nour Al-Kasadi, FGM operations are generally more popular in areas that have high illiteracy rates and where there is a lack of awareness of the negative health effects of the practice.  In addition, coastal areas in Yemen have large numbers of African immigrants who come from countries where the practice is common.

Legislation that bans the procedure without a sufficient public education program regarding the dangerous consequences of FGM has proved to have little deterrent effect.  While the Yemeni government has taken measures in the past to reduce the practice of FGM operations, including banning the procedure from all hospitals and health centers in the country in 2001, this failed to reduce the practice.  Instead, it led to an increase in “back-alley” procedures, involving no sterilized tools and the absence of doctors or other medical experts to perform the procedure.  A study by the US Agency for International Development revealed that only 10% of FGMs carried out in coastal areas of Yemen are performed by trained medical personnel.

The new plan will focus on public education and involves coordination among the government, civil society organizations, and the media.  The goal is to raise public awareness of the negative health effects of the procedure.  In addition, according to Dr. Nafissah Al-Jaifi, Secretary General of the High Council of Motherhood and Childhood, support from religious leaders in the community is vital to the success of the program.

The plan has been well received internationally.  The United Nations Children’s Fund, which regards FGM as “one of the most persistent, pervasive and silently endured human rights violations,” has pledged to assist with both the implementation and assessment stages of the program once it is accredited by the Yemeni government.  According to UNICEF’s Yemen Representative Aboudou Karimou Adjibade, “We cannot let this harmful practice take its toll on the health and development of girls and women.  We are ready to accelerate the abandonment of FGM in one generation.”

For more information, please see:

Yemen Times – Yemen to Reduce the Practice of FGM by 30 Percent by 2012 – 5 December 2008

Yemen Times – Yemen National Plan to Accelerate FGM Eradication – 19 November 2008

Gulf News – Yemen to Fight Female Genital Mutilation – 27 June 2008

US Department of State – Yemen: Report on Female Genital Mutilation or Female Genital Cutting – 1 June 2001