Vietnam Police Threaten Protesters in Land Dispute

HANOI, Vietnam – Protests and violence broke out between the Vietnamese government and the Catholic Church in Vietnam regarding religious land disputes in central Hanoi. As many as 3,000 Catholics have gathered from all around Vietnam to hold vigils and protests in Hanoi. Tensions rose last Friday when the Vietnamese government started bulldozing the disputed area. Protesters said they were beaten by batons, and the police shot tear gas canisters into the crowds. The Hanoi Police denied the incident and said it was merely an “unintentional scuffle” that happened between the protesters and the police.

Since last December, protesters have been holding protests to what they believed to be an unjustified taking of lands, which was formerly a Vatican embassy and residence. However, the Vietnamese government claimed that under Vietnam law, land under management and socialist reform policies enacted in 1991 cannot be claimed. This law has generated more than 200 land disputes in Vietnam. The recent protests have been the most publicized.

The Vietnamese government criticized the area’s Thai Ha parishioners for instigating “public dissidence” in Hanoi.  In order to avoid more public outcry, Vietnamese authorities attempted to appease protesters by converting the land into a National Park and a public library for the “interest of the people.” However, many Catholics still view the disputed land as sacred and the protests continue.

For more information, please see:

AP – Vietnam Denies Use of Stun Gun to Break Protests – 29 August 2008

BBC – Vietnam Warns Priests Over Land – 23 September 2008

BBC – Prayers and Protest in Vietnam – 2 September 2008

HRW Calls for Saudi Arabia to End Religious Discrimination

By Nykoel Dinardo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

NEW YORK, New York – Human Rights Watch released a report on Monday, September 22, calling for Saudi Arabia to end discrimination against Ismailis, a religious minority.  The report, “The Ismailis of Najran: Second-Class Saudi Citizens,” describes the systematic discrimination that has been implemented by the Saudi government.  It also details discriminatory policies and recommends changes to increase equality. 

The Ismailis are a sub-group within Shia Islam who live primarily in the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia.  The majority of the population follows Wahhabism, a sub-group within Sunni Islam.  Several Sunni religious officials have made statements against the Ismaili faith which HRW has classified as equivalent to hate-speech.

According to the report, the Saudi government has increased policies that treat Ismaili followers as second-class citizens, especially with regard to employment, education and the justice system. It outlines instances where Ismailis have been dismissed from employment positions, have been arrested, and some tortured due to their religious practices. For instance, a man’s marriage was annulled by the government in 2006 because he was Ismaili and his wife was Sunni.  The court reasoned that the marriage was invalid because the man did not have sufficient religious qualifications.

Although there were complaints of religious discrimination before, following Prince Mish’al bin Sa’ud becoming governor of Najran in 1996 there were reports of increased tensions between religious groups in the region.  Specifically, the report details an incident in 2000 when Saudi officials refused to allow entrance into Ismaili mosques on Eid Al-Fitr, an important religious holiday.  The Minister of Interior required guards be placed outside Ismaili mosques and that anyone trying to enter be arrested.

The report also narrates the incidents known as the Holiday Inn Events.  In 2000, an Ismaili sheikh was arrested and accused of ‘sorcery.’  At a student protest responding to the arrest, gunfire and fighting broke out.  There were varying accounts of injuries but no fatalities.  When Ismaili leaders went to the Holiday Inn and requested to meet with the governor, who was staying there, a unit of armed personnel arrived at the scene and fired into the crowd.

The report makes recommendations for the Saudi government to change their policies.  These include an investigation, to be made public, regarding the Holiday Inn Events.  HRW also asks that Saudi Arabia take affirmative steps to ensure that Ismaili citizens are not discriminated against.  These steps include rebutting negative statements against Ismailis and passing legislation that protects Ismaili interests in constructing religious buildings.   

HRW released the report only two months after King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia hosted an interfaith conference with leaders in Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism.  HRW Middle East Director, Joe Stork commented that this report shows Saudi Arabia needs to practice what it preaches within its own borders.

For more information, please see:

Financial Times – Saudi Arabia Urged to End Discrimination – 23 September 2008

The Guardian – Discrimination Against Muslims in Saudi Arabia – 22 September 2008

Human Rights Watch –  The Ismailis of Najran: Second-Class Saudi Citizens – 22 September 2008

Human Rights Watch – Saudi Arabia: Shia Minority Treated as Second-Class Citizens – 22 September 2008

Khaleej Times – Human Rights Group Reports on Saudi Discrimination – 22 September 2008

Fiji Moves to Rejoin Pacific Forum

By Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – After last month’s summit boycott, Fiji’s interim Prime Minister has expressed interest in resuming his country’s participation in the Pacific Forum.

The Pacific Islands Forum was originally founded in 1971 to promote peace, harmony, security and economic prosperity within the Pacific nations. Fiji was one of seven founding members. The group of independent and self-governing states is now sixteen strong.

Bainimarama’s request to re-engage with the Forum is surprising given the interim government’s recent attitude toward the Forum. In June, the interim government suspended discussions with the Forum Joint Working Group on Fiji. Last August, the Pacific Forum issued Fiji an ultimatum that either Bainimarama return his country to democratic rule by March 2009 or face suspension from the Forum. In addition, Bainimarama choose to boycott the Forum’s summit meeting in Niue last month.

In his letter to the Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, Niue’s Premier Toke Talagi, Bainimarama discussed proposals for Fiji’s return to democracy.

When interviewed, Talagi said the Forum was eager to continue their dialogue with Fiji:

“He wants to re-engage with the groups that have been working with them in the past, and that’s they joint consultative group and the ministerial contact group. And the Forum is pleased that he wants to do that because obviously we want to continue a dialogue to ensure that we can encourage them to hold elections by March as he promised.”

For more information, please see:
Fiji Times – Regime backs down, seeks Forum talks – 25 September 2008

Fiji Live – Fiji PM wins support from Cooks’ speaker – 25 September 2008

Radio New Zealand International – Pacific Forum chair welcomes Fiji moves to re-engage – 24 September 2008

Fiji Village – Revelations of Fiji Re-engaging In Forum – 24 September 2008

Pacific Islands Forum Website

Is the International Community Neglecting Human Rights Issues in North Korea ?

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PYONGYANG, North Korea – An independent report commissioned by the former leaders of the Czech Republic and Norway and a Nobel peace laureate, urged the international community to increase its level of intervention on North Korea’s human rights issues.  The report said the international community has far too long neglected the human rights situation in North Korea because of the nuclear threat.  The report comes as six-nation nuclear negotiations have stalled, with North Korea threatening to restart its nuclear reactor.  It said the discussion of human rights in those disarmament talks has largely been an “issue of secondary concern.”

The report pointed out one of the most pressing problems in North Korea – food distribution.  “Large segments of the North Korean population never receive any of the food provided by international relief agencies and other countries,” it said, noting that prisons still operate with “brutality and massive disregard for basic human rights.”  The report suggested that all dialogue with North Korea must make as a starting point Pyongyang’s commitment under global treaties and laws on rights and other issues, including the nuclear talks.  The report followed a 2006 assessment that accused Pyongyang of failing to live up to its responsibility under international law to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity.

North Korea recently took steps to restart its nuclear program after agreeing in November to dismantle it as part of an aid-for-disarmament deal. North Korea asked the International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday to remove seals and surveillance equipment from a key nuclear facility, the UN nuclear watchdog said Monday.  The request came three days after North Korea confirmed it was working to restart the Yongbyon reactor, and no longer wanted US concessions promised under the aid-for-disarmament agreement. US State Department spokesperson Robert Wood told reporters at a news briefing that Washington is “very concerned” about North Korea’s actions. The six-nation aid-for-disarmament deal is deadlocked due to a dispute over verification of the declaration of the North’s nuclear program, which it delivered in June as part of the agreement.

For more information, please see:

AP – North Korea wants seals removed at nuclear plant: IAEA – 22 September 2008

KBS – NGO Urges Participation in NK Human Rights Issues – 23 September 2008

International Herald Tribune – Report faults North Korean human rights – 23 September 2008

Reuters – World seen neglecting N. Korea human rights abuses – 22 September 2008

PA Forces Raid Hamas Office in West Bank

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

HEBRON, West Bank – On September 22, security forces from the Palestinian Authority (PA) raided the Hebron offices of Samira al-Halayka, a legislator from Hamas’s Change and Reform bloc.  According to al-Halayka, computers and documents were confiscated by the PA.  A security official in Hebron stated that the officers confiscated leaflets and other documents that he said incited violence against the Palestinian Authority.  In addition, al-Halayka’s guard was detained, but then later released.

This raid was conducted as part of a larger crack-down against Hamas in the West Bank.  Over the weekend, PA security officers, loyal to Fatah and President Abbas, arrested fifteen members of Hamas.  Hamas also claims that the PA shut down four organizations, which were purely charitable.  Earlier in the month, on September 11, Hamas reported that PA security forces arrested 11 of its members and supporters.

Tensions between Hamas and Fatah remain high following the Hamas takeover of Gaza in summer 2007.  In addition to violent confrontations, this tension has resulted in politically-motivated arrests against each others members.  Politically-motivated arrests are such an issue of contention that the two sides agreed to form a national committee aimed at ending the practice.

The heightened tension between the two factions has led to rumors of a Palestinian civil war.  Last week, ten Palestinian West Bank security chiefs met in Beit El with Israeli military and police officers.  Fatah officers openly called for “joint action with Israel against the common enemy – Hamas,” and expressed their “willingness to take care of the Hamas mosques and institutions using information provided by Israel.”

In addition, Hamas leaders, including former Interior Minister, Said Siam, stated that following January 9, 2009, Abbas will not be the legal Palestinian President.  Following the January 2005 presidential elections, which Hamas boycotted, the basic law was amended so that the next presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in the same year.  However, Hamas argues that following the January 2006 parliamentary election, it annulled this part of the law.

“There is nothing in the Palestinian constitution saying that the president has the right to extend his presidential term for an extra year. According to the constitution, the presidential term is four years only,” said Siam.

For more information, please see:
Ha’aretz – PA Security Forces Raid West Bank Office of Hamas Legislator – 22 September 2008

International Middle East Media Center – P.A. Forces Arrest Five Hamas Member in the West Bank – 22 September 2008

Reuters – Palestinian Authority Raids Hamas West Bank Office – 22 September 2008

Xinhua – Hamas Official: Abbas not to be Legal President After Jan. 9 – 22 September 2008

Yedioth – Palestinians Headed to Civil War – 22 September 2008

Xinhua – Pro-Abbas Forces Arrest 11 Hamas Members in West Bank – 11 September 2008