Children Soldiers in the Mindanao Conflict

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COTABATO, Philippines – The Philippine Military accused the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) of using children as soldiers against the government.  Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita revealed that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will inform the UN General Assembly in New York this Thursday, citing a video clip of MILF’s human rights violations.

A member of the army’s 6th Infantry Division, Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando, stated that troops seized a video from a captured MILF base in Maguindanao.  Footage shows MILF’s recruitment and training of children.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits state governments and armed groups from using children under the age of 18 in armed conflict. However, although they admit to deploying young soldiers, MILF denies the use of children in their ranks.  Eid Kabalu, a senior rebel leader and civil miltary affairs chief, stated, “We have young members and these are the sons and even relatives of MILF []. We teach these young revolutionaries how to defend themselves from aggressors. They are not child warriors . . . .”  Furthermore, Muhammad Ameen, deputy chair of the MILF’s information committee, said, “We hope the United Nations will not try us in absentia and provide us an avenue to air our side and present evidence that the government is the one killing our children.”

The Mindanao conflict ensued last month when the government canceled a land deal with MILF.  It escalated after August 4th, when the Supreme Court entered a temporary restraining order against the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.  The Memorandum aimed to formally open negotiations between the government and MILF to end the four decade conflict and expand MILF territory.  Angered by the aborted agreement, MILF attacked multiple towns and villages in Muslim Mindanao, which has affected more than half a million people.

Peace negotiations have ceased between the government and MILF and the government peace panel has since been dissolved.

For more information, please see:

ABS CBN News – Humanitarian Situation Still “Grim” in Mindanao Conflict Areas– 17 September 2008

Amnesty International – Mindanao Citizens Under Threat From MILF Units and Militias – 22 August 2008

Inquirer.net – MILF Welcomes Gov’t Plan to Bring Child Warrior Issue to UN – 20 September 2008

Mindanao Examiner – Philippine Military Accused MILF of Using Child Soldiers in Mindanao – 12 September 2008

Papua New Guinea Urged by Human Rights Group to Check Police Abuses

By Sarah E. Treptow

Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea – Human Rights Watch (HRW), a Washington based group, has called for Papua New Guinea police officers to be held accountable for use of torture and sexual assault.  HRW has written a letter to the government addressing their concerns.

HRW’s letter is based on information from its reports in 2004 and 2005 that show “regular police torture, rape, and use excessive force against children; police commonly committing acts of sexual violence, including against female sex workers, and men and boys suspected of homosexual conduct; police harassing persons found carrying condoms, which undermines efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS; police routinely detaining children with adults in police lock-ups; and police rarely being punished for these acts.”  According to HRW, these actions violate Papua New Guinea laws and regulations and also breach international standards, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).  The most applicable sections of the ICCPR are Articles 7 and 10 which prohibit the use of torture and require that detainees be treated with respect.

HRW spokesperson Zama Coursen-Neff has said it is important to focus on both short and long term measures to address the abuse of powers by police officers.  She has also called on Internal Security Minister Sani Rambi and Police Commissioner Gari Baki to charge any member of the police force who used excessive force while on duty.  Ms. Coursen-Neff thinks actions should be pursued against the officers both administratively and criminally.

HRW has also, however, commended Papua New Guinea in its recent steps towards guaranteeing respect for fundamental human rights with its accession to international conventions, including the above-mentioned ICCPR and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).  Ms. Coursen-Neff has said, “The current Police Commissioner is beginning to speak openly about human rights and talk about the need to clean up the police force. And the Ombudsman Commission is actually now involved in some of the more serious cases, however this has simply not translated into an expectation among police that if they beat up children, if they rape girls, if they steal things from street vendors, then they’re going to be prosecuted.”

HRW is an independent, nongovernmental organization that started in 1978 and tracks progress in over 70 countries throughout the world.

For more information, please see:

Islands Business – PNG urged to check abuses – 19 September 2008

Radio New Zealand International – Human Rights Watch raises renewed concerns over abuse by PNG police – 19 September 2008

The National – Abal urged to check abuses – 19 September 2008

Human Rights Watch – Letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Immigration of Papua New Guinea – 15 September 2008

Rebellion in Manipur Fueled By the Military

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NEW DELHI, India –  In the northeastern state of Manipur, the army has engaged in various human rights violations such as killings, torture, use of bombs and landmines, forced recruitment and extortion.  This has caused an insurgency in Manipur against the armed forces.

For the past 50 years, pursuant to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), the army has  been granted immunity from their human rights violations.  The Act empowers the military to conduct warrantless arrests, shoot-to-kill and destroy property.  More importantly, it protects them from the prosecution of serious crimes, thus allowing impunity to easily occur.

“Soldiers and police are protected by laws granting immunity and officials unwilling to hold them accountable for serious crimes,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior researcher on South Asia at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “These laws perpetuate human rights abuses, which drive civilians to seek the protection of one or other armed group.”

On September 15, 2008, Human Rights Watch released their report, “These Fellows Must Be Eliminated:  Relentless Violence and Impunity in Manipur.”  This report details several cases where victim suspects are executed and tortured.  Victims also report how they were arbitrarily arrested, subjected to electric shocks, severely beaten and many have been subjected to waterboarding.

Despite various reports by the United Nations and various other human rights organizations, the Indian government has done nothing.  “The Indian government has not only ignored the pleas of ordinary Manipuris and UN human rights bodies to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, but has even ignored the findings of its own committee,” said Ganguly. “This reflects the sort of callousness that breeds anger, hate and further violence.”

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – India:  Army Killings Fuel Insurgency in Manipur – 15 September 2008

Human Rights Watch – Getting Away With Murder:  50 Years of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act – 18 August 2008

Human Rights Watch – India:  Repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Act – 18 August 2008

Human Rights Watch – These Fellows Must Be Eliminated:  Relentless Violence and Impunity in Manipur – 15 September 2008

Malaysia Crackdowns on Anti-Government Bloggers

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The Malaysian government arrested Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin, Malaysian’s top anti-government blogger, this past Friday. In 2007, the Malaysian government passed the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA) to allow the government to arrest and detain citizens up to a month without explanation. The ISA has been criticized as an encroachment on free speech.

Raja Petra was arrested for allegedly publishing material that ridiculed Islam and government authorities on his widely read website, Malaysia Today. Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin’s arrest came after the government attempted to stop Internet service providers from allowing access to Malaysia Today. This was the first time the Malaysian government ordered the closure of a website.

Tensions broke out between the leader of the opposition party, Anwar Ibrahim and the Malay Muslim ruling party, who accused ethic Chinese for being power hungry. Anwar and the People Justice Party threatened to march the streets and topple the government.

Raja Petra’s arrest has stirred international attention since it was first brought up by Amnesty International. On September 20, Syed Azidi Syed Abudul Aziz “Kickdefella”, another anti-government blogger, was released. Police seized Kickdefella’s computer and arrested him on September 17 for posting “seditious” material on his blogs. He was the second blogger to be arrested after Raja Petra.

The arrests of Raja Petra and Kickdefella have not silenced bloggers. “We condemn these arrests and call for the release of … blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, arrested under the ISA on 12 September,” a blogger nicknamed RPK wrote. The People Justice Party and Anwar publicly announced “such an attack on democracy will only accelerate the further slide of Malaysia’s dipping economic and political ratings.”

For more information, please see:

AP – Malaysia’s Top Anti-Government Blogger Arrested – 12 September 2008

Guardian – Malaysia Blogger’s Arrest Creates Dangerous Precedent – 12 September 2008

Impunity Watch – Malaysian Government Silences Critics with Arrests – 16 September 2008

Reporters without Borders – Blogger Kickdefella Released – 20 September 2008

Turkey Expels Uzbek Refugees to Iran

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

VAN, Turkey – On September 12, authorities in the Turkish town of Van delivered 24 Uzbek refugees and asylum seekers to a group of unidentified officials in Iran, where they face death threats and forcible deportation to Uzbekistan.

The refugees fled Uzbekistan for Tajikistan in the 1990s to escape religious persecution from the Uzbek government.  After moving to Afghanistan in the late 1990s, the refugees left in 2001 following the US led invasion, and moved to Iran.  There, they were recognized as refugees by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.  In 2007, the group fled to Turkey after the Iranian government threatened to forcibly deport them to Uzbekistan.  In Turkey, they were again recognized as refugees under the UNHCR.

According to Amnesty International, Turkish security services deceived the refugees, who were not aware that the government was planning to return them to Iran.  The Turkish security services told the refugees that they were invited to the Van General Directorate of Security where Turkish authorities would distribute educational materials to their children.  However, upon arriving at the station, they were forced to board a bus and were transported a deserted area near the Iranian border.  The Turkish security agents who transported the refugees are alleged to have told them “We don’t need you here” as they forced them to enter Iran.

According to Amnesty International, Turkey has violated international law by deporting refugees and asylum seekers to places where their lives could be in danger.  There is a concern that the refugees, if forcibly returned to Uzbekistan, will face torture and other ill-treatment.  In November 2007, the UN Committee against Torture concluded a study documenting the incommunicado detention, torture, and other ill-treatment of refugees and asylum seekers that were forcibly returned to Uzbekistan.  The refugees often face unfair trials with evidence based on confessions extracted under torture and are sentenced to long prison terms where they are held under cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions.

Amnesty International is urging people to petition the Iranian government to immediately release all 24 Uzbek refugees and to prevent their deportation to Uzbekistan.

For more information, please see:

Central Asian News – Turkey Expels Uzbek Refugees to Iran– 19 September 2008

Amnesty International – Turkey: Forcible Return – 18 September 2008

Amnesty International – Iran: 24 Uzbekistani Nationals Including Children – 17 September 2008 – 17 September 2008