BRIEF: Ho Chi Minh Police Arrest Pro-Democracy Activists

HANOI, Vietnam – In 2006 three men were arrested by the Ho Chi Minh police in Vietnam for demonstrating against the Communist government and calling for civil liberties and democracy in Vietnam.  The three men are members of what has been named the Bloc 8406 group.  This group is named after the day April 18, 2006, when its founding members were arrested for posting pro-democracy writings on-line.  The group has been outlawed by the Vietnam government.

The three men, Pham Ba Hai, Nguyen Ngoc Quang and Vu Hoang Hai, have received terms of 2-5 years of jail time by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court.  The Vietnam News Agency and other state-controlled media outlets have reported that the three men were charged with posting documents online that, “distorted history, attacked administrations and tarnished the party and state officials, and incited people to protest.”

More recently, Vietnamese blogger, Nguyen Van Hai, was arrested under charges of “tax evasion.”  Hai is a pro-democracy activist who has reported on the protests against the Olympic torch relay.  Hai is part of a larger network of bloggers called the Union of Independent Journalists.  Other members of this group have been calling protests during the upcoming torch relay and have helped to organize demonstrations against China’s claim of sovereignty over the Paracel Islands.

For more information, please see:

Macau Daily Times – Vietnam Jails Three Pro-Democracy Activists – 27 April 2008

Bangkok Post – Vietnam Arrest Blogger for Reporting Torch Protests – 27 April 2008

Pro-Democracy Candidates Elected: Tonga’s King Urged to Reform

By Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga — Pro-democracy candidates won more than half the available seats in Tonga’s Parliament in Thursday’s elections. The newly elected members are, meanwhile, facing sedition charges for alleged participation in riots that destroyed Tonga’s capital in 2006.In Tonga’s political system, the people elect nine Parliamentary members, nobles appoint another nine, and the King appoints 15, which include all the country’s ministers.

Of the nine MPs popularly elected, the pro-democracy candidates won six seats. The pro-democracy movement’s leader, Akilisi Pohiva, garnered the most support, winning 11,290 votes. The second most popular candidate attracted some 4,000 fewer votes. Thursday’s election saw a record number of people register, 68,0000, to elect the nine representatives.

“I think the message is clear now. The outcome of the election is like a referendum because the government has been doing its very best, using all its resources, and dominating all the media outlets trying to destroy us, but the battle is over now,” Pohiva said.

Thursday’s election is the first since 2006, when the pro-democracy movement turned violent, causing the death of eight and destroying Tonga’s capital city, Nuku’alofa. The riots erupted after the Legislative Assembly of Tonga adjourned for the year without employing promised reforms. Five of the six newly elected candidates, including Pohiva, are currently facing criminal charges for their alleged involvement in the riots.

One Australian resident, Inoke Fotu Hu’akau, who was unsuccessful in the election warned, “Pro-democracy is getting to be more like a cult than a political party. It is getting harder to counter it as time goes by.”

Although Tonga is presently a constitutional monarchy, the growing pro-democracy movement has urged King George Tupou V to make good on his proposed democratic reforms. Among its reforms, the Government has proposed giving the majority of legislative seats, now mostly occupied by the King’s ministers, to popularly elected officials during the 2010 elections.

The King appears willing to support a more democratic Tonga, but the pro-democratic movement wants his commitment in writing. Although the details of the 2010 reforms remain hazy, the people of Tonga have made their preferences for a more representative government abundantly clear.

For more information, please see:
The Australian — ‘Rioters’ poll best in Tonga — 26 April 2008

TVNZ — Tongans back democracy campaigners — 26 April 2008

BBC News —  Tongans elect pro-democracy MPs — 25 April 2008

ABC Radio Australia — Tonga MPs call on king to keep promises over political involvement — 25 April 2008

ABC Radio Australia — Tong’as pro democracy movement wants King to back political reform — 25 April 2008

ABC News — Tongan MPs urge King to lessen political influence — 25 April 2008

The Sydney Morning Herald — Tonga pro-democracy MPs claim mandate — 25 April 2008

Recent Audit of Khmer Rouge Tribunal Shows Improvements

By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – After allegations of kickbacks and malpractice, a recent audit of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal shows that there have been significant improvements in management and steps have been taken to reform procedures.

Jo Scheuer, the country director for the U.N. Development Program, said a recent audit showed “significant improvements,” and there were “no questionable financial transactions, misallocated resources and no incomplete or missing documentation in support of disbursements” of money since 2006. Jo Scheuer also added that there was “no conclusive evidence” to support allegation of kickbacks in exchange for jobs with the tribunal.

The positive audit is to serve as a reassurance to potential international financial backers of the tribunal. Rafael Dochao Moreno, charge d’affaires of the European Commission’s mission to Cambodia, said, “This special review has shown that we (now) have a system that can work.” Tribunal administrative director Sean Visoth added, “With the results of the special review we are sharing with you today we can finally close this chapter and move on to continue the very positive achievement the (court) has made in discharging its historic mandate.”

The Khmer Rouge Tribunal is in need of funds to continue proceedings. Although five former Khmer Rouge regime leaders have been charged and arrested, trials have yet to begin. With an original budget of $56.3 million, the tribunal’s costs have soared as a result of undue delays and political wrangling. The decade long delay has caused costs to rise to about $170 million. Presently, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal has sufficient funds until September.

Recently, French Human Rights Minister Rama Yade announced that France will donate an additional $1 million in funds to the tribunal to help with its financial troubles. The recent contribution is in addition to a previous $5 million donation France gave when the tribunal first appealed for financial help. French Human Rights Minister Rama Yade commented, “One of the priorities for French diplomatic action abroad is international justice and the fight against impunity.” She added, “Human rights should not just be words.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Cambodian Genocide Tribunal Denies Financial Mismanagement – 25 April 2008

The China Post – France Pledges Extra US $1mil. to Cambodian Genocide Court– 26 April 2008

International Herald Tribune – Audit Says Management of Cambodian Tribunal Has Improved Since Call for Reforms – 25 April 2008

BRIEF: Fiji Criticized for Lack of Progress Towards Elections

SUVA, Fiji — The Pacific Islands Forum-Fiji Joint Working Group on the Situation in Fiji met in Suva this week to discuss the progress that Fiji has made toward restoring democratic election.  At the end of the summit, the Working Group expressed its disappointment that a finalized timetable for democratic election had not yet been completed.  They also noted that Forum Foreign Affairs Ministers should have been able to review these timetable in Cabinet in the second week of April.

Also of concern to the Working Group was the current lack of a Supervisor of Elections.  New Zealand lawyer Dr. Maurice Coughlan, had been appointed to the position but had resigned only days later.  In the wake of his departure, the Working Group called upon Fiji to find a replace for him and also that the basis for the electoral system generally be changed.

More positively, the Working Group did acknowledge the Elections Donor Coordination Committee (EDCC) membership’s current ability to assist with any technical training or information technology assistance that may be required in the coming elections.

Speaking after the meeting, Fiji’s interim foreign affairs Minister Ratu Epeli Nailatikau remained positive about the interim government’s prospects for returning Fiji to democratic elections.  Speaking to Fijilive he said, “We have no intention of delaying the elections as perceived by the international community and we promise them that we will have elections in March 2009.”

For more information, please see:
Radio New Zealand International — Fiji regime admonished by Forum group over election timetable issues — 24 April 2008

Pacific Magazine — Forum Working Group Concerned By Progress To Election — 24 April 2008

Solomon Star News — Supervisor of Elections to be appointed as soon as Possible: Working Group — 24 April 2008

Iraqi Children Recruited as Suicide Bombers

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – According to an United Nations official, insurgent groups in Iraq are recruiting children as suicide bombers.  Ending a week-long visit to Iraq, Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, said children there are the silent victims of the ongoing violence in the country, with approximately 1,500 “known to be held in detention facilities.”

“Since 2004, an increasing number of children have been recruited into various militias and insurgent groups, including as suicide bombers,” she said.

Coomaraswamy said that many Iraqi children no longer attend school and are either recruited for violent activities or are detained in custody.  She said that many children lack access to the most basic services and “manifest a wide range of psychological symptoms from the violence in their everyday lives.”

According to Coomaraswamy, only 50 percent of primary school children are attending school.  That number is down from 80 percent in 2005.  Only 40 percent have access to clean drinking water and there is a continuing possibility of outbreaks of cholera.

Coomaraswamy’s statements come three months after the U.S. military released videos of suspected al Qaeda in Iraq members training children as young as 10 to kidnap and kill.  She urged “religious and community leaders of Iraq to send one clear message to Iraqi children: Stay out of the violence and go back to school.”

She called on all sides in the Iraqi conflict to follow international humanitarian standards for the protection of children and to release without delay any children under the age of 18 associated with their forces.  She also asked all sides to adhere to international human rights standards pertaining to juvenile justice provisions.

“Let peace in Iraq begin with the protection of children” Coomaraswamy said.

For more information, please see:
BBC – Militias ‘Recruit Child Bombers’ – 25 April 2008

Inquirer.net – Iraqi Children Recruited for Suicide Attacks – UN – 25 April 2008

The Press Association – Child Recruits for Suicide Attacks – 25 April 2008

UN News Center – Iraqi Children are Silent Victims of Ongoing Violence, Says UN Envoy – 25 April 2008

USA Today – U.N.: Iraqi Children Recruited as Suicide Bombers – 25 April 2008