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Indonesia Rejects Pleas From Australian Government for a Halt in Drug Smuggling Executions
By Max Bartels
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania
Jakarta, Indonesia
Two Australian nationals are scheduled for execution in the coming days. Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan are both members of the “Bali Nine” drug smuggling gang. Chan is thought to be the ringleader of the gang and authorities arrested him for attempting to have four others smuggle 8 Kilograms of heroin onto a flight out of Indonesia. Chan was arrested attempting to board a flight to Sydney, he did to have any drugs on him but he was later named as the mastermind of the plot. Sukumaran was also linked to the heroin plot and was later arrested at a hotel in Indonesia. Both men were convicted and sentenced to death, Indonesia has imposed the death sentence in drug offense in light of the serious toll drugs and drug violence is taking on the country. In December six convicted drug smugglers were executed by firing squad including a Brazilian and a Dutch national.
The Australian government has reached out to Indonesian President Widodo in an attempt to halt the execution. There have been pleas from both Prime Minister Abbott and Foreign Minister Bishop but President Widodo has refused to give clemency for drug cases. In an eleventh hour attempt to halt the execution the Australian government offered Indonesia a prisoner swap but the Indonesians have reported that no such swap will occur. A spokesperson for the Indonesian government stated that Indonesia does not have any laws or legislation that allow for any kind of prisoner swap.
Australian government officials and politicians attended a candle light vigil early Thursday morning in honor of the two men. Foreign Minister Bishop addressed the gathering stating that she had reminded the Indonesia government that legal avenues remained open and appealed for mercy on behalf of the two men’s families. Prime Minister Abbott stated that Australians are sick in their guts over the execution of these two men. He further stated that Australians abhor drug crime but also abhor the death penalty and while these two prisoners deserved punishment they do not deserve to be executed.
The Australian government has also argued that the two men have been rehabilitated in prison. Both prisoners have been in Indonesian prison for the past decade and over this time they claim to be reformed. Sukumaran studies fine arts and has set up a class for his fellow inmates. While Chan has been using his spirituality to counsel other inmates and help them deal with drug addiction. Regardless of the claims the Australian government makes, the Indonesia government has shown no intention of halting the impending executions and if they do not then both prisoners will face a firing squad in the very near future.
For more information, please see:
CNN — Australian Prisoners Just Days Away From Execution by Indonesian Firing Squad — 4 March, 2015
CNN — Indonesia Dismisses Eleventh Hour Attempt to Save Bali 9 Smugglers — 5 March, 2015
Reuters — Australia Seeks Indonesia Prisoner Swap as Execution Looms — 4 March, 2015
Reuters — Indonesia Rejects Australian Proposal of Prisoner Swap for Death Row Pair — 5 March, 2015
Burmese Students and Laborers defy Myanmar’s Military Police
Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor
YANGON, Burma – Myanmar’s Military police reportedly beat several protesters supporting the Burmese student movement with batons and detained at least eight demonstrators on Thursday. The police were attempting to black student protesters from marching into Burma’s largest city, Yangon (formally Rangoon) the commercial hub of the country and former capital. About 200 student demonstrators have been in a standstill with police outside of a Buddhist monastery in Letpadan, about 140 km (90 miles) north of Yangon. The demonstrators are protesting an education bill that they argue would stifle academic freedom.
Myanmar’s government has barred the student protesters from entering the city of Yangon which has long been a site of anti-government protest. The city is the birthplace of the 1988 protests that sparked the pro-democracy movement that eventually led to the victor of Aung Sun Su Ki in democratic elections which was not recognized by the military regime. The 1988 protests quickly spread across the country, sparking a call for democratization that nearly toppled the military dictatorship.
Thursday’s arrests symbolized a rise in tension between the government and students who have been demonstrating across the country, which is officially undergoing a period of democratic reforms, for two months. Dozens of demonstrators, including members of ’88 Generation who led the 1988 protests, assembled near the golden Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon to show solidarity with students in Letpadan. Of the eight people arrested on Thursday three are members of the ’88 Generation reported Na Lynn, a student leader who spoke on the phone to one of the detainees. Among those detained was prominent ’88 Generation member Nilar Thein. “Some of them, including Nilar Thein, were beaten in the commotion,” said her husband Ko Jimmy, who is also a member of the organization.
Evidence is also mounting that Myanmar police continue to crack down on attempts to organize labor and pro-labor demonstrations in the country. On Thursday police reported they detained more than a dozen factory workers, who were demanding higher wages and better working conditions, in a protest that outside of Yangon. The arrests occurred after about 100 workers tried to march from their factor into the city of Yangon on Wednesday but were blacked by the military police. Many of the workers staged a sit-in in response to the police action but were dragged away by police.
While the Myanmar Ministry of Information reported Thursday that 13 workers, many of them women, had been arrested. Protesters reported that the number was actually much higher. Two journalists were also briefly detained by the police.
The workers have been protesting since last month demanding improved working conditions and higher wages, but a settlement has not been reached between labor and the factor owners.
The recent wave of protests and government crackdowns demonstrates the fragility of democratic reforms which began four years ago in Myanmar. While the reforms have introduced new freedoms in the country the government struggles to recognize and respect the newly protected freedom of expression and political activism in a country that struggles to hold on to military rule.
For more information please see:
ABC News – Myanmar Police Drag Away Protesting Factory Workers – 5 March 2015
BBC News – Myanmar Police Arrest Demonstrators Against New Education Bill – 5 March 2015
Reuters – Baton-Wielding Myanmar Police Force Pro-Student Protesters To Flee – 5 March 2015
Salt Lake Tribune – Myanmar Police Drag Away Factory Workers – 5 March 2015
Although Ceasefire in Ukraine Holds, War Games Continue
By Kyle Herda
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
KIEV, Ukraine – Tensions between Russia and NATO nations remains high despite the ceasefire still holding in Ukraine, and unfortunately this is keeping Ukraine in the spotlight between the two forces. The United States will be sending troops to help train Kiev’s military, much against the demands by Russia to avoid involvement with the United States.
United States’s senior envoy to Europe claims that there are still “thousands and thousands” of Russian troops deployed in Eastern Ukraine, along with “hundreds of pieces of military equipment, including tanks, armored vehicles, rocket systems, heavy artillery.” US Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges estimates that there are 12,000 Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, along with another 29,000 in Crimea. Further, the senior envoy claims that “[t]he Russian military has its own robust command structure in eastern Ukraine … they are funding this war, they are fueling it and commanding and controlling it.”
In response, the United States intends to carry out its plan to send roughly 300 troops to western Ukraine to train Kiev’s troops in fighting the pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. Further, under the fiscal 2015 budget to help train and equip the armed forces of allies around the world, the US has already set aside $19 million to assist the Ukrainian National Guard. On top of this, the US has still failed to rule out sending lethal aid to Kiev. Additionally, German Chancellor Angela Merkel says that more sanctions may be pressed onto Russia if the ceasefire fails, as it would likely be the result of instability caused at least partially by Russian involvement.
Russia has been active in trying to denounce the involvement of NATO nations in the Ukrainian conflict. Recently, Russian Su-30s and Su-24 aircraft from Russia’s new Black Sea Fleet in Crimea have run mock attacks on NATO warships in the Black Sea.
For more information, please see:
Yahoo – EU ready with sanctions if Ukraine ceasefire violated, Merkel says – 4 March 2015
Yahoo – ‘Thousands’ of Russian troops in east Ukraine: US envoy – 4 March 2015
Business Insider – Report: Russia is practicing attack runs against NATO warships in the Black Sea – 4 March 2015
Defense News – US Soldiers Readying for Ukraine Deployment – 3 March 2015
ABC – US Commander: Arming Ukraine Increases Pressure on Putin – 3 March 2015
Global Research – Despite Russian Warnings, US Will Deploy a Battalion to Ukraine by the End of the Week – 3 March 2015
Bangladesh: Convicted Islamist Leaders Appeal against Death Penalty for War Crimes
By Hojin Choi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
DHAKA, Bangladesh – Recently convicted Bangladesh Islamist leaders moved to overturn their death penalty sentences for war crimes.
Since 2010, the International Crimes Tribunal has sentenced more than ten ex- and present political leaders for war crimes committed during the country’s civil war. Most were convicted for crimes against humanity by collaborating with the Pakistani Army. According to the government, three million people died and approximately 200,000 women were raped during the nine months of war, and East Pakistan became an independent country, Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s ex-minister Syed Mohammed Kaiser appealed his death sentence in middle January. The verdict, sentencing him to death, was delivered by the International Crimes Tribunal a month ago, and he was found guilty on 14 out of the 16 charges brought against him. It is well known that Kaiser organized a militia named after him, “Kaiser Bahini,” in 1971, and guided the Pakistani Army to attack villages and to abuse supporters of Bangladesh’s independence. He fled once Bangladesh achieved liberty, and then rejoined Bangladesh’s political sphere as a parliamentary member. He later became the Minister of Agriculture.
An Islamist party leader, ATM Azharul Islam (“Azhar”), also moved the Supreme Court to overturn his verdict. He was also sentenced to death in late December for the genocide of 1,400 Hindus and supporters of Bangladesh’s liberation. He was known as a leader of a notorious militia, “Al-Badr,” that attacked villages by cooperating with the Pakistani Army. It is said that his militia committed the one of the largest genocides during the 1971 war.
Azhar is the eighth leader of the Islamist party to be convicted of war crimes. Whenever a conviction has been obtained, the party’s supporters have reacted wildly. They argue that the International Crimes Tribunal has a political and religious purpose that is to oppress the party. The party and its supporters often called for a nationwide shutdown and protests.
One of Justice of the court, Justice Rahim, previously commented on Azhar’s case that “we are trying him as a war criminal suspect . . . his stature as an Islamic or religious figure is not our concern.” However, many human rights activists and politicians from other nations have expressed concern over the continuous death sentences in Bangladesh, but most agree that the inhumane war crimes must be punished, even after a long period of time.
For more information, please see:
Globalpost – Bangladeshi ex-minister appeals against death penalty for war crimes – 20 January 2015
Bdnews24 – Tribunal sentences Kaiser to death for 1971 war crimes – 23 December 2014
Bdnews24 – Jamaat leader Azhar moves Supreme Court to overturn death sentence – 28 January 2015
Bdnews24 – Jamaat leader Azhar to die for 1971 genocide – 30 December 2014