Sri Lanka Declares a State of Emergency

By: Katherine Hewitt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – After recent acts of community violence between religious groups in Kandy, Sri Lanka, the government declared a state of emergency. Soldiers are now patrolling civilian areas in the city of Kandy. The declaration will last 10 days, after which the parliament will need to vote on furthering military action.

Sri Lankan soldiers remove debris after an attack in Digana, a suburb of Kandy. Photo courtesy of Pradeep Pathiran/ AP.

The violence in Kandy began in March 2018 when a group of Muslim men were accused of killing a Sinhala Buddhist man. Buddhists represent 75% of the population of Sri Lanka. In response, they targeted Muslim-owned businesses, homes, and a mosque, burning them down. Upon their arrest a group of Buddhist monks, known for violence, traveled to Kandy to attempt to release the men. However when they were not successful in their mission, they turned to creating violence in the city. The police stepped in arresting several and setting a curfew.

This is not the first attack against Muslims by Buddhists in Sri Lanka.  Since the end of the Civil War in 2011, tensions between the two religious groups have grown more tense.  A Sri Lankan expert at International Crisis Group notes that Buddhist attacks on Muslim populations occur quite regularly.

The government is concerned about the potential spread of religious violence throughout Kandy and the nation after this last wave. The Prime Minister posted on Twitter “As a nation that endured a brutal war we are all aware of the values of peace, respect, unity & freedom. The Gov[ernment] condemns the racist & violent acts that have taken place over the last few days. A state of emergency has been declared & we will not hesitate to take further action.”

The state of emergency also widens the power of the police to detain suspects. Amnesty International’s South Asia Director, Biraj Patnaik, is afraid that these powers could threaten the rights of minority groups and cautions the Sri Lanka government to follow obligations under International Human Rights Law.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – Sri Lanka: State of emergency must respect human rights – 6 March 2018

The Guardian – Sri Lanka declares state of emergency after communal violence – 6 March 2018

Human Rights Watch – State of Emergency Declared in Sri Lanka – 7 March 2018

Dutchess County Schools Face Multiple Potential Threats

By: Sarah Purtill
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

DUTCHESS COUNTY, New York – Following the tragedy at Stoneman Douglas, several schools in Dutchess County New York have dealt with potential threats. The week of February 19th, three Dutchess County School Districts dealt with threats. The following week, social media has brought to light more potential threats for several different schools. Among those schools, both junior high schools and high schools, have threats under investigation.

For Van Wyck Junior High School, a threat is currently under investigation by the East Fishkill Police Department. According to the Chief of Police, the students are safe and the child who is alleged to be making the threats was not in school on February 27-28. On the 26th, a parent was made aware of the student’s plan to shoot up the school by her daughter who came home and told her about it. They contacted the police who informed the parent that the investigation began last Monday. Social media is sparking rumors and gossip to run wild with these potential threats. Parents are anxious and posting on community pages and school pages trying to find out more information, but also fueling further rumors.

John Jay High School of Hopewell Junction is facing rumored threats. Photo Courtesy of Patrick Oehler.

On February 28th, rumors began about a threat to John Jay High School. A vague email went out to parents explaining that police were investigating but, at this time, it was still safe for children to come to school. Following that email, posts were made by parents on social media claiming the school was on lock down, but those allegations proved untrue. On Friday, February 23rd, John Jay had been under lock down after school hours. That alarm proved to be a glitch in the alarm system, but all the recent threats have parents on edge. Some have chosen to keep their children home from school or pick them up early.

In Poughkeepsie, the school district was closed on Wednesday February 28th due to the alleged threats made against the school. The Superintendent sent out an email saying the school was closed because of a social media post detailing a potential shooting at the high school. That threat was posted on social media site ‘snapchat’ and contained a picture of several guns and text stating that no one was safe. There was also a list of students who were named in that post. The School Board President said the threat is “beyond (the district’s) purview,” and that local police and the FBI are actively investigating the situation.

For more information, please see:

Poughkeepsie Journal – Threat Closes Poughkeepsie Schools as Officials Investigate – 28 February 2018

Poughkeepsie Journal – 2 More Dutchess School District Handling Threats, Police Say No Concern – 27 February 2018

News 12 Westchester – Van Wyck JHS Student Accused of Making Threats – 27 February 2018

Poughkeepsie Journal – John Jay High Goes into Friday Afternoon Lockdown Following Alarm Mishap: Police – 23 February 2018

Mass exodus of Venezuelans overwhelms Latin America

By: Emily Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CUCUTA, Colombia – The mass exodus of Venezuelans desperate to leave their country are overwhelming the continent. Venezuela has spurred one of the biggest migration crises in Latin American history.

A boy from Colombia’s indigenous Yukpa community stands at the entrance to the border bridge in Cucuta. Image Courtesy of Ivan Valencia.

The International Organization for migration reports that nearly one million Venezuelans have left their country over the past two years, with a surge during the second half of 2017 when the economy took a hit. One immigration expert, Tomas Paez, says that “our migration levels are now comparable to Syria or to Bangladesh.”

Colombia’s border cities are taking the worst of the crisis. Roughly 250,000 migrants have crossed the border into Colombia since August, with 3,000 still arriving every day. Approximately 3,000 troops are fanning out across the 1,400-mile border in an effort to contain the migration. The government had to suspend the issuance of temporary visas for Venezuelans last month. It has begun operations to capture and expel illegal immigrants. The regional director of a Catholic charity in Colombia, Willington Munoz Sierra, considers this a humanitarian crisis. He says, “In Venezuela, children are dying. People are starving and being persecuted. What they’re getting from us is a door in the face.”

Similarly, Brazil has declared a state of “social emergency” in response to the massive influx of migrants. In recent months, 40,000 Venezuelans have poured across Brazil’s northern border. The migration has stressed infrastructure and caused security concerns. Residents in border cities worry about crime and Venezuelans taking away jobs. Brazilian President Michel Temer assessed the crises and suggested that some migrants could be moved to other states. Still, he insisted that Brazil would not turn its back on the refugees and pledged $20 million to the cause. The military has doubled its troops in border areas and established a field hospital for migrants.

All Latin American nations are feeling the impact of the crisis to some extent. Peru has seen the largest percentage increase in Venezuelan population. From 2015 to 2017, it increased 1,388%. In response, Peru is offering temporary resident permits to Venezuelans which grants them the right to work. Likewise, Panama has been overwhelmed with Venezuelans. It has imposed new visa requirements making it more difficult for migrants to be granted asylum.

Jozef Merkx, representative for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees in Colombia, said the agency is concerned about the operations that expel migrants lacking valid visas. However, it is harder to classify its people as refugees in need of international protection because Venezuela is not at war. He says, “People fleeing Syria were generally seen as refugees, but that’s not the case with Venezuelans. Venezuela is not being bombed. It has some of the dimensions [of a refugee crisis], but not all Venezuelans are refugees.”

For more information, please see:

Chicago Tribune – Venezuelans are fleeing their crisis-torn country en masse – 3 March 2018  

Washington Post – The Crisis Next Door – 2 March 2018

Reuters – Special report: A journey on a caravan of misery – 2 March 2018

DW – Brazil to declare ’emergency’ in response to Venezuela migrant influx – 16 February 2018

China Proposes Lifting President Xi’s Term Limit

By: Brian Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – The legislatures open its annual session with a constitutional amendment to end the two-term limit for President Xi Jinping’s presidency. This move was predicted when President Xi did not nominate a clear successor in October. By removing the two-term limit, President Xi’s status will be elevated to president for life. Since 2012, President Xi Jinping has been tightening control over the country. Over the past five years, he has solidified himself as a father figure and cracked down on his opposition.

President Xi’s two-term limit is expected to be removed at the annual meetings of China’s top legislative bodies. Photo courtesy of Mark Schiefelbein.

The presidency in China combines the three pillars of power in China: president, party chairman, and head of the Central Military Commission. In the 1980s, Deng Xiaoping established the collective leadership model. Since its formation, every leader was expected to hand the power over to its successor for a smooth transition.

Based on Xi’s rule, many analysts believe that the Chinese politics has shifted from collective autocracy to one-man rule. Xi has laid out his vision to turn china into a top innovative nation by 2035. By achieving the “China Dream,” he has proposed to fully modernize the country by mid-century. Moreover, he has lead a campaign to end corruption and end poverty by establishing the National Supervisory Commission.

Xi has also laid out his vision to eclipse the United States as the world’s largest economy and pushing it out of the Asia-Pacific sphere.

On March 4th, the spokesman for the congress defended the constitutional amendment publicly. Zhang Yesui stated that the move is “conductive to uphold the authority of the (Communist Party) Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core.”

Although the constitutional amendment is expected to pass with near-unanimous approval, the proposal has been criticized by independent political commentators.

Business Insider – Xi Jinping’s permanent presidency has terrifying ramifications for the Chinese people – 3 March, 2018

The Guardian – Eight signs that Xi Jinping was planning to cement his grip on China – 3 March, 2018

The Washington Post – Xi term-limits controversy looms at China political meeting – 4 March, 2018

Norway Plans to Ban Semi-Automatic Weapons

By: Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

OSLO, Norway – Almost seven years after the last mass shooting in Norway, the country is making moves to ban semi-automatic weapons.

Flags and Flowers Adorn a Memorial Site Neat the 2011 Utoya Massacre in Norway. Photo courtesy of Lefteris Pitarakis.

If the new legislation is passed, semi-automatic weapons and other previously legal weapons will be reclassified as “military-style” and banned. Citizens would be required to surrender any semi-automatic weapons in their possession. Future sales would be prohibited.

The law has been in talks since 2011, when on July 22nd  Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 people, mostly children, in a bombing and mass shooting on Utoya Island. There has not been a mass shooting in the country since then. However, the incident led the country to review existing laws and propose tightened ones.

A 2012 report by a commission formed in response to the Utoya massacre recommended a ban on semi-automatic weapons as one of its 31 recommendations to combat gun violence.

Øystein Mæland, Norway’s police chief, called for stricter laws pertaining to semi-automatic weapons after the attack.

The legislation comes at a time when gun violence is a considerable problem in the world, especially in the United States of America. Norway has 1.11 gun deaths per 100,000, compared to 10.54 per 100,000 in the United States.

Norway is one of many countries wishing to strengthen their gun laws. In Australia, 57,000 citizens recently surrendered firearms to the government during a gun amnesty in the country. With the recent high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, activists are calling for heightened measures to combat gun violence.

Norway already has some of the strictest gun laws in the world, requiring background checks and secure gun storage, among other things. Certain categories of guns are banned altogether.

The country has a high rate of gun ownership, but boasts low levels of gun violence, thanks in part to the strict gun laws in place. Most residents use them for hunting and outdoor sports.

The ban is planned to take effect in 2021, a decade after the mass shooting.

Petere Frlocih, a Conservative member of Parliament’s committee on judicial affairs, said “today it has become clear that there is a parliamentary majority in favor of the government’s proposal. Semi-automatic weapons will therefore be banned in Norway.”

“This decision is a very good thing, even if it comes belatedly,” said Lisabeth Kristine Roynemand, the head of a support group for victims of gun violence and their families. Her eighteen-year-old daughter was killed in the 2011 massacre.

Not everyone supports the proposed legislation. Farmers and hunters in the nation are protesting the measures.

For more information, please see:

Chicago Tribune – Norway and Australia Move Forward With new gun Control Measures, as U.S. Debate Rages on – 1 March 2018

The Guardian – Norway set to ban Semi-Automatic Guns From 2021, 10 Years After Utoya Shooting – 27 February 2018

Huffington Post – Norway Ready To Ban Semi-Automatic Weapons Starting In 2021, Says Lawmaker – 28 February 2018

Reuters – Norway set to ban Semi-Automatic Weapons – 1 March 2018

Washington Post – As U.S. gun Debate Rages on, Australians Hand in 57,000 Firearms, and Norway is set for a Broad ban – 1 March 2018