Impunity Watch: Asia

Spielberg considers quitting Beijing Olympics role

Film director Steven Spielberg step down as artistic director of the Summer 2008 Olympics unless China takes a tougher stance against Darfur, Sudan. Spielberg is helping to plan the opening ceremony.

China, a major investor in Sudan’s oil industry, has been criticized for not sending UN peacekeepers to the Sudan. Human rights groups have accused China of selling weapons to Sudan.

Spielberg called on Chinese President Hu Jintao in May, to pressure Sudan into accepting UN peacekeepers. This is the first time he has said he is considering leaving his Olympic position.

Actress Mia Farrow attacked Spielberg’s involvement in the Olympics in an article in the Wall Street Journal in March.

In June, China announced that they would fund a $1 billion increase for trade and investment in Africa. However, the move prompted accusations of colonialism.

For more information, please see:

http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=3416856&page=1

http://www.star-ecentral.com/movies/buzz/buzz.asp?file=archives/buzz/2007/7/31Spielbergt&date=7/31/2007

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2811664.ece

South Korean hostage UPDATE

The Taliban has killed one of the 23 South Korean hostages.  Pastor Bae Hyung Kyu's bullet-riddled body was found last week and was returned to his family in South Korea.  His family will not hold a funeral or memorial service until the other kidnapped men and women with him are released.

In a turn of events, however, there is speculation that the Taliban has killed a second South Korean hostage on Monday.  This comes only hours after the Afghan government said it negotiated a stay of execution for the group of hostages.  According to the governor of Ghazni province, the Taliban agreed to extend the deadline for the other 22 surviving hostages until noon tomorrow.  Afghan officials say they have not recovered a body and could not confirm the claim.  The hostages have been held since July 17.

A video possibly showing seven of the female hostages was broadcast last night on al-Jazeera television.  The women in the undated, silent video were wearing head scarves and appeared to be unharmed.

The Taliban has set many deadlines for the release of 23 imprisoned insurgents in exchange for the lives of the 23 South Korean hostages.  Reports say, however, that it is unlikely that the Afghan government will release any prisoners in exchange for the hostages, despite Taliban threats.

In March, Afghan President Hamid Karzai approved a deal that freed five captive Taliban insurgents for the release of Italian reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo.  Karzai was later criticized by the United States and Britain, and called the trade a one-time deal.

For more information, please see:

-http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/world/asia/30afghan.html

-http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/30/asia/30taliban.php

-http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/30/asia/AS-GEN-SKorea-Afghan-Kidnappings.php

-http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2169856.ece

-http://news.bostonherald.com/international/middleEast/view.bg?articleid=1014262

Myanmar human rights defender sentenced

Myanmar human rights defender sentenced

A Myanmar human rights defender was sentenced to eight years in prison for inciting unrest.  He was beaten by a pro-government mob.

Myint Naing was sentenced in the Henzeda Township Court, 60 miles northwest of Yangon, Myanmar (Burnma). 

Five people others were sentenced to four years imprisonment each.  Myint Naing and a fellow member of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Network, Maung Maung Lay, were attacked and seriously wounded April 18 at Oakpon village in Henzeda.  They were headed to another village to continue to conduct human rights training.

Fify to 100 men with clubs and other homemade weapons attacked them.  The attack was carried out by the Union Solidarity and Development Association, a government-backed group accused of assaulting and intimidating the military government’s opponents.

The USDA was linked to attacks against opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy supporters in the Yangon in 1997, as well as a deadly attack on the party leader and her supporters in northern Myanmar on May 30, 2003.

The junta created the USDA in 1993 as a social welfare organization. It claims more than 20 million members, more than one-third of the country's population. Public servants and local officials come under heavy pressure to join.

The military has ruled since 1962, with the latest junta emerging after a 1988 crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The military has been widely accused of atrocities against ethnic minorities and of suppressing the democracy movement.

For more information, please see:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070725/ap_on_re_as/myanmar_human_rights;_ylt=ArDbmTo7SPgt5jINnLz3nnwBxg8F

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/07/myanmar-rights-activist-sentenced-to.php

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22345&Cr=myanmar&Cr1

South Korean hostage deadline extended

Twenty-three South Koreans, including 18 women, were kidnapped on Thursday, July 19, while riding a bus through the Ghazni province in Afghanistan.  Korean negotiators accompanied by Afghan elders and clerics met face-to-face with the kidnappers of the hostages on Tuesday in Afghanistan, as a threatened Taliban deadline to execute them passed by once again.  The rebels have pushed back their ultimatum on the Koreans' fate at least three times.

Ghazni villagers demonstrated, demanding the hostages be released.  The province's police chief, Mohammad Zaman, said the Taliban should release the hostages as they are guests in the country and they want them to be safe.

Originally, the rebels have threatened to kill the South Koreans unless 23 Taliban prisoners held by Afghan authorities are released and Seoul withdraws its 200 soldiers from Afghanistan.  Now, it is reported that the militants are demanding monetary payment for the South Korean hostages' release. 

The 200 South Korean troops serving in the US-led coalition in Afghanistan are scheduled to leave by the end of 2007.  The hostages  were said to be involved in medical and volunteer aid. 

For more information, please see:

-http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/25/1987410.htm

-http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2007/07/23/afx3941168.html

-http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/24/asia/AS-GEN-Afghan-Kidnappings.php

-http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Afghan-Kidnappings.html?ex=1185854400&en=5fb2bf217bf9406f&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Indonesian provincial legislature considers HIV-microchip implants

The Papua legislature is now debating whether to approve a bill allowing microchips to be implanted in people infected with HIV. The proposal is a way of preventing the spread of HIV in Indonesia.  However, health workers there strongly oppose the bill.

About 2.4% of Papuans are known to be HIV-carriers. Infection rates are estimated at 15 times the national average.

A member of the parliament’s health committee made the proposal. He said that microchips could track people who continued to infect others. The bill also proposes mandatory testing of every Papua resident. Also considered was tattooing HIV-positive people.

The Papua AIDS Commission has rejected the bill. It said the proposals were illogical and a violation of human rights.

To become law, the bill would need to be approved by government, health and legal experts and pass a public consultation.

The province has just over 3,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, and there have been 356 deaths reported. Papua has a population of about 2.5 million.

For more information, please see:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6913869.stm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/24/1987295.htm

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070724075657.4w2f978g&show_article=1

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20070724/ttc-health-indonesia-papua-aids-b4393f8.html

India Elects First Female President

Pratibha Patil, Inda's newly elected president on Saturday in New Delhi

India elected its first female president, Pratibha Patil, on Saturday.  Ms. Patil, 72, was widely expected to win and had won almost two-thirds of the votes cast by federal and state legislators.  She had the support of the governing Congress Party and its political allies.  The election of a woman to the historically ceremonial post continues an Indian tradition of using the presidency to give a high-profile voice to disadvantaged groups.  Past presidents include Muslims and a Sikh, minorities among India's dominant Hindus.

Women still face widespread discrimination in the workplace and at home.  Although one of India's most powerful leaders  was the female prime minister, Indira Gandhi, many Indian families regard daughters as a liability because of a tradition requiring a bride's family to pay a large dowry of cash and gifts.  Consequently, their education and overall health is often neglected, and thus women are still underrepresented in politics.

Ms. Patil's election will make India the largest country to boast a female head of state.  She defeated the current Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, and will replace A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.  Ms. Patil's campaign was not easy, however, with opposition politicians and the media scrutinizing her, her past, and her family.  Opponents said she lacked the national stature for the post and complained that her only qualification was her loyalty to the powerful Gandhi family. 

Ms. Patil received 2489 out of the 2706 votes cast on Thursday.  She will be sworn in as India's 13th president on Wednesday, and will serve for a five-year term.

For more information, please see:

-http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/21/1984713.htm?section=justin

-http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118504676893474168.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

-http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/world/asia/22india.html?em&ex=1185249600&en=7eb036a14c52eb06&ei=5087%0A

-http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-india22jul22,1,3238015.story?coll=la-news-a_section

Attackers kill Siberian environmental protester

Attackers raided a camp of environmental protesters, killing one person and injuring seven people.

More than 20 demonstrators had been camped out by a reservoir near Angarsk, about 2,600 miles east of Moscow, to protest nuclear waste processing at a state-owned Electrolysis Chemical Plant. Local police detained two suspects and identified 13 others.

Angarsk is about 60 miles from the southern end of Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater lake. Russia is setting up a uranium enrichment center at the plant to enrich uranium from Kazakhstan, a major uranium ore producer.

President Vladimir Putin proposed setting up the site as a way to provide uranium fuel to nations intent on building nuclear power plants, while making sure they don't develop weapons programs.

The enriched uranium supply would be made available only to countries which have made nonproliferation commitments. These would include a pledge of no use for nuclear explosive purposes and acceptance of International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.

The demonstrators say Russia plans to become a center for processing and storing spent fuel from abroad, and that this plant could be part of the lucrative business.

For more information, please see:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070721/ap_on_re_eu/russia_demonstrator_killed_2

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/21/europe/EU-GEN-Russia-Demonstrator-Killed.php

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/21/world/main3085019.shtml

Malaysia arrests blogger

The Malaysian government detained Nathaniel Tan under the Official Secrets Act for posting information on the Internet (www.jelas.info) the government considered sensitive.

His arrest was part of a government campaign to combat alleged to inaccurate information being spreading by bloggers.

Police arrested Tan and seized his computers. Tan also manages the website of the opposition National People’s Party. Police questioned Tan for four days of police.

Tan potentially faces a large fine and a mandatory one-year jail sentence if charged and found guilty under the OSA. The OSA has “vaguely worded definitions” of what constitutes an official secret.

Tan is well known in blogging community. He is noted for his criticism of government leaders. He had previously criticized minister Baharum and asked readers to “vote this guy out.” Baharum was investigated and cleared last week after allegations that he had received $1.6 million in bribes to release three convicted criminals.

Analysts see the government’s campaign as an attempt to instill fear and suppress attacks on national leaders, especially on Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi before of a general election expected later this year.

The ruling National Front coalition does not want to see a swing in voter support for the opposition party, which is promising more transparent government, affirmative action to help all Malaysians, and to end racially-discriminatory policies.

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance and Reporters without Borders both urged the government to respect human rights and restrain the police. “By arresting [Tan], the authorities are trying to intimidate Malaysian Internet users and get them to censor themselves,” SEAPA said in a statement. “Until now, they had limited themselves to threats and abusive prosecutions. Now they have gone further and adopted a more radical form of repression.”

For more information, please see:

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38581

http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=29966

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IG20Ae01.html

Japanese war orphans end suit

Approximately 2200 Japanese orphans who were abandoned in China following Japan's defeat in World War II have agreed to accept a proposal from the government.  In the agreement, the government would provide more aid to the war orphans after dropping their compensation lawsuits.  The proposal comes in response to suits filed by the 2200 orphans.

The lawsuit accused the Japanese government of failing to adequately support them when they returned to Japan.  Many of the orphans are now sick and elderly, while struggling to survive because they cannot speak fluent Japanese.

Under the proposal on new livelihood support measures, the war orphans will receive a monthly pension payment of $535, an increase from the $178 they now receive.  Additionally, they will receive a special subsidy in place of welfare benefits, and the government will help cover their housing, medical, and nursing care.  In the proposal, the orphans will abandon their lawsuits against the government.

Thousands of Japanese children were abandoned in China by their parents as former Soviet troops closed in at the end of the war in 1945.  Many were adopted by the Chinese and were too young to remember their Japanese names or their biological parents. 

In 1972, approximately 6300 people, including 2500 war orphans, returned to Japan after Tokyo normalized ties with Beijing.

For more information, please see:

-http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070709a2.html

-http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/07/japan-war-orphans-to-accept-aid-deal.php

-http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070709TDY01005.htm

-http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/09/ap3894912.html

Shutdown of nuclear facilities in North Korea

Photo of a tanker leaving South Korea on Thursday, carrying 6200 tons of oil to the North.

After four and a half years of operation, North Korea is expected to begin shutting down its main nuclear facilities this week.  The United Nations have verified that North Korea has shut down its nuclear reactor already.  The director general of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei said the shutdown of five facilities in Yongbyon, North Korea should not be difficult, and should be completed within approximately a month.

This shutdown would halt North Korea's only declared program for producing fuel that can be used in nuclear weapons.  Experts say these five facilities can yield more than thirteen pounds of plutonium a year, enough for one atomic bomb.

North Korea agreed to shutdown its Yongbyon facilities in an agreement with the United States, South Korea, China, Russia, and Japan.  The agreement called for shipping 50,000 tons of fuel oil to North Korea.  The North now says it is ready to permanently disable the reactor if the US lifts economic sanctions and strikes the North from a list of terrorism sponsors.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry said progress on disarmament would depend on the measures the US and Japan would take to rescind their hostile policies toward North Korea.

After the freeze of the facilities, however, many questions remain.  These include whether North Korea will provide the agency with a complete inventory of its nuclear materials, how much plutonium it has produced thus far, and whether it may return to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.  The North withdrew from the Treaty in 2003 after Washington accused it of running a secret uranium enrichment program in violation of a disarmament deal and stopped oil deliveries.

For more information, please see:

-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHC5gM6whvMU&refer=home

-http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSSP1037320070716

-http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/world/asia/13korea.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

-http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3380339