A Pre-Olympic Look at China's HR Record; Pakistan's Taliban Threatens Women with Acid; Sri Lankan Government Accused of Allowing Serious Human Rights Violations to Continue

By:  Lindsey Brady
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor - News

BEIJING, China - As the world waits for the Olympic Games to begin this week China is once again the subject of criticism for their human rights record.  Nancy Pelosi (Dem.-CA), speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, says China's government has acted in opposition to the message of the Olympics.  Pelosi was quoted by the San Francisco Gate as stating "the Olympic Charter states that the goal of the Olympic Games is to promote 'a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity'" and in China "human rights leaders have been jailed or have been placed under house arrest.  Both foreign and Chinese journalists have been beaten, harassed and detained."  This quote comes after President Bush's meeting with Chinese dissidents was criticized by the Chinese government.  The foreign ministry spokesman for China, Liu Jianchao believes the meeting sends the wrong kind of message and expressed China's strong opposition to the meeting.

Critics have especially focused on the outrage of restricted internet access and the arrest of Chinese citizens seen as dissidents.  China promised unrestricted internet access to foreign reporters during the Olympics only after there was global disapproval.  China now allows access to most websites for human rights groups and Wikipedia articles on topics China deems sensitive.  The Sydney Morning Herald, however, finds that China has not lived up to its promise because the "multiple attempts by the Herald to send an email to Australia and within China that mentioned taboo subjects such as Tibet and Falun Gong failed to arrive." 

Since June, there have been at least three people who have been arrested for spreading information about the collapse of a reported 7,000 classrooms and dormitories in the May 12th earthquake that hit the Sichuan Province.  After the earthquake many citizens were concerned when they observed buildings built next to the schools still standing while many students were killed when the buildings containing classrooms collapsed.  The International Herald Tribune reports that Huang Qi, Zeng Hongling, and most recently Liu Shaokun have been arrested for charges ranging from "possession of state secrets after meeting with bereaved parents and publishing articles about structural problems at schools" to "suspicion of inciting subversion" and "seriously disrupting social order."  In the case Huang Qi, he has still not been allowed to meet with lawyers or family members.  Sharon Hom, the executive director of Human Rights in China, was quoted by The Guardian as accusing "instead of investigating and pursuing accountability for shoddy and dangerous buildings, the authorities are resorting to 're-education through labour' to silence and lock up concerned citizens like teacher Liu Shaokun and others."

For more information, please see:

AFP - US more Concerned with Rights than Chinese Complaints - 1 August, 2008

Sydney Morning Herald - Dissident Free, Yet Still Far from Liberty - 4 August, 2008

San Francisco Gate - China's Olympic Challenge:  A Case of Dignity - 3 August, 2008

International Herald Tribune - Sichuan School Worker Punished for Quake Photos, Rights Group Says - 31 July, 2008

The Guardian - China Detains Teacher for Earthquake Photos - 3 August, 2008

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LAHORE, Pakistan - The sect of the Taliban located in Pakistan is referred to as the Tehreek-e-Islami Taliban Pakistan or "TIP."  It has been reported that the TIP has issued a fifteen day notice to "un-Islamic" businesses and women to comply with their orders or face dire consequences.  The targeted business have been ordered to shut down completely.  The targeted businesses are mostly music stores, internet cafes and cable service providers.  Police have pledged to increase security in response to the letters.  The letters themselves featured a picture of Baitullah Mehsud along with "Quranic versus about Jihad" written around the picture.  Mehsud is a commander in the Taliban and said to fit "the part of the Pakistani tribal guerrilla leader to the hilt."  His emphatic belief in his own interpretation of Islam can be seen in his emphasis on jihad against the foreign presence in Afghanistan and the desire to create an Islamic state.  One passage in the TIP letters stated "Western and Indian media was damaging the character of youths and madrassah students and the business of music and movies is 'Haram'" meaning it is forbidden.

The last part of the letter also warns women to wear Hijab within five days of receiving the letter.  The threatened punishment for not following this order is acid thrown on their faces.  Hijab is a based on Islamic doctrine and consists of clothing that covers the entire body except for the face and hands, attire that is not form fitting so as to attract attention to the shape of the body.  One blog takes a look at the history of disfiguring women in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uganda, Vietnam, Cambodia and Ethiopia to name a few.  In cases of so called "honour killings" acid has been used against women who are said to have brought dishonor on her family or religion.

For more information, please see:

Top News - Pak Taliban Warn Women to Wear "Hijab", Else Face Acid Burns - 31 July, 2008

Daily Times - Taliban Warn "Un-Islamic" Businesses of Dire Consequences - 31, July 2008

Raquel Evita Saraswati -Pakistani Taliban:  Wear Hijab, or be Disfigured - 1, August 2008

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ("LTTE") rebels are "South Asia's worst perpetrator of violations against individuals" according to the Asian Centre of Human Rights.  This comment came after Sri Lanka failed to once again gain a bid on the UN Human Rights Council due to failure to prevent continued abuses.  The Tamil rebels have been recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and India.  The LTTE have been fighting for a separate Tamil state in the Sinhalese nation for 36 years.  Fighting between the Sri Lankan government and the rebels is said to have escalated since the Sri Lankan government ended their cease-fire with the rebel organization this past January.

In March Human Rights Watch declared that "the government is responsible for abductions of civilians during the conflict" while Amnesty International claims journalists are increasingly becoming the targets of attacks for reporting on the conflict.  A Bloomberg News article quoted the Sri Lankan government as countering that "groups complaining about its human rights record are politically motivated and have an anti-government agenda." 

Richard Boucher, the US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia and Central Asia has strenuously called upon the Sri Lankan government to stop the human rights abuses while continuing to fight the LTTE.  Specifically Boucher was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying, "there are some detentions and abuse of human rights which have not been investigated and we are concerned about it.  He sited the killing of aid workers as an example for this situation."  Boucher states the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has created some great discussions on how to fight threats of terrorism and food shortages.  On August 3rd, 2008, after the SAARC took place, a clash between the LTTE rebels and Sri Lankan soldiers resulted in at least twenty deaths.  Since January it is reported that nearly 5,500 rebels and 500 soldiers have died in the conflict.

For more information, please see:

Bloomberg News - Boucher Says U.S. Concerned about Sri Lanka Human Rights Abuses - 3 August 2008

Daily Mirror - Stop Violation of HR and Illegal Detention:  US - 2 August, 2008

AFP - 22 Killed in Latest Sri Lanka Clashes - 3 August , 2008