February 2011 SEARan Newsletter

8/7/2019 February 2011 SEARan Newsletter

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February 2011 SEA RAN Newsletter 1

Josh Cooper, Sam Rainsy, Claudia Vandermade,Tioulong Saumura, Suy Seng Hong

A MNESTY INTERNATIONAL

SOUTHEASTA SIA R EGIONALA CTION NETWORK

February 2011

Cambodian Delegation VisitsAmnesty International’s

Washington DC Office

By Claudia Vandermade

Sam Rainsy, exiled leader of Cambodia’s opposition party visitedAmnesty International’s Washington DC

office on February 25 th . He wasaccompanied by his wife, TioulongSaumura, who is a Member of Parliament, Josh Cooper, a member of the Southeast Asia Co-Group, and colleague Suy Seng Hong.

Rainsy’s message was that he feels that Cambodia is at a crossroads. With communeand national elections approaching, the nation could head in the direction of a moreopen and democratic society or the government could continue its crackdown on dissent.The current Cambodian government depends on aid from the outside world, and as aresult, is more likely to react to human rights scrutiny than countries such as Burma.Both Rainsy and Saumura said that when Amnesty takes action, people are freed.Saumura added, “You people who work as volunteers may not know the value of yourwork…you definitely save lives.”

The delegation left Washington shortly after our meeting and headed to Atlanta for ameeting with Jimmy Carter.

COUNTRY NEWSCambodia, p. 1 Indonesia, p. 2

Myanmar, p. 3 Philippines, p. 4

Thailand, p. 5 Vietnam, p. 5




Update: Indonesia

Amnesty News

• Last month we reported on thedisturbing video that graphicallyrecorded the torture of two Papuan

men at the hands of the military.Since that time, three soldiers havebeen sentenced to prison terms of between eight and ten months by amilitary court in Papua. AmnestyInternational has criticized the trial aswell as the light sentences. “It isincredible that senior Indonesiangovernment officials have called thisabuse - which included one of the men having his genitals burned – a ‘minorviolation’." said Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Deputy Programme DirectorDonna Guest. Amnesty International also maintains that human rights violationsshould be prosecuted in civilian courts not military courts, so that trials can beindependent and witnesses properly protected

• Amnesty International has urged the Indonesian government to repeat itscommitment to protecting the right to freedom of religion in the face of calls fromradical groups to outlaw a religious minority community. Several hundred membersof the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and other groups staged a demonstration in thecapital Jakarta on 18 February calling on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono todisband the Ahmadiyya group. A second protest is planned outside the Presidential

Palace for 1 March 2011. "The Indonesian government must state, clearly andpublicly, that it will protect the rights of all Indonesian citizens, regardless of theirreligion – and that includes the rights of the Ahmadiyya community," said Sam Zarifi,Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Director. The Ahmadiyya are a religious groupwho consider themselves to be a part of Islam. Many mainstream Muslim groups saythey do not adhere to the accepted belief system.

• In a February 14 th press release, Amnesty International stated that Indonesiandomestic workers, the vast majority of them women and girls, will remain vulnerableto exploitation and abuse unless the country's parliament enacts a Domestic Workers'Law. "As Indonesians commemorate National Domestic Workers Day on 15 February,some 2.6 million domestic workers remain outside the law's protection," said SamZarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Director. "Currently the 2003 ManpowerAct, which safeguards workers' rights, discriminates against domestic workers. TheAct does not provide the same protection it affords other workers, such as reasonablelimitation on working hours and provisions for rest and holidays." The failure to passa bill to protect domestic workers in Indonesia, more than a year after it wasprioritized by parliament, leaves domestic workers vulnerable to exploitation andabuse.

© AP GraphicsBank




Update: MyanmarAmnesty News

In a February 17 th statement, AmnestyInternational calls on the governmentsof Thailand, India and Indonesia togive persons claiming to be Rohingyas

on their territory access to full and fairrefugee determination procedures. Agroup of 91 persons believed to beRohingyas, who landed on theAndaman Islands, India, in earlyFebruary 2011, claim that the Thainavy put them out to sea in January2011 in an engineless boat with limitedfood and water. Thai authorities,

however, claim that they returned 91persons detained in Thailand toMyanmar in late January 2011. Amnesty International called on the government of Thailand to institute a prompt, independent and transparent investigation into howThai authorities treated this group. Thai authorities have detained hundreds of individuals claiming to be Rohingyas,including children, since January 2011. A further 129 persons claiming to beRohingya arrived in Aceh, Indonesia on 17 February 2011.

The Rohingya, who live in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, suffer from systematicpersecution, including forced labour, forced eviction, land confiscation, and severerestrictions on freedom of movement. The Myanmar government refuses to grantthem citizenship, rendering them stateless, in violation of their international rights.Many Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh, and have tried to seek work in othercountries. In the News

• State Department Assistant Secretary Philip J. Crowley has expressed concern

about Aung San Suu Kyi’s safety and security. In the February 16 th daily pressbriefing he reported that within the last few days there have been veiled threatssuggesting that if Aung San Suu Kyi proceeds with her plans to reconstitute theNLD that she could be in some danger.

A Myanmar refugee of Rohingya ethnic minority walks toher house in Kuala Lumpur January 31, 2009




• Perhaps fear of Aung San Suu Kyi is why Snr-Gen Than Shwe and his close aidesrecently appeared on national TV dressed in women’s longyis. All appeared onstate television on February 12 th wearing gongbong (headscarves) and acheik(colorful sarongs worn by women at weddings and formal occasions). Speculationis that the generals’ cross-dressing is an intentional act of superstition. Many

fortunetellers have predicted that a woman will rule Burma one day, and so thegenerals’ fortune-tellers have advised them to dress as women.

• Larry Dinger, the U.S. charge d’affaires in Myanmar is talking to Aung San SuuKyi about U.S. aid to the country. The United States currently offers no directaid to Myanmar except in emergencies or on humanitarian grounds. Suu Kyi’sNational League for Democracy has called for discussion with Western countrieson possible changes to the sanctions. She has said that any discussions shoulddeal with when, how and under what circumstances the sanctions might be

modified “in the interests of democracy, human rights and a healthy economicenvironment.”

Update: Philippines

Amnesty News

In the past decade, more than 200 Filipinoshave reportedly been victims of enforceddisappearance. In each case, the victims arerobbed of their liberty – and usually their lifeas well. Few investigations take place intoallegations of abductions, torture andkillings and hardly anyone is brought tojustice for these abuses, resulting in a culture of impunity. Raymond Manalo, 29, is

one of a few abductees who survived to tell his story.

Raymond and his brother Reynaldo were taken fromtheir family home by armed men in February 2006.

Philippine security forces accused the brothers of beingmembers of the New People’s Army, the military wingof the Communist Party of the Philippines. Bothbrothers deny this accusation. After being taken by thesecurity forces, the brothers were held in a cell in amilitary camp with 12 other abductees, where theywere given little food and regularly tortured.

Raymond Manalo

I need to expose thehuman rightsviolations takingplace in thePhilippines and helpothers who havebeen forcibly disappeared.




One day, 18 months after Raymond was taken from his home, the soldiers guardinghim at the farm fell asleep, drunk. Raymond woke his brother: “It was time to leaveand make our escape… My brother and I fled and made it to the highway. As luckwould have it, just as we got out a bus went past. We flagged it down and got on.” After his escape Raymond began to speak out about his ordeal. “I wanted to file acase. I wanted to fight and to show that I was a victim who also witnessed crimesabductions and killings carried out by the army. I need to expose the human rightsviolations taking place in the Philippines and help others who have been forciblydisappeared”

Click to take action.

Update: Singapore

In the News

A recent High Court ruling has reignited fierce debate on Freedom of Expression in

Singapore. Dr Chee Soon Juan, the leader of the opposition Singapore DemocraticParty, has just lost his appeal to overturn a conviction for speaking in a public placewithout a license. Sentenced to a fine of $20,000 or imprisonment of 20 weeks indefault, the SDP leader is facing the very real risk that, incarcerated, he will beunable to lead his party in the forthcoming general elections.

Dr Chee’s case is symptomatic of a wider problem in Singapore: the systematicrepression of the right to freedom of expression. On the issue of freedom of thepress, former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew remarked:

We cannot allow [the press] to assume a role in Singapore that the American mediaplay to America, that of invigilator, adversary and inquisitor of the administration.

From the IBA Media Law & Freedom of Expression Blog

Update: Thailand

Amnesty News

In our last newsletter, country specialist Tyrell Haberkorn wrote the lead article on

the case of Chiranuch Premchaiporn. In a February 9th

press release, AmnestyInternational urged the Thai authorities to drop all charges against the human rightsdefender and web forum moderator whose trial started in early February. “Chiranuchshould not be in the dock,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Thailandspecialist. “The comments for which she is being held responsible should not beprohibited in the first place much less when they are posted by someone else.Chiranuch’s case is significant because it threatens to ‘shoot the messenger’ in

http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/end-enforced-disappearances-torture-and-political-killings-philippines

http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/end-enforced-disappearances-torture-and-political-killings-philippines




addition to criminalizing the message,” said Zawacki. “But it’s also just the latest in aseries of attacks on freedom of expression in Thailand in recent years.”

Update: Viet Nam

Amnesty News

•

Amnesty International has condemned the eight-year prison sentence handeddown to a Vietnamese pro-democracy activist and former Communist Partyofficial for posting articles on the internet calling for democracy. Vi Duc Hoiwas convicted of "spreading anti-government propaganda" by a court innorthern Lang Son province on Wednesday. He was also sentenced to fiveyears of house arrest after his prison term. Hoi, a member of the Bloc 8406network of pro-democracy and human rights activists, had written extensivelyabout corruption and injustice in Viet Nam. He was arrested on 27 October2010. Before his arrest public security officials had raided his home on 7

October. "This verdict and sentence is a shocking testament to how theVietnamese authorities show complete disregard for freedom of expressionwhen it comes to people who peacefully challenge government policies," saidDonna Guest, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Deputy ProgrammeDirector.

• Vietnamese human rights activist and Catholic priest FatherNguyen Van Ly is at risk of being returned to prison in mid-March despite his fragile health. He suffered from a stroke

in prison in November 2009 which left him partiallyparalyzed, after being held in solitary confinement. He didnot receive adequate medical treatment.

Father Ly




Meet your amazing and dedicated team of Country Specialists:

Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia Jeanne Marie Stumpf [email protected] Indonesia Max White (and Timor-Leste,

Papua New Guinea)Gartini Isa

Carole Marzolf

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Laos, Thailand Tyrell Haberkorn [email protected] Myanmar Jim Roberts

Nancy GalibAnil Raj

[email protected]

Philippines Perfecto Boyet-Caparas [email protected] Vietnam Jean Libby [email protected] Co-Group and RANCoordinator, Newslettereditor

Claudia Vandermade [email protected]

Have a question about AI’s work in a particular country? Wondering how to takeyour country work a step further? Contact a Country Specialist, or the Co-GroupCoordinator, Claudia Vandermade.

Stay up-to-date on a daily basis by joining our Facebook page: AmnestyInternational USA Southeast Asia Action Network.

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February 2011 SEARan Newsletter

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