AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

SOUTHEAST ASIA ACTION NETWORK

July 2011

Countries in this issue: Indonesia p. 3 Myanmar, p. 4 Philippines, p. 4

Malaysia Cracking Down By Claudia Vandermade A peaceful rally addressing election reform in Kuala Lumpur resulted in mass arrests on July 9th. All of the 1,667 people detained on the day of the march were later released, but days earlier the Malaysian government arrested around 40 people including six members of the Socialist Party. The detainees, including Socialist Party MP Dr. Jeyakumar Devaraj are being held under an Emergency Ordinance at an undisclosed location. Others arrested before the rally, most for possession of illegal materials such as rally t-shirts, could be imprisoned for up to five years and fined for having exercised their right to peaceful expression and assembly.

Thailand, p. 5 Vietnam, p. 5

As a current member of the UN Human Rights Council, the Malaysian government should be setting an example to other nations and promoting human rights. Instead they appear to be suppressing them, in the worst campaign of repression weve seen in the country for years. Donna Guest, Amnesty International

The six detained members of the Socialist Party were unconditionally released on July 29th! Amnestys Urgent Action must have played a role!

Protesters are met with excessive force by police on 9 July rally (c)Mohd Fazrul Hasnor/Demotix

SEAsia Action Network Newsletter

July 2011

Check Out July UAs from Southeast Asia Indonesia: Church Congregation Remains at Risk.
The congregation of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Church is at risk after receiving threats from the local community.

Malaysia:
Urgent Action on six detained activists CANCELLED they have been released.

Viet Nam: Prisoner of Conscience Loses Arm

Yep, thats what a security official at the prison office said he lost his arm the way we lose our keysprobably his own fault.

Priest Returned to Prison From Sick Leave.

Ailing human rights

activist Father Nguyen Van Ly was returned to prison in an ambulance on charges that he distributed documents critical of the government and incited demonstrations. Father Ly had been the subject of a Special Focus Case for several years until he was released in March 2010 for health reasons.

East Asian News:

Hilary Clinton traveled to Bali in late July for an ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) meeting. Her strongest human rights statements involved Myanmar. "We look to the government to unconditionally release the more than 2,000 political prisoners who continue to languish in prison." She also subtly raised the question of Burmas assuming ASEANs chairmanship in 2014: "We trust that ASEAN members will gauge whether a potential chair can advance the organization's credibility and leadership role in the region," she said.

SEAsia Action Network Newsletter

However, statements about Indonesia were considerably weaker. In advance of her trip, Amnesty International and other human rights organizations wrote to Secretary Clinton with concerns about human rights abuses in Indonesia. During a question and answer session with Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister Marty Nalalegawa, there were persistent questions about Indonesian human rights. One of the questioners referenced the letters from human rights organizations in advance of the meeting. Nalalegawa responsed: On the issue of human rights situation in Indonesia, the kind of concerns that we have expressed, many -- we hear such comments and expectations on a regular basis. But the only thing is nowadays it is also a concern that is shared by all Indonesians alike. So it doesn't take an external party to suggest to us we need to do this and that, because it is being - efforts are being made to ensure that our own democratic and human rights expectations are fulfilled, as we expect them to be. Secretary Clinton said about Papua: With respect to Papua, the United States supports the territorial integrity of Indonesia, which includes the Papua and West Papua provinces. We, of course, believe in open dialogue between Papuan representatives and the Indonesian Government to address grievances and support development. But, as the Foreign Minister said, this is a matter for the Indonesian Government, and they are addressing it. And we hope to see full implementation of the special autonomy law for Papua, which is a commitment on the part of the Indonesian Government to address many of the concerns that have been expressed

July 2011

Update: Indonesia Amnesty News:

The verdicts imposed against 12 people accused of killing three members of the Ahmadi community in Indonesia, show that religious minorities face ongoing discrimination. A court in S erang District, Banten sentenced 10 men and two boys to three to six months The homes of Ahmadis have repeatedly been imprisonment for their involvement in vandalized in recent years the killing of three Ahmadis. DR In 2001 and 2007 a group of villagers from Aceh filed lawsuits against Exxon Mobil Corporation, a US SEAsia Action Network Newsletter 3

corporation which operated a large natural gas extraction and processing facility in the Aceh province in 2000-2001. They claimed that Exxon Mobile should be held responsible for its complicity with human rights violations perpetrated by Indonesian soldiers who were mandated to protect the companys property and operations. In a 2-1 decision on 8 July, a US Circuit Court of Appeals said that Exxon Mobil does not have corporate immunity from claims filed by 15 Indonesian villagers. Amnesty International calls on the Indonesian government to immediately initiate an independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture and other ill-treatment of political activists during August 2010 in Maluku province.

July 2011

Update: Myanmar In the News:

Country Specialist Nancy Galib and Claudia Vandermade have decided to take credit for the two high-level defections this month at the Burmese embassy/mission. Just days after we delivered over 2,000 Keys to Freedom to the embassy, the top two diplomats in Washington asked for asylum. Kyaw Win, the former deputy chief of the mission, said that his efforts at political reform had been rejected and that he feared prosecution by the Burmese government. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed a recent meeting between Aung San Suu Kyi and a senior government official. The Secretary called on Myanmar to consider early action on the release of political prisoners in that country. Convicts forced to serve as porters for the Burmese military are subject to torture, execution, and are used as human shields to draw opposition, to trip land mines, and to walk ahead to be shot first in an ambush according to new report from Human Rights Watch and the Karen Human Rights Group.

Update: Philippines Amnesty News:

Amnesty International called upon Philippine President Benigno Noynoy Aquino to announce an action plan for human rights protection in his State of the Nation address on 25 July. Amnesty reiterated that torture, political killings, and enforced disappearances continue even under his watch one year after his inauguration. Respect and protection of human rights is at the very foundation of Aquinos promise of transformational change, said Aurora Parong, Director of Amnesty International, Philipines. SEAsia Action Network Newsletter 4

Update: Thailand In the News:

July 2011

The surprise winner of Thailands July election, the Pheu Thai party, says it has agreed to form a coalition with four smaller parties. The party is led by Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra. Our Thailand country specialist, Tyrell Haberkorn, will write in next months newsletter about the elections implications for human rights in the country.

Update: Viet Nam Amnesty News:

We currently have two Urgent Actions for Viet Nam (linked on page 2 above). Certainly the re-arrest of Father Ly is a blow to all the Amnesty activists who have worked for so long on his case. Father Ly is seriously ill, and much of that can be attributed to the 17 years he has spent in prison, enduring harsh conditions and often in solitary confinement. Father Ly suffered a stroke in November 2009 while in prison, but did not receive a Dissident priest Father Nguyen Van Ly was proper diagnosis or adequate medical paroled for health issues last year Private treatment. He was transferred to a prison hospital in Ha Noi two weeks later. Despite being partially paralyzed, he was returned to his prison cell on 11 December 2009. On 15 March 2010 he was granted a one-year temporary suspension of his sentence to seek medical treatment for a brain tumor. Authorities claim that Father Ly was returned to prison for distributing antigovernment leaflets during his parole.

SEAsia Action Network Newsletter

July 2011

Meet your amazing and dedicated team of Country Specialists:

Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia Indonesia Jeanne Marie Stumpf Max White (and Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea) Gartini Isa Carole Marzolf Laos, Thailand Myanmar Tyrell Haberkorn Jim Roberts Nancy Galib Anil Raj Philippines, Perfecto Boyet-Caparas Leila Chacko (and Pacific Islands) Vietnam Co-Group and RAN Coordinator, Newsletter editor Jean Libby Claudia Vandermade perfecto.caparas@gmail.com leilachacko@gmail.com editor@vietamreview.net claudiev@gmail.com tyrellcaroline@gmail.com jroberts@aiusacs.org anthropologyisfun@yahoo.com max33@comcast.net isgartini@yahoo.com carole_marzolf@yahoo.com

Have a question about AIs work in a particular country? Wondering how to take your country work a step further? Contact a Country Specialist, or the Co-Group Coordinator, Claudia Vandermade.

SEAsia Action Network Newsletter