Prachatai English

Some red-shirt leaders speak about upcoming rally

prachatai — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:01:24 +0000

Jaran Ditta-apichai insists on non-violence, and his non-violence requires mobilizing as many people as possible.

‘Why do we expect a million? Because we use non-violence. A fight with non-violence is decided by the number of people. Even with over 200,000 people in April [2009], it was not successful. The number is the deciding factor of victory. If the UDD didn’t use non-violence, we wouldn’t need a lot of people. 20,000 well-trained people would be enough.’

In the lead-up to the rally, the UDD has tried to clean up its image by keeping out persons like Seh Daeng or Gen Panlop Pinmanee. The planning this time is not centralized like before, as the leaders have travelled to meetings with local leaders in the regions. The organization of the rally will be more efficient, as the leaders will stay with their own people and any moves will have to be decided in meetings, Jaran said.

According to Weng Tojirakan, the planning has been done by about 40 core leaders in Bangkok and from the provinces, who agree on the non-violent approach and will try to prevent the mistakes of Songkran last year. During the rally, demonstrators will be grouped according to province and region, with security and medical units. Some 2,000 non-violent troops will be on alert, and will move to spots where skirmishes occur.

‘We’ve had them trained in the principles [of non-violence], to keep control of their temper when problems arise, to lessen the conditions of confrontation. But we have not yet prepared for a situation where soldiers open fire. It would be too scary,’ Weng said.

Besides the non-violent troops, Jaran said that they had trained guards from Bangkok and the provinces. They have been trained to get a common understanding of their duty and their attitude towards the people, and to be prepared to deal with skirmishes. The UDD has also organized many training sessions during the past year for the red shirts to participate in the rally with more discipline.

Wiphuthalaeng Phatthanaphumthai talked about the lessons they had learned from Songkran last year, in which some of the red shirts wanted a quick victory, so they initiated their own moves. This time, they will move together.

During the Songkran rally, a group of taxi drivers split away to close off the Victory Monument, and the UDD leaders had to allocate some red shirts to join them. The move received both applauses and curses. Shinnawat Habunpad, leader of the taxi drivers, insisted that this time they had planned no such moves.

The rally is scheduled to start on 12 March in 6 protest sites around Bangkok.

‘Our strategy for 12 March is to make tremors on a seismic scale. We want to be perceived as coming from all directions,’ Jaran said.

The activities on that day will be rituals and speeches until 6PM, and then they will gather at the Phan Fah bridge.

Mainung Kor Kunathi said that the activities at all sites will start at 12.12AM on 12 March.

The sites will be the Laksi Monument, the Taksin Monument, the Dindaeng Triangle, Lumphini Park, Bang Na, Thung Song Hong, and probably some additional places.

Some leaders have gone to the provinces and will come to Bangkok with the masses. Natthawut Saikua will be at the centre at the People’s Channel, collecting information.

There will be no road blockades. However, the traffic may get worse on 14 March when more red shirts will be pouring in.

Jaran expected at least 40,000 red shirts in Bangkok to come out. He said this would be the first time in history that people in the central region would rise up. Unlike the northern and northeastern red shirts who are motivated from a love of Thaksin, the central red shirts are motivated by a rejection of double standards and the lack of democracy, he said.

Suphorn Atthawong, UDD leader from the Northeast, said that leaders in each province had confirmed the number of 300,000 people. They have prepared food and clothing for a one-week stay.

‘So many people want to come. But the problem is we don’t have enough cars. The Transport Ministry has threatened bus companies not to serve us. Their licenses will not be renewed, if they do,’ Suphorn said.

He said their numbers would be so high that the authorities could not bar them from coming through checkpoints.

Jaran seems to try to emphasize the line of non-violence, but another red-shirt leader has been heavily criticized for outrageous remarks he recently made to encourage the red shirts to bring bottles of gasoline to fight in the face of suppression or a coup.

‘I said that if the people are hurt and suppressed, they have the right to fight. The gasoline is in their cars’ tanks, and bottles can be found anywhere. It was straight talking. If we intended to use violence, we would not have mobilized so many people,’ Arisman Pongruangrong said.

‘I stress that we will never use violence. We will take care of the people’s security, with our guards keeping alert and screening for weapons. But if the government orders suppression, we’re not sure if we can keep control of the people’s reactions. We start from non-violence, we will be peaceful and without weapons. If suppressed, the rally will become a riot. And it’s not easy to predict who will win in the end,’ Arisman said.

Jaran said they would try their best to avoid violence.

‘We will not lead them to peril. Because if we lose, we will lose severely. And who knows when we will ever be able to stand up again,’ he said.

Myanmar opposition must be free to fight elections

prachatai — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:59:04 +0000

Amnesty International

Amnesty International urges Myanmar to overturn a new law that bars all political prisoners, including detained Nobel Peace-prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, from belonging to a political party before upcoming national elections.

“There are at least 2,200 political prisoners in Myanmar, most of whom are in prison simply because they tried to exercise their rights peacefully,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Myanmar researcher

“Instead of passing laws that strip away more of their rights, the Myanmar authorities should immediately release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and remove restrictions on their political activity.”

Aung San Suu Kyi was already blocked from running in the elections by the 2008 constitution, which ruled that marriage to a foreign national would exclude candidates from running.

“Amnesty International is greatly concerned that activists are going to come under increased repression in the lead up to the elections,” said Benjamin Zawacki. “The Myanmar authorities seem determined to stamp out any political challenge to their rule.”

In a recent report, Repression of ethnic minority activists in Myanmar, Amnesty International documented the government’s systematic efforts to silence activists from the country’s large ethnic minority population. The report warned the election may lead to an even harder crackdown against activists.

Army’s media efforts to cope with red shirts’ rally

prachatai — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:29:43 +0000

A letter from the Army’s Directorate of Civil Affairs asking Modern 9 TV to air running news messages concerning the red shirts’ upcoming rally has appeared on the Facebook social network. It has been confirmed by a military official that the Directorate has sent such letters to Channel 11 and the Army’s Channel 5, and all TV channels under unusual circumstances, once a day.

The letter was sent to the Director of Modern 9 TV, asking the station to run four news messages at the bottom of the TV screen on 4 March:

Message 1: Deputy Prime Minister Suthep believes that all Thais in the whole country do not want chaos in the country; most want to see the country peaceful.

Message 2: Kongkrit Hirankij, President of the Tourism Council of Thailand, is confident that Thai tourism has bright prospects if there is no political turmoil, and could grow 12-15%.

Message 3: Sukij Udomsirikul, Asst Managing Director of Nakhon Luang Thai Research Institute, says it is necessary to keep watch over the current political situation, because political problems are a risk factor in the Thai stock market. If politics turns violent, the GDP growth would be less than 2%.

Message 4: The Security Situation Monitoring Committee has continued to set up checkpoints in critical areas. We apologize for inconvenience on certain traffic routes. If suspicious individuals or objects are spotted, please call 191 or 1555.

Rumours of relocation prompt Karen refugees to flee camp

prachatai — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:21:24 +0000

Cross Border News Agency

After they heard from rangers guarding the Nong Bua temporary shelter that refugees would be relocated to another temporary shelter at Usutha on 8 March, 29 refugee families have fled the shelter.

For over a month, the refugees have waited for the authorities to solve the problem of ‘forced repatriation’. Rumours from military personnel forced them to flee to other Thai-Karen villages, while some of them went back to Burma in order to sneak back into Thailand at other spots.

There had been 105 families at the Nong Bua shelter, until rumours starting in early March prompted 29 families to move out between 5 and 8 March.

On the first day of each month, the Thai Burma Border Consortium distributes food to the refugees. So they waited for their rations, and then started to move: 6 families on 5 March, 13 on 6 March, 7 on 7 March, and 3 on 8 March, totalling 174 people, almost half of them children under 5 years old.

Most of them have moved to stay with relatives on the Thai side. Very few have gone back to Burma, where they could not farm for fear of landmines.

Other rumours from the rangers were that the refugees would be relocated to a remote camp in Umphang District, Tak Province. Many refugees are afraid to be moved that far away from their homes, but have been consoled by their own leaders and other authorities who said that it was not possible as transportation would be too costly.

After a visit by the National Human Rights Commission on 18 Feb, one of the leaders of the refugees has been threatened and forced to leave the shelter.

Can we calculate the real cost of damages to society?

prachatai — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:10:26 +0000

Pravit Rojanaphruk, The Nation

Of late, a lot of number-crunching has been going on, especially before and after the court decided to confiscate Bt46 billion of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra's Bt76-billion frozen assets. A lot of people, be they trained in economics, law or even fields that are not remotely related to this subject, came up with different figures. In fact, some even said that Thaksin's greed and corruption had cost the country more than Bt100 billion in damages.

Last week, Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij suggested on Facebook that the court should have confiscated the entire Bt76 billion.

However, Korn got himself into trouble when he said that he was not sure if justice would have been served if the Assets Examination Committee had not been appointed after the 2006 military coup. This statement instigated a flurry of comments criticising the minister for being a supporter of the coup, an accusation he quickly denied though he kept quiet after some papers, such as the Daily News, published editorials on Saturday lambasting Korn.

However, when it comes to assessing the damage done through corruption and unconstitutional political acts, many Thais are still viewing things rather too narrowly.

So, while many people continue working out how much society has lost financially thanks to Thaksin, one also needs to ask: "What should the society pay for supporting a military coup and using it as a 'legitimate' way to dealt with Thaksin?"

Can we put a number to this?

The costs and damages incurred on a society can never be quantified. How can one come up with a neat figure when the society decides to back a military coup as a legitimate way of dealing with a corrupt politician when the result, intentional or not, is giving the military carte blanche to continue staging coups with no end in sight?

Calculating the cost of damages incurred by the anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) movement's 2008 seizure of the Suvarnabhumi airport is no easy task either because not only did it affect short-term tourism it also hurt Thailand's reputation as a regional travel hub.

Similarly, the Songkran mayhem last year didn't just affect the economy, but also cost the society in terms of the loss of trust in the red shirts.

However, the biggest price the Thai society is paying, after four years of often lawless and vicious political battles, is a loss of trust in those who dare to think differently.

During the telephone chat this writer had with red-shirt leader Jaran Dittha-apichai on Monday, he realised that the deep-seated mistrust expressed by Jaran was symptomatic of the high cost the society is paying.

As for the likelihood of the government imposing the Internal Security Act (ISA) this weekend to deal with the attempt to shut down Bangkok, Jaran said: "In other countries, people ask why the government should impose such a law, but in Thailand they ask why the red shirts should demonstrate. It's upside down."

On mainstream mass media, he said: "Most of the mass media view us as enemies, but we won't budge because most of the people are with us. Most of the red shirts do not read [or watch or listen to] them."

As for Bangkokians being inconvenienced by the shutting down of the city, Jaran said: "The residents can curse all they want. The PAD never thought of them, did they?"

Pravit's note: The writer received an e-mail letter from Khun Korn Chatikavanij today correctly pointing out that he did not stated in his recent Facebook article that the Supreme Court "should" have confiscated the entire Bt76 billion of Thaksin's frozen assets but rather that he wrote that "it was what I would have done" if he was a judge.

Khun Korn also pointed out that although he was criticised for his statement questioning whether justice would have been served or not if the Asset Examination Committee had not been appointed after the 2006 coup, he also received, as he puts it, "more than equal number of acknowledgement for my willingness to engage in sensible debate through an honest assessment of the facts."

This writer would like to publicly apologise to the Finance Minister for the inaccuracies in the article but would also like to ask whether what one should make of public figures who did not strongly oppose the 2006 coup. Does not condemning the coup outright in the aftermath of the coup make them closet-supporters of the coup?

A lot of readings into what Khun Korn wrote on Facebook may have something to do with this.

World Day Against Cyber Censorship

prachatai — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:22:07 +0000

Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders will celebrate World Day Against Cyber Censorship on 12 March. This event is intended to rally everyone in support of a single Internet that is unrestricted and accessible to all. It is also meant to draw attention to the fact that, by creating new spaces for exchanging ideas and information, the Internet is a force for freedom. However, more and more governments have realised this and are reacting by trying to control the Internet.

Reporters Without Borders will mark the occasion by issuing its latest list of “Enemies of the Internet.” This list points the finger at countries such as Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Tunisia that restrict online access and harass their netizens. A list of countries that have been placed “under surveillance” for displaying a disturbing attitude towards the Internet will also be released.

Reporters Without Borders will award the first “Netizen Prize,” with support from Google, at 7 p.m. on 11 March 2010, on the eve of World Day Against Cyber Censorship. The prize will be given to an Internet user, blogger or cyber-dissident who has made a notable contribution to the defence of online freedom of expression. The award ceremony will take place at the Paris headquarters of Google France.

Reporters Without Borders has designed a logo to symbolise the defence of online free expression. It represents a computer mouse freeing itself from its chains. The logo can be downloaded free of charge and is available in various colours. Do you want to show your support for World Day against Cyber-Censorship? Do you want to defend an Internet without restrictions and accessible to everyone? Don’t hesitate to download this logo and post it on your blog or website or add it to your email signature.

No Migrants at Redshirt Rally

prachatai — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:29:39 +0000

Saw Yan Naing, The Irrawaddy

Thailand's Ministry of Labor warned Thai employers not to bring any migrant workers to join ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra's supporters, who are scheduled to launch a major anti-government protest in Bangkok this weekend.

The warning was made by Phaitoon Kaewthong, Thailand's minister of labor, after reports circulated suggesting that Thaksin supporters known as Redshirts will bring laborers including foreign migrant workers to join the Redshirt protest, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Labor on Monday.

In a written statement sent to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Andy Hall, director of the Bangkok-based Human Rights and Development Foundation's migrant justice program said: “If migrants were to attend this red-shirt rally, it would surely be because they were forced to attend by their employers, as we saw with the previous red and yellow shirt rallies in Thailand.”

“If it is not enough to exploit migrants economically and physically, now they are being exploited politically by both sides of the political conflict,” said Hall.

Thai and foreign-language media are reporting that Thaksin supporters from different provinces will be arriving in Bangkok in order to join the massive protest in the capital.

According to a report by the Bangkok Post, leaders of the Redshirt group known as United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship have threatened to arrive at the rally in hundreds of farm and pickup trucks, raising concerns that they may close major public roads in an attempt to put down the current government.

Intelligence reports are saying some weapons and ammunition from an arms depot in southern Thailand are reportedly on their way to the capital. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the reports have indicated the possibility of sabotage taking place next weekend when the Redshirt rally will hold a large-scale protest against the government.

The government and security authorities are also on full alert to ensure there are no further thefts of arms from military depots such as happened on March 2, when grenades and cartridges were removed from an army base in Phattalung Province in Southern Thailand.

The Premier said the government must apply strict measures in searching for weapons and ensure the gatherings do not affect the daily public traffic flow and everyday activities of people living in Bangkok and nearby.

There were few Redshirt supporters outside Thailand's supreme court in Bangkok when the court announced the verdict against Thaksin on February 26, seizing 46 billion baht in total from Thaksin family's assets of 76 billion baht.

In the seven-hour verdict on Feb. 26, Thaksin was also found guilty for extending a soft loan to the Burmese government. The supreme court said the ex-premier abused his power by approaching the Export-Import Bank of Thailand (Exim Bank) to provide 4 billion baht to the Burmese regime in 2004.

Ship Corp, a telecommunications company formerly own by Thaksin's family, benefited from the loan as it won exclusive rights to be the only supplier for a satellite system in Burma, according to the judges.

Meanwhile, the Exim Bank will also open discussion with the government on whether its 4 billion baht loan to Burma should be reviewed, Deputy Finance Minister, Pruektichai Damrongrut told the Bangkok Post on Friday.

Exim Bank president Apichai Boontherawara said the Burmese government was a good client which made regular repayments, however. The bank lent 4 billion baht to the Burmese government for 12 years at 3 percent interest, “which is below its operating costs,” he said.

4,000 Workers Go on Strike in Rangoon

prachatai — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:26:01 +0000

Ba Kaung, The Irrawaddy

In the latest escalation of labor tensions in Burma, around 4,000 factory workers at an industrial estate on the outskirts of Rangoon staged a sit-in on Saturday to demand better pay, according to sources in the area.

Workers at two garment factories in South Dagon Township's No. 2 Industrial Zone began their strike at around 8 am, the sources said.

“When the workers got out of the company bus this morning, they refused to enter the factory compound,” said an eyewitness, adding that riot police arrived at the scene soon after the strike began.

The factories are owned by a company called SGI.

“The factory owner said he would comply with the workers' demands, but he forced them to go home,” said another person who witnessed this latest mass action by Burmese workers.

In recent months, workers employed by factories in Burma's commercial capital have shown growing dissatisfaction with stagnant wages, as inflation continues to erode the value of their earnings, most of which are spent on the purchase of basic commodities.

Meanwhile, there were also reports that several thousand factory workers in Shwepyithar Township, on the western outskirts of Rangoon, also staged a sit-in on Friday to demand higher wages and better working conditions.

Labor Ministry representatives were involved in negotiations between the workers and the factory management, the reports said.

According to a senior official from the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), the unrest is related to recent pay hikes for government employees. Public servants' monthly salaries were raised by a flat rate of 20,000 kyat ($20) in January.

The UMFCCI senior official said that the wages of garment factory workers are significantly lower than that of workers in Cambodia and Vietnam.

“The basic monthly salary of workers here is US $30-50, while workers in Cambodia and Vietnam are earning at least $120 a month,” he said.

A general view of the conditions of women in Asian countries

prachatai — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:18:20 +0000

Asian Human Rights Commission

Today the world is looking to women for change in what remains a situation that offends human rights on a daily basis. In its work as a listener and voice to claims of human rights violations, the Asian Human Rights Commission regularly quotes statistics such as in Madhya Pradesh, India, 67% of the people live below the poverty line and 60% of the children are undernourished while 73.9% of tribal women are anaemic. In various statements and Urgent Appeals the AHRC has reported five women were buried alive in Pakistan and a girl was mauled by the dogs, in Thailand, there was impunity for the influential perpetrator of a rape and murder, and even crimes of a medieval nature; in Nepal police fail to charge those who accused a Dalit woman of witchcraft and forced her to eat human excreta. Out of the deluge of cases comes a clear pattern of abuse against society’s most vulnerable and they are kept vulnerable through lack of education, inequality and fair employment opportunities. In Sri Lanka where reports of forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, endemic torture and problems of displaced persons are common, the women remain the main victims directly or indirectly.

Malaysian women suffer lashings; Pakistani women suffer Jirga trials and honour killings; Bengali women suffer the abuses and sexual harassment of the Border Security Forces; in Myanmar women are conscripted to forced labour by the military, forced to carry heavy loads, do dangerous unpaid work, and to leave their children unsupervised. South East Asian women suffer trafficking and forced prostitution; in Indian and Sri Lankan women suffer a corrupt police force.

It is only worth generalising such abuses when a pattern is revealed that makes it clear to a government the areas in which they are failing. Patterns experienced in Asia include abuse of power by the police and societal suppression in reporting crimes. Both of which indicate an entrenched mindset based firmly against the female and her fundamental rights.

The World Economic Forum’s ‘Global Gender Gap Report,’ is a framework for understanding the magnitude and depth of gender-based disparities between countries. The Index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, educational and health-based criteria and provides rankings that allow for comparisons across the 134 countries. According to this report, Asian countries, particularly South Asian countries, fared poorly. In comparison to the other countries involved in this report, Bangladesh ranked 93rd, with economic empowerment coming at 121, health at 127 and political empowerment at 17. Nepal fared similarly poorly, coming in at 110th overall, with economic empowerment at 116, health at 123 and political empowerment at 35. India was ahead, but not by far, at the 114th rank. India’s economic empowerment ranking came in at 127, health at 134 and political empowerment at 24. Pakistan fared worst in Asia, with an overall standing of 132. Economic empowerment also stood at 132, health at 128 and political empowerment at 55.

With these statistics in mind, we must concede that although the International Day of Women began as one in which women are reminded of the battles they have fought, the achievements that have been won, and the small, but certain, steps that have been taken, it is clear that it is still just the beginning. Women in the Asian countries still suffer under the hands of their families and wider society, including state officials and police officers. It is clear that a revolution of values from both the ground up and the top down is utterly essential if the situation is to change. Without an unlearning of denigration, empowerment and dignity will have no space to flourish in these societies.

A further obstacle for the fate of women in Asia is poor rule of law and the failure to implement legislation. Pakistani legislation already in existence makes domestic violence, sexual harassment in the workplace, arranged marriage, and honour killings illegal. Yet all are common practice as laws remain in word only as Parliament fails to alter the mindset of the people. On the other hand, accepted Sharia law such as the Zina Ordinance allow single men and women to be flogged for adultery and married men and women to be stoned. In many cases, a woman who makes an allegation of rape is convicted for adultery while the rapist is acquitted.

One of the indicators for food security in a country is child malnutrition and maternal mortality. According to the Global Hunger Index 2009, most of the developing countries in Asia, particularly South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, have a high rate of child malnutrition and child and maternal mortality. These high numbers can be culturally interpreted in an Asian context and linked to other social problems.

The social groups that are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity are low caste and tribal or indigenous people living in rural areas who do not have regular income sources such as farmland. Women in rural areas engage in often physically taxing labour, while also taking primary responsibility for the care of their homes and children. Women are often excluded from various social activities which would allow them to increase their standing in society, such as education. Wives eat less food than their husbands do, while female children eat less than male children do. As reported by the AHRC Hunger Alerts, mothers and their daughters suffer visibly from this gender inequality in food security.

The exclusion of women from activities, in education in particular, has an effect on increasing hunger and malnutrition. Women’s participation in education and other social activities, including various economic activities, can play a significant role to reduce child malnutrition and poverty. The Gender Gap Index 2008 shows large gaps in South Asia particularly Pakistan, which has the 87th biggest gap among 90 countries, proving a correlation between food insecurity and gender inequality.

The women of Bangladesh are vulnerable to governmental, familial and political forces and face violence at the hands of their families, work colleagues and government officials, regardless of the strata of society that they inhabit. Violence against women that takes place within the family is mostly related to a culture of forcing women to pay dowries to their in-laws and husbands. Failure to pay the demanded dowry often results in brutal beatings and even death at the hands of the woman’s in-laws and her husband.

Neither are the lives of women secured in society. Women frequently become the victims of acid attacks and unlawful arbitration, which is widely known as “fatwa” in the country, by uneducated so-called religious leaders of the Muslim community. Such illegal arbitration interferes into the events of marital or extra-marital relationships of couples in urban areas and for the most part, victimizes women. As a result of the failure of law enforcement agencies to protect and uphold citizens’ rights, women, particularly poor women, suffer greatly. For example, Ms. Reshma suffered an acid attack in her home under Koyra police station in Khuna district. The One-Stop Crisis Centre (OCC) of the Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH) examined Reshma and ascertained the identity of the perpetrator. But, the Investigating Officer of the Koyra police, Sub Inspector Abul Hashem, insisted that Reshma withdraw her case and marry her attacker. The police officer was also allegedly seen having refreshments and gossiping with the alleged perpetrator as well as his associates who had connections with the leaders of the country’s ruling political party. For more details, please see the following link: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2009/3300/

Later, the police submitted an investigation report claiming that the complaint of an acid attack was false. Once again, it is clear that such attacks are a concrete representation of the denigration of women in Bangladeshi society. The AHRC calls upon the government of Bangladesh to stringently enforce their laws on acid attacks, so that perpetrators such as Ms. Reshma’s attacker are not able to use political clout to escape their sanctions.

There have been a few legislations criminalizing violence against women, including dowry and acid throwing, however, the situation remains unchanged due to loopholes within the laws as well as an attitude of negligence by the state officials to improve the situation. For around two decades now, the position of Prime Minister or the leader of the Opposition in the Parliament has been occupied by women. This, along with the presence of a few dozen female parliamentarians, due to the government’s policy of reserving seats for women in those institutions, has led to the idea that the status of women in Bangladeshi society is improving. However, not enough of the women who are in positions of leadership challenge the patriarchal systems which the country runs upon, but instead replicate and serve to validate the oppression of other women.

According to the Asean Inter Parliamentary Myanmar (BURMA) caucus on the general situation of women in Burma, the women continue to organize and fight for their rights. Women’s publications and documentation of human rights abuses have brought international attention to their situation.

The Asean inter parliamentary caucus points out that the women are conscripted to forced labour by the military, forced to carry heavy loads, do dangerous unpaid work, and to leave their children unsupervised. Military personnel continue to rape women without fear of retribution. They are unprotected from physical and sexual violence at work, in public places, and in their own homes. The women and girls are being forced into exploitative sex work, unprotected from violence and sexually transmitted infection. The girls are leaving school to take care of younger siblings, and working to help feed their families.

While the regime has signed up to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), women are getting hungrier, sicker and dying younger.

Medical malpractice is a hot topic in Burma these days after a teenage girl died due to a misdiagnosis last year. The public hospitals are chronically under-funded and understaffed and complaints of personnel demanding money for services are common. According to speakers on a short-wave radio station following this case, the hospital concerned also has a reputation for denying patients treatment unless they pay up; even pregnant women in danger of miscarriage have reportedly been told to pay large sums or go elsewhere. Staff at the hospital are also alleged to steal supplies and sell them on the black market.

Most of the political prisoners have no legal right for self protection such as not being allowed to have lawyers and no opportunity to meet and consult with legal advisors. On 15 August 2009 two police officers took 46-year-old Ms. Ma Mar Mar Aye from her house and on August 17 they lodged a charge against Mar Mar Aye for allegedly causing fear and alarm in the public. They also confiscated items from her house, including T-shirts to vote 'No' in the 2008 referendum on a new constitution, and some with Aung San Suu Kyi's picture. She was not represented by a lawyer, was unable to call any witnesses in her defence, and was sentenced to two years imprisonment after a perfunctory hearing.

As regards the educational situation, girls are leaving school to take care of younger siblings and working to help feed their families. Three girls in Burma have been sentenced to a year in jail with hard labour for allegedly selling illegal lottery tickets. When the case against them came to court, the judge reportedly ignored evidence given that the three girls were not yet 16 years old, and should have been tried in a juvenile court.

In India the situation is depressingly similar. The constitution and legislation may be as convincing as in any developed nation, but in a system of selective justice, those laws in place to protect women do not work. And, in the wider terms of social engineering, legislation is one small shuffle towards change.

The case of Sharmila of Manipur, India is by no means symbolic of all the struggles faced by women in India, Sharmila’s struggle is symbolic of the unswerving force of the government to silence women who speak out against the unspeakable violence it enacts on innocent civilians everyday. Sharmila has been on an indefinite fast since November 2000 protesting for the withdrawal of the martial law, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) from the Indian state of Manipur. She began her fast after the Malom massacre when ten innocent people were gunned down by the personnel of the Assam Rifles, a para-military force operating in the region, as they were waiting for the bus at the Malom bus stand.

On the third day of her fast, failing to admit defeat but fearing adverse political repercussion, the government arrested and detained Sharmila. Their reasoning for this is Section 309, a provision in the Indian Penal Code that penalizes any attempt to commit suicide. The government of Manipur is now force-feeding her through a nasogastric tube in her nose. For the past 10 years Sharmila has remained in this state, confined under police custody in her small room in Manipur. The government has not changed their position and Sharmila has refused to stop her fast.

In Nepal the systematic oppression of women at the hands of state officials is a particularly pressing problem. When the powers that are obliged to protect women, and have promised to do so in their Constitution, are continuously involved in the appalling denigration and degradation of women, it is clear that there must be a re-education and revitalization of governmental and civilian values and attitudes towards women. One case which speaks to this is that of Maina Sunuwar. Four military officers were accused of having illegally arrested, raped and tortured this 15-year-old girl to death on 17 February 2004. Despite the enormous national and international attention this case has received and the recent repatriation of one of the accused from the UN Peacekeeping operations in Chad, the perpetrators have not yet undergone prosecution. The AHRC has been reporting regularly on this case since 2005 and since that time, little progress has been made in obtaining justice for the victim's family. This case has become emblematic of the malfunctioning justice and police system in Nepal, and of the complete absence of accountability of those who committed human rights violations during the conflict with the Maoists. Furthermore, it speaks to the lack of worth that the government places on a young woman’s life. If this young woman is being treated as expendable, and is still, despite her case receiving national and international attention, being ignored by state officials, it is clear that there are countless women disappearing through the cracks of this country’s justice system.

In Pakistan the enforced disappearances of women were introduced by the military government of General Musharraf. According to the missing person’s list around 148 women are missing after the aerial bombardment during the 2005 military action in Balochistan. The women are also run as sex slaves in military torture cells. The case of Zarina Baloch who was abducted from Balochistan province and kept in a military torture cell at Karachi, capital of Sindh is one such example. Please see the link: http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2009statements/1843/.

The case of acid attacks in Pakistan, which the AHRC covered in 2010, is violence against the concept of womanhood. The acid, often targeted at the face, aims to take away the very face of 'woman'. While the landmark January 26th, 2010, bill (Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Act) submitted to the National Assembly of Pakistan, calls for harsher punishments for attackers and a regulation of the sale and purchase of acid, the reality remains that a legislative process takes years to pass, and fails to address the embedded cultural gender issues.

Laws are not sufficient to protect women against centuries-old traditions. This can be changed only through a comprehensive process that includes the disassembly of Jirgas, the effective implementation of the rule of law in every region of the country and the reform of the judiciary and the police to stop impunity. This requires a strong political will. Structural changes also have to be made, such as a better representation of women in state and public offices. These are just some of the measures that could be taken in order to deliver Pakistani women from old tribal traditions. For the report on Pakistani women please go to this link: http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2010statements/2456/.

Sri Lanka today is a land of forced disappearances, large scale extrajudicial killings, endemic torture and every kind of violence. In all acts of violence it is the women who are the direct or indirect victims. What is worse is that there is no one to hear their cry. Added to the lawlessness that creates violence is the collapsed system of justice which fails to investigate or to provide redress for the cruelties, injustices and endless crimes.

Sri Lanka is essentially a land without redress. The judicial system is a powerless one. An executive presidential system in which the chief executive enjoys absolute power like a feudal monarch has reduced the judiciary to an onlooker’s role. The parliament has been subordinated to this overall system of presidential power. The policing system no longer carries out its role of law enforcement and the responsibility to uphold the rule of law. While all women in the country suffer helplessly within this situation the worst to suffer are those of the minorities. In the north and the east today there is hardly any kind of governance and the type of warlord-like behaviour has reduced the population to powerlessness. The kidnapping of children for ransom is a symbol of the lawlessness in these parts of the country.

Thus, in the midst of overwhelming violence with no possibilities of legal redress the rights relating to women remain only a pious hope. Large numbers of women migrate to other countries mostly to do menial work as domestic helpers so as to sustain their families. They are among the persons who contribute most to the country’s foreign exchange resources. However, their rights are not recognised within the country and the government takes no responsibility for their protection while they are abroad. Some have faced criminal charges in foreign courts often for no offense on their part but the Sri Lankan government take no responsibility to provide legal protection for them. The International Women's Day is a reminder of the state’s failure to protect any of the rights of women.

For further information please refer to the article SRI LANKA: Cry of three women and water canon in the streets which may be seen at: http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2010statements/2410/.

International Women’s Day is as much about honouring women of courage and conviction as it is about giving voice to their suffering. The theme for the International Labour Organization’s 2010 celebration is "What’s working for working women?” this is a theme worthy of profound reflection by everyone.

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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

High Commissioner speaks out against domestic violence and "honour killing" on occasion of International Women's Day

prachatai — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:08:37 +0000

Following is the statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, which is commemorated on 8 March 2010:

"It has been estimated that as many as one in three women across the world has been beaten, raped or otherwise abused during the course of her lifetime. And the most common source of such violence comes from within the family. Amongst the most extreme forms of abuse is what is known as ‘honour killing’.

Most of the 5,000 honour killings reported to take place every year around the world do not make the news, nor do the other myriad forms of violence inflicted on women and girls by husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, uncles and other male – and sometimes even female – family members.

In the name of preserving family ‘honour,’ women and girls are shot, stoned, burned, buried alive, strangled, smothered and knifed to death with horrifying regularity.

The reasons for these murders vary. They may be committed because the victim is considered to have breached family or community norms with respect to sexual conduct, or simply because a woman has expressed a desire to pick a husband of her own choice, or wishes to divorce or claim inheritance. Most perversely, rape victims are sometimes viewed as having ‘dishonored’ their families and are killed by them as a means of erasing the stigma, while the men who raped them often escape lightly.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that in a number of countries domestic legal systems, including through discriminatory laws, still fully or partially exempt individuals guilty of honor killings from punishment. Perpetrators may even be treated with admiration and given special status within their communities.

Honour killings are, however, not something that can be simply brushed aside as some bizarre and retrograde atrocity that happens somewhere else. They are an extreme symptom of discrimination against women, which – including other forms of domestic violence – is a plague that affects every country.

For many women and girls, the family life that is supposed to be productive, protective and harmonious is little more than a myth. Instead, for such females, family life means physical, sexual, emotional or economic violence at the hands of an intimate partner or other family members. Domestic violence typically involves punches, kicks and slaps, or assaults with objects or weapons. It also frequently involves persistent belittlement and humiliation, and often includes the isolation of women from traditional supporters such as other family members and friends. Sometimes it may involve forced participation in degrading sexual acts, rape and homicide. Some women, who resist an arranged marriage, are locked up by their families for long periods until their will is broken and they agree to marry the man who has been chosen for them.

It is often argued that economic independence and empowerment of women in general are the best way to combat domestic violence – and rightly so. The main reason cited by women for not leaving abusive relationships remains the lack of financial autonomy and access to a safe home.

However, too much reliance on these solutions disguises the depth and complexity of the problem: domestic violence has also been on the rise in countries where women have achieved a considerable degree of economic independence. Successful business-women, and female parliamentarians, lawyers, doctors, journalists and academics have all been known to lead double-lives – applauded in public and abused in private.

The reality for most victims, including victims of honor killings, is that state institutions fail them and that most perpetrators of domestic violence can rely on a culture of impunity for the acts they commit – acts which would often be considered as crimes, and be punished as such, if they were committed against strangers.

Traditionally, there has been some debate around the issue of state responsibility for acts committed in the private sphere. Some have argued, and continue to argue, that family violence is placed outside the conceptual framework of international human rights. However, under international laws and standards, there is a clear State responsibility to uphold women’s rights and ensure freedom from discrimination, which includes the responsibility to prevent, protect and provide redress – regardless of sex, and regardless of a person’s status in the family.”