Inés and Valentia

The case of Inés and Valentina were featured in December's Global Write-a-thon and was slated to be a Get On The Bus 2012 action.

From Amnesty International:

Indigenous women Inés Fernández Ortega and Valentina Rosendo Cantú were raped by Mexican soldiers in 2002. Although they were brave enough to report the attacks to the authorities and to follow up their cases, no substantive investigation has taken place and no-one has been brought to justice. The stories of Inés Fernández and Valentina Rosendo represent the stories of several other Indigenous women who have suffered sexual violence at the hands of members of the Mexican military and whose cases remain in impunity. In August 2010 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the Mexican state to investigate the human rights violations against Inés Fernández and Valentina Rosendo, bring those responsible to account, provide adequate reparation and take steps to ensure that these violations will not be repeated in the future. The Court also ordered Mexico to end the application of military jurisdiction in cases of human rights violations committed by members of the military. 

Inés Fernández, Valentina Rosendo and their families have suffered acts of intimidation in an apparent attempt to stop the two women from publicising their case and demanding justice. In the most recent incident, on 28 August 2010, a daughter of Inés Fernández was accosted by two men in the nearby town of Ayutla de Los Libres. The two men threatened the Fernández family with death if they remained in Ayutla. The Inter-American Court had ordered the Mexican government to guarantee the safety of Inés Fernández and her family on 7 April 2009 but the protection measures have not been fully implemented.

On December 15 of last year, the Mexican government made a public acknowledgement of responsibility, a big step in the right direction. Stay tuned for updates on how this will affect the GOTB action.

Full story here (Spanish).

More good news from Burma

According to Irrawaddy.com, as many as 200 prisoners were released Friday in Burma under a new presidential pardon. Among the prisoners released was would-be Get On The Bus 2012 priority action U Khun Htun Oo, whose case was adopted by Group 133 last year.

Pro-democracy activist Htay Kywe was among those released from prison yesterday in Burma.

From Irrawaddy.com (full story here):

Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Htay Kywe, Mya Aye and Nilar Thein are among 650 prisoners released on Friday under a new presidential pardon. 

Family members of political prisoners told The Irrawaddy on Friday that they were informed by the authorities that their relatives are on the list of freed prisoners. It was also reported that former Burma spy chief Khin Nyunt and intelligent official ex-Col San Pwint have also been released, as were ethnic political prisoners including Hkun Htun Oo and prominent Buddhist monk U Gambira, who was an organizer of the 2007 'Saffron Revolution.” Journalists including Zaw Thet Htwe were also freed. 

Speaking with The Irrawaddy on Friday from outside Thayawady prison, Nilar Thein, said, “I’m happy, and I will be very happy to see my family. We will get involved in democratic reform with Auntie [Aung San Suu Kyi].” 

“The reforms introduced by President Thein Sein and Auntie Suu are what we have so long been waiting for. But we have to work harder for the remaining colleagues who are still in prison. If all of them are released, that will be a beautiful image for all of us,” she said. 

[...] 

Amnesties under the new government that freed more than 27,000 convicts since last May were disappointing as they included only 200 or so political detainees. The current estimate of political prisoners ranges from about 600 to 1,500, though the government insists no one falls into the category because they are simply criminal convicts. 

The government TV announcement read on Thursday: “For the sake of state peace and stability, national consolidation and to enable everyone to participate in political process and on humanitarian grounds, the government will grant amnesty to 651 prisoners so that they can take part in nation building.”  

More coverage on Amnesty International USA:

But as more than a thousand political prisoners may remain behind bars, many of whom are prisoners of conscience, the amnesty must continue until all are freed according to Amnesty International.  

"This release of political prisoners is a major step forward, but more must be released," said T. Kumar, Amnesty International USA's director of international advocacy. There were high expectations that all political prisoners would be released following Secretary Hillary Clinton's landmark visit to Myanmar in December 2011. Yet, more than a month has passed, and there may be more than one thousand political prisoners still in custody. Secretary Clinton should insist that all prisoners of conscience be released immediately and urge the Burmese authorities to lift any conditions attached to the released prisoners."

Progress in Burma

Yesterday, from NPR:

The United States announced Friday that it will exchange ambassadors with Myanmar, also known as Burma, partly in response to the release of hundreds of political prisoners there. This is the latest development in what appears to be a dramatic turnaround for the repressive government in that Southeast Asian nation. President Obama calls the prisoner release "a substantial step forward for democratic reform." Currently, the U.S. Embassy is headed by a charge d'affaires rather than an ambassador.

The rest of the story here.

Focus on Sri Lanka Action

At last night's Group 133 meeting a Group 133 member and GOTB coordinator gave a presentation detailing the GOTB 2011 Sri Lanka action, including the actions "asks," the current situation in Sri Lanka and background and history regarding the 30 year civil war.

Some History:

Sri Lanka is an island nation off the southeastern coast of India. The island was occupied for some 2,000 years by the neighboring Sinhalese and Tamil kingdoms, but like many of the island's neighbors, Sri Lanka (or Ceylon, as it was then known), eventually came under the influence of European colonial powers. The Portuguese arrived in the early 1500s, then the Dutch in the 17th Century, and eventually the British annexed the territory in the 1800s. After World War II, during the decline of colonialism, Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, however, the island which had traditionally been ruled by separate kingdoms, was now under one government, the majority of which was Sinhalese.

Independence:
A pattern of Sinhalese discrimination against the Tamil majority began early in the newly independent nation. In 1949, Sinhalese began colonization of Tamil territories in the north and east of the island, in 1956, the government named Sinhalese the sole, official language of the country. In 1970, the government began a policy of "ethnic standardization," severely limiting access to higher education for Tamil students. By this time, peaceful protests and demonstrations of Tamil people were met with violence by the government. During the 1970s and 80s, Tamil militant groups began forming, most notably, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or "Tamil Tigers." While the Tamil Tigers primarily targeted Sinhalese military targets, they also conducted targeted political killings, even killing Tamil government officials or academics they considered to be "traitors" to the Tamil cause.

Civil War:
Between 1983 and 2009, the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government battled while civilians were often caught in the crossfire. Both sides are accused of committed war crimes, particularly during the final stages of the war in 2009. These include the use of child soldiers and attacks on civilians by the Tamil Tigers, and extra-judicial executions, carpet bombing and indiscriminate massacres of civilians and Tamil fighters by the Sri Lankan government. Ultimately, the war left up to 40,000 civilians dead and some 300,000 people displaced.

"The war has ended - not the conflict."
Although the Sri Lankan government militarily defeated the Tamil Tigers in 2009, troubles continue for the Sri Lankan people.  A climate of repression continues in the country, particularly for journalists; politically motivated killings continue with no investigations. Humanitarian NGOs are very restricted in their work: the Red Cross is restricted from working in the north, and other NGOs are allowed only to deliver material goods and restricted from provided psychological support, community rebuilding, addressing women's needs or searching for missing persons.

GOTB 2011 Sri Lanka Action:
The 2011 Get On The Bus Sri Lanka Action will call on the UN to launch an investigation into war crimes committed during the civil war by both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers (LTTE).

The pressure for an investigation into war crimes is high right now, making a GOTB action on this issue all the more relevant. Pressure is especially high after the release of an execution video in November of last year.

As I posted in my December 28 post, there is currently a three-person panel investigating alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the war. This panel will report back to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with their recommendations for possible future actions.

For more information:

• International Crisi Group - Sri Lanka
• Amnesty International USA - Sri Lanka (lots of resources and action information)
• Human Rights Watch - Sri Lanka (news and downloadable PDF reports)
• UNHCR - Sri Lanka country profile
• UN Human Rights Commission - Sri Lanka
• The ICRC in Sri Lanka
• WFP - Sri Lanka
• BBC News - Country Profile: Sri Lanka
• CBC News - The History of Sri Lanka 
• Reporters without Borders | Reporters Sans Frontières - Sri Lanka
• Committee to Protect Journalists - Sri Lanka

A Get On The Bus Success Story

One of the actions of the 2010 Get On The Bus event included demonstrating outside the Sri Lankan Mission to the United Nations and calling for the immediate and unconditional release of J.S. Tissainayagam.

J.S. Tissainayagam, or "Tissa," a Sri Lankan journalist, was arbitrarily detained by the police in Colombo on March 7, 2008 and subsequently indicted five months later. Under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, two articles written by Tissa which criticized the government's conduct in war against the Tamil Tigers, were used to convict and sentence him to 30 years hard labor. In May of 2009, President Barack Obama specified Tissa as an "emblematic example" of the unfortunate truth of mistreatment of journalists.

On August 31, 2009, he was convicted and sentenced to 30 years rigorous imprisonment, but Tissa appealed his conviction. On January 11, 2010, the court granted his request to be released on bail while his appeal was pending. Amnesty International considered him to be a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely in connection with his journalistic activities.

On May 3, 2010, the Sri Lankan government announced that President Rajapaksa had planned to grant him a pardon, but the pardon had not yet been issued. The long-awaited presidential pardon was finally issued in mid-June. J.S. Tissainayagam left Sri Lanka and entered the United States on June 19, 2010. Thanks to those who took action on his behalf.

(Tissa speaking at the 2010 Amnesty International Northeast Regional Conference in November at Boston University.)

You can read about more Get On The Bus success stories and history on the GOTB web site.

Ma Khin Khin Leh is Now Free!

After almost a decade in prison, Burmese prisoner of conscience Ma Khin Khin Leh was released by the Myanmar authorities last Saturday, February 21st. Since 1999, Ma Khin Khin Leh, a school teacher, had been imprisoned due to her family’s pro-democracy work. She and her husband, Kyaw Wunna, were organizing a peaceful demonstration in Bago. Days before the planned demonstration, authorities came to arrest her husband. While Kyaw Wunna was not there, authorities did find Ma Khin Khin Leh and the couple's three-year old daughter, Thaint Whunna Khin. Ma Khin Khin Leh and her daughter both were arrested. Thaint Whunna Khin was held for five days, and became the one of the world’s youngest political prisoners. Ma Khin Khin Leh was given a life sentence, and served almost 10 years before her release last week.

Ma Khin Khin Leh, along with Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Tin, was featured in last year’s Get on the Bus action. Since Get on the Bus 2008, both Ma Khin Khin Leh and U Win Tin, Myanmar’s longest held prisoner of conscience, have been released. Unfortunately, Aung San Suu Kyi, the nation’s democratically elected leader, remains under house arrest.

Thank you for all of your work to help free Ma Khin Khin Leh. Now that she is free, let’s use our powerful energy to call for the unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi and the estimated 2,100 remaining political prisoners in Myanmar!

Please go to http://www.amnestyusa.org/individuals-at-risk/priority-cases/aung-san-suu-kyi-and-ma-khin-khin-leh/page.do?id=1101239 for more details about Ma Khin Khin Leh and Aung San Suu Kyi.