Four Killed in New Violence, Nine Sentenced to Death in Xinjiang

 
Four people, including a police officer, have been killed and several others wounded in fresh violence in China’s troubled Xinjiang region, where nearly a dozen ethnic minority Uyghurs received the death penalty Thursday on terrorism-related charges, according to officials and residents.

The killings occurred in two incidents in Toksu (in Chinese, Xinhe) county in Xinjiang’s Aksu perfecture on May 29, a week after Chinese authorities launched a year-long campaign against terrorism following a deadly attack at a market place in the regional capital Urumqi which left 39 people dead.

In one incident, a police officer and two Uyghur men were killed during a raid on a hideout of “separatists” at Karatagh village in midwestern Xinjiang, home to the mostly Muslim Uyghurs who complain of heavy-handed rule, including curbs on Islamic practices, the village chief said.

In the other case in the same area, a Uyghur man was shot dead over an argument with government enforcement officials after they forced his wife to show her face partly covered by a headscarf, village chief Arup Siyit told RFA’s Uyghur Service.

State security officials in the county said that the police officer was stabbed to death when an eight-man police party raided a house in search of two bomb-making suspects following the discovery of explosives.

“Our investigation team which consisted of eight police officers was attacked by the suspects with knives and sticks,” said Turjan Turghun, an officer of the county state security team.

“Police responded with gunfire, killing the key suspect Imin Tomur, 35, and his brother Rahman Tomur, 37, on the spot and wounding his friend Yasin Osman, 35.”

Accomplice

Tursun Kurban, the head of the security team, said that Rahman Tomur was not related to the bomb-making case but was shot dead because he was an accomplice of the key suspect.

The officials identified the dead police officer as Xi Li, a Han Chinese. Four other police personnel were injured in the raid.

In the other incident, police opened fire after family members of a woman who was forced to remove her headscarf attacked them with sticks, a resident of Karatash village said.

“I heard that the husband was [shot] dead, I don’t know how many were injured,” the resident told RFA. “They tried to take off her scarf but she did not agree to it, triggering the attack by her family, including her husband and brother-in-laws.”

Village chief Siyit said two others were injured in the incident, which occurred when officials were conducting a house-to-house check accompanied by police.

Many Uyghurs say headscarves are a marker of Uyghur rather than Muslim identity.  Chinese authorities, however, discourage the wearing of headscarves, veils, and other Islamic dress in the region.

Death penalty

Chinese state media reported Thursday that the authorities in ethnically divided Xinjiang have sentenced 81 people on terror-related charges — nine of them to death — and made 29 new arrests in a crackdown that followed the May 22 Urumqi attack.

In addition to the nine given the death penalty, three others received the death penalty with a two-year reprieve, Xinhua news agency reported. The names of the suspects who were cited indicated they were Uyghurs.

Authorities in Xinjiang last week sentenced 55 people for offenses including terrorism at a mass sentencing in a stadium attended by about 7,000 people, state media reported. Hundreds of others are reported to have been detained in recent weeks.

Rights groups have expressed concern over the trials of the terror suspects, considering the common use of forced confessions in the Chinese legal system.

"Lack of justice and legal procedure will lead to more people losing their freedom for political reasons," Dilshat Rexit, a spokesman for the exiled World Uyghur Congress, said in a statement, according to Agence France-Presse.

Uyghurs in Xinjiang complain they are being marginalized by an influx of Han Chinese, the dominant ethnic group in China, and that they are subjected to discriminatory and often violent checks and searches, restrictive religious and cultural policies, and a lack of economic opportunity.

Wild cattle spotted in forest

 
The endangered bovine brother of Cambodia’s national animal, the Kouprey, has been caught on camera in Siem Reap, a province where the wild cattle were previously thought to be extinct.
Conservation NGO Fauna and Flora International (FFI) photographed six wild banteng in the northwestern province between October 2013, when monitoring camera traps were set-up, and now, according to information released yesterday.“In this area of Siem Reap province, there have been no recent sightings of banteng,” said Louisa McKerrow, a spokesperson for FFI.

At one time, wild banteng herds roamed throughout Southeast Asia. But since 1996, the cattle species has been listed as globally endangered.There are only 2,000 to 5,000 feral banteng now living in Cambodia’s eastern plains, the largest single remaining population of the species, according to 2013 estimates by World Wildlife Fund, which has numbered the global population at just 5,900 to 11,000. Southeast Asia’s domesticated and hybridised banteng cattle, however, number in the millions.
Cambodia’s banteng census shows an 80 per cent decline in the wild population over the past 24 years. With illegal poaching, habitat destruction, disease and rampant logging all amplifying the risk of the species’ extinction, sightings have become increasingly rare.

“We have not seen one for many years,” said Sok Ratha, Adhoc coordinator for Mondulkiri, where much of the remaining banteng are thought to live. “The forest is the home of wild animals, so . . . when the forest is destroyed, wild animals will move to other provinces or neighboring countries.”
Banteng, which have horns and can weigh up to 800 kilograms, are key to a number of ecological processes, according to Fauna and Flora, including assisting nutrient recycling, influencing plant composition in their grazing areas and serving as a food source for carnivores.
“It is very important for Cambodia to protect its biodiversity through habitat conservation, and the protection of rare and endangered animals like this one is a priority,” said Sao Sopheap, spokesman for the Ministry of the Environment.

Owner of sunken fishing boat to sue China

Mrs. Hoa and her husband.

Video: Chinese vessel attacked Mrs. Hoa's boat
The authorities in Da Nang are assessing damage to the ship DNa 90152 TS fishing vessel, owned by Mrs. Huynh Thi Nhu Hoa, which was rammed by a Chinese fishing ship at 4pm on May 26 in the waters of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa Archipelago (Paracel Islands), about 17 nautical miles from China’s illegal HD-981 oil rig in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone.
Hoa’s boat was salvaged and towed to shore on June 2. The boat was entirely damaged and will be unable to go out to sea again. Hoa said the damage was about VND5 billion ($250,000).
"The boat cannot operate, meaning that my family and dozens of crew members will not have income," Hoa says.

She said that the action of the Chinese fishing boat was inhumane, and caused destruction of property and intentional killing of Vietnamese fishermen. She also says that she will sue the Chinese side to ask them to pay compensation for the damages and to claim justice for the Vietnamese fishermen.
Hoa adds that her family will keep the boat as evidence for the lawsuit against China.
Mr. Tran Van Linh, chair of Da Nang Fisheries Association, says the damaged boat is the evidence for the world to see China’s aggressive acts and confirms that the association will assist Hoa to file the lawsuit.

Linh adds that the ship-owner may consider a civil case or even a criminal case because China's acts can be considered culpable homicide.Lawyer Vu Tien Vinh, director of the Hanoi-based Bao An Law firm, says under the provisions of the Criminal Code, the Chinese ship’s acts are an intentional act to injure and ruin assets.The owner of the sunken ship may file a criminal case to force the Chinese side to accept criminal liability under the laws of Vietnam.According to Article 36 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Hoa may initiate a civil lawsuit for damage compensation to the provincial court where she resides or where the incident occurred.

"In fact, the petitioner may encounter some difficulties in the proceedings and judgment enforcement. However, the judgment of the Vietnam court will be the voice of reason. The public hearing will also be an opportunity for all Vietnamese and the peace-loving people in the world to know the unruly behavior of the Chinese vessels in Vietnam’s waters," says lawyer Vinh.

On May 26, the Chinese ship 11209 rammed the DNa 90152 near a drilling rig China illegally placed in Vietnam’s waters. The Vietnamese trawler had been on a regular fishing voyage when it was deliberately encircled by Chinese fishing vessels and attacked by ship 11209.
The incident occurred at 4pm at a site 17 nautical miles from where China’s Haiyang Shiyou-981 oil rig was illegally standing. The location is the traditional fishing grounds of Vietnamese fishermen in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
All the 10 fishermen on board were rescued by other Vietnamese trawlers.

Lawyer: Vietnam needs int’l support in lawsuit against China

Lawyer Nghia, who is vice president of the Vietnam Bar Federation and a National Assembly deputy, gave the advice when asked about the possibility of Vietnam using legal action against China’s illegal positioning of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone.
He granted an interview to press at the current National Assembly session.
Is it possible to bring China to the International Arbitration Court?
It is certain that China’s claim of sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and its unilateral deployment of the giant floating rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 is a wrongful act. The archipelago belongs to Vietnam. China’s use of force to take control of Hoang Sa in 1975 is illegal but was never recognised internationally.
We have sufficient legal evidence to assert our sovereignty over Hoang Sa, and call on the international community, including international jurisdiction organisations and the United Nations, to reject China’s groundless claim. We should carry on the legal struggle at international forums.
China’s unilateral move goes against the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and this is a legal basis for us to file a lawsuit against China.
Do you think the National Assembly will issue a resolution to clarify Vietnam’s stance?
As far as I know the legislature is ready to do everything in its remit to show it is the most powerful representative body of the people. However, it is still keeping a close eye on the situation and needs more time before making any decision.
A National Assembly decision must demonstrate the people’s will and aspirations, be influential, and support ongoing efforts to demand China withdraw its oil rig from Vietnam’s waters, in order to protect the country’s sovereign right and jurisdiction.
How long do you think the lawsuit will last?
It will certainly last a long time because it follows complex international principles and requires great expertise, both domestically and internationally. Even with a firm legal basis, we still need time to prepare ample evidence, persuasive arguments and supporting materials.
We cannot pursue this legal struggle alone, we need to follow the correct diplomatic channels in line with international law to show that justice is on our side. We also need to strengthen national defence, economic potential and national solidarity, because this is the struggle of the entire Vietnamese people.
In brief, this is a complicated situation that requires wisdom, skills and a high level of expertise, as well as experience from previous struggles. We have learned a lot from our past wars, especially the wars of resistance against French colonialism and American imperialism in the 20th century.
What will happen if Vietnam wins the lawsuit but China still violates Vietnam’s sovereignty?
Nghia: If we win the case, it will be a landslide victory. If China continues its wrongful acts, it will be put at a disadvantage. Chinese people themselves will also disapprove of their leaders’ wrongful acts.
Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos is recognised internationally. However, China, a world power and a UN Security Council member, occupied territory of another country. How can you view China’s move?
In comparison with China, Vietnam is a small nation in terms of economic and defence potential.  Reality shows that big countries intimidate smaller countries in defiance of international law. Vietnam is one of those countries that has fallen victim to this unfair game.
However, the enforcement of the 1982 UNCLOS is considered a victory of small coastal countries, enabling them to enjoy equal rights in disputes with bigger countries.
This requires smaller countries to unite in their struggle and gives Vietnam the chance and possibility to win this dispute. It is undeniable that progressive mankind has a huge strength. By defying international law, domineering countries and their people will be under mounting pressure; they will be boycotted and criticised eventually.
How will Vietnam present its stance at the coming 14th Shangri-la Dialogue? What do you expect from this conference?
I want to make sure that we have justice and the law on our side and that China’s action is illegal. We have to compile convincing arguments internationally, especially in big powers like the US, Russia, and China, and smaller countries like the Philippines and some other ASEAN countries.
Out plight for justice should be frequent and constant. Shangri-la 14 will be a good opportunity for Vietnam to present its case.
Since China placed its oil rig inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone, Vietnamese leaders have expressed their view at many international forums. At the recent World Economic Forum on East Asia in Myanmar, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung reiterated Vietnam’s consistent policy of settling all disputes through peaceful means. He also said Vietnam will do everything in its power to defend its sovereignty if its sacred sovereignty is violated.

South Korea rejects North's fax request to meet fishermen

 

South Korea has rebuffed North Korea's demand to meet two of its fishermen whose boat strayed into the South's waters.Three North Korean fishermen were found Saturday in a boat off South Korea's eastern coast, according to the South's Unification Ministry. Two of the men sought to stay in the South and one expressed a desire to return to his homeland.That fisherman was sent back to North Korea through Panmunjom, the border village in the middle of the Demilitarized Zone on Tuesday, said a Unification Ministry spokesman.The remaining two are expected to be the subject of a South Korean investigation.On Tuesday, North Korea sent a fax, demanding to meet the remaining two fishermen, saying that if their request for a face-to-face meeting was rejected, it would consider the incident "an act of abduction and take firm action."

South Korean officials rejected the request, saying it was "not appropriate... because those two sought to defect to South Korea."North Koreans who come to South Korea typically go through an investigation, then attend a settlement support center called Hanawon. At this center, they are taught how to live in South Korean culture and society. After completing the six-month program, they are given a resettlement fee of up to $24,000.In 2013, more than 1,500 North Koreans are known to have defected to South Korea and more than 26,000 are known to have defected overall.