Have you ever been arrested or convicted for taking part in a flag ceremony? Ask Filep Karma.

After attending an annual Papuan independence flag ceremony, which the police violently cracked down, Filep Karma was charged and convicted of rebellion (under Article 106 and 110 of the Indonesia Criminal Code for rebellion)  in 2005 and is serving 15 years in prison as YOU(th) are reading this.

As young people in Asia Pacific, YOU(th) can do something for Filep Karma.

Got 3 seconds?
Just add your name to the form and we will send your letter to the Attorney General.

Got 3 minutes?
Add your name to the form AND share it with your friends!

Mr. Basrief Arief
Attorney General
J1. Sultan Hasanuddin No.1
Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Seltan 12130
Indonesia
Fax: +62 21 725 0213

Dear Attorney General,
I am writing to express my concern for Filep Karma, a man charged and convicted of rebellion in 2005 after taking part in an annual ceremony at which a Papuan independence flag was raised.

I am writing to urge you to:

• charge him with an internationally recognizable criminal offence or immediately and unconditionally release him, as he was originally imprisoned solely for peacefully expressing his views,
• ensure that while in prison, his basic rights to ongoing access to legal counsel, his family and adequate medical care are respected,
  
• ensure that all detention and judicial procedures comply with Indonesia’s obligations under the ICCPR, and
  
• repeal or else amend Articles 106 and 110 of the Criminal Code so that these articles are no longer used to criminalize freedom of expression

Yours sincerely,
[your name], [your age], [your country]

Got 30 minutes?
Use the letter above as a sample and write a letter to the Attorney General and post or fax your letter direct. Ask your friends too do this to.

Did you know? (additional information)

• According to Papua’s Special Autonomy Law, The Morning Star Flag ratified in 2002, the Morning Star flag can only be raised if the Flag of Indonesia is also raised, and is higher than the Morning Star flag.
• Many peaceful political activities are considered a crime in Indonesia
• Activists are denied their freedom of expression
• These repressive laws are especially severe in areas with a history of pro-independence
• As of June 2009, at least 60 people are serving long-term imprisonment for raising or waving peacefully the pro-independence flags in Maluku and Papua

What happened to Filep Karma?

• Hundreds of people were at the flag ceremony on December 1, 2004
• Police fired shots and beat the people with batons
• Police ended the ceremony with force
• Filep Karma was arrested
• The police beat him on their way to the station
• A group of 20 students protested at the station and were also arrested but released afterwards, except for Yusak Pakage
• Filep and Yusak were both charged for rebellion
• While in detention, he has been ill-treated and beaten by prison guards. Although he reported the beating to the police, we do not know if any investigation was taken.
• In May 2005, the court founded them both guilty of ‘betraying’ Indonesia by flying the Papua flag. Filep was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Yusak to 10 years
• On July 2010, Yusak was released after a presidential pardon
• Filep is still in prison.

International Human Rights Day commemorates the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948.
There are many ways to recgonise Human Rights Day , take action today!

• sign an online petition
• update your facebook or twitter status,
• join with APYN,
• volunteer for specific campaigns or initiatives ,
• attend local events in your area by human rights organizations
• tell a friend about what you do to defend human rights or share this
• create a response to ‘what does living with dignity mean to me?’ (like the one above!) and email it to APYN : add your voice
• start a discussion at work or school about why human rights are important

… and so many more ways.

Leave a comment below on how you have recognized Human Rights Day today!

The former “comfort women” are mainly from Asian countries and were forced into sexual servitude to the Japanese Army during the Pacific War.   This crime has been ignored by the government of Japan for more than 60 years.  Young people in this region can play a crucial role over the next 6 months to contribute to justice being delivered.

If you already have some campaign experience and/or are interested in mobilizing people to take action we want to hear from you!

All motivated, pro-active people are welcome to apply.  Please email apyncampaigns@gmail.com for further information.

You can find information about the “comfort women” system by clicking on the links below.

House of Sharing

Comfort Women on Wikipedia

Appeals for Action

일본군 ‘위안부’ 피해여성들의 정의 찾기 캠페인팀에 함께 해요!

일본군 ‘위안부’ 패해 여성들에게 정의를 찾아주기 위한 캠페인 팀을 이끌어갈 새로운 유스를 찾습니다.

일 본군 ‘위안부’ 피해 여성들은 주로 아시아권 국가의 출신으로, 과거 태평양 전쟁 동안 강제로 일본군의 성노예 역할을 강요당했습니다. 그런데 일본 정부는 지금까지 60년이 넘는 시간 동안 자신들의 범죄에 대해 침묵하고 있습니다. 피해 여성들의 잃어버린 정의를 찾아주기 위해서는 앞으로 6개월 간 아시아 지역 젊은 사람들의 역할이 중요합니다.

이미 캠페인 경험을 가지고 있거나 캠페인 활동을 위해 사람들을 조직화 하는 일에 관심이 있는 분이 계시다면 함께 해 주세요!

관심이 있거나 이 활동을 지지하는 모든 사람들의 지원을 환영합니다. 더 많은 정보를 원하실 경우에는 apyncampaigns@gmail.com(영어)로 문의해 주세요.

일본군 ‘위안부’ 피해 여성에 대한 정보는 하단에 링크된 웹페이지를 참고해 주세요.

나눔의 집(영어)

위키피디아 ‘일본군 위안부’

탄원하기(영어)

元”慰安婦”の女性たちのために正義を求めるキャンペーンチームが発足されました。このチームの主体は若者です。私たちと一緒に活動してくれる人を募集します！

元”慰安婦”とは、太平洋戦争のとき日本軍によって性奴隷にされた女性たち（主にアジア）です。この犯罪は６０年以上日本政府に無視され続けています。これからの６ヶ月間、アジア地域やその周辺地域の若者はこの問題に対して正義を実現する重要な役割を果たします。

キャンペーンの経験がある方、またはもっと多くの人にこの問題解決へのアクションを起こさせたい方、ぜひぜひご応募ください！

やる気のある方はどなたでも大歓迎です。詳細についてはapyncampaigns@gmail.comまでご連絡ください！

APYN Japan members asked people to join our petition that demands justice for former “Comfort Women”, and those letters will be sent to the Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. We  collected more than 345 letters in two days!

Speak Japanese? Join APYN Japan now!

アジア･パシフィック・ユース・ネットワーク(ＡＰＹＮ)のクリです(＾＾)ノ

今年の グローバルフェスタ(10月3日と4日)には、難民チームとアムネスティ・ユース・ネットワークと共にＡＰＹＮも出展しました。大テーマは「マイノリテ ィ」でした。

ブースの内容としては、日本の難民状況・移民の不安定な立場・日本に住む外国人と元“従軍慰安婦”です。

難民の状況を伝えるパネル展示、難民や移民についてわかりやすくコンパクトになっているパンフレット、元“従軍慰安婦”の配布資料などを用意しました。販売物にはアムネスティ年次報告書などの書籍、アムネスティ・キ

ャンドル、フェアトレ ードのコーヒー、そしてＡＰＹＮ全支部が協力して作成したビジュアル版世界人権宣言のＤＶＤも販売しました。

従軍慰安婦問題に取り組んでいる私たちＡＰＹＮは、彼女たちのための正義を求める署名活動をやることにしま

した。署名活動も大事 ですが、もうひとつ大事だと思ったのは啓発活動、つまりこの問題についてより多くの人に理解してもらうこと です！

1日目は、大雨の中数百人がアムネスティのブースに来て、ＡＰＹＮが持ってきた200枚の手紙は全部署名済みボックスへ！少し調子を超え二日目は180枚を用意して、全部なくなりました。日本ではこの問題はセ

ンシティブという印象が強く、本当に予想を超える以上の結果となり感動しています。

これからも同じような成果を出せるかどうか分かりませんが、この実績は私を、そしてメンバーを勇気

付けたと思います。同じ目標を持っているアジアの若者が連帯すれば実現可能です。

もうひとつこの問題について考えて欲しいのは、歴史の問題だけではなく紛争地などで今も女性に対して

起き続けている性犯罪に関連しているということです。

ＡＰＹＮはアムネスティの各チームや他の団体と協力しながら、そして楽しみながら若者らしく活動していきたいと思っています！！

私たちに協力してくださったスタッフの方がた、アクションに参加してくれた皆さま、本当にありがとう

ございました。

写真もアップしたので、photosで見てみてください♪

APYN in the Philippines

Asia Pacific Youth Network conducted a series of events and activities  for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17 October)…

(((More Human Rights = Less Poverty)))

Here’s some of what happened…

• Over 135 people donated their Facebook status for the day – it’s not too late! Add your name to donate your facebook status to (((Demand Dignity))) … and some friends of twitter donated their status too! The online action was translated into at least five languages too!
• In Quezon City, The Phillippines: Asia Pacific Youth Network activists conducted a series of event in celebration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. APYN says: (((More Human Rights = Less Poverty)))
• In Thailand, (((Voices’ Activism))) with Ploy and three friends of her individual network, who visited Slum Bang Si and joined two activisim groups call “Sor So Arsa” and “Bangkok Metropolitan Youth Council”. Sor So arsa is a volunteer teacher group. Teaching children in Slum is its job.
• In Thailand too, on the 14th of October, students at the Rumrudee International School ((( made their mark))) with View, check out the video here
• In Nepal, there was an essay competition, a public forum in coalition with parliament members and in  partnership with NGOs to recognize World Food Day.
• In Hong Kong, APYN activists hosted their first street event, where young individuals froze in different poses with yellow umbrellas that had ‘Demand Dignity’ slogans on it. The event was also featured on Singtao Daily.
• In New Zealand, APYN activists created a slum -like settlement, with petitions to sign against forced evictions in Cambodia and space to raise voices to Demand Dignity! They had about 120 petitions letters signed and 17 people responded to their questions “What does living with Dignity mean to me?”. They also featured in a major newspaper in NZ!
• In Malaysia, in light of the Diwali Public Holiday, Oct 17 activities will be held on 31^st October, however youth activists still (((Demanded Dignity))) with friends on Oct 17.
• In Australia, and art exhibition held during September amplified over 200 voices, on the 17th activists hosted a Nationwide Flashmob.

Your activities not listed here? Remember to email your updates to share with your friends!

In the first four months of 2009, Amnesty International documented at least four cases of lawyers who were threatened with violence by the authorities as they defended their clients, at least ten cases where lawyers were hindered from meeting or representing clients, and at least one case in which a lawyer has been detained for doing his work. Lawyers recently have been threatened with denial of the licenses in retaliation for their work on rights defense cases.

To follow are details of several individuals detained in connection with the 1989 protests who are scheduled to be released from prison in the coming years:
Jiang Yaqun was in his forties at the time of his arrest. He was originally sentenced to a suspended death sentence for ‘counter-revolutionary sabotage’. After receiving three sentence reductions, he is scheduled for release from Beijing’s Jinzhong Prison in October 2014.

Li Yujun was originally sentenced to death with a 2-year reprieve for arson, and is detained in Beijing No. 2 Prison. After six sentence reductions, Li is due for release in November 2014.

Zhu Gengsheng was also convicted of ‘counter-revolutionary sabotage’ because he waved a flag while shouting “We win!” on a tank that was set on fire. Zhu was originally sentenced to death with a 2-year reprieve, and is currently jailed at Beijing No. 2 Prison. He has received five sentence reductions, and his scheduled release is due in April 2013.

The following individuals continue to be persecuted by the Chinese authorities for their human rights activism in connection with the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement

Huang Qi, was sentenced to five-years’ imprisonment for hosting an online discussion about the protests in Tiananmen Square. The ‘evidence’ against him included reference to an Amnesty International document about the Tiananmen crackdown which had been posted on his web-site. He was released on 4 June 2005. Following his release, he continued to maintain his website and his human rights work and was detained again in June 2008, apparently for his assistance to five families whose children died in the Sichuan Earthquake last year.

Qi Zhiyong, who was left disabled by a gunshot injury during the 1989 Tiananmen violence, told reporters in a text message on 15 April that he had been detained by the police. It is believed that his detention is associated with the 20th anniversary of the death of Hu Yaobang. Hu’s death marked the beginning of the pro-democracy protests.

Zhou Yongjun, an exiled student leader of the 1989 pro-democracy protests, offers yet another example of arbitrary detention. Zhou Yongjun was sentenced to two-years’ imprisonment for his involvement in the 1989 pro-democracy protests. When he was released, he was exiled to the United States. He returned to China in 1998 when he was sent to Re-education Through Labour for another three years. In a recent attempt to re-enter China via Hong Kong last October, he was again detained by the Chinese authorities in Shenzhen. According to his sister, the Chinese authorities denied any repeated detention of Zhou Yongjun. However, international media including the Associated Press reported in May 2009, that Zhou Yongjun had been formally charged with fraud.