Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) Manila, Philippines 2013 Only courageous hearts would have the daringness to publish these concrete accounts of disappearances. We feel the hunger for truth and the thirst for justice. Yet hope is the real message… that there is something we can all do --- to think, to feel, to cry and to pray in unity with the victims and their families. ‘Faith that does nothing in practice, it is thoroughly lifeless.’ (James 2:17 ) EDITA T. BURGOS, Ed.D Mother of Filipino desaparecido, Jonas Burgos Beyond Tears and Borders bears evocative witness to the harrowing terrain of enforced disappearances. Beyond Tears and Borders records the effects of disappearances that tear at the social fabric, compelling our attention to those marginalized by conflict, war, neglect, and brutality across Asia. Beyond Tears and Borders is an acknowledgement of the sustained and inspiring work undertaken by families and communities that contend with the effects of involuntary disappearances of those they knew and hold dear, and that of allied groups, commissions, and institutions. In charting the requirements of justice and accountability, Beyond Tears and Borders offers a powerful reminder that those who have been forcibly disappeared have not ceased to exist. ANGANA CHATTERJI Scholar-advocate. Her publications include, Violent Gods: Hindu Nationalism in India’s Present; Narratives from Orissa (2009); Contesting Nation: Gendered Violence in South Asia; Notes on the Postcolonial Present (co- edited, 2013). Beyond Tears and Borders represents a systematic perspective of the phenomenon of enforced disappearance in the Asian region. It covers historical, legal and human aspects of the crime. Accurate data collected over the decades is intertwined in the book with stories of struggle against uncertainty and injustice. In the contemporary context where enforced disappearance has finally been acknowledged as the crime against humanity, and where the legal instruments of protection against are only starting to function, Beyond Tears and Borders represents a priceless source of background information. An inspiring work of a dedicated team! IRINA KRASOVSKAYA President, We Remember-Belarus Contributors Sisto dos Santos, Perkumpulan HAK, Timor-Leste David Fau, KontraS-IKOHI, Indonesia Brito Fernando, Families of the Disappeared (FOD), Sri Lanka Rabindra Gautam, Advocacy Forum (AF), Nepal Justice for Peace Foundation (JPF), Thailand Lilian Lee, Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR), South Korea Kevin Mandrilla, AFAD Secretariat, Philippines Parvaiz Matta, Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), Jammu and Kashmir-India Odhikar, Bangladesh ISBN: 978-971-92451-2-4 Beyond tears and borders: Tracking enforced disappearances A compilation of country situation reports in nine countries in Asia Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) Manila, Philippines 2013 The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) extends its appreciation to individuals and organizations who provided support in the publication of Beyond Tears and Borders. The Federation recognizes the valuable contribution of Angkhana Neelaphaijit, NIlda Lagman-Sevilla, Nadeeshani Malingala, Sazzad Hussain, Ed Gerlock, Ruki Fernando, Irina Krasovskaya, Angana Chatterji, Edita Burgos, the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearances (FIND), the OAK Foundation, the Open Society Foundation, the members of AFAD Secretariat, Executive Council and Council Members. Editorial team Mary Aileen D. Bacalso Candy C. Diez Jan Merck A. Maguddayao Copyright 2013 by AFAD Published by: Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) Rms. 310-311 Philippine Social Science Center Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1103 Phone: 63 2 490 7862 Fax: 63 2 454 6759 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.afad-online.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afad.online Twitter: Afad_updates The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) is a federation of human rights organizations working directly on the issue of involuntary disappearances in Asia. Envisioning a world without desaparecidos, the Federation was established based on the common phenomena of enforced or involuntary disappearances in many Asian countries and the imperative of regional and international solidarity in order to strongly respond to the problem. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Any part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical provided that the publisher is acknowledged and notified. Contents Foreword .......................................................................................................... v In the Name of National Security: Enforced Disappearances in Bangladesh ..... 1 A Grim Picture of Terror: Abductions perpetrated by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) against citizens of the Republic of Korea (ROK) by Lilian Lee ................................................................................................ 5 Jammu and Kashmir, India: Enforced Disappearances and APDP’s Untiring Campaign in 2012 by Parvaiz Matta ............................ 9 From the New Order To the Reform Era: Enforced Disappearances in Indonesia by David Fau .......................................................................... 15 Ugly Scars of Enforced Disappearances: Amidst Nepal’s Dismal Political Situation by Rabindra Gautam ...................................................... 24 From Wrath to Promise: Enforced Disappearance in the Philippines by Kevin Mandrilla .................................................................................... 30 The Vicious Cycle of Impunity: Enforced Disappearances in Sri Lanka by Brito Fernando ....................................................................................... 39 A Deeper Look at Enforced Disappearances in Thailand (An excerpt from the Justice for Peace Foundation Report on Enforced Disappearances in Thailand) by Justice for Peace Foundation ................................................................................. 45 From a Dark and Brutal History: Enforced Disappearances in Timor-Leste by Sisto dos Santos ............................................................. 53 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 58 Annex 1: Statistical summary: cases of enforced or involuntary disappearance reported to the Working Group between 1980 and 2012, pp 127-132 ........................................................ 66 Annex 2: Status of UN WGEID requests for visits (Based on the UN WGEID 2012 Report) ..................................................... 72 iii Foreword By Mary Aileen D. Bacalso “Beyond Tears and Borders,” the fourth book of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), is launched on the occasion of the 2013 commemoration of the International Day of the Disappeared. The book serves as a fitting tribute to all the desaparecidos of the world and their suffering families. It attempts to present the updated phenomenon of enforced disappearances in countries where there is an AFAD presence. A regional situation in Asia and a global An integral part of the Federation’s Research phenomenon at that, the malady that is enforced and Documentation work, the book attempts to disappearance presented in this book urged convey the message that enforced disappearances the United Nations to adopt the International occurred and continue to occur in the vast Asian Convention for the Protection of All Persons from continent in the context of a poor human rights Enforced Disappearance (Convention).The book record worsened by the absence of strong regional elucidates that, except for Thailand and Indonesia human rights mechanisms for protection and which have both signed the Convention and are where empowerment of the victims is found, sadly, in the process of ratification, the rest of the Asian wanting. countries where AFAD has member-organizations The book attempts to chronicle the history of and partners have not yet signed, much less enforced disappearances in Bangladesh, Jammu acceded to it. It is notable, though, that on 21 and Kashmir in India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, December 2012, the Philippines enacted the first South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste. law against enforced disappearances in Asia, Against the backdrop of internal conflict and post through the Republic Act 10353. On 12 February conflict situations, of post dictatorship and war 2013, it promulgated the law’s Implementing Rules against terrorism, each article presents the evil and Regulations. Such an exemplary development that is enforced disappearance and the concerned in Asia serves as an inspiration to other states to government’s contribution to resolve and/or also penalize enforced disappearances within their aggravate the problem. domestic laws. The scourge of enforced disappearance is The substance of the book is part of building reflected in the figures mentioned in each article; strongly the foundation for AFAD’s relentless in the sufferings of the victims’ families amidst campaign for the eventual revelation of the hidden the callousness of the perpetrators; in the states’ truth, for the realization of the elusive justice, for explicit or tacit policies to stifle dissent and in reparation of a rather irreparable damage and for the chilling atmosphere of impunity. Behind the the