Missing identified in SW China landslide

Rescuers have identified the five people who went missing after a landslide in southwest China's Guizhou Province. The disaster struck on Monday morning in Longchang Township in the city of Kaili, burying six work sheds.

About 100 meters away from the landslide, there is a coal mine, called Ping Di. When the landslide happened, about 20 coal miners were doing preparation work inside for the restart of work after Chinese New Year. Hearing the loud sound, all of them rushed out safely.

Coal miner of Longchang, Guizhou Province, said, "I didn't know what happened. I followed the other coal miners and ran out. I just heard some noises."

But at least six sheds of the coal mine have been buried.

Pan Mei, survivor of Longchang, Guizhou Province, said, "I was watching TV at home. I was thinking about going to the market and heard a loud noise. It lasted for about five minutes. I ran out. There was a lot of dust. When I got out, I saw the landslide."

More than one hundred fire fighters have been sent to the scene for rescue work. Traffic control has been carried out day and night. At about eight o'clock in the evening, a huge amount of stones and sands rushed down from the mountain again. This has caused a lot of difficulties in the rescue work.

The landslide is still going on. All the rescue workers and cars have to transfer to safe places.

About 80 residents living around the area have also been evacuated. Although the local government has prepared well for rescue work, experts say it is not a good time for the frequent occurrence of landslides.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

http://www.china.org.cn/video/2013-02/19/content_27997995.htm

continue reading

Sri Lanka: The need for the preservation and proper inquiries into the remains of about 200 bodies found in the mass grave at Matale

A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status

1. The ALRC and its sister organisation, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), have documented numerous cases of enforced disappearances to the state of Sri Lanka and to the UN Working Group.

2. The question of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka has been a matter of concern for the Working Group for a long period now. The particular issue that the ALRC wishes to highlight in this submission is the finding of the remains of around 200 bodies at Matale, which is under investigation by the Sri Lankan authorities. According to forensic experts who have so far done the preliminary work, the remains of the bodies indicate injuries and therefore the experts now regard the site containing these remains as a crime scene.

3. The assumption so far is that these remains are of persons who were arrested as suspects of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna during the period of its second uprising, known usually as the second insurrection. The period was between 1987 and 1991. According to the reports of the commissions of inquiry into involuntary disappearances there were complaints to these commissions of disappearances of persons numbering around 30,000.

4. Now that it has come to the notice of the authorities of the discovery of these remains in what may be called a mass grave it is the duty of the state to conduct thorough inquiries into the circumstances under which these persons have suffered the injuries which are evidenced by their remains and to ensure a credible course of action leading to the discovery of all the details relating to the alleged crimes.

5. An inquiry must be able to ascertain the identity of the persons whose remains have been found; where they were arrested if these persons were disposed of after arrest, what is the nature of the injuries indicated on the remains and what the historical circumstances that led to their treatment that in turn led to these injuries. Such information should finally lead to the identity of those who caused these injuries which led to the death of these persons. Once such factual details are established it would be possible to decide the course of action needed to ensure justice.

6. However, there are serious concerns about the manner in which the remains are being preserved and also the manner in which the inquiries are being conducted. There are detailed processes and techniques essential for the scientific investigation of atrocity crimes. These include methods for the location, evaluation, excavation, recovery, and recording of mass graves and the analysis of human remains and other evidence in order to establish the identity of victims and the cause and manner of their deaths.

7. The ALRC suggests that the United Nations Working Group on Enforced Disappearances should, through their experts, study the situation and the conduct of inquiries relating to the remains of the 200 or more persons found in Matale, Sri Lanka and assist the Sri Lankan government to ensure that these inquiries will meet the international standards required for such inquiries. The ALRC also suggests that the international community should assist the Sri Lankan government with expertise, equipment and the necessary financial resources for the proper conduct of investigations as well as the preservation of these remains under ideal conditions, which are required for such purposes.

8. The ALRC is concerned that if such international cooperation is not extended there is the possibility of the neglect of these remains which may lead to their destruction as a whole or in part and also that if the remains are not preserved under proper conditions their evidentiary value may progressively degenerate.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

http://www.humanrights.asia/news/alrc-news/human-rights-council/hrc22/ALRC-CWS-22-08-2013

continue reading

Peru returns bodies of war victims to families

Authorities in Peru's southern mountains have returned to their families the remains of 26 people killed in fighting between the army and Shining Path rebels in the 1980s.

The remains, including two women and three children, were exhumed from common graves in the Apurimac region late last year. Investigators managed to identify the remains so that they could be returned to their families for burial.

The bodies were handed over in a ceremony in the city of Cuzco on Tuesday. The families carried the remains of their loved ones in white coffins down the stone streets of the city, which serves as the gateway to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.

The victims were believed to be local residents and villagers caught in the cross fire between soldiers and rebels, officials said.

Authorities in southeast Peru have been working in recent years to identify common graves left over from the bloody war between Maoist rebels and soldiers as part of an investigation into human rights abuses.

According to Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 69,000 people were killed or disappeared between 1980 and 2000 in Peru's armed conflict.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/feb/19/peru-returns-bodies-of-war-victims-to-families/

continue reading

Pasta de Conchos mine disaster: ‘bodies must be recovered’

On Tuesday, the seventh anniversary of the Pasta de Conchos mine disaster, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) announced that it will begin inspecting the site in an effort to recover the bodies of the miners who died in the 2006 accident.

On Feb. 19, 2006, at about 2:30 a.m., an explosion rocked the Pasta de Conchos coal mine in Coahuila, killing 65 people. The mine is owned by Grupo México, the country’s largest mining company. Of the 65 miners buried in the blast, only two bodies were ever recovered.

Now the Labor Secretariat (STPS) has ordered a new investigation, and Secretary Alfonso Navarrete Prida said on Tuesday that it will determine whether or not it will be possible to recover the bodies.

Navarrete Prida said that “in starting a new investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, we can discover the exact technical conditions of the mine at the time and now. This will tell us what the new administration can or cannot do about the situation. “The federal government and President Enrique Peña Nieto express once more their condolences to the families of those miners for the tragedy that occurred several years ago.”

The new investigation comes as members of The National Mining and Metal Workers Union (SNTMMSRM) gathered around the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City yesterday to commemorate the anniversary of the explosion and demand justice for the families of those killed in the disaster.

At the time of the disaster, the union leader Napoleón Gómez Sada accused the federal government of colluding with Grupo México to block a thorough investigation of the site, which miners had complained was unsafe.

Navarrete Prida said that more than 200 mining operations have been inspected since December 2012.

He added that the STPS was working with federal and state authorities to determine if the Pasta de Conchos explosion was related to organized crime.

“We want to make sure coal mines, to which there is no economic alternative, are places where conditions are adequate for workers,” he said.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

http://www.thenews.com.mx/index.php/mexico-articulos/6382-%E2%80%98bodies-must-be-recovered%E2%80%99

continue reading