This week, our eyes are on civil movements in Southeast Asia and citizen video documenting Israeli soldiers complicit in an attack on Palestinians. From a crackdown on a number of protests in Cambodia, to an anti-government rally in Thailand, and clashes at a manufacturing plant in Vietnam, citizen journalists are bringing us important footage from the center of the action.
Here are highlights from recently featured videos on the Human Rights Channel.
Cambodia
UN human rights envoy to Cambodia Surya Subedi is scheduled to visit the country this week, following what the human rights organization, LICADHO, called “the worst state violence against civilians to hit Cambodia in 15 years.” In early January, monitors from LICADHO witnessed and filmed several days of violence, during which at least four civilians were killed and several prominent human rights leaders were arrested. Watch the video below and check out a recent blog post explaining what happened.
Vietnam
YouTube footage taken by bystanders put a spotlight on unrest at the construction site of a massive new Samsung factory in northern Vietnam. The video below shows a group of workers setting motorbikes on fire in a riot that reportedly caused 11 injuries. There are conflicting accounts about the cause of the clashes, including one report that a guard beat a worker for entering through the wrong door.
Palestine
The following video taken in a Palestinian village appears to show uniformed Israeli Defense Force soldiers accompanying masked civilians as they throw stones into the village. The human rights group, B’tselem, is demanding an investigation of the incident, which they say “indicates that the soldiers acted with disregard to their duty to protect the Palestinians,” as they did not put an end to the violence nor attempt to identify or detain the masked individuals.
This week, we’re keeping our eyes on Syria, where fighting among Islamic factions has taken resources from the Free Syrian Army and driven attention from the government’s continued assault on Syrian cities and towns. In the Damascus suburbs alone, nearly 100 civilians have been killed since the start of the year, including more than a dozen children, according to the Violations Documentation Center. Our Watching Syria playlist includes videos from the town of Daraya, which has been hit heavily with government warplanes in the past several days.
We are also watching citizen video from Thailand, where thousands of protesters filled the streets of Bangkok on Monday to shut down the city and pressure the resignation of top government officials. This drone footage gives a bird’s eye view of the massive demonstration. And in Egypt, where Human Rights Watch reports arrests of political activists ahead of this week’s constitutional referendum.
The most recent citizen videos of human rights issues can always be found on our Citizen Watch video playlist, updated daily. Catch the latest citizen videos by following the Human Rights Channel on Twitter (@ythumanrights).