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Last week, in the High Court of Badulla five police officers and a security officer were sentenced to death for causing the murder of Sadun Malinga, a 17-year-old boy. The boy and four of his relatives had gone to the town for some business when the police suddenly arrested them, beat them in public, and […]

Concerns have been raised about the preliminary report of the Consultation Task Force (CTF), particularly about hybrid courts and foreign judges. It should be remembered that this report and its recommendations have not been finalized. Additionally, at the very beginning of the report, the CTF write that they are not making extensive recommendations themselves, but […]

How does one deal with a 42% spike in suicides by farmers/cultivators in a country where “development” has been the buzzword for the last couple of years? If the question isn’t creepy enough to send a shiver down one’s spine, consider that “Bankruptcy or Indebtedness” and “Farming Related Issues”, i.e. non-personal reasons, account for 58.2% […]

By Basil Fernando I have had the privilege of witnessing the birth of an initiative to create a people’s movement not affiliated to any political party, which targets a minimum of one million memberships. It will be entirely locally funded and independent. The new movement springs from the initiative of Victor Ivan, a veteran journalist […]

2016 end-of-the-year commentary on human rights in Sri Lanka The neglect of the right to life within the country is quite symbolically expressed in the failure to address the spread of dengue in any significant manner. While the deaths due to dengue fever is high, a number of areas were declared as being more prone […]

by Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar Elections of 3,956 Union Parishad (UP), the lowest tier of the local governmental system in Bangladesh, held in six phases that were conducted few months ago. Serious allegations of mononoyan banijya (buying nominations for money), other irregularities and violence were raised about these elections. Nevertheless, our CEC claimed that UP elections this time were much […]

by Avinash Pandey It is fourth anniversary of 16 December 2012, the brutal gang rape and murder of a student in Delhi that shook the conscience of the nation and led to unprecedented protests against sexual violence across India. Crime against women has been common in India, as has been the support for such crime […]

by Basil Fernando In last week’s article, we discussed the recommendations of the United Nation’s Committee against Torture. The Committee has recommended the state party establish an independent body tasked with the investigation of complaints against law enforcement officers, one that is independent of police hierarchy. In this week’s article, we will discuss a few more […]

by Basil Fernando “A History of Ceylon Police” by late A.C. Depp, former Inspector General of Police, is a book consisting of three volumes that gives a good insight into the manner in which the police system came about in Sri Lanka. Reading these pages removes any surprise about the rather pathetic condition into which this […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where satellite evidence shows mass destruction in Rakhine state, home to the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority. The latest images from Human Rights Watch indicate that some 820 structures were burnt in five villages between November 10-18. The rights watchdog is calling for an urgent UN investigation into the […]

The people of tribal areas bordering Afghanistan are caught between the Pakistan army on one hand, and the Taliban and ISIS on the other. The terrorists attack and kill tribal leaders for not allowing them to set up their training centers and move freely in the mountains, while the Pakistan army arrests, tortures, and extrajudicially […]

शैलेन्द्र प्रसाद हरिजन (अम्बेडकर) वि.सं. २०७३ मंसिर १ गते “तराई जस्टिस सेन्टर” का तर्फबाट अधिवक्ता दिपेन्द्र झाले आगामी दिनमा न्यायाधीश नियुक्ति गर्दा समानुपातिक समावेशी सिद्धान्तका आधारमा नियुक्ति गर्नका लागि न्याय परिषद्मा ध्यानाकर्षण पत्र बुझाएका थिए । ध्यानाकर्षणमा संशोधित न्याय परिषद् ऐनको दफा ५ तथा न्याय सेवा आयोग ऐनको दफा १०(२) र नेपालको संविधान २०७२ को […]

By Basil Fernando When the high level delegation of Sri Lanka met the UN Committee against Torture (CAT Committee) last week on the 5th Periodic Review, one of the Committee members raised an important issue. The Member asked whether the dysfunctionality of the justice system in Sri Lanka has virtually created a situation of a de facto […]

By Avinash Pandey Even if one puts the cacophonous debate on the merits and demerits of demonetisation of Rupees 500 and 1000 currency notes aside, one thing is clear: it has hit hard the farmers all set to sow Rabi crops. Almost entirely dependent upon cash transactions for everything, starting from buying seeds and fertilisers, […]

Amir Murtaza Violence has always been an integral part of human history, in all parts of the world. It is roughly estimated that each year more than a million people lose their lives, and many more suffer non-fatal injuries, as a result of self-inflicted, interpersonal or collective violence. The World Health Organization defines violence as, […]

Javeria Younus In one of the worst incidents that has occurred at plot number 54 Gadani ship-breaking yard, in Balochistan, 26 people have lost their lives and more than 100 are reported to missing and feared dead. It is likely those missing had their bodies burned to ashes and washed away by the water used […]

Avinash Pandey The fact that the Madhya Pradesh state government has shed even the pretence of fair-trial, a cornerstone of the rule of law, has emerged as the only uncontested truth four days after the incredulous police encounter that resulted in the killing of 8 under-trial jail escapees. The circumstances of the reported jailbreak from […]

By Basil Fernando Gunadasa Amarasekera has recently published a book entitled ‘Sabyathwa RajyakKara’ (Towards an Ethical State). At around the same time, I published a book entitled ‘Dharmasokage Dhamma Prathipaththtia sahaPrajatanthrawadi watinakama’ (The Policy of Dhamma of Dharmasoka and Democratic Values). In this article, I will try to show the similarities and differences in the ideas found in these two books. The […]

शैलेन्द्र प्रसाद हरिजन (अम्बेडकर) राष्ट्र बिभिन्न जात–जाति, धर्म, संस्कृती, समुदाय वा सम्प्रदायको एकीकृत रुप हो । राष्ट्रको समग्र विकास हुनका लागि यी सबै समुदायको विकास हुनु अनिवार्य छ । यद्यपि, नेपालको सन्दर्भमा अधिकांश दलित, मधेशी र जनजातिलगायतका अल्पसङ्ख्यक तथा सीमान्तीकृत समुदाय राज्यको मूल प्रवाहमा आउन सकेका छैनन् । त्यसमा पनि मधेशी दलित समुदायको अवस्था अत्यन्तै […]

Basil Fernando People who live through long periods of repression often develop psychological and cultural habits that lead them to pretend not to see or hear what is going on around them in their society. These psychological habits may help people survive through difficult times. However, even after the difficult times have passed, cultural habits […]