Democracy

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is releasing its annual report on the state of human rights protection in Nepal through 2012 on the occasion of the 64th Human Rights Day. This year the world human rights community […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article from the Asian Tribune, written by Tisaranee Gunasekara. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- An article from the Asian Tribune, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Tisaranee Gunasekara “The first waves of a sea of fire….” Ivo Andrić (The Bridge over the […]

The letter written by the senior and well-respected lawyer SL Gunasekara provides a very thought-provoking approach to dealing with the present impasse created by the government’s wish to proceed with the impeachment against the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, which they are doing irrespective of the request made by the Supreme Court to delay proceedings on […]

Yesterday (6th December) Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and her legal team walked away from the PSC inquiry after clearly stating that she had no faith in it. Subsequently, she has written to the Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa through her lawyers and clearly set out that the PSC does not qualify in terms of the constitutional requirements […]

We call upon the people, in particular the judges and lawyers, to grasp the historic significance of this moment It is news now that the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and her legal team, led by Romesh De Silva PC, walked away from the Parliamentary Select Committee proceedings, expressing no confidence in the manner in which […]

Pakistan’s first political party is PPP, which has governed country, first time, continuously for last five years. What nation got in continuous rule of a vibrant political party? Nothing. We have jumped in list of more corrupt and insecure nations of the world. Here in our country only those are safe who are murderous, plunders and […]

In a landmark ruling, a court in Burma has rejected the police version of events that led to the death of a man in their custody, and has opened the door to a charge of murder to be brought against the officers involved. In its findings of 9 November 2012, a copy of which the […]

This week, a committed New Delhi based civil rights advocate and incidentally a good friend, observed in a dispassionate aside to an otherwise entirely different conversation in that country that ‘this situation that Sri Lankans are facing regarding the political impeachment of the Chief Justice is quite alien for us to grasp here, even in […]

The Speaker’s ruling relating to the Supreme Court’s notice to the Speaker and the members of the Parliamentary Select Committee does not in any way prohibits the constitutional right of the Court to entertain and to determine the Reference made by the Court of Appeal for a specific question relating to the scope of Article […]

The Surendranagar firing that killed three Dalit youth on 21 September this year has once again brought to light the concern, that in India, the police do not have adequate training nor the government has necessary resolve to overhaul the police service into one that fits a modern democracy. An affidavit filed by the Gujarat […]

From 1962 there are literally thousands of people who have served sentences in Burmese prisons as political prisoners. The people resisted the military throughout this long period of about 60 years despite the ruthlessness with which the military dealt with every form of resistance. However there was continuous resistance and from one generation to the […]

Bal Thackerey is no more. His funeral attracted lakhs of people. Mumbai remained shut for so many days. It is time to sit and ponder over what really is the legacy of Sena. The champion of Hindu Nationalism enjoyed every damn thing, which we claim as ‘western’ influence while spiting venom at ‘outsiders’. Mumbai’s biggest […]

The political attack on the Chief Justice, which is in retaliation to some independent judgements given by the Supreme Court, is quite clearly an attempt to stop the Supreme Court judges doing what they are mandated to do. It is not just an attack on one person; it is an attack on the entire Supreme […]

Even the worst of criminals have a right to a fair trial before an independent judiciary. A judge in an impeachment proceeding in Sri Lanka does not have that right. Article 107 of the Constitution and the standing orders as they stand now preclude that right. Is the quality of citizenship of a judge of […]

No questioning arises from subservient lips”. Andrée Chedid (For Rushdie) Ideally Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranaike would have prevented her husband from accepting Rajapaksa largesse; ideally. Ideally, the Supreme Court would have resisted the 18th Amendment; ideally. Ideally the term-limit provision would be in place and a post-Rajapaksa future just five years away; ideally. But as […]

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma today expressed concern about the recent move by the Parliament of Sri Lanka to impeach the country’s Chief Justice, Dr Shirani Bandaranayake. Speaking in London, the Secretary-General said: “The Commonwealth’s principal consideration is that the provisions of Sri Lanka’s constitution are upheld with regards to the removal of judges, respecting the […]

The visit of President Obama to Cambodia between November 17-20 should be an occasion to ask some vital and serious questions regarding the commitment of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and the international community on the issues of democracy, the rule of law and human rights. To be very blunt the […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article from the Sunday Times, Colombo, Sri Lanka, written by Kishali Pinto Jayawardena Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-FAT-039-2012 November 11, 2012 An article from the Sunday Times, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Shameful stifling of freedom […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article written by Tisaranee Gunasekara who is a Sri Lankan columnist based in Colombo Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- An article written by Tisaranee Gunasekara, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Make the Impeachment Boomerang on the Rajapaksas Tisaranee Gunasekara […]

When I talked to a Sri Lankan friend about the killings of prisoners which happened yesterday and tried to convince him that people should demand justice, his instance reply was, “ Dhang justice naah” (now there is no justice) . In the past, this expression meant that there were serious concerns about justice. However, now it […]