Democracy

According to reports we have received, a group of criminals allegedly sponsored by a government minister, stoned the High Court and the Magistrate Court of Manner in a coordinated attack yesterday. A very tense situation is reported to be taking place in manner. According to information we have received, a mobile fishing hut was attacked […]

Basil Fernando The interview of the Defense Secretary Mr. Gotabaya Rajapakse with the editor of the Sunday Leader on the airlifting of a dog deserves comment not because of anything surprising contained in the interview. Its importance lies in its banality. It reveals something that has come to be quite common and ordinary in the […]

Avinash Pandey Come June, and Indian media has a welcome break from the dearth of positive news. They do not need to repeat telecast the same scams, neither they are forced to fill their ‘news programs’ with this soap opera or that comedy show running on countless entertainment channels. They get their OB vans chasing […]

The Government of Bangladesh plans to immediately arrest members of human rights organisations and activists suspected of providing information for the Human Rights Watch Report “Bangladesh: Torture, Deaths of Jailed Mutiny Suspects”. The Asian Human Rights Commission has learned from reliable sources that there are discussions among some quarters in the Bangladesh government of arresting […]

Hong Kong, July 3, 2012 “For over a year, I was in hiding. My life was empty,” said Myrna Reblando as she shared her story to a group of local and international journalists in Hong Kong. Myrna Reblando, the widow of Alejandro “Bong” Reblando, a journalist murdered in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, was one of […]

Basil Fernando In a previous article, SRI LANKA: The Supremacy of the national security apparatus, we discussed the issue of the Ministry of Defence being the most important institution in Sri Lanka, after the institution of the Executive President. This implies that the ministry is more important than the parliament and the judiciary within the new […]

Below is a letter written by Cambidian Ambassador for United Kingdom regarding an article written by Dr. Gaffar Peang-Meth published by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). It is one of many articles that he has written in recent year. We publish it with a note from AHRC. A note from the AHRC It is […]

96 hours after the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) firing in Kotteguda panchayat of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh state, the union government and the state government of Chhattisgarh are on defensive mode, finding excuses to justify the police action that killed 20 villagers, of which at least five are children. The firing occurred on 30 […]

The concept of sovereign immunity is incompatible with the notion of democracy. It is an anachronistic relic drawn from the British Common Law principles at odds with the constitutional architecture of a state that claims to respects the supremacy of its people. Integral to democracy is the conviction that a government that draws its legitimacy […]

Yesterday (19th June 2012) Sri Lanka’s United National Party (UNP) published a statement demanding the resignation of the Secretary of Defence. The UNP claimed that the resignation was warranted in light of the recent deaths of two people at the JVP meeting at Katuwana, Hambantota. However, a larger issue that should be considered in this […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan (JADS) concerning the service of a “show cause” notice to human rights defender Ms Madhuri Krishnaswami on 10 May 2012 by District Magistrate Barwani in Madya Pradesh state. This “show cause” notice requests Madhuri to justify why she should […]

India will be evaluated at the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, Switzerland today. The three countries (Troika) involved in the review are Kuwait, Mauritius and Mexico. That these countries have worse records of human rights in comparison to the country they would collectively review suggests how firmly, and perhaps blindly, such processes are […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has had discussions with the leaders of the Ahmadis, a religious minority community of Islam, at Lahore, Punjab province. During these discussions it was found that they are denied access to practice their religion at local mosques and that Quranic scriptures engraved or painted on the walls of their own […]

An analysis of ongoing “abduction blueprint” in Sri Lanka JC Weliamuna* In a country that has achieved so much in literacy, education and social development, is it not indeed unfortunate that “White Van” has frightened the entire nation? Appearance of a white van assures a disappearance of some one.  If you Google or do any […]

The attempt by the Supreme Court of India to draw-up operative principles for the media outlining the contours of Article 19 (1) (a) of the constitution is an exercise that the Court should not venture into. In fact, the Court does not have a constitutional mandate to do so. It is within the realm of […]

Nilantha Ilangamuwa  Let each man say what he deems truth, and let truth itself be commended unto God! – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing The traditional New Year 2012 (Buddhist Era 2555/2556), which was celebrated last week, has been brought to the people through the broken window of the White Van, which symbolizes the machinery of the […]

The harassment of Ms. Sandya Ekneligoda by the government’s supporters in Geneva and by the Attorney General’s department, for joining the UN Human Rights Council Mrs. Sandya Ekneligoda was one of the speakers during a side event held on 19th March 2012 during the 19th sessions of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The […]

Reading the speech of the prime minister and that of the home minister of India, one could easily get carried away by the thought that they are not in fact referring to India, but to some other country in the world. Both ministers were addressing the chief ministers of the country in a conference organised […]

Referring to the reactions of the government of West Bengal to demands of public causes and justice under the leadership of Ms. Mamata Banerjee, as paranoid, would be in fact an understatement. The state government led by the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) that was elected to power – reflecting the people’s wish for change, […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following joint statement from a group of Korean NGOs. For inquiries, please contact to Mr. Na Hyun Phil from Korean House for International Solidarity by email (khis21@hanmail.net). For Koreans, please follow the link. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Korean NGOs forwarded by […]