Democracy

Last week Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) published an editorial entitled the ‘UN should not ignore [the] Sri Lankan conflict’ (August 8, 2006).  The editorial wondered as to why despite the levels of violence in the Sri Lankan conflict being equal to, or worse when compared to Lebanon and other theatres of conflict, […]

By Basil Fernando This paper has been prepared to encourage discussion on the limits of the developments on the impact of adult franchise as a factor contributing to the present crisis in Sri Lanka Born in 1906 J.R. Jayawardene was already 41 years-of-age at the time of independence.  His formative years and the family background […]

In an historic judgment the Criminal Court of Thailand held yesterday (July 25, 2006) that the Election Commission was guilty of malfeasance and illegal assistance to the Thai Rak Thai Party in the April 2 Election and Repeat Vote.  The Court sentenced the three members of the Commission to four years in gaol, revoked their […]

Open letter from the AHRC to the Prime Minister of Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala Prime Minister’s office Singha Durbar Kathmandu NEPAL Fax. + 977 142 27286 Dear Prime Minister Koirala, Re: The urgent need to disarm and disband vigilante groups in Nepal, following the death of three-year old child The Asian Human Rights […]

In a May 28 interview published in the Bangkok Post newspaper, Kyoto University professor Yoshifumi Tamada expresses concerns over the stability of Thailand’s democracy. Tamada is evidently unsettled by the recent anti-government protests and popular boycott of the April 2 election, which he is quoted as saying amounts to a “constitutional coup”. Tamada holds the […]

The numerous appointments to key national commissions by the executive president, contravening constitutional requirements, are a very clear indication of Sri Lanka’s drift from a law-based society to one in which the law plays a significantly reduced role.  While criticism against presidential actions has pointed to matters including the fact that no person is above […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 4, 2006 AS-096-2006 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission NEPAL: Momentum is key in ensuring positive change toward peace, development and human rights in Nepal The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) sees in recent events in Nepal, arising out of the sustained mass demonstrations during the last month, a […]

The parliament of Nepal will meet tomorrow, April 28, 2006, for its first meeting since King Gyanendra of Nepal was pressured into re-establishing it as a result of weeks of massive popular protests in the country. The meeting represents the dawning of a new era in Nepal, and credit is due to the peoples’ movement […]

[RE: UP-077-2006: NEPAL: Nepal under curfew; UP-072-2006: NEPAL: Defacto emergency declared in Nepal; UA-117-2006: NEPAL: Arrests made ahead of public rallies in the capital, Kathmandu; UP-079-2006: NEPAL: Demonstrations continue in the face of further arrests and violence; UP-091-2006: NEPAL: Call for intervention by the United Nations Secretary General and High Commissioner for Human Rights to […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) joins hands with the hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the streets of Nepal who have successfully defeated a coup started on February 1, 2005 by the despicable monarch, Gyanendra. All persons detained arbitrarily in the country must now be released. The people have forced the king to […]

[RE: UP-077-2006: NEPAL: Nepal under curfew; UP-072-2006: NEPAL: Defacto emergency declared in Nepal; UA-117-2006: NEPAL: Arrests made ahead of public rallies in the capital, Kathmandu; UP-079-2006: NEPAL: Demonstrations continue in the face of further arrests and violence] ———————————– UP-091-2006: NEPAL: Call for intervention by the United Nations Secretary General and High Commissioner for Human Rights […]

Yesterday, April 22, we witnessed a in Kathmandu how revolutionary fervour transforms the poor and oppressed people to a determined force for change. The poor of Nepal who for centuries have lived on the crumbs thrown at them by the king and his cohorts, who were treated as chattel and sent out as mercenaries to […]

Demonstrations totalling hundreds of thousands of Nepalese citizens have continued unabated since April 6th, 2006, defying curfews and shoot-to-kill orders given to the security forces. The movement to rid Nepal of its autocratic monarch has become more and more determined throughout this time. At least 14 persons have been killed, hundreds injured and thousands arrested […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is forwarding to you a statement issued by the World Forum for Democratization in Asia. The statement points specifically to the current state of democracy in Thailand, Philippines, Nepal and Bangladesh. Urgent Appeals Prorgramme Asian Human Rights Commission —————————————————— MEDIA STATEMENT: 5 April 2006 CURRENT THREATS TO […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the brutal attacks on opposition party activist, Mr. Zahirul Islam Litu, by members of the youth wing of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Mr Litu is a 35-year-old visually impaired fishery worker and Joba League worker. On 4 January 2006, Mr. Akteruzzaman […]

[RE: UA-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Two people killed and thirty-five injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district; UA-041-2006: BANGLADESH: Eight people killed and at least one hundred injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district; UP-016-2006: BANGLADESH: Three detained and tortured leaders have been released from prison in Chapainawabganj; UP-020-2006: BANGLADESH: Transfer of the Executive Officer of Shibganj […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission welcomes the landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Nepal on Monday February 13, 2006, which declared the controversial Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) unconstitutional and ordered it to be scrapped immediately. This has paved the way for the release of ousted Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding events that took place on the day of the municipal elections in Nepal on 8 February 2006. According to our sources, security forces opened fire on a group of peaceful demonstrators who had been organised by the seven political parties in Dang. As […]

[RE: UP-011-2006: NEPAL: Further arrests occur in Nepal’s escalating crisis; UA-036-2006: NEPAL: Further arrests in Nepal’s worsening political, security and human rights crisis; UG-002-2006: NEPAL: Immediate intervention required in Nepal’s deepening political, security and human rights crisis; UP-012-2006: NEPAL: Widespread repression and mass arrests continue to take place in Nepal] ———————————————————————- UP-017B-2006: NEPAL: A further […]

[RE: UP-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Three persons tortured by the Chapainawabganj police; UA-041-2006: BANGLADESH: Eight people killed and at least one hundred injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district; UA-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Two people killed and thirty-five injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district] ———————————– UP-016-2006: BANGLADESH: Three detained and tortured leaders have been released from prison in […]