Military

THAILAND: Young man allegedly illegally detained & tortured by army

Dear friends, The Working Group on Justice for Peace (Thailand) has informed the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) about the alleged horrific torture of a 23-year-old teacher named Sukri Ar-dam in southern Thailand. Sukri was arrested by the police acting under special powers to deal with the ongoing conflict in the south, and he was […]

SRI LANKA: Giving police powers to the military will pave the way to torture chambers in military camps

The government has recently announced that police powers will be granted to the military by way of further emergency regulations. When the BBC Sinhala Service questioned the government spokesman, Minister Keheliya Rambukawella, as to whether the giving of police powers to the military will not result in the re-emergence of torture chambers inside military camps […]

THAILAND: Murder is not self defence

In response to the shooting of a group of youths in the south of Thailand on April 9, an army officer has been quoted as saying that the armed militia personnel were justified to fire in self defence. Two young men and two boys died and a number of others were wounded when Village Defence […]

THAILAND: Soldiers use martial law to intimidate and steal from villagers

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained information that a group of soldiers and forestry officials in northern Thailand raided a village on January 22 and forced their way into houses. The officers didn’t give their names or other details of what they were doing or why, and when challenged by the […]

UPDATE (Thailand): Four months of martial law under dictatorship; emergency rule in south to continue

Dear friends, The military junta that has now controlled government in Thailand for four months has in recent weeks made clear that martial law was never partially lifted at the end of November, as it had earlier ordered, and that it instead now intends to use more of the powers under that law to stifle […]

CAMBODIA: Forced eviction of 229 families in Sihanoukville

[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Cambodian authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Cambodian authorities are […]

PHILIPPINES: Delays in prosecution causes prolonged detention of two farmers

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the prolonged detention of two farmers in Davao Oriental province, the Philippines. Both of them have been detained for almost three years without any progress in their case because the prosecution witnesses failed to appear in court on six occasions. One of […]

THAILAND: No way to justify the coup

The Nation newspaper of November 22 has published a summary of the full reasons to be given by the military junta in Thailand for its September 19 takeover. According to the newspaper, the justifications for the coup, due to be published shortly, include the following: corruption and conflict of interest; abuse of power; violations of […]

NEPAL: AHRC welcomes the historic agreement between the SPA and Maoists, but cautions on the issue of impunity

Statement | Nepal | 07-11-2006

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcomes the agreement reached between the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) political parties and the Maoist insurgents, which paves the way for an end to the decade-long conflict in Nepal and the establishment of peace, security and development, as well as the rule of law, justice, and the enjoyment of […]

UPDATE (Thailand): Please attend important event on threats to civil rights under military regime

[RE: UG-018-2006: THAILAND: UN rights bodies must act urgently to address junta; UP-189-2006: THAILAND: Illegal detention of former government ministers; UP-190-2006: THAILAND: Websites and radio stations shut down by military junta; UP-194-2006: THAILAND: Join protest for media freedom and 1997 Constitution] ———————————————————————- UP-204-2006: THAILAND: Please attend important event on threats to civil rights under military […]

THAILAND: MILITARY COUP – One month on, fact vs. fiction

It is now one month since the armed forces of Thailand under General Sonthi Boonyaratglin took power on September 19. Since that time, the coup group and government officials have been creating a fictional version of what they have done, are doing and will do. To mark this occasion, the Asian Human Rights Commission lists […]

THAILAND: Military junta won’t bring justice to south

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEĀ  AS-255-2006 October 18, 2006 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission THAILAND: Military junta won’t bring justice to south In the days after the September 19 coup in Thailand there was some expectation that bloodshed in the south may lessen. Like a lot of other things, this has not happened. Reports […]

THAILAND: MILITARY COUP – Courts must rule on coup

The Nation newspaper of October 8 reported Professor Worachet Pakeerut of Thammasat University as saying that coups would continue in Thailand for so long as the courts there recognise the amnesties that perpetrators pass for themselves. Worachet had said that there “was a discrepancy in the Thai judicial system that recognised law written by people […]

THAILAND: 1997 CONSTITUTION – Celebrating 11 October 1997

The Asian Human Rights Commission joins with people in Thailand today to recall and celebrate the ninth anniversary of their 1997 Constitution. It was on 11 October 1997 that for the first time the people of Thailand realised their popular aspiration towards government based upon a rational set of standards applied to all persons, rather […]

THAILAND: MILITARY COUP – How to make courts independent?

A few years ago, some senior United Nations staff in Cambodia met with a government minister to discuss the state of the country’s courts. They expressed concern about their lack of independence, and asked what intentions the government had to address this problem. “Don’t worry,” the minister told them simply, “I will make them independent.” […]

THAILAND: MILITARY COUP – The right man for what job?

When General Sonthi Boonyaratglin led the armed forces of Thailand to overthrow the caretaker government of Pol. Lt. Col. Thaksin Shinawatra on September 19, the military indicated that it would withdraw from politics within two weeks, having set in place an interim constitution and premier. Interim constitution and premier are now there as promised. And […]

THAILAND: MILITARY COUP – Misunderstanding the coup

There has been a lot of misunderstanding about the September 19 coup in Thailand. Many foreign correspondents, tourist bloggers and other casual observers have written that the local market is still busy, people are smiling politely as usual, and life seems to be going on like normal. The coup has been described as “courteous” and […]

THAILAND: MILITARY COUP – Restore civilian government immediately

The Asian Human Rights Commission condemns the military coup in Thailand and calls for immediate restoration of civilian government. At approximately 10pm on September 19 a group of officers headed by army Commander-in-Chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin took power while Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was attending the UN General Assembly in New York. The group, […]

NEPAL: Appointment of Army Chief under investigation for gross abuses must be rescinded

Statement | Nepal | 13-09-2006

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that army Lieutenant General Rukmangat Katuwal was appointed as army Chief of Staff of Nepal on September 10, 2006, by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. Mr. Katuwal, who was set to retire before this appointment took effect, stands accused of being responsible for a plethora of […]

NEPAL: A travesty of justice – military personnel who tortured 15 year old Maina Sunuwar to death must be tried by a civil court

Statement | Nepal | 04-09-2006

Maina Sunawar was 15 years old when members of the Nepalese armed forces arbitrarily arrested her. Since this date – February 17, 2004 – she has disappeared. All the evidence indicates that she was tortured to death by members of the military, who have since sought to deny her arrest and cover up her death. […]