Forwarded Article

PAKISTAN: A Dark Christmas in Balochistan

As the joy of Christmas dawned worldwide from Manila in the east to Managua in the west, and places in between, the spirit celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace bypassed Pakistan. Most of the country was distracted by the frenzy of a cricket match against rival India, while its tiny Christian population was […]

PAKISTAN: Increasing vulnerability of women and children in Pakistan

The vulnerability of innocent women and children has been astonishingly increased in Pakistan in past several months as the country has witnessed some deadly and planned attacks on unarmed women and children from militants. On 18 December, Five Polio lady health workers were killed in Karachi and Peshawar, while two of their male colleagues received […]

SRI LANKA: The constitution and the president’s conscience

Is the Constitution or the President’s conscience paramount in deciding the notion of legality in Sri Lanka? Abandoning the courts and the law books A person’s conscience is of course, variable.  A Presidential conscience cannot certainly be any different. In contrast, the very core of the concept known as the Rule of Law is its […]

SRI LANKA: Senior most judge seeks fair trial for CJ

Justice C. G. Weeramantry, former senior vice president of the International Court of Justice and the Senior Most Retired Judge in Sri Lanka, said yesterday it was essential that a tribunal deciding on the rights of any citizen must consist of persons who are totally uncommitted before the hearing. If any members of the tribunal […]

SRI LANKA: Concern for independence of the judiciary

LAWASIA, the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific, has observed with considerable concern developments in Sri Lanka with regard to the impeachment of the Chief Justice. It notes the view of its member organisation, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, that the Parliamentary Select Committee appointed to investigate the charges was unconstitutional and that […]

SRI LANKA: The shameful ending of a prefab impeachment

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 […]

SRI LANKA: Reducing of Sri Lanka’s judiciary to a snarling mockery

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-051-2012 December 9, 2012 An article from the Sunday Times, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Reducing of Sri […]

PAKISTAN: Complete tenure of PPP Government and country is more corrupt?

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 […]

PAKISTAN: Space for individuals in UN Human Rights Complain Mechanism

Lack of public awareness is one the major reason of absence of watchful oversight of citizens on their rights, issues and concerned authorities. It has been appropriately said that informed citizenry is empowered citizenry; the more people are informed, the more they are vocal and critical on their issues and rights .In this way , […]

SRI LANKA: Legality of government actions rendered politically irrelevant

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 […]

PAKISTAN: Putting land reforms on political agenda

Representatives of the leading parliamentary parties and civil society bodies have called for land reforms to get rid of the country’s colonial economic power structure. They urged political parties to include land reforms in their election manifestoes At a seminar titled, ‘Where are Land Reforms on Political Agenda in Pakistan?’, they, along with land reforms […]

INDIA: State legitimise a hate propagandist

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 […]

PAKISTAN: Land ownership for secure peasant livelihood in Pakistan

Our story is simple. We believe that enormous imbalance in political power sustains intense and widespread oppression. The threat of being deprived of food and shelter is a form of imposed violence that requires redistribution of economic power in favour of the desperately impoverished. Land redistribution is therefore called for as a primary instrument in […]

SRI LANKA: Drawing back from a ruinous precipice

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-044-2012 November 18, 2012 An article from the Sunday Times, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Drawing back from […]

SRI LANKA: It’s Not Mahinda vs. Shirani; It’s the Rajapaksas vs. the Rest

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 […]

SRI LANKA: Impeachment Of CJ: Government must adhere to international standards of due process says ICJ

The impeachment process against Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake must follow international standards of due process says the International Commission of Jurists. “Many people in Sri Lanka have called the impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Bandaranayake a politically motivated attack on the independence of the judiciary,” said Sam Zarifi, Asia Director of the (ICJ). […]

PAKISTAN: Living amongst dying, but for how long?

Saturday evening a traumatized friend tried to describe cold blooded murder witnessed at sunset outside his home in Gulshan Iqbal. A young man carrying a piece of cloth on his shoulder was calmly shot in the head and left to die by motorcyclists near Jamia Ahsanul Uloom. It was couple of days earlier, probably Tuesday […]

SRI LANKA: Shameful stifling of freedom of expression

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 […]

SRI LANKA: Make the Impeachment Boomerang on the Rajapaksas

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 […]

SRI LANKA: BASL has failed to act positively

The series of events which are naked attacks on the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in the recent past are well recorded.  These events culminated in the unprecedented action of the JSC chaired by the Chief Justice and constituted of two other Supreme Court Judges releasing a statement to the public […]