Press Release

Mr. Amitha Ariyaratne, Attorney-at-Law, was threatened three times with death on 27, January 2009 at the Negombo Police Station by some police officers. He was visiting the police station for an official business when this happened. Earlier he was threatened with death and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka passed a resolution condemning the death […]

PHILIPPINES: former action star talks about gay rights online (Hong Kong, January 23, 2009) Many years ago he was famous as Rustom Padilla.  He was one of a brood of actor brothers, famous in his own right.  He was also married to an actress,  Carmina Villaroel. In 2002 he left for the U.S. to study […]

(Hong Kong, January 16, 2009) You may view this YouTube presentation at: Part 1: http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=K86K94F5ywQ  Part 2: http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=QRE5Og5_LiY  Part 3: http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=bMyXZM-f1ww Lasantha Wickramatunga was assassinated on January 8, 2009. He had been subjected to harassments and attacks before and he was fully aware that he was the target of an assassination scheme. This article entitled, ‘And they came […]

Hong Kong, January 9, 2009 A series of five YouTube presentations in the Sinhala language is now available on the issue of the executive presidency – the collapse of . Mr. Basil Fernando the director of the AHRC talks about the frequent discussions on political solutions to minority issues which, he says, are often without […]

(Manila, January 8, 2009) To renew their demands to have the policemen responsible for torturing their loved ones prosecuted at once, the families of the Abadilla Five held a protest at two government offices dealing with the victim’s complaint on January 7.  Simulating the prisoners’ experiences while in police custody after their arrest and subsequent […]

(Manila, January 7, 2009) Nearly thirteen years after the Abadilla Five’s arrest and subsequent detention in June 1996, their families, the wives, children, mother and a grandmother, have yet to get over with their feeling of tremendous loss.  One of these, Marilou Lumanog (54), wife of Lenido Lumanog, shares with other fellow relatives of the […]

(Manila, January 6, 2009) They were either children or were not born at the time when their loved ones, known as the Abadilla Five, were arbitrarily arrested, detained and tortured but the calls to have these detainees released have reached their generation.  As she held a bundle of 13 white roses with a placard “Palayain […]

Hong Kong, December 30, 2008  The AHRC wrote today to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki Moon, calling for diplomatic engagement with all the members of the United Nations and the Sri Lankan government regarding several incidents, ‘which are not only shocking but are, in our view, war crimes and gross […]

(Hong Kong, December 22, 2008) The honourable Chief Justice of the Sindh high court will take the sou moto application of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) tomorrow, December 23, 2008, regarding the illegal and arbitrary arrest of by the Sindh police in order to obtain the surrender of a suspected dacoit. The honourable chief […]

(Hong Kong, December 22, 2007) Four separate presentations on several pressing issues have been presented by the Asian Human Rights Commission on YouTube. Contempt of court in Burma and the illegal judgement against two lawyers, U Aung Thein and U Khin Maung Shein These two lawyers at the request of their clients withdrew legal representation […]

(Hong Kong, December 18, 2008) The Supreme Court lawyers U Aung Thein and U Khin Maung Shein were convicted by a Burmese court for contempt of court when they withdrew their representation on behalf their clients at the request of the clients who “no long had faith in the judicial process”. Though the lawyers merely […]

(Hong Kong, December 17, 2007) The Asian Human Rights Commission annual publication of the Human Rights Report for 2008 on Eleven Asian countries is . The report (314 pages) covers the human rights situation for 2008 in the following countries: Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka […]

(Hong Kong, December 9, 2008) The needless deaths of 13 farmers, who held demonstrations demanding land reform, in Mendiola in Manila two decades ago cast a long shadow on the land reform struggles of the present day. The regimes may have changed, however, the struggle and hopes of those who sacrificed their lives and their […]

(Hong Kong, December 11, 2008) A presidential advisor writes to the president regarding attacks on human rights lawyers. Mr. Vasudewa Nanayakkara, a long-standing politician, a former Member of Parliament and an advisor to the president issued yesterday (10th December) a letter on a publication in the Ministry of Defence website attacking human rights lawyers who […]

(Hong Kong, December 7, 2008) The place where they reside and make subsistence living may be different but the urban poor and the farmers share the same struggle: to own a plot of land, build a decent house and earn a livelihood from it. Like the farmers in Haciendas Bacan, Grande and Paraiso, in Negros […]

(Hong Kong, December 10, 2008) The message of the Asian Human Rights Commission on the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is now available at YouTube. The director of the AHRC, Mr. Basil Fernando, in delivery the AHRC message sets out the major obstacles faced in the Asian region for the realizations […]

Manila, December 6, 2008 — To once again draw attention to their plight, farmers from the Arroyos continued their hunger strike at Malacanang Palace on December 5. A letter dated December 5, and signed by nine farmers on strike, called upon President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to fulfill the pledge she made to farmers in 2001, which […]

(Hong Kong, December 8, 2008) “There is no getting away from the fact that despite 60 years being passed after the UDHR, the actual enjoyment of human rights in most countries of Asia is even much less than what it was, 60 years ago. There is more talk about human rights but the systems in […]

Manila, December 5, 2008—After three days of running and hunger strike, the effect had unfortunately been physically costly to some of the farmers. One of the eight farmers on hunger strike, 22-year-old Aireen Celis, had to be taken to a nearby hospital, East Avenue Medical Center (EVMC), after she fell ill. Before she was taken […]

(Hong Kong, December 5, 2008) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on Friday launched a new web page on the case of two lawyers in Burma who were sentenced in November to four months’ imprisonment for contempt of court. The Supreme Court lawyers, U Aung Thein and U Khin Maung Shein, were convicted and jailed […]