Statement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-STM-035-2010 February 27, 2010 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission INDIA: The government claims that the country has the world’s least corrupt police force! A press release issued by the Indian government on 24 February claims that corruption among police officers is extremely low in the country. According to the […]

SRI LANKA: Diary of Terror — Part 14, February 23, 2010  Sri Lankan Human Rights Watch Amy officers raping a nine year old girl; can the new army commander maintain army discipline? (February 23, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) A nine-year-old girl studying in the 5th Grade was raped by soldiers attached to the Digiliwatiya Camp at […]

In the Bar Council elections held this week the lawyers voted overwhelmingly against a candidate who was openly promoted by the government. Shibly Aziz won the election with a majority of 450 votes against Mr. Palitha Kumarasinghe PC. For over a long period the legal profession in Sri Lanka has been under serious attack. There […]

U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Indonesia, the place of his childhood, in March. It is important that the President does not waste this opportunity and uses his good relations with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to raise the issue of religious tolerance in Indonesia. Late last year Obama stated that “Indonesia is important… as […]

Sebuah pernyataan dari Asian Human Rights Commission Presiden Amerika Serikat Barack Obama dijadwalkan akan mengunjungi Indonesia, tempat di mana ia menghabiskan masa kecilnya, pada bulan Maret tahun ini. Penting bagi Obama untuk tidak menyia-nyiakan kesempatan ini dan memanfaatkan hubungan baiknya dengan Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono untuk mengangkat isu mengenai toleransi umat beragama di Indonesia. Pada […]

The case of police torture reported from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh state on 17 February must be a shame for the entire country. The video of sexual harassment and torture of a Dalit woman by Police Sub-Inspector, Mr. Kailasnath Dubey, in the presence of another woman officer in full public view was televised across the country. As usual, […]

Since the Witness and Victim Protection Law was enacted in 2006, little progress has been made regarding witness and victim protection because of a lack of political will. Therefore, the judicial system still lacks fairness and human rights violations continue to go unpunished. It took five years for the House of Representatives and the Justice […]

A Wife’s Challenge SRI LANKA HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH (February 13, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) If there was coup attempt arrest me also, Sarath Fonseka’s wife, Anoma, challenged the authorities. Speaking to the media, the arrested common candidate’s wife said that if a coup plot had been hatched at the hotel in which Sarath Fonseka and […]

Even some analysts supporting the president have stated that the arrest of the common candidate for the opposition, Sarath Fonseka, was unwise. They have said that this action will create unfavourable impressions of the president. The glory earned by the president¡¦s electoral majority may be slighted by such actions. Others have gone on to say […]

Working Group on Justice for Peace 002/2010 16 February 2010 Public Statement A call for a halt in the use of GT200  The Working Group on Justice for Peace (WGJP) has been calling for the Thai government to conduct an independent test of the GT200 bomb detector since we believe it is not a scientific […]

The Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapakse, has begun his second term in office. The system of governance in which he works is one that falls clearly outside constitutionalism. The basic principle under which the existing ‘Constitution of Sri Lanka’ works is that the head of the state is above the law. Once the head of […]

In recent weeks the government of Sri Lanka has engaged in alarming attempts to repress the avenues of the political participation of the opposition and the entire population in general. One of the most popular politicians to emerge in recent times, the former military commander General Sarath Fonseka, was arrested by the military and is […]

Is there a procedure within the police detailing what action is to be taken when a missing person¡¦s complaint is received? As there is a current and ongoing case now with regard to the disappearance of Prageeth Ekanaliyagoda, a journalist attached to Lanka E-News, it is a relevant question to ask on this occasion. In […]

The Attorney General ignores the recommendation of the National Commission for Human Rights while victims commemorate the 21st anniversary of the atrocities. (photo: survivors of the Talangsari massacre calling for justice, source: KontraS) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (KontraS) are disappointed about the continuing delays […]

General Sir David Julian Richards’ official trip to Nepal which includes a visit to the Panchkal army training camp has raised issues concerning the British government’s responsibilities in dealing with a foreign government and an army that is accused of disappearances. The visit will also trigger new discussions in Nepal and outside concerning the government […]

(Statement on the Sri Lankan Independence Day) This picture, which has become familiar to all Sri Lankans, is a symbol of the collapse of Sri Lanka¡¦s policing system and the loss of a sense of security among the Sri Lankan people. To understand this collapse and what has happened to the policing system one has […]

The life of a student leader who was arrested by state intelligence officials is in danger. It is apprehended that he might have been killed. The government of Balochistan says that he was released on January 22, 2010, but his family members have said that he has not yet returned home. They have inquired after […]

The failure to appoint the Election Commission as required by the 17th Amendment makes a mockery of any attempt to hold elections in Sri Lanka. The manner in which the election for the executive presidency would have been conducted if the commission required under the 17th Amendment had been in place would have been very […]

After the presidential election of the 16th January there are continuous reports on several matters that raise concern about the security of persons from attacks and incidents of violence. The Asian Human Rights Commission has received several urgent calls of concern regarding a serious situation that has developed within the country which requires the attention […]

After the Yongsan incident took place in January 21, 2009 (please also refer to AHRC-FUA-001-2009), the bodies of those killed during the incident had been kept in the Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital in Seoul. Their relatives had stayed in the hospital together with rights activists against whom the arrest warrants were issued since the incident […]