Statement

A member of parliament and representative of the opposition, Dayasiri Jayasekara, was assaulted by a group of supporters of the ruling party when he attempted to erect a facilitation board for the president and the commanders of the three armed forces. He is now undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Colombo and is reported […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-STM-117-2009 May 25, 2009 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Elation over victories and the appalling conditions of displaced Tamil persons UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the end of his visit to Sri Lanka described the camps for Internally Displaced People (Tamils) as having the most appalling […]

Expressing concern about the decrease in the number of civil disputes filed in the courts in the country, the Chief Justice of India, Justice K. G. Balakrishnan, on Saturday said that the people prefer to settle disputes resorting to extra-constitutional methods. Clarifying his position, Justice Balakrishnan said that the judiciary is worried about the absence […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following public statement from the Working Group on Justice for Peace (WGJP). Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Public Statement from the Working (WGJP) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)   THAILAND: The working Position of the […]

In the case of the love marriage of Miss Kulsoom where seven women and girls of a family were arrested and tortured, one girl, Shazia, (16), remains missing after her abduction, allegedly by a member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly (MPA) from the ruling party, the PML-N. Please see the link on urgent appeal, issued […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-STM-113-2009 May 20, 2009 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: IDPs are citizens and censorship of their conditions must stop In a BBC Sinhala Service interview broadcast yesterday (May 19, Evening) the army commander, Sarath Fonseka was questioned about the statement by Amnesty International concerning the three doctors […]

The Phnom Penh Post, a local English-language newspaper, has recently published the letter from a human rights advocate commenting on the legal action that Mu Sochua, a female Member of Parliament (MP) from the opposition party, and Prime Minister Hun Sen had taken against each other for defamation. On 23 April, in a news conference, […]

Exactly what made both movements represented by these two leaders (The JVP and the LTTE) abandon the struggle for democracy and rule of law altogether and resort to violence reflects on the limitations of other political movements within the country. At no time was there a single political party or tendency in Sri Lanka which […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-STM-111-2009 May 19, 2009 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Wijeweera and Prabakaran – rebels within a dysfunctional democracy                                       Following the demise of the LTTE leadership there is now much discussion about the LTTE itself. In 1971 a similar movement in the south to the LTTE was […]

Internally displaced persons are human beings and citizens. They are in a displaced situation not of their own choice but due the fact the government has failed to provide them the protection to enable them to remain in their homes. Displacement does not remove their rights as citizens and it is the obligation of the […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-STM-110-2009 May 18, 2009 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Government must now end the operation of anti-terrorism laws The Sri Lankan government has officially declared victory against the LTTE. The Secretary of Defence in an interview to the BBC Sinhala Service on Sunday said that, “the LTTE […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-STM-109-2009 May 16, 2009 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission PAKISTAN: Police meddle in Babli’s murder by producing her ‘third’ husband In the case of the so-called honour killing of Babli (20), the police has arrested Alam Lashari, her brother following a press conference by a police official, Head Constable […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  AHRC-STM-107-2009 May 14, 2009 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: The banality of evil and the Security Council intervention This week’s criticism against the Sri Lankan government’s actions relating to the less than five square kilometer territory formerly referred to as the no-fire zone intensified. UN agencies, foreign […]

The kinds of punishments that are meted out in Sri Lanka today are not based on the making of distinctions between guilt and innocence. Within any system of criminal justice making distinctions on guilt and innocence is at the very core of the principles and practices. Penal laws, criminal procedures and evidence laws have all […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information that a girl was murdered on the . The police from four different districts were allegedly involved in the abduction and subsequent killing of the girl, Ms. Babli Lashari, and the matter appears to have been hushed up with the assistance of the higher judiciary. According to […]

NAME: SINNAVAN STEPHEN SUNTHARARAJ WIFE’S NAME: VATHANA SUNTHARARAJ Stephen is a B.A. graduate in Sociology from the University of Jaffna. From 2001 to 2003 he worked as Assistant Lecturer in the University of Jaffna. After a short stint as Lecturer in the University of Colombo from 2003 to 2004 Stephen returned to Jaffna to take […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-STM-105-2009 May 12, 2009 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission BURMA: Imprisoned Burmese prodemocracy activist is awarded 2009 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights Award The AHRC congratulates Mr. Min ko Naing, who is presently serving a prison sentence in Burma for fighting for democracy for this country on receipt of […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge, widow of Lasantha Wickrematunge and 2009 UNESCO World Press Freedom Laureate on the World Press Freedom Day Conference in Doha, Qatar, 2009.   Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge, widow of Lasantha Wickrematunge […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on 8 May had issued a statement exposing the controversial steps taken by the Rajasthan state government in the excuse of ensuring security in the state. The statement (AHRC-STM-101-2009) also highlights the misuse of Section 109 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 by the law enforcement agencies, including the […]

On May 12, 2009, the United Nations General Assembly will hold elections to the UN Human Rights Council. Five seats will be available to the Asian region. Only five States from the region – Bangladesh, China, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Saudi Arabia – have announced their candidacy, meaning that they will be elected for three-year terms […]