Statement

On March 26, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) spokesman Ed Diansuy was reported to have cautioned civil society groups inside and outside of the country from taking the matter of extrajudicial executions before the international community arguing that “other [foreign] governments might think the [Philippine] government cannot solve [this issue].” Diansuy said “Let the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) today issued an appeal on a case that has been heard in the Bangkok South Criminal Court since 1993. The four defendants are accused of having plotted to kill the then-Supreme Court president. The defence maintains that they were set up by the police; no material evidence has been […]

On March 20, Commissioner Eligio Mallari of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) announced it had submitted the results of its investigation that recommend the dismissal of complaints against Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, former commander of the 7th Infantry Division (ID) of the Philippine army, and several of his men from allegations of committing human […]

In January 2007, while international judges and their Cambodian counterparts on the Khmer Rouge tribunal were working on the internal rules for the hearings, the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (BAKC), which is widely known to be under government control, decided to impose a lump sum registration fee of US $ 3000 on […]

The legal community of Pakistan has rejected a government offer for talks, while demanding the withdrawal of the reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and the formation of a national government to hold general elections within three months time. The convention of lawyers, which was meeting in Peshawer, the capital city of North Western […]

On 19 March 2007, Bangladesh’s national television channel BTV announced in a news bulletin that the present government has “in principle decided to establish a National Human Rights Commission in the country”.  This was announced during a regular weekly meeting of the Advisory Council which is chaired by Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed. All of […]

Not only is democracy being subverted in the Philippines, but its meaning is also misunderstood. While the country may have made economic gains in recent times, to declare them as proof of a “strong democracy” belies democracy’s true meaning, for the strength of democracy is measured, not by economic gains, but by the strength of […]

“There is anarchy and everyone is taking the law into his own hands” said the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI (M)]. He is right! So what is the state government, led by the CPI (M), going to do about it, in West Bengal? The state has witnessed a massacre sponsored […]

On 30 March 1997, Sam Rainsy who is now the leader of Cambodia’s opposition party, organised and led a peaceful demonstration in front of the National Assembly in Phnom Penh. The rally was called to protest the corrupt judiciary, which then, as is now was under the control of the dominant Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).  […]

The last few weeks have seen the use of the powers of the Attorney General’s Department to freeze the accounts of a person associated with a leading newspaper which turned hostile to the government. Also during the last few days a former minister who had been vocal against the regime, which he served, accusing it […]

In recent weeks the Asian Human Rights Commission commented on two major violations of human rights from Pakistan. One was the severing of a young man’s penis by police officers in Larkana district, Sindh Province. It was a senseless and irrational act done within police station premises with the participation of several officers. Even after […]

AS-055-2007 March 18, 2007 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission THAILAND: The real thinking behind the coup–“What do the people know?” Last Monday, a week before the six-month anniversary of the September 19 military coup in Thailand, the March 12 edition of Matichon newspaper contained a lengthy interview with General Suchinda Kraprayoon, who […]

Unity in diversity is the catchphrase often used in reference to India. People of various cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds united to form a nation.  However, today India is a strange twist of this paradigm. In the state of West Bengal people get murdered by state agents while in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, state agents get killed […]

It appears that the enormous public support that the ‘non-functional’ Chief Justice Mr. Iftekhar Mohammad Choudry is receiving throughout the country has obviously surprised and shaken the regime of General Musharaff. The situation that has blown up has been described by observers as “… the country’s most bitter judicial crisis ever.” Justice Choudry was made […]

These are sad times for Thailand. Amid all the confusion and uncertainty at the national level, the violence in the south has gone from bad to worse with the killing of nine minivan passengers on March 14. The incident has rightly shocked the nation and has been widely condemned. At such times special attention is […]

The central and state governments of India ruling 1.2 billion people in the world’s largest democracy boasts of economic and industrial growth, surpassing almost all nations except China. Ideally, this growth should trickle down to every citizen of the country both rich and poor, so all could reap the benefits.  However, it is the deeper […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission joins in the condemnation of the attack on a minivan in Yala, southern Thailand, which left nine people dead. As has been widely reported, the vehicle was stopped in the morning of March 14 as it was travelling on the Yaha-Bannang road, and its occupants were shot. A small bomb […]

The virtual removal of Chief Justice Iftekhar Mohammad Chowdary by President Musharraf and the subsequent curtailing of his freedom of movement by putting him under house arrest has resulted in an  unprecedented protest from lawyers around the country. The massive response from Bar associations and lawyers all over Pakistan is a clear indication of the […]

The Cambodian government is to be congratulated on its ratification of the Optional Protocol and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) on 19 January 2007.  In doing do, the country has recognized the problem of torture and has voiced its trust in the implementation of the OPCAT to address this problem. As […]

One year ago on March 12, a woman named Shahin Sultana Santa was beaten and tortured by police in Dhaka while she was waiting for her son outside the boy’s school near Road number 27 of the Dhanmondi Residential Area in the capital of Bangladesh. She was beaten so badly that she suffered fractures on […]