Statement

This distress call is not from a sinking ship but from the supreme body that represents the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) of Sri Lanka, which is desperately stating that the independence of the judiciary is under threat from the executive. The Asian Human Rights Commission has for years warned that democracy in Sri Lanka is […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is not surprised by the government’s confrontation with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the courts, as it is part of a consistent pattern that has been going on ever since the executive presidential system was established in 1978. The constitution was established in order to undermine the independence […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to bring to the attention of the Sri Lankan public that we have learned about the massive frauds relating to tampering with land titles and also other frauds by the misusing the criminal justice process by way of fabrication of charges. The incidents narrated hereunder would explain the […]

The recent statement by Mr. Kailash Vijayvargiya, a minister of the Madhya Pradesh state cabinet, is one of the most riveting examples of how democratic processes are decried by the political elite in India. Referring to the national pressure to which his government had to succumb, achieved through the protest organised by the Narmada Bachao […]

More than 300 labourers were burned alive in two separate incidents when factories caught fire in Karachi, the capital of Sindh and Lahore, the capital of Punjab. In Karachi alone 280 workers were trapped in the fire and in Punjab 25 were killed in similar conditions. These incidents happened on September 11 and will go […]

AHRC is deeply perturbed with the crackdown on the Jal Satyagraha in Khardrapani village of Madhya Pradesh’s Harda district. Here, villagers have been staying in neck-deep water for the past 15 days protesting against state’s decision of increasing the water level in Indira Sagar Dam to 262 meters without compensating the villagers for the loss […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has followed closely reports in recent weeks of an uprising by farmers against a takeover of a large area of agricultural land in upper Burma by an army-owned company and a private partner. The land grab, in the Letpadaung Mountain Range of Sarlingyi Township, Sagaing Region, is of some 7800 […]

Yesterday, we discussed several protests that took place in Asia. They are the students protest in Hong Kong; the protests of the people fighting against eviction from their lands by the Onkareshwar Dam project in Madhya Pradesh, India; the fight against the abuse of blasphemy law in Pakistan in the case of Rimsha, the 14-year-old […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is disappointed with the decision taken by the Indonesian Interior Minister regarding the relocation of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI Yasmin) from a land that they are legitimately entitled to, on to a place which will be provided by the government. To a national media, the spokesperson […]

Last week we reported on three great protests taking place in Asia. We will now add a fourth from Pakistan where there was a worldwide protest against the charging of a 14-year-old girl, Rimsha, under the notorious blaspheme law. We can now briefly look at the partial results of these protests. In India the protestors at the […]

It is very heartening that the five member delegation of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) is, at the time of writing visiting Pakistan. The delegation is on a 10-day official mission on enforced or involuntary disappearances and will hold meetings with the federal and provincial government authorities, representatives of […]

After 17 days of daring to stand in neck-deep water, the villagers who are protesting against the unjust compensation package offered for the Onkareshwar Dam in Madhya Pradesh is yet to receive any guaranteed assurances from their government. Yesterday, the Madhya Pradesh State Government has reportedly agreed to reduce the water level in the reservoir, […]

The attached video shows how the police in Sri Lanka are dealing with student protests. Hundreds of policemen surrounded the students and a group of students were forcibly put into a police van and taken away. Further pictures show the police using tear gas and water cannons to disperse the students. For the article and […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is saddened that after eight years of the assassination of Munir Said Thalib, there has been no sign from the government that it will take the necessary measures to bring those responsible for the killing to justice. Munir was a prominent and outspoken human rights activist in Indonesia. On […]

The ‘Fair Trial Bill’ which, according to the news report, the government plans to place before parliament will, if passed, virtually make the fair trial impossible in Pakistan. The provisions of the bill are designed for the conviction of persons without fair trial. The direct impact of the proposed law will be to tie the […]

The villagers’ protest against the absence of reasonable settlement for the land and livelihood lost to the Omkareshwar and the Indira Sagar Dams in the Narmada Valley project has thus far fallen upon a blind and deaf government. The agitation, though has received wholehearted support from a section of the Indian civil society, has failed […]

After 13 days of protest, standing in neck-deep water in the catchment area of the Omkareshwar Dam, the protesters have found that neither the Madhya Pradesh state government nor the Government of India have time to listen to their voice. Risking serious aliments and water-borne infections, the protesters have found immense solidarity from the civil […]

The ongoing protest by village communities acting against the increase of water level in the Omkareshwar Dam is unique in several aspects. The protest, which has completed 11 days today, is directed against the Madhya Pradesh state government that has failed to adequately rehabilitate those who have lost their land and livelihood to this ‘development’ […]

On the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, it is very disappointing that no serious effort has been taken to resolve the issue of enforced disappearances in Pakistan which are carried out by the armed forces, intelligences agencies and other law enforcement agencies. Despite the formation of several judicial and official commissions on […]

Photos depict the Monument for the Disappeared at Raddoluwa Junction, Seeduwa Today, August 30th, is the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances defines enforced disappearances as: “…….the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of […]