Urgent Appeal Case

As reported previously (UA 40/00), 26 victims of the 1965-66 Indonesian massacre were exhumed in November 2000 in the first official opening of a mass grave from that period. The organisation which conducted that exhumation, YPKP (Indonesian Institute for the Study of the 1965-66 Massacre), planned to re-bury the 26 bodies in a low-key, multi-faith ceremony in Kaloran, Temanggung, north of Yogyakarta (Central Java), but were prevented from doing so by a violent group of about 50 persons.

  Today, March 21, is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. To mark this day, Asian Human Rights Commission is calling for your urgent action, and also sends a solidarity greeting to all persons engaged in the struggle against all forms of racism, especially remembering those who have faced suffering and death […]

According World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), on February 28, 2001, the well-known 56-year-old writer Mr. Emin Usman died in detention in the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) of Uzbekistan. Mr. Usman was arrested by militia officials near his house in Navoi Kolkhoz in the region of Tashkent on February 11, 2001. After his arrest, Usman was detained in the basement of MVD. It was not until the fifth day after his arrest that his lawyer, Ahmadjon Cautov was able to meet with him.

More than 100 stateless people in the Tegal Alur slum in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, have appealed to the government to grant them Indonesian citizenship. All of the stateless people are Chinese migrants who lead meager lives, mostly working as laborers, fishermen or vendors. Many of them were born in Cengkareng and have given birth to children there.

We have received information about two further cases of torture in Sri Lanka, details of which are following. The Sri Lankan government was praised by the international community for ratifying the UN Convention Against Torture, and for enacting a Law in 1994 making torture punishable by a minimum of 7 years imprisonment. Six years later, there has still not been a single conviction under this law, despite many credible cases of severe torture, such as those described in this appeal. While impunity continues, torture continues. Please read the following cases and take the small action suggested below to push the Sri Lankan government to address this crisis.

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM AHRC UA Index: 001221 21 December 2000 —————————————————————– UA 43/00: ‘It’s time to abolish the National Security Law.’ SOUTH KOREA – Hunger Strike to Abolish the NSL —————————————————————– The latest UPDATE for this appeal is available at: [http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2001/81/ […]

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT URGENT ACTION  ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM  AHRC UA Index: 001206 06 December 2000  ———————————————————————  UA 41/00: A extreme abuse – need to call for inquiry  SRI LANKA – Kidnapping, Torture and Illegal Detention by Police  ———————————————————————  A group of people arrived at […]

UA 151/00 SAFHR’s Appeal 30 November 2000 THE REFUGEE STATUS CASE OF MR.MUIVAH   We are forwarding this following appeal made by South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR). This is a very important case about which we have drown your attention earlier. We urge you to respond to the latest developments in this case, […]

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT  ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM  AHRC UA Index: 001123 23 November 2000  —————————————————————  UA 40/00: Mass grave uncovered – impunity over 1965 Massacre must end  INDONESIA – Impunity continues after 35 years  —————————————————————  A mass grave containing at least 24 victims from the […]

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM AHRC UA Index: 001023 23 October 2000  —————————————————————  UA 39/00: Dr. Shaikh may face Death Sentence for Blasphemy PAKISTAN – Risk of Death Penalty, Denial of Freedom of Religion/Belief ————————————————————— We have received reliable information from the International […]

The military rulers of Burma are clearly renewing their efforts to destroy the National League of Democracy (NLD), which was overwhelmingly elected to rule the country ten years ago, but never allowed to govern. The generals seem to be gaining confidence, believing that they can increase oppression without any consequences for their growing international relations, especially in the ASEAN. The sample letter and addresses for this Urgent Appeal are at the end of this email, but first here is the latest information and also some background information. The following actions give evidence of a new crackdown: 

The Controversy over SL Catholic Church Action on the short Story, Mary who called Maria, by SL writer Manjula Wediwardene. 

Following is some information about a controversy in Sri Lanka about a short story. The author, Mr. Mangula Wediwarne, 26, has had his books confiscated and may face criminal charges filed by a Catholic priest. A sample letter and contact details are provided so that you can write to the Sri Lankan Attorney-General, who is currently decided whether to try the case. The translation of the controversial short story is included at the end of this appeal for your information. 

On September 29 a military intelligence officer used his gun to threaten the life of an opposition parliament openly in a busy street in Phnom Penh. As yet no action has been taken against this officer. Details are provided below in a Human Rights Watch press release. Following the press relese is a sample letter and the contact details for the Prime Minister of Cambodia and the chair of the Senate’s Human Rights Commission. Please write to them to try to keep democracy alive in Cambodia. 

Further to UA 32/00 \”Early Warning of likely escalation of election violence\”, as of 25th September, 13 had died from election-related violence since the campaign began. As of the 28th, the Centre for Monitoring of Election Violence (CMEV) had recorded 850 incidents of violence (or almost 35 per day), with indications that this level is rising even further (61 cases were recorded on September 27). Kindly see the CMEV website for further info: 
http://cpalanka.org/cmev.html 

AHRC UA Index: 001003 3 October 2000  UA 35/00: Call for police to provide peace and security for elections  SRI LANKA: Escalating violence affects freedom of election  Further to UA 32/00 \”Early Warning of likely escalation of election violence\”, as of 25th September, 13 had died from election-related violence since the campaign began. As of […]

\”Judges who joined in downing their boss have been rewarded by promotion. Judges who did not, have been cowed into silence….When I am asked what I thought, my usual reply is that I wouldn’t like to be tried by today’s judges, especially if I am innocent.\”

Professor Shafwan Idris (51), Rector of IAIN Ar-Raniry, the State Islamic Studies Institute, Aceh, was fatally wounded (shot in the face at close range) on 16 September. He was killed at his home (IAIN-Campus, Darussalam) on the outskirts of Banda Aceh by two assailants who arrived by motorbike.

Two young men have been killed in election-related violence in Sri Lanka in the first 5 days following the announcement of the National Elections to be held on October 10. Here is the sequence of events: 

Following is an Urgent Appeal from South Asian Forum for Human Rights regarding the expulsion of Chin-Burmese refugees (asylum-seekers) from India back to Burma – an action which puts their lives in grave danger. 
Many others may be expelled soon, so please write letters to the Indian authorities and UN High Commissioner for Refugees as outlined below. 

The UN World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) is to be held in South Africa in 2001. It is vital that this conference addresses the entrenched discriminatory practices in Asia such as the oppression of low caste people in India.