Democracy

With the conclusion of the legislative and local elections in the Philippines on May 14, the extent of deaths, violence and corrupt practices that have occurred during this electoral exercise is extremely appalling. This violent exhibition of democracy has cast serious questions upon the capability of the government, in particular the Philippine National Police (PNP), […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned by the brutal attack and threats of rape against female opposition council members of the Karachi city government by the council members of the Muttehda Qoumi Movement (MQM), a member of the ruling alliance in President General Musharraf’s government and the ruling party of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned that Mr. Hak Sok (51), a candidate of the Norodom Ranariddh party running for the communal election scheduled for April 1, was killed by unidentified men in front of his house on 26 March 2007. He was living in Sangkat number 4, Khan Mitapheap, […]

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 […]

[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Cambodian authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Cambodian authorities are […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the prolonged detention of two farmers in Davao Oriental province, the Philippines. Both of them have been detained for almost three years without any progress in their case because the prosecution witnesses failed to appear in court on six occasions. One of […]

The AHRC produces below the full text of this historic agreement: The full text of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement held between Government of Nepal and Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) dated November 22, 2006 Preamble Respecting popular mandate of Nepali people expressed in favor of democracy, peace and progression through the historical struggles and people’s […]

[RE: UG-018-2006: THAILAND: UN rights bodies must act urgently to address junta; UP-189-2006: THAILAND: Illegal detention of former government ministers; UP-190-2006: THAILAND: Websites and radio stations shut down by military junta] ———————————————————————- THAILAND: Military rule; martial law; threats to human rights defenders; restrictions on freedom of assembly & expression ——————————————————————— Dear friends, As the Asian […]

Dear friends, Since the army launched its coup in Thailand on September 19, it has moved fast to curtail civil liberties and detain members of the former caretaker government. There is growing resistance to the coup inside Thailand, but vocal opponents–especially journalists and human rights defenders–face very serious risks. Although the UN secretary general has […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission reiterates its condemnation of the military coup in Thailand and calls for immediate restoration of the constitution and civilian government. Since this morning, September 20, the coup group headed by army Commander-in-Chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin has made a series of pronouncements under martial law. These include that: 1. The democratic […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission condemns the military coup in Thailand and calls for immediate restoration of civilian government. At approximately 10pm on September 19 a group of officers headed by army Commander-in-Chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin took power while Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was attending the UN General Assembly in New York. The group, […]

While the call for a peaceful resolution of the Sri Lankan conflict has arisen from high level sources such as the Secretary General of the United Nations and even the Pope, these make hardly any difference to the dismal situation of complete neglect of the suffering caused to the people by all parties to the […]

The Amnesty International report on the political killings, human rights violations and peace process in the Philippines published in August 2006 points to the need for the political will to investigate and stop political killings and the legacy of impunity in the country:   “Unearthing the evidence establishing responsibility for the current pattern of political […]

Last week Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) published an editorial entitled the ‘UN should not ignore [the] Sri Lankan conflict’ (August 8, 2006).  The editorial wondered as to why despite the levels of violence in the Sri Lankan conflict being equal to, or worse when compared to Lebanon and other theatres of conflict, […]

By Basil Fernando This paper has been prepared to encourage discussion on the limits of the developments on the impact of adult franchise as a factor contributing to the present crisis in Sri Lanka Born in 1906 J.R. Jayawardene was already 41 years-of-age at the time of independence.  His formative years and the family background […]

In an historic judgment the Criminal Court of Thailand held yesterday (July 25, 2006) that the Election Commission was guilty of malfeasance and illegal assistance to the Thai Rak Thai Party in the April 2 Election and Repeat Vote.  The Court sentenced the three members of the Commission to four years in gaol, revoked their […]

Open letter from the AHRC to the Prime Minister of Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala Prime Minister’s office Singha Durbar Kathmandu NEPAL Fax. + 977 142 27286 Dear Prime Minister Koirala, Re: The urgent need to disarm and disband vigilante groups in Nepal, following the death of three-year old child The Asian Human Rights […]

In a May 28 interview published in the Bangkok Post newspaper, Kyoto University professor Yoshifumi Tamada expresses concerns over the stability of Thailand’s democracy. Tamada is evidently unsettled by the recent anti-government protests and popular boycott of the April 2 election, which he is quoted as saying amounts to a “constitutional coup”. Tamada holds the […]

The numerous appointments to key national commissions by the executive president, contravening constitutional requirements, are a very clear indication of Sri Lanka’s drift from a law-based society to one in which the law plays a significantly reduced role.  While criticism against presidential actions has pointed to matters including the fact that no person is above […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 4, 2006 AS-096-2006 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission NEPAL: Momentum is key in ensuring positive change toward peace, development and human rights in Nepal The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) sees in recent events in Nepal, arising out of the sustained mass demonstrations during the last month, a […]