Democracy

INDONESIA: book burning, arson, ‘sweeping’, banning of books and writings, threats to organisations regarded as ‘leftist’ ———————————————————— \”This is the New, New Order\” That’s the view of Indonesia’s most celebrated author, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, 76, who survived 10 years of incarceration on infamous Buru Island and almost 20 years of house/city arrest years under Suharto, […]

Indonesia’s new democracy is facing its greatest threat to date.  While the world’s attention is on whether President Wahid will stay in office or not some organisations have taken the opportunity to wipe out the main progressive, democracy-building organisations, openly calling it an \”anti-communist\” purge (even though the organisations may be completely unrelated to communism).  […]

Dear Friends, We’re sending you following appeal made by Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) in South Korea. We urge you to draw your attention and to send protest letter to South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency. Thank you. Urgent Appeals Desk Asian Human Rights Commission ================================================ […]

Will the perpetrators of violence be brought to justice? An AHRC Statement on Recent General Election, 2000, in Sri Lanka The violence during the election this time has been acknowledged, and even the final results from 23 polling centres have been annulled by the commissioner of elections. In addition, the judgement of overall fairness has […]

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 […]

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: 

The loss during the Easter weekend of the strategic Elephant Pass stronghold by the Sri Lankan government to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) shows the futility of continuing this war which has been going on for two decades and has incurred the loss of well over 55,000 lives and two entire years’ worth […]

  It is reported that several arrests are taking place in Malaysia, which the human rights activists and observers describe as a crack down on the opposition. The most significant among them is the arrest of Karpal Singh who heads the legal team defending the former deputy Prime-Minister Anwar Ibrahim. He is charged with sedition […]

The ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION urge you to continue your support for justice and human rights in Malaysia. Five persons are still detained under the Malaysian Internal Security Act [ISA]. Anwar detained under ISA, which was later lifted, is still remanded in jailed. Meanwhile, 178 persons were charged with illegal assembly, disobeying police orders and […]

Dear friends,   The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is forwarding to you an appeal from the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) regarding the affirmation of the High Court of the guilty verdict on Dr. Chee Soon Juan for “speaking in public without a permit”.     For more details, please contact them at this website: […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission is forwarding an appeal from People to People dialogue on Peace and Sustainable Development regarding the ongoing civil war in Sri Lanka. If you have any inquiry regarding this appeal, please contact Movement for National Land and Agricultural Reform (MNLAR), a member of this group’s steering committee. MNLAR’s contact information […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is forwarding to you an appeal letter issued by five Congressmen in the Philippines who are currently facing unjust restraint and the threat of arrest for their stance against the Arroyo government and the recent “state of national emergency”. The five are aware that were they to […]

Dear friends, On the one-year anniversary of the royal take-over of Nepal, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is forwarding to you a joint appeal issued by 48 NGOs, civil society organisations and trade unions from around the world regarding the collapse of democracy, the gross violations of human rights and the continuing conflict with […]

Dear friends, We are forwarding you the resolution on Nepal adopted by the Sixty-first Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.  In the past few months many persons have been much concerned about the human rights situation in Nepal and many human rights activists and groups have worked intensively on this resolution.  […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward a statement issued by three individuals and 16 human rights organisations in Nepal, with regard to the King’s efforts to dismantle human rights mechanisms in the country. The names of the persons and organisations are deliberately withheld. For updated information on Nepal, please refer […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is forwarding a statement adopted by 14 local, regional and international human rights bodies and academic institutions, including the AHRC, who gathered in Bangkok, Thailand at the 4th International Criminal Court (ICC) Campaign Network Regional Meeting regarding the present situation in relation to human rights in Nepal. We […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is forwarding to you an appeal that five student activists advocating human rights have disappeared from their dormitory on 15 August 2008 in southern Thailand. Two of whom had previously been arrested in January of this year. The disappeared victims, all are students of the Yala Rajabhat […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is forwarding updates related to the recent Nepal crisis issued on 10 February 2005 by the International Nepal Solidarity Network (INSN), a network of concerned individuals working for peace, justice, and self-determination for the people of Nepal. To see current developments in Nepal, please also see our […]