Military

Serious doubts have emerged regarding the future investigations into the mass grave at Matale where the remains of 156 persons have been found. In today’s press it was reported that the Judicial Medical Officer in charge of the investigation has been transferred (JMO in charge of Matale mass grave also to be transferred — Sri Lanka […]

It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that Abdul Waheed Khan projects are continued so that his death will not be in vain On May 13 a well known human rights defender, social activist and educationist was assassinated, allegedly by religious extremists suspected to be members of the Taliban. Mr. Abdul Waheed Khan […]

News reports from Bangladesh allege that a series of attacks on demonstrators have taken place, at around 3am today, May 6, 2013. The extent of the injuries and death is difficult to be ascertained at the moment. The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi newspaper, gave the figure of deaths as 5. However, several internet reports have mentioned that the […]

Once again violence against the Ahmadi community has erupted in Punjab province. As the election are approaching (May 11) this recent outburst is seen as an attempt to influence the voters to support fundamentalists and right wing parties. On 28th April 2013 supporters of Khatme Nabuwwat (the movement against the Ahmadi sect of Islam) raided […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a local NGO, KontraS, regarding the shooting of four detainees in the Cebongan Correctional Facility by military officers. The shooting was an act of revenge by the officers for the murder of one of their colleagues which took place a couple of days […]

There have been some developments during the past two weeks that reveal that in the coming elections elements of the Taliban and Al-Qaida had been offered seats in the parliament. Before these developments the security agencies with the help of right wing parties have also allowed 53 sectarian candidates to contest the elections without passing […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission condemns in the strongest terms the announcement of the commander of the Sagaing Region Police Force, Myanmar, that the police will arrest and charge eight human rights defenders whom it blames for inciting protests against the army-backed copper mine project at the Letpadaung Hills, in Monywa. The commission also condemns […]

The General should be prosecuted for betraying his oath as a member of the Armed Forces Just twenty days before the general elections the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, has come out with a policy statement which gives the political views of the Army. The statement was delivered with the express […]

Yet another policy change by the army indicates that the Taliban are now an asset in the new develop of the region As the time of the withdrawal of the USA and the allied forces is coming closer the Pakistan army has suddenly changed its stance against the Taliban. The army has developed its new […]

Today, 11 April 2013, the authorities in Bangladesh have arrested the Interim Editor of a prominent Bangladeshi daily, Daily Amardesh, Mr. Mahmudur Rahman. Officers raided Rahman’s office at about 8:30 am and taken away by the Detective Branch of Bangladesh Police. Rahman’s arrest is an attempt to stifle dissenting voice. Rahman is in a serious […]

Six steps to halt the conflict, protect human rights & secure self-rule “The national democratic movement of Balochistan is weakened by the lack of unity and coordination and by the lack of a peace plan to secure a negotiated political settlement to the six-decades-long conflict,” said London-based international human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, Director of […]

(Hong Kong, April 10, 2013) A Burma-based lawyers group has released its findings on the Letpadaung land struggle in English. The 39-page illustrated report was submitted by the Lawyers Network (Myanmar) and the Justice Trust in February to the government’s investigation commission into events at Letpadaung, recounts the land struggle and subsequent crackdown on protestors. […]

On 21 March 2013 a member of the national legislature in Burma introduced a motion calling for the country to join the United Nations Convention against Torture. In his motion, Dr Aung Moe Nyo, member of the National League for Democracy for Pwintbyu, Magway Region, argued that as the country is now developing and democratising […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has since mid-2012 closely followed, documented and reported on the struggle of farmers in the Letpadaung Hills of central Burma against the expansion of a copper mining operation under a military-owned holding company and a partner compay from China. After repeatedly being refused permission to demonstrate against the operation under the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the arrest and detention of two teenagers based on fabricated charges in Paniai, Papua. The police arrested them after finding a woven bag filled with a cartridge and other materials associated with pro-independence movement, which did not belong to either of them but […]

On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the Jabidah massacre, the Mindanao Peoples Caucus calls upon the Bangsamoro people to unite  and close ranks at this most critical stage of their political struggle as a distinct people with a proud history in Mindanao.  More than ever, it is time to set aside ideological and […]

Ms. Perveen Rehman (56), worked for the betterment of the poor and neglected When a small lady weighing hardly 60 kilograms working for the betterment of poor slum-dwellers, and amongst the under-privileged in poorer residential areas, is viewed as a dire threat to the Taliban and the local administration, the sanity of these institutions, and […]

A group of hundreds of relatives of the disappeared from Mannar and Vavuniya were to arrive on the 5th night in Colombo by buses to share with the people in the South their pathetic stories about the disappearances of their loved ones during and after the war, and then to present a petition to the […]

NfR, a network of Sri Lankan journalists and human rights defenders, expresses its strongest indignation to the Government of Sri Lanka for its dastardly act of blocking Tamil civilians travelling to Colombo to demand justice for the disappeared. Police has used their trucks to block the buses they were travelling with. on 5th March 2013 […]

Swarnavahini reported a raid on a house maintained at a high rise building in Maligawatta by a mob led by a Buddhist monk, Galabodathe Yanasiri, the secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (The Buddhist Power Army). Galabodathe Yanasiri claimed that a person residing there was keeping false deeds, fake ticket books and passing himself off […]