Archive of South Asia Citizens Wire

  • India: Deployment of Special Police Officers undermining justice and human rights

    by Asian Legal Resource Centre, 2 June 2009

    Asian Legal Resource Centre
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 2, 2009 ALRC-CWS-11-03-2009
    Language(s): English only
    HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Eleventh session
    A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status
    INDIA: Special police officers in use in armed conflicts, committing rights violations
    On 23 May 2008, in a meeting held at Imphal in Manipur state, the Manipur state government published a set of (…)

  • Sri Lanka: Sinhala Ultranationalists Threaten Progressive Think Tank

    by The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), 1 June 2009

    Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA)
    CPA received this letter on 1st June 2009 via the post. The scanned Sinhala original is available as a PDF to download, along with the English translation.
    ###
    NOTICE TO THE TRAITORS (DESHADROHIS) The wretched war that lasted throughout 30 years has now come to an end. Blood thirsty wicked terrorists were finished from this country. That happened in such a way that even their carcass didn’t mix with the Sri Lankan ( Lak Polawa ) soil. That is (…)

  • Remembering Ahilya Rangnekar

    by Githa Hariharan, 31 May 2009

    Reading about the death of the veteran activist, Ahilya Rangnekar, in Mumbai last month conjured up several scenes of history — to do with an individual life, but also with reference to the freedom struggle, the growth of workers’ and women’s movements, and the efforts of a city to divide its opportunities equally among its citizens. One good place to begin this visit to Mumbai’s history of political action is Parel, especially because of the deceptive veneer the place has now acquired.

  • Bangladesh: The era of women empowerment and 39 lashes

    by Moazzem Hossain, 30 May 2009

    Yes, I am talking about the recent incident at a village in Daudkandi, where a girl was whipped with 39 lashes in the presence of a few hundred people the outcome of a decree of a local salish.

    This is not the first occasion that such a crime has been committed by the so-called moulanas and their accomplices in this nation. The aim of this piece is to remind the politicians at all levels that, under any circumstances, this kind of atrocity cannot be allowed and must be stopped immediatelyby making new laws if required

  • Pakistan: Who should the state talk to in FATA and what about ?

    by I A Rehman, 29 May 2009

    Dawn
    No return to the Raj
    It may not be enough to promise the Fata people what they enjoyed under the British: I.A. Rehman
    IF the decision to launch a military operation in Swat and other parts of the Malakand division was not easy to make, its implementation is proving to be even more problematic, and quite a few issues need to be thrashed out at the highest level.
    Public attention is still rightly focused on the plight of the displaced people. Much needs to be done to mitigate (…)

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