The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is an independent non-governmental The State of Human Rights organisation that monitors the human rights situations in the region. It works at the local level with partner organisations, as well as at the regional and international levels, to advocate for the greater enjoyment of all rights and the prevention of violations thereof. Asian Nations – 2007 The State of Human Rights in Eleven in Eleven Asian Nations – 2007 The strengthening of the institutions of the rule of law, notably the police and judiciary, in Asia’s nations is seen as the fundamental means through which the effective respect for human rights can be achieved. This publication is a compendium of the organisation’s reports on its main countries of focus during 2007. The year has been particularly turbulent in many of these, notably Bangladesh, Burma, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and this report highlights the various human rights issues that the organisation has encountered in these countries in crisis, as well as a range of issues covered in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand. It is hoped that the analysis contained within this report will contribute to furthering the discussion on rights in the region, in order to see an end to widespread abuses, including arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, forced disappearances, extra- judicial killings and other grave violations that still plague most of Asia’s societies. Bangladesh • Burma • Cambodia India • Indonesia • Nepal • Pakistan Philippines • Republic of Korea Sri Lanka • Thailand ISBN 962-8314-34-3 AHRC ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AHRC i Human Rights Report - 2007 The State of Human Rights in Eleven Asian Nations Bangladesh • Burma • Cambodia India • Indonesia • Nepal • Pakistan Philippines • Republic of Korea Sri Lanka • Thailand ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION (AHRC) ii The state of human rights in eleven Asian nations - 2007 Asian Human Rights Commission 2007 ISBN-10: 962-8314-34-3 ISBN-13: 978-962-8314-34-8 Published by Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) 19th Floor, Go-Up Commercial Building 998 Canton Road, Mongkok, Kowloon Hong Kong, China Telephone: +(852) 2698-6339 Fax: +(852) 2698-6367 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.ahrchk.net December 2007 Printed by Clear-Cut Publishing and Printing Co. A1, 20/F, Fortune Factory Building 40 Lee Chung Street, Chai Wan, Hong Kong Cover photos Top left: The chief justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar M. Chaudhry, presently under house arrest (Photo: Courtesy of the Pakistan Bar Council) Top right: The acting chief justice of Pakistan, Rana Bhagwan Das, deposed on November 3, 2007, when President General Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency (Photo: Fahim Siddiqi, Courtesy of Daily Dawn, Karachi) Bottom left: Munir A. Malik, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and a lawyer representing Chief Justice Iftikhar M. Chaudhry, who was poisoned during his arrest Bottom right: Aitzaz Ahsan, current president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and a lawyer representing Chief Justice Iftikhar M. Chaudhry (Photo: Courtesy of the Pakistan Bar Council) iii CONTENTS v Foreword Statement of Asian Human Rights Commission for International vii Human Rights Day 2007 ASIA: A year of historic struggles for human rights Bangladesh 1 Prolonged unjustifiable State of Emergency increases lawlessness and abuse of human rights Burma 32 Political psychosis & legal dementia Cambodia 55 The Human Rights situation in 2007 India 91 The State of Human Rights in 2007 Indonesia 122 Reforms have started but atrocities continue Nepal 153 On the brink of bloodshed again, after year-long inertia Pakistan 190 A year of turmoil and struggle for the independence of the judiciary Philippines 240 Systemic failure of investigations aggravates rights abuses iv The state of human rights in eleven Asian nations - 2007 Republic of Korea 261 Human Rights developments in 2007 Sri Lanka 278 Human Rights violations escalate further in 2007 Thailand 358 Fondness for authority undoes constitutionalism v Foreword This publication features a collection of reports on the human rights situations in eleven Asian States, which together comprise the Asian Human Rights Commission’s annual human rights report for 2007. The countries in focus this year are: Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Each report is prepared by the organisation’s relevant country desk and does not purport to be exhaustive or a complete overview of the entire range of human rights issues that are present in the country, but rather presents the issues of concern and experiences that the organisation encountered during its work in 2007. 2007 was a year of significant upheaval in the Asian region, with one crisis following fast on the coat-tails of the last. These included the crack-down on peaceful protests in Burma, the battle for the independence of the judiciary and the resulting State of Emergency and political turmoil in Pakistan, and the stark rise in disappearances and conflict-related violence in Sri Lanka. While these situations have garnered a certain degree of interest around the world, other country situations have been overlooked, for example the mass arrests and State of Emergency in Bangladesh, or the ongoing problem of impunity and increasing lawlessness that risks presaging a return to conflict in Nepal, to name but two. Chronic human rights problems, such as those stemming from the caste system in South Asia, notably India, as well as poverty and the dysfunctional institutions of the rule of law that are at the root of most human rights violations across the nations of Asia are also included in this report. The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to thank all of the contributors to this report, as well as the organisation’s partners in the field and its donors around the world. vi The state of human rights in eleven Asian nations - 2007 vii Statement of Asian Human Rights Commission for International Human Rights Day 2007 ASIA : A year of historic struggles for human rights The year 2007 will be remembered as a year in which historic struggles for human rights brought out increasingly belligerent responses from ruling elites across Asia. It is certain that throughout the region more and more people are resolved to assert their rights. It is also clear that its autocrats will respond more and more aggressively in order to keep control. Instead of acknowledging the need for change, states throughout Asia are continuing to prefer overt violence and blatant constraints on basic freedoms. To mark International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2007, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is releasing its latest annual report on the human rights situation in eleven Asian countries. Among them are Burma and Pakistan, which witnessed immense popular uprisings against military rule during the year. Also included are Bangladesh and Thailand, which have returned to periods of heavy military authoritarianism during the year. And there are Sri Lanka and the Philippines, where conflict and gross rights violations persist as a way of life, despite the superficial workings of elected governments. Other sections are devoted to Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal and South Korea. BANGLADESH A prolonged and unjustifiable state of emergency has increased lawlessness and abuses of human rights in Bangladesh since January 11, 2007. All fundamental rights have been suspended. The armed forces have since enjoyed unbridled power and sheer impunity. Many human rights defenders have been threatened and intimidated, arbitrarily arrested and detained, tortured and implicated in fabricated cases. As a result, most human rights organisations have put a halt to controversial work, including fact-finding missions to document cases of abuse. Torture is rife but has not yet been criminalised, despite the government having ratified the UN Convention against Torture in 1998. The country’s prisons are overcrowded. Private houses are being used to hold prominent persons detained on corruption charges. Custodial deaths from violence and neglect continue, with around 100 reported in 2007. Security forces also extrajudicially killed at least 148 persons up to the end of October. In not a single case of torture or extrajudicial killing were the alleged perpetrators brought before a court; the courts are not yet independent however, despite their powers having been formally separated from other parts of the state at the start of viii The state of human rights in eleven Asian nations - 2007 November. There is no independent prosecution department or attorney general’s office. Country report link: http://material.ahrchk.net/hrreport/2007/Bangladesh2007.pdf BURMA The mass protests in Burma during August and September have shown that there is wide consensus for a transfer of power from the military regime to a civilian government. The government’s response, with killings, disappearances and the arbitrary detention of thousands entirely outside of any legal process obliges the international community to take a determined stand, in particular through the United Nations. China and India, as Burma’s big neighbors, have important roles and responsibilities. Thailand too must understand that its security depends upon improved conditions in its neighboring country. If economic conditions further deteriorate and dissent is stifled rather than acknowledged as legitimate, then it will cause further outpourings of persons in search of work and safety. All of Asia and indeed the world can only but benefit from a change in political and social arrangements in Burma, and thus it is in the best interests of all to see that it occur. Every society has its threshold, the point after which it will no longer tolerate things going on as before: Burma has reached its threshold. It is beholden on all of us to see that it does not spill over that point and into further uncontrollable violence and illegality, as it is sure to do if nothing is done to address the legitimate grievances of millions.