AHRC TV: Supreme Court orders probe into Manipur killings and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 180
21st July, 2017
This week Just Asia begins with India, where the Supreme Court passed
a historic judgment last Friday, ordering the Central Bureau of
Investigation to probe into the allegations of 'fake encounters' by
uniformed personnel in the conflict ridden state of Manipur. To ensure
an impartial investigation, the Court ordered that no member of the
Manipur police will be a part of the probe. Human Rights Alert is the
second petitioner in this case, and Just Asia speaks to its Director,
Babloo Loitongbam, for his comments on the judgment and its
significance.
Next, Philippines is the deadliest country in Asia for environmental
activists, and the third deadliest in the world, said a new report
launched last week by international group Global Witness. The report
reveals 28 killings occurred last year in the Philippines, most
related to struggles against mining. Meanwhile, a local group has
monitored at least 10 environment related killings in the first half
of this year.
In Nepal, certain groups of children continue to be denied their basic
right to education, due to schools practicing discrimination. Most
recently, Mina and Santosh Marik had to give up their dream of
educating their children, due to untouchability practiced at the
Adhaarbhut Primary School in Maleth, located near their home. The
Marik children were treated inhumanly and regularly sent home by
school teachers and parents of non-Dalit students. Finally, the
children were compelled to drop out.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo passed a regulation last week
replacing the country’s law on mass organizations. The new
regulation allows the government to disband mass organizations without
any judicial process, and to criminally charge members for blasphemy.
The blasphemy charge will hold a maximum sentence of 20 years
imprisonment.
Religious discrimination in Pakistan forces non-Muslims to work as
scavengers, sweepers and sewage workers. These jobs are reserved for
minority religions, making it difficult for non-Muslims to find better jobs.
Finally, the Urgent Appeals Weekly features four cases from India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
* This Press Release was sent to e-pao.net by Asian Human Rights Commission who can be contacted at http://www.humanrights.asia
This Press Release was posted on July 22 2017
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