Asia: Distorted Burma, Burning JNU, & More on Asia ( Video )

( March 3, 2016, Hong Kong SAR, Sri Lanka Guardian) This week, Just Asia begins with Burma, where four protesters already sentenced by a court in May 2015, are now facing additional charges for the same incident. Burma’s first democratic election of November 2015 has done little to curb rights violations in the country.

Next, the crisis at New Delhi’s Jawarhalal Nehru University (JNU) continues. Five students accused of sedition surrendered to the police in the early hours of Wednesday. To learn more about the situation there, Just Asia talks to JNU students Ms. Anamika Yadav and Tara Shankar.

Moving to Nepal, Just Asia presents excerpts of the speech shared by Devi Sunuwar on her daughter’s 12th death anniversary. Although Nepal’s civil conflict ended in 2006, the plight of conflict victims remains unresolved.

Indonesia is facing severe restrictions on freedom of opinion and assembly, with a recent police regulation on hate speech negatively impacting activists and others. Additionally, at least six political parties have proposed a controversial new bill weakening the existing Corruption Eradication Commission.

From Thailand, Just Asia reports that activists involved in compiling a key torture report were intimidated by the army. A group of uniformed men visited the home of activist Anchana Heemmina, while her elderly mother was home alone. Earlier, a military spokesperson questioned the activists’ investigation of state officers.

Finally, Just Asia covers four cases of human rights violations in its Urgent Appeals Weekly. In Indonesia, 27 persons were arrested and charged for involvement in a peaceful protest. In the Philippines, an indigenous man was killed by members of a paramilitary group in Bukidnon. Separately, the 73rd Infantry Battalion harassed and assaulted indigenous villagers in several incidents. In Nepal, 12 human rights defenders and conflict victims were arrested for demanding justice for Ganga Maya Adhikari.

About the programme: The Asian Human Rights Commission, 

Hong Kong based Human Rights monitoring and documenting body, launched the first issue of a weekly roundup of human rights issues on October 14, 2013. Since then they produced over hundred weekly bulletins. The weekly roundup is a news programme which aims to highlight a wide variety of current human rights issues in the Asian region. Important stories of people fighting for improving human rights, both in the civil and political rights sphere as well as economic, social and cultural rights are covered in these weekly roundups and we also often meet survivors of human rights violations, who talk of their experiences. The AHRC hopes that this coverage will contribute to the conversation on human rights issues in the region and will also assist in developing greater solidarity in the struggle to achieve universal human rights.

About the Producer: The programme was the result of the concept introduced and developed by a young Sri Lankan journalist Amila Sampath who studied journalism at the College of Journalism in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He has made hundreds of videos for the local NGO, Janasansadaya – The People’s Forum, reporting on torture abuse and other human rights violations from all over Sri Lanka. He subsequently worked as a journalist at Sri Lankan Sirasa TV Channel (news) for two years where he was involved in all aspects of producing news packages and feature reports, before relocating to Hong Kong to join the AHRC. Amila now handles the production, directing and editing of the weekly news roundup, as well as many other video productions in the organisation.”