(Hong Kong, 12 March 2004) - The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) is pleased to announce the release today of a new book, The right to speak loudly: Essays on law and human rights, by W J Basil Fernando. The book consists of a collection of essays on law and human rights written by Fernando over a number of years, drawing of his deep and extensive experiences working as a lawyer and human rights advocate in different parts of Asia. "We desperately need cross-cultural discussions on the rule of law and human rights," begins Fernando. "Much of the discourse is dominated by the West, as is the language of justice, which is associated with several centuries of struggle there. As a result, many of the problems faced by people in Asia are beyond the comprehension of those who are used to this discourse."

"Persons from the western tradition struggle to understand how a police officer may so readily resort to torture as his means for routine criminal investigation, or how he may spend more time making a living on the side than dealing with his official duties," he continues. "They cannot easily accept that a prosecutor may belong to a powerless agency, or that a complete buffoon may sit as Chief Justice and make a mockery of the very institution he represents. An enlightened discourse on the rule of law and human rights will develop only when we break down the language barriers and understand the actual daily experiences of people throughout Asia."

Fernando's book is a bold and important step in developing that discourse. The right to speak loudly convincingly demonstrates that studies of human rights crises and social conflict must account for the institutional defects in the police, judiciary and prosecution agencies.

A full review of the book is attached.

In Hong Kong: Send a cheque or demand draft for HK$ 80.00 payable to "Asian Legal Resource Centre Ltd" to ALRC, Floor 19, Go-Up Commercial Building, 998 Canton Road, Mongkok, Kowloon.

In Sri Lanka: The book is priced at Rs150, and may be obtained by contacting the Rule of Law Centre, No. 3, Wijewardanarama Rd, Nugegoda, ph. 2853329.

In other countries: Send a cheque or demand draft for US$ 25.00 (includes postage) payable to "Asian Legal Resource Centre Ltd" to ALRC, Floor 19, Go-Up Commercial Building, 998 Canton Road, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.

For further enquiries: Email books@ahrchk.net, or call Louise Sun, +852-2698-6339.

Book review
The right to speak loudly: Essays on law and human rights
W J Basil Fernando

Fernando, W J Basil, The right to speak loudly: Essays on law and human rights

Asian Legal Resource Centre, Hong Kong, China, March 2004, ISBN 962-8161-0509, 134pp.

Basil Fernando begins his latest publication, The right to speak loudly: Essays on law and human rights, with an appeal. Talk on justice and human rights, he urges, desperately needs to be taken beyond the confines of the West and its traditions. This is necessary both to increase its global relevance and in order that people coming from the western tradition can better understand the immense problems faced by those elsewhere in the world. This book is about generating that talk, and in particular, about finding a loud and vigorous voice for those who are ordinarily not heard.

Fernando is the right person to make this appeal. Coming from a Sri Lankan fishing village and having worked as a lawyer in Sri Lanka, and among Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong, he later became a senior member of the United Nations transitional authority in Cambodia. He returned to Hong Kong a decade ago to become director of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and Asian Legal Resource Centre. Throughout his professional and personal life he has met and talked with thousands of people from all across Asia and the world. Those exchanges are the fuel for his essays.

The book's contents are diverse, exploring the breadth and depth of Fernando's experiences. The chapters are not particular to any one place or time, but rather are drawn from across a number of years' work on many issues. They are further enriched by some important supplementary documents. However, despite the surface differences between one item and the next, they are all are brought together by Fernando's persistent concern with the stories and suffering of the ordinary person. This deep empathy is accompanied by his remarkable ability to identify, describe and diagnose complex legal ailments and their links to human rights in a profoundly practical, accessible and non-academic way.

Among its chapters, The right to speak loudly contains short readings on censorship, social change and problems with the rule of law, investment in justice, forensic science and the rights of dead persons, perceptions about increasing crime, and the crisis in the Indian judiciary. There are also three short chapters on recent developments in Hong Kong, and the territory's greater significance for Asia. A number of longer items discuss the methods used by AHRC in building the most successful campaign against torture in Asia, the causal link between impunity and poverty, and historical models of governance in Asia and their modern relevance. Other chapters examine new models of authoritarianism, mass disappearances and the police crisis in Sri Lanka, and how having a law of contempt is essential in a democracy. There is also an interview in which Fernando talks about the newly formed National Police Commission (NPC) of Sri Lanka.

Two of the appendices are lengthy: the first is AHRC's submission to the NPC on implementing a procedure for complaints against the police in Sri Lanka; the second is the Concluding Observations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee on Sri Lanka delivered in 2003. These two documents are important additions to the preceding chapters, as they anchor the earlier discussion to the intensely detailed work done by AHRC and its partner organisations.

The significance of Fernando's book is captured in its title. Usually, freedom of speech is understood as the right to speak aloud. But there is a vast difference in the meaning between speaking aloud and speaking loudly. The former suggests that one's voice may be heard, but perhaps only by a few, and perhaps only in a way that will be palatable to the self-described elite guardians of society: be they in government, the judiciary or religious orders. By contrast, the latter asserts the ordinary person's right to shout out loud when and where atrocities are committed and injustices are performed. It means making noises that may sound unpleasant for many, particularly those persons with authority who are unused to being challenged. Fernando, for one, has never been afraid to have his voice heard. The right to speak loudly is his challenge to others genuinely concerned with human rights and the rule of law to do the same. For anyone professing such concerns, it is a book that should be taken seriously.

- Nick Cheesman

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