Human rights activists to picket in London
Scores of human rights activists are expected to protest outside the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board office in Trafalgar Square, London tomorrow.
Organised by the Abolish the Internal Security Act Movement, United Kingdom (AIM-UK), the picket seeks to draw attention to the Malaysian government's continued violation of human rights through the use of ISA, which is now justified in the name of the war against terror.
According to a press statement faxed to malaysiakini today, the protest is held to coincide with Defence Minister Najib Abdul Razak's speech at Oxford University on 'Security in the age of global terrorism'.
"At its protest, AIM-UK will highlight the detention of six political activists as well as the climate of fear, intimidation and censorship that has been recently unleashed in Malaysia," said the statement.
Scores of human rights activists are expected to protest outside the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board office in Trafalgar Square, London tomorrow.
Organised by the Abolish the Internal Security Act Movement, United Kingdom (AIM-UK), the picket seeks to draw attention to the Malaysian government's continued violation of human rights through the use of ISA, which is now justified in the name of the war against terror.
According to a press statement faxed to malaysiakini today, the protest is held to coincide with Defence Minister Najib Abdul Razak's speech at Oxford University on 'Security in the age of global terrorism'.
"At its protest, AIM-UK will highlight the detention of six political activists as well as the climate of fear, intimidation and censorship that has been recently unleashed in Malaysia," said the statement.
They are Keadilan leaders Tian Chua, Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, Saari Sungib, Dr Badrulamin Bahron, Lokman Noor Adam and malaysiakini columnist-cum-filmmaker Hishamuddin Rais.
The detainees, five of whom are undergoing detention at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Perak, are being held for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government through violent means.
Ezam, who has since been convicted under the Official Secrets Act for exposing classified documents containing allegations of corruption against two senior politicians, is currently serving his two-year jail sentence in Kajang prison.
Police raid
AIM-UK will also be highlighting in tomorrow's protest the recent police raid on independent news website malaysiakini which saw 19 computers confiscated. All but four servers have been returned since Monday.
The London protest will be led by Labour member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn, who tabled an early-day motion (EDM) against the ISA to the House of Commons last November.
While EDMs are not generally expected to be debated, they can often attract a great deal of publicity, and many people regard them as a gauge of opinion.
The tabling of an EDM is a device to elicit support from other MPs. Corbyn's EDM has since been endorsed by 17 MPs.
Close cooperation
The EDM registers dismay that Britain is working closely with the Malaysian authorities on counter-terrorism capacity building despite Malaysia's use of the ISA to detain without charge or trial human rights activists and campaigners for democracy.
The protest organisers have also expressed concern that British Prime Minister Tony Blair, "who argues for 'good governance' and respect for 'human rights' standards abroad, seems to be overlooking the violations of human rights in the case of Malaysia".
"AIM-UK will be asking tourists thinking of visiting Malaysia to take up these concerns with their local MP, the undersecretary of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mike O'Brien, and the Malaysian High Commission."
