Five international human rights organisations have reminded prime minister Najib Razak that his administration's witch-hunt of Bersih sympathisers had violated a condition of the United Nations' Human Rights Council of which Malaysia is a member.
"Malaysia’s image and standing as a member of the UN Human Rights Council is being severely tarnished when instead of responding substantively to the detailed proposals for electoral reforms made by Bersih, you and your government have unleashed a barrage of arbitrary arrests of Bersih’s leaders and supporters in violation of their fundamental rights to freedom of association, expression, and peaceful assembly," said the letter by Amnesty International, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, Human Rights Watch, International Federation of Human Rights and World Organisation Against Torture.
The groups also called for the immediate release of all those detained under various draconian acts, including the six Parti Sosialis Malaysia activists detained under the Emergency Ordinance.
The letter reminded Najib's pledge when he assumed the prime ministerial post in April 2009, including his “intention to uphold civil liberties” and “regard for the fundamental rights of the people of Malaysia."
The government had earlier unleashed a frenzy of measures to prevent the July 9 peaceful demonstration by electoral reform group Bersih, which had since moved its gathering to a stadium.
The decision to move the rally is believed to be taken following threats of violence on participants, as well as an attempt to orchestrate a riot by UMNO's offshoot Perkasa with a view to put the blame on Bersih. Such a suspicion was fuelled by a report yesterday of the police's seizure of Molotov cocktails, weapons together with Bersih T-shirts, all of which the police said were "hidden" at several spots in the city centre.
Close to 200 people have been detained by the police in the run-up to the rally, mostly for the offence of wearing the yellow Bersih T-shirts.
The letter meanwhile blasted the government for declaring Bersih "illegal".
“Your government has failed to provide any credible evidence to substantiate the Registrar of Societies’ claims that Bersih is trying to topple the government, or is a risk to public order, safety, economy, and sovereignty,” it stressed.
Harakahdaily
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