Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Hindraf U.K. lobbying British MPs’ on UMNO racism against Malaysian Indian poor.
Dear Ano ji,
Namaste. I have sent a letter to my MP for Aldershot.
Regards
Surya
Dear All, please see the above Attachment, a template letter to all your MP’s seeking thier action. Please add your name, address,
your MP’s name and send to your MP’s via their e-mails at Parliament. Please forward to your friends and request that they write to their MP’s to take action.
Thank you.
Ano Rao. LL.B (Honours)
HREC,HCUK,BHTT.
Your name and address
MP’s name
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Dear Sir,
Re: Serious Human Rights issues affecting the Malaysian Indians.
I write to bring to your urgent attention on the serious Human Rights violations faced by the ethnic Malaysian Indians at the hands of the majority Malay-Muslim Government in Malaysia.
A Human Rights organisation in Malaysia – HINDRAF has particularly been targeted by the Malaysian Government on a clampdown and mass arrests of its leaders and members who organised the first ever seen Anti Racism March in Malaysia on the 27th February 2011.
3 main International Human Rights bodies namely the Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Frontline Defenders appealed to the Malaysian Government to allow the peaceful march. Please see the following links;
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA28/001/2011/en
http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/14661
http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/14548
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/24/malaysia-allow-anti-racism-march
Hindraf-Makkal Shakti in alliance with Human Rights Party, Malaysia (HRP) organised Solidarity March Against Racism (UMNO racism) on Sunday 27th February at KLCC. More than 1 million fliers were distributed in this campaign to eliminate and dismantle UMNO’s 54 years of Institutionalised racism. Various road shows were held nationwide to explain to the people the elusive manner in which the UMNO government manipulates, plants and entrenches racism in Malaysia but almost all of these events were disrupted by the Malaysian Royal Police Force by bearing upon the events with sheer number of officers who resorted to threats, intimidation and physical force upon the activists.
The March on 27th February was subject to a massive crackdown by the Police who had sought to detain all key Hindraf/HRP leaders and their volunteers nationwide. All 15 key Hindraf Makkal Sakthi /HRP leaders were arrested 2 hours before the march. At least 30 coaches ferrying campaigners from across the country were stopped from entering Kuala Lumpur city at various points. The coach drivers were threatened with revocation of their bus permits if they were to disregard their orders.
In the Kuala Lumpur city, Indians were subject to racial profiling and were arrested within 3 KM radius of the city as early as 5a.m., (4 hours before the march). A group of wheelchair bound well-wishers were also arrested and prevented from joining the March. On the whole, there were at least 3000 people throughout KL city and anyone intending to lend support to the March were prevented from reaching the designated KLCC as Police either intimidated them from proceeding further or threatening them with arrest on site.
Almost 280 people were arrested but out of this the Police processed only 109 and the rest were released without recording their details.
Since the 27th Feb, the police have been engaged in systematic elimination of Hindraf Makkal Sakthi, which is a Human Rights Advocacy movement for the protection of marginalised minority rights. On the 1st March, 5 leaders in Kuala Lumpur were arrested and charged for being members of an illegal society.
On 2nd March a further 6 leaders and well-wishers from Ipoh were arrested and charged.
On 3rd March 22 key leaders and well-wishers in the Negeri Sembilan State were arrested and charged. On the 4th March 2011, a further 21 leaders and well-wishers from the State of Selangor were also charged. The Police have also attended the work places of the movement’s well-wishers to harass them and also forced their respective employers to terminate the employment contracts of those arrested. The Police have similarly targeted the well-wishers home and intimidated their family members.
I believe this is a repeat of the 2007 crack down on Hindraf members and we deplore the employment of such methods to place terror or fear into our members by the police.
All of those recently arrested have been charged for being a member of an unlawful organisation; that is Hindraf (a previous name for the current Hindraf-Makkal Shakti). Hindraf was declared a banned organisation on media in a ministerial statement in 2008, but no evidential justification was given for the decision. We have yet to be served with any court order to that effect. In 2009 we re-branded our organisation and renamed it Hindraf Makkal Shakti. On 2nd October 2009, our solicitors Messrs Kumar Hashimah & Co applied to register our rebranded organisation- Hindraf Makkal Shakti but to date the Government has not taken a decision on our application. In the meantime, in August 2010, we organised our first annual Convention attended by delegates nationwide www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com