BERSIH Rally - Letter to International Organisations to make representations to Malaysian Government

 by P. Waytha Moorthy, Chair, HINDRAF

 

 

William J.Burns

The Under Secretary for Political Affairs

U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

 

Rt.Hon.  William Hague MP

Foreign Secretary

Foreign & Commonwealth Office,
King Charles Street,
London.
SW1A 2AH

 

Ms Heidi Hautala

Chair of the Human Rights Sub Committee

European Parliament

Rue Wiertz
Wiertzstraat
B-1047 Brussels

 

Richard Ottaway MP

House of Commons

Foreign Affairs Committee

4 Millbank
City of London SW1P 3JA

 

 

Ms Navanethem Pillay

High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson
52 rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland

+41 22 917 9656

civilsociety@ohchr.org

 

Mr. Githu Muigai
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
Email: racism@ohchr.org

 

Mrs. Margaret Sekaggya
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
Email: urgent-action@ohchr.org

 

Gay McDougall

Independent Expert on Minority Issues

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland 

Fax: + 41 22 917 9006

 

Mr. Frank La Rue
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
Email: freedex@ohchr.org 

 

 

Gabriella Habtom
Human Rights Officer and Secretary of the Committee
on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Human Rights Treaties Division
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Tel. +41.22.917.9193 - Fax +41.22.917.90.08
e-mail: ghabtom@ohchr.org / tb-petitions@ohchr.org
Palais Wilson - 52, rue des Pâquis, CH-1201,

Geneva, Switzerland

 

Frank William La Rue
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

UNOG-OHCHR 
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland

Tel: +41 22 917 93 32 
Fax: +41 22 917 90 22

 

 

 Amnesty International

1 Easton Street
London
WC1X 0DW, UK

Telephone: +44-20-74135500

Fax number: +44-20-79561157

Email: activism@amnesty.org.uk

 

Human Rights Watch

Address: 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor
New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
Tel: +1-212-290-4700
Fax: +1-212-736-1300
email: spiegem@hrw.org

 

Minority Rights Group International
54 Commercial Street
London E1 6LT, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7422 4200
Fax: +44 (0)20 7422 4201

Email: minority.rights@mrgmail.org

 

Front Line –

The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Head Office, Second Floor, Grattan House
Temple Road, Blackrock
Co Dublin, Ireland
Tel: +353 (0)1 212 3750 
Fax: +353 (0)1 212 1001
E-mail: info@frontlinedefenders.org

 

OSCE Secretariat
Wallnerstrasse 6
1010 Vienna
Austria
Tel: +43 1 514 36 6000
Fax: +43 1 514 36 6996
E-mail: info@osce.org

 

 

NAACP

Washington Bureau
1156 15th Street, NW Suite 915
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 463-2940
Fax: (202) 463-2953
Email: washingtonbureau@naacpnet.org

 

European Union External Action Service

Menara Tan & Tan, Suite 10.01 
207 Jalan Tun Razak 
50400 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel.: +6 03 2723 7373
Fax: +6 03 2723 7337

 E-mail: delegation-malaysia@ec.europa.eu

 

US Embassy Malaysia

Mr Brian D. McFeeters - Political Counselor

376 Jalan Tun Razak

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  

Tel No:   (03) 2168-4946,

Fax  No : (03) 2168-5165,

Email : mcfeetersbd@state.gov

 

 

Rainbow Push Coalition

National Headquarters

930 East 50th Street

Chicago, IL 60615

Phone: 773-373-3366

Fax: 773-373-3571

Email : info@rainbowpush.org

 

National Action Network

House of Justice

106 West, 145^th Street,

Harlem ,NY 10039

Tel No: (212) 690 3070

Fax No ( 877)-  626  4651

Email : rachel@noerdlingermedia.com

 

23rd June 2011.

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Re:      Urgent Request to make Representations to the Government of Malaysia on the possible violence by PERKASA, UMNO sponsored NGO on Human Rights Advocates and the general public on the BERSIH 2.0 public rally for free and fair election in Malaysia on 9^th July 2011.

  

I write to you with the utmost urgency for your attention on the above matter. 

 

BERSIH is a coalition of NGOs’  that  advocate   free and fair elections  and intend to march peacefully  with the public in Malaysia on July 9, 2011 in line with the fundamental rights  contained in the  Malaysian Federal constitution under Article  10.The purpose of the march is to express the collective desire of the malaysian people for a free and fair election in the forthcoming General Election.

 

PERKASA is a Malaysian NGO and is a tool used by the UMNO led Malaysian government in extending its ugly hands into politically extreme policies topped up by fear inducing methods to ensure that whatever is sacred in the Federal Constitution for the good of the multi-ethnic polity is  compromised through this fear and state sanctioned threats from a seemingly independent organisation -PERKASA..

 

Malaysiakini, one of the few independent online news  portals reported on June 19^th 2011 quoting  PERKASA as saying,  “Imagine, ladies and gentlemen, if the Bersih rally is not called off and they go ahead with it - if they don't cancel it on July 8 or 9 - I believe the Chinese community, many of them, will have to stock up on food at home."Anything can happen on that day”

 

On 13^th of June 2011 Malaysiakini  quoted PERKASA chief as saying said they are ready to "fight to the end" (lawan habis-habisan) to stop the rally if the organisers insist on taking to the streets of Kuala Lumpur on July 9. "(If they proceed) there will be a clash (pertembungan). If that happens, it is for the better," he told a press conference in the Parliament lobby.”

 

The insinuations above falls short of an orchestrated attempt to riot or to promote some form of violent action by UMNO sponsored PERKASA against the public for their participating in this peaceful march on July 9, 2011 just for free and fair elections.   

 

The fear of the Malaysian community is real and should not be underestimated or downplayed at this crucial moment as state sponsored gangsters PERKASA and its allies PEKIDA (another organization of ex-police and army personnel) & 3 Line ( a known large street gang) blatantly come forward in this aggressive and belligerent manner against what is a natural and legitimate grievance of the people. This march is nothing other than an expression of a collective voice of Malaysians.  

 

The international community whilst accepting Malaysia as a member of the United Nations cannot sit in silence when such threats and fear mongering methods are pursued by fascist elements in the ruling party with the implicit sanction of the UMNO led government.

 

Your public statement in opposing this tendency of state sponsored violence against its people is of paramount significance as it is a fundamental human rights issue and not just political theatre. The minorities, marginalized and discriminated face these kind of human rights abuse daily through the racist and fascist agenda of the Malaysian government..    

 

I write to urge you to make urgent representations to the Malaysian government that the BERSIH rally should be allowed to proceed unhindered and the peaceful protesters be provided protection from any untoward violent reactions by the state sponsored PERKASA, PEKIDA and other fringe elements.. 

 

by P. Waytha Moorthy

Chair

HINDRAF

+447502289313 (Mobile)