Abolish ISA Solidarity Watch – Sunday 1st August, 12-2pm, Trafalgar Square, London

Last year, the Abolish ISA Movement in Malaysia organised an Internal Security Act protest demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on the 1st of August 2009.This protest brought nearly 40,000 concerned Malaysians onto the streets of KL, the largest gathering of citizens to stand up against the ISA in the history of Malaysia. Although their actions were co-ordinated and peaceful, they were met with the usual intimidation tactics by the Malaysian authorities – tear gas,water cannons and FRU personnel beating their shields with their batons. Over 120 people were arrested and many held overnight in jail. Their crime ?Merely exercising their fundamental human and constitutional right to peacefully express their views and concerns regarding a law that has been continually used to clamp down on and paralyse civil society. A few days before the demonstration in August 2009, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak urged people not to join the protest, saying that he had already promise to review the law. However a year later, such a review has yet to take place. On Sunday the 1st of August 2010, Malaysians will once again take to the streets as a solemn reminder to the Malaysian government that the promise to review the ISA must be more than just lip service, and that the ISA remains a burning human rights issue to which this present government must be held account.

 

Last month, the BBC ran a story on the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention following their visit to Malaysia. The UN urged Malaysia to repeal security laws that allow for detention without trial, and found that the vast majority of those interviewed stated that they were tortured or mistreated whilst being held in detention.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia_pacific/10353830.stm 

 

The UN Working Group’s final report will be published in March 2011. We believe that the next 7 months represent a unique opportunity to lobby the Malaysian government to show that it is truly committed to respecting and upholding human rights and is prepared to honestly engage with civil society on the issue of the Internal Security Act. We are continuing to hold a regular ISA watch outside the Malaysian Tourism Office, alongside a number of other campaigning activities, in the run up to the publication of the UN Working Group’s full report. Our next watch will be held in conjunction with the 1st of August ISA protest in Malaysia, and we will be outside the Malaysian Tourism Office in Trafalgar  Square from 12-2pm. There will also be a special puppet show with guest appearances from ex-autocrats that have done so much to help the ISA flourish and our rocket-scientist friends from Perkasa who believe the ISA should be used against anyone who dares question the notion of racial or religious supremacy.

 

We look forwarding to seeing you this Sunday!