US demands due process for arrested Malaysian activists

[marc]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States demanded Thursday that Malaysia provide fair treatment to five leaders of a rights group held under a security law that allows for indefinite detention without trial.

The five from the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), pushing for an end to discrimination of ethnic Indians in multi-racial Malaysia, were picked up Thursday and ordered held under the feared Internal Security Act (ISA).

"Our expectation as a government is that these individuals would be provided the full protections under Malaysian law, that they would be given due process, that they would be accorded all the rights accorded to any other citizen, and that this be done in a speedy and transparent manner," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

Source

[Adrian Wong]

Don't think our government will bother. They already told the US government to fvck off.

[Dashken]

Malaysia has told the United States to give fair trials to detainees at its Cuban military prison before criticising it for holding five Hindraf leaders.

The United States demanded on Thursday that Malaysia provide fair treatment to five leaders of a rights group held under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for a initial two-year period.

"Can they first of all give a fair trial to the detainees in Guantanamo Bay? We will only respond if they do so," the New Straits Times newspaper quoted deputy prime minister Najib Razak as saying.

The ISA is a security law that allows for indefinite detention without trial. There are about 290 detainees at the US camp in Guantanamo, Cuba.

Nobody is above the law

Najib said the Malaysian public had demanded the government take tough action against the five from the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

"We have always said people must obey the law. Nobody is above the law. So when the ISA was used, it should not have comes as a surprise," he added.

Hindraf is pushing for an end to discrimination of minority ethnic Indians in multi-racial Malaysia.

Hindraf enraged the government last month by mustering at least 30,000 people to the streets of Kuala Lumpur to highlight issues facing Indian Malaysians, including a lack of economic opportunities and the destruction of Hindu temples.

Police used tear gas, water cannons and baton charges to break up the protests.

Source: Gov't rejects US criticism of detentions

[Mac Daddy]

Why after being a member here for only a short while does Malaysia sound more like Canada all the time. We are a country that shares a border with the USA but are much different. We have been described as a "melting pot" for cultures I guess perhaps the world is smaller than we think

[Chai]

Originally Posted by Dashken

The Govt is the above the law. That's what it is.

[Dashken]

Originally Posted by Mac Daddy

Why after being a member here for only a short while does Malaysia sound more like Canada all the time. We are a country that shares a border with the USA but are much different. We have been described as a "melting pot" for cultures I guess perhaps the world is smaller than we think

Well, you can say that but besides the 'melting pot' thing, we are very much different too.

Originally Posted by Chai

The Govt is the above the law. That's what it is.

Indeed. If they don't like anything in the law, they can just change it with their 2/3 majority, even the constitution is no exception. Judiciary, Parliament are their people, they even have a lot of spies in the Monarchy as well. Take them down, fat chance.

[Mac Daddy]

True Dashken but interesting to see similarities and hey if we all were the same the world would be a pretty boring place

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by Dashken

Well, you can say that but besides the 'melting pot' thing, we are very much different too.

Indeed. If they don't like anything in the law, they can just change it with their 2/3 majority, even the constitution is no exception. Judiciary, Parliament are their people, they even have a lot of spies in the Monarchy as well. Take them down, fat chance.

That's the problem when you give someone a 2/3 majority.

Let this be a lesson to us all. NEVER EVER give BN a 2/3 majority. NEVER.

For a young nation like ours (just over 50 years old), our Constitution has been modified more than 600 times! Is that not insane or what?