The Hindu : Front Page : Police stop peace walk in Kuala Lumpur

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 10, 2007
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Police stop peace walk in Kuala Lumpur

P. S. Suryanarayana

Hindraf appeals to Manmohan to help end “marginalisation” of ethnic Indians

SINGAPORE: A multi-racial group of over 50 lawyers and civil-liberty activists on Sunday sought to organise a peace walk in Kuala Lumpur, on the eve of World Human Rights Day. Police, declaring the gathering illegal, arrested eight persons, including four lawyers.

Malaysian Bar Council President Ambiga Sreenevasan described the arrests as unnecessary and unfortunate.

Another lawyer was later arrested in the premises of the Bar Council.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said no one, not even lawyers, was above the law.

Appeal to Manmohan

Amid these developments, the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to engage Mr. Badawi and help end alleged “marginalisation” of ethnic Indians in Malaysia.

Hindraf leader and legal adviser P. Uthayakumar told TheHindu over telephone from Penang on Sunday that he “would like to appeal to the Government of India and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to bring [the matter] to Malaysian Prime Minister to [help] stop the discrimination, marginalisation, and permanent colonisation of [ethnic] Indians in Malaysia.”

Mr. Uthayakumar that he would seek the help of “mother country, India” so that Dr. Singh “could also take up with Mr. Badawi the [issue of] prosecution of 31 worshippers.” Refused bail, they face trial on the charge of attempting to kill a police officer in front of a temple on the eve of the November 25 protest rally in Kuala Lumpur.

The appeal, now being made through the media, was based on two factors. Any initiative by India “will make a difference” to the cause of the Malaysian Indians.

“This should not be taken as interference in another country’s affairs,” Mr. Uthayakumar said, arguing that both India and Malaysia are signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Another reason, he said, was that “the Malaysian Prime Minister does not want to see us [Hindraf leaders].”

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