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Child to step up Hindraf campaign

— Photo: AFP

IN THE FOREFRONT: Vaishnnavi Waytha Moorthy (5), daughter of ethnic Indian rights activist P. Waytha Moorthy, at the Prime Minister’s Department office in Putrajaya, in this January 22 file photo.

SINGAPORE: The Hindu Rights Action Force on Wednesday appealed to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia to help uphold the practice of peaceful protest.

Hindraf fielded a five-year-old child, Vaishnnavi Waytha Moorthy, to submit her hand-written letter to the Commission and ask its Chairman Abu Talib to join her in a peaceful march to Parliament on February 16. The march will demand “justice” for the ethnic Indian minority .

The same child, daughter of Hindraf Chairman Waytha Moorthy, was fielded by Hindraf on January 22 to petition Mr. Abdullah. On that day, her hand-written letter, requesting the Prime Minister to receive a bouquet of roses from her and other children on February 16, was delivered to his Private Secretary.

Like on that day, she was on Wednesday escorted to the office of the Human Rights Commission in Kuala Lumpur by Thanenthiran Ramankutty and other Hindraf activists. Mr. Moorthy, now camping in London, told The Hindu over the telephone that the move to seek the intervention of the Commission flowed from its statutory mandate to “promote awareness and provide education in relation to human rights” in Malaysia. Hindraf’s key demands include a fair deal for ethnic Indians and the unconditional release of its leaders now being held without any formal charges and trial. The Malaysian authorities maintain that the ethnic Indian minority is not being discriminated against.

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