Media Statement
Release All Political Prisoners
Beginning that black day, one year ago, the Barisan Nasional government tried to worm its way out of a political impasse by resorting to repression.
Using the notorious Internal Security Act (ISA) for the umpteenth time under the Mahathir administration, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the police arrested several leaders of Parti Keadilan Nasional and other well known dissidents. The police and the mainstream media quickly tarred the detainees with labels like 'Reformasi activists' and 'militants' to give the impression that they constituted a threat to national security.
Soon after, other citizens were likewise detained without trial. Again the police and the mainstream media endlessly repeated that these were so-called "KMM" members. Neither the police nor their master, the Minister of Home Affairs, were bothered that they inconsistently called the "KMM" first "Kumpulan Mujahideen Malaysia" (Malaysian Mujahideen Group) and then "Kumpulan Militan Malaysia" (Malaysian Militant Group).
All that mattered to the police, the Minister, and the BN government, who shamelessly claim to be practising democracy, is that their mode of character assassination, never to be challenged in court, allows them to strike fear into ordinary citizens.
Today, on the first anniversary of the 10 April arrests, Aliran, in solidarity with 82 organisations which form the Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI) (Abolish ISA Movement), calls upon the citizens of Malaysia to remember the fate of all ISA detainees who remain imprisoned for nothing more than their opposition to the BN government.
Today, we call upon the citizens of Malaysia to reject the persistent disregard for human rights and civil liberties for which Dr Mahathir's government has become infamous.
Whether any or all of these detainees truly constitute a threat to national security or public safety is something that only the courts of this country can decide. And the courts must decide in open trials that permit the detainees to defend themselves, consonant with the laws of this nation and the spirit of the Constitution.
Today, in solidarity with the detainees and their families, who have been subjected to all kinds of harassment, cruelty and humiliation, we call upon Malaysian citizens not to condone the morally abhorrent and politically motivated practice of using the police to arrest citizens arbitrarily, interrogate them in secrecy, and maltreat them without restraint. Who does this sick practice protect � the nation, or the fortunes of the 'political masters' of the police?
Every Malaysian citizen should realize that the continued imprisonment of ISA detainees is a blot on our national conscience. More than that, the ISA is a threat to the individual liberty and well being of every citizen who can potentially fall victim to politically motivated arrests on trumped-up charges, or on no particular charge at all.
Irrespective of race, gender, creed or political affiliation, every Malaysian citizen has the responsibility of rejecting the BN government's utter contempt for the Constitution, disrespect for High Court decisions against arbitrary detention without trial, and indifference to popular support for legitimate dissent and opposition in this country.
On the first anniversary of the 10 April ISA detentions, Aliran stands in solidarity with all citizens who support democracy, cherish civil liberties and uphold human rights, irrespective of race, religion, gender or political conviction.
Don't allow our nation's history to be blackened any further. Release all ISA detainees. Abolish the ISA.
Aliran Executive Committee
| |||||||||||||||
10 April 2001 has already gone down in our history as a day of infamy.