Congratulations to the six activists, friends in Malaysia, and everyone who took action!

But we can’t stop here – because thousands of others are still detained without trial in Malaysia under the Emergency Ordinance, and around 40 people have been charged under the Societies Act and still face prosecution for having illegal materials (like Bersih T-shirts) and they could face 5 years in prison if convicted!

So we’ve updated the letter in order to continue the pressure on the Malaysia authorities. We are still targeting 1,000 letters!

Bersih 2.0 was a rally held on 9 July in Kuala Lumpur organized by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih). Image taken from Global Bersih 2.0.

Got 3 seconds?

Please send one to the Malaysian authorities by adding your name below! We will deliver all the letters by fax (appearing with your details like below) and by email (appearing with your full name, age, and country) on or before 23 August . We’ll also mail copies to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia.

Got 3 minutes?

Add your name AND share this with your friends on Facebook/Twitter/E-mail!

What’s Bersih 2.0?

Check out this video we found on Facebook

Bersih 2.0 was a rally held on 9 July in Kuala Lumpur organized by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) as a follow up to the 2007 Bersih rally. They called for free and fair elections in Malaysia.

At least 924 people were arrested on 9 July according to the Royal Malaysian Police and more than 230 people were arrested before this date. Police beat protestors and fired teargas canisters directly into crowds and one protestor died while trying to escape the teargas.

What are Bersih 2.0  demands?

1. Clean the electoral poll
2. Reform postal ballot
3. Use of indelible ink
4. Minimum 21 days campaign period
5. Free and fair access to the media
6. Strengthen public institutions
7. Stop corruption
8. Stop dirty politics

Who are the six activists that everyone is talking about?

Socialist Party MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj and five party officers were arrested while on their way to a Bersih 2.0 event.

• They were detained because the police suspected them of ‘waging war against the King’
• They were held under the Emergency Ordinance which allows them to be detained without charge indefinitely!
• Their lawyers said the activists were blindfolded and handcuffed into a meeting room in Kuala Lumpur and only had 15 minutes with them.
• On 22 July, the High Court will hear their habeas corpus (file for release from unlawful detention)
• Young people and friends in Malaysia and all over Asia Pacific took some kind of action to call for their release, and they were finally freed on 29 July 2011!!!

Find out more about Bersih at their official website, like them on Facebook, or follow the Global Bersih 2.0 coordination centre.

More information

Anwar tells of riot squad ambush, 11 July 2011, The Age

Police fire tear gas at banned rally, 9 July 2011, BBC

Malaysia: Hundreds of Peaceful Protesters Arrested, 9 July, Amnesty International

Political prisoners in Burma are at risk of torture and ill-treatment – we hear from our friends at AI that seven of them were put in ‘dog cells’ after peaceful protests! Outraged? Scroll down to take action!

What happened at Insein prison?

On May 17
At least three female political prisoners started a hunger strike to protest against the government’s decision to reduce all prison sentences by only one year.

On May 22
22 other political prisoners started a protest about prison conditions. 17 went on hunger strike and five protested in other ways.

On May 24
Seven hunger strikers were put in solitary confinement in dog cells – small cells that were designed for keeping military dogs.

On May 26
They were returned to their usual cells.

On May 27
It was reported that official started talks with the protesters but when the talks broke down, some political prisoners decided to continue the hunger strike and they were put in the dog cells again. Outraged? Scroll down to take action!

Political prisoners in Hkamti prison and Kale prison are also involved in protests and are at risk of torture and ill-treatment too!

What are the ‘dog cells’ like?

The dog cells are about 10 feet in length and seven feet wide. There are no windows and it’s sound proof. There is no proper sanitation, no bed and mats on the floor. One political prisoner who was held in a dog cell said that the space was covered in white lice and smelt like a sewer. Sometimes, as many as four prisoners are forced into one dog cell. Outraged? Scroll down to take action!

YOU(th) can do something about this!

Send letters to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and ask for an end to this! We will deliver your letters by fax and post and copies will be sent to the Chair of ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights.

You only have from now until July 14 to do something – let’s get YOU(th) from all over Asia Pacific to make some noise! Add your name quick!

Friends in Cambodia are hoping to have 1.2 million people ‘like’ this Facebook group to express their concern about the introduction of these laws.

Please help them achieve this. Take 1 second to LIKE this page!

Here are the main problems:

1. Compulsory registration for all NGOs and associations (when international standards say this should be voluntary) – those who don’t register will not be allowed to operate! This risks the right to freedom of association guaranteed by the Cambodian constitution and Article 22 of the ICCPR
2. Too many registration and reporting procedures makes official registration unachievable for small organizations, associations, and community networks
3. The draft law is very vague! Our friends are not sure of legal safeguards, applying definitions and appeal processes for decision made under this draft law.

Click here to read more!

What do YOU(th) have to say about this?

Are there any laws in your country that undermines civil society? Leave us a comment!

UPDATE: On 16 September 2011, several families of Boeung Kak Lake were forcefully evicted and now, at least another 90 families might be kicked out of their homes too! 

Remember in March 2011, young people in Asia Pacific took action to stop forced evictions in Boeung Kak Lake in Phnom Penh, Cambodia? Well – guess what? Homes & businesses were destroyed and families were evicted on 16 September 2011 – and when Suong Sophorn, a land activist in Cambodia, peacefully asked the residents to join hands to stop the destruction of houses, he was beaten by police officials and was left lying unconscious and bleeding.

Right now, there are only 779 out of around 4,000 families still living in the Boeung Kak Lake area. The others have either accepted inadequate compensate or resettled elsewhere after being threatened and intimidated to leave.

Although the Prime Minister authorized 12.44 hectares of land in the development area (scroll down to What’s the story? for more information) for the remaining families but excluded villages that were located outside of the specific area (the homes and businesses that were destroyed on 16 September were outside the specific area)!

Why should YOU(th) take action?

Forced eviction is a serious human rights violation because families are often kicked out of their homes to make way for corporate land and commercial projects and end up living in slums or informal settlements because they were not compensated AND no one should be stopped from peacefully opposing  forced evictions.

Got 3 seconds? 

Add your name to the letter below and we will mail it to both the Governor of Phnom Penh Municipality and the Deputy Prime Minister of Interior! Copies will also be mailed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Got 3 minutes? 

Add your name to the letter AND ask share this link - http://bit.ly/hmeptI – with at least 5 friends and ask them to take action too!

Still want to do more?

Stand in solidarity with affected communities of forced evictions in Cambodia & China by completing this sentence with ONE word: A home is…

Click here to add your answer or visit http://bit.ly/nlNMHT

What’s the story?

According to the Municipality of Phnom Penh, the 133 hectares leased to a private company are to be turned into “pleasant, trade, and service places for domestic and international tourists”, but beyond that few details have been disclosed. The agreement between the company and municipality was reached without any consultation with the affected population. In early 2008 representatives of the people affected told Amnesty International that they had learnt about the agreement and the plans through the television news.

Since filling of the lake began, police and company workers have threatened and harassed the residents, and attempted to prevent them from holding meetings and from peacefully protesting against the forced eviction. In October 2010, police used unnecessary force, including electric batons, to break up a peaceful protest by Boeung Kak Lake villagers during the visit of the UN Secretary-General. One resident, Suong Sophorn, was beaten unconscious and detained by police until the departure of the Secretary-General. He had previously been arrested and fined in 2009 for painting “Stop Eviction” on his house.

The forced eviction of residents living around Boeung Kak Lake is under further scrutiny because of a case brought to the World Bank by the community and three NGOs.  This case alleges that the residents were denied the opportunity to register their claims to land ownership under the World Bank administered Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP) which was designed to provide land titles throughout Cambodia.

Thousands of people around Cambodia are adversely affected by forced evictions, land grabs and land disputes, some in connection with economic land concessions granted to powerful companies and individuals. Increasing numbers of communities and individuals are protesting and petitioning the authorities in defense of their right to housing.

Cambodia is a state party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights (ICESCR) and other international human rights treaties which prohibit forced eviction and related human rights violations, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights (ICCPR). The government therefore has an obligation to stop forced evictions and to protect the population from forced evictions.

Want to know more? Check out these links!

Take action for Union Leaders and Activists under threat in Cambodia

160 families have one week to dismantle homes

Help stop the eviction of 160 families in Cambodia

Group 78 Evicted as UN, Governments Demand Halt

Forced eviction should never happen again

CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION ON FACEBOOK FOR THE 3 FREEDOMS

CLICK HERE TO ADD THE PETITION WIDGET TO YOUR BLOG FOR THE 3 FREEDOMS

Greetings APYNers!

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Burma Youth Campaign! Our campaign team is currently made up of 15 young people from countries across the Asia Pacific region and we are developing a campaign to promote the 3 Freedoms of expression, association and assembly in Burma. We have many exciting plans, which we will be sharing with you in the near future, but we’d like to kick things off with an article by one of our members from Thailand. Please check back here soon to see what we have planned.

Is it a merciful regime?
This article is also available in Thai

©Generation Wave

“I want to be a loudspeaker for many Burmese who suffer from rights abuses” These are the words that seem stuck in my brain and always come out whenever I hear or think about “Zarganar” – the main actor of the documentary film named “This Prison Where I Live”.

Last Thursday, I got a chance to paticipate in the “Burmspective” talks at the Art and Cultural Center in Bangkok, Thailand which is the nearest capital city from Naypyidaw. This event had a screening of this impressive film about “Zarganar” or “tweezers man” in English – a famous Burmese comedien. His politically scratchy jokes always point to the Burmese military regime. Therefore he was banned and sentenced to imprisonment several times for many allegations. One of the allegations is that he organized a group of Burmese to provide volunteer disaster relief aid to damaged areas during Cyclone Nagis – while the government turned a blind eye on that issue. Imprisonment was the result of his act. Which nation on earth treats its own people likes this? Becoming a prisoner because you are too generous!! Nowhere except Burma. 59 years in jail is his total sentence. But recently the court reduced the prison sentence by “up to 24 years”, bringing his sentence down to 35 years.

Is it a merciful regime?

“No!” is the exactly right answer – if you were an ethnic group who lived along the border of Burma – “Brutal” doesn’t seem a strong enough word to describe Burmese soldiers and their regime. Rape and killings are always happening. “No!” is the best answer – if you were a father of a political activist who stayed on the opposite side of Than Shwe and their government – “Contrite” can not make you satifisfied when your son was sentenced to jail for decades and faces cruel treatment by prison guards everyday.

“No!” is the wonderful and powerful answer – if have finished this article and are interested to learn more about our friends in Burma. How difficult is the life that they meet daily? And how many rights do they miss daily?

Believe in yourself; “You can be a loud speaker for many Burmese who suffer from rights abuses”…..like Zarganar has done!

Watchara Intrasombat, Burma Youth Campaign Team

DO SOMETHING NOW Click here to to sign the petition on Facebook NOW! Don't forget to share it with your friends! Human rights violations are numerous, and 2,200 individuals remain behind bars on the basis of their peaceful political activity, some of them like Zarganar, and some of them are young people like YOU(th). Just because Burma held elections for the first time in 20 years, it doesn’t mean our work is done! What YOU(th) can do to make a difference: Join hands today and demand the 3 freedoms of expression, association, and assembly Click here to sign the petition on Facebook Click here to add the petition widget to your blog

นี่คือการปกครองที่มีเมตตาใช่ไหม?

©Generation Wave

“ผมต้องการที่จะทำหน้าที่เสมือนเป็นเครื่องขยายเสียงให้กับชนชาวพม่าทุกคนที่ถูกย่ำยีและถูกละเมิดสัทธิมนุยชน” วลีประโยคนี้มักจะลอยออกมาให้ผมได้นึกถึงอยู่เสมอในยามใดก็ตามที่ผมติดถึงหรือได้ยินชื่อ “ซากานะ” ตัวเอกในหนังสารคดีเรื่อง “นี่แหล่ะคือคุกที่ฉันอยู่!! (This prison where I live)”

เมื่อวันพฤหัสบดีที่ผ่านมา ผมได้มีโอกาสเข้าร่วมงานเสวนาเกี่ยวกับทิศทางของประเทศพม่า
งานเสวนานี้จัดขึ้นที่หอศิลปวัฒนธรรม กรุงเทพฯ ในประเทศไทย
ซึ่งนับได้ว่าเป็นเมืองหลวงที่ใกล้กรุงเนปิดอล(เมืองหลวงของพม่า) มากที่สุด
โดยในงานนี้ได้มีการจัดฉายหนังคุณภาพเยี่ยมเรื่องหนึ่งที่มีเนื้อหาเกี่ยวกับ “ซากานะ” หรือ “คีมคีบ”
ในความหมายของภาษาไทย เขาผู้นี้เป็นนักแสดงตลกชาวพม่าที่โด่งดังและมีชื่อเสียง
มุขตลกของเขามักจะเป็นการล้อเลียนเสียดสีรัฐบาลเผด็จการทหารพม่าเสียซะส่วนใหญ่
ดังนั้นเขาจึงถูกทางการแบนและจับขังคุกหลายต่อหลายครั้งในหลายต่อหลายข้อหา
หนึ่งในข้อกล่าวหาอันไร้ซึ่งเหตุผลที่สุดของเขา ก็คือ
การที่เขาได้รวบรวมกลุ่มอาสาสมัครผู้ใจบุญเข้าให้การช่วยเหลือและบริจาคสิ่งของต่างๆให้แก่ชาวพม่าผู้ที่ประสบภั
ยจากพายุไซโคลนนาร์กีส ซากานะและเพื่อนอาสาสมัครลงพื้นที่เข้าไปช่วยเหลือเพื่อนร่วมชาติที่ทุกข์ยาก
ขณะที่รัฐบาลทหารของพวกเขาไม่มีความแยแสเลยแม้แต่น้อย ซากานะถูกจับและถูกจำคุกด้วยเหตุผลตื้นๆแบบนี้!!

มีรัฐบาลของประเทศไหนในโลกนี้บ้างที่ปฏิบัติต่อประชาชนของพวกเขาเยี่ยงนี้???
มีรัฐบาลในประเทศไหนอีกที่จับประชากรของตัวเองติดคุก พร้อมยัดข้อหาว่า เขาหรือเธอมีความเมตตาเกินไป!!
ไม่มีอีกแล้ว ไม่มี….นอกจากรัฐบาลเผด็จการทหารพม่า!!!
59 ปีในคุก คือโทษทัณฑ์จริงจริงที่ซากานะจะได้รับ แต่เมื่อเร็วๆนี้รัฐบาลทหารได้ลดโทษของเขาลงไป 24 ปี ทำให้ตอนนี้เขาต้องใช้ชีวิตในคุกแค่ 35 ปี เท่านั้นเอง!!

นี่คือการปกครองที่มีเมตตาใช่ไหม?

คำว่า “ไม่!!” ถือเป็นการตอบที่ถูกต้อง ถ้าคุณเป็นชนกลุ่มน้อยที่อาศัยอยู่ตามรอยตะเข็บชายแดนพม่า ที่ที่คำว่า
“ป่าเถื่อน” ดูจะมีน้ำหนักน้อยไปสำหรับใช้นิยามการกระทำของทหารพม่าและรัฐบาลของพวกเขา
การข่มขืนและฆ่าเกิดขึ้นทุกวันในพื้นที่แถบนั้น
คำว่า “ไม่!!” ถือเป็นคำตอบที่เยี่ยมที่สุด
ถ้าคุณเป็นพ่อของนักเคลื่อนไหวเพื่อประชาธิปไตยผู้มีแนวคิดตรงข้ามกับนายพล ตาน ฉ่วย และรัฐบาลของเขา
“การสำนึกผิด” ของรัฐบาลจะไม่สามารถทำให้คุณพอใจได้ในเมื่อลูกของคุณยังอยู่ในคุกอีกหลายสิบปี
อีกทั้งเขายังถูกทารุณกรรมด้วยวิธีต่างๆจากผู้คุมอยู่ทุกๆวัน
คำว่า “ไม่!!” ดูจะเป็นคำตอบที่ยอดเยี่ยมและทรงพลังที่สุด
ถ้าคุณอ่านบทความนี้ตั้งแต่ต้นจนจบและมีความสนใจที่จะศึกษาชะตากรรมของเหล่าเพื่อนๆเราในประเทศพม่า

“สนใจว่าพวกเขาใช้ชีวิตประจำวันกันอย่างยากลำบากแค่ไหน?”
“ดูสิว่าพวกเขาถูกพรากสิทธิอะไรไปบ้างในทุกทุกวันที่ยังหายใจ”

ขอเพียงแค่คุณเชื่อมั่นในตัวเองว่าคุณทำได้
“คุณก็จะสามารถเป็นเครื่องขยายเสียงให้กับชนชาวพม่าทุกคนที่ถูกย่ำยีและถูกละเมิดสัทธิมนุยชน” แบบที่
ซากานะ มุ่งหวังให้มันเกิดขึ้น……ได้จริงจริง

Watchara Intrasombat, Burma Youth Campaign Team

Burma is about to hold its first national election in two decades.

In the last elections in 1990, the National League for Democracy (NLD) won a resounding victory — only for the military government to ignore the results and arrest scores of opposition activists who threatened their grip on power.
We cannot let this happen again.

Many of Burma’s 50 million people live in poverty. And those who express views contrary to that of the ruling authorities face harassment, arrest, torture, imprisonment and, sometimes, execution. Many are held in solitary confinement, denied access to medical care and cut off from their families and loved ones.

More than 2,200 political prisoners are behind bars in Burma – silenced simply for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association.
Now is the time to act

The eyes of the world are on Burma as they prepare for elections. As the moment draws nearer, foreign ministers of Burma’s neighbouring countries are under pressure to speak out against the military government.

Now is a critical time to pressure these Ministers and defend the three freedoms – expression, assembly and association – in Burma.

We cannot let the repression continue while Burma’s election goes ahead. With your help, we can work towards a global outcry that ensures the people of Burma are protected in the lead up to the 2010 elections and beyond.

In Burma, the first elections for 20 years are likely to be held towards the end of 2010. The repression of political opposition is on-going. Fundamental rights of association, assembly, and expression are not a reality in Burma. People who show any opposition face harassment, arbitrary arrest, torture, imprisonment and extrajudicial executions. When such oppression is occurring often ethnic minorities face human rights violations that go unnoticed. This is the situation for Burma’s 135 minority groups.

Together we can work for the day when not only the 2,200 political prisoners – but the whole of Burma is truly free.

What are the 3 freedoms?
1.    Freedom of Association
2.    Freedom of Assembly
3.    Freedom of Expression

Restrictions on political activists prevent them from participating in elections. This means that their freedom to associate, assemble and express themselves is not freely granted to them. Likewise, the restrictions on media prevent freedom of expression and large numbers of political prisoners remain imprisoned taking away all 3 freedoms; their freedom of association, assembly and expression.

How do these 3 freedoms relate to human rights?
These freedoms are found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in articles 19 & 20:
Article 19.
•    Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20.
•    (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
•    (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

For more information on the UDHR, please visit here.

See YouTube clips of the UDHR articles on produced by APYN youth activists!

• In English
• In Malay
  
• In Thai
• In Tagalog
• In Chinese (traditional from Hong Kong)

How do these 3 freedoms relate to what is happening in Burma?
Burma is about to hold its first national election in over 20 years – and we want to use this critical moment to help bring about real and lasting change.

In the last election (1990) the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 80% of the parliamentary seats, but their party leaders were swiftly arrested and imprisoned. Since then the junta has continued to inflict the most horrific human rights abuses on it’s own people.

Repression, intimidation and a raft of new election laws effectively prevent anyone who opposes them from standing in this year’s election. People who oppose these restrictions face human rights abuse. The people of Burma do not have freedom of expression, assembly and association.

What can I do to change these human rights restrictions, you ask?
We believe we have a unique chance to stand up for the rights of the people of Burma and free Burma’s political prisoners.

Act now – sign the online petition!

The establishment of an ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) is a positive development. We now urge ASEAN governments to make this a truly independent and robust body with full powers to monitor, investigate and report on the human rights records of all 10 member states.

Key concerns are a lack of a clear protection mandate for the AICHR; lack of binding requirements for independence and expertise of AICHR members; and an emphasis on “regional particularities” and “non-interference in the internal affairs” which could undermine respect for universal human rights standards.

The Terms of Reference also allow for decisions by consensus only, which means that each state would be able to reject any criticism of its own human rights record by veto. This which could lead either to paralysis or to the adoption of weak positions based on the lowest common denominator.

In particular Amnesty International is calling for a clear mandate for the ASEAN human rights body to protect as well as promote human rights.

The ASEAN human rights body must be empowered to investigate human rights abuses and be able to receive complaints of abuses. Without such powers the body will not be able to address serious human rights situations in the region, for example in Myanmar.

Amnesty International also urges ASEAN to ensure a transparent mechanism to select independent expert members to the human rights body. It is essential that the membership of the body is reflective of wider civil society.

Amnesty International calls on the ASEAN human rights body to uphold all human rights in accordance with universal principles and internationally agreed treaties and standards.