[asia-apec 771] Latest on APPA

[appasec]

Dear friends,

The national organising committee of the Asia Pacific Peoples’ Assembly (APPA), would like to inform all those interested to participate in this year’s peoples assembly, that preparations for APPA are well under way and that APPA will go on as planned, regardless of the recent political developments in our country.

This decision was reached at our last working committee meeting, fully realising the enormous challenge ahead of us as we prepare ourselves to host APPA. APPA will now be convened amidst a worsening economic crisis and growing political tension in Malaysia. The sacking and subsequent detention of former Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, has thrown Malaysia into political turmoil, as the ruling coalition tries desperately to redeem its legitimacy and the people’s confidence it so often boasted about. 

The Anwar Ibrahim incident has brought to the forefront many fundamental issues of injustice and democracy in our current system of administration. The little democratic space allowed by the dictatorial rule of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, has been further tightened. The police have unfailingly taken to force and brutal actions in their efforts to disperse gatherings in support of Anwar Ibrahim, and have declared a ban on ‘illegal’ gatherings, (gatherings without police approval). As you may have already heard, our fellow labour and human rights activist, Tian Chua, from the Labour Resource Centre, was also arrested in a demonstration, and was beaten, punched and kicked while in the police truck and lock up of a local police station.

Anwar Ibrahim’s trial has been fixed for November 2-14, clashing almost fully with the dates of APPA . While many feel that APPA will not even be given the chance to go ahead, given these developments, we are confident that the international spotlight on Malaysia during this time, will in many ways force the authorities to allow APPA to go on as planned, albeit with certain conditions. After all, Mahathir himself was quoted to have given his blessings to the Peoples’ Summit when attending the APEC Leaders meeting in Vancouver last year.

With such backdrop, the convening of APPA will add a new page in the history of Malaysian people’s struggle for justice and democracy. Thus it is crusial that our intetrnational friends attend APPA in order to forge solidarity with the Malaysian people. With our joint effort, APPA will mark the success of regional solidarity against the despotism of globalisation.

We hope to have your presence at the Peoples’ Assembly this year. So, see you in November!!

In solidarity

The secretariat 

APPA