(Penang, Sunday): The Guan Eng Concert at the Penang Chinese Town Hall tonight is in sympathy, support and solidarity with Lim Guan Eng at the injustice of his case, but it is not confined to this particular case of injustice, but concerns all injustices, including the atrocities, brutalities and organised mass gang rape of Indonesian women and children in May.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday that the government "felt strongly" about the rape of women and other atrocities that occurred in Indonesia, and I commend him for this statement, for Malaysians must stand up to denounce gross violations of human rights, regardless of place and time.
All Malaysians must condemn the atrocities, brutalities and organised
mass gang rape of Indonesian women and children not because the majority
of the victims are Indonesian Chinese but because they are human beings,
just as Malaysians had condemned the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Bosnians
by Serbs, not because the victims of these crimes of humanity were
Muslims but because they were human beings entitled to the most elementary
respect of their human rights and dignity.
All MPs, regardless of party, should send a joint memorandum to President
Habibie expressing condemnation of the atrocities, brutalities and organised
mass gang rape of Indonesian women and children and demand that perpetrators
of these crimes against humanity be brought to justice.
I shall contact the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister to find out whether Barisan Nasional MPs are allowed join with Opposition MPs to send a joint memorandum of condemnation of organised mass gang rape of Indonesian women and children in the name of all Malaysian MPs and to demand that the perpetrators of these crimes of injustice be brought to justice, regardless of their rank and position in government.
(26/7/98)