Police raid human rights group before UN commissioner’s visit
scmp - Tuesday, August 30, 2005
JOE McDONALD of Associated Press in Beijing
Updated at 1.32pm:
Police raided the office of a Chinese human rights group before a visit to Beijing by the UN high commissioner for human rights, the group’s director said on Tuesday.
Police on Monday looked at computers and files at the Empowerment and Rights Institute, which helps farmers and others with complaints against the government, said its founder, Hou Wenzhou.
Ms Hou said police were watching her home on Tuesday and she worried that she might be detained in order to prevent her from trying to meet with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour. Ms Hou said she tried to arrange a meeting but hadn’t confirmed that it would happen.
“I might be confined and I’m so carefully watched, I don’t think I could meet her even if I tried,” Ms Hou said by phone.
Ms Arbour spoke on Tuesday at the opening of a UN human rights conference and met in private with a senior Chinese official for about 45 minutes. She declined to comment on the meeting.
Ms Arbour was expected to press for legal reforms meant to clear the way to ratifying a key UN treaty on legal rights.
China routinely detains human rights, religious and other activists in advance of major political events in order to prevent protests or attempts to meet with visiting foreign officials.
Ms Hou’s 18-month-old group gives legal information to Chinese farmers and others about such problems as illegal land seizures — a volatile issue that has prompted widespread protests.
Ms Hou said that on Monday, about a dozen police surrounded her apartment building but didn’t detain her, while others went to her office.
Ms Hou started the group after studying human rights and refugee law at Harvard University Law School and Britain’s Oxford University. It is supported by the US-based National Endowment for Democracy.
The group has published a manual advising farmers and others of their legal rights and how to deal with Chinese courts, Ms Hou said.
“We’re trying to engage farmers and let them know more about their rights,” she said.
Ms Hou said her group’s office, which has a staff of five, was visited by police in April while she was in Geneva to attend a conference at the headquarters of Ms Arbour’s agency. Ms Hou said an American volunteer spent half a day in police custody.
Ms Hou said she has been detained several times by police, most recently in July in the southern province of Guangdong while visiting a village where farmers said local officials illegally seized 650 hectares of farmland.
JOE McDONALD of Associated Press in Beijing
Updated at 1.32pm:
Police raided the office of a Chinese human rights group before a visit to Beijing by the UN high commissioner for human rights, the group’s director said on Tuesday.
Police on Monday looked at computers and files at the Empowerment and Rights Institute, which helps farmers and others with complaints against the government, said its founder, Hou Wenzhou.
Ms Hou said police were watching her home on Tuesday and she worried that she might be detained in order to prevent her from trying to meet with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour. Ms Hou said she tried to arrange a meeting but hadn’t confirmed that it would happen.
“I might be confined and I’m so carefully watched, I don’t think I could meet her even if I tried,” Ms Hou said by phone.
Ms Arbour spoke on Tuesday at the opening of a UN human rights conference and met in private with a senior Chinese official for about 45 minutes. She declined to comment on the meeting.
Ms Arbour was expected to press for legal reforms meant to clear the way to ratifying a key UN treaty on legal rights.
China routinely detains human rights, religious and other activists in advance of major political events in order to prevent protests or attempts to meet with visiting foreign officials.
Ms Hou’s 18-month-old group gives legal information to Chinese farmers and others about such problems as illegal land seizures — a volatile issue that has prompted widespread protests.
Ms Hou said that on Monday, about a dozen police surrounded her apartment building but didn’t detain her, while others went to her office.
Ms Hou started the group after studying human rights and refugee law at Harvard University Law School and Britain’s Oxford University. It is supported by the US-based National Endowment for Democracy.
The group has published a manual advising farmers and others of their legal rights and how to deal with Chinese courts, Ms Hou said.
“We’re trying to engage farmers and let them know more about their rights,” she said.
Ms Hou said her group’s office, which has a staff of five, was visited by police in April while she was in Geneva to attend a conference at the headquarters of Ms Arbour’s agency. Ms Hou said an American volunteer spent half a day in police custody.
Ms Hou said she has been detained several times by police, most recently in July in the southern province of Guangdong while visiting a village where farmers said local officials illegally seized 650 hectares of farmland.
Can democracy defeat terrorism?
scmp - Monday, August 29, 2005
JOSEPH NYE
The Bush administration provided three major rationales for going to war in Iraq. Only one remains at all credible: the need to transform the Middle East through democratisation and thereby undercut support for terrorists. But does this argument really have any more basis in reality than the previous claims of an imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction or Saddam Hussein's alleged support for al-Qaeda?
With inspectors concluding that no weapons of mass destruction stockpiles existed, and intelligence agencies convinced that the war's net effect has been to boost al-Qaeda recruitment, the Bush administration is understandably emphasising the claim about democratisation. Indeed, it has become a dominant theme of President George W. Bush's second term. Cynics view this as merely an argument of convenience. More importantly, they also doubt the validity of the argument linking democracy and a reduction of terrorism. After all, British citizens in one of the world's oldest democracies carried out the recent terrorist attacks in London.
The sceptics have a point, but they go too far. For one thing, it is still too early to judge the merits of the argument. A full assessment of the Iraq war and its effects on the Middle East will take a decade or more. Clearly, the January election was a positive step for the region. In the past six months, there have been national elections in Lebanon and local elections in Saudi Arabia. Egypt has amended its constitution to allow its presidential election to be contested. Further elections are scheduled in Iraq and by the Palestinian Authority. As Walid Jumblatt, the Lebanese Druze leader said: "It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq."
Perhaps that outcome should not seem so strange. As the columnist David Brooks recently observed, "If there is one soft power gift that America does possess, it is the tendency to imagine new worlds."
Democracy, however, is more than just elections. It also requires tolerance for minorities and respect for individual rights, as well as the development of effective institutions for resolving politicalconflicts in divided societies. If this occurs in Iraq, it may provide some post hoc legitimisation for the war.
But the future of Iraq, not to mention democracy there, remains uncertain at best. Nevertheless, we can still conclude from the Iraqi experience that while the development of democracy can be aided from outside, it cannot easily be imposed by force.
While it is true that Germany and Japan became democratic after American occupation, it required their total defeat in a devastating war, and a seven-year occupation. Moreover, Germany and Japan were relatively homogeneous societies with some prior experience of democracy.The Bush administration may be correct in arguing that the extremely high costs and risks of promoting democracy are less than the costs and risks of allowing the authoritarian status quo in the Middle East to persist indefinitely. But democracy is not the only instrument for a transformation that addresses the roots of terrorism.
The development of civil societies, economic growth and openness to the world are equally important. So is employing young men, educating young women and addressing values of liberty and justice.
But, in the longer term, the slow, steady progress of democratisation can provide a sense of hope for moderates, creating a plausible vision of a better future - the essence of soft power - that undercuts the message of hate and violence promoted by the extremists. Democratisation can surely help remove some of the sources of rage that fuel terrorism, but it is only part of the solution.
Joseph Nye is a professor at Harvard University and author of Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics.
JOSEPH NYE
The Bush administration provided three major rationales for going to war in Iraq. Only one remains at all credible: the need to transform the Middle East through democratisation and thereby undercut support for terrorists. But does this argument really have any more basis in reality than the previous claims of an imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction or Saddam Hussein's alleged support for al-Qaeda?
With inspectors concluding that no weapons of mass destruction stockpiles existed, and intelligence agencies convinced that the war's net effect has been to boost al-Qaeda recruitment, the Bush administration is understandably emphasising the claim about democratisation. Indeed, it has become a dominant theme of President George W. Bush's second term. Cynics view this as merely an argument of convenience. More importantly, they also doubt the validity of the argument linking democracy and a reduction of terrorism. After all, British citizens in one of the world's oldest democracies carried out the recent terrorist attacks in London.
The sceptics have a point, but they go too far. For one thing, it is still too early to judge the merits of the argument. A full assessment of the Iraq war and its effects on the Middle East will take a decade or more. Clearly, the January election was a positive step for the region. In the past six months, there have been national elections in Lebanon and local elections in Saudi Arabia. Egypt has amended its constitution to allow its presidential election to be contested. Further elections are scheduled in Iraq and by the Palestinian Authority. As Walid Jumblatt, the Lebanese Druze leader said: "It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq."
Perhaps that outcome should not seem so strange. As the columnist David Brooks recently observed, "If there is one soft power gift that America does possess, it is the tendency to imagine new worlds."
Democracy, however, is more than just elections. It also requires tolerance for minorities and respect for individual rights, as well as the development of effective institutions for resolving politicalconflicts in divided societies. If this occurs in Iraq, it may provide some post hoc legitimisation for the war.
But the future of Iraq, not to mention democracy there, remains uncertain at best. Nevertheless, we can still conclude from the Iraqi experience that while the development of democracy can be aided from outside, it cannot easily be imposed by force.
While it is true that Germany and Japan became democratic after American occupation, it required their total defeat in a devastating war, and a seven-year occupation. Moreover, Germany and Japan were relatively homogeneous societies with some prior experience of democracy.The Bush administration may be correct in arguing that the extremely high costs and risks of promoting democracy are less than the costs and risks of allowing the authoritarian status quo in the Middle East to persist indefinitely. But democracy is not the only instrument for a transformation that addresses the roots of terrorism.
The development of civil societies, economic growth and openness to the world are equally important. So is employing young men, educating young women and addressing values of liberty and justice.
But, in the longer term, the slow, steady progress of democratisation can provide a sense of hope for moderates, creating a plausible vision of a better future - the essence of soft power - that undercuts the message of hate and violence promoted by the extremists. Democratisation can surely help remove some of the sources of rage that fuel terrorism, but it is only part of the solution.
Joseph Nye is a professor at Harvard University and author of Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics.
NPC to hold landmark public hearing
scmp - Monday, August 29, 2005
SHI JIANGTAO in Beijing
The National People's Congress Standing Committee will take the unprecedented step of holding a public hearing before deciding whether to raise the personal income-tax threshold.
An Jian , of the NPC Legal Affairs Commission, said yesterday the hearing was necessary as the issue concerned public interests.
Congress members considered such a move vital in addressing the problem of a widening wealth gap on the mainland, he said.
"It is going to be the first public hearing to be held by the NPC and the Standing Committee during the legislation process, and it will be the first ever public hearing in the history of the NPC and the Standing Committee," Mr An said.
Citizens who wanted to participate in the September 29 hearing must submit an essay explaining their position on the issue and reveal their income, Xinhua said.
The State Council last week proposed to the NPC Standing Committee that the taxable threshold be raised from 800 yuan to 1,500 yuan a month.
Standing Committee members agreed a higher threshold was needed, but were divided on how much it should be raised.
Hu Xingdou , from the Beijing Institute of Technology, said the announcement signalled a change that suggested public opinion would be considered in the legislative process.
However, leading legal scholar He Weifang questioned how effective the hearing would be.
"The key to the hearing is how representatives will be selected, and what measures will be followed to implement the outcome of the hearing," said Professor He, from Peking University.
"We have seen so many hearings which fell flat."
SHI JIANGTAO in Beijing
The National People's Congress Standing Committee will take the unprecedented step of holding a public hearing before deciding whether to raise the personal income-tax threshold.
An Jian , of the NPC Legal Affairs Commission, said yesterday the hearing was necessary as the issue concerned public interests.
Congress members considered such a move vital in addressing the problem of a widening wealth gap on the mainland, he said.
"It is going to be the first public hearing to be held by the NPC and the Standing Committee during the legislation process, and it will be the first ever public hearing in the history of the NPC and the Standing Committee," Mr An said.
Citizens who wanted to participate in the September 29 hearing must submit an essay explaining their position on the issue and reveal their income, Xinhua said.
The State Council last week proposed to the NPC Standing Committee that the taxable threshold be raised from 800 yuan to 1,500 yuan a month.
Standing Committee members agreed a higher threshold was needed, but were divided on how much it should be raised.
Hu Xingdou , from the Beijing Institute of Technology, said the announcement signalled a change that suggested public opinion would be considered in the legislative process.
However, leading legal scholar He Weifang questioned how effective the hearing would be.
"The key to the hearing is how representatives will be selected, and what measures will be followed to implement the outcome of the hearing," said Professor He, from Peking University.
"We have seen so many hearings which fell flat."
Enmity towards Islam hampers road to peace in Israel
scmp - Monday, August 29, 2005
BENJAMIN ROBERTSON
With daily newspaper images last week of grim-looking Israeli soldiers forcing angry protesters to leave their Gaza Strip settlements, it might have appeared that the roadmap to an Israeli-Palestinian peace is on track.
The reality, suggests the co-founder of a recently formed international think-tank, is far from certain, and if there's to be a true peace between Israel and Palestine - and also the west and Islam - then there needs to be a critical re-examination of the way in which the west views the Muslim world.
"There are three major misunderstandings in the west about the Muslim world," says Alastair Crooke of group Conflicts Forum. "The first is the language we often hear, that these people [Muslims] hate our values and are a threat to our societies ... The second is the use of the term `terrorism' and putting into the same compartment groups that are extremely unalike ... The third is that this is all about the west." He adds: "The use of language has dimmed and obscured our ability to comprehend the realities of a political solution, and those groups that are a solution and those that are a problem."
A former officer with British intelligence agency MI6, Mr Crooke helped launch Conflicts Forum last year in response to growing alarm among public policy formulators that the west's approach to Middle Eastern issues was unconstructive.
The group's website, www.conflictsforum.com, describes its goal as being to "end the isolation and demonisation of Islamist movements by the west ... create the space for their engagement in politics ... stimulate a new and rigorous understanding of armed political action, its causes and its varied nature, and to distinguish between this and what has been labelled as `terrorism'."
Previously posted to global trouble spots such as Afghanistan and Colombia, Mr Crooke's last position was as security adviser to European Union foreign affairs representative Javier Solana. "It's about politics, a political struggle ... the only way you can deal with it is to talk to it, listen to it. Bombing Fallujah is not the way to solve the problem," says Mr Crooke.
Controversially, he advocates engagement and dialogue with terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah - groups that use suicide bombers - and a recognition that they're willing to work within a democratic framework that might one day encourage them to lay down their arms.
"The steps Hamas have taken are clear. A few years ago, people told me Hamas would never enter into a ceasefire. They have entered into a ceasefire ... now they've agreed to take part in parliamentary elections and last week announced they would take part in the Palestinian Authority government, which before they refused to do. Even their language has moved on. Their quarrel is now with `aggressive Zionism'."
There are crucial differences, he says, between groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah - who want to create an Islamist state from the bottom up via elections and popular support - and jihadi organisations such as al-Qaeda, who aim to destroy the state from top down, and then rebuild from the ruins.
"These groups are poles apart. I think this dichotomy was well expressed by Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shia cleric in Iraq. In an interview he said, `Look, there are some of my brothers who believe that by working with the provisional government, they can work to bring about an end to the occupation of Iraq. Well, I wish them luck, but I believe, ultimately, they will fail because the US will not allow it. That is why I believe that, first, by resistance we must bring about the end of occupation, and only then will it be possible to create a Muslim state ...' "
Organising ongoing meetings between Islamist groups and western diplomats, Mr Crooke has unsurprisingly drawn criticism for a stance that includes the questioning of the use of the label "terrorist" on groups such as Hamas.
Writing in the Jerusalem Post in April, journalist Daniel Pipes offered this conclusion: "Conflicts Forum offers a seductive alternative to the hard business of waging and winning a war. Unfortunately, its wrong-headed, defeatist and doomed approach amounts to preemptively losing the war. Its counsel deserves a round rejection."
Events since then have perhaps furthered the case that dialogue with groups such as Hamas cannot be ignored. In May's municipal council elections in the West Bank and Gaza, Hamas took 30 of the contested 84 councils, while the ruling Fatah party of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas took 50.
Hamas announced this month that they would also run in next January's legislative elections - a result that's alarmed some in the west who had actively encouraged elections, but given hope to others who believe that "terrorist" organisations can be won over by the democratic process. "If no position is given to those who want to participate in elections, then the younger people - and it's already happening - will say `what is the point of moderation when we are excluded?'. The only way is to break the system. That's the only way to build a society," says Mr Crooke.
In understanding this trend, he says, the west needs to discard its image of Muslims as being anti-democratic. "All polls show Muslims support elections, reforms and constitutional guarantees. In many cases, Muslims support them more than western societies. What they have a problem with is our policies in Syria, in Iraq, in Iran and in Sudan. It's our policies they oppose."
Observing the withdrawal of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip, he cautions against premature expectations of peace, saying Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon may now need to move to the political right to compromise in the run-up to his re-election bid in 2006. This could mean an entrenchment of settlements and construction of the wall in the more politically sensitive West Bank, and the risk of further conflict with armed members of Hamas and Hezbollah.
The key, says Mr Crooke, is an acceptance of the other. "Both sides need to build confidence and build an ability to listen. What is important is it's done from a position of respect rather than a position of contempt. The legacy of the intifada is that each side sees the other as an enemy, not as a human being. There needs to be mutual de-escalation of violence."
BENJAMIN ROBERTSON
With daily newspaper images last week of grim-looking Israeli soldiers forcing angry protesters to leave their Gaza Strip settlements, it might have appeared that the roadmap to an Israeli-Palestinian peace is on track.
The reality, suggests the co-founder of a recently formed international think-tank, is far from certain, and if there's to be a true peace between Israel and Palestine - and also the west and Islam - then there needs to be a critical re-examination of the way in which the west views the Muslim world.
"There are three major misunderstandings in the west about the Muslim world," says Alastair Crooke of group Conflicts Forum. "The first is the language we often hear, that these people [Muslims] hate our values and are a threat to our societies ... The second is the use of the term `terrorism' and putting into the same compartment groups that are extremely unalike ... The third is that this is all about the west." He adds: "The use of language has dimmed and obscured our ability to comprehend the realities of a political solution, and those groups that are a solution and those that are a problem."
A former officer with British intelligence agency MI6, Mr Crooke helped launch Conflicts Forum last year in response to growing alarm among public policy formulators that the west's approach to Middle Eastern issues was unconstructive.
The group's website, www.conflictsforum.com, describes its goal as being to "end the isolation and demonisation of Islamist movements by the west ... create the space for their engagement in politics ... stimulate a new and rigorous understanding of armed political action, its causes and its varied nature, and to distinguish between this and what has been labelled as `terrorism'."
Previously posted to global trouble spots such as Afghanistan and Colombia, Mr Crooke's last position was as security adviser to European Union foreign affairs representative Javier Solana. "It's about politics, a political struggle ... the only way you can deal with it is to talk to it, listen to it. Bombing Fallujah is not the way to solve the problem," says Mr Crooke.
Controversially, he advocates engagement and dialogue with terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah - groups that use suicide bombers - and a recognition that they're willing to work within a democratic framework that might one day encourage them to lay down their arms.
"The steps Hamas have taken are clear. A few years ago, people told me Hamas would never enter into a ceasefire. They have entered into a ceasefire ... now they've agreed to take part in parliamentary elections and last week announced they would take part in the Palestinian Authority government, which before they refused to do. Even their language has moved on. Their quarrel is now with `aggressive Zionism'."
There are crucial differences, he says, between groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah - who want to create an Islamist state from the bottom up via elections and popular support - and jihadi organisations such as al-Qaeda, who aim to destroy the state from top down, and then rebuild from the ruins.
"These groups are poles apart. I think this dichotomy was well expressed by Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shia cleric in Iraq. In an interview he said, `Look, there are some of my brothers who believe that by working with the provisional government, they can work to bring about an end to the occupation of Iraq. Well, I wish them luck, but I believe, ultimately, they will fail because the US will not allow it. That is why I believe that, first, by resistance we must bring about the end of occupation, and only then will it be possible to create a Muslim state ...' "
Organising ongoing meetings between Islamist groups and western diplomats, Mr Crooke has unsurprisingly drawn criticism for a stance that includes the questioning of the use of the label "terrorist" on groups such as Hamas.
Writing in the Jerusalem Post in April, journalist Daniel Pipes offered this conclusion: "Conflicts Forum offers a seductive alternative to the hard business of waging and winning a war. Unfortunately, its wrong-headed, defeatist and doomed approach amounts to preemptively losing the war. Its counsel deserves a round rejection."
Events since then have perhaps furthered the case that dialogue with groups such as Hamas cannot be ignored. In May's municipal council elections in the West Bank and Gaza, Hamas took 30 of the contested 84 councils, while the ruling Fatah party of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas took 50.
Hamas announced this month that they would also run in next January's legislative elections - a result that's alarmed some in the west who had actively encouraged elections, but given hope to others who believe that "terrorist" organisations can be won over by the democratic process. "If no position is given to those who want to participate in elections, then the younger people - and it's already happening - will say `what is the point of moderation when we are excluded?'. The only way is to break the system. That's the only way to build a society," says Mr Crooke.
In understanding this trend, he says, the west needs to discard its image of Muslims as being anti-democratic. "All polls show Muslims support elections, reforms and constitutional guarantees. In many cases, Muslims support them more than western societies. What they have a problem with is our policies in Syria, in Iraq, in Iran and in Sudan. It's our policies they oppose."
Observing the withdrawal of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip, he cautions against premature expectations of peace, saying Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon may now need to move to the political right to compromise in the run-up to his re-election bid in 2006. This could mean an entrenchment of settlements and construction of the wall in the more politically sensitive West Bank, and the risk of further conflict with armed members of Hamas and Hezbollah.
The key, says Mr Crooke, is an acceptance of the other. "Both sides need to build confidence and build an ability to listen. What is important is it's done from a position of respect rather than a position of contempt. The legacy of the intifada is that each side sees the other as an enemy, not as a human being. There needs to be mutual de-escalation of violence."
Schooled for a life in the house of Islam
scmp - Monday, August 29, 2005
NOOR HUDA ISMAIL
The phrase that describes the goal of Islam - creating a house of Islam - is also the name of an Indonesian organisation whose aim has been to turn the country into a house ruled by sharia law. As a student in one of Indonesia's famous Islamic schools, I had a close encounter with the group, Darul Islam, and its philosophy. I have since adopted the life of a secular Muslim and, for me, Darul has lost its punch.
My Islamic studies started in 1985, when I was 12. My father brought me to Al-Mukmin Ngruki, one of thousands of Islamic boarding schools around the country. After six years, I opted for different schooling. Several fellow students, however, made a different choice - one which made my school famous: dozens of Ngruki's alumni have been accused of taking part in a wave of terrorist attacks against westerners in Indonesia in recent years.
Still, I now realise what is more shocking is that more of us did not turn to extremism. The school sought to instil a singular message of Islamic identity at the expense of others, and the parting message was to join Darul Islam.
Over more than five decades, the group has spawned many offshoots and splinters who committed violent acts in the name of jihad. In fact, it is impossible to have a clear and comprehensive understanding of all holy warrior movements without looking at the dynamic and complicated development of the group.
Various incarnations have been involved in rebellions since the mid-20th century. All Islamic organisations, including Darul Islam, enthusiastically backed the CIA-orchestrated coup from 1965 to 1966 that installed the Suharto dictatorship. The December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan galvanised Muslims all over the world, including those in Indonesia. Thousands of Indonesians fought in the war; Darul Islam sent 360.
Some of these people would later emerge as the fighters of the pan-regional group, Jemaah Islamiah, responsible for major terrorist attacks in the region. Indonesia's Islamic fighters also benefited from an alliance of convenience with America - only to emerge later as the sworn enemy of their one-time western ally and Indonesia's secular government.
Today, the objective of Darul Islam remains the same: to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia. But leaders claim that they would never use violence to achieve the goal. Although the group may not be as much of a threat today - it is fragmented and disorganised - its call resonates with poorly educated, marginalised people in impoverished areas. So it can be a fertile ground for terrorists to recruit members.
As recent events have shown, a tiny group of people can create an enormous amount of damage. The fact that Darul Islam adherents share the same objective as Osama bin Laden and European-based terrorist groups remains a matter of global concern.
Noor Huda Ismail is a research analyst at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
Reprinted with permission from YaleGlobal Online
NOOR HUDA ISMAIL
The phrase that describes the goal of Islam - creating a house of Islam - is also the name of an Indonesian organisation whose aim has been to turn the country into a house ruled by sharia law. As a student in one of Indonesia's famous Islamic schools, I had a close encounter with the group, Darul Islam, and its philosophy. I have since adopted the life of a secular Muslim and, for me, Darul has lost its punch.
My Islamic studies started in 1985, when I was 12. My father brought me to Al-Mukmin Ngruki, one of thousands of Islamic boarding schools around the country. After six years, I opted for different schooling. Several fellow students, however, made a different choice - one which made my school famous: dozens of Ngruki's alumni have been accused of taking part in a wave of terrorist attacks against westerners in Indonesia in recent years.
Still, I now realise what is more shocking is that more of us did not turn to extremism. The school sought to instil a singular message of Islamic identity at the expense of others, and the parting message was to join Darul Islam.
Over more than five decades, the group has spawned many offshoots and splinters who committed violent acts in the name of jihad. In fact, it is impossible to have a clear and comprehensive understanding of all holy warrior movements without looking at the dynamic and complicated development of the group.
Various incarnations have been involved in rebellions since the mid-20th century. All Islamic organisations, including Darul Islam, enthusiastically backed the CIA-orchestrated coup from 1965 to 1966 that installed the Suharto dictatorship. The December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan galvanised Muslims all over the world, including those in Indonesia. Thousands of Indonesians fought in the war; Darul Islam sent 360.
Some of these people would later emerge as the fighters of the pan-regional group, Jemaah Islamiah, responsible for major terrorist attacks in the region. Indonesia's Islamic fighters also benefited from an alliance of convenience with America - only to emerge later as the sworn enemy of their one-time western ally and Indonesia's secular government.
Today, the objective of Darul Islam remains the same: to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia. But leaders claim that they would never use violence to achieve the goal. Although the group may not be as much of a threat today - it is fragmented and disorganised - its call resonates with poorly educated, marginalised people in impoverished areas. So it can be a fertile ground for terrorists to recruit members.
As recent events have shown, a tiny group of people can create an enormous amount of damage. The fact that Darul Islam adherents share the same objective as Osama bin Laden and European-based terrorist groups remains a matter of global concern.
Noor Huda Ismail is a research analyst at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
Reprinted with permission from YaleGlobal Online
Political film lands city-state director in hot water
scmp - Saturday, August 27, 2005
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Singaporean film director who could face charges over his documentary about an opposition politician said yesterday that police had asked him to surrender all remaining copies of the film and the equipment used to make it.
Martyn See said authorities had also asked him to hand over shipping documents for Singapore Rebel, which he sent for screening at the New Zealand Human Rights Film Festival and the Amnesty International Film Festival in Hollywood this year.
See said police questioned him for three hours on Thursday.
Police have said See may have broken the law by showing or distributing a "party political film".
He could be imprisoned for up to two years or fined up to S$100,000 ($465,000) if convicted.
Singapore's government is trying to promote the ultra-modern city state as an Asian regional arts and media hub - but its leaders have been widely criticised for their strict censorship policies and other controls on free speech.
Leaders argue that such regulations help maintain the stability that has made Singapore one of Asia's safest and wealthiest countries.
Singapore Rebel is about outspoken government critic Chee Soon Juan, who faces bankruptcy due to defamation lawsuits filed by leaders Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong.
Authorities pulled the 26-minute film from this year's Singapore International Film Festival.
See said a senior police officer questioned him on Thursday about his political affiliations.
He said police also quizzed him about his online journal, and about how he had obtained archived newspaper articles posted on his website.
"The mood was relaxed until near the end of the interview, when I felt many questions were totally irrelevant to the making of Singapore Rebel."
The filmmaker agreed to surrender the video, documents and copies after he was told the items would be returned.
The Singaporean government has called politically motivated films "an undesirable medium" to debate issues. See has said he made the film independently and is not an opposition member.
Police spokesman Victor Keong confirmed investigators met See on Thursday. He gave no further details, saying only that "investigations are ongoing".
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Singaporean film director who could face charges over his documentary about an opposition politician said yesterday that police had asked him to surrender all remaining copies of the film and the equipment used to make it.
Martyn See said authorities had also asked him to hand over shipping documents for Singapore Rebel, which he sent for screening at the New Zealand Human Rights Film Festival and the Amnesty International Film Festival in Hollywood this year.
See said police questioned him for three hours on Thursday.
Police have said See may have broken the law by showing or distributing a "party political film".
He could be imprisoned for up to two years or fined up to S$100,000 ($465,000) if convicted.
Singapore's government is trying to promote the ultra-modern city state as an Asian regional arts and media hub - but its leaders have been widely criticised for their strict censorship policies and other controls on free speech.
Leaders argue that such regulations help maintain the stability that has made Singapore one of Asia's safest and wealthiest countries.
Singapore Rebel is about outspoken government critic Chee Soon Juan, who faces bankruptcy due to defamation lawsuits filed by leaders Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong.
Authorities pulled the 26-minute film from this year's Singapore International Film Festival.
See said a senior police officer questioned him on Thursday about his political affiliations.
He said police also quizzed him about his online journal, and about how he had obtained archived newspaper articles posted on his website.
"The mood was relaxed until near the end of the interview, when I felt many questions were totally irrelevant to the making of Singapore Rebel."
The filmmaker agreed to surrender the video, documents and copies after he was told the items would be returned.
The Singaporean government has called politically motivated films "an undesirable medium" to debate issues. See has said he made the film independently and is not an opposition member.
Police spokesman Victor Keong confirmed investigators met See on Thursday. He gave no further details, saying only that "investigations are ongoing".
Women's groups oppose Arabs' mosque-approved sex tourism
scmp - Friday, August 26, 2005
AMRIT DHILLON in New Delhi
Mumbai hotels are full of Arab families from the Gulf who have left their water-parched countries to enjoy the monsoon rains in India. Mingled among them are Arabs with a different purpose for visiting the city - to have illegal sex with teenage Indian Muslim girls.
They enter into temporary muta'a marriages permitted in Islam. In return for paying a woman a lump sum, a Muslim can marry her for an agreed amount of time - an hour, a month, a year. It's a way of allowing Muslim men to slake their lust outside marriage without technically committing any sin.
Women's groups in Mumbai became so concerned at this exploitation, invariably of impoverished girls whose parents need the money the Arab gives, that they asked the Ministry of External Affairs to act.
The ministry wrote to its missions in the Middle East urging consular staff not to issue visas to Arabs who might be visiting Mumbai to enter into sex marriages.
A classic case is 15-year-old Saheeda Aziz, who has been married four times this year to Arab tourists.
"One of her marriages lasted five days, another lasted one week. It all depended on how long her temporary `husband' was in Mumbai," said Nirmala Samant, of the National Commission for Women.
A similar practice exists in Hyderabad, south India, which has a large Muslim population. The Muslim custom of getting girls married the moment they menstruate has turned Hyderabad into a favourite hunting ground of men from Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Dubai in search of their Lolita.
It is an organised racket with "marriage" brokers introducing young girls to middle-aged or elderly Arabs in return for a fee.
Hyderabad police are looking for 45-year-old Al-Rahman Ismael Mirza Abdul Jabbar from the UAE. He is reported to have married two 15-year-old girls simultaneously earlier this month after paying US$400.
"The girls managed to leave the hotel by pretending to go to the market to buy some lipstick. The Arab must have gone home, but we're looking for the marriage broker and the cleric who solemnised the marriage," said Inspector Sadiq Ahmed.
AMRIT DHILLON in New Delhi
Mumbai hotels are full of Arab families from the Gulf who have left their water-parched countries to enjoy the monsoon rains in India. Mingled among them are Arabs with a different purpose for visiting the city - to have illegal sex with teenage Indian Muslim girls.
They enter into temporary muta'a marriages permitted in Islam. In return for paying a woman a lump sum, a Muslim can marry her for an agreed amount of time - an hour, a month, a year. It's a way of allowing Muslim men to slake their lust outside marriage without technically committing any sin.
Women's groups in Mumbai became so concerned at this exploitation, invariably of impoverished girls whose parents need the money the Arab gives, that they asked the Ministry of External Affairs to act.
The ministry wrote to its missions in the Middle East urging consular staff not to issue visas to Arabs who might be visiting Mumbai to enter into sex marriages.
A classic case is 15-year-old Saheeda Aziz, who has been married four times this year to Arab tourists.
"One of her marriages lasted five days, another lasted one week. It all depended on how long her temporary `husband' was in Mumbai," said Nirmala Samant, of the National Commission for Women.
A similar practice exists in Hyderabad, south India, which has a large Muslim population. The Muslim custom of getting girls married the moment they menstruate has turned Hyderabad into a favourite hunting ground of men from Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Dubai in search of their Lolita.
It is an organised racket with "marriage" brokers introducing young girls to middle-aged or elderly Arabs in return for a fee.
Hyderabad police are looking for 45-year-old Al-Rahman Ismael Mirza Abdul Jabbar from the UAE. He is reported to have married two 15-year-old girls simultaneously earlier this month after paying US$400.
"The girls managed to leave the hotel by pretending to go to the market to buy some lipstick. The Arab must have gone home, but we're looking for the marriage broker and the cleric who solemnised the marriage," said Inspector Sadiq Ahmed.
Gender imbalance put down to old thinking
scmp - Thursday, August 25, 2005
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Beijing
A senior official has blamed the mainland's gender imbalance on outdated traditional thinking and an inadequate social security system, vehemently denying that its decades-old one-child policy is to blame.
There are 117 male births for every 100 female births in China, compared with the global newborn ratio of between 103 and 107 boys for 100 girls.
"This high ratio is a manifestation of the inequality between men and women. It is also a reflection of the violation of girls' rights to survive and their rights to development," said Gu Xiulian , president of the official All China Women's Federation.
Experts have warned that up to 15 per cent of the mainland's male population could be without a female partner in the coming decades.
The shortage of women in some areas has already become a problem. Thousands of Chinese women are abducted by human traffickers every year in increasingly sophisticated cross-provincial underground operations.
Experts have blamed the country's one-child policy. They say the traditional preference for boys, especially in rural areas, means many parents will consider aborting an unborn girl in order to try for a boy.
Ms Gu denied strongly that the national policy, implemented since the late 1970s, was to blame.
"The main reason is ... the traditional view that male is more important than female and it is still active in Chinese people's minds," she said.
Another reason was the lack of social security in rural China, meaning old people still had to be provided for by male offspring working on farms, she said.
These factors, coupled with ultrasound gender tests before birth, had encouraged abortions, she said.
Ms Gu said the country had taken measures to tackle the problem, including outlawing ultrasound testing of the gender of unborn babies. Laws had also been revised to provide harsher penalties for trafficking in women, a government white paper released yesterday said.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Beijing
A senior official has blamed the mainland's gender imbalance on outdated traditional thinking and an inadequate social security system, vehemently denying that its decades-old one-child policy is to blame.
There are 117 male births for every 100 female births in China, compared with the global newborn ratio of between 103 and 107 boys for 100 girls.
"This high ratio is a manifestation of the inequality between men and women. It is also a reflection of the violation of girls' rights to survive and their rights to development," said Gu Xiulian , president of the official All China Women's Federation.
Experts have warned that up to 15 per cent of the mainland's male population could be without a female partner in the coming decades.
The shortage of women in some areas has already become a problem. Thousands of Chinese women are abducted by human traffickers every year in increasingly sophisticated cross-provincial underground operations.
Experts have blamed the country's one-child policy. They say the traditional preference for boys, especially in rural areas, means many parents will consider aborting an unborn girl in order to try for a boy.
Ms Gu denied strongly that the national policy, implemented since the late 1970s, was to blame.
"The main reason is ... the traditional view that male is more important than female and it is still active in Chinese people's minds," she said.
Another reason was the lack of social security in rural China, meaning old people still had to be provided for by male offspring working on farms, she said.
These factors, coupled with ultrasound gender tests before birth, had encouraged abortions, she said.
Ms Gu said the country had taken measures to tackle the problem, including outlawing ultrasound testing of the gender of unborn babies. Laws had also been revised to provide harsher penalties for trafficking in women, a government white paper released yesterday said.
Local dollar may soon find no room in one country, two systems
scmp - Thursday, August 25, 2005
LOUIS BECKERLING
It's early days yet - very early days - but with a little help from regulators here and in China, financial markets may have given new momentum to a long process that might ultimately bury the Hong Kong dollar and replace it with the yuan.
Since the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's "refinement" of the Hong Kong dollar peg on May 18 and the revaluation of the yuan by the People's Bank of China on July 21, the US dollar exchange values of the two currencies have begun creeping together.
Exchange rates of economies as closely linked as Hong Kong and China that in addition establish a reputation for moving in step with one another could become a helpful but by no means sufficient condition for introducing a single currency.
But there's more underway on the interest rate front since the changes were introduced to the currency regimes and, with the attention of most analysts focused on dramatic results for short-term rates in Hong Kong (they promptly caught up with their US counterparts), intriguing developments at the longer end of the non-deliverable swap curve were getting less attention.
That was until UBS director of Asia interest rate research, Bert Gochet, got to work with a "small regression study", the results of which he published this week.
What he found was that the tie that binds US and Hong Kong dollar rates at the short end was secured all the more tightly by the HKMA refinements.
Nothing new in that. But at the longer end, Hong Kong dollar swap rates appeared to be shifting towards yuan rates and away from US dollar rates.
If this shift were to intensify, it may, with the benefit of historical hindsight, be identified as a decisive phase in the post-handover saga of the decline of a sovereign Hong Kong dollar although this was not a conclusion that Mr Gochet was emphasising, it should be said.
From January 2000 to December 2003, Mr Gochet's findings showed that US dollar yields had a strong influence over Hong Kong dollar yields. Speculative inflows into Hong Kong dollars punting on a revaluation triggered by changes to the yuan's exchange rate then uncoupled this relationship in phase two - January 4, 2003, to May 18 this year.
The connection to US dollar rates has now been re-established but on a weaker basis, as the yuan begins to exercise increasing influence, notes Mr Gochet. "In other words, current negative five-year Hong Kong dollar-US dollar swap spreads will continue to widen as Hong Kong dollar rates face a tendency to pull away from US dollar rates and shift towards the much lower yuan rates. We expect this process to gather some momentum in the next six to 12 months ... as a financial market for yuan products develops inside Hong Kong," he said. Chief among those products available here are yuan deposits with Hong Kong banks and at the last counting there was some 21 billion yuan on deposit in the local banking system.
More recently, there has been talk of lifting the present caps on the amount of yuan that may be deposited into those accounts, some talk that mainland-based corporates may be allowed to issue yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong and an appeal to Hong Kong banks to make the non-deliverable forward market in yuan more user-friendly and liquid to enable local corporates to hedge against yuan exchange rate movements.
Furthermore, the monetary relationship between China and Hong Kong under the concept of "one country, two systems" has now been defined as one country with two currencies, two monetary systems and two monetary authorities which are mutually independent.
Interestingly, in a robust rebuttal of talk that the local dollar would be replaced by the yuan after the handover, HKMA chief executive Joseph Yam Chi-kwong told a Bank of England seminar in September 1996 that "a mutually independent relationship with monetary autonomy for Hong Kong is consistent with the declared objective in the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of maintaining Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre, and enables China to maximise Hong Kong's utility as an international financial centre for promoting the reform and liberalisation of China's monetary and financial systems".
Therein, perhaps, lies the key. So long as Hong Kong provides such a useful service, the need for monetary autonomy and a separate currency will ensure that the Hong Kong dollar survives.
But with the market increasingly connecting the local currency to the fortunes of the yuan, and integration of the two systems gaining momentum, those Hong Kong dollar notes may one day be no more than quaint symbols of a bygone past.
LOUIS BECKERLING
It's early days yet - very early days - but with a little help from regulators here and in China, financial markets may have given new momentum to a long process that might ultimately bury the Hong Kong dollar and replace it with the yuan.
Since the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's "refinement" of the Hong Kong dollar peg on May 18 and the revaluation of the yuan by the People's Bank of China on July 21, the US dollar exchange values of the two currencies have begun creeping together.
Exchange rates of economies as closely linked as Hong Kong and China that in addition establish a reputation for moving in step with one another could become a helpful but by no means sufficient condition for introducing a single currency.
But there's more underway on the interest rate front since the changes were introduced to the currency regimes and, with the attention of most analysts focused on dramatic results for short-term rates in Hong Kong (they promptly caught up with their US counterparts), intriguing developments at the longer end of the non-deliverable swap curve were getting less attention.
That was until UBS director of Asia interest rate research, Bert Gochet, got to work with a "small regression study", the results of which he published this week.
What he found was that the tie that binds US and Hong Kong dollar rates at the short end was secured all the more tightly by the HKMA refinements.
Nothing new in that. But at the longer end, Hong Kong dollar swap rates appeared to be shifting towards yuan rates and away from US dollar rates.
If this shift were to intensify, it may, with the benefit of historical hindsight, be identified as a decisive phase in the post-handover saga of the decline of a sovereign Hong Kong dollar although this was not a conclusion that Mr Gochet was emphasising, it should be said.
From January 2000 to December 2003, Mr Gochet's findings showed that US dollar yields had a strong influence over Hong Kong dollar yields. Speculative inflows into Hong Kong dollars punting on a revaluation triggered by changes to the yuan's exchange rate then uncoupled this relationship in phase two - January 4, 2003, to May 18 this year.
The connection to US dollar rates has now been re-established but on a weaker basis, as the yuan begins to exercise increasing influence, notes Mr Gochet. "In other words, current negative five-year Hong Kong dollar-US dollar swap spreads will continue to widen as Hong Kong dollar rates face a tendency to pull away from US dollar rates and shift towards the much lower yuan rates. We expect this process to gather some momentum in the next six to 12 months ... as a financial market for yuan products develops inside Hong Kong," he said. Chief among those products available here are yuan deposits with Hong Kong banks and at the last counting there was some 21 billion yuan on deposit in the local banking system.
More recently, there has been talk of lifting the present caps on the amount of yuan that may be deposited into those accounts, some talk that mainland-based corporates may be allowed to issue yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong and an appeal to Hong Kong banks to make the non-deliverable forward market in yuan more user-friendly and liquid to enable local corporates to hedge against yuan exchange rate movements.
Furthermore, the monetary relationship between China and Hong Kong under the concept of "one country, two systems" has now been defined as one country with two currencies, two monetary systems and two monetary authorities which are mutually independent.
Interestingly, in a robust rebuttal of talk that the local dollar would be replaced by the yuan after the handover, HKMA chief executive Joseph Yam Chi-kwong told a Bank of England seminar in September 1996 that "a mutually independent relationship with monetary autonomy for Hong Kong is consistent with the declared objective in the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of maintaining Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre, and enables China to maximise Hong Kong's utility as an international financial centre for promoting the reform and liberalisation of China's monetary and financial systems".
Therein, perhaps, lies the key. So long as Hong Kong provides such a useful service, the need for monetary autonomy and a separate currency will ensure that the Hong Kong dollar survives.
But with the market increasingly connecting the local currency to the fortunes of the yuan, and integration of the two systems gaining momentum, those Hong Kong dollar notes may one day be no more than quaint symbols of a bygone past.
Half of Asia's young 'deprived'
scmp - Tuesday, August 23, 2005
AGENCIES in Bangkok
Nearly half of Asia's 1.27 billion children live in poverty - deprived of food, safe drinking water, health or shelter, a development agency said in a report released yesterday.
While 600 million under the age of 18 lack access to one of these basic human needs, more than 350 million are deprived of two or more of these needs, said Growing up in Asia, a report from the child humanitarian organisation Plan.
Plan said half of Asia's families were not benefiting from economic growth and globalisation.
It blamed rapid population growth on scarce resources; lack of access to education, health care, clean water and sanitation; caste discrimination; and weak governance and corruption.
"Asia has more than twice as many severely deprived children as sub-Saharan Africa. This scale of child poverty will have a serious impact on Asia's future prospects, unless it is addressed now," Michael Diamond, Plan's Asia regional director, said.
Despite rapid economic growth in many countries - including China and India - many Asian children lack access to basics such as food, clean water, shelter, health care, education and sanitation.
The report said that to combat poverty, the international community needed to cut subsidies to US, European and Japanese farmers and erase billions of dollars in debt. It also said richer countries could help by paying more for goods from developing countries.
Plan has pledged to invest US$1 billion on poverty reduction across 12 Asian countries over 10 years.
"People say, `Why do you have this problem? Is it lack of good governance? Is it corruption? Is it attitudes, cultures, customs, mores?' The answer is it's all of those," said Plan chief executive Tom Miller.
"We are talking about the next generation, about children who have not had a say in their lives to date, who have had adults taking their decisions for them."
AGENCIES in Bangkok
Nearly half of Asia's 1.27 billion children live in poverty - deprived of food, safe drinking water, health or shelter, a development agency said in a report released yesterday.
While 600 million under the age of 18 lack access to one of these basic human needs, more than 350 million are deprived of two or more of these needs, said Growing up in Asia, a report from the child humanitarian organisation Plan.
Plan said half of Asia's families were not benefiting from economic growth and globalisation.
It blamed rapid population growth on scarce resources; lack of access to education, health care, clean water and sanitation; caste discrimination; and weak governance and corruption.
"Asia has more than twice as many severely deprived children as sub-Saharan Africa. This scale of child poverty will have a serious impact on Asia's future prospects, unless it is addressed now," Michael Diamond, Plan's Asia regional director, said.
Despite rapid economic growth in many countries - including China and India - many Asian children lack access to basics such as food, clean water, shelter, health care, education and sanitation.
The report said that to combat poverty, the international community needed to cut subsidies to US, European and Japanese farmers and erase billions of dollars in debt. It also said richer countries could help by paying more for goods from developing countries.
Plan has pledged to invest US$1 billion on poverty reduction across 12 Asian countries over 10 years.
"People say, `Why do you have this problem? Is it lack of good governance? Is it corruption? Is it attitudes, cultures, customs, mores?' The answer is it's all of those," said Plan chief executive Tom Miller.
"We are talking about the next generation, about children who have not had a say in their lives to date, who have had adults taking their decisions for them."
Amnesty for 2,000 jailed Aceh rebels
scmp - Monday, August 22, 2005
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Jakarta
An amnesty for 2,000 detained Aceh rebels will be announced this week as part of the pact signed to end 29 years of separatist conflict in the resource-rich province, a report said yesterday.
Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin, who signed the August 15 accord with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki, was quoted by the Kompas newspaper as saying the amnesty would be announced on Wednesday.
"The number of those to receive an amnesty will be around 2,000 people. Some 500 in Java and 1,500 in Aceh and Bengkulu," he said.
Dr Hamid said the announcement would be made after a consultation meeting with parliament on Wednesday.
However, he said the amnesty would go ahead regardless of the outcome of the consultation.
The justice minister said all activists in jails on Java island would be returned to Aceh.
The ministry's director general for human rights protection, Hafid Abbas, said rebels would be released on Sunday.
"The release will be gradual but we will meet our promise, made in the Republic of Indonesia-GAM Memorandum of Understanding, on the release of the GAM detainees," Mr Abbas said.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Jakarta
An amnesty for 2,000 detained Aceh rebels will be announced this week as part of the pact signed to end 29 years of separatist conflict in the resource-rich province, a report said yesterday.
Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin, who signed the August 15 accord with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki, was quoted by the Kompas newspaper as saying the amnesty would be announced on Wednesday.
"The number of those to receive an amnesty will be around 2,000 people. Some 500 in Java and 1,500 in Aceh and Bengkulu," he said.
Dr Hamid said the announcement would be made after a consultation meeting with parliament on Wednesday.
However, he said the amnesty would go ahead regardless of the outcome of the consultation.
The justice minister said all activists in jails on Java island would be returned to Aceh.
The ministry's director general for human rights protection, Hafid Abbas, said rebels would be released on Sunday.
"The release will be gradual but we will meet our promise, made in the Republic of Indonesia-GAM Memorandum of Understanding, on the release of the GAM detainees," Mr Abbas said.
Malaysia sets out vision for Asean
scmp - Tuesday, August 9, 2005
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia, the new head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has spelled out its vision for the 10-nation bloc including new defence initiatives and a more proactive role on the world stage.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi laid out the plans in an address late on Sunday to mark the 38th anniversary of the founding of the group, saying it must work towards achieving the vision of an Asean community by 2020.
The initiatives include persuading member nations to sign a new non-aggression pact and initiating a regular meeting of Asean defence ministers.
Malaysia also wants to see the creation of a charter for the group, establish a development fund and help close the economic gap between member countries.
"The objective is for Asean to stay relevant and respond to global challenges," Mr Abdullah said.
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Asean defence ministers would meet next year to discuss regional security, and that the group had to look critically at its traditional policy of non-interference in a new context of security issues.
"We must protect our rights as a sovereign country yet we must look at what is happening in other Asean countries because we must get involved, even if indirectly.
"The safety and stability of Asean depends on us co-operating with each other."
The minister also said that Malaysia, which assumed the grouping's chair after a meeting of Asean foreign ministers in Laos last month, must face the "Myanmar challenge".
Myanmar at that meeting gave up its turn as Asean chair, which it was due to assume in 2006, after intense international pressure over the slow pace of democratic reforms by the military junta.
"With Myanmar relinquishing its chairmanship this year, this does not mean that it ends there," said Mr Hamid.
"Myanmar is in the process of democratisation and reconciliation in that country. I think it's going to be a very challenging and tough time."
Asean comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
China, Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea will be joining their Asean counterparts for an inaugural East Asia Summit which will be held in Kuala Lumpur in December.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia, the new head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has spelled out its vision for the 10-nation bloc including new defence initiatives and a more proactive role on the world stage.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi laid out the plans in an address late on Sunday to mark the 38th anniversary of the founding of the group, saying it must work towards achieving the vision of an Asean community by 2020.
The initiatives include persuading member nations to sign a new non-aggression pact and initiating a regular meeting of Asean defence ministers.
Malaysia also wants to see the creation of a charter for the group, establish a development fund and help close the economic gap between member countries.
"The objective is for Asean to stay relevant and respond to global challenges," Mr Abdullah said.
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Asean defence ministers would meet next year to discuss regional security, and that the group had to look critically at its traditional policy of non-interference in a new context of security issues.
"We must protect our rights as a sovereign country yet we must look at what is happening in other Asean countries because we must get involved, even if indirectly.
"The safety and stability of Asean depends on us co-operating with each other."
The minister also said that Malaysia, which assumed the grouping's chair after a meeting of Asean foreign ministers in Laos last month, must face the "Myanmar challenge".
Myanmar at that meeting gave up its turn as Asean chair, which it was due to assume in 2006, after intense international pressure over the slow pace of democratic reforms by the military junta.
"With Myanmar relinquishing its chairmanship this year, this does not mean that it ends there," said Mr Hamid.
"Myanmar is in the process of democratisation and reconciliation in that country. I think it's going to be a very challenging and tough time."
Asean comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
China, Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea will be joining their Asean counterparts for an inaugural East Asia Summit which will be held in Kuala Lumpur in December.
Beijing vows to veto UN council plan
scmp - Monday, August 8, 2005
REUTERS in Beijing
Beijing will veto a plan to enlarge the UN Security Council if the reform measure goes to a vote, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
The so-called Group of Four - India, Germany, Japan and Brazil - have called for 10 seats to be added to the current 15-member body, which is comprised of five permanent members with veto power and 10 chosen by region who rotate for two-year terms.
The proposal seeks to add six permanent seats without veto powers - one each for the G4 nations and two for Africa - and four seats on rotating two-year terms.
"To uphold the interests of most developing nations, and to preserve the long-term interests of the United Nations, China will resolutely vote `no' if the G4 proposal is put up for a vote," the ministry said.
"The G4 resolution fails to consider the interests of the majority of nations, including African countries, and has been opposed and questioned by many nations, and cannot gain support," it said.
UN ambassador Wang Guangya said on Thursday Beijing and Washington had agreed to work together to defeat plans to expand the Security Council. The African Union voted the same day to reject the G4 proposal and ratify its own plan to enlarge the council.
The Foreign Ministry suggested the G4 nations withdraw their resolution and warned against attempts to push through a vote.
"Any forceful vote would only sharpen contradictions, affect the unity of [UN] member states and undermine the course of the progress of reform," it said.
REUTERS in Beijing
Beijing will veto a plan to enlarge the UN Security Council if the reform measure goes to a vote, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
The so-called Group of Four - India, Germany, Japan and Brazil - have called for 10 seats to be added to the current 15-member body, which is comprised of five permanent members with veto power and 10 chosen by region who rotate for two-year terms.
The proposal seeks to add six permanent seats without veto powers - one each for the G4 nations and two for Africa - and four seats on rotating two-year terms.
"To uphold the interests of most developing nations, and to preserve the long-term interests of the United Nations, China will resolutely vote `no' if the G4 proposal is put up for a vote," the ministry said.
"The G4 resolution fails to consider the interests of the majority of nations, including African countries, and has been opposed and questioned by many nations, and cannot gain support," it said.
UN ambassador Wang Guangya said on Thursday Beijing and Washington had agreed to work together to defeat plans to expand the Security Council. The African Union voted the same day to reject the G4 proposal and ratify its own plan to enlarge the council.
The Foreign Ministry suggested the G4 nations withdraw their resolution and warned against attempts to push through a vote.
"Any forceful vote would only sharpen contradictions, affect the unity of [UN] member states and undermine the course of the progress of reform," it said.
Reverse verdict on June 4, KMT chief urges Beijing
scmp - Sunday, August 7, 2005
STAFF REPORTER
Beijing must reverse its verdict on the Tiananmen incident before reunification talks can be held, said Ma Ying-jeou, chairman-elect of the Kuomintang. And it must allow democracy to take root.
In an interview with Taipei's China Times newspaper, Mr Ma sought to dispel fears that as party chairman he would tone down his opinions and soften his positions.
He stated clearly he would not change his position on communism and would continue to oppose the Anti-Secession Law passed by Beijing in March. He would also support the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is banned on the mainland.
"I would not shut up because I have been elected KMT chairman." He said Beijing would not see it as a friendly gesture.
In a reference to the mainland's lack of political reforms, Mr Ma said democracy would be a prerequisite for reunification talks between Beijing and Taipei.
"It would be bad for cross-strait relations if democracy can't take root" on the mainland, he said.
"If by adopting a different approach, [the mainland] can become better and people can feel more comfortable, why not?"
Mr Ma, who was refused a visa to visit Hong Kong in January for his outspoken opposition to the Anti-Secession Law, said he was optimistic Beijing would re-examine the 1989 Tiananmen incident. He said a reversal was possible before President Hu Jintao steps down.
He pointed to the evolving labels mainland leaders had adopted over the years to describe June 4: a "rebellion" became "turmoil", then "political incident".
Mr Ma said he was not angry about Beijing's criticism of his opposition to the Anti-Secession Law, which authorises the use of force against Taiwan if it declares independence.
"Even they don't really believe in communism, [and it is obvious] they have no reasons to attack people who reject communism," he said.
"They probably are no longer [practising] communism anyway."
Mr Ma, who is mayor of Taipei, was elected in July to lead the party and will officially take over in two weeks.
He said his swearing-in speech would reiterate his opposition to both Taiwan independence and the "one country, two system" formula preferred by Beijing.
He said his victory in the party poll would be likely to have a positive effect on the mainland as television broadcasts of the elections were seen across the strait.
"What we've done will have an effect on the mainland," he said. "[People there] will have the aspiration that if Taiwan can, why not us?"
In addition, he said he would respect the so-called 1992 consensus with the mainland, under which Taipei and Beijing agreed the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belonged to the same country.
On party affairs, Mr Ma said he would not push for dramatic changes and hoped to win over internal rivals, while seeking to build bridges with other opposition parties.
Mr Ma took 72.4 per cent of the half a million votes cast in the July 16 election. Both he and his opponent, legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, ran on similar platforms, promising to improve relations with the mainland.
Mr Ma's victory has made him the favourite to challenge the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in the 2008 presidential election.
STAFF REPORTER
Beijing must reverse its verdict on the Tiananmen incident before reunification talks can be held, said Ma Ying-jeou, chairman-elect of the Kuomintang. And it must allow democracy to take root.
In an interview with Taipei's China Times newspaper, Mr Ma sought to dispel fears that as party chairman he would tone down his opinions and soften his positions.
He stated clearly he would not change his position on communism and would continue to oppose the Anti-Secession Law passed by Beijing in March. He would also support the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is banned on the mainland.
"I would not shut up because I have been elected KMT chairman." He said Beijing would not see it as a friendly gesture.
In a reference to the mainland's lack of political reforms, Mr Ma said democracy would be a prerequisite for reunification talks between Beijing and Taipei.
"It would be bad for cross-strait relations if democracy can't take root" on the mainland, he said.
"If by adopting a different approach, [the mainland] can become better and people can feel more comfortable, why not?"
Mr Ma, who was refused a visa to visit Hong Kong in January for his outspoken opposition to the Anti-Secession Law, said he was optimistic Beijing would re-examine the 1989 Tiananmen incident. He said a reversal was possible before President Hu Jintao steps down.
He pointed to the evolving labels mainland leaders had adopted over the years to describe June 4: a "rebellion" became "turmoil", then "political incident".
Mr Ma said he was not angry about Beijing's criticism of his opposition to the Anti-Secession Law, which authorises the use of force against Taiwan if it declares independence.
"Even they don't really believe in communism, [and it is obvious] they have no reasons to attack people who reject communism," he said.
"They probably are no longer [practising] communism anyway."
Mr Ma, who is mayor of Taipei, was elected in July to lead the party and will officially take over in two weeks.
He said his swearing-in speech would reiterate his opposition to both Taiwan independence and the "one country, two system" formula preferred by Beijing.
He said his victory in the party poll would be likely to have a positive effect on the mainland as television broadcasts of the elections were seen across the strait.
"What we've done will have an effect on the mainland," he said. "[People there] will have the aspiration that if Taiwan can, why not us?"
In addition, he said he would respect the so-called 1992 consensus with the mainland, under which Taipei and Beijing agreed the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belonged to the same country.
On party affairs, Mr Ma said he would not push for dramatic changes and hoped to win over internal rivals, while seeking to build bridges with other opposition parties.
Mr Ma took 72.4 per cent of the half a million votes cast in the July 16 election. Both he and his opponent, legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, ran on similar platforms, promising to improve relations with the mainland.
Mr Ma's victory has made him the favourite to challenge the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in the 2008 presidential election.
African leaders seek unity over expanding Security Council
scmp - Friday, August 5, 2005
REUTERS in Addis Ababa
African leaders met in Ethiopia yesterday to try to thrash out a common position on expanding the UN Security Council.
At least nine heads of state and representatives from the 53-nation African Union (AU) hoped to reach agreement on enlarging the council from 15 to 25 or 26 members.
Delegates from Brazil, Germany, Japan and India - the so-called Group of Four (G4) aspirants for permanent council seats - also attended the one-day summit in the hope of winning African support for their plan to enlarge the council.
The presidents of Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa and Nigeria attended the meeting.
Nigeria, the current AU president, favours a compromise discussed last month among African and G4 foreign ministers. But several AU nations are opposed.
"Don't expect a unified position," Algeria's UN ambassador, Abdallah Baali said in New York.
To gain the two-thirds approval in the 191-member UN General Assembly needed for changing the composition of the council, the G4 needs big support from the AU.
The council's 15 seats include 10 chosen by regions who rotate for two-year terms and five permanent members with veto power - the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain.
The G4 plan calls for 10 new members, six permanent members without veto power - four for themselves and two for Africa - and another four seats rotating for two-year terms.
The AU wants the council to be enlarged to 26 seats. Its proposal for six new permanent seats is the same as that of the G4, except it would give the new members veto rights. But it also wants one extra non-permanent seat.
At a foreign ministers meeting in London on July 25, Nigeria and others were willing to drop the veto demand while Germany suggested that the proposed 26th seat be rotated among Asia, Latin America and Africa, and not Africa alone.
The summit is expected to discuss this compromise proposal.
The first step is to get two-thirds support, or 128 votes, in the general assembly. The second step is to name the candidates.
The last step is a UN charter change, which requires two-thirds approval from national legislatures. Here the five permanent members can use their veto power, whereas in the general assembly they have only one vote each.
"We haven't seen the UN as divided as it is now," said China's UN ambassador Wang Guangya , whose country is opposed to Japan getting a permanent seat.
The United States and China oppose all the proposals now on the table, while France and Britain support the G4 resolution.
REUTERS in Addis Ababa
African leaders met in Ethiopia yesterday to try to thrash out a common position on expanding the UN Security Council.
At least nine heads of state and representatives from the 53-nation African Union (AU) hoped to reach agreement on enlarging the council from 15 to 25 or 26 members.
Delegates from Brazil, Germany, Japan and India - the so-called Group of Four (G4) aspirants for permanent council seats - also attended the one-day summit in the hope of winning African support for their plan to enlarge the council.
The presidents of Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa and Nigeria attended the meeting.
Nigeria, the current AU president, favours a compromise discussed last month among African and G4 foreign ministers. But several AU nations are opposed.
"Don't expect a unified position," Algeria's UN ambassador, Abdallah Baali said in New York.
To gain the two-thirds approval in the 191-member UN General Assembly needed for changing the composition of the council, the G4 needs big support from the AU.
The council's 15 seats include 10 chosen by regions who rotate for two-year terms and five permanent members with veto power - the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain.
The G4 plan calls for 10 new members, six permanent members without veto power - four for themselves and two for Africa - and another four seats rotating for two-year terms.
The AU wants the council to be enlarged to 26 seats. Its proposal for six new permanent seats is the same as that of the G4, except it would give the new members veto rights. But it also wants one extra non-permanent seat.
At a foreign ministers meeting in London on July 25, Nigeria and others were willing to drop the veto demand while Germany suggested that the proposed 26th seat be rotated among Asia, Latin America and Africa, and not Africa alone.
The summit is expected to discuss this compromise proposal.
The first step is to get two-thirds support, or 128 votes, in the general assembly. The second step is to name the candidates.
The last step is a UN charter change, which requires two-thirds approval from national legislatures. Here the five permanent members can use their veto power, whereas in the general assembly they have only one vote each.
"We haven't seen the UN as divided as it is now," said China's UN ambassador Wang Guangya , whose country is opposed to Japan getting a permanent seat.
The United States and China oppose all the proposals now on the table, while France and Britain support the G4 resolution.
Sino-US block on UN Security Council reform
scmp - Friday, August 5, 2005
ASSOCIATED PRESS in New York
Beijing and Washington have agreed to work together to block a plan backed by Brazil, Germany, India and Japan to expand the UN Security Council.
UN ambassador Wang Guangya said he had reached an agreement with US counterpart John Bolton on Tuesday, the American's first day in his new post.
Both believed the proposal by the so-called Group of Four would divide the UN's 191 member states, Mr Wang said.
Washington and Beijing are already on record as opposing the proposed expansion of the security council for different reasons, but the deal would mark a new joint effort to prevent its approval by the UN General Assembly, which requires a two-thirds "yes" vote.
Mr Wang and Mr Bolton, who have known each other for about 15 years, met again on Wednesday outside the office of general assembly president Jean Ping, part of a round of courtesy calls the US envoy is making to security council members and UN officials.
"There's a lot of important work," Mr Bolton said. "It's a very busy schedule in the first couple of days and I think it's been productive, and I'm certainly enjoying myself."
Mr Wang said the ultimate objective of the two sides was to expand the security council with a formula that was not divisive.
"But at this stage, I think our objective will be to oppose the G4, to make sure they do not have sufficient votes to take the risk to divide the house," he said. "We agreed to work together to make sure that our interests are being maintained - which means that we have to work in parallel ways to see that the unity of the UN members, the unity of every regional group, will not be spoiled because of this manoeuvre and process."
After 10 years of seemingly endless debate, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told member states in March that he wanted a decision on security council expansion before a summit of world leaders in September. But the issue remains highly contentious, and no proposal on the table at the moment can win the required two-thirds support of the general assembly.
ASSOCIATED PRESS in New York
Beijing and Washington have agreed to work together to block a plan backed by Brazil, Germany, India and Japan to expand the UN Security Council.
UN ambassador Wang Guangya said he had reached an agreement with US counterpart John Bolton on Tuesday, the American's first day in his new post.
Both believed the proposal by the so-called Group of Four would divide the UN's 191 member states, Mr Wang said.
Washington and Beijing are already on record as opposing the proposed expansion of the security council for different reasons, but the deal would mark a new joint effort to prevent its approval by the UN General Assembly, which requires a two-thirds "yes" vote.
Mr Wang and Mr Bolton, who have known each other for about 15 years, met again on Wednesday outside the office of general assembly president Jean Ping, part of a round of courtesy calls the US envoy is making to security council members and UN officials.
"There's a lot of important work," Mr Bolton said. "It's a very busy schedule in the first couple of days and I think it's been productive, and I'm certainly enjoying myself."
Mr Wang said the ultimate objective of the two sides was to expand the security council with a formula that was not divisive.
"But at this stage, I think our objective will be to oppose the G4, to make sure they do not have sufficient votes to take the risk to divide the house," he said. "We agreed to work together to make sure that our interests are being maintained - which means that we have to work in parallel ways to see that the unity of the UN members, the unity of every regional group, will not be spoiled because of this manoeuvre and process."
After 10 years of seemingly endless debate, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told member states in March that he wanted a decision on security council expansion before a summit of world leaders in September. But the issue remains highly contentious, and no proposal on the table at the moment can win the required two-thirds support of the general assembly.
Anwar wins public apology over beating
scmp - Thursday, August 4, 2005
BARADAN KUPPUSAMY in Kuala Lumpur
Former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim yesterday won a public apology and undisclosed damages for the beating he suffered on the eve of his arrest in 1998.
In an out-of-court deal, Mr Anwar dropped the civil case against the former inspector-general of police, Rahim Noor, who assaulted Mr Anwar in 1998.
The image of his black eye, seen as he was led into court later, caused an international furore and embarrassed the government.
Mr Anwar had filed the suit in 1999 against the government, Mahathir Mohamad, who was prime minister and also interior minister, and Mr Rahim.
During Monday's hearing, Mr Anwar gave chilling details of the midnight assault that left him with severe head, neck and eye injuries.
"It is important for them to accept and recognise that what they did to my family and I was absolutely uncalled-for, unwarranted and wrong," Mr Anwar told the court.
Mr Rahim had confessed to the crime in 1999 and was fined M$2,000 ($4,150) and jailed for two months. He had claimed he was provoked into carrying out the assault after Mr Anwar called the police "dogs".
Mr Rahim's lawyer, Joseph Ting, read his apology in court yesterday accepting full responsibility for the assault.
"Thank God that the matter that has dragged on for so long is settled," Mr Anwar said.
Under the terms, neither the government nor Dr Mahathir offered apologies.
"It was also decided that damages would be paid, but it is agreed by all parties that the amount and who would pay would not be disclosed," said Gobind Singh, Mr Anwar's lawyer.
Human rights activists and opposition parties welcomed the settlement.
"The victory tells the police that they cannot abuse their position and get away with it, even if the culprit is the police chief," said Elizabeth Wong, secretary-general of the Human Rights Society Malaysia.
"It is a victory for everyone who has suffered injustices."
Dr Mahathir sacked Mr Anwar and had him arrested and charged with corruption in 1998.
Mr Anwar served six years of a nine-year sentence for corruption that he denies and was acquitted and freed of a second charge of sodomy last year.
Mr Anwar is barred from holding political office until 2008 under rules governing criminals.
Political commentator P. Ramasamy from the National University of Malaysia said he was disappointed that the case was settled out of court.
"He should have pursued the matter in court, even though there's no guarantee he would have got what he wants."
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
Black eye became potent symbol
BARADAN KUPPUSAMY
September 20, 1998, is remembered as "Black September" by Anwar Ibrahim's supporters and democracy activists.
That night a crack police team raided Mr Anwar's house in the upscale Damansara suburb, roughed up supporters crowding the place, and "captured" the former deputy prime minister.
Mr Anwar had just returned from a week of nationwide rallies during which he had attacked corruption and cronyism under prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who had sacked his deputy on September 2.
Mr Anwar was taken to the police headquarters, handcuffed and blindfolded and thrown into a cell. At about midnight, the inspector-general of police, Rahim Noor, entered the cell, made derogatory remarks and beat him up, causing severe face, neck and eye injuries.
Sympathetic police officers leaked news of the assault to the world, but Dr Mahathir and Mr Rahim assured everyone that Mr Anwar was in custody and in fine health.
Sceptical American, Australian and European governments pressed Dr Mahathir to produce Mr Anwar, and five days after the assault Mr Anwar was led into a court with a huge black eye, sparking a storm of protest.
Police pretended at first not to know who had assaulted Mr Anwar, but in January 1999 the government admitted police did it, although it did not identify a culprit.
The following month, Mr Rahim, who had 30 years of otherwise exemplary service behind him, confessed before a public inquiry that he had beaten Mr Anwar - and promptly resigned.
Mr Anwar's black eye became a political symbol, with images helping the opposition make significant gains in the 1999 election.
Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore's founding father, described the black eye incident an "unmitigated disaster" for the country and Dr Mahathir in a visit in 2002.
BARADAN KUPPUSAMY in Kuala Lumpur
Former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim yesterday won a public apology and undisclosed damages for the beating he suffered on the eve of his arrest in 1998.
In an out-of-court deal, Mr Anwar dropped the civil case against the former inspector-general of police, Rahim Noor, who assaulted Mr Anwar in 1998.
The image of his black eye, seen as he was led into court later, caused an international furore and embarrassed the government.
Mr Anwar had filed the suit in 1999 against the government, Mahathir Mohamad, who was prime minister and also interior minister, and Mr Rahim.
During Monday's hearing, Mr Anwar gave chilling details of the midnight assault that left him with severe head, neck and eye injuries.
"It is important for them to accept and recognise that what they did to my family and I was absolutely uncalled-for, unwarranted and wrong," Mr Anwar told the court.
Mr Rahim had confessed to the crime in 1999 and was fined M$2,000 ($4,150) and jailed for two months. He had claimed he was provoked into carrying out the assault after Mr Anwar called the police "dogs".
Mr Rahim's lawyer, Joseph Ting, read his apology in court yesterday accepting full responsibility for the assault.
"Thank God that the matter that has dragged on for so long is settled," Mr Anwar said.
Under the terms, neither the government nor Dr Mahathir offered apologies.
"It was also decided that damages would be paid, but it is agreed by all parties that the amount and who would pay would not be disclosed," said Gobind Singh, Mr Anwar's lawyer.
Human rights activists and opposition parties welcomed the settlement.
"The victory tells the police that they cannot abuse their position and get away with it, even if the culprit is the police chief," said Elizabeth Wong, secretary-general of the Human Rights Society Malaysia.
"It is a victory for everyone who has suffered injustices."
Dr Mahathir sacked Mr Anwar and had him arrested and charged with corruption in 1998.
Mr Anwar served six years of a nine-year sentence for corruption that he denies and was acquitted and freed of a second charge of sodomy last year.
Mr Anwar is barred from holding political office until 2008 under rules governing criminals.
Political commentator P. Ramasamy from the National University of Malaysia said he was disappointed that the case was settled out of court.
"He should have pursued the matter in court, even though there's no guarantee he would have got what he wants."
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
Black eye became potent symbol
BARADAN KUPPUSAMY
September 20, 1998, is remembered as "Black September" by Anwar Ibrahim's supporters and democracy activists.
That night a crack police team raided Mr Anwar's house in the upscale Damansara suburb, roughed up supporters crowding the place, and "captured" the former deputy prime minister.
Mr Anwar had just returned from a week of nationwide rallies during which he had attacked corruption and cronyism under prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who had sacked his deputy on September 2.
Mr Anwar was taken to the police headquarters, handcuffed and blindfolded and thrown into a cell. At about midnight, the inspector-general of police, Rahim Noor, entered the cell, made derogatory remarks and beat him up, causing severe face, neck and eye injuries.
Sympathetic police officers leaked news of the assault to the world, but Dr Mahathir and Mr Rahim assured everyone that Mr Anwar was in custody and in fine health.
Sceptical American, Australian and European governments pressed Dr Mahathir to produce Mr Anwar, and five days after the assault Mr Anwar was led into a court with a huge black eye, sparking a storm of protest.
Police pretended at first not to know who had assaulted Mr Anwar, but in January 1999 the government admitted police did it, although it did not identify a culprit.
The following month, Mr Rahim, who had 30 years of otherwise exemplary service behind him, confessed before a public inquiry that he had beaten Mr Anwar - and promptly resigned.
Mr Anwar's black eye became a political symbol, with images helping the opposition make significant gains in the 1999 election.
Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore's founding father, described the black eye incident an "unmitigated disaster" for the country and Dr Mahathir in a visit in 2002.
Inflation, stronger currencies push up expat costs in Asia
scmp - Tuesday, August 2, 2005
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Singapore
Updated at 4.55pm:
Asia has become more expensive for expatriates due to inflation and stronger regional currencies but its average cost of living remains lower than in other parts of the world, a survey published on Tuesday found.
Human resources professional organisation ECA International said in an annual cost of living survey that inflation rates in Asia were three times higher than those in the eurozone and twice that of the United States.
The recent revaluations of the mainland yuan and Malaysian ringgit had also boosted the cost indices for China and Malaysia by 1.8 per cent and 1 per cent respectively, ECA International said.
Its survey covered 250 locations worldwide and used a basket of 125 goods to measure cost of living for expatriates, including groceries, alcohol and tobacco, services, clothing, electrical goods, motoring and restaurant meals.
The roster of Asia's 10 most expensive cities was dominated by Japanese and Northeast Asian cities but Dili, the backward capital of young republic East Timor, was ranked a surprising eighth, above Singapore and Beijing. This is because most goods needed by expatriates in Dili are imported.
"The cost of living in Dili for anybody who wishes to follow an international pattern of consumption is higher than it would be in Singapore," Lee Quane, ECA's general manager based in Hong Kong, told AFP. "In Singapore, a very cosmopolitan country, most goods and services [for expatriates] are very readily available."
Dhaka is the cheapest place in Asia, followed by Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangalore, Islamabad and Vientiane. The most expensive are Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, Seoul, Macau and Hong Kong.
Tokyo is second to Oslo globally and is more expensive than London, Paris, Seoul, New York and Sydney.
The expatriate cost of living in Seoul rose 20 per cent from last year, posting the biggest increase among Asian cities, mainly due to the strength of the South Korean won, ECA International said.
"Indian locations and Taipei have shown a similar trend with strengthening currencies driving up the prices of goods and services," it said.
"Within China, the cost of living in the second-tier cities is increasing faster than elsewhere, closing the gap between them and the principal centres of economic growth."
ECA said the expatriate cost of living in second-tier Chinese cities is now only 25 per cent lower on average than Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, compared with 30 per cent last year.
Jakarta and Dhaka were the only cities where the cost of living for expatriates has decreased over the past year.
Despite higher cost of living, Asian cities had remained cheaper compared with many parts of the world, the survey showed.
For example, Singapore is Asia's ninth most expensive city for expatriates, but ranks 114th worldwide. Hong Kong is in sixth place in Asia and 83rd place in the global index.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Singapore
Updated at 4.55pm:
Asia has become more expensive for expatriates due to inflation and stronger regional currencies but its average cost of living remains lower than in other parts of the world, a survey published on Tuesday found.
Human resources professional organisation ECA International said in an annual cost of living survey that inflation rates in Asia were three times higher than those in the eurozone and twice that of the United States.
The recent revaluations of the mainland yuan and Malaysian ringgit had also boosted the cost indices for China and Malaysia by 1.8 per cent and 1 per cent respectively, ECA International said.
Its survey covered 250 locations worldwide and used a basket of 125 goods to measure cost of living for expatriates, including groceries, alcohol and tobacco, services, clothing, electrical goods, motoring and restaurant meals.
The roster of Asia's 10 most expensive cities was dominated by Japanese and Northeast Asian cities but Dili, the backward capital of young republic East Timor, was ranked a surprising eighth, above Singapore and Beijing. This is because most goods needed by expatriates in Dili are imported.
"The cost of living in Dili for anybody who wishes to follow an international pattern of consumption is higher than it would be in Singapore," Lee Quane, ECA's general manager based in Hong Kong, told AFP. "In Singapore, a very cosmopolitan country, most goods and services [for expatriates] are very readily available."
Dhaka is the cheapest place in Asia, followed by Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangalore, Islamabad and Vientiane. The most expensive are Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, Seoul, Macau and Hong Kong.
Tokyo is second to Oslo globally and is more expensive than London, Paris, Seoul, New York and Sydney.
The expatriate cost of living in Seoul rose 20 per cent from last year, posting the biggest increase among Asian cities, mainly due to the strength of the South Korean won, ECA International said.
"Indian locations and Taipei have shown a similar trend with strengthening currencies driving up the prices of goods and services," it said.
"Within China, the cost of living in the second-tier cities is increasing faster than elsewhere, closing the gap between them and the principal centres of economic growth."
ECA said the expatriate cost of living in second-tier Chinese cities is now only 25 per cent lower on average than Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, compared with 30 per cent last year.
Jakarta and Dhaka were the only cities where the cost of living for expatriates has decreased over the past year.
Despite higher cost of living, Asian cities had remained cheaper compared with many parts of the world, the survey showed.
For example, Singapore is Asia's ninth most expensive city for expatriates, but ranks 114th worldwide. Hong Kong is in sixth place in Asia and 83rd place in the global index.
Sino-US talks labelled useful and constructive
scmp - Tuesday, August 2, 2005
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Beijing and STAFF REPORTER
China and the United States yesterday began the first round of a high-level strategic dialogue aimed at easing mutual suspicions and improving their still rocky relationship.
Amid tensions over China's rapidly growing economic, political and military clout, the content may be less important than the fact that the two powers are sitting down to talk in the first place, analysts say.
Deputy US Secretary of State Robert Zoellick met Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo to discuss a broad range of issues, in what is called a strategic dialogue - initiated by President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart, George W. Bush, at last year's Apec meeting.
In a report issued after the first day of the talks yesterday, the semi-official China News Service said both sides considered the dialogue to be useful and constructive.
"Both sides have reiterated that the healthy and steady development of Sino-US relations are in the fundamental interest of the two countries and their people.
"The expansion of co-operation between the two countries carries significance in promoting the peace, stability and development of the Asia-Pacific region as well as the world," the report said.
It added that the two countries also pledged to increase dialogue and promote mutual trust.
The Beijing-backed Wen Wei Po reported that the dialogue would cover topics ranging from Taiwan, the military, energy supply to anti-terrorism and trade.
"The fundamental meaning is not in the content of the talks, but it marks the beginning of institutional strategic dialogue," said Shi Yinhong, director of the Centre for American Studies at Renmin University in Beijing.
"The regular meetings can have a stabilising effect, especially at a time when there are quite a lot of differences and suspicions," he said.
The People's Daily also carried a commentary, describing the dialogue as timely and significant, adding that it would create a new "navigation" for future development in Sino-US relations.
The article lauded the US for getting into talks with China, saying that it had reflected a willingness on the part of Washington to co-exist with the new rising power of China.
It also showed the willingness of the US in discussing global issues which were beyond the scope of bilateral matters with China.
Dr Shi also said the institutionalised talks would be conducive towards building trust and consensus in a relationship that the US has called "comprehensive and complex".
The talks are expected to be held twice a year with Beijing and Washington alternating as hosts.
"Increasing regular communication channels and establishing a regular system where the two countries are brought together to discuss Sino-American relations ... these are all beneficial," Dr Shi added.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Beijing and STAFF REPORTER
China and the United States yesterday began the first round of a high-level strategic dialogue aimed at easing mutual suspicions and improving their still rocky relationship.
Amid tensions over China's rapidly growing economic, political and military clout, the content may be less important than the fact that the two powers are sitting down to talk in the first place, analysts say.
Deputy US Secretary of State Robert Zoellick met Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo to discuss a broad range of issues, in what is called a strategic dialogue - initiated by President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart, George W. Bush, at last year's Apec meeting.
In a report issued after the first day of the talks yesterday, the semi-official China News Service said both sides considered the dialogue to be useful and constructive.
"Both sides have reiterated that the healthy and steady development of Sino-US relations are in the fundamental interest of the two countries and their people.
"The expansion of co-operation between the two countries carries significance in promoting the peace, stability and development of the Asia-Pacific region as well as the world," the report said.
It added that the two countries also pledged to increase dialogue and promote mutual trust.
The Beijing-backed Wen Wei Po reported that the dialogue would cover topics ranging from Taiwan, the military, energy supply to anti-terrorism and trade.
"The fundamental meaning is not in the content of the talks, but it marks the beginning of institutional strategic dialogue," said Shi Yinhong, director of the Centre for American Studies at Renmin University in Beijing.
"The regular meetings can have a stabilising effect, especially at a time when there are quite a lot of differences and suspicions," he said.
The People's Daily also carried a commentary, describing the dialogue as timely and significant, adding that it would create a new "navigation" for future development in Sino-US relations.
The article lauded the US for getting into talks with China, saying that it had reflected a willingness on the part of Washington to co-exist with the new rising power of China.
It also showed the willingness of the US in discussing global issues which were beyond the scope of bilateral matters with China.
Dr Shi also said the institutionalised talks would be conducive towards building trust and consensus in a relationship that the US has called "comprehensive and complex".
The talks are expected to be held twice a year with Beijing and Washington alternating as hosts.
"Increasing regular communication channels and establishing a regular system where the two countries are brought together to discuss Sino-American relations ... these are all beneficial," Dr Shi added.
A forlorn search for the truth and justice
scmp - Monday, August 1, 2005
ASSOCIATED PRESS in East Timor
Domingas Casimira has spent the past six years trying to find justice for her husband and brother, killed in the Indonesian military's drive against East Timor's independence. But like others who suffered in the rampage that left 1,500 dead, she is starting to lose hope - and not without reason.
Indonesia and East Timor have rejected a UN committee's recommendation for an international tribunal to investigate the abuses, and instead created a joint truth and reconciliation commission that starts work today. But few expect the investigation to be anything but a whitewash.
"This is a device to bury the past, not to find justice," said Brad Adams, Asia director of the New York-based Human Rights Watch. "The Indonesian military has no incentive to tell the truth ... they know they will never be extradited to East Timor or prosecuted in Indonesia if they don't."
Indonesia invaded and occupied the tiny half-island territory in 1975, ending three centuries of Portuguese colonial rule.
When East Timor voted overwhelmingly for independence almost 25 years later, elements of the Indonesian military and its militia proxies punished the island's people through a campaign of killing, looting and burning that ended only when Australian-led peacekeepers stepped in.
Though Jakarta agreed under intense international pressure to an ad hoc tribunal for 18 men suspected in the violence, most of them military and police, all but one were eventually acquitted. That suspect, a Timorese militia leader, is free on appeal.
"It was a sham," said Ms Casimira, 33, who says Jakarta-backed militias kidnapped her 29-year-old brother, Paulino Lopeswas, on August 25, 1999, and killed him. Two weeks later, she said, Indonesian soldiers murdered her husband, Jaime de Antas, 43.
She presented information about the deaths to a special crimes investigation unit, she said, but the evidence was ignored. "The only thing the Indonesian government wants is to protect former high ranking police and military."
A UN commission of experts has recommended that those accused of violence be retried and, if found responsible, punished within six months. If that does not happen, it wants Indonesia to submit to an international tribunal in a third country - as was done for Rwanda and former Yugoslavia.
But Indonesia and East Timor reject that idea, and are focusing on their joint Truth and Friendship Commission. The panel will consist of legal experts from the two countries who will be able to summon witnesses. It is not designed to recommend prosecutions. In rejecting an international tribunal, the government of East Timor has made it clear it does not want to jeopardise relations with its neighbour.
"We want to address the past without endangering our future relations," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin.
Asmara Nababan, executive director of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, said fear of Indonesia was the East Timorese government's main motivation in backing the commission.
"East Timor knows how brutal the Indonesian military can be," he said. "Indonesia can use all means to destabilise or occupy East Timor as they did for 24 years."
ASSOCIATED PRESS in East Timor
Domingas Casimira has spent the past six years trying to find justice for her husband and brother, killed in the Indonesian military's drive against East Timor's independence. But like others who suffered in the rampage that left 1,500 dead, she is starting to lose hope - and not without reason.
Indonesia and East Timor have rejected a UN committee's recommendation for an international tribunal to investigate the abuses, and instead created a joint truth and reconciliation commission that starts work today. But few expect the investigation to be anything but a whitewash.
"This is a device to bury the past, not to find justice," said Brad Adams, Asia director of the New York-based Human Rights Watch. "The Indonesian military has no incentive to tell the truth ... they know they will never be extradited to East Timor or prosecuted in Indonesia if they don't."
Indonesia invaded and occupied the tiny half-island territory in 1975, ending three centuries of Portuguese colonial rule.
When East Timor voted overwhelmingly for independence almost 25 years later, elements of the Indonesian military and its militia proxies punished the island's people through a campaign of killing, looting and burning that ended only when Australian-led peacekeepers stepped in.
Though Jakarta agreed under intense international pressure to an ad hoc tribunal for 18 men suspected in the violence, most of them military and police, all but one were eventually acquitted. That suspect, a Timorese militia leader, is free on appeal.
"It was a sham," said Ms Casimira, 33, who says Jakarta-backed militias kidnapped her 29-year-old brother, Paulino Lopeswas, on August 25, 1999, and killed him. Two weeks later, she said, Indonesian soldiers murdered her husband, Jaime de Antas, 43.
She presented information about the deaths to a special crimes investigation unit, she said, but the evidence was ignored. "The only thing the Indonesian government wants is to protect former high ranking police and military."
A UN commission of experts has recommended that those accused of violence be retried and, if found responsible, punished within six months. If that does not happen, it wants Indonesia to submit to an international tribunal in a third country - as was done for Rwanda and former Yugoslavia.
But Indonesia and East Timor reject that idea, and are focusing on their joint Truth and Friendship Commission. The panel will consist of legal experts from the two countries who will be able to summon witnesses. It is not designed to recommend prosecutions. In rejecting an international tribunal, the government of East Timor has made it clear it does not want to jeopardise relations with its neighbour.
"We want to address the past without endangering our future relations," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin.
Asmara Nababan, executive director of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, said fear of Indonesia was the East Timorese government's main motivation in backing the commission.
"East Timor knows how brutal the Indonesian military can be," he said. "Indonesia can use all means to destabilise or occupy East Timor as they did for 24 years."
Attempt to revive policy rekindles race row
scmp - Monday, August 1, 2005
BARADAN KUPPUSAMY in Kuala Lumpur
A race feud that has dogged modern Malaysian politics is again driving a wedge between Malays and ethnic Chinese.
The unexpected demand that a divisive affirmative action policy be resurrected has led to Chinese Malaysians calling the government racist.
The policy, called the New Economic Policy (NEP), was a boon to middle-class Malays who received preferential treatment between 1970 and 1990. But the policy was hated by the Chinese because it favoured Malays in employment, education, scholarships, home ownership and business.
The policy was officially dropped in 1990, but many of its aims found their way into mainstream policies.
It therefore came as a shock when Umno, the dominant party in Malaysia's ruling National Front coalition, demanded last week that the policy be revived.
Even Malays were taken aback when Deputy Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin, a rising Umno star, made the demand. It had unusual weight because Mr Khairy is Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's son-in-law and closest adviser.
Mr Khairy said the policy failed to achieve its primary goal of Malays owning 30 per cent of the country's wealth by 1990.
"Malays own only 19 per cent. We want the NEP revived to achieve the original 30 per cent target," he said.
He said between 1990 and last year, Malay ownership had slipped to 18 per cent. Foreign ownership was about 40 per cent, while the Chinese owned 35 per cent. Indians and other races own the balance.
Mr Abdullah, who said the revival of the policy was to "finish unfinished business", has assured the roughly 9.5 million Chinese that their stake in the economy will not be disturbed.
Some Chinese leaders, however, question the accuracy of the government's economic ownership data.
The opposition Parti Islam se-Malaysia described the revival as a step backward.
BARADAN KUPPUSAMY in Kuala Lumpur
A race feud that has dogged modern Malaysian politics is again driving a wedge between Malays and ethnic Chinese.
The unexpected demand that a divisive affirmative action policy be resurrected has led to Chinese Malaysians calling the government racist.
The policy, called the New Economic Policy (NEP), was a boon to middle-class Malays who received preferential treatment between 1970 and 1990. But the policy was hated by the Chinese because it favoured Malays in employment, education, scholarships, home ownership and business.
The policy was officially dropped in 1990, but many of its aims found their way into mainstream policies.
It therefore came as a shock when Umno, the dominant party in Malaysia's ruling National Front coalition, demanded last week that the policy be revived.
Even Malays were taken aback when Deputy Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin, a rising Umno star, made the demand. It had unusual weight because Mr Khairy is Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's son-in-law and closest adviser.
Mr Khairy said the policy failed to achieve its primary goal of Malays owning 30 per cent of the country's wealth by 1990.
"Malays own only 19 per cent. We want the NEP revived to achieve the original 30 per cent target," he said.
He said between 1990 and last year, Malay ownership had slipped to 18 per cent. Foreign ownership was about 40 per cent, while the Chinese owned 35 per cent. Indians and other races own the balance.
Mr Abdullah, who said the revival of the policy was to "finish unfinished business", has assured the roughly 9.5 million Chinese that their stake in the economy will not be disturbed.
Some Chinese leaders, however, question the accuracy of the government's economic ownership data.
The opposition Parti Islam se-Malaysia described the revival as a step backward.
US, Chinese diplomats meet for first 'strategic dialogue'
scmp - Monday, August 1, 2005
ASSOCIATED PRESS in Beijing
Updated at 4.28pm:
Chinese and US diplomats on Monday launched a planned annual series of high-level dialogues in a move that could help ease trade and military tensions between the two powers.
US Deputy-Secretary of State Robert Zoellick met with Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo in talks meant to ''facilitate bilateral relations,''¨ the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Mr Zoellick met on Sunday with Premier Wen Jiabao.
Relations have been strained recently amid US worries about the mainland's military buildup and the proposed takeover of the oil company Unocal by a Chinese state-run company.
The talks are the first in what is meant to be a regular series of high-level contacts, with Beijing and Washington taking turns as hosts.
China refers to the meetings as a ''strategic dialogue,''¨ while the United States calls them a ''senior dialogue.''¨
Mr Zoellick, who attended a regional security conference in Vientiane, Laos, last week, said in weekend a stopover in Hong Kong that he would discuss foreign policy and economics with senior Chinese officials during his Beijing visit.
''I hope we'll enable the US and China to get a better sense of where there are points of mutuality, [which] I believe to be many, to work co-operatively, and also where we have differences how best to manage them,¡¨ he said then.
An uproar erupted earlier this month after a Chinese general told foreign reporters that Beijing might use atomic bombs against American forces in a conflict over Taiwan.
The State Department criticised the remarks as ''highly irresponsible'' and asked for Chinese assurance that it did not reflect official thinking.
In response, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said the mainland would not first use nuclear weapons ''at any time and under any condition,''¨ a stance that Mr Li said Beijing has embraced since it developed nuclear weapons in 1964.
The mainland and Taiwan split during civil war in 1949 but Beijing still claims the self-ruled island as its territory and has threatened war if it declares formal independence or puts off talks on unification.
Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but it has strong informal ties with Taiwan and is its top arms provider.
ASSOCIATED PRESS in Beijing
Updated at 4.28pm:
Chinese and US diplomats on Monday launched a planned annual series of high-level dialogues in a move that could help ease trade and military tensions between the two powers.
US Deputy-Secretary of State Robert Zoellick met with Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo in talks meant to ''facilitate bilateral relations,''¨ the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Mr Zoellick met on Sunday with Premier Wen Jiabao.
Relations have been strained recently amid US worries about the mainland's military buildup and the proposed takeover of the oil company Unocal by a Chinese state-run company.
The talks are the first in what is meant to be a regular series of high-level contacts, with Beijing and Washington taking turns as hosts.
China refers to the meetings as a ''strategic dialogue,''¨ while the United States calls them a ''senior dialogue.''¨
Mr Zoellick, who attended a regional security conference in Vientiane, Laos, last week, said in weekend a stopover in Hong Kong that he would discuss foreign policy and economics with senior Chinese officials during his Beijing visit.
''I hope we'll enable the US and China to get a better sense of where there are points of mutuality, [which] I believe to be many, to work co-operatively, and also where we have differences how best to manage them,¡¨ he said then.
An uproar erupted earlier this month after a Chinese general told foreign reporters that Beijing might use atomic bombs against American forces in a conflict over Taiwan.
The State Department criticised the remarks as ''highly irresponsible'' and asked for Chinese assurance that it did not reflect official thinking.
In response, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said the mainland would not first use nuclear weapons ''at any time and under any condition,''¨ a stance that Mr Li said Beijing has embraced since it developed nuclear weapons in 1964.
The mainland and Taiwan split during civil war in 1949 but Beijing still claims the self-ruled island as its territory and has threatened war if it declares formal independence or puts off talks on unification.
Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but it has strong informal ties with Taiwan and is its top arms provider.
Beijing warns against abusing petition system to disrupt order
scmp - Monday, August 1, 2005
VIVIEN CUI
Beijing has renewed its warning to people not to abuse the petition system, vowing to seriously handle "unreasonable demands" that upset the social order.
The remarks, made by the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, came despite a rare acknowledgment by top officials of an increase in the number of protests across the country, lifting hopes for a more open attitude towards the handling of people's grievances.
Early last month, Public Security chief Zhou Yongkang called on local officials to attach high importance to resolving such conflicts at an early stage.
In remarks published by Xinhua at the weekend, a bureau spokesman lauded the improvements to the petition system since the introduction of greater transparency in May. Local authorities were given deadlines to settle petition appeals filed by aggrieved citizens in an attempt to shed the image of petition offices as powerless mailboxes.
"But we need to be aware that there still exists the phenomenon of disrupting social order," the spokesman said.
"Some people are organising illegal multi-regional unions and gatherings under the banner of a petition, and some are demanding excessive and unreasonable requests with the excuse of defending rights."
Hu Xingdou , from the Beijing Institute of Technology, said the remarks highlighted a dilemma faced by Beijing.
"The petition system cannot be scrapped because the judicial system cannot work well and independently to eradicate corruption and injustice," he said.
"But at the same time, [the authorities] want to refrain from attaching too much importance to the system because more petitions will mean a higher degree of social instability."
Under the system, it is illegal to assemble around or break into government office buildings or public places. It is also illegal to disrupt traffic or impede officials vehicles to submit a petition.
Professor Hu said the petition law still gave the government a lot of room to clamp down on people it regarded as troublemakers. Under the revised regulation, the number of representatives involved in any case can be no more than five.
"That number can be easily surpassed in some wide-ranging cases," Professor Hu said.
"How can you not go near an office buildings to file a petition? Why has it been made so difficult for people to meet their own officials?"
VIVIEN CUI
Beijing has renewed its warning to people not to abuse the petition system, vowing to seriously handle "unreasonable demands" that upset the social order.
The remarks, made by the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, came despite a rare acknowledgment by top officials of an increase in the number of protests across the country, lifting hopes for a more open attitude towards the handling of people's grievances.
Early last month, Public Security chief Zhou Yongkang called on local officials to attach high importance to resolving such conflicts at an early stage.
In remarks published by Xinhua at the weekend, a bureau spokesman lauded the improvements to the petition system since the introduction of greater transparency in May. Local authorities were given deadlines to settle petition appeals filed by aggrieved citizens in an attempt to shed the image of petition offices as powerless mailboxes.
"But we need to be aware that there still exists the phenomenon of disrupting social order," the spokesman said.
"Some people are organising illegal multi-regional unions and gatherings under the banner of a petition, and some are demanding excessive and unreasonable requests with the excuse of defending rights."
Hu Xingdou , from the Beijing Institute of Technology, said the remarks highlighted a dilemma faced by Beijing.
"The petition system cannot be scrapped because the judicial system cannot work well and independently to eradicate corruption and injustice," he said.
"But at the same time, [the authorities] want to refrain from attaching too much importance to the system because more petitions will mean a higher degree of social instability."
Under the system, it is illegal to assemble around or break into government office buildings or public places. It is also illegal to disrupt traffic or impede officials vehicles to submit a petition.
Professor Hu said the petition law still gave the government a lot of room to clamp down on people it regarded as troublemakers. Under the revised regulation, the number of representatives involved in any case can be no more than five.
"That number can be easily surpassed in some wide-ranging cases," Professor Hu said.
"How can you not go near an office buildings to file a petition? Why has it been made so difficult for people to meet their own officials?"
