United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon met with Malaysia’s representative to the world body as he continued his bid to resolve the ongoing crisis in Sabah.
A statement on Ban’s UN page said he told Hussein Haniff, Malaysia’s permanent representative, that “efforts should be made to ensure that human rights will be respected and loss of life will be prevented” as Malaysian forces continue operations to flush out followers of the sultanate of Sulu who landed in Sabah early last month to press their claim to the territory.
"The secretary-general noted the efforts that were made by the governments of Malaysia and Philippines to find a peaceful resolution to the situation," the statement said.
The operations, which have centred around Lahad Datu town, have so far claimed the lives of 52 Filipinos and eight Malaysian police officers, according to Malaysian security officials, although the sultanate has owned to only losing 10 dead, four wounded and 10 captured from the more than 200 of its followers led by the crown prince, Azzimudie Kiram.
On Thursday, Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III announced that he was ordering his followers in Sabah to observe a unilateral ceasefire.
However, Malaysian officials, led by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, rejected the truce and said the only way to end to crisis was for the sultan’s followers to surrender without conditions.
On Friday, Malaysian Armed Forces chief Gen Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said they believe Azzimudie’s group has gone into hiding to evade efforts to flush them out, which have included air strikes by fighter jets.
A statement on Ban’s UN page said he told Hussein Haniff, Malaysia’s permanent representative, that “efforts should be made to ensure that human rights will be respected and loss of life will be prevented” as Malaysian forces continue operations to flush out followers of the sultanate of Sulu who landed in Sabah early last month to press their claim to the territory.
"The secretary-general noted the efforts that were made by the governments of Malaysia and Philippines to find a peaceful resolution to the situation," the statement said.The operations, which have centred around Lahad Datu town, have so far claimed the lives of 52 Filipinos and eight Malaysian police officers, according to Malaysian security officials, although the sultanate has owned to only losing 10 dead, four wounded and 10 captured from the more than 200 of its followers led by the crown prince, Azzimudie Kiram.
On Thursday, Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III announced that he was ordering his followers in Sabah to observe a unilateral ceasefire.
However, Malaysian officials, led by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, rejected the truce and said the only way to end to crisis was for the sultan’s followers to surrender without conditions.
On Friday, Malaysian Armed Forces chief Gen Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said they believe Azzimudie’s group has gone into hiding to evade efforts to flush them out, which have included air strikes by fighter jets.
Concern over govt's use of Sosma
Meanwhile, New York-based Human Rights Watch has called on Malaysia to provide "clear and accurate information" on the crisis.
Describing the situation on the ground in the conflict zone as "quite murky", the rights group urged Malaysian authorities to ensure the protection of all civilians in the area and allow humanitarian access for the provision of emergency assistance to those affected by the violence.
"We're concerned about the Malaysian government's use of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) to detain reportedly more than 50 individuals, and call for the government to either charge them with a recognisable criminal offence or release them," said Phil Robertson, the rights group's Asia deputy director.
"All parties to the conflict should heed the call of UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon to ‘act in full respect of international human rights norms and standards.'"
- InterAksyon
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