Indian leaders from within Pakatan Harapan have come out to criticise the arrest of seven people, including two DAP assemblypersons, for alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a rebel group in Sri Lanka designated as a terrorist organisation by Malaysia.
In a joint-statement comprising 16 Indian leaders from the DAP and PKR, they said the arrests were “beyond comprehension” and called for their releases.
They added that the usage of the Securities Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), which allows for detention without trial, cannot be justified under the Harapan government.
The two arrested elected representatives are Gadek assemblyperson G Saminathan and Seremban Jaya assemblyperson P Gunasekaran.
Their full joint-statement is as follows:
The arrest and detention of two DAP state assemblypersons and five others for alleged links with the LTTE by the police are beyond comprehension.
The LTTE as a Tamil liberation force was decimated in Sri Lanka during the final stage of civil war in 2009.
Most of its leaders have been killed or imprisoned. More than 10 years have elapsed since the civil war.
During the height of the civil war in Sri Lanka, Tamils in Malaysia and elsewhere had a natural sympathy for the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka.
The Tamil cause was bigger than the armed struggle waged by the LTTE.
Just like the Muslims in Malaysia who were sympathetic to the cause of Palestinians, Rohingyas and others, Tamils had natural ethnic and emotional ties with their kind in Sri Lanka.
During the civil war in Sri Lanka, hundreds and thousands of innocent Tamils were killed and injured. Countless Tamil women were raped and sexually assaulted.
It was natural that some sections of the Tamil society have sympathy and concern for what happened to Tamils in Sri Lanka.
It was not unusual for Tamil NGOs to hold functions to show respect to those who perished in the civil war. During these ceremonies, songs are sung and prayers are conducted.
It is beyond comprehension why the two state assemblypersons and five others were detained under Sosma.
Sosma was supposed to have been removed by the Pakatan Harapan government but its abuse continues.
It is highly irresponsible to detain and charge them when there exist no links with the LTTE. The talk of the revival of the LTTE does not make any sense in the Malaysian context.
We urge the government to immediately release those arrested without any condition.
These arrests and detention is nothing but a gross travesty of justice. Such arrests and detention cannot be justified under the new Harapan government.
The signatories of the joint statement are as follow:
P Ramasamy (Penang Deputy Chief Minister II)
V Ganabatirau (Selangor exco)
DR Kamache (Sabai assemblyperson)
B Sivakumar (Batu Gajah MP)
M Satees (Bagan Dalam MP)
R Rajiv (Bukit Gasing assemblyperson)
RSN Rayer (Jelutong MP)
Kasthuri Patto (Batu Kawan MP)
A Kumaresan (Batu Uban assemblyperson)
R Suresh Singh (Senator)
R Sivarasa (Deputy minister)
P Prabakaran (Batu MP)
Gunaraj George (Sentosa assemblyperson)
S Ramakrishnan (Johor exco)
Ramkarpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor MP)
Charles Santiago (Klang MP)
– M’kini
DAP: Our two reps innocent, no link to extremist activities
KUALA LUMPUR – DAP said today it trusts that its two leaders who were arrested for alleged activities in November 2018 tied to the now-defunct terror group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are innocent.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng also said the political party would ensure legal representation for the duo, who are both state lawmakers and were arrested today by the police.
“DAP believes in the innocence of our two DAP assemblypersons, who were arrested under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) today over their alleged connections with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
“Their involvement in the DAP so far, has shown no indication that the two were involved in any activities that departed from the party’s stand of moderation, non-violence and peaceful resolution,” he said in a statement today.
“The arrests were shocking and I have expressed to the authorities that the party stands firmly behind our two state legislators, Melaka exco member and assemblymen for Gadek G. Saminathan and Seremban Jaya assemblyperson P. Gunasekaran,” he added, referring to the Melaka and Negri Sembilan lawmakers.
Lim said he was told that the Sosma arrest of the duo means that they can be detained for up to 28 days for investigation, adding however that the police have promised a speedy probe to enable investigation papers to be sent to the Attorney General’s Chambers and to enable the two to be released early.
He said the police have claimed that there was concrete proof before the arrests were made and that the matter was referred to all relevant authorities before action was taken.
“I was also informed that whilst more people will be arrested for alleged links to LTTE, no more leaders or wakil rakyat from DAP will be targeted,” the Bagan MP said.
“DAP will provide a legal team to represent our two DAP leaders with lead counsel led by Bukit Gelugor MP Ram Karpal and Jelutong MP RSN Rayer,” he said, adding that the police has promised to allow the two who were arrested to have access to their family and lawyers.
Lim added that the police had allegedly praised the two DAP lawmakers that were arrested for their full and calm cooperation during the arrests.
Lim said he has asked DAP national vice-chairman M. Kulasegaran to represent the party in liaising with the relevant authorities, the two lawmakers and their family members.
Earlier today, Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter-terrorism Division (E8) principal assistant director, Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay confirmed that the two assemblymen were arrested for participating in an LTTE “Heroes Day” celebration in Melaka on November 28, 2018.
Ayob Khan had said that the two allegedly “delivered speeches that contained elements that showed support towards LTTE” and had also allegedly distributed materials related to the group.
The police said five other suspects were nabbed in Malaysia for allegedly promoting, supporting and sourcing funds meant for the LTTE.
– Malay Mail
Let the police do their job.
ReplyDeletePDRM @ Div.E8 ,Jangan mengalah dengan tekanan politik .
ReplyDeleteHapuskan LTTE terrorist cell kat Malaysia ni .
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLTTE is a defunct organization. PDRM is now on witch hunting (same old same old neutralization). "Deep state" indeed exist before our eyes.
ReplyDelete