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Malaysia bans ethnic Indian protest group
Associated Press - October 16, 2008
Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia has banned an ethnic Indian activist group it accuses of inciting racial hatred, but the group's leaders said Thursday they are only demanding equal rights for minorities in the Muslim Malay-dominated country.
The banned group, Hindu Rights Action Force – or Hindraf – shot to prominence last November when it led tens of thousands of ethnic Indians in a rare street protest calling for an end to pro-Malay policies and better opportunities for Indians, who form the bottom rung of Malaysia's social ladder.
The protest was seen as a watershed in the country's politics, emboldening Malaysians unhappy with the government and boosting opposition parties to spectacular gains in general elections in March.
Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar issued the ban order late Wednesday, saying Hindraf was an "extremist group" and "detrimental to public order and security."
Hindraf "is clearly using religion as a tool to create disharmony between religions and between races," Syed Hamid told reporters at a news conference Thursday.
The order will almost certainly fuel anger among the ethnic Indian and Chinese minorities, who are chafing at the highly unpopular government's policies favoring majority Malays in education, jobs and business opportunities.
Hindraf had applied last year to become a legally sanctioned group. But the ban, effective immediately, means it no longer has any hope of receiving legal status. Anyone who joins activities associated with the group can be prosecuted and faces up to five years in prison, said N. Surendran, a lawyer who frequently represents Hindraf supporters.
"It's a way to criminalize Hindraf... with the aim to stamp out the movement," Surendran said.
Syed Hamid said the ban was not a "political move" and defended the order as necessary for public security. "If Hindraf activities are not stopped, public safety and harmony of Malaysia's multiracial society will be put at risk," he said.
Muslim Malays account for 60 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people while ethnic Chinese and Indians, who are mostly non-Muslims, make up a third.
The protest led by Hindraf last November was quelled with tear gas and mass arrests, and five of the group's top leaders were jailed under a strict security act that allows for indefinite detention without trial. Its chairman, P. Waytha Moorthy, fled the country and now lives in exile in London.
In an emailed statement Moorthy said the group would continue fighting for the "downtrodden Malaysian Indians who have been systematically marginalized, suppressed and oppressed."
The country's ethnic Indian's will not "wither away with this illegal declaration," Moorthy said.
R. Shan, another Hindraf leader in New York, called the ban "a flagrant violation (of) basic human rights" and warned the government "can no longer carry on bullying the minority" Indians.
Hindraf's complaints about discrimination are echoed by many ethnic Chinese as well as academics and intellectuals. But the government, despite its heavy losses in the elections, denies there is widespread disenchantment.
Syed Hamid dismissed suggestions that the ban, coming just weeks before the important Hindu festival of Diwali on Oct. 27, will further alienate ethnic Indians.
"Hindraf doesn't represent the Indians and doesn't have many supporters," he claimed even though most Indians voted against the government.
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