ASEM Watch 75 - June 2002

• Introduction
• Philippines - Basilan: The Next Afghanistan?
• Malaysia - Mahathir in the headlines:
  Mahathir tells Malaysia he will go in 16 months, by John Aglionby, South East Asia Correspondent of The Guardian, 26 June 2002
  Limit Term of Future Prime Ministers, Press Statement Suaram, 26 June 2002
• EU - European Parliament Statement on ISA
• Asia - International Conference: Democracy and Security of the People in the Asia Region

Introduction

ASEM Watch reported previously on the International Peace Mission to Basilan - Mindanao in the southern Philippines in March 2002. The Mission was planned and convened by Akbayan! Citizens Action Party, The Institute for Popular Democracy, Focus on the Global South and TNI in response to the introduction of US Special Forces in Basilan and Mindanao. A 34 page Report is now available, covering the goals, proceedings, findings and recommendations of the Mission, which generated wide interest in the Philippines and in South-East Asia. The Report is now being distributed to Government Foreign Affairs Departments, Parliamentary Human Rights Committees, the European Parliament and journalists in several countries in Europe. In this ASEM Watch, we give a brief overview of the Findings and Recommendations of the Mission.

However, it is not only the Philippines that has accommodated most drastically to the US in the war against terrorism. Ever since September 11, Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir has been at pains to show his unreserved support of the US. At the regional level, Mahathir has also pursued a closer anti-terrorism alliance with neighbouring countries and this has resulted in the signing in Kuala Lumpur recently of "a pact against terror" by the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. This stance is unlikely to be affected by the recent surprise announcement that Mahthir will resign all his leadership posts towards the end of next year. His Deputy and likely successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is considered by many commentators to be unquestioning in loyalty to Mahathir upholding both his domestic and foreign policies.

The international campaign against Malaysia's ISA (Internal Security Act) continúes to gain support including a recent Statement from the European Parliament. The impact of September 11 and its use to justify and expand national security laws throughout the Asian region will be assessed at an International Conference on "Democracy and Security of the People in the Asia Region" which will be held in Bangkok from August 22 to 25. This working Conference also aims to develop new strategies in response to the unprecedented rollback and attack on human rights not only in Asia but internationally.

Philippines - Findings and Recommendations of the Basilan International Peace Mission Report:: "Basilan: The Next Afghanistan?" (pdf document)

Findings

1.The Philippine military and provincial government are violating human rights in Basilan.
Despite the vehement denial of the government, the mission actually met and talked with people who claim to be arrested without warrants or tortured while in detention. The mission interviewed widows who said their husbands were extra judicially executed. The mission talked to families who will be evicted from their lands. The last thing the mission can conclude after having returned from Basilan is that reports of human rights violations there proved to be unfounded. The mission is worried that with its blanket denial policy, the government will not only turn a blind eye to the victims, it will also do nothing to alleviate their condition and do nothing to prevent more violations.

2.The Abu Sayyaf problem may be resistant to a military solution.
Allegations of close cooperation between the military and Abu Sayyaf, the hunter and the hunted, were backed by the testimonies of dozens of witnesses. With this, the mission members look at the possibility of military solutions resolving what is apparently a complicated political problem with reinforced scepticism. What is needed in Basilan is not more troops, more firepower, and more cutting edge equipment. What is needed there is a determent political will to weed out corrupt elements in the military and the government. The mission is worried that the governments refusal to seriously look into and act on these allegations of corruption will ultimately be the reason why 5,000 soldiers have failed and may still fail to capture 60 kidnappers.

3.The US military's deployment in Basilan is not only unjustified but also dangerous.
All of the US' avowed reasons for deploying troops in Basilan are groundless. They are not there to train soldiers who are better trained themselves and more familiar with the terrain. They are not there to exterminate an Al Qaeda cell because the Aby Sayyaf 's links to bin Laden have proven to be unsubstantiated. They are not there to rescue hostages, because the Philippine military could very well do that for them. The mission is inclined to believe that US forces are seeing action in Basilan for reasons more strategic. The US may be laying the groundwork for establishing and expanding a more direct military presence in the Philippines to ward off Muslim revivalist movements in Southeast Asia. The mission is worried that the Philippine's sovereignty will be impaired not only by relying on an external actor to solve its own domestic woes; but more so, by allowing itself to be used in advancing national interests that it does not share. The mission is troubled by the increased possibility of renewed and reinvigorated fighting stoked by the presence of the US on the islands.

Recommendations:

1. A more thorough and more systematic investigation of the human rights violations in Basilan. This is necessary not only for convincing those who are still unconvinced but also for identifying those who now need help.
2. A more focussed and concentrated effort to establish permanent, or strengthen existing, support groups helping human rights victims in the province.
   There is a serious and urgent need to provide security to witnesses. There is the need for psychological and economic support for those who were victimised.
3. A more concerted appeal coming from all fronts for the Philippine government to look first before denying; to investigate allegations, to punish the guilty, to compensate the victims, to prevent further human rights violations.
4. An intensified campaign by civil society groups and by governments, especially those in the Asia Pacific, for a review of the US military's presence.
5. A more vigorous and more extensive dissemination regarding the true situation in Basilan

Order a hard copy for EUR 5,- plus postal costs:
In Europe: Transnational Institute: wilbert@tni.org
World: Focus on the Global South: maryloumalig@focusweb.org

Malaysia - Mahathir in the headlines

Mahathir tells Malaysia he will go in 16 months
John Aglionby, The Guardian, 26 June 2002

After more than 20 years in power the Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, let it be known yesterday that he planned to resign in October next year, after a 16-month transition period. It was done to calm increasing national uncertainty after a weekend of intense political drama when Dr Mahathir unexpectedly said he would quit immediately, then rescinded the decision after an hour of pleading by party loyalists.

The secretary general of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Khalil Yaakob, announced after a meeting of party leaders that Asia's longest-serving ruler would steadily cede power to his deputy, Abdullah Badawi, and take leave for two of the final months of the handover period. No exact resignation date was given but Mr Yaakob said it would be after Malaysia holds the Organisation of Islamic Conference summit on October 24-25.

Mr Badawi, 62, know as the "Mr. Nice Guy" of Malaysian politics because his gentle style contrasts sharply with that of his often acerbic and confrontational boss, told a press conference that Dr Mahathir remained firmly in charge for the moment. "Throughout the time-frame there will be a smooth transition of power, but for now he is still the prime minister," he said. "All this thinking of a lame duck is in your mind. We will still obey him."

UMNO officials tripped over each other to praise Dr Mahathir, most of them saying he would be irreplaceable. "Even in 100 years, or even 1,000 years, it would be difficult to find another like him," the party vice-president, Muhammad Muhammad Taib, said. Dr Mahathir, 76, left for a holiday in Italy immediately after stunning the UMNO annual congress on Saturday with his tearful resignation speech and then calming the initial pandemonium with the vague retraction. Although no official reason has been given for his behaviour in the past four days, most people believe he would like to leave politics soon.

Chandra Muzaffar, a political analyst and former opposition politician, said Dr Mahathir was following Malaysian tradition by setting a handover period. "He's not being pressurised into this," he said. "He's at the pinnacle of his power and wants a smooth transfer." He did not think Dr Mahathir would follow the example of the former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew and become senior minister. "I think he will look to influence things from outside rather than inside," he said.
This is the second time Dr Mahathir has tried to transfer power to his deputy. In 1998 the then deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, took over while Dr Mahathir took a sabbatical. But the prime minister felt Mr Anwar was mounting an unacceptable challenge to him, sacked him, and almost immediately charged him with corruption and sodomy. He is serving 15 years in prison after being convicted of both offences at trials widely accused of being rigged. Dr Chandra does not think the same fate will befall Mr Badawi. "He is a different character," he said. "Much more loyal to his boss."

Not everyone is convinced that the prime minister is being genuine, however. Sivarasa Rasiah, a lawyer defending six democracy activists who have been held for more than a year without charge, believes anything could still happen. "Mahathir is quite unpredictable," he said. "Even though he is getting on, he is still robust and could call an election early next year. If he gets a comfortable majority he could well change his mind again."

Dr Mahathir has a history of doing the unexpected, most famously during the Asian financial crisis in 1997, when he rejected international assistance to shore up the economy and imposed stringent capital controls. Branded lunacy at the time, the strategy has since proved successful.

Limit Term of Future Prime Ministers
Press Statement, Suaram Malaysian Human Rights Organisation, 26 June 2002

The appalling situation, which occurred over the weekend congress of UMNO, was not of Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammad breaking down over the podium, or his sudden resignations.

What was appalling was the fact that the ruling party, under the iron thumb of the premier had vacillated into a motley-crew of 'yes' men and women, with zero leadership capabilities. Twenty-one long years of authoritarian rule and the cultivating of the personality cult of Dr. Mahathir have produced a mass of political eunuchs.

Public institutions such as the judiciary, the media and even Parliament were readily bent at will, to feed his insatiable hold on to power.

The 'transition of power' proposal by UMNO reeks of a facile attempt to further circumvent democracy. The Deputy President of UMNO and as it follows on in the Westminster system, the Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, is an unelected official of the party. He has virtually no legitimate claim to the highest position in the party as well as in the Cabinet until and unless UMNO party elections are called. What will occur will be a pathetic scramble for power in the ruling party, and the losers, once again, will be the public.

We do not wish to ponder on the question why Dr. Mahathir resigned. Our question is simply, why didn't he do this earlier?

The time has come for all Malaysians and the Parliament to realise the dire political situation that Dr. Mahathir has created. The time has come, long overdue we must add, for a strict two-term limit for future Prime Ministers, so that we may have no more authoritarian leaders who hang on to the tailcoats of absolute power, only to find a hall of empty vision.