Malaysia begins deporting E. Timor meeting activists<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysia began deporting foreign
\nactivists yesterday after they participated in a controversial
\nconference on East Timor<\/p>\n
The government, meanwhile, has denied backing youths who broke
\nup the meeting.<\/p>\n
The Kuala Lumpur conference was held ahead of tomorrow's
\nanniversary of the 1991 bloody incident in East Timor's capital
\nof Dili.<\/p>\n
An immigration department spokesman at Kuala Lumpur
\ninternational airport said all but 10 of the activists would have
\nleft yesterday. The remainder would leave today.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, the police freed 26 Malaysian activists and the
\nSingapore-based correspondent of the Australia Broadcasting
\nCorporation, Catherine McGrath, on personal bonds.<\/p>\n
Others, including Asiaweek's correspondent in Kuala Lumpur,
\nRoger Mitton, are expected to be released the latest by
\nWednesday, lawyers for the activists said.<\/p>\n
"What happened in the past two days has been an incredible
\nshock to all of us. We are deeply concerned about the fate of our
\nfriends who have been deported," said Debbie Stothard, a
\nspokesperson for the conference organizers.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has criticized the organizers
\nof the conference for going ahead in spite of a government ban,
\nMalaysian radio reported yesterday.<\/p>\n
"Malaysia does not want to do something which will only damage
\nrelations with its neighbor," the radio quoted Mahathir as
\nsaying.<\/p>\n
He described the action of the conference organizers as
\n"irresponsible" and said action would be taken against them if
\nthey were found to have broken the law.<\/p>\n
The prime minister was speaking to Malaysian journalists
\ncovering his official visit to Ghana.<\/p>\n
Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government did
\nnot sanction the actions of the group which broke up the
\nconference, although the youths belonged to groups allied to the
\nthree main political parties in Mahathir's ruling coalition.<\/p>\n
"They acted on their own. I was not notified by them," he told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
When asked if the youth groups allied to the ruling coalition
\nwould have committed such action without government sanction he
\nsaid: "Certainly this was not sanctioned by the National Front,
\nso the police had to act according to the law."<\/p>\n
Anwar said he was awaiting a detailed report before commenting
\nfurther on the incident.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he thought foreign media coverage of the
\nincident would damage Malaysia's image, Anwar said the attempt to
\norganize the conference "complicated relations with Indonesia and
\nis also an attempt to embarrass us and tarnish our image."<\/p>\n
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, leader of the Mahathir's United Malays
\nNational Organization's youth wing, confirmed that he instructed
\nthe youth group to take action to stop the conference from being
\nheld. He told the national Bernama news agency that the action
\nwas to protect the image of Malaysia and because the UMNO Youth
\nunderstood the "sensitivity of Indonesia in handling its internal
\naffairs".<\/p>\n
The conference organizers and opposition leader Lim Kit Siang
\nhave accused the government of orchestrating the incident to
\nscuttle the conference.<\/p>\n
"It is obvious from the course of events that the ugly
\ndemonstration was orchestrated with the full knowledge of the
\nauthorities concerned, so as to give a pretext to the government
\nto stop the conference from taking place," said Lim, who heads
\nthe Democratic Action Party.<\/p>\n
The foreign activists, including two Roman Catholic bishops --
\nAloisuis Nobuo Somo of Nagoya, Japan and Hilton Deakin of
\nMelbourne, Australia -- were detained by police after the meeting
\nwas broken up.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysia-begins-deporting-e-timor-meeting-activists-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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