Mongolian NGOs to lobby their Govt to review ties with Malaysia

Photo: New Straits Times. Why do they need to cover their faces like that? Are you thinking what I am thinking?

The Mongolians are NOT giving Abdul Razak Baginda or Najib Tun Razak any chances. They have sent their delegate to the Asia-Pacific Forum on National Human Rights Institution, the meeting where SUHAKAM, our toothless tiger (even pussy cats got more teeth) got screwed.

As you know SUHAKAM may be downgraded by the International Coordinating Committee, if it doesn’t buck up, and that means, no more holiday trips to Geneva, where the UN Human Rights Council sits. Yahoo!

Anyway, the Mongolian women NGO network issued a statement to the delegates at the meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The network includes: Mongolian Human Rights NGOs, Network of Mongolian Child Rights NGOs and Network of Mongolian Women’s Rights NGOs, all based in Ulanbaataar.

They said they will lobby for their government to review ties with Kuala Lumpur if this case is not dealt with fairness. They better start cracking…

In the statement, the NGOs said that in this era of globalization, democracy, human rights and justice have become the most important issues in any country.

They said: Two years ago, in this country (Malaysia) that is currently hosting the APF-NHRIs, government agents who allegedly used “military equipment, firearms and explosives” have carefully planned and murdered a Mongolian woman, Sh. Altantuya, mother of two children.

The way she was murdered was not heard of in the history of humanity. Altantuya was purportedly blown to pieces with plastic explosives in a jungle clearing in Kuala Lumpur.

Court hearing has taken place for over a year, however, important evidence were excluded, claimed the NGOs.

The issue of explosives and firearms to kill the woman, and who ordered the killing, were questions which were deliberately not asked in court.

Since day one of this serious crime, the Mongolian Government and human rights organizations in Mongolia have repeatedly sent requests and notices to its Malaysian counterparts. However, until today there was not a single response.

Currently, this case is being politicized in Mongolia and politicians are exploiting these allegations for their benefit, while the real perpetrators of the murder (unknown until now, although Malaysia’s deputy prime minister Najib Tun Razak’s closest friend and political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda and two of Najib’s personal aides when the murder took place, are now facing trial in court.

The NGOs urged the Malaysian authorities to decide whether they want to extend assistance to Altantuya’s young children (the youngest is suffering from brain disease and the deceased’s father has initiated a civil suit to demand compensation for the child’s deteriorating condition).

The children are under such hardship, said the NGOs, that their situation is only comparable to those who suffered in the horrible Tsunami disaster.

“Now it is the single opportunity for Malaysia to remedy this situation,” added the NGOs in the statement.

The NGOs also called on the participants of the APF-NHRIs Forum to join their voices to call for justice to prevail in this case.

-* SUSAN LOONE’s blog *