December 2-8, 2024

NORTHEAST ASIA

Global support as a lifeline for endangered cultures 

As China ramps up its campaign to systematically erase the identity of ethnic minorities in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia, its exiled activists are now racing against time to preserve their culture and history overseas. 

Testifying before the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China on Dec. 5, diasporic representatives from Uyghur, Tibetan, inner Mongolian, and Han Chinese communities asked the United States to support cultural preservation projects abroad. 

Specifically, they sought support from Congress for technological equipment, funding for preservation projects and “alternative school curricula” challenging mainstream Chinese history. These, they said, would help them counter China’s revisionist efforts.

“If there can be assistance by the United States to help procure technological equipment that can enable those of us in exile to continue our work on preservation of Tibetan culture and language and way of life … that would be very useful for us,” said Geshe Lobsang Monlam, a Tibetan monk leading ongoing efforts to preserve Tibetan language.

FAST FACTS

• The exiled activists are uniquely positioned to carry out the critical work of cultural preservation especially since they were in the United States, bastion of free speech and vocal critic of China’s abuses. The U.S. was among the first countries to call out China’s genocide of Uyghurs and Tibetans. 
• China’s transnational repression tactics have extended even to U.S. borders, with Stanford University being sued by Chinese Communist Party figureheads who want sensitive material purged from libraries. The activists’ families back in the mainland also face threats and arrest over their actions abroad.
• China’s erasure tactics against Tibetans and Uyghurs are also hauntingly similar. Both are restricted from using their local languages, are religiously persecuted (their monasteries and mosques closed down and they are forbidden to practice their religious beliefs); forced to assimilate into Han culture, and suffer human rights abuses like surveillance and harassment and mass detention and forced labor.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• Rowena He, historian of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, suggested that the United States could increase funding for “alternative Chinese histories” curriculum to counter China’s “monopoly on historiography.”
• Activists Monlam of Tibet and U.S.-born Temulun Togochog of Southern Mongolia also appealed for funding for cultural preservation.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Raising the alarm on a dangerous bill

Malaysia’s internet – rated “Partly Free” by Freedom House this year – may soon face further restrictions following the government’s proposed amendments to a 1998 law that, if passed, would significantly expand its powers to regulate online content and impose harsher penalties.

On Dec. 3, free speech advocates called on the government to halt the amendment process for the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) and instead repeal its existing contentious provisions that have been weaponized against journalists, rights defenders, and activists. 

In a joint statement ARTICLE 19 and the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) said the amendments were railroaded and would lead to the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) getting overbroad powers to control and allow censorship. 

Media and communications professor Benjamin Loh, meanwhile, warned that the changes would be “horrific and beckon a return to a more oppressive state where not just media freedoms but personal freedoms are stripped away as government enforcers will be given excessive power to punish, search and monitor the media and even private citizens.”

FAST FACTS 

• According to the groups, the current amendment bill has problematic provisions such as granting the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) powers to decide which online content stays or not; to conduct search and seizure without a warrant, and to compel social media platforms to disclose user data upon request without judicial oversight.

Contentious provisions of the proposed CMA amendment bill

• The draconian CMA has long been flagged by both the United Nations and civil society groups for being a problematic measure, given its vague and overbroad provisions. In 2018, U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of expression David Kaye asked the Malaysian government to bring the CMA in line with international human rights standards. 
• Section 233, in particular, is often cited as the most contentious provision of the law as it punishes content considered “offensive” or has “intent to annoy,” both vague principles. The ruling Pakatan Harapan’s promise to  repeal it has not been fulfilled.
• Since 2017, ARTICLE 19 has also been lobbying the government to amend the CMA, citing its “far-reaching investigatory powers that are at odds with the protection of journalistic sources and the right to anonymity.”

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• Halt the further progression of the Bill in the Senate; and
• Repeal the “redundant” Section 233, whose provisions are already covered under the Penal Code

SOUTH ASIA

Upholding the right to protest

In past weeks, the Pakistani government – known for its brutal and often lethal suppression of protests – has met the thousands who marched in support of jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan with violence, using all means possible to crush their demonstrations including arrests and internet shutdowns.  

This has drawn serious concern from the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), which called on the Pakistani government to ensure the rights of the protesters and to use force only as a last resort in accordance with international human rights standards. 

“In cases where citizens’ rights have not been respected and extrajudicial killings have taken place, Pakistan’s authorities must answer for their actions. The IBAHRI will continue to monitor this situation closely,” said IBAHRI co-chair Mark Stephens.

FAST FACTS

• On Nov. 23, Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced a series of protests to call for the release of their party leader, who has been in prison since August 2023 on dozens of charges including incitement.
• Since then, authorities have imposed a security lockdown, including internet blackouts and roadblocks on major roads leading to Islamabad. Just two months ago, the Pakistani Senate passed a law that in essence allows for blanket bans and imposes restrictive requirements on protests in the capital city. 
• Despite authorities’ assurances that protests could be held outside the capital, police still responded to the demonstrations with brutality. PTI said at least 12 people have been killed and thousands imprisoned, with several more disappeared. 
• On Nov. 27, Amnesty International called for a prompt and impartial investigation into the deaths and injuries of protesters and for the release of those detained solely for participating.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• IBAHRI called for a comprehensive and impartial investigation into the reported deaths, injuries, and disappearances of protesters.
• It also urged the international community to unite and demand accountability for these rights violations. 

GLOBAL / REGIONAL

Defying Indonesia’s rule

It has been 63 years since West Papua first raised its flag as a symbol of independence after being colonized by the Netherlands – only for their former oppressor to hand over control to the United Nations and later Indonesia. 

Since then, Papuans have faced a longstanding struggle for self-determination that would see several bloody conflicts and human rights violations. Now, with former general Prabowo Subianto as president, an exiled leader of the liberation movement called on West Papuans to unite and to continue rejecting Indonesian colonialism. 

In a speech delivered on Dec. 1, Benny Wenda of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Papua’s provisional government, warned that Prabowo was a “significant threat” to West Papua, where he already sent “thousands of additional troops” to West Papua and undertook massive deforestation projects that harm both the environment and Indigenous communities.

“But we cannot panic. The threat from Prabowo shows that unity and direction is more important than ever,” he said. “I therefore call on all West Papuans, whether in the cities, the bush, the refugee camps or in exile, to unite behind the ULMWP Provisional Government.”

FAST FACTS

• In 1969, a controversial referendum led to West Papua’s integration into Indonesia, which was aiming to expand its territory and gain control of the former Dutch colony’s rich natural resources. Many Papuans were reportedly coerced and intimidated into voting for integration. 
• Since then, the colony has been waging for self-determination and independence. Indonesian authorities, however, are accused of violently suppressing such movements. The militarization of the area has also led to hundreds of civilian casualties and ongoing displacement of Papuans. 
• To many Papuans, Prabowo – a former military general under the dictator Suharto – was a stark reminder of the many abuses perpetrated against them by the military. Prabowo himself is haunted by the alleged abductions of several activists in 1998, among other things.
• In a recent meeting with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, Prabowo said he was eyeing an offer of amnesty for Papuan political prisoners. Wenda, however, questioned such an offer, saying a true amnesty “means giving West Papua our land back by withdrawing the military and allowing the self-determination referendum we have been denied since the 1960s.”

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• Wenda said the ULMWP wanted the United Nations and the international community to “uphold my people’s legal and moral right to choose our own destiny.”
• He also urged West Papuans to unite behind the ULMWP provisional government.