Archives: Endorsements

In recent times, Sri Lanka has seen a rise in ethnic tensions fuelled by the Bodu Bala Sena ( BBS). For some months, the BBS has been inciting hatred against religious minorities; resulting in intermittent attacks on churches, mosques and the occasional attack on businesses owned by Muslims . BBS monks have also been caught on video threatening violence against their moderate colleagues who advocate tolerance.

However, in the last few days, the situation appears to have escalated dramatically. The violence began after a speech by BBS Galagoda Atthe Gnanasara at a BBS rally in Aluthgama, which came three days after a smaller clash resulting from an accident between a Muslim youth’s motorbike and a bhuddist monk’s car.

Muslim homes and mosques have been stoned. A curfew has been imposed in the coastal town Beruwala, where Deputy Minister Faizer Mustapha (a muslim minister in the current government) “is currently blockaded in at the Nallemiyah Arabic College in Beruwala with an armed mob standing outside to attack those within, reports just coming in from the ground said.” Eyewitness accounts tell of Muslims being pulled off local buses and being beaten.

Sadly, there are also reports of three Muslims being shot to death near Walipitiya Mosque by the violent mobs.

The violence has now spread to Dehiwala, in the capital Colombo, where the Harcourts Pharmacy has been attacked. The vast majority of the Bhuddist population in Sri Lanka are against the actions of BBS. But, the inaction of the government has led to blood shed in the country, again.

We call upon the Sri Lankan government to take immediate action to ban the BBS and bring the perpetrators of this violence to justice. Sri Lanka has just emerged from a 35 year ethnic war, and has been enjoying peace in recent times. We do not want Sri Lanka to be dragged into another ethnic conflict resulting in the deaths of innocent people, and another generation growing up with a backdrop of war.

You can sign in here.

SIGN to say U.S. Hands Off Russia and the Ukraine!

We, the undersigned people from various countries around the world, including the USA, express our great dismay about President Obama’s list of sanctions on top Russian officials. The world in 2014 does not need a new Cold War. It needs de-escalation instead of a spiral of sanctions. The solution of the Ukrainian and Crimean crisis is dialogue and diplomatic efforts which include all parties concerned instead of individualized sanctions.

We consider it to be a particular mistake to “sanction” Vladimir Yakunin who is not only President of Russian Railways but also the founder and president of the World Public Forum – Dialogue of Civilizations which enjoys consultative status in United Nations’ ECOSOC. For more than a decade Vladimir Yakunin has devoted a lot of efforts and activities to dialogue among different religions, cultures and nations as the alternative to armed conflicts. He has stood up against hatred, xenophobia, antisemitism as well as Islamophobia.

Many people around the world know of and greatly value Dr. Yakunin’s extraordinary and tireless work for peace and justice and the resolution of conflicts.

He exemplifies the great potential that the Dialogue of Civilizations can offer towards peaceful coexistence in our world. Dr.Yakunin has always spoken out forcefully for the protection of the environment, sustainable growth, ecology, non-violence, social entrepreneurship and value-led education. He continues to inspire and empower others to develop their hidden strengths.

His efforts are appreciated throughout the world, including the United States of America. We want Vladimir Yakunin to continue without interruption and hindrance his work for a better and peaceful world where dialogue can prevail.

We demand that Dr. Yakunin enjoys free access to all United Nations Headquarters, including New York, as president of an INGO with consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council.

Walter Schwimmer, Former Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Vienna, Austria
Fred Dallmayr, Professor at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
Kamran Mofid, President, Globalization for the Common Good Initiative, Coventry, UK
Raffaele Marchetti, Professor of Political Science, LUISS Guido Carli, Rome, Italy
Piotr Dutkiewicz, Professor of Global Politics, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Jens Wendland, Professor University of Arts, Berlin; foreign Professor Journalistic faculty MGU, Moscow
Fabio Petito, Professor of International Politics, Sussex University, UK
Hans Koechler, President, International Progress Organization, Innsbruck, Austria
Steve Szeghi, Professor of Economics, Wilmington College, Ohio, USA
Dimitri Kitsikis, University of Ottawa, Fellow, Royal Society of Canada, Honorary President, The Dimitri Kitsikis Public Foundation, Ottawa, Canada
Chandra Muzaffar, President, International Movement for a Just World (JUST), Malaysia
Alberto Melloni, Director of the John XXIII Foundation for religious studies, Bologna, Unesco Chair for religious pluralism and peace, Italy
Akeel Bilgrami, Sidney Morgenbesser Chair in Philosophy, Professor, Committee on Global Thought, Director, South Asian Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Vincenzo Scotti, President of Link Campus University and former Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Italy, Italy
Marco Emanuele, Supervisor of the website Linee strategiche (a narrative of global complexity) in collaboration with Link Campus University, Italy
Mario Lettieri, Former Undersecretary of Economics of Romano Prodi’s government, Rome Italy
Paolo Raimondi, Economist, Editorialist of the Italian Economic Daily ItaliaOggi, Rome Italy
Tiberio Graziani, President, Institute of Advanced Studies in Geopolitics and Auxiliary Sciences (ISAG), Director of “Geopolitica”, Italy

In anticipation of the Pope’s May visit to the Holy Land, an Open Letter signed by more than 200 bishops, clerics, members of religious orders, and theologians from several faith traditions, was delivered to Pope Francis on March 5, 2014.

Initiated by Friends of Sabeel- North America, the letter asks the Pope to publicly:

• speak out against the Israeli military’s program of kidnapping, detention, and systematic abuse of Palestinian children;
• call on Israel to respect international law, end its occupation of Palestine, and terminate its brutal siege on and blockade of Gaza;
• ask other nations to address policies toward Israel that have allowed the abuses of occupation and colonization of Palestine to fester for so many decades and to demand justice, accountability and the implementation of international law.

Click here for more information. 

If you would like to sign on behalf of an organization, please click here. 

The World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations” follows with growing alarm the unfolding events in Venezuela. The Forum condemns in the strongest possible terms any involvement of “el Norte” in efforts to topple the duly elected government there. We vividly remember the foreign-supported coup against the government of Salvador Allende in 1973, a coup followed by 17 years of military dictatorship resulting in a staggering number of executed and “disappeared” people. In light of the recent events in the Ukraine, we feel that one foreign-engineered “regime change” disaster is enough in 2014. We urge all participants to refrain from actions which seem to be pushing our world steadily closer to a new World War.

To endorse please click here

WPF Executive Committee Statement on the Events in UkraineThe World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations” observes with alarm the unfolding events in the Ukraine. The Forum condemns in the strongest possible terms the involvement of foreign powers in attempts to topple the duly elected government in Kyiv and to replace it with a puppet regime. We urge Western powers to refrain from sanctions and the threat of sanctions and to return to the basic principle of democracy: namely, that political change is to be sought through a democratic process at the ballot box, not through bullets in the streets. We urge all powers involved to reflect on the possible consequences of their actions which seem to push the world steadily closer to a new World War.

We also appeal to the people in the streets to come to their senses and to return to the Gandhian path of nonviolent political action.

The world’s greatest whistleblower is stuck in the Russian winter, facing solitary confinement, ridicule, and life in prison if US agents grab him. But this week, we could help get him to safety.

Edward Snowden exposed the mind-boggling and illegal level of surveillance the US government is conducting on, well, all of us. His welcome in Russia runs out soon, and he’s got nowhere to go. But Brazilian President Dilma is angry at US surveillance and experts say she might brave massive US pressure to consider asylum for Snowden!

This is about much more than one man. If Snowden’s act of truth-telling leads to crippling punishment, it sends the wrong signal to abusive governments and whistleblowers everywhere. If 1 million of us take action now, we can send President Dilma the largest citizen-supported asylum bid in history — click below to safeguard Snowden and defend democracy everywhere:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/send_snowden_home_loc/?bYxgfdb&v=34286

Time is running out on Snowden’s one-year visa. Sharks are circling to drag him back to the US where he is unlikely to face a fair trial, but Brazil’s president Dilma hates mega spy program PRISM, has cancelled a state visit to the US over the issue, and is working to safeguard her people from spying. If she’s to support Snowden, Dilma needs to know she can withstand tough US pressure.

Opponents of giving Snowden asylum say he broke the law and put global security at risk. Some even call him a traitor, and say letting him get away with it could open the floodgates for others. But while Snowden did break the law — he did so to reveal a massive system of illegal global spying on an industrial scale. Snowden’s heroic action can make the world a better and safer place for everyone.

And Snowden isn’t just any whistleblower; his revelations have already changed the world for the better. Germany and Brazil have moved to reform privacy protections for citizens. The issue has been addressed openly in the United Nations, and a US court has ruled some forms of NSA spying are illegal. This week US President Obama is going to change the spy practices of the NSA, in reaction to Snowden’s leaks!

President Dilma needs our support to stand up to US pressure. Let’s show her that the world’s people will stand with Brazil if Brazil stands for bravery. Join the world’s biggest asylum request ever, for Snowden:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/send_snowden_home_loc/?bYxgfdb&v=34286

With more than 30 million members around the world — including 6 million in Brazil — together we have already been key to protecting our internet from government gag laws. Now we can support the man who has sacrificed so much to protect us from a massive international spy scandal.

Dear YB Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa & Perindustrian,

As Malaysian citizens and medical and health professionals who are concerned about the potential adverse effects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) on medical and public health practice, and on patient care, we wish to congratulate the Malaysian Government for insisting that tobacco control efforts of national authorities should be excluded from the purview and binding obligations of the TPPA currently being negotiated.  These are not alarmist fears on the part of negotiating parties and the populations they represent.

The Government of Uruguay for instance was sued by Philip Morris when Uruguayan health authorities tried to implement more stringent tobacco control measures requiring that 80 per cent of a cigarette packet surface display images warning of the risks of smoking.  Meanwhile in Australia, the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act (2011) was similarly challenged by the Hong Kong subsidiary of Philip Morris under the provisions of a 1993 (bilateral) agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of Hong Kong which was crafted “for the promotion and protection of investments”.

We further urge the Malaysian Government to stand firm against intellectual property provisions in the TPPA which might jeopardize the affordable and equitable access to essential (lifesaving) medicines which we seek to safeguard.

In particular, we are opposed to ever-greening provisions which allow for re-patenting of medicines for an incidental new use of an existing medicine, or for a new form for its dispensing, for extensions of monopoly patent duration (from 20 to 25 yrs), and for innovator demands for data exclusivity which violate the social compromise (‘social contract’) underlying monopoly patent protection and are furthermore highly unethical (denial of demonstrated efficacious treatment to study controls as part of superfluous, duplicative testing).

As it is, Malaysia is already burdened with some of the highest medicine prices in the region (for instance, a tenfold market price for the HIV drug lopinavir-ritonavir when compared to countries in the same per capita income category), due to delayed entry and registration of generics:

Equally alarming is the revelation from recently leaked documents that the US Trade Representative is in the forefront of efforts to extend patent claims beyond medical and surgical devices to medical and surgical methods (procedures).

Indeed, the reasonable stance in TPPA negotiations would be to exclude (carve out) from the purview of the TPPA writ health-related matters such as tobacco control and intellectual property provisions which go beyond existing WTO-TRIPS compliance, so as to retain national regulatory discretion over this policy space to safeguard the public interest.

In fostering a business friendly environment to capture the benefits of a vibrant, trade-dependent economy, we should also pay heed to its distributional consequences and not impose burdensome sacrifices on the vulnerable and the marginalized.

A rising tide does not necessarily lift all boats.  Yachts perhaps, but skiffs may not cope well with the turbulence of an increasingly deregulated world, not to mention the boatless who may be simply inundated with little to expect from shrinking social safety nets.

Signatories:

Professor Adeeba Kamarulzaman (Professor of Infectious Diseases & Dean of Medicine, Universiti Malaya)

Dr Chan Chee Khoon (Pakar Perunding, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya)

Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj (Chest Physician, Member of Parliament – Sungai Siput)

Fifa Rahman (Health Law specialist, Policy Manager, Malaysian AIDS Council)

Dr Surendran Thuraisingham (Consultant Cardiologist, Sunway Medical Centre)

Dr David KL Quek (Consultant Cardiologist, Council member, Malaysian Physicians for Social Responsibility)

Lim Ching Wei (Hon Secretary, Breast Cancer Welfare Association Malaysia)

Dr Lai Suat Yan (Senior Lecturer-Gender Studies, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya)

Professor Azad Hassan Abdul Razak (Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya)

Dr Ang Kim Teng (Malaysian Mental Health Association)

International Movement for a Just World (JUST)

Dr Tan Maw Pin (Associate Professor,Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya)

Dr Phua Kai Lit (Associate Professor, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia)

Dr Pang Yong Kek (Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine,Universiti Malaya)

Dr Yap Tuan Gee (Pharmacologist)

Dr  Lee Boon Chye (Cardiologist, Member of Parliament – Gopeng)

.

For more information, and to sign on to this petition, please contact:

Chan Chee Khoon

Center for Population Health

Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya

cheekhoon@ummc.edu.my

03-79674777

Nithiah Thangiah

Center for Population Health

Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya

nithiah@ummc.edu.my

03-79677513

Please feel free to circulate this petition to others who may be interested in endorsing it.  Thank you.

AN APPEAL TO JUST MEMBERS.

HELPING THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES

We are all painfully aware of the death and destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines over the weekend. It was one of the worst natural disasters in recent years. More than 10,000 people may have died; more than a million have been rendered homeless. Millions are in dire need of water, electricity and food.

As in the past, JUST is appealing to its members to donate generously to victims of the disaster. Citizens in many different parts of the world are already reaching out to help their fellow human beings in the Philippines. Malaysian members of JUST can always send their donations to organisations mentioned in newspapers such as the New Straits Times and the Star.

LET US EXTEND OUR HAND TO OUR SISTERS AND BROTHERS IN THE PHILIPPINES.

In solidarity,
Chandra Muzaffar.
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.
12 November 2013.