World outraged by Anwar's Black eye

World leaders voiced concern over the reported mistreatment of sacked Cabinet minister Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysian authorities launched an investigation into allegations he was beaten while blindfolded in custody. 

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Philippine President Joseph Estrada, World Bank President James Wolfensohn and U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin expressed concern over reports the former finance minister had been assaulted by police. 

Anwar, who was sacked by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on September 2 and arrested 18 days later, appeared in court this week (29 Sept) with a blackened left eye after 10 days in police detention. 

Anwar, who has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges of sodomy and corruption, said he had been punched and slapped while blindfolded, left unconscious and denied medical attention for five days. 

A doctor appointed by Anwar's wife said in a report that he believed Anwar had been assaulted while in custody. 

The U.N. chief "expressed the hope that Mr Anwar Ibrahim will be treated properly in accordance with the due process of law," U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said in New York. 

'A highly respected member' of world financial community Wolfensohn issued a personal appeal to Mahathir to give his friend Anwar a fair hearing. Anwar was chairman of the World Bank's development committee until he was sacked. 

"Anwar is a friend of mine, and when I saw him with a black eye and bruises, it troubles me," Wolfensohn said in Washington. 

"I'll probably get caned for saying it, but I think it's important to remember that he had a real position in our group...and I just hope that the world's eyes are on him and that he gets a fair chance to state his case." 

Rubin, speaking at a conference in New York, praised Anwar as a reformer, and said finance officials from around the world were disturbed by the turn of events. 

"(Anwar) is a highly respected member of the international financial community and has really been a great force for great good in many ways," Rubin said. "I don't know anything about the politics in Malaysia but what happened to him...the way he was treated in prison is deeply, deeply troubling." 

In WASHINGTON, (Oct 4) - IMF managing director Michael Camdessus on Sunday paid homage to former Malaysian Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim, now in prison, and said he had been a very good finance minister. 

"Anwar Ibrahim is a friend of mine," Camdessus told journalists. 

"He was an eminent chairman of the (World Bank) development committee, where his leadership qualities worked wonders," he said. 

"He was a very good finance minister who helped protect Malaysia from the contagion effect of the Asian crisis", Camdessus said. 

"We are worried by what we have heard" since he was imprisoned, he added, saying he hoped senior Malaysian officials here for the IMF and World Bank annual meetings could reassure him. 

The JAKARTA POST, in an editorial, accused Mahathir of "vindictive treatment" of Anwar and called the prime minister "an authoritarian ruler." 

The newspaper said it would take time for Mahathir "to see that he has sown the seeds of his own downfall. He has created a martyr." 

Mahathir has repeatedly accused Anwar of trying to spark "Indonesian-style riots" to end his 17-year reign. 

It is also reported that President Habibie may not be attending the APEC conference in November. 

In UNITED KINGDOM, The Telegraph carried a report by Matt Frei from Kuala Lumpur that Mahathir Mohamad, the Malaysian prime minister, is under pressure to stand down after 17 years in power following the controversial treatment of his jailed former deputy and rival, Anwar Ibrahim. 

The most famous black eye in Asia now appears set to change the course of Malaysian politics. Last week the embattled leader told a baffled nation that Mr Anwar's wounds had been self-inflicted: it was an attempt by Mr Anwar to gain the country's sympathy. 

He is partly right of course. Mr Anwar did indeed get showered with sympathy. Politically, the black eye may be the best thing that's ever happened to him. But no one believes that he punched himself. The diagnosis of Dr Mahathir, a trained doctor who should know a thing or two about inflicting pain, sounds absurd. 

It has certainly incurred the wrath of key figures within the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), which has ruled the former British colony since independence, and the disgust of the people."If that's how the police treat a deputy prime minister, how will they treat us?" asked a student, who didn't want to be named. 

The black eye has also triggered an avalanche of international criticism. What's more, Dr Mahathir has been snubbed by neighbouring leaders who have warned that they may cancel visits to Malaysia because of the way their friend Mr Anwar has been treated. 

This year was supposed to be the one in which Malaysia, one of the world's most impressive developing countries, would come of age. Instead the beatings on the streets and the lurid charges of ministerial sodomy have dragged it back to the Middle Ages. Dr Mahathir's actions have helped to trample on any national glory and self esteem that the Commonwealth Games may have brought. The UMNO party bosses are livid. The country goes to the polls next year. Malaysia's media may be heavily censored, the party may have solid control over the civil service and the police, but this country is a democracy of sorts. The electorate cannot be ignored. 

In the absence of opinion polls and a free press one has to read the tea leaves of UMNO party politics to deduce that Dr M is in trouble. First, the usually slavish newspapers are full of contrite reports about how Mr Anwar's black eye needs to be fully investigated. A police investigation team has now been appointed. Second, the police have released four prominent figures who had challenged Dr Mahathir and who were detained under the draconian Internal Security Act. Third, Dr Mahathir, may be eventually forced to appoint his sworn enemy, Tengku Razaleigh, as his new deputy. 

The forthcoming APEC summit in Kuala Lumpur, of leaders from Asia, Canada and the United States, has increased pressure to find a way out of the current mess. It would be embarrassing if it coincided with demonstrations on the streets and more black eyes in court. 

It is tempting to contrast Malaysia with neighbouring Indonesia which got rid of its patriarch in May. Malaysia has not yet reached Indonesia's level of economic meltdown and desperation. The people of Kuala Lumpur are still afraid of their riot police because they still have something to lose. In Jakarta the traffic has thinned because people cannot afford petrol. In Kuala Lumpur it is thin because they don't want to get their new cars scratched in a riot. 

In Philippines, Senators join Estrada in concern over Anwar.

The Senate is backing up President Estrada in his expression of concern over the indefinite detention of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim by Malaysian federal authorities, Senate President Pro Tempore Blas F. Ople said yesterday. 

"The President is expressing the moral outrage of Filipinos over the incarceration of Anwar, and he is perfectly within his rights to do so," Ople said. "This is not interference in Malaysia's internal affairs, but an expression of the revolted conscience of mankind." 

The senator from Bulacan said he expected the Senate on Monday to pass a resolution supporting President Estrada's stand. The resolution was authored by Ople and Senate Majority Leader Franklin M. Drilon. 

Ople has also reserved the privilege hour on Monday to deliver a speech calling on the Malaysian government to release Anwar and urging the peoples of Southeast Asia "not to let Anwar down." 

Ople also urged President Estrada not to boycott the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit scheduled in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 21 "on account of Anwar alone." 

"Since he said the Philippines is the founding head of APEC, there is a special obligation for the Philippine President to be there. It will not be right to boycott the summit on account of Anwar alone," he said. 

The senator said the sympathizers of Anwar in Manila have formed the "Friends of Freedom, Friends of Anwar Movement" whose Filipino name reads: "Kasama ni Anwar sa Kalayaan." Its aim is to mobilize popular support for Anwar's release through SOutheast Asia. The group's provisional chairman, Nicon Fameronang, said there will be national chapters in Jakarta, Bangkok, Hanoi, Vientiane, and Bandar Seri Begawan. 

Ople noted that because Anwar is an honorary alumnus of the Ateneo de Manila University, the first student chapter of the Free-Anwar movement will be organized at the Ateneo campus. 

Another chapter is due to be formed at the Bulacan State University in Malolos and still another at University of the Philippines-Los Banos in Laguna. Anwar is an exponent of Jose Rizal's ideals as guiding principles for a new and democratic Southeast Asia community. He is a member of the Knights of Rizal. 

In PARIS, UNESCO Director General Federico Mayor said Monday he was "concerned by the health" of Anwar Ibrahim, the former Malaysian deputy premier who headed the UN agency's general conference in 1989 and 1990. 

Mayor issued a statement declaring he was worried at reports that Anwar was injured. 

He said: "I hope that, like all the citizens of Malaysia, he receives proper treatment in respect of the rights laid out in the universal declaration of human rights." 

In the latest development, the US Vice-President Al Gore has urged the Malaysian government not to stifle opposition, saying that he is troubled by sacked Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's allegations that he was beaten in prison. In a statement, Mr Gore said "recent actions" in Malaysia suggested a "drift backward" even though it had made great progress to transform itself into an important economic and political power. 

"The government of Malaysia must engage dissenting voices - not stifle them - if it is to develop into a more prosperous, democratic and stable society in the years to come," said Mr Gore, the highest ranking US official to comment on the crisis following Anwar's sacking and detention. 

The statement, dated Oct 2, was faxed to AFP yesterday. The US embassy in Kuala Lumpur received it on Tuesday, a spokesman said. 

Mr Gore said he was "profoundly troubled" by Anwar's allegations that he was beaten up during detention under the Internal Security Act, noting that an independent physician confirmed evidence of "blunt trauma" to the forehead and neck. 

"I count Mr Anwar among my friends, and I call on the Malaysian government to provide him complete and immediate medical attention, to investigate this beating fully and fairly, punish those responsible, and take every step necessary to guarantee Mr Anwar's future safety and security," he said. 

But at a press conference early yesterday, after chairing an Umno Supreme Council meeting, Dr Mahathir told the US to mind its own business. 

"We run our country in our own way. There are also a number of things that we would like the American government to do. We think that if we mind our own business, it will be better for everybody," he said.