Home > Asia Pacific

APSOC expresses solidarity with the struggles of South peoples

Press release - December 10, 2004

The Asia-Pacific Solidarity Coalition or APSOC, a regional formation started in May 2004, expresses its solidarity with the struggling peoples of the south, specially those in this region. We are re-birthed from the core of the 10-year old Asia-Pacific Coalition for East Timor (APCET) to forge solidarity for peace, justice and human rights in the larger Southeast Asian and Pacific region. We are composed of regional groups and NGOs, national organizations and other solidarity groupings.

We re-affirm our bond in support for human rights of peoples in the region as enshrined in the human rights conventions of the United Nations, for the rights to self-determination of peoples in accordance with the UN general principles, and for the prevention and resolution of armed conflicts in the region.

As a coalition, we hereby announce the following calls for International Human Rights Day:
 

• On Burma, to support calls for a tripartite dialogue and to pressure the Burmese military government to accede to a tripartite dialogue; and to support the forming of a regional MP Caucus that will aim to involve parliamentarians to influence ASEAN as well as their respective national policies on Burma. The priority campaign however is NOT to allow Burma as a rogue state run by a military junta to assume chairmanship of the ASEAN in 2006;

• On Timor Leste, for the Australian government to recognize and return Timor Leste's full control over its offshore oil and natural gas reserves so that the new nation can enjoy the revenues rightfully belonging to it; and for the United Nations to create a commission of experts that will investigate the findings of the ad hoc courts in Jakarta and determine accountability for the grave crimes committed in East Timor from the period 1975-1999 and reiterate that justice in Timor Leste can only be achieved thorugh an international tribunal;

• Also for the Timor Leste government to reverse its ominous tendency to craft potentially undemocratic laws, such as its laws on immigration and now the Freedom of Demonstration and Assembly Bill" which purports to regulate demonstrations and protect the underlying rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression, but which imposes a number of severe restrictions on those rights;

• On the conflict in southern Thailand, to lobby the Thai government to stop using the armed forces in quelling dissent in the three Muslim-majority southern provinces, and to engage in dialogue aimed at understanding the root causes of the problem. Another immediate move is to conduct an impartial probe into the violence and deaths this year in the southern region and to hold accountability for authorities involved;

• On Aceh and West Papua, to lobby the Indonesian government to stop the militarization of Aceh and West Papua and allow international humanitarian groups unrestricted access to the civilian victims of the escalating conflict;

• On Mindanao, for the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to resume formal peace negotiations at the soonest time;

• On Sri Lanka, for regional solidarity to focus on the issue of anti-war and peace to address the conflict between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam;

• On the Pacific Islands, to support initiatives such as the Pacific Concerns Coalition which aims to secure a peaceful Pacific covering Tahiti, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Guam.

• For the region, to support ongoing peace processes in the region especially the peace talks in Mindanao, Aceh, Sri Lanka and others.

Lastly, on the occasion of International Human Rights Day today, we emphasize our call for respect for human rights of all peoples in the region, as we emphasize the situation of Burma, Aceh, West Papua and Southern Thailand as the most grave concerns the region faces at present.

APSOC Founding members:

• Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) - Philippines
• Indonesian Human Rights Committee (IHRC) - New Zealand
• National Coalition Government for the Union of Burma/National Coalition for the Union of Burma (NCGUB/NCUB)
• Burma Alternative ASEAN Network for Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma)
• Timor Leste Coalition for the Asia-Pacific (TILCAP) - Timor Leste
• Friends of the Third World/Center for Peoples Dialogue (FTW/CPD) Sri Lanka
• Asian Students Association (ASA) - Hong Kong
• Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC) - Mindanao
• Philippine Solidarity for East Timor and Indonesia (PHILSETI)
• SUARAM Rakyat Malaysia

Yayasan Anak Dusun Papua (YADUPA) - West Papua