Hindraf Leaders Arrested Under ISA

THREATS to use the ISA were made by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi for weeks and the swift arrest of five Hindraf leaders began at Shah Alam at 3pm . In a rare move, the five were sent straight to the Kamunting detention centre in Taiping, Perak, to be detained for two years, without undergoing the usual 60-day investigation period. Those arrested are Hindraf legal advisers P Uthayakumar, M Manoharan, R Kenghadharan and V Ganabatirau and organising secretary T Vasantha Kumar.

Malik Imtiaz Sarwar from the National Human Rights Society (Hakam) said the government's move was regrettable and unnecessary. "The ISA detention will have the unfortunate effect of now stopping genuine attempts on the part of the marginalised Indian community to have their grievances addressed," he told AFP. As the clouds of oppression loom menancingly once again, please share with us your comments and feedback on the unfolding saga.

Media Blitz Against Hindraf

Lust to Demonize

Have you ever watched the old Cowboy Westerns where a mob of enraged self-righteous people "seek to carry out justice" and conduct a public-square lynching? Change the time and place and a couple of names plus the props and put Hindraf in the plot as the chief evil dark hoodlums. I wonder if it would make a good box-office hit?

It is a dangerous sign to monitor the current scenario and plot unfolding in the land of mainstream goverment controlled media। None of these media organisations has given Hindraf or its leaders an equal opprrtunity to present their views or to respond to the overwhelming tirade of accusations levelled against them। Instead, there has been a calculated, slanted and selective barrage of insinuations as well as maximum coverage on unsubstantiated allegations। Djs thought to have joined the march were fired from radio stations, a company with the same name lost its buisness license and the intensity of this momentum is liken to a massive vigilante.