EU Presidency declaration on the Release by the Malaysian Authorities of six ISA Detainees

The European Union welcomes the release by the Malaysian authorities on 1 and 12 June 2003 of 6 political activists detained since April 2001 under the Internal Security Act (ISA). The European Union also welcomes the readiness of the Malaysian Government to consider the conclusions of the recent review of the ISA produced by Suhakam, the Malaysian National Human Rights Commission, which calls, inter alia, for the repeal of the ISA and the enactment of new legislation in line with relevant UN principles and instruments. The European Union looks forward to a review of the present modalities of recourse to ISA.

The Acceding Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the Associated Countries Bulgaria and Romania and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area align themselves with this declaration.

| Top |