The Bersih 2.0 Global Solidarity Network strongly supports the Bersih 2.0 rally for Clean and Fair Elections in Malaysia on the 9th of July 2011.
We urge all Malaysians abroad to unite in solidarity with our Malaysian brothers and sisters at home by joining Bersih 2.0 walks and other events in cities across the world (see below for complete list).
Malaysians have the constitutional right to peaceful assembly and freedom of speech in keeping with international human rights norms.
As citizens, we demand free and fair elections, which provide the foundation a better, more democratic Malaysia. We support Bersih 2.0’s eight points of electoral reform and call in addition for a ninth: suffrage for Malaysians residing abroad.
We, ordinary Malaysian citizens around the world, are supporting Bersih 2.0 because we can and because we should. We believe that the future of Malaysia belongs to all our children and that together we can ensure that the legacy we leave them is a beautiful and just one.
We are speaking out because we live in open democracies where the freedoms of speech and of peaceful assembly and the right to demonstrate are the norm rather than the exception.
As is the case with the rally in Kuala Lumpur, we intend to gather peacefully and with dignity, and we shall do so without fear of water cannon, tear gas, police intimidation and brutality, or arbitrary arrest for dressing in yellow.
Wherever we may be, we shall be wearing yellow T-shirts and carrying yellow banners, balloons and placards with peaceful slogans in support of clean and fair elections in Malaysia. We shall be bringing our family members both young and old.
Together with Malaysians all over the world, we urge the Najib government to support electoral reform. Clean and fair elections are essential to developing a mature and open democracy, and to safeguard the integrity of our nation for future generations.
We call on the prime minister to respect DYMM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di-Pertuan Agong’s advice to His Majesty’s government to ‘show prudence and fairness in carrying out the duties entrusted to it by the Malaysian people’.
We also urge the federal government and the Inspector-General of Police to follow this advice by releasing all those detained in connection with Bersih 2.0, and stop the ongoing, systematic harassment of Bersih 2.0 supporters.
It is not too late for the prime minister to fulfil his duties and responsibilities in a manner that becomes his office and to allow this gathering to proceed peacefully in recognition of the will of the people. With the proper cooperation of all government agencies, we are confident the gathering will be nothing more and nothing less than a peaceful expression of a just and legitimate cause.
The eyes of the world are now on the prime minister and his government, in this pivotal moment that will surely define his legacy in the eyes of Malaysians as well as citizens and governments the world over. We urge him to rise to the occasion.
[Global BERSIH 2.0 events]
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