5-year old to lead Hindraf petition on Feb. 16

5-year-old to lead Hindraf petition on Feb 16
The five-year old daughter of Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) chairperson P Waythamoorthy will lead hundreds of rose-bearing children - and their parents - on February 16 to petition at the Parliament building for the release of the group’s detained leaders.
Hindraf petitions Malaysian Premier seeking “justice”
P. S. Suryanarayana
Leaders field children to hand over roses to Badawi
SINGAPORE: Adopting a novel form of petitioning Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for “justice” for the ethnic Indian minority, the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) on Tuesday submitted a letter “handwritten” by a five-year-old child Vaishnnavi Waytha Moorthy. She is the daughter of Hindraf chairman P. Waytha Moorthy, now camping in London.
Hindraf national coordinator Thanenthiran Ramankutty and his associates escorted Vaishnnavi to Mr. Abdullah’s office at Putrajaya, the seat of the Malaysian government. The letter was received by the Prime Minister’s private secretary, Mr. Thanenthiran said over the telephone from Kuala Lumpur.
The crux of the letter, he said, was an appeal to Mr. Abdullah to receive from her and a delegation of children a bouquet of yellow and red roses on February 16, the day of a planned march by Malaysian Indians for “justice.”
Mr. Moorthy said over the telephone from London that his daughter’s letter contained a request to the Prime Minister that he release her “five uncles” whom he had “put in prison.” The five “uncles” are the Hindraf leaders detained without charges under Malaysia’s Internal Security Act. They are Mr. Moorthy’s brother, P. Uthayakumar, V. Ganapati Rao, M. Manoharan, R. Kengadharan, and T. Vasanthakumar.
Confirming that the letter was handwritten under the guidance and supervision of Hindraf leaders, Mr. Moorthy said his daughter, after coming out of the Prime Minister’s office complex, released five pigeons in line with the group’s practice.
Appeal for freedom
The pigeon release is said to symbolise the desire for the freedom of Hindraf detenus. Explaining the symbolism of seeking to present roses to the Prime Minister, the Hindraf chairman said the yellow ones would signify an appeal for “justice” while the red colour stood for the group’s “commitment to a peaceful struggle and love for Malaysia.”
According to some ethnic Indians in Kuala Lumpur, the size of the turn-out for the ongoing “Thaipoosam” processions and for the festivities at the Batu Caves temple on Wednesday would serve as a “barometer” of the support for the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).
The reason is said to be the general impression that the administrators of that temple have traditionally been close to the MIC, a long-time constituent of successive governments at the Federal level. Hindraf and the MIC are currently vying to project themselves as the true representatives of the Malaysian Indians.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/23/stories/2008012356101600.htm

Hindraf leader's daughter urges Malaysian PM to free activists
Kuala Lumpur (PTI): A five-year-old daughter of an ethnic Indian leader on Tuesday handed over a letter to Malaysian Premier Abdullah Badawi, urging him to release her "uncles" detained under a draconian security law after they organised a massive rally here against the alleged marginalisation of their community.
Vwaishhnnavi Waytha Moorthy, daughter of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) Chairman Waytha Moorthy, gave the three-page letter to Abdullah's private secretary at Putrajaya, the administrative capital of Malaysia.
"I am doing this for the rights of Indians in our country and for my five uncles whom you have put in prison," she wrote in the letter.
The five Hindraf members were detained last month after they held a rally of 20,000 ethnic Indians on November 25 to demand better treatment of ethnic Indians in this country.
Indians compose 7.8 per cent of the 27 million population of this multi-ethnic, multi-religious country which has 60 per cent Malays who are all Muslims and 25 per cent ethnic Chinese who are Buddhists and Christians. The ethnic Indians here are mostly Hindus from Tamil Nadu.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200801222033.htm