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Obama Faces Tough Questions on Malaysia Rights
by Luis Ramirez
U.S. President Barack Obama is winding down a visit to Malaysia, where
he faced tough questions Sunday on political freedoms in the country.
After a lavish welcome Saturday, President Obama on Sunday toured
Malaysia's large National Mosque, which sits on more than five hectares
and holds up to 15,000 people.
The mosque visit was a gesture of goodwill toward Malaysia's
predominantly Muslim population. Obama sought to portray the country as
a model of democracy and a model for coexistence between a Muslim
majority and the sizable minorities of Buddhists, Christians and
Hindus.
Human rights
Not at the forefront of the president's visit were discussions on what
critics say are the Malaysian government attempts to clamp down on
press freedom and quash the opposition. Obama's schedule did not
include a meeting with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. The government
has for years been pursuing sodomy charges against Anwar in what his
supporters say is an illegitimate attempt to keep him from running for
office.
At joint briefing with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, Obama
was asked why he did not meet with Anwar.
The president said, "The fact that I've not met with Anwar is not
indicative of a lack of concern given the fact that there are a lot of
people I don't meet with and opposition leaders that I don't meet with,
and that doesn't mean I'm not concerned about them."
The U.S. president said he did raise the issue of civil liberties with
Prime Minister Najib.
"What I have shared with the prime minister is the core belief that
societies that respect rule of law, that respect freedom of speech,
that respect the right of opposition to oppose even when it drives you
crazy, even when it's inconvenient, respect for freedom of assembly,
the respect for people of different races and different faiths and
different political philosophies, that those values are at the core of
who the U.S. is but also are a pretty good gauge of whether society is
going to be successful in the 21st century or not," said Obama.
On the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, Obama said the U.S. remains
absolutely committed to providing whatever resources it can to
facilitate the search.
Historical visit
Lyndon Johnson was the last U.S. president to travel to Malaysia in
1966 during the Vietnam War, when the United States was working to
maintain support among its Southeast Asian allies against the spread of
communism. Now, Obama has a different challenge in the region: the
threat of China's expanding military and - primarily - its growing
assertiveness in the East and South China Seas, where it has competing
territorial claims with a number of countries.
Those claims and the threats they pose to regional security are the
main theme in the Philippines, his fourth stop on this Asian tour. The
Philippines and China are locked in a dispute over islands in the South
China Sea.
The major item on the president's agenda in Manila is an agreement on
enhanced defense cooperation to rotate U.S. troops into the country and
station them temporarily on Philippine military bases. It would allow
for the largest U.S. military presence in the country since the
Philippines ended the leases on U.S. bases more than two decades ago.
The agreement says U.S. troops can come only by invitation of the
Philippine government. But critics say the deal violates Philippine
sovereignty and have staged demonstrations ahead of Obama's arrival.
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[1]http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-malaysia/1902048.html
References
1. http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-malaysia/1902048.html