Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email |
Artist ends hunger strike for Hindraf 5
|
| AFP | Jan 5, 08 11:34am |
|
A Singaporean artist today said he had ended a five-day hunger strike in support of five Hindu Rights Action Force activists detained under tough Internal Security Act.
Palay, 23, said he planned the fast to last exactly five days – one day for each detained member from Hindraf. The five – P Uthayakumar, M Manoharan, R Kenghadharan, V Ganabatirau and T Vasanthakumar – have been detained under the Internal Security Act last December for allegedly being a threat to the national security. They have been detained for two years at the Kamunting Detention Centre. They were detained after they enraged the government in November by mounting a mass rally alleging discrimination against ethnic Indians in Malaysia, where the majority are ethnic Malay Muslims. Police used tear gas, water cannon and baton charges to break up the street protest by at least 8,000 people, including Palay, a member of Singapore's ethnic Indian minority. "I feel that this is a sign of solidarity," he said. "It brings the issue back into light." Palay said about 35 people, mostly Malaysians, had helped him mark the end of his protest, saying his hunger strike could inspire others to take further action. "I'm feeling fine," he said Saturday before eating anything. "I don't have the craving for anything yet." |
"I'm finished," Seelan Palay told AFP by phone from outside the Malaysian High Commission, where he had been fasting since Monday. 
