ConflictBarometer_2016

ASIA AND OCEANIA
ings. On May 12, the State Committee for National Security
(GKNB) arrested three alleged leaders of the People's Parliament
movement, among them former agriculture minister
Bekbolot Talgarbekov and former presidential candidate
Torobay Kolubayev, accussing them of preparing a violent
seizure of power. The group had planned to hold a rally in the
capital Bishek and had demaned President Almazbek Atambayev
to step down.
After a parliamentary commission, investigating the involvement
of several cabinet members in a corruption case, had
demanded Prime Minister Temir Sariev's resignation on April
7, he resigned four days later. On April 13, the parliament
elected Sooronbai Jeenbekov as his successor. Moreover, on
April 12 and May 11, human rights activists protested against
a government bill, labeling foreign funded NGOs as foreign
agents, in the capital Bishkek. On May 12, parliament rejected
the bill. On November 22, the party chairman Omurbek Tekebayev
of the oppositional Ata-Meken party announced that
his party was preparing an impeachment proceeding against
President Atambayev . ama
MALAYSIA (OPPOSITION)
Intensity: 1 | Change: | Start: 1969
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Bersih, various opposition groups vs.
government
system/ideology, national power
The conflict over the orientation of the political sys-tem and
national power between Bersih and other opposition groups,
on the one hand, and the government, on the other, deescalated
to a dispute.
The crisis was dominated by the opposition's claim that
Prime Minister Najib Razak, his stepson Riza Aziz, and a
friend of Aziz, were involved in the disappearance of USD
3.5 billion from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)
develop-ment fund. The allegations that also concerned the
involve-ment of financial institutes in Switzerland and the
USA, had arisen in 2015. In July, the United States
Department of Jus-tice filed an official lawsuit against the
accused.
In 2015, the opposition group Bersih had organized mass
demonstrations demanding Najib's resignation, which involved
ten thousands of participants wearing yellow T-shirts
with the word ''Bersih”. On February 19, the Malaysian High
Court upheld a ruling that considered the wearing of yellow
T-shirts bearing the word ''Bersih'' as a threat to national security.
In April, Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem introduced
an immigration ban to Sarawak State on opposition
leaders and activists, declaring the State had to be protected
from ''unsavoury elements'' until after the state elections in
May.
On November 19, police raided Bersih offices in the capital
Kuala Lumpur, arresting several Bersih organizers and
opposi-tional government officials. Alicia Edwards,
spokesperson of the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur, noted the
US' uneasiness re-garding these arrests. Despite the
prohibition of demonstra-tions, in late November, thousands
protested against Najib in
Kuala Lumpur, demanding his resignation. They were met by
pro-government protesters and 7,000 members of the Royal
Malaysia Police. In total, rallies involved 15,000 to 80,000
participants. Najib refused to resign and instead accused
Bersih of trying to illegally overturn a democratically-elected
government. nro
150
MALDIVES (OPPOSITION)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2003
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
MDP, AP, MUO vs. government
national power
The violent crisis over national power between opposition
parties, primarily the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and
the Justice Party (AP), and the government led by Abdulla
Yameen continued.
Throughout the year, the government took measures to oppress
opposition groups and independent media, particularly
by means of widespread judicial actions.
Police dissolved several anti-government demonstrations, injuring
protesters with pepper spray.
In January, Mohamed Nasheed, MDP leader and former president,
who had been convicted to 13 years in prison under
the ''Anti Terrorism Law'' on 03/16/15, was granted temporary
medical leave to the United Kingdom. During a meeting
in London on June 1, members of several opposition parties,
among them leaders of MDP and AP, announced to unite
in the Maldives United Opposition (MUO) in order to form a
shadow cabinet.
In the course of the year, several controversial laws were
adopted by the government holding the majority in parliament.
In reaction, the opposition accused the government
of autocratic rule. For instance, the parliament decided to
make the list of declared terrorist organizations confidential
on March 16. Furthermore, on April 11, a new Supreme
Council for Islamic Affairs was set up, which was granted the
authority to issue fatawa by amending the Religious Unity
Act. On August 11, the parliament adopted a defamation law,
which would criminalize alleged blasphemy.
Throughout the year, the government upheld the suppression
of government-critical activists as well as certain media
outlets. For instance, a local court ordered to halt the
print publishing of the newspaper Haveeru Daily on April 1.
Two days later, journalists and activists demonstrated against
media oppression and the recently passed law to criminalize
so-called defamation. Police used pepper spray to disperse
the protesters and arrested 17 journalists. Furthermore, police
repeatedly dispersed the opposition's Friday prayer gatherings
from mid-April onwards. This happened for example
on July 8, when police used pepper spray against opposition
members and detained two. On September 7, the media outlet
Maldives Independent showed Al Jazeera's documentary
''Stealing Paradise'', in which the government was accused
of large scale corruption. This triggered anti-government
protests in the capital Malé. Subsequently, police raided Maldives
Independent's media offices and detained three MDP
members of the party's national council. Ahmed Adeeb, for-