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2012 ELECTIONS:
Aborigines ask for genuine autonomy, partnership accord
By Loa Iok-sin / Staff Reporter
The Indigenous Peoples’ Action Coalition of Taiwan yesterday delivered petitions
to the three presidential candidates, asking them to sign a new partnership
agreement with the nation’s Aborigines and to grant them genuine autonomy.
“We regret that the three presidential candidates did not mention anything about
their Aboriginal policies during their debate,” said Omi Wilang, the convener of
the alliance.
He was referring to the first televised debate between the presidential
candidates — President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT),
Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and People First
Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) — which took place on Saturday.
“If, after two changes of power, presidential candidates still do not mention
their Aboriginal policies, we suspect that mainstream politicians have a
colonial mentality when facing the nation’s Aborigines,” he said at a press
conference in Taipei.
In the petition that Omi delivered in person to each candidate’s headquarters
after the press conference, the coalition asked the three presidential
candidates to reaffirm the New Partnership Agreement that former president Chen
Shui-bian (陳水扁) signed with the nation’s Aborigines in 2002, which considers the
nation’s Aboriginal tribes as quasi-nations in their dealings with the Republic
of China government.
It also calls on the candidates to recognize the UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, to apologize to Aborigines on behalf of the state once
elected, to implement the Aboriginal Basic Act (原住民族基本法), to adopt an Aboriginal
autonomy act and to abandon their colonial-like patronizing mentality when
implementing Aboriginal policies and replace it with true respect for
Aborigines.
Omi said the coalition would welcome all three candidates declaring their
attitude toward the petition on Wednesday when representatives from the nation’s
Aboriginal tribes will present their appeals to the candidates.
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