VIOLENCE.....Demonstrators
overturning the police car.
TWENTY cops were injured and
one police car overturned as police fired tear gas and aimed chemical-laced
water at thousands of Bersih 3.0 demonstrators in Kuala Lumpur Saturday.
The Bersih 3.0 protest which
had started at about 2pm on a peaceful note, ended ugly when demonstrators
broke through the barb wire and barricades at the Jalan Tuanku Abdul
Rahman/Jalan Raja junction to get to Dataran Merdeka at about 3pm.
That incident, which took
place just before de facto Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim spoke at
Masjid Jamek, sparked off the firing of water cannons and tear gas.
Tens of thousands of
demonstrators had earlier gathered at various spots of the city such as Jalan
Sultan, Jalan Petaling, Central Market, KLCC and Brickfields in a carnival-like
atmosphere to take part in the rally to fight for fair and clean elections.
Authorities insist the
elections will be free and fair, rejecting activists' claims that the Election
Commission is biased and that voter registration lists are tainted with
fraudulent names, AP reported.
Demonstrators wearing yellow
T-shirts, waving banners and chanting slogans poured into downtown Kuala
Lumpur, massing near Dataran Merdeka that police had sealed off with barbed
wire and barricades.
Authorities had obtained a
court order that made Dataran Merdeka and its surrounding roads off limits from
midnight Friday till May 1 and had offered Bersih organisers alternative
venues.
The demonstration remained
peaceful for several hours, prompting organising co-chairman Datuk Ambiga
Sreenevasan to declare it a success and ask people to head home. Some reports
suggested that the Bersih rally had been 'hijacked' by Opposition politicians
for their own ends.
Riot cops fired tear gas and
water cannons at several other places when the demonstrators refused to disperse.
Reports said three demonstrators were injured while about 60 were arrested.
Outside Sogo on Jalan Tuanku
Abdul Rahman, a police car allegedly knocked into two persons and furious
demonstrators overturned the vehicle.
Police said one protester snatched
a pistol from its personnel during the chaos, but the weapon was later
recovered.
Home Minister Hishammuddin
Hussein said 20 policemen and three demonstrators received treatment for
unspecified injuries. He insisted that police acted "with utmost restraint,"
but opposition leaders and rights groups said the use of tear gas was
unjustified, AP reported.
Such things did not happen in the KK Bersih Rally, why does it only happen in KL?
ReplyDeleteThe protester who snatched a pistol from the police is clearly in the wrong. If this is the sort of behavior happening in a rally, this is dangerous for all participants.
ReplyDeletePolis tidak juga boleh dipersalahkan dengan tindakan kasar mereka. Peserta Bersih bertindak ganas dan tidak mendengar arahan pihak polis.
ReplyDeletetidak mengendahkan amaran pihak berkuasa juga boleh dikategorikan sebagai mencabar atau melakukan provokasi terhadap pihak berkuasa..
Deleteinikah yang dikatakan perhimpunan aman? peserta bersih begitu ganas hingga menyerang polis yang tidak bersalah apa2.
ReplyDeleteTindakan peserta Bersih 3.0 di sekitar KL memang macam orang mabuk
ReplyDeletePolis sudah mengenalpasti mereka yang menimbulkan rusuhan
ReplyDeleteInikah perhimpunan yang kita inginkan.
ReplyDeletejika jumlahnya mencecah angka ratusan ribu, siapa la yang boleh kawal?? Ambiga?? anugerah tuhan??
ReplyDeletekerja Ambiga dan Pembangkang senang saja.. ajak rakyat berhimpun dan apa2 yang berlaku selepas itu, mereka lepas tangan saja.. yang penting jawatan kabinet sampai kepada mereka selepas PRU13..
ReplyDelete