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Thursday, 7 July 2011

Bersih 2.0: Checkmate?

This is something I wrote for Asia Times:

An air of nervousness has hung over Malaysia in sight of a potential confrontation between civil society organizers and pro-government opponents. A ”walk for democracy” planned for July 9 by a coalition of civil society groups known as Bersih 2.0 to campaign for clean and fair elections sparked a government crackdown reminiscent of the country’s old authoritarian ways.
 
Authorities pre-emptively declared the event illegal and have arrested as many as 200 Bersih supporters, many for simply wearing the coalition’s trademark yellow t-shirts. Police have questioned people speaking in public or distributing leaflets about the planned rally. They also turned up in numbers to thwart a nationwide Bersih roadshow to promote the event, which aims to attract hundreds of thousands of demonstrators. Full article on Asia Times website.

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