The Malaysian Insider
KUALA
LUMPUR, Oct 10 – Riot police fired tear gas at protesters trapped in a
narrow road here during the April 28 Bersih rally, a Bar Council
observer told the Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) inquiry today into
official violence at the electoral reforms rally.
Senior
lawyer Christopher Leong’s testimony at the SUHAKAM inquiry is the
latest in a series of eyewitness accounts of what appeared to be
high-handed and frequently violent and aggressive action taken by police
to break up the rally attended by thousands of Malaysians.
Leong was observing the protest on April 28 for the Bar Council.
He
testified today that the police fired rounds of tear gas even though it
was clear protesters could not disperse from Jalan Melayu, a narrow
road near the Masjid Jamek LRT station.
Leong
said the protesters could not move away as ordered by the police
earlier because another group of demonstrators had approached the area
from behind them.
“I
saw the police approaching the protesters and firing tear gas right in
the middle of the crowd. At the time, I was standing in the middle.
“We couldn’t leave. We couldn’t move at all. It was impossible to back away.”
Bersih
has repeatedly argued that police had fired tear gas with the intention
of harming participants of the April 28 rally for free and fair
elections here, and used excessive force to make arbitrary arrests.
The
electoral reforms group had previously submitted a report to SUHAKAM to
back its claims with video and other documentary evidence.
Bersih
had added that the police used indiscriminate, disproportionate,
unjustified and excessive use of force against participants who largely
did not display any act of provocation or misbehaviour.
The Bersih report added that participants who were having meals at restaurants were also arrested or assaulted.
Thousands of Malaysians gathered in the city on April 28 to mount a protest demanding free and fair elections.
The
demonstration turned chaotic after police fired tear gas and protesters
were unable to disperse because of the huge crowds choking the narrow
streets.
The
current inquiry is headed by Suhakam vice-chairman Datuk Dr Khaw Lake
Tee and aided by commissioners Professor Datuk Dr Mahmood Zuhdi Abdul
Majid and Detta Samen.
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