Pakatan: Cops fired tear gas directly at crowd
Pakatan Rakyat has condemned the violent crackdown on the Bersih 2.0 rally which saw scores of people injured, including lawmakers such as Anwar Ibrahim.
Pakatan Rakyat has condemned the violent crackdown on the Bersih 2.0 rally which saw scores of people injured, including lawmakers such as Anwar Ibrahim.
He suffered a bruise on his head and a cut on his leg after police fired tear gas on protesters at KL Sentral.
Another casualty was Shah Alam PAS MP Khalid Samad, who was injured when a tear gas canister, seen directed to the back of his head, hit him.
PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar said the police had repeatedly fired directly at the crowd, resulting in numerous injuries.
"One of Anwar's bodyguards has a four-inch gash wound on the cheekbone and my father (right) , the opposition leader, is injured.
"My younger sister Nurul Iman was also picked up and placed in a FRU truck," she said.
According to Anwar's aide Eekmal Ahmad, the bodyguard Fayat Albakri suffered serious facial injuries.
Eekmal said Anwar is still at the emergency ward of the Pantai Hospital where he is undergoing some tests.
"The doctors will monitor him for the next six hours," said Eekmal.
Describing the police action on opposition politicians and Bersih supporters as cruel, Nurul Izzah implored Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, the prime minister and the police to stop all the nonsense and put an end to the violence.
"The police were not firing the tear gas up in the air but were targetting at opposition lawmakers resulting in the injury.
"They were targetting the tear gas at Anwar's head," she said.
Anwar was brought to the Pantai Hospital in an ambulance along with his bodyguard, an aide told
AFP
.
Selangor state exco Dr Xavier Jayakumar said he and other Pakatan leaders together with hundreds of protesters were gathered at the train station when police fired tear gas.
"There was panic... Anwar fell down and hit his head against the concrete pavement," Jayakumar said at the hospital.
"People also stepped on his leg. He sustained a bruise to his head and a cut on his left leg," he was quoted as saying.
"Anwar is very shaken up because of the fall and because of the gas."
Jayakumar said Anwar was "OK" although doctors want him to stay overnight so that they can monitor his condition.
According to the news agency, the injured bodyguard however had to undergo minor surgery after he was hit in the left eye by a tear gas canister, another Anwar supported said.
'We are not criminals'
Nurul Izzah also condemned the arrest of Bersih 2.0 steering committee chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan.
Nurul Izzah, who is also Lembah Pantai MP, said they were merely walking peacefully but were fired upon with gas.
"I want the media to report these high-handed tactics employed by the police and the Umno regime," she said.
"This shows that in this country there is no difference if you are a rakyat or a opposition leader, the police and the Umno government have stooped so low as to allow such brutality," she said.
She said although she knows the police were under orders, they should also pay attention to the rakyat’s feelings.
"We are not criminals, we are only asking for clean and fair elections," she said.
Nurul Izzah (right) described the police force as contributory to the degree of lawlessness in the country.
“We must bring back the reform agenda and bring reforms in the country,” she said.
“I want to remind the PM and the home minister that we want the government to implement free and fair elections. For God’s sake look within your conscience and do the right thing. Get this message out to the world and the media - a lot of opposition politicians are hurt and Bersih members like Maria Chin Abdullah are also injured,” she said.
Nurul Izzah said Bersih and the opposition politicians will not stop until this is achieved.
24-hour ultimatum
Meanwhile, PAS deputy secretary-general Syed Azman Syed Nawawi issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the the police to immediately release its president Abdul Hadi Awang.
"If not, one million PAS members will gather at Bukit Aman," he warned.
“We also demand the release of (Bersih 2.0 chairperson) Ambiga Sreenevasan and other detainees,” he said.
Syed Azman deplored the high-handed tactics employed by the police in injuring the Pakatan leaders and Bersih 2.0 leaders.
Kuala Selangor MP Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said today’s events showed that whatever integrity that the police had was in shambles over the way they uphold the law.
“The peaceful assembly ended with violence by police, despite that what is brought by Bersih 2.0 is for all the rakyat and is wise to be implemented before the general election,” he said.
“This is the demand of the citizens and not only the opposition, not just the NGOs but the whole rakyat. I have been swarmed with calls and smses voicing support for electoral reforms,” Dzulkefly said.
“I ask that this move does not end here with this gathering but to see out the main objective of seeking electoral reforms so that it becomes just and be on a level playing field,” he said.
PKR vice-president N Surendran described the police’s high-handed action today as a new low for the force.
“There was no dispersal order given. The people were peaceful, they were walking through a tunnel. They were well aware it was a tunnel and there was no way to disperse. This is an attempt to kill, aim or injure those who are targetted,” he said.
“They fired (the tear gas) from both sides and it was thick in gas. Can they do that? This is not proper law enforcement but a criminal act committed by the police under the direction of the home minister,” he said.
“This is an attempt to assault and seriously injure members of the opposition, and this is the most shocking thing I have seen,” he said.
As it is, traffic around KL Sentral is at a near standstill, he added.
The Pakatan leaders left the Hilton Hotel at 4.50pm.
