Sweeping statement about Italian police
I beg to differ with the prime minister for the fact that I was in Rome at the height of their elections campaign recently and had the opportunity to witness an opposition rally that was handled with the highest professional standards by the Italian police.
The rally was of a sizeable nature held by the Italian opposition party near the famous Roman City Hall as part of their election campaign. Participants at the rally, too, shouted slogans, sang partisan songs, chanted loudly and indeed created quite a racket in the heart of the city.
The police were present in full force in their riot control gear but remained at a distant so as not to provoke the participants of the assembly. Traffic police were also at hand, as a matter of fact closing the whole street for the opposition to rally so as not to disrupt the traffic flow.
I could not help but admire how professional the Italian police were and videotaped everything with the hope that someday I might be able to show to our Royal Malaysian Police how peaceful assemblies can and do work without the use of excessive force.
On the other hand, I had also witnessed a riot in London on Labour day (May 1) this year where police had to close the Oxford Circus Subway station and use some element of force to quell the unruly crowd.
But it is erroneous and extremely unfair to compare such violent rallies including the so-called anti-globalisation demonstrations with the peaceful reformasi crowd that we have back home. A handful of protestors in Europe and Seattle are bent on making their presence felt through violence and large-scale vandalism.
As for our honourable prime minister, to avoid creating a diplomatic row with a friendly European nation that we have strong trade ties with, I think its better not to say such things as, I quote, "the Italian police not only fired shots at demonstrators but even ran their vehicle over a dead demonstrator".
