The Bar Council is alarmed at the disproportionate and heavy-handed approach adopted by the police, who purportedly began dispersing people as early as an hour before the start of the vigil. Needless physical force was allegedly used during the arrests, causing injuries to a number of participants. Such unprovoked intimidation and oppression is unjustifiable as the group was reportedly calm, did not pose any threat to public order and was merely exercising its democratic rights.
While the Bar Council disagrees with the laws curtailing the right to assemble and express dissent, we are concerned that the authorities seem to use these laws selectively to disperse and arrest demonstrators. Several demonstrations against the Pakatan Rakyat government's policies in Penang and Selangor have proceeded without much harassment nor arrests by the police.
This gives rise to the perception that police actions are not based on any objective criteria relating to preservation of public order. Such subjectivity breeds the notion that the authorities act in a biased, or even arbitrary, manner.
We call on the police to protect the rights of speech, expression and assembly of all those who legitimately engage in expressing dissent, fairly and without bias.
Paradise sTorM has two posts here and here that gives an account of what transpired at AmCorp Mall, Petaling Jaya on Sunday night.
2 comments:
Here is proof (video): Chief Police Officer lied. FRU charged during Negara Ku. Please tell the world
I've reached the stage where I don't need proof to know no one was lying - except those with reason to do so. And that is sad.
Our so-few freedoms are being culled, one at a time, and we appear to be at a place where we can do nothing about it. That's even sadder, don't you agree?
Pat
Post a Comment