Bersih condemns violence, wants investigation

Tarani Palani | April 28, 2012
They want the police to investigate the few protesters who breached the barriers around Dataran Merdeka.
KUALA LUMPUR: Bersih has declared the rally a success but regrets the violent turn of events.
Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga said that 250 000 people turned up for the rally and that it was a “success”.
However, she added that the police must investigate the actions of a few protesters who breached the barriers which cordoned off Dataran Merdeka.
Later, speaking to FMT, Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah said the movement achieved in getting the numbers that it was aiming for.
“We don’t support the violence that happened…we have no idea who they are and the police should investigate the matter,” she said.
The rally began peacefully with thousands gathered in the city hours before the scheduled sit-in protest.
People were allowed to gather and chant slogans with minimal disturbance from the authorities. There was fairly little disturbance even when the protesters began to make their way to Dataran Merdeka around 2pm.
Speaking to the crowd then, Ambiga hailed the rally as a success and asked the crowd to disperse after 20 minutes because the point had been made to the authorities.
However the crowd insisted on marching forward and some broke the barriers which cordoned off Dataran. The police then fired tear-gas and water cannons at the protesters.
Four hours after the rally, some protesters are still refusing to disperse.

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