BERSIH 3.0: Hanif admits police were unprofessional but blames LOW-RANKING cops

PUTRAJAYA - Low-ranking policemen were seen manhandling protesters during Bersih 3.0 and had to be ordered to stop, Bersih independent advisory panel chairman Tun Hanif Omar said today.

He said Kuala Lumpur Chief Police Officer Datuk Mohmad Salleh, who was observing through monitors in the Bukit Aman control centre, saw police handling the protesters in an unprofessional manner.

"These certain police officers did not handle the protesters in a professional way, and [Mohmad] had to order his officers on the ground to stop them from acting in that manner," he said.

Speaking to reporters after a panel meeting, Hanif, who is former inspector-general of police, added that the panel saw police personnel giving protesters "uncalled-for slaps" through video documentation.

"Two officers have already been charged in court.

"The police have also said that for non-definitive complaints – when there is no specific complainant – they will take disciplinary action against the policemen themselves.

"The manner in which the police officers acted was unprofessional," he said.

Not taught how to handle the crowds & media?

More than 80,000 protesters who had taken to the streets on April 28 in support of clean and fair elections had faced tear gas and water cannons fired at them after the barricades around Dataran Merdeka were breached by a small group.

The government-appointed panel was formed on May 2 to investigate allegations of police brutality against protesters and media personnel during the rally, where 24 people, including media personnel, were badly injured.

Hanif said the police officers on duty had not been given specific instructions on how to deal with the media.

"There were no specific instructions given to them, but we are currently trying to get the police to declare whether they received the three United Nations guidelines on treatment of the media and handling of crowds, among others," he said.

Tampered with communications

On the claim that police could have used advanced systems or military intelligence to tamper with communication signals, Hanif said the police too had experienced communication breakdown from around 3pm onwards.

Hanif also said he would personally write to the Bar Council and the Bersih 2.0 steering committee asking them to meet the panel. Both parties, who had objected to Hanif's appointment as chairman of the panel, have yet to respond to the secretariat's invitation to meet.

Meanwhile, Hanif clarified that riot police had been equipped with batons while on duty during Bersih 3.0, but had been given strict orders not to use them to physically harm people.

"The batons were used to beat the marching cadence, and never for a baton charge," he said, correcting his earlier statement in theSun that riot police were not equipped with batons, but only with tear gas guns or grenades.

The Sundaily