Suaram believes that children also have the right to assemble peacefully and it is therefore concerned about the announcement that police will go after participants of last Saturday's rally for flouting the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (PAA).
The human rights NGO was responding to Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zainuddin Ahmad's announcement that police are investigating rally participants who, among others, brought young children to the Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat (People's Uprising Rally) at Stadium Merdeka.
Suaram's Right to Justice coordinator R Thevarajan said while the NGO commended the restraint and professionalism shown by the police on that day, it "condemns the apprehension of participants" after the rally, dubbed KL112.
"Credit and compliments received by the police during KL112 quickly lost colour as the police announced that they will investigate participants for alleged violations of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.
"Suaram is concerned about the investigation and states that children shall not be discriminated and shall be allowed to freely exercise their legitimate right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association without undue restrictions," Thevarajan said in a statement.
The human rights NGO was responding to Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zainuddin Ahmad's announcement that police are investigating rally participants who, among others, brought young children to the Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat (People's Uprising Rally) at Stadium Merdeka.
Suaram's Right to Justice coordinator R Thevarajan said while the NGO commended the restraint and professionalism shown by the police on that day, it "condemns the apprehension of participants" after the rally, dubbed KL112. "Credit and compliments received by the police during KL112 quickly lost colour as the police announced that they will investigate participants for alleged violations of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.
"Suaram is concerned about the investigation and states that children shall not be discriminated and shall be allowed to freely exercise their legitimate right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association without undue restrictions," Thevarajan said in a statement.
PAA contradicts UN convention
He said this was in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Malaysia has been a state party since January 1995.
"The Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 clearly contradicts this UN convention and other international human rights instruments and is, and still is, the stumbling block to the legitimate exercise of fundamental rights of the people."
As such, Thevarajan said, Malaysia would continue to experience a "flip-flop endowment of freedom" at the expense of the people, whenever it suits the political climate and therefore, Suaram wants the police to "liberate themselves from political instructions".
Police on Sunday announced that a probe has been launched into allegations that rally organisers had violated three of the 27 conditions they had agreed to comply with.
Zainuddin said the violations were bringing children under 15 to the rally; carrying placards, posters and banners with words of a seditious nature and allowing the number of participants to exceed the agreed 30,000.
"The Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 clearly contradicts this UN convention and other international human rights instruments and is, and still is, the stumbling block to the legitimate exercise of fundamental rights of the people."
As such, Thevarajan said, Malaysia would continue to experience a "flip-flop endowment of freedom" at the expense of the people, whenever it suits the political climate and therefore, Suaram wants the police to "liberate themselves from political instructions".
Police on Sunday announced that a probe has been launched into allegations that rally organisers had violated three of the 27 conditions they had agreed to comply with.
Zainuddin said the violations were bringing children under 15 to the rally; carrying placards, posters and banners with words of a seditious nature and allowing the number of participants to exceed the agreed 30,000.
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