The Suhakam panel questions the necessity for police assault and abuse against rally-goers and media personnel.
KUALA LUMPUR: Police used disproportionate force against participants and media personnel during the April 28, 2012 Bersih rally, the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) concluded today.
In announcing the findings of their months-long public inquiry, the three-member panel told reporters that the police appeared to be driven more by “anger, frustration and the need to inflict punishment than by duty” on the day of the rally.
They noted how the Bersih 3.0 rally turned violent at about 3pm, which coincided with the dismantling of the barricades installed at the intersection of Jalan Raja and Jalan Parlimen.
“The panel is of the opinion that the police could and should have immediately arrested the individuals who dismantled the barricades, more so when it happened right in front of the police or within sight of the police.
“Instead, for reasons best known to them, the police took the decision to disperse the participants by using water cannon and tear gas without arresting the individuals who dismantled the barricades,” the report reads.
While the panel stopped short of blaming the police for what transpired next, they said that the repeated shots of tear gas and size of the crowd made it impossible for the participants to disperse in an “orderly, safe and time manner”.
The panel said they also found it “disturbing” that rallygoers were assaulted not by the police personnel carrying out the the arrest, but by other police personnel.
“The panel questions the necessity for such assaults and abuse when there was no evidence of any resistance or violence on the part of those arrested,” said panel chairperson Khaw Lake Tee.
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