Provocation, Police, Peace
A great day…. :)
Much has been written and reported – a wonderful explosion online. Li Tsin wrote a great blow by blow account of our small adventures :)
Just a few thoughts on my side.
Starting with the Masjid Jamek violence. As usual, nervous and trigger happy police fired upon a perfectly peaceful crowd.
I heard Irene Fernandez was out there in Masjid Jamek going up against the rows of armoured FRU police in a wheelchair – go people power!
It’s shameful and deeply distressing, that the police resorted to violence here.
But on that day itself, there was the perfect opportunity to observe and contrast what happens when the police don’t interfere with a peaceful rally: peace.
Not a single untoward incident. 50-100k people spread throughout the city, and not a SINGLE untoward incident.
It was brutally unwise of the police to open fire on the Masjid Jamek crowd, but all the other commanders appear not to have repeated this mistake – credit where credit is due.
I’ve said it time and again, only police provocation can create trouble. Otherwise, peace is invariably the order of the day. Now, the proof is there for all to see.
I’m not sure why exactly, the police eventually turned over a new leaf and decided not to act funny.
Was the negative news from Masjid Jamek (well done Al-Jazeera for timeliness) enough to cower the government into submission?
Or, as someone suggested, was it just because the crowd vastly outnumbered the police? :)
I think Sheih was also theorising about the relative immobility of water cannons as compared to the rakyat, haha :)
Either way, and for whatever reason, everything post-Masjid Jamek was professional, and the police would do well to learn from the experience.
I’m truly heartened that so many came willing to be arrested, and that so few actually were (all released, as far as I am aware).
We stopped by the Hang Tuah police headquarters to check in on the guys, and it was also heartening to see all those who showed up in support and solidarity.
And now, we deal with the spin :P :)
Much to come – anyone got a copy of Zam yelling at Al-Jazeera saying that they were helping the opposition? I think the Al-J newscaster almost snorted in laughter :)
Berita harian, page 4 2ng paragraph allege that demonstrators pushed the fru boys.
I was there but i didn’t see any pushing. The unit amal boys did their best to keep order. Kudos to them!
Zam yelling at Al-Jazeera has been put on youtube : P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1_GQ-K7P_w
Big credit is due to the PAS Amal Unit folks. I have never expected such a well-run, organised demonstration. And all of this is due to their doing a great job. Let me explain.
They formed a human chain by holding hands at the front line, separating the crowd from the standing FRU personnel. You have to call them brave, because they would be the first to suffer if tear gas and chemical-laced water comes the way of the demonstrators.
When it’s time to disperse, they slowly moved backward, along the way asking to leave. I think they wanted to make sure no demostrator is in any direct contact with the FRU in case any untowards happen.
The best part is, I saw a few Amal guys holding big plastic bags, picking up trash from the ground (helping DBKL indirectly???). They made sure nothing unsightly left behind only to be twisted by the BN-media. Kudos!
What more can we say! It’’s certainly far far from the calling of troublemaking protests.
Thumbs up for Unit Amal as well. Helping to direct traffic and protecting us.
How do you that was Zam?. It could be an imposter. Al JAzeera probably recreated the scene with the help of the opposition to attract viewers. Pls don’t pass judgment until the three member verify the authencity of the tape. Meanwhile, the person who spoke on the otherside please come and testify .
Will the three panel members also look into this?
Wink wink!
Well, Zam didn’t come out to openly deny it was him so…
wink wink!
Lakasarian // Nov 12, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Well, Zam didn’t come out to openly deny it was him so…
wink wink!
_____________________–
Still? we can’t simply give away awards like the village idiot or more aptly the country idiot just like that without verification. This can’t be board but must be earned ok??
wink wink!
typo – not board but bought
suhakam says the police did not use violence, they did not even use their batons. They should tell that to the unit amal boys.
Malaysian ministers should take note on what democarcy is all about from our serumpun neighbour, Indonesia.
Please go to this link to see what President SBY has to say about democracy, need I say more?
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071112120233&irec=4
Thanks for your interesting account of the Bersih rally.
I am compiling a list of detail commentaries so that people who are searching for them can easily find them. I hope you don’t mind if I use a quote from your blog for this list.
The compilation of the BERSIH blogs can be found here: http://mfabm.blogspot.com