KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has found the police guilty of using “disproportionate force” against participants at the Bersih 3.0 rally last year.
In its report titled “Suhakam public inquiry into the incidents during and after the public assembly of April 28, 2012”, inquiry chairperson Datuk Dr Khaw Lake Tee said the panel found that most of the participants were “assaulted” by the police.
“The panel also found that most of the participants were assaulted along the way to the holding area at Dataran Merdeka or specifically, near the Royal Selangor Club, even though there was no evidence that they were resisting arrest or behaving aggressively.
“The panel found it particularly disturbing that some of them were assaulted not by police personnel effecting the arrest but by other police personnel who happened to be stationed along the way to the holding area,” she said.
Khaw said the police had acted in groups and those arrested were kicked, punched and choked.
“The panel observed that those arrested and held at the holding area at Dataran Merdeka were not given any water and were barred from using their mobile phones,” she said.
Khaw said the panel also found that most of those arrested were not informed of the grounds of their arrest.
She said the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) had given the warning bell to the participants to disperse only before the first water cannon and tear gas were shot but none thereafter.
“The panel found that the first warning given by the FRU could not be heard by the participants. According to ACP Jamaludin, the warning and command given by the FRU were via a loud speaker and sound commanders; yet it could not be heard by all the participants,” Khaw added.
“Contrary to popular belief, we found that the ringing of the bells by the FRU did not serve as a warning to the participants; rather it was a signal for the FRU personnel to be on standby before firing the water cannon and tear gas.”
She said the police had fired chemical-laced water and 58 tear gas hand grenades.
According to the report, the closure of several LRT stations, including those in Masjid Jamek, Dang Wangi, Pasar Seni, Plaza Rakyat, Bandaraya and Sultan Ismail, from 3pm to 5.30pm had made it difficult for the participants to disperse peacefully.
The panel did not deny the possibility of agent provocateurs being present during the rally but were not able to verify the allegations.
Suhakam commissioner Datuk Detta Samen said the panel’s findings also showed that the police had acted in “bad faith” in trying to prevent media personnel from reporting and taking photos at the rally.
“These attempts at preventing the media from discharging their role and responsibilities are indeed regrettable and are clearly a breach of the fundamental right of expression and freedom of media,” he said.
The inquiry, which had 49 witnesses, began on July 5, 2012 and concluded on Jan 10 this year. The witnesses comprised members of the public, media personnel, police officers and experts.
The panel admitted that the police did not have time to “fully observe” the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 as the law had only come into effect five days before the Bersih 3.0 rally.
The panel also criticised the language used by the organisers in their guidelines for Bersih 3.0, saying that it could have encouraged participants to break the law.
The panel made 25 recommendations in the report which included the need for police to distinguish between a peaceful assembly and a riot.
It also called on the police to amend their standard operating procedure (SOP)/standing orders in the dispersal of assemblies in line with international human rights standards.
In its recommendations, the panel also stressed that police officers should wear their permanent name tags when exercising their duties while plainclothes officers should not be involved in the dispersal of crowds.
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 18, 2013.