Anti-ISA Gathering Blocked Gun-toting police personnel block road to exhibition centre By our correspondent
Sunday morning, 14 April 2002
Six ISA detainees who have now been detained for more than a year under the ISA launched a hunger strike on 10 April 2002. The Family Support Group of the GMI (Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA or Abolish ISA Movement) decided to hold a small exhibition at the Markaz PAS in Kg Pasir, just opposite the Kamunting Detention Camp on Sunday 14 April 2002 to provide moral support for the family members who would be visiting the camp on that day. Members of political parties and NGOs as well as the general public were invited to attend this exhibition.
The powers-that-be had other ideas. They decided that this small gathering to show solidarity with the families of those detained should be disrupted and to do this they misused the police, the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) as well as the police field force to frighten the public away in an ugly and threatening show of strength. The result: Out of the estimated 200 or so individuals who turned up in Kamunting that morning intending to go to the Markaz in Kg Pasir, only 25 succeeded. The government had once again disrupted an anti-ISA gathering in Kamunting.
Dr Jeyakumar lodged a police report, a translation of which is reproduced below together with photographs that were taken by the GMI Perak team.
My friends and I came to Kamunting at about 10.30 am today to visit the exhibition organised by the families of the ISA detainees in Markaz PAS Kg Pasir. We were stopped at a police road block on Jln Selama, the road leading to the Kamunting Detention Camp.
We parked our cars and approached the officer manning the road block, Chief Inspector Zulkifli. He said that he could not allow any cars through except for those bringing the family members of the ISA detainees to Kamunting Detention Camp for their weekly visit. We said that we only wanted to go to the Markaz PAS, but he said that he had his orders and that he could not allow our cars through.
While this discussion was taking place several plain-clothes policemen were taking photographs and recording videos of all the members of our group.
We then informed Chief Inspector Zukifli that we would walk to the Markaz. There were small groups of policemen along the route, and just beside the entrance of the road leading to the Markaz was another police roadblock. Three large “Black Marias” were parked at the adjacent open space.
Halfway down the side road leading to the Markaz we were stopped by a group of field force personnel who were armed with M-16 rifles. However they let us through when we continued walking.
We were in the Markaz PAS from 11.20 am to 2.20 pm. Every 15 minutes a police vehicle would come by the Markaz. About five of the M16-toting field force personnel moved to the compound of a house in front of the Markaz, while several special branch officers with cameras and video recorders hung around in the compound of an adjacent house.
The actions of the police in Kamunting today have obstructed and denied the right of Malaysian citizens to freedom of movement and association as enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution. I am sad and disappointed that the police have allowed themselves to be manipulated to act in such a threatening manner and frighten ordinary Malaysians, and further restrict our democratic rights.
I want the police to investigate this report and take appropriate action.”
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