More than 1,400 people were arrested by the police in today’s Bersih 2.0 rally which was organized to push for electoral reforms in Malaysia. Police used teargas to disperse a crowd which reached up to 50,000 according to the organizers. Bersih means clean in the local language.
Bersih was earlier declared illegal by the government but it was later given an approval to hold the event inside a stadium. But the venue administrator refused to issue a permit for the event. The original plan of Bersih was to submit its 8 demands to the government.
The Steering Committee of the Bersih 2.0 or the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections issued this statement tonight
Bersih 2.0 is proud that in spite of all the obstacles and hindrances that we were forced to face, Malaysians of all walks of life overcame the oppressive acts of the police to come out peacefully and in incredibly large numbers to show their love for their country and for the principles of justice.
We are nonetheless horrified that several hundred people have been detained, many of them without any justification whatsoever.
Today’s gathering is not the end, it is but one more step in the long walk for clean and fair elections in Malaysia. The campaign continues, to work for electoral reform, the release of all detainees, and an end to harassment by the authorities.
The Bersih rally was the main topic in Malaysia’s social media networks, particularly twitter and facebook. There were many hashtags used by twitter users but #bersihstories seems to be the preferred and most popular hashtag used today to document the participation and observations of Bersih rallyists.
The Bersih website offers a timeline of events that transpired today. Pictures of the rally are available onPicasaweband Facebook. A youtube video by Malaysiakini shows how a Bersih participant was beatenby the police
Bersih was earlier declared illegal by the government but it was later given an approval to hold the event inside a stadium. But the venue administrator refused to issue a permit for the event. The original plan of Bersih was to submit its 8 demands to the government.
The Steering Committee of the Bersih 2.0 or the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections issued this statement tonight
Bersih 2.0 is proud that in spite of all the obstacles and hindrances that we were forced to face, Malaysians of all walks of life overcame the oppressive acts of the police to come out peacefully and in incredibly large numbers to show their love for their country and for the principles of justice.
Today’s gathering is not the end, it is but one more step in the long walk for clean and fair elections in Malaysia. The campaign continues, to work for electoral reform, the release of all detainees, and an end to harassment by the authorities.
The Bersih rally was the main topic in Malaysia’s social media networks, particularly twitter and facebook. There were many hashtags used by twitter users but #bersihstories seems to be the preferred and most popular hashtag used today to document the participation and observations of Bersih rallyists.
The Bersih website offers a timeline of events that transpired today. Pictures of the rally are available onPicasaweband Facebook. A youtube video by Malaysiakini shows how a Bersih participant was beatenby the police
