Police seize July 9 rally T-shirts

by **hlk** Wed 29 Jun 2011, 18:56

KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor police seized hundreds of T-shirts believed to be for the July 9 illegal Bersih rally when it raided a house near the Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya on Wednesday, June 29.

Selangor police chief Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah, when contacted by Bernama said the T-shirts sported a logo believed to be related to the rally.

The raid was conducted at about 11 am by about 10 policemen led by Selangor CID chief SAC Mohd Adnan Abdullah. Tun Hisan said the case would be investigated under Section 50 (3) of the Societies Act

Meanwhile, Amnesty International Malaysia (AIM) said that freedom of assembly, association and expression were fundamental strands to democracy and any nation who claims to be democratic must guarantee the exercise of these human rights.

In its statement posted on the Bersih website, AIM hoped the government and relevant law enforcement authorities would recognise, respect and uphold their duties and obligations to the rakyat.

In 2007, 245 people were arrested during the Bersih rally. AIM hoped the nation will not encounter a repetition of such arbitrary mass arrests again.

“Article 10 of the Federal Constitution states that all citizens have the right to freedom of speech and expression, to assemble peaceably and without arms, and right to form an associations. Article 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights further upheld the rights to freedom of opinion and expressions, and peaceful assembly and association. These rights should be held paramount by States and laws aims to regulate these freedoms should not result in the banning and restriction of the rights,” it said.

AIM said the government and enforcement authorities had voiced their disagreements over the rally.

“AIM appeals to them especially the police to create a safe and conducive environment for Malaysians to express their views and to play a leading role in facilitating a peaceful assembly. Force should not be used especially when policing non-violent assembly such as Bersih,” it said.