The Centre for Independent Journalism condemns the arrest tonight
of demonstrators at the anniversary of the free and fair elections
rally as well as a videographer from Malaysiakini.tv. We call for
their immediate and unconditional release and to respect their
fundamental right to gather and express themselves.

According to reports from news portals Malaysiakini.com and
thestar.com.my, on November 9, riot police moved in on a crowd of
300 people in Petaling Jaya where they had gathered to commemorate
the one year anniversary of the BERSIH rally. Police were reported
to have arrested about 24 people, including a Member of Parliament
Tony Pua, state assemblyman Lau Weng San, a local councillor Tiew
Way Keng and Malaysiakini.com video journalist Shukri Mohamad, who
was covering the event.

Reports from citizen contributors to blogs said a simultaneous
event held in Ipoh, three hours north of Kuala Lumpur, went on
smoothly drawing a crowd of 350 people. The event also marked the
release of blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin on Friday by the courts,
which found his arrest under the Internal Security Act,
unconstitutional.

Except for one, all were released by 7am the next day. CIJ calls on
the Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan to explain the
use of the riot police in controlling the crowd, which had planned
for a peaceful gathering and the failure to respect journalist on
duty. The continuous use of force against people expressing their
views on issues such as the need for free and fair elections and
abolishing the ISA is a demonstration of the intolerance for public
criticism of the status quo.

Issued by
V. Gayathry,
Executive Director, CIJ.