chuliastreettulukan: NEW YORK TIMES ANWAR IBRAHIM ESCAPE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT 60,000-STRONG CROWD OR 6,000 TURNED UP.SEE FOR YOURSELF MY FOOT ACTED PROFESSIONALLY

By Liz Gooch, New York Times
Officials said they had arrested 672 people for “various offenses” by late morning as they closed off roads leading into the capital and some streets in the city in advance of the rally planned at Merdeka Stadium.

Demonstrators were seen scattering Saturday afternoon as police fired tear gas, and it was unknown whether the rally would be held.
Saturday’s confrontation between police and protesters culminated after weeks of growing tension as activists have called on Prime Minister Najib Razak to make election laws more transparent. National elections are expected to be held by the middle of 2012.
Saturday’s rally was organized by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, also known as Bersih, or “clean” in Malay. The coalition is made up of 62 nongovernmental organizations.
Speaking at a news conference on Saturday, Ambiga Sreenevasan, chairwoman of Bersih, said the arrests and firing of tear gas by police had stirred a sense of outrage among Malaysians.
Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy and democracy with regular national elections, but Bersih organizers say that elections are vulnerable to manipulation.
They have issued a list of eight demands, including marking voters with indelible ink to prevent them from voting more than once, purging electoral rolls of “phantom voters” and ensuring that opposition parties have equal access to the mainstream news media. The group is also calling for a royal commission to investigate how elections are conducted.
Last Saturday, the government declared Bersih illegal, because it had not registered as an organization and was causing unrest among the public. Bersih countered that it was not a new organization, but rather an alliance of existing groups.
Mr. Razak said the coalition could hold the rally if it agreed to meet in a stadium, rather than on the streets as first planned. Bersih organizers agreed to the terms, but the authorities said that Bersih cannot proceed without a police permit, which normally would not be granted to a group that has been declared illegal.
Bersih leaders responded by accusing the prime minister of having “reneged” on his offer to provide a stadium for their rally. Bersih leaders said they would go ahead with Saturday’s protest, despite not receiving permits from police.
In recent weeks, 225 people have been arrested in connection with the Bersih movement under various laws including the Sedition Act and Emergency Ordinance, which allows for detention without trial. On Thursday, the police said six people remained in custody. Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have condemned the recent arrests, and called on the government to stop harassing those associated with Bersih.
“The Malaysian government’s crackdown on an electoral reform group shows utter disregard both for free expression and for the democratic process,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
A street rally calling for similar changes in 2007, in which the police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters, was credited with helping the opposition make historic gains in the 2008 elections. The next election must be held by mid-2013, but there is speculation it could be held as early as this year.
Never in Islam’s history have the actions of so few of its followers caused the religion and its community of believers to be such an abomination in the eyes of others. Millions of Muslims who fled to North America and Europe to escape poverty and persecution at home have become the objects of hatred and are now profiled as potential terrorists. The nascent democratic movements in Muslim countries will regress for a few decades as ruling autocrats use their participation in the global war against terrorism to terrorize their critics and dissenters.
This is what Mohamed Atta and his fellow terrorists and sponsors have done to Islam and its community worldwide by their murder of innocents at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The attacks must be condemned, and the condemnation must be without reservation. The foremost religious authorities are outraged and have issued statements denouncing the monstrous murders. All efforts to punish the perpetrators must be supported.
One is therefore perturbed by the confusion among Muslims who responded to the attack with a misplaced diatribe against the U.S. In Malaysia, the government-controlled media have been deployed to stir up anti-American sentiments, while members of the political Elite use a different language for international diplomacy. Certainly there are legitimate grievances against the U.S. and good reason for despondency over the fate of the Palestinians, who now face an even more arrogant Israel. But this is not the time for sermonizing or moralizing over U.S. foreign policy. Had we Malaysians been the victims of such a tragedy, we would find such hectoring tasteless and repulsive.
One wonders how, in the 21st century, the Muslim world could have produced an Osama bin Laden. In the centuries when Islam forged civilizations, men of wealth created pious foundations supporting universities and hospitals, and princes competed with one another to patronize scientists, philosophers and men of letters. The greatest of scientists and philosophers of the medieval age, ibn Sina, was a product of that system. But bin Laden uses his personal fortune to sponsor terror and murder, not learning or creativity, and to wreak destruction rather than promote creation.
Bin Laden and his prot�g�s are the children of desperation; they come from countries where political struggle through peaceful means is futile. In many Muslim countries, political dissent is simply illegal. Yet, year by year, the size of the educated class and the number of young professionals continue to increase. These people need space to express their political and social concerns. But state control is total, leaving no room for civil society to grow.
The need for Muslim societies to address their internal social and political development has become more urgent than ever. Economic development alone is clearly insufficient: it creates its own tensions in the social and political spheres, which must be addressed. A proper orientation must be developed for Muslim engagement with the world at large. Participation in the global processes must not be the monopoly of the government.
It is the sense of alienation and the perception that the world is against them that nurture bitterness among those who resort to terrorism. Confusion and anger against the global order and its only superpower have been brought about by the failure of the Muslim world to address two crucial issues: Afghanistan’s descent into chaos and anarchy as a result of the Soviet invasion and the subsequent rise of the Taliban, and the suffering inflicted on the Muslim masses in Iraq by its dictator as well as by sanctions imposed on that long-suffering nation.
For ethical reasons, Muslims will support the global initiative against terrorism. But there is a growing perception that autocrats of all types will seize the opportunity to prop up their regimes and deal a severe blow to democratic movements. Russian President Vladimir Putin will use it to defend atrocities in Chechnya, Israel to defend its intransigence and Malaysia its detentions without trial.
Necessity will prompt the U.S. to seek the collaboration of the governments of Muslim countries. This is understandable. But they do not hold all the answers to terrorism. The growth of democracy, political participation and civil society is the final answer. By softening its endorsement of the struggle for democracy and the protection of human rights, the U.S. will inadvertently strengthen dictatorial regimes, thus replicating past associations with Marcos, Suharto and the Shah of Iran.
For more than 100 years, the Muslim world has had to grapple with the problem of modernity. Of greatest urgency is the effort to inculcate an intellectual and political orientation that promotes democracy and openness. Intellectuals and politicians must have the courage to condemn fanaticism in all its forms. But they must, in the same breath, equally condemn the tyrants and oppressive regimes that dash every hope of peaceful change.

60,000-STRONG CROWD OR 6,000 TURNED UP.SEE FOR YOURSELF MY FOOT ACTED PROFESSIONALLY

Posted by fawas on 09/07/2011 · Leave a Comment

While Bersih 2.0 declared its rally today was a success as it drew a 50,000-strong crowd, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said this evening that only 6,000 turned up.

Speaking at a press conference at the Bukit Aman police headquarters here, he also insisted that his men had acted professionally in keeping protestors at bay during the chaos that broke out in the capital city.

“If there are claims of abuse, lodge police reports,” Ismail(picture) said.

He said the protestors had mainly thronged Puduraya, Dataran Maybank and outside Stadium Merdeka, where Bersih 2.0 had wanted to hold its rally to call for free and fair elections.

Ismail said the police had done “very well” and that the roadblocks set up days before the rally had succeeded in keeping people away from the city.

Although he confirmed that protestors had dispersed at 5pm, he still could not confirm if roadblocks would be lifted by tonight, saying: “We’ll monitor the situation and see if the crowd comes back again.”

During the protest, a total of 1,401 people were detained, including 1,273 men, 115 women, 12 boys and one girl.

“All detainees were treated well… we gave them food,” Ismail said.

When pointed out, however, that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had been injured, the police chief said: “Anwar Ibrahim was not at Puduraya… he was not arrested.”

On reports that police were seen physically abusing protestors, Ismail said there were certain individuals who provoked the police.

He would not confirm if all those detained would be released within 24 hours, saying it would depend on investigations.

He added that those detained were hauled in for participating in an illegal rally, noting that the group had refused to hold the gathering outside the city, insisting instead on staging it at the historic stadium.

“Rallies are not part of our culture… let KL and other states be peaceful and harmonious,” he said.

Asked about PAS’s threat to organise another demonstration, Ismail said PAS has the right to say what it wants to say and he will launch arrests based on the law.