PUTRAJAYA, May 28 — Putrajaya’s Bersih investigative panel has finally
released its long-awaited terms of reference, which specifically focuses
on the professional conduct of the police during last month’s rally for
free and fair elections.
Tun Hanif Omar was named recently as the head of a six-man
independent panel to investigate allegations of police violence against
journalists and other participants of last month’s Bersih 3.0 rally.
Besides the former inspector-general of police, the other members of
the panel are former Chief Judge of Borneo Tan Sri Steve Shim; Sinar
Harian managing director Datuk Hussamuddin Yaacub; legal adviser to
Media Chinese International Liew Peng Chuan; Petronas corporate affairs
senior general manager Datuk Medan Abdullah; and Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia psychology Prof Dr Rozmi Ismail.
The 10-point terms of reference (TOR) will seek to establish the
cause behind the “disorder” that occurred around Dataran Merdeka on
April 28 when Bersih supporters breached a police barrier, which then
led to authorities shooting tear gas canisters and water cannons at
people.
The Bersih panel said it will seek to establish whether there was
“random, widespread and wanton physical assault and brutality by the
police on members of the public and media professionals.”
It will also determine whether there was unlawful confiscation and
destruction of photographs and video recordings belonging to the public
and media professionals, as well as whether the police had “unlawfully”
arrest and/or assaulted people who were under custody.
The panel will also “review police standard operating procedures in
respect of crowd and assembly control... against best practices
recommended by the United Nations and/or mature democratic societies”
and will make appropriate recommendations “if necessary.”
It added that it will probe the steps taken by Bersih organisers to
disperse its supporters and to determine whether these had been
appropriate.
The first panel session was chaired last Friday and was attended by three of the panellists — Hussamuddin, Liew, and Rozmi.
The April 28 rally that saw tens of thousands gather at six different
locations before heading to Dataran Merdeka was peaceful until about
2.30pm when Bersih co-chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan asked the crowd
to disperse.
But her announcement was not heard by most of the crowd who persisted
to linger around the historic square, which the courts had already
barred to the public over the weekend.
Just before 3pm, some protesters breached the barricade surrounding
the landmark, leading police to disperse the crowd with tear gas and
water cannons.
Police then continued to pursue rally-goers down several streets amid
chaotic scenes that saw violence from both sides over the next four
hours.
Several dozen demonstrators have alleged that they were assaulted by
groups of over 10 policemen at a time and visual evidence appears to
back their claim, but police also point to violence from rally-goers who
also attacked a police car.
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