KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — The arrests of Bersih 2.0 leaders and activists ahead of yesterday’s rally belied the fact that the rival “Red Shirts” were the group that issued warnings of violence, Lim Guan Eng said today.
The DAP secretary-general noted that yesterday’s Bersih 5 rally took place peacefully to highlight the incongruity of the police’s decision to arrest over a dozen individuals including Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah using various security laws.
“DAP questions why Bersih and opposition leaders were arrested at all when we preached peaceful gatherings not violence.
“In fact why were fewer leaders of Umno’s Red Shirts arrested when they had threatened violence and even bloodshed?” Lim said in a statement today.
Lim then urged authorities to release the activists and opposition leaders who were arrested as part of a dragnet before the rally.
Police detained 15 people on Friday night and early Saturday morning for their roles in both rallies. Aside from Sungai Besar Umno division chief Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos who leads the “Red Shirts” movement, the rest were aligned to Bersih 2.0.
Maria was also detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act, a security law used for terrorism.
More than 10,000 people took to the streets of the capital city yesterday at the fifth edition of polls reform group Bersih 2.0’s demonstrations to protest against corruption.
A smaller number of the “Red Shirts” also rallied without major incident aside from sporadic arrests by police.
