The police have advised the public to stay away from Kuala Lumpur come July 9.
On that Saturday, KL will see action from three separate demonstrations, with the biggest one expected to be by the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) calling for electoral reforms.Umno Youth and Malay rights NGO Perkasa have also voiced their intentions to organise separate counter-rallies in response to Bersih.
Although these are still more than a week away, it appears that the police are cracking down on Bersih supporters and others linked to the rally.About 100 people have been arrested or have had their statements taken by the police since last weekend.At the last Bersih gathering in November 2007, about 40,000 people took to the streets of KL, also calling for free and fair elections.
With the city as the backdrop for three separate mega demonstrations, KL acting police chief Amar Singh is anticipating “some traffic”.“I wish to advise the people to just stay away from KL. Just for that day. Go elsewhere.“There will be a lot of jams and traffic,” he said.
However, he refused to confirm or deny that the entire city will be locked down come July 9 in anticipation of the rallies.“Maybe it's rumours, maybe not. I can't exactly tell you what we're doing except to expect heavy traffic,” he told Malaysiakini.
Adding that there will be “some” road closures, he gave an assurance that the police have their plans lined up and that these are all “in progress”.It is speculated that there will be road closures for a 10km radius from the city centre and that there will be police roadblocks beginning the night before.
However, he refused to confirm or deny that the entire city will be locked down come July 9 in anticipation of the rallies.“Maybe it's rumours, maybe not. I can't exactly tell you what we're doing except to expect heavy traffic,” he told Malaysiakini.
Adding that there will be “some” road closures, he gave an assurance that the police have their plans lined up and that these are all “in progress”.It is speculated that there will be road closures for a 10km radius from the city centre and that there will be police roadblocks beginning the night before.
On that Saturday, KL will see action from three separate demonstrations, with the biggest one expected to be by the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) calling for electoral reforms.Umno Youth and Malay rights NGO Perkasa have also voiced their intentions to organise separate counter-rallies in response to Bersih.
Although these are still more than a week away, it appears that the police are cracking down on Bersih supporters and others linked to the rally.About 100 people have been arrested or have had their statements taken by the police since last weekend.At the last Bersih gathering in November 2007, about 40,000 people took to the streets of KL, also calling for free and fair elections.
Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/168356
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