| The Guardian
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| LONDON, Aug 9: A row has broken out between police and the body charged with investigating them over who let down the family of Mark Duggan by failing to keep them informed of what had happened to him.
The family of Duggan, shot dead by police on Thursday, said they were angered by the lack of information they received, and that their upset stoked tensions immediately before Saturday's riot in Tottenham.
Riots spread across Britain Meanwhile, buildings were torched, shops ransacked, and officers attacked with makeshift missiles and petrol bombs as gangs of hooded and masked youths laid waste to streets right across the city.
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Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Police says sorry over shooting as riots spread across Britain
London tries tripling police presence to end riots
By DAVID STRINGER - Associated Press,RAPHAEL G. SATTER - Associated Press | AP – 2 hrs 8 mins ago
A Miss Selfridge shop burns in Market Street in Manchester city centre, England, …
London residents wait to be allowed through a police cordon to help council workers …
LONDON (AP) — Thousands more police officers flooded London streets Tuesday in a bid to end Britain's worst rioting in a generation as nervous shopkeepers closed early and some residents stood guard to protect their neighborhoods. The unrest spread across central and northern England on a fourth night of violence driven by poor, diverse and brazen crowds of young people.
Scenes of ransacked stores, torched cars and blackened buildings frightened and outraged Britons just a year before London is to host the summer Olympic Games, and brought demands for a tougher response from law enforcement.
London's Metropolitan Police department put thousands more officers in the streets and said that by Wednesday there would be 16,000 — almost triple the number present Monday. Dozens of police were seen combing through the Canning Town area of east London as officers hunted for potential new flash points, but the department acknowledged it could not guarantee an end to the violence.
Though London saw no new unrest late Tuesday, but the chaos spread to other cities. A police station in the central England city of Nottingham was firebombed by a 40-strong mob, and hundreds of youths battled police in the northwestern city of Manchester.
Stores, offices and nursery schools across London closed early amid fears of fresh rioting. Many usually busy streets had an eerie calm as cafes, restaurants and pubs also decided to shut down for the night.
Many shops had their metal blinds pulled down, while other business owners rushed to secure plywood over their windows before nightfall.
Some London residents prepared to defend their homes and stores. Outside a Sikh temple in Southall, west London, residents stood guard and vowed to defend their place of worship if mobs of young rioters appeared. Another group marched through Enfield, in north London, aiming to deter looters.
In east London's Bethnal Green district, convenience store owner Adnan Butt, 28, said residents were tense.
"People are all at home — they're scared" of the rioters, he said.
London's deputy assistant police commissioner Steve Kavanagh vowed that large numbers of officers would remain on London's streets until calm was restored.
"We will continue with this additional policing for as long as is necessary. Our priority remains protecting the public and restoring order to our streets," he said.
In Nottingham, police said rioters had hurled firebombs though the window of a police station in the Canning Circus area of the city, but that there were no reports of injures. Eight men were arrested at the scene, where firefighters doused a blaze.
In Manchester, hundreds of youths rampaged through the city center, hurling bottles and stones at police and vandalizing stores. A women's clothing store on the city's main shopping street was set ablaze, along with a disused library in nearby Salford. Looters targeted stores selling designer clothes and expensive consumer electronics.
Neither Manchester nor Nottingham had previously been involved in unrest. There also was minor unrest for the first time in the central England locations of Leicester, Wolverhampton and West Bromwich.
Britain's riots began Saturday when an initially peaceful protest over a police shooting in London's Tottenham neighborhood turned violent. That clash has morphed into a general lawlessness in London and several other cities that police have struggled to halt with ordinary tactics. While the rioters have run off with sneakers, bikes, electronics and leather goods, they also have torched stores apparently just for the fun of seeing something burn.
Rioters, able to move quickly and regroup to avoid the police, have been left virtually unchallenged in several neighborhoods, plundering stores at will.
Police said they were considering the use of plastic bullets — blunt-nosed projectiles designed to deal punishing blows to rioters without penetrating the skin. Such weapons, formally called baton rounds, still are used to quell riots in Northern Ireland but have never been used by police on Britain's mainland.
The government rejected calls by Conservative lawmaker Patrick Mercer and some members of the public for strong-arm riot measures that British police generally avoid, such as tear gas and water cannons.
"They should have the tools available and they should use them if the commander on the ground thinks it's necessary," Mercer said.
Police did offer advice on what actions people could legally take to defend homes from attack. "As a general rule, the more extreme the circumstances and the fear felt, the more force you can lawfully use in self-defense," London's police department said in advice circulated late Tuesday.
In central England, police said they had made five new arrests amid violence Tuesday in Birmingham — which also suffered rioting on Monday — and had dispersed a small group of people who torched two cars in the center of West Bromwich, a nearby town. About 20 people were arrested following rioting in the central city of Wolverhampton, police said.
Riots and looting has flared across London from gritty suburbs along the capital's fringes to the posh Notting Hill neighborhood. The disorder has caused heartache for Londoners whose businesses and homes were torched or ransacked, and a crisis for police and politicians already staggering from a spluttering economy and a scandal over illegal phone hacking by a tabloid newspaper that has dragged in senior politicians and police.
"The public wanted to see tough action. They wanted to see it sooner and there is a degree of frustration," said Andrew Silke, head of the criminology department at the University of East London.
So far more than 560 people have been arrested in London and about 100 charged — including an 11-year-old boy — and the capital's prison cells were overflowing. Several dozen more were arrested in other cities. The Crown Prosecution Service said it had teams of lawyers working 24 hours a day to help police decide whether to charge suspects.
Silke said it will be hard to control the rioting until police make larger numbers of arrests.
"People are seeing images of lines of police literally running away from rioters," he said. "For young people that is incredibly empowering. They are breaking the rules. They are getting away with it. No one is able to stop them."
The unrest has been Britain's worst since race riots set the capital ablaze in the 1980s. "No one should wake in this wonderful city of ours to see such scenes of devastation and violence," Kavanagh said early Tuesday, as police and lawmakers surveyed the damage.
London's beleaguered police force noted that it had received more than 20,000 emergency calls on Monday — four times the normal number. Scotland Yard has called in reinforcements from around the country and asked all volunteer special constables to report for duty.
A soccer match scheduled for Wednesday between England and the Netherlands at London's Wembley stadium was canceled to free up police officers for riot duty. Britain's soccer authorities said they were in talks with police to see whether this weekend's season-opening matches of the Premier League could still go ahead in London.
Police launched a murder inquiry after a man found with a gunshot wound during riots in the south London suburb of Croydon died of his injuries Tuesday, and arrested three people on suspicion of the attempted murder of a police officer hit by a car.
A total of 111 officers and 14 members of the public had been hurt so far in the rioting, including a man in his 60s with life-threatening injuries, police said.
Prime Minister David Cameron — who cut short a holiday in Italy to deal with the crisis, reversing an earlier decision to remain on his vacation — recalled Parliament from its summer recess for an emergency debate Thursday on the riots. He described the scenes of burning buildings and smashed windows as "sickening," but refrained from tougher measures such as calling in the military to help restore order.
"People should be in no doubt that we will do everything necessary to restore order to Britain's streets and to make them safe for the law-abiding," Cameron told reporters after a crisis meeting at his Downing Street office.
Other politicians visited riot sites Tuesday — but for many residents it was too little, too late.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was booed by crowds who shouted "Go home!" in Birmingham, while London Mayor Boris Johnson — who flew back overnight from his summer vacation — was heckled on a shattered shopping street in Clapham, south London.
Johnson said the riots would not stop London from "welcoming the world to our city" for the Olympics.
"We have time in the next 12 months to rebuild, to repair the damage that has been done," he said. "I'm not saying it will be done overnight, but this is what we are going to do."
Violence broke out late Saturday in the low-income, multiethnic district of Tottenham in north London, after a protest against the fatal police shooting of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old father of four who was gunned down in disputed circumstances Thursday.
Police said Duggan was shot dead when officers from Operation Trident — the unit that investigates gun crime in the black community — stopped a cab he was riding in.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is investigating the shooting, said a "non-police firearm" was recovered at the scene, but that there was no evidence it had been fired — a revelation that could fuel the anger of the local community.
An inquest into Duggan's death was opened Tuesday, though it will likely be several months before a full hearing.
Duggan's death stirred memories of the 1980s, when many black Londoners felt they were disproportionately stopped and searched by police. The frustration erupted in violent riots in 1985, during which a police officer was stabbed to death.
Relations have improved since then, but tensions remain and many young people of all races mistrust the police.
Seeking explanations for the unrest, some pointed to rising social tensions in Britain as the government slashes 80 billion pounds ($130 billion) from public spending by 2015 to reduce the country's huge budget deficit, swollen after the country spent billions bailing out its foundering banks.
But many rioters appeared simply to relish the opportunity for unchecked violence Monday night. "Come join the fun!" shouted one youth as looters hit the east London suburb of Hackney.
In Croydon, fire gutted a 140-year-old family run department store, House of Reeves, and forced nearby homes to be evacuated. "No one's stolen anything," said owner Graham Reeves, 52. "They just burnt it down."
Many Londoners emerged on Tuesday with brooms to help sweep the streets of broken glass, rallying to the aid of those whose homes or premises had been vandalized.
The riots could not have come at a worse time for police — a year before the Olympic Games, which Scotland Yard says will be the biggest challenge in its 182-year history.
Cameron's government has slashed police budgets under its austerity program. A report last month by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary said the cuts — a third of which have already taken place — will mean 16,000 fewer police officers by 2015.
Scotland Yard is also without a full-time leader after chief Paul Stephenson quit last month amid a scandal over the ties between senior officers and Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers, which are being investigated for hacking phone voicemails and bribing police for information. The force's top counterterrorism officer, John Yates, also quit over the hacking scandal.
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Jill Lawless, Danica Kirka, Meera Selva, Sheila Norman-Culp and Stephen Wilson contributed to this report.
http://news.yahoo.com/london-tries-tripling-police-presence-end-riots-190621772.html
Social media used to spread Britain's riots
By PAISLEY DODDS - Associated Press,RAPHAEL G. SATTER - Associated Press | AP – 1 hr 8 mins ago
A woman walks past a damaged supermarket in Ealing, west London, after a night of …
A woman walks past a damaged supermarket in Ealing, west London, after a night of …
LONDON (AP) — Some of the text messages read like real-time rallying calls for rioters.
"If you're down for making money, we're about to go hard in east London," one looter messaged before the violence spread.
Others direct troublemakers to areas of untapped riches — stores selling expensive stereo equipment, designer clothes, alcohol and bicycles.
Most show a portent of even worse things to come.
Encrypted messages sent via BlackBerrys are being used by mobs to encourage rioting across Britain — mayhem born of an incendiary mixture of conditions that converged during Europe's sleepy summer vacation season.
Many of the masked or hooded youths have been photographed typing messages on their cellphones while flames engulf cars and buildings.
Conditions have been perfect for the unrest. Britain's economic outlook is bleak, youths are out of school and unemployed, police ranks have been depleted by summer vacations, and social media sites — coupled with dramatic video of the rioting — have bolstered a mob mentality and spread disobedience.
Alcohol has also played a part. Some of Tuesday night's rioters bragged of booze-fueled rampages. Britain has a culture of binge drinking with a recent surge in alcohol-related diseases among the young. The legal age to purchase alcohol in Britain is 18.
BlackBerry's messaging system is popular among youths because it's free, compatible with multimedia and private, compared with Facebook and Twitter. Its encrypted messages give troublemakers an added benefit: Police aren't able to immediately trace message traffic the way they can with regular cellphones.
Social media have been a potent force in fueling the riots that began Saturday in London's boroughs and later spread to other cities such as Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds and Bristol. Messages have also been sent via regular texts and on Facebook.
One 18-year-old boy was detained Tuesday for allegedly encouraging violence on Facebook. Community members alerted police to the posts, according to police superintendent Athol Aitken. The teenager is expected in Dundee court on Wednesday.
But the social networks also have provided refuge for fearful residents and shop owners who say police efforts have been feeble and slow. Twitter is helping to pinpoint areas of violence, organize community cleanup groups and alert people of alternative routes they can use.
BlackBerry said it was cooperating with police, but shutting down the messaging system could penalize more than just the troublemakers. More than 45 million people use the BlackBerry messaging system worldwide. President Barack Obama is said to use the same secure system to communicate.
"We feel for those impacted by recent days' riots in London," Patrick Spence, a Blackberry managing director of global sales and regional marketing, said in a statement. "We have engaged with the authorities to assist in any way we can."
The company declined to answer further questions about providing data to police or how a message service suspension might work.
David Lammy, a lawmaker from the Tottenham area where the rioting began, called for BlackBerry to suspend its messaging service. On Tuesday, hackers compromised BlackBerry's blog site in response to the company saying it would cooperate with police.
Britain's riots began after last week's police shooting of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old father of four. According to British media, one of the last messages that Duggan sent was via BlackBerry's messaging system, also known as BBM.
"The Feds are following me," he allegedly wrote to his girlfriend, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Some of the rioters have laughed off claims that the unrest was sparked by any one grievance. One man who identified himself only as "Zed" said the riots were "just an excuse for everyone to smash up the place" and that stuff "tastes better when it's free."
Britain is full of contrasts between the haves and have-nots, where areas of soot-stained apartment buildings are a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace. It is also a place where the class system is imprinted on the country's social fabric, seen clearly in the political and business elite.
"You have groups who are highly technically integrated but socially completely outclassed and alienated," said Rodney Barker, emeritus professor of government at the London School of Economics.
Prime Minister David Cameron, known for his posh accent and privileged education, is thought to have lost votes in last year's election because he was seen as too much of an elitist who couldn't understand the common man.
The past year has seen mass protests against the tripling of student tuition fees and cuts to public sector pensions. In November, December and March, small groups broke away from large marches in London to loot. In the most notorious episode, rioters attacked a Rolls-Royce carrying Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, to a charity concert.
"This is an uprising of all people — black, white, gay, straight," said a man who identified himself as Bryn Phillips, 28, who picked through the ruins of a convenience store in east London on Monday night.
According to July figures from Britain's Office of National Statistics, one in five 16- to 24-year-olds is unemployed — the highest rate of youth unemployment in some 20 years. Overall unemployment rates, however, have remained stable.
"These young people, who seem to have no stake in society, are trashing their own communities," said lawmaker Diane Abbott, whose Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency has seen a lot of the trouble. "We cannot continue to have increasing numbers of looters on the streets night after night."
Hot-tempered youths are fueled by temperate and drier-than-normal weather. One middle-aged man carrying a recycling bin full of beer bottles and soft drinks Monday night blamed the government's planned spending cuts — some of the harshest cuts since World War II designed to slash Britain's multibillion-pound (multibillion-dollar) deficit.
"People are traumatized by the cuts," he said, identifying himself only as Joe.
Cameron condemned the violence and warned that 16,000 police officers would take back the country's streets. More BlackBerry messages were encouraging weekend protests.
"This is definitely not the 1980s," said London School of Economics political scientist Tony Travers, referring to past race riots and other unrest. "And it is not the same as the instance that occasionally happened in French suburbs. Tottenham and other areas are relatively poor (but) they are not areas of unremitting poverty."
Britain's police force has been weakened by budget cuts and summer vacations. It's also no secret that most officers don't carry guns, and water cannons and tear gas haven't been used in years. Officials said they may be forced to use plastic bullets to control the crowds if violence persists.
"Different people have different views about the causes, but there is no excuses for it," said Labour leader Ed Miliband.
(This version CORRECTS Updates with details of youth arrested in connection with Facebook incitement; Corrects youth is 18 instead of 16; Adds BlackBerry statement and class quote from professor; Raises reference to rioters bragging about drunken rampages; AP Video.)
http://news.yahoo.com/social-media-used-spread-britains-riots-190457225.html
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Israel hantar senjata untuk bantu Hosni
KAHERAH: Israel dilapor menghantar senjata untuk menyuraikan tunjuk perasaan untuk digunakan oleh Presiden Mesir, Hosni Mubarak, terhadap beribu-ribu penunjuk perasaan yang menentang pemerintahan 30 tahunnya.
Menurut Rangkaian Hak Asasi dan Pembangunan Antarabangsa, pesawat Israel mendarat di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Mina Sabtu lalu dengan membawa kelengkapan itu. Ia melaporkan, pasukan keselamatan Mesir menerima kargo di atas pesawat Israel, termasuk gas untuk menyuraikan penunjuk perasaan yang dilarang oleh pertubuhan antarabangsa.
Sementara itu, parti pembangkang utama Mesir, Ikhwanul Muslimin semalam bersetuju untuk menyokong pemimpin pembangkang liberal, Mohamed ElBaradei sebagai jurucakap utama kumpulan pembangkang dalam rundingan reformasi.
Ikhwan mengumumkan keputusannya semalam ketika perarakan bantahan ‘sejuta orang’ berterusan di Kaherah.
Mohamed, 68, adalah bekas Ketua Agensi Tenaga Atom Antarabangsa - AP
http://www.hmetro.com.my/myMetro/articles/IsraelhantarsenjatauntukbantuHosni/Article/index_html
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Tahanan aktivis: Majistret buat 'kesilapan besar'
Sehubungan dengan itu, pesuruhjaya kehakiman, Mahkamah Tinggi Ipoh, Choong Siew Kim membenarkan permohonan mereka mengketepikan hukuman bersalah itu serta memerintahkan supaya denda RM5,000 yang dikenakan ke atas mereka dipulangkan semula.“Majistret membuat kesilapan besar apabila tidak mengambil kira bukti di mana mereka didakwa mengikut Seksyen 27 (3) tetapi menghukum mereka di bawah Seksyen 27 (2) Akta Polis.
“Beliau gagal mempertimbangkan bukti yang relevan terhadap pindaan dakwaan yang merupakan dakwaan tunggal terhadap keempat-empat yang dituduh itu,” kata Choong.
Beliau juga memerintahkan keempat-empat aktivis masyarakat itu dibebaskan tanpa perbicaraan semula.
“Adalah tidak adil bagi keempat-empat tertuduh menjalani perbicaraan semula kerana kes ini telah tertangguh hampir 10 tahun sebelum keputusan diberikan,” katanya.Keempat-empat mereka adalah penyelaras kebangsaan Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), K Kunasekaran; pengerusi jawatankuasa anti-bau busuk Kuala Kuang, Chai Sing Chong dan dua ahli jawatankuasanya, Tan Kin Siah dan Chong Min Tow.
Mereka adalah sebahagian daripada jawatankuasa yang ditubuhkan bagi menentang pencemaran udara yang dikatakan menjejaskan penduduk Kampung Baru Kuala Kuang, Chemor yang didakwa pada 25 Oktober, 2002.
Kampung berkenaan dilanda bau busuk dan pencemaran alam sekitar akibat daripada operasi sebuah kilang getah berhampiran yang didakwa menjejaskan 500 keluarga.Pada Februari 2010, mejistret Shah Wira Abdul Halim menjatuhkan hukuman bersalah ke atas mereka kerana gagal memiliki permit dalam menagdakan perhimpunan dan mengenakan denda RM5,000 serta penjara dua minggu ke atas keempat-empat mereka.
Aktivis berkenaan diwakili oleh peguam G Balasunderam (kiri), M Vengetraman, D Raja Singam, T Ellanggovan dan Cheang Lek Choy.
Namun Selasa lalu, Balasunderam yang baru pulang dari kerja diserang empat lelaki yang bersenjata di rumahnya di Ipoh sehingga menyebabkan kematiannya.
Vengetraman berkata rakannya itu seringkali memperjuangkan kes-kes masyarakat yang terpinggir secara pro-bono. Bagi kes ini, beliau telah meletakkan asas yang kukuh sehingga membolehkan rayuan mereka hari ini berjaya.Kunasekaran (kanan) pula berkata keempat-empat mereka amat berterima kasih kepada Balasunderam kerana menegakkan keadilan kepada mereka sebelum menghembuskan nafas terakhirnya.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
100 berdemo depan ibu pejabat PKR
 | Regina Lee Nov 13, 10 3:08pm |
Bagaimanapun, sebahagian besar daripada 'penunjuk perasaan' yang hingar bingar yang dibawa datang dengan tiga bas itu nampaknya tidak pasti apa sebenarnya yang berlaku.
Penganjurnya P Jenapala mendakwa sekumpulan anggota PKR hadir ke situ bagi membantah "sangat tidak gembira"terhadap dakwaan salah laku dalam perjalanan pemilihan parti itu.Bagaimanapun ketika ditanya oleh pemberita, kumpulan itu dilihat tidak berapa pasti berhubung perkara itu dan status keanggotaan mereka dalam PKR.
Kamisah Arippin, 75, sambil menunjuk kepada seseorang, berkata beliau datang selepas dijemput untuk 'acara' 30 minit.
Kawannya, Kamariah Bapu, 70, dan Zaleka Mohd Ashin, 72, mengakui mereka bukan anggota PKR dan hanya mengecam Jenapala yang pernah dilihat mereka beberapa kali di kaca televisyen.
Bagaimanapun, menurut Jenapala, kesemua mereka anggota PKR yang "sangat sedih dengan pemilihan parti".
"Tetapi saya tidak nafikan sebahagian kecil daripada mereka mungkin dibayar untuk terlibat dalam program ini untuk sabotaj saya," dakwanya.
[Baca berita penuh]
Undi pos: Pemuda PAS masih percaya demo
| Undi pos: Pemuda PAS masih percaya demo | |||||
Dewan Pemuda PAS masih berpendapat, demonstrasi masih merupakan jalan yang berkesan bagi menyampaikan tuntutan terhadap pilihan raya yang bersih dan adil.
"Kalau tuntutan tidak ada hasil, apa penyelesaian? "Kita turun ke jalan raya kembalilah," katanya sambil menyifatkan pendekatan baru BERSIH 2.0 dan peranan parti politik bergerak seiring. Suhaizan yang juga pengerusi jawatankuasa undi pos Pemuda PAS berkata, pihaknya menghormati kaedah baru BERSIH 2.0 bawah pimpinan pengerusi sekarang Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.
Pada 9 Julai lalu, BERSIH 2.0 kembali semula selepas dua tahun melakukan pembersihan dirinya daripada parti politik, dengan ikrar untuk tidak lagi turun ke jalanan untuk mencapai matlamatnya. Ambiga Sreenevasan mengisytiharkan BERSIH 2.0 sebagai murni apolitis, tidak berniat menganjur demonstrasi besar seperti sebelumnya, sebaliknya mahu memfokus pada pendidikan awam.
Ketika dihubungi Malaysiakini hari ini, Suhaizan bagaimanapun berkata, jika SPR berminat mendapatkan pandangan Pemuda PAS, mereka bersedia menemui pengarahnya Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusuf. Pertemuan itu, katanya, sudah pasti digunakan bagi 'menuntut janji' Abdul Aziz bagi melakukan penambahbaikan sistem undi pos yang selama ini dianggap pembangkang sebagai "deposit tetap" BN. Pemuda PAS dilihat serius mahu mengadakan satu lagi perhimpunan pada 2011 kerana "kerajaan tidak ada kecenderungan untuk memenuhi tuntutan gabungan itu". Cadangan itu diluluskan sebulat suara dalam muktamar agung tahunnya di Kota Bharu pada 10 Jun lalu. http://malaysiakini.com/news/148043 |
Monday, October 18, 2010
Kereta buatan Jepun dirosakkan
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BEBERAPA orang melihat sebuah kereta yang diterbalikkan penunjuk perasaan di bandar Mianyang, wilayah Sichuan, China semalam. |
BEIJING - Para penunjuk perasaan semalam mengambil bahagian dalam hari kedua protes terhadap Jepun walaupun pemerintah China meminta rakyatnya bertenang.
Menurut sebuah agensi berita semalam, para penunjuk perasaan anti-Jepun membaling batu ke arah restoran Jepun, memecahkan tingkap kereta buatan negara itu dan bertempur dengan polis di bandar Mianyang, wilayah Sichuan.
Sikap penduduk China itu berlaku selepas hubungan ekonomi antara kedua-dua negara kian tegang pada bulan lalu.
Ketegangan itu bermula selepas pihak berkuasa Jepun menangkap seorang nelayan China apabila kapalnya berlanggar dengan bot peronda Jepun dekat sebuah pulau yang menjadi perebutan kedua-dua buah negara.
Pulau yang menjadi rebutan itu, Senkaku, mempunyai potensi simpanan minyak dan gas yang banyak di Laut China Utara.
Selepas tunjuk perasaan pertama berlaku kelmarin, pemerintah China semalam meminta rakyatnya bertenang namun ia tidak dihiraukan oleh penduduk di wilayah Sichuan.
"Kami menyatakan bahawa patriotisme sepatutnya disuarakan dengan rasional dan berdasarkan undang-undang. Kami tidak bersetuju dengan tindakan tidak rasional yang melanggar undang-undang dan peraturan," kata jurucakap Kementerian Luar China, Ma Zhaoxu. - Agensi
http://www.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/content.asp?y=2010&dt=1018&pub=Kosmo&sec=Dunia&pg=du_03.htm
Empat pemimpin JMM ditahan polis
Okt 15, 10
3:47pm
Mereka dijadual untuk mengadakan perhimpunan anti sebuah portal berita - Malaysian Insider.
Tiga lagi pemimpin JMM yang ditahan ialah naib yang dipertuanya, Omar Salleh; setiausahanya, Tengku Sani Tengku Amalluddin dan bendaharinya, Yusof Mahmud.
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Mereka dibawa ke ibupejabat polis Brickfields untuk memberi keterangan mengenai tujuan mereka berhimpun di situ.
Mereka dibebaskan kira-kira jam 4 petang tadi.
Sebelum itu, anggota polis dilihat menghampiri Tengku Sani yang sedang berdiri di persimpangan lampu isyarat di depan masjid tersebut, sambil membawa pembesar suara.
Ketika dia sedang disoal oleh anggota polis, Azwandin pula datang, difahamkan, untuk bertanya apa yang berlaku.
Para wartawan dan jurugambar turut menghampiri mereka. Azwandin kedengaran meminta polis memberi alasan mengapa mereka tidak boleh berkumpul di situ.
Polis kemudiannya meminta Azwandin menunjukkan kad pengenalannya, tetapi pada mulanya beliau enggan berbuat demikian.
Selepas arahan sebanyak tiga kali diberikan, akhirnya beliau akur dengan arahan tersebut.
Tidak lama selepas itu, kedengaran arahan supaya pembantunya ditahan, menyebabkan mereka berpautan bagi mengelak ditahan polis.
Kemudiaan beberapa anggota polis membawa pembantu Azwandin masuk ke dalam kereta poranda polis.
Azwandin juga turut ditahan sejurus kemudian dengan tangannya digari.
Beliau juga dimasukkan ke dalam kereta peronda yang sama dan kedua-duanya kemudiannya dipercaya dibawa ke balai polis.
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Berikutan itu, perhimpunan anti Malaysian Insider yang diwar-warkan sebelum itu, tidak berlaku.
Sebelum itu, kira-kira 20 anggota polis kelihatan mengawal lalulintas dan sekitar masjid tersebut ketika jemaah bersolat Jumaat.
Anggota polis juga kelihatan di hadapan bangunan UOA yang terletak tidak jauh dari masjid tersebut, yang menempatkan pejabat Malaysian Insider.
Sementara itu, Tengku Sani ketika dihubungi Malaysiakini petang ini berkata mereka memberi kerjasama sepenuhnya ketika memberi keterangan kepada pihak polis.
Katanya, mereka dibebaskan dengan jaminan polis.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Salahkah berhimpun?
SEBAHAGIAN rakyat Malaysia masih memandang serong pada perhimpunan aman. Kononnya, ia dilihat sebagai budaya rakyat Malaysia yang emosional dan berfikir pendek.
Pada asasnya, saya berpendirian menolak sebarang usaha untuk menjadikan Malaysia sebuah negara Anarki. Tiada kompromi.Namun, benarkah berhimpun sebagaimana semalam boleh membawa Malaysia ke arah sebuah negara Anarki – negara yang kacau bilau dan tidak berperaturan. Kononnya, pelabur tidak akan datang, FDI akan jatuh, peluang pekerjaan akan berkurangan dan ekonomi negara akan merudum. (Frasa dan ayat-ayat ini biasa dimomokkan dalam kursus BTN.)
Sejujurnya, saya bukanlah orang yang berminat dengan perhimpunan atau ‘Demonstrasi’. Selalu juga disindir oleh teman-teman sewaktu menjadi pimpinan pelajar dulu kerana jarang turun berhimpun atau berdemonstrasi. Walaupun kurang berminat, saya tidak menafikan perlunya berhimpun.
Kita harus jujur dalam membuat penilaian.Salahkah berhimpun? Pendek akalkah orang-orang yang berhimpun sebagaimana prasangka kita?
Benar, kita boleh menyalahkan mereka yang berhimpun jika ia dilakukan terlaku kerap.Setiap bulan misalnya. Tidak dinafikan, kesesakan jalanraya akan berlaku, perniagaan ada yang terpaksa ditutup dan sudah tentu keheningan hujung minggu juga terganggu. Namun mereka berhimpun sekadardua tiga kali setahun. Besar sangatkah impak kepada aktiviti ekonominegara jika 2 atau 3 hari daripada 365 hari digunakan oleh segelintirrakyat untuk berhimpun menyatakan sesuatu kepada kerajaan?
Mereka yang berhimpun bukanlah untuk suka-suka atau mahu menghuru-harakan negara. Janganlah disamakan rakyat Malaysia pada masa ini dengan rakyat Malaysia pada 40 tahun lalu dalam Tragedi 1969, ataupun rakyat Singapura/Malaysia yang terlibat dalam Rusuhan Natrah pada 1950. Rakyat Malaysia pada masa ini sudah ramai berpendidikan tinggi dan cerdik-cerdik. Zaman telah banyak berubah,saya yakin tiada siapa yang tidak sayangkan nyawa. Memang bodoh bagi sesiapa yang berhimpun untuk kehilangan nyawa. Mereka sudah tentu berhimpun kerana bersebab. Jika tidak, lebih baik bersantai di rumah bersama keluarga.
Pengalaman menyertai perhimpunan aman membantah PPSMI dulu cukup mengharukan. Polis terbukti menjadi punca perhimpunan bertukar ganas. Mereka melepaskan gas pemedih mata dengan membabi buta. Apa salahnya dibiarkan peserta berhimpun dan menuju ke Istana Negara? Saya tidak nampak sebarang senjata yang mereka bawa dan aliran trafik pun tidak tersekat walaupun sedikit terganggu. Namun tindakan polis(FRU) langsung tidak berperikemanusian. Mereka langsung seperti alat kerajaan yang tidak mampu berfikir. Merekalah punca kekasaran fizikal dan gangguan trafik yang parah.
Kebiasaannya, perhimpunan yang dilakukan bukanlah langkah pertama atau usaha awal dalam perjuangkan sesuatu. Ia adalah jalan terakhir. ISA telah dikecam sejak 49 tahun sejak ia digubal pada 1960. Pelbagai wacana akademik, penulisan, disertasi,tesis, memorandum, referandum dan sebagainya yang berkaitan ISA dibuat semata-mata untuk membantah perlaksanaannya di Malaysia. Namun adakah ia berkesan?
Kerajaan masih juga tanpa segan silu menyalahgunakan ISA.
Kita akui bahawa ISA mampu menyelesaikan beberapa ancaman berkaitan keselamatan negara dan kita memang memerlukan akta yang berupaya mencegah ancaman dalaman. Namun, kerajaan Barisan Nasional/Perikatan semenjak 1960 tanpa pernah rasa bersalah telah menggunakan ISA untuk menahan ahli-ahli politik khususnya pembangkang, aktivis masyarakat dan juga orang awam yang tidak berkaitan.
Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang, Chandra Muzaffar, Halim Arshat, Karpal Singh, Maximus Ongkilli, Teresa Kok adalah antara ahli politik dan aktivis masyarakat yang pernah merengkok. Berbahayakah mereka? Apa ancaman mereka kepada keselamatan negara?
Banyak cadangan yang lebih waras untuk diambil dalam membantah ISA. Namun, akan pedulikah kerajaan?
Kerajaan khabarnya akan mengkaji semula ISA. Ia satu permulaan yang baik jika kerajaan benar-benar ikhlas mahu berubah.
Membantah ISA bukan bermaksud kita tidak mahu akta pencegahan yang mampu menjaga keselamatan dalaman negara kita. Namun, bantahan ini diharapkan agar mampu mendesak kerajaan supaya sekurang-kurangnya meminda peruntukan tertentu yang membuka ruang kepada penyalahgunaan kuasa.
Membantah ISA juga bukan bermaksud kita membenci apatah lagi mahu menyusahkan kerajaan. Sebaliknya kita mahu supaya suara insan yang menderita akibat ISA didengari dengan lebih kuat oleh pemimpin kerajaan yang kita kasihi itu.
Kita tidak merasa menderita kerana kita tidak berada di tempat orang-orang yang sedang menderita itu. Cubalah memahami.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Ucapan Obama diganggu penunjuk perasaan
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OBAMA |
WASHINGTON - Sebanyak 27 penunjuk perasaan ditangkap manakala beberapa lagi mencelah ucapan Presiden Amerika Syarikat (AS), Barack Obama di Universiti Notre Dame, Indiana, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.
Kekecohan itu berlaku kerana Obama menyatakan dalam ucapannya bahawa pihak yang menentang dasar pengguguran anak perlu menghentikan perbalahan.
Obama dalam ucapannya mengaku: "Tanpa mengira bagaimana kita hendak melembutkan (isu pengguguran), secara faktanya, pada satu-satu peringkat, pandangan oleh kedua-dua kem tidak dapat didamaikan."
Presiden AS itu yang menyokong hak-hak pengguguran diundang untuk berucap di universiti tersebut dan menerima ijazah kehormat.
"Saya tidak mencadangkan bahawa debat yang berlegar tentang isu pengguguran boleh atau tidak diteruskan," kata Obama kelmarin.
Ketika Obama memulakan ucapannya, terdapat beberapa penunjuk perasaan yang menjerit ke arahnya dengan meminta supaya anak tidak digugurkan. - Agensi
http://www.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/content.asp?y=2009&dt=0519&pub=Kosmo&sec=Dunia&pg=du_04.htm
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
LONDON - Persidangan Kumpulan 20 (G20) dicemari protes berdarah oleh sejumlah penunjuk perasaan yang memakai topeng hitam bertempur dengan anggota-anggota polis di Bank of England di London semalam.
Kumpulan itu bertindak ganas setelah khabar angin tersebar bahawa pihak polis mahu mengepung penunjuk perasaan sekali gus menyebabkan lebih ramai yang hadir.
Anggota-anggota polis diserang dan satu cawangan Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) menjadi sasaran ketika sekumpulan pemabuk membuat kacau di Square Mile.
Sejumlah kecil penunjuk perasaan kebanyakannya memakai kain melilit kepala memecah masuk selepas tingkap kaca cawangan bank itu pecah.
Satu mesin pencetak dan beberapa barang lagi dicampak keluar dari tingkap ketika kumpulan itu menggeledah pejabat bank itu.
Kebanyakan penunjuk perasaan itu terdiri daripada kumpulan yang membantah krisis kewangan dan mengetengahkan isu pemanasan global.
Seramai dua penunjuk perasaan memanjat arca Wellington yang terletak bertentangan dengan pintu masuk Bank of England.
Sebanyak 11 penunjuk perasaan ditangkap polis. Beberapa topi keselamatan polis turut dirampas penunjuk perasaan sebelum ia dilambung ke udara.
Sementara itu, Presiden Amerika Syarikat (AS), Barack Obama menafikan terdapatnya perselisihan di kalangan negara-negara kuasa ekonomi dunia.
"Saya mengetahui bahawa anggota-anggota G20 meneruskan cara masing-masing," katanya.
Kawalan keselamatan turut ditingkatkan berikutan ketibaan Obama kelmarin dengan 3,000 kamera keselamatan tertutup (CCTV) ditempatkan di London.
Obama yang tampil pada acara rasmi antarabangsa pertama berhadapan tekanan untuk menunjukkan AS boleh membawa dunia keluar daripada kemelut ekonomi. - Agensi
http://www.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/arkib.asp?y=2009&dt=0402&pub=Kosmo&sec=Dunia&pg=du_02.htm
