dcsh 2008-2-16 02:55 PM
Malaysian police break up protest
[table=98%][tr][td=3,1]Malaysian police break up protest
[/td][/tr][tr][td=1,1,416][size=2][table=203][tr][td][img=203,280]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44431000/jpg/_44431149_protestors_ap_203b.jpg[/img] The protesters carried roses to symbolise peaceful demands
[/td][/tr][/table][b]Malaysian security forces have used tear gas and water cannon to break up a protest by ethnic Indians in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.[/b] More than 20 people taking part in the banned march were detained by police. The demonstration was organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force, which is demanding the release from jail of five of its leaders. Activists say policies granting economic advantages to the ethnic Malay majority discriminate against Indians. The Malaysia government has rejected claims of unequal treatment. [b]Detention without trial[/b] Some 300 protesters defied a ban on public gatherings, and carried roses to symbolise what they said was a peaceful demand for justice. They were prevented by scores of police from marching to parliament to give the flowers to the Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi. The protest follows the arrest in December of five rights activists, during the biggest protest involving ethnic Indians in more than a decade. They are being held under a rarely used security law that allows indefinite detention without trial.
[/size][/td][/tr][/table]
