HINDRAF slams Selangor police chief - malaysiakini

Malaysiakini's report:

The police has come under fire for warning Hindus not to partake in the prayers being organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) to commemorate the first anniversary of the Nov 25 mass rally.

MCPX

Hindraf national coordinator RS Thanenthiran equated the warning to an act of 'criminal intimidation'.

Taking the police to task for acting unconstitutionally and violating international human rights principles, he also asked if Hindus now needed to apply for a permit to pray in their temples.

The police have also warned Hindraf activists against any rally threatening peace and security, to which Thanenthiran countered that Hindus are peace-loving people who never instigated violence in this country.

"It is the police which incites the fear of violence when there is no threat of it at all," he told Malaysiakini.

Hindraf supporters will organise prayers tonight at several temples nationwide, including in Batu Caves’s Murugan Kovil, Butterworth’s Sri Maha Mariamman Alayam, Ipoh’s Kallumalai Murugan Kovil, Mantin’s Sivan Kovil in Seremban and Johor Bahru’s Sri Muneeswarar Alayam.

At least 3,000 people are expected to attend the prayers at each temple.

Last year, some 30,000 people took to the streets in Kuala Lumpur to highlight the woes faced by the Indian community in Malaysia.

Following this, five Hindraf leaders were detained under the Internal Security Act after being deemed a threat to national security. Recently, the government also imposed a ban on Hindraf.

'Double standards'

Meanwhile, Thanenthiran, who will lead the prayers in Butterworth, claimed that many Hindraf supporters have been called up and threatened by the police against attending the prayers.

However, he was confident that it would not dampen Hindraf’s spirit as its supporters are ‘highly motivated’ in championing the struggle.

"The police are violating human rights and freedom of worship enshrined in the Federal Constitution," he stressed, criticising the police for practising 'double standards'.

He said while they are quick to arrest opposition politicians, human rights workers and members of the civil society for taking part in street gatherings, the police protect and guard street protests organised by Barisan Nasional component parties and BN-linked organisations.

"The authorities should even-handedly protect and uphold the rights of all citizens to assemble peacefully to express their opinions," he added - malaysiakini.com