Police arrested more than 10 people and fired tear gas into a marching crowd along Jalan Ampang in Kuala Lumpur today to disperse an anti-war demonstration organised by some 20 groups representing opposition parties and non-government organisations.

Among those arrested were several Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) leaders - President Dr Syed Husin Ali, Youth chief Faizal Sanusi and deputy youth chief Latheefa Koya.

It is learnt that they were brought to the Police Training Centre in Jalan Semarak in the city. The reason why those arrested were brought to the centre and not a police station as is usually the case is not known.

Illegal assembly

When met by reporters, Cheras police chief Mohd Nor Masdar declined to confirm the number of people arrested but said police had decided to arrest the protesters after they refused to disperse despite repeated warnings.

"We gave them nearly an hour to demonstrate peacefully in front of the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC). We did not give them the right to march but we gave them the chance to voice whatever they wanted to.

"Their group leaders promised that they would disperse quietly but they later turned around and held a procession instead," said the officer-in-charge of the operations.

Earlier, at least 2,000 anti-war protesters gathered outside the KLCC after they were refused permission by the police to march along Jalan Ampang to the United States Embassy in Jalan Tun Razak.

Among other political party leaders present at the gathering were PAS vice-president Mustafa Ali (photo right), PAS secretary-general Nasharuddin Mat Isa, DAP vice-president Dr Tan Seng Giaw, DAP publicity secretary Ronnie Liu, Parti Sosialis Malaysia pro tem president Dr Mohd Nasir Hashim and Keadilan vice-president Azmin Ali.

Various non-government organisations and student groups were also present.

Tear gas

The demonstrators carried banners and placards calling for peace, and shouted slogans condemning the US-led strike o­n Iraq.

A lie-in was staged to represent Iraqi casualties of the war while coffins were carried as props to symbolise the deaths of Iraqi civilians.

However, after the political leaders were asked to disperse the crowd at about 3:30pm, hundreds of protesters remained and proceeded to march over to the Mandarin Oriental hotel carpark, where they gathered shortly before marching towards the Australian High Commission nearby.

A minor scuffle broke out in front of the Australian High Commission after the police refused to allow a sit-in protest by about 500 of the demonstrators.

As the demonstrators proceeded to march towards the US Embassy along Jalan Ampang, the police fired several rounds of tear gas at the crowd prompting their dispersal. Some returned to the KLCC area where they gathered shortly before police started making arrests.

'Illegal' gathering

When asked why it was necessary to fire tear gas into the crowd, Mohd Nor said the police had taken the decision to do so after the protesters refused to disperse.

"They have been going around from o­ne spot to another and took us o­n a ride for nearly o­ne and a half hours. You should also consider the traffic. Other road used should also be taken into consideration. The procession will stall the traffic. That would be unfair," he said.

Another senior police officer, Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief Ahmad Bahrin Idrus (photo) earlier told the organisers of the demonstration that although the gathering was "illegal", they would be allowed to remain in the area for 30 minutes.

"(The gathering) is already illegal but we don't want things to get ugly. OK...carry o­n for a while. No political statements. You want to protest against the war - go ahead but you cannot have a procession," he told PAS leader Mustafa Ali.

Although several political leaders departed at the agreed time with the police, others remained around the KLCC vicinity, including the PRM leaders who were later arrested.

Meanwhile, another anti-war demonstration was organised by the People's Alliance for Peace Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur at the same time today.

About 4,000 demonstrators were reported to have gathered at the Dataran Merdeka to protest peacefully. The event was said to have proceeded uneventfully.

pix by Yap Mun Ching/malaysiakini