(AFP) - Malaysia's government and opposition have both claimed credit after a banned weekend rally by thousands of supporters of jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim passed off peacefully.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said last week's detention without trial of seven activists nipped plans for a violent, Indonesian-style protest in the bud.

An opposition leader said the peaceful end to the 'Black 14' gathering showed there was no basis to detain the seven - alleged by Mahathir to have been planning a violent protest involving the use of explosives.

A crowd estimated at between 2,000-3,000 gathered yesterday outside the offices of the national human rights commission (Suhakam), as opposition legislators led by Anwar's wife handed in a memorandum on rights abuses.

Black 14 marks the second anniversary of Anwar's first conviction. The former deputy premier, once Mahathir's heir apparent, is serving a total of 15 years in jail after being convicted in separate trials of abuse of power and sodomy but says he is a political prisoner.

Police had banned yesterday's rally. Some 400 officers, backed up by water cannon, were on standby but did not try to disperse the crowd.

Gathering 'failed'

Mahathir said the gathering failed to achieve what he called its target of 50,000 participants because instigators had been locked up.

"I think it is because they have no leaders to incite them ... their leaders have been detained by police," he said.

The government's use of the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows indefinite detention without trial, appeared to have been effective, he said.

Mahathir, quoted by Sunday newspapers, said he had information that "certain parties" had gone to Indonesia and told people there that an Indonesian-style demonstration would be held in Malaysia.

"They proposed a gathering of 50,000 people and we learnt that they told certain people that they wanted to have it a la Indonesia, that is through violence. But (it) did not happen."

Lim Kit Siang, chairman of the opposition Democratic Action Party, exhorted the people who gathered yesterday "to send a clear message of their deep concern about the erosion of human rights".

"The peaceful conclusion of Black 14 gathering is the strongest proof that there is no basis or cause for the detention of the Reformasi Seven (under ISA)," he said, calling for their immediate release.

Prove assertions

In a statement today Lim again challenged Mahathir to prove his assertions of a "secret cell" which was planning to use weapons and explosives to overthrow the government and to recruit Indonesians.

Otherwise, he said, the premier should "stop his politics of desperation and bankruptcy" and withdraw the claims Amnesty International and local rights groups, including Suhakam, have strongly criticised the use of the ISA.

Rais Yatim, minister for legal affairs, hit back at the government-appointed rights body, saying its "inappropriate comments" gave a boost to reformasi (reform) activities.

"The general impression now is that Suhakam is supporting the reformasi activists," the New Sunday Times quoted him as saying.

Anwar says Mahathir orchestrated a conspiracy to frame him because he was seen as a political threat. The premier denies interfering in the judicial process and says he sacked his deputy in September 1998 for immorality.