The intentional provocation of violence which happened in the 'Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu' yesterday cannot be condoned and must be dealt with appropriately , said the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).
The commission regretted that the peaceful assembly had turned non-peaceful when a group of participants pushed past police restriction lines in an attempt to reach certain parts of Kuala Lumpur that the organisers and police had initially agreed were prohibited.
Suhakam said it is perturbed by the irresponsible and confrontational actions of several participants who incited lawless and disorderly behaviour by flaunting racially-charged placards and for uttering slogans that promoted racial or religious hatred in our multireligious and secular society.
"Advocacy of racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence should be prohibited by law,” it said in a statement.
The Commission cautioned that protest demonstrations and public assemblies must be peaceful in order to be protected by international human rights law.
It reiterated that should there be disorderly conduct at any stage during a peaceful assembly, protection may be forfeited.
The Commission also reminded all concerned that for democracy to flourish, people must be guaranteed their fundamental rights, including the right to freedoms of expression and assembly, as a means to influence, among others, public policies.
"However, the right to peaceful assembly is not an excuse to perpetrate violence which will only make a mockery of the concept of peaceful assembly," it noted.
In accordance with its mandate, the Commission had monitored the public assembly and recognises the significant positive developments with regard to the policing, handling, and management of the public assembly by the police.
Suhakam said these must be commended and recognised as good practices and urged them to be consistently maintained in any future peaceful assembly.
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