Eight Burmese nationals who were among the 18 arrested yesterday for participating in an illegal demonstration outside the Burmese embassy in Kuala Lumpur will be released today.

Contacted today Cheras district police chief Mohd Nor Masdar said the eight have documents to show that they have registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The remaining 10 will be held in remand pending further verification of their status since at the time of arrest they did not possess any legal documentation.

"The protestors should have followed the Malaysian laws," he said, adding that he was uncertain when the court will grant the remand order against the 10. They have been taken to court for the purpose this morning.

UNHCR officials could not be reached for comment.

The 18, including one woman, were arrested yesterday during a 35-minute demonstration against the national constitution convention organised by the Burmese government.

Police moved in to arrest the group after three warnings to disperse went unheeded.

No reason to arrest

The reconvening of the convention yesterday was an annual meeting conducted since 1993 with the goal of drafting the constitution.

Instead of holding the convention, the protestors demanded the military junta to free Burmese pro democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi together with other political prisoners and called for dialogues between both parties.

The protestors also claimed to be members of the Democratic Party for a New Society, the second largest party next to the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Suu Kyi.

The protestors could be charged under section 27 (5) of the Police Act, where a gathering of more than three people without a police permit is deemed as unlawful assembly. For undocumented migrants, it could also mean deportation to their country of origin.

Last month, 164 Burmese nationals, of ethnic Chin origin, were arrested outside the Burmese embassy for protesting against the alleged persecution of their predominantly Christian community by the military regime.

No charges were pressed against them, but those found to be without proper travel documents are expected to be deported.

The Burmese military regime has long been accused of rights and political abuses ever since it assumed power in 1962. The junta refused to hand over power to the NLD despite the latter securing a landslide victory in the 1990 elections.

Meanwhile, the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall's Civil Rights Committee chairperson Ser Choon Ing in a statement today urged the police to immediately release the protestors.

"There was no violent or untoward incidents reported during the demonstration. Hence the police did not have sufficient reason to arrest them as the Federal Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantee rights for peaceful assembly," he said.