Malaysiakini
Apr 30, 2012
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should conduct a thorough and swift investigation on violent acts in Bersih 3.0, including those on journalists, and charge the perpetrators.
A group of six journalism associations issued a joint statement requesting this yesterday.
They are the Centre for Independent Journalism, Charter 2000 Aliran, Journalists Union of North Malaya, Penang Chinese Media Journalists and Photographers Association (Pewaju), Penang Press Club and Penang Press Employees Cooperative Society Limited.
The group condemned the arrest of two journalists and alleged police violence towards others who were covering the sit-down protest for free and fair elections.
“The prime minister must also adopt firm measures to ensure all uniformed personnel understand and respect the role of journalists, and give compensation to those whose equipment were deliberately damaged,” it said.
Media reports, video feeds, Facebook postings and tweets by the journalists involved, or their colleagues, indicate at least six such cases.
“We view the incidents as a concerted attack on media freedom since they appear to be aimed at preventing professional journalistic documentation of police violence against some Bersih protesters,” it added.
The joint statement also noted that the police’s attitude towards reporters might have caused by their embarrassment over photographs and videos the reporters have recorded in the past few months regarding police brutality.
Last week, it said, a mob attacked the Occupy Dataran encampment and targeted activists who were wielding cameras or smartphones, in a bid to thwart any attempt to document the violence and identify the perpetrators.
“Journalists, including press photographers, are professionals tasked with bearing witness to matters of public interest and reporting them ethically.
“Like the police, journalists have a public duty to perform and they should be afforded protection towards this end.
“Unless journalists are obstructing police work, they should be left alone to do their job. And certainly, no journalist in a nation that prides itself as a democracy, should ever be arrested for doing their job.”
Najib will say…
“Go to hell with you all. I got better things to do.”
Don’t be surprised that the police were instructed by their political masters to action against journalists.
Oops!
“to action” should be “to take action”.
WHAT lah complain? HisapH oredi said mata2 did d right thing, following SOP – confiscated or smashed any recording devices dat recorded polis brutality, violence
C no evil, hear no evil, RECORD no evil – semua OK! Brilliant idea of HisapH n cousin
Ask any1: DO U TRUST OUR MATA2?
In d open, in front of d entire world, our mata2 collectively, like a pack of hyenas, whacked, battered, kicked, injured helpless, defenceless, unarmed individuals who did no harm n only wished 2 exercise their constitutional rights 2 demand 4 a FAIR n CLEAN election system in M’sia
Can 1 imagine WHAT mata2 will do BEHIND CLOSED DOORS in balai mata2?
R U surprised individuals DIED while in polis custodi? Or also in custodi of MACC?
ALL blessed n given OK by UmnoB/BN, their blooood thirsty bullying masters
Now, IGP wanted 2 investigate – WHAT an insulting JOKE; rakyat bodoh meh?
Bersih 3.0 428 – this day the BN Government raged war against Citizens Malaysia with massive police brutality, the necessity of setting up barricades of barbed and razor wires to maim and kill, wasteful firing of tear-gas and chemical laced water to ‘attack not disperse’ Bersih participants and its supporters/sympathisers, and letting out of their ‘agent provocateurs’!
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his Home Minister cousin Hishammudin Hussein Onn must be held responsible and be answerable to Rakyat Malaysia. What happened must be condemned in the severest terms possible!
I call on all Members of Parliament on both sides of the political divide to think about it, search their conscience and speak up on this.
Don’t blame Najib for this, blame Tv1,Tv2,Tv3, Star, Utusan and the whole MSM, the editors, the journalists are the contributing factors for these media abuses, they are the problem to what is today.
It is the media themselves (people like you) allowed this to happened, who you want to blame? Dato Wong is proud, very proud of it.
When you prostitute your carrier, prostitution is your profession, don’t blame your customer.
Najib is to be blamed….for he is the PM.
cseng is born to carry Bls for a living.