Anwar backers protest after verdict delay

Anwar backers protest after verdict delay

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Supporters of former Malaysian
finance minister Anwar Ibrahim defied government orders and
demonstrated in the capital on Friday, a day after a court
abruptly postponed the verdict in his sex trial.

Some 300 anti-government protesters and leaders of the
opposition Parti Keadilan Nasional (National Justice Party)
shouted reformasi (reform). Several carried portraits of Anwar.

Police moved in, broke up the demonstration and made several
arrests. A Keadilan leader said seven people were detained.
Witnesses saw three detained, including N. Gobalakrishnan, a
leader of Keadilan, which is headed by Anwar's wife, Azizah
Ismail.

The protesters were scattered outside the court house
building, which is opposite Merdeka (Freedom) Square, scene of
some of the worst anti-government protests in Malaysia's recent
history following Anwar's sacking, arrest and jailing.

"We told them to break up. But they refused to. So, we had to
make the arrest," a police official said.

Apart from the odd scuffle, the protest ended peacefully.
Authorities had earlier expected the demonstration to continue
after Muslim Friday prayers.

It was the first street protest since mid-April, the
anniversary of Anwar's jailing on an abuse of power charge.

"We are here today to support the struggle of Anwar Ibrahim.
But the courts are afraid of people's power," said Tian Chua,
vice president of Keadilan.

The government has denied having a hand in the postponement of
the verdict.

Tian, along with 30 other people, earlier on Friday turned up
for a separate trial for alleged involvement in an earlier pro-
Anwar protest. That hearing was also postponed.

Hundreds of police in riot gear and armored vehicles,
including water cannon, took up positions in the capital at dawn
in anticipation of the protest.

Police helicopters hovered over the city's main square as the
demonstration caused traffic snarls in downtown Kuala Lumpur.
The security cordon was also tightened around the national
mosque, the center of some other pro-Anwar demonstrations.

High Court judge Arifin Jaka on Thursday postponed the verdict
in Anwar's sodomy trial which had been due on Friday. Anwar's
supporters had planned to gather in the capital ahead of the
judgment and protest if he was convicted.

Police warned that any gathering would be illegal without
authorization and vowed a crackdown. Under Malaysian law, any
public assembly of more than five persons needs police approval.
The sodomy trial closed in July, 13 months after it began, and
was one of the longest criminal cases in Malaysia.

Anwar and his adopted brother, Sukma Dermawan, face a maximum
penalty of 20 years in jail and whipping if convicted on a charge
of sodomizing their former family driver in 1993.

Anwar, sacked as finance minister and deputy prime minister in
September 1998, says Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his
associates framed him in a sex scandal to drive him from office
and to stave off a possible leadership challenge.

Mahathir has denied the charge. Thousands took to the streets
after Anwar's sacking in September 1998 to demand the resignation
of Mahathir.

In another development, in a statement on Friday, Rights
Commission Chairman Musa Hitam said he was insulted by a ruling
party official's criticism of his statement upholding Malaysian
citizens' right to political protest.

The government-appointed panel said earlier this week that
Malaysians had a right to demonstrate peacefully when a High
Court announced its verdict in Anwar's sodomy trial.

The country's first Rights Commission of 13 judges,
politicians and academics was formed in April. Its mandate is to
investigate complaints and advise the government on new laws to
protect rights abuses.