Police arrest Anwar after major protest

Police arrest Anwar after major protest

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysian police arrested sacked
finance minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday, hours after he led tens
of thousands of protesters through the streets of the capital
calling on Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to resign.

Armed police broke down the front door of Anwar's suburban
home and led him to a white police van as about 2,000 supporters
still there shouted "Reformasi" (Reform) and "Long Live Anwar".
About 100 riot police with shields and batons surrounded the van
as it drove away with Anwar and his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail,
inside.

Anwar's lawyer Christopher Fernando told reporters inside
Anwar's house that the former cabinet minister would be indicted
for sexual indecency.

Local television said Anwar would be arraigned in court today,
the day when Britain's visiting Queen Elizabeth closes the 16th
Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.

Anwar's adopted brother and a former speechwriter pleaded
guilty in court on Saturday to being sodomized by Anwar. Sodomy
is a crime in Malaysia.

Mahathir sacked Anwar as deputy prime minister and finance
minister on Sept. 2, calling him morally unfit.

Anwar, 51, is under investigation for sodomy, treason,
corruption and other crimes which he has denied, saying he was
the victim of a conspiracy to end his political career.

Anwar's wife said late on Sunday at federal police
headquarters that her husband had been shifted into another car
after leaving their home, and that she did not know where he had
been taken.

"I brought the kids," she told reporters outside police
headquarters as a helicopter with a spotlight hovered overhead
and about 50 riot police holding M16 rifles stood by.

"They support their father, an innocent man. I feel sad for
the country because Anwar wants to fight for justice, for truth.
If Anwar is arrested, there are many more Anwars in Malaysia,"
she said.

Anwar and his wife have five girls and a boy. A lawyer said
Anwar had been given an hour to collect his affairs and say
goodbye to his children before being led away.

"There will be further arrests, especially the movement
leaders," Kuala Lumpur police chief Kamaruddin Ali told reporters
outside police headquarters.

He said Anwar had been detained to aid police investigations
into allegations of criminal acts. "He (Anwar) will be produced
to the magistrate tomorrow morning," he said.

Anwar had said police were preparing at least 21 charges
against him and that he expected to be arrested after Queen
Elizabeth leaves Malaysia on Wednesday.

But Anwar surely hastened events when he led 30,000
demonstrators through the streets of the capital shouting for
Mahathir to end his 17 years of uninterrupted power.

The protesters later converged on a road leading to Mahathir's
official residence, and riot police fired tear gas and water
cannon to disperse them.

"It amounted to rioting and also some vandalism," said police
chief Kamaruddin, adding that "everything is now under control".

"The march to the prime minister's house is unprecedented,"
political analyst Murugesu Pathmanathan told Reuters. "This is a
major political event and there will be a change in the
international attitude towards Malaysia."

Anwar's arrest came amid an economic recession that recently
prompted Mahathir to impose strict currency controls that were at
odds with Anwar's more liberal policies.

Tensions built between Anwar and Mahathir earlier this year
when the prime minister's former heir-apparent spoke out against
cronyism and corruption.

Anwar's campaign coincided with protests against former
Indonesian president Soeharto, who stepped down in May, and riled
Mahathir's supporters who saw it as an attempt to destabilize the
government.

"People are angry at Mahathir," said a 21-year-old marcher who
asked not to be identified. "Indonesia used to be a military
country, then students took to the streets. We are very, very
angry."

Mahathir dismissed Anwar's movement on Sunday, calling it a
"minor" distraction. Bolstered by the smooth running of the
Commonwealth Games, Mahathir said he could easily win a snap
election.

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