From The International Herald Tribune 17th April 2000

KUALA LUMPUR - The Malaysian police Sunday continued to crack down on the opposition a day after beating and arresting supporters of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as they marked the first anniversary of his sentencing and conviction.

With dozens of demonstrators now under arrest, the country's opposition was left pondering its chances for survival and struggling to regroup.

''We're living in dark times,'' Mr. Anwar's wife, Azizah Ismail, said Sunday. ''We've lost the democratic right to assemble peacefully.''

Mrs. Azizah, who heads the opposition National Justice Party, said the recurring standoffs between protesters and police in the Malaysian capital were ''alarming displays of police insolence.''

Several hundred anti-government protesters took to the streets of the capital Saturday for the first time in four months to commemorate the first anniversary of the sentencing of Mr. Anwar, who was convicted last April 14 on four counts of corruption and sentenced to six years in jail.

Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon to snuff out the protest, and arrested at least 46 people.

The number of protesters was far below the 5,000 to 10,000 that organizers had projected.

Opposition leaders and local human rights groups have condemned police for storming the National Mosque on Saturday and firing water cannons at hundreds of people on a balcony chanting, ''God is great.''

The police also pursued demonstrators down alleys in central Kuala Lumpur. Tian Chua, the party's vice-president who organized the demonstrations, said that armed policemen suddenly surrounded and detained him Sunday during his lunch at a Kuala Lumpur shopping mall.

Police refused to allow Mr. Chua's lawyer, Cheah Kah Ping, to accompany him to the police station. When Mr. Cheah protested, he too was arrested.

Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad said late Saturday that he approved of the massive police operation, insisting that Malaysians would lose out if street protests continued to flare.

''If there are demonstrations, those who suffer would include the traders, especially petty traders who depend on their daily earnings to survive,'' Mr. Mahathir said.

Some of the street traders disagreed with Mr. Mahathir, Asia's longest-serving leader.

One shopkeeper, who on Saturday hid several protesters who were being chased by police armed with assault rifles, said he was more afraid of the policemen than of any demonstrations.

A local human rights group, Suaram, accused the police of bringing Kuala Lumpur to a standstill and intimidating the scores of journalists who covered the demonstrations.

''The city appears to have turned into a police state,'' said Suaram's spokesman, S. Arutchelvan. ''The police and the government should be blamed for disrupting the peace and harmony.''

The opposition said Sunday that many potential demonstrators had been scared off by repeated police warnings throughout the week.

Mr. Chua said before his arrest that the police had taken ''extraordinary'' steps by blocking highways into Kuala Lumpur and cordoning railway stations.

That reportedly shut out thousands of Mr. Anwar's supporters from outside the capital who still believe that the former deputy prime minister is a victim of government injustice.

Mr. Mahathir dismissed Mr. Anwar in September 1998. Mr. Anwar was then arrested and charged with corruption.

Mr. Anwar is now on trial on charges of sodomy. He faces another 20-year prison sentence if he is convicted.

He insists that he is innocent and that Mr. Mahathir and other government leaders framed him to quash his chances of becoming prime minister.

Mr. Chua said that the opposition planned to rally again Friday in the northern state of Kedah and would march to the state sultan's palace to submit a memorandum calling for Mr. Mahathir to step down.