Malaysian police use water cannon on pro-Anwar protesters
KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 (AFP) - 17:34 - Malaysian police used a water cannon Saturday to break up a protest by hundreds of people in support of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, witnesses said.
Protests began at the national mosque in the centre of Kuala Lumpur after evening prayers at 4.45 pm (0845 GMT), an AFP reporter saw.About 200 people emerged from the mosque shouting "Reformasi" (Reform), the rallying cry of the National Justice Party founded by Anwar's wife.
They were joined by sympathisers outside and a crowd, including women and children, began moving towards the nearby main railway station. Police sprayed the crowd with water apparently laced with a pepper-like irritant.Scuffles broke out in the railway station car park and traffic in the area came to a standstill.
Anwar's supporters had called for a mass protest at the mosque at 3 pm to mark the first anniversary of his sentencing to a six-year jail term. The 3 pm deadline passed uneventfully apart from shouts by about 150 supporters but trouble broke out later. By about 5.30 pm the crowd near the railway station had apparently dispersed but it was not clear if they were trying to regroup elsewhere.
WIRE:04/15/2000 06:44:00 ET
Malaysian Police Fire Tear Gas at Fresh Protest
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Reuters) - Riot police fired tear gas Saturday at several hundred protesters who shouted anti-government slogans outside a shopping complex in Malaysia's capital.
The protesters gathered at the complex, shouting slogans in support of jailed former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim, after police had stormed the National Mosque across the city and fired water cannon to disperse an earlier demonstration there.
The show of force by police prevented the protesters from marching toward the royal palace to mark the first anniversary of Anwar's corruption conviction and six-year jail sentence.
Several dozen riot police with helmets, shields and batons, and 10 police trucks moved down the broad avenue in front of the Sogo shopping complex toward nearby Merdeka (Independence) Square in an effort to disperse the protesters.
Anwar's conviction last April 14 came at the end of a trial that exposed political divisions in Malaysia, which has been ruled since 1981 by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.