Polis Berbohong - PBB Tak Pernah Luluskan "Gas Pemedih Mata"

PBB selar, kata tak lulus ‘gas pemedih mata’

KUALA LUMPUR: Seorang pegawai Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) menafikan bahawa badan antarabangsa tersebut terlibat dalam ‘meluluskan’ senjata seperti gas pemedih mata sebagai reaksi kepada dakwaan kerajaan Malaysia bahawa gas pemedih mata yang digunakan dalam Bersih 3.0 adalah diluluskan PBB.

“PBB tidak menetapkan piawai antarabangsa terhadap sebarang jenis bahan iritasi, atau meluluskan ‘CS Gas’ sebagai bahan pengawal rusuhan,” kata Dr Lin Mui Kiang, penyelarasan pakar PBB bagi Malaysia.

Beliau merujuk kepada satu laporan oleh akhbar milik MCA, The Star yang memetik Ketua Penolong Pengarah Jabatan Logistik (Persenjataan), ACP Syed Mustafa Raja Syed Nordin sebagai mempertahankan penggunaan gas pemedih mata, bom gas pemedih mata, kanister gas pemedih mata dan semburan lada di perhimpunan Bersih 3.0.

"Kesemuanya diimport dari Amerika Syarikat (AS), Kanada dan Switzerland serta mematuhi piawaian antarabangsa yang ditetapkan Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB). Alat ini mengandungi 'gas CS' yang diluluskan oleh PBB sebagai ejen kawalan rusuhan. Kebanyakan negara mengesahkan penggunaan gas ini tidak membawa maut," beliau dipetik sebagai berkata.

Mengutuk kekurangan profesionalisme oleh media perdana Malaysia dan pegawai awam, Lin turut melahirkan rasa kesal bahawa PBB tidak dirujuk terlebih dahulu sebelum The Star membuat laporan tersebut, yang disifatkan beliau jauh tersasar daripada ketepatan maklumat.

Beliau mengingatkan walaupun dalam situasi di mana kekerasan dan senjata perlu digunakan, pihak berkuasa mestilah bertindak secara terkawal, minimakan kerosakan dan kecederaan, hormat dan lindungi nyawa.

“Kita di PBB menyeru agar para wartawan untuk menyelidik dan melaporkan secara betul dan tepat atas segala maklumat dan prosedur yang melibatkan PBB. Kita percaya bahawa professionalisme sebegini perlu juga ada pada pegawai awam,” kata Lin.

Sebanyak lebih 250,000 peserta telah menbanjiri Kuala Lumpur pada April 28 yang lepas untuk menyatakan sokongan terhadap Bersih 3.0 untuk menuntut penambah-baikan segera pada sistem pilihanraya negara.

Lebih 500 peserta telah ditahan, ramai yang tercedera termasuk polis dan wartawan.

Kerajaan Barisan Nasional terdahulunya telah menolak tawaran seorang pelapor khas Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) Frank William La Rue, untuk menyiasat Bersih secara objektif.

Sebaliknya, kerajaan melantik bekas ketua polis negara Hanif Omar untuk mengetahui “panel penasihat bebas” untuk menyiasat insiden keganasan semasa perhimpunan Bersih 3.0. -HD

CAUGHT LYING BY THE UN: From Utusan to NST to the Star, Najib shames M'sia
Written by Lin Mui Kiang

The United Nations in Malaysia would like to refer to the article published in The Star newspaper on May 7, 2012 titled “Police: Tear gas used at rally safe, UN-approved’.

We very much regret that the UN in Malaysia was not consulted before the publication of this article as it contains serious inaccuracies. The UN has consistently condemned the excessive use of force, including through the use of tear gas.

Please also note that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council have on various occasions publicly expressed concerns about reliable reports indicating that civilians who died from tear gas suffered complications from gas inhalation, and that security forces have been firing metal tear gas canisters from grenade launchers into crowds.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression after his mission to the Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in December 2011 noted that "while the use of tear gas to disperse a crowd may be legitimate under certain circumstances, tear gas canisters should never be fired directly at demonstrators."

Moreover, unlike what is alleged in the article, the UN does not set international standards on different kinds of irritants, nor has the UN approved ‘CS Gas’ as a ‘riot control’ agent.

Journalists AND public officials should be professional

As far as the use of force is concerned, the relevant UN instrument is the Basic Principles on the use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, which was adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in 1990, not the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) of 1993. I provide its general provisions below:

1. Governments and law enforcement agencies shall adopt and implement rules and regulations on the use of force and firearms against persons by law enforcement officials. In developing such rules and regulations, Governments and law enforcement agencies shall keep the ethical issues associated with the use of force and firearms constantly under review.

2. Governments and law enforcement agencies should develop a range of means as broad as possible and equip law enforcement officials with various types of weapons and ammunition that would allow for a differentiated use of force and firearms. These should include the development of non-lethal incapacitating weapons for use in appropriate situations, with a view to increasingly restraining the application of means capable of causing death or injury to persons. For the same purpose, it should also be possible for law enforcement officials to be equipped with self-defensive equipment such as shields, helmets, bullet-proof vests and bullet-proof means of transportation, in order to decrease the need to use weapons of any kind.

3. The development and deployment of non-lethal incapacitating weapons should be carefully evaluated in order to minimize the risk of endangering uninvolved persons, and the use of such weapons should be carefully controlled.

4. Law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms. They may use force and firearms only if other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result.

5. Whenever the lawful use of force and firearms is unavoidable, law enforcement officials shall:

( a ) Exercise restraint in such use and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence and the legitimate objective to be achieved;

( b ) Minimize damage and injury, and respect and preserve human life;

( c ) Ensure that assistance and medical aid are rendered to any injured or affected persons at the earliest possible moment;

( d ) Ensure that relatives or close friends of the injured or affected person are notified at the earliest possible moment.

6. Where injury or death is caused by the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials, they shall report the incident promptly to their superiors, in accordance with principle 22.

7. Governments shall ensure that arbitrary or abusive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials is punished as a criminal offence under their law.

8. Exceptional circumstances such as internal political instability or any other public emergency may not be invoked to justify any departure from these basic principles.

We at the United Nations appeal to all journalists to correctly and accurately research and report all matters and procedures related to the UN. We believe that such professionalism should also extend to all public officials.

Dr Lin Mui Kiang is the United Nations Coordination Specialist, Malaysia -malaysia-chronicle