Sunday, July 10, 2011

Press Release from LA on Bersih 2.0

BERSIH 2.0 Rally in Los Angeles CA, USA

Los Angeles, July 9 - Amid intimidating arrests and brutal assaults by the police during the BERSIH 2.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysians from all ages, races and backgrounds, together with some foreigners supporting our cause, stood united and marched peacefully in the heart of Los Angeles downtown in support of free and fair elections in Malaysia.

A total of 85 attendees, dressed in yellow, gathered at Pershing Square in Los Angeles downtown. They carried self-made banners, posters and placards to express their dissents and frustrations. Organiser, James Cheng gave a brief introduction about the rally, why it was organised, and briefed about the police brutality against protesters in the BERSIH rally in Malaysia on the same day. The crowd then started the peaceful march toward the Consulate General of Malaysia. As the office was closed, the crowd, led by organisers Caterine Chang and Phebie Thum, read aloud the memorandum and the 8 electoral reform demands.

The crowd then marched towards the Los Angeles City Hall, while chanting the slogans "Bersih", "Hidup Rakyat", and "Reformasi". Cars and pedestrians passing by sounded their car horns and cheered to show their support.

When they arrived at the City Hall compound, the protesters observed a minute of silence to show respect to their Malaysian counterparts, who fought rain, assaults and risk of arrest to march for their freedom of speech and demand for clean elections. At 1pm, the crowd ended the rally by singing Negaraku, the national anthem of Malaysia.

By James Cheng