Blocked by batons, shields and machine-guns

About 40 people from the Hindu Rights Action Force went to the parliament today to submit a memo to the PM, asking for more financial allocations for the Tamil schools and hardcore poor Indians.

That itself is nothing new. Memorandums like this are regularly passed on to the PM.

What startled me was the strong police presence at the parliament.

Not your ordinary cops but those from the light strike force unit - armed with shields, batons and machine guns!

Why the strong police presence?

Obviously they were expecting the protesters but to intimidate the peaceful and noiseless protesters and not allowing them into the parliament is totally unbecoming of a democratic government.

I am just worried that the police are becoming less tolerant with the protesters.

Could that be the reason for the riot - in which the police fired live bullets on the protesters - which happened in Kuala Terengganu last Saturday night?

Just thinking out loud here - if the protesters today were noisy and boisterous and refused to disperse, would we have seen another violent break up of the protesters by the police?

Hmmmm!


More images of Hindraf at parliament protest here