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Hindus Battle Riot Police in Malaysia

Second street clash in two weeks erupts in Kuala Lumpur

By Jim O'Neill, Newser User

Posted Nov 25, 2007 8:30 AM CST

(Newser) – For the second time in two weeks Malaysian police have used water cannons and tear gas to break up protests in Kuala Lumpur, reports the Canadian Press. More than 10,000 Hindus, Malaysia’s second-largest minority, took to the street around the Petronas Twin Towers chanting slogans and throwing rocks at police to protest discrimination by Malaysia’s Muslim-dominated government.

There were no immediate reports of injuries from the eight-hour disturbance, the largest protest by ethnic Indians in a decade. "This is a community that can no longer tolerate discrimination,” said one protester. Witnesses said police beat people and detained hundreds. Two weeks ago, thousands of protesters demanding electoral reforms were dispersed by police using similar tactics.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

Malaysian police use chemical-laced water to disperse protesters. (BBC)

The Malaysian authorities had banned the event, despite claims from organizers that it would be peaceful. The protesters' demands were met with tear gas. (BBC)

Some demonstrators were beaten and bundled into police vans, according to reports. (BBC)

Ethnic Indian protesters in Malaysia are calling for reparations from the UK for sending Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers a century ago. (BBC)

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Riot police were dispatched to the British High Commission in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur to disperse the rally. (BBC)

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Hindus Battle Riot Police in Malaysia