KUALA LUMPUR: Thirteen days after leaving Kuantan on a 300km march, the Himpunan Hijau group protesting against the Lynas Advanced Material Plant finally reached the capital and parked itself outside Dataran Merdeka, which was cordoned off.
Surrounded by a huge crowd that had joined the original group of protesters, Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Tack vowed to remain outside Dataran until 9am today, adding that they would not march to Parliament as originally planned.
The organisers had planned to camp at Dataran last night before heading to Parliament the next day to submit a memorandum against the commencement of the Lynas plant.
Wong also called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to meet the protesters at Dataran and listen to their concerns.
At the historic square, both the crowd and police officers manning the barricades were calm, with many even walking up to the barrier to pose for photographs.
Earlier, the group, which set off from Kuantan on Nov 13, gathered at the Sentul market at about 1pm before starting on their last leg of the march.
They were joined along the way by more people and a number of Pakatan Rakyat leaders, including PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Selangor executive councillors Teresa Kok and Ronnie Liu and Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh.
They were stopped by barricades put up along two roads leading to Dataran, where volunteers quickly formed a human chain to prevent marchers from going any further.
The crowd stayed within the vicinity of Jalan Raja for about two hours before it began to thin as dusk, along with the rain, fell.
Addressing the crowd, Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Zainuddin Ahmad said he had not received any prior notice of the gathering, warning that this was an offence under the Peaceful Assembly Act.
On Nov 8, the Kuantan High Court lifted the suspension of Lynas' temporary operating licence (TOL), paving the way for the plant to start operations.
Justice Datuk Mariana Yahya fixed Friday to set the date for judicial review for an interim injunction application on the TOL filed by three Kuantan residents.
Surrounded by a huge crowd that had joined the original group of protesters, Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Tack vowed to remain outside Dataran until 9am today, adding that they would not march to Parliament as originally planned.
The organisers had planned to camp at Dataran last night before heading to Parliament the next day to submit a memorandum against the commencement of the Lynas plant.
Wong also called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to meet the protesters at Dataran and listen to their concerns.
At the historic square, both the crowd and police officers manning the barricades were calm, with many even walking up to the barrier to pose for photographs.
Earlier, the group, which set off from Kuantan on Nov 13, gathered at the Sentul market at about 1pm before starting on their last leg of the march.
They were joined along the way by more people and a number of Pakatan Rakyat leaders, including PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Selangor executive councillors Teresa Kok and Ronnie Liu and Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh.
They were stopped by barricades put up along two roads leading to Dataran, where volunteers quickly formed a human chain to prevent marchers from going any further.
The crowd stayed within the vicinity of Jalan Raja for about two hours before it began to thin as dusk, along with the rain, fell.
Addressing the crowd, Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Zainuddin Ahmad said he had not received any prior notice of the gathering, warning that this was an offence under the Peaceful Assembly Act.
On Nov 8, the Kuantan High Court lifted the suspension of Lynas' temporary operating licence (TOL), paving the way for the plant to start operations.
Justice Datuk Mariana Yahya fixed Friday to set the date for judicial review for an interim injunction application on the TOL filed by three Kuantan residents.
Source : TheStar
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