Plans by police to release videos of the Bersih 3.0 protest which Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had said shows that not all participants “intended to demonstrate peacefully” will not undermine the inquiry panel set up by the government to investigate the rally.

This, panel chief Mohd Hanif Omar said, is because the inquiry will have access to 73 hours of footage of the April 28 rally.

“No (it will not undermine the panel), we have access to videos that have not been edited to public view and it is quite voluminous with 43 clips,” he said at a press conference in Putrajaya this evening.

He said this after the second meeting by the panel, in which Criminal Crimes Investigation deputy director Abdul Samah Mat and his team had briefed its panellists about the force's "approach" during the protest and screened some videos.

Among the videos, he said, included footage of Bersih 3.0 participants' behaviour as well as political speeches prior to the rally in which people were urged to participate in the protest.

'Seditious speeches'

He added that the police informed the panel that some of the speeches were seditious in nature, to which the panellist responded by requesting for more information.

"That is unclear to us, we are asking for the exact words to be presented to us," he said, adding that the speeches were made by, among others, leaders of political parties during and before the rally.

"We also asked the police to explain their standard operating procedures in controlling mass rallies and the police have said they will provide us with the necessary information soon," he said.

Furthermore, Hanif added that the panel intends to consult international experts from UK, US and Canada on crowd control methods and relevant laws.

Public urged to come forward

He also called on members of the public to come forward to provide statements or recordings relating the to protest.

"The police has given the panel assurance that anyone who comes forward with evidence of abuse of power by the police, their case will be investigated and if necessary the relevent officers will be charged," he said.

He added that based on the police briefing, a total of 140 police reports have been lodged by the public relating to the protest while 80 more were made by police while ten individuals have been charged in court.

Any groups or individuals interested in participating in the inquiry may contact the panel's secretariat at - Tel: 03-8868110 or 03-8868112; Fax: 03-88894836; Email:bilikgerakan@moha.com.my.