Malaysian Cops Teargas Hindu Protesters

Malaysian police fired tear gas and water cannon Sunday to disperse thousands of ethnic Indians who tried to stage a rally that had been banned amid government accusations that its organizers were stirring racial hatred, activists said.

Witnesses claimed dozens of demonstrators were beaten and arrested.

At least 5,000 people gathered before dawn near Kuala Lumpur's famous Petronas Twin Towers, in a rare attempt by Malaysia's ethnic Indian minority to highlight complaints that they are economically marginalized by the ethnic Malay Muslim-dominated government.

Thousands of others massed in Batu Caves, a limestone cave Hindu temple on the city's outskirts, hoping to join the others in a march to the British High Commission to protest how ethnic Indians have remained largely poor since British colonial rule.

Authorities fired tear gas and chemical-laced water at the crowds in both areas, said P. Uthayakumar, a senior representative of the Hindu Rights Action Force, a nongovernment group that organized the rally.

"Police went into Batu Caves and beat many innocent people," Uthayakumar said, adding that more than 100 people have been detained.

Police officers outside the Petronas towers confirmed that tear gas and water cannon were used.

Thousands of people regrouped later near the towers in a standoff with hundreds of police. Shoes and slippers were scattered in the area and flower pots were broken after people fled the scene earlier.

An Associated Press reporter saw about a dozen people taken away in a police truck.

Police had obtained an unprecedented court order forbidding the public from rallying outside the British High Commission, and warned that protesters could be arrested on sight. Three of the Hindu group's leaders were arrested and charged in court with sedition Friday.