Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) equivocated yesterday on whether he would revoke a permit for a pan-blue rally next Saturday.
Despite violence at last Saturday's rally, Ma said the decision was up to the Taipei Police Bureau.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The bureau is an arm of the city government, which is run by Ma.
"The Constitution endows people with the freedom to hold rallies and parades. Since it was the Taipei Police Bureau which approved the rally, I think it is also up to the bureau whether to cancel the rally," Ma said at a news conference yesterday.
Ma also said the Cabinet interfered with the city government's efforts to disperse the crowd Saturday night and accused it of abusing its authority.
"The Cabinet's requests to disperse the crowd only caused more conflicts," Ma said.
Police began to break up the crowd of about 1,200 at about 1:30 am yesterday. The move came after the crowd was warned five times to leave and protesters trampled security fences outside the Presidential Office.
After Chungcheng First Precinct Chief Wu Su-lu (吳思陸) gave the order, nearly 1,500 police officers equipped with helmets and shields pushed forward, clashing with the crowd, which threw bottles, flagpoles and traffic signs at police.
The police carried or dragged away people who refused to leave the scene. About 15 people and three police officers suffered injuries and about 150 people were arrested.
Some of those who fled to the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) headquarters were also arrested. Most of them were released after interrogation.
Unlike when police dispersed a crowd on March 28, police appeared to be running out of patience with the protesters yesterday morning and shouted back at those trying to provoke them.
Ma said he felt sorry to see protesters and police injured. He said the bloodshed was the result of protesters who were not organized, adding the situation was more complicated than at the rally the week before.
"We are still unclear about who caused the turmoil. But it was fortunate that only a few people were hurt and their injuries were not serious," he said.
Ma said he asked police to use shields and batons to disperse the crowd rather than water cannons, because water cannons would have led to a more severe outcome.
He said the Taipei Police Bureau's work went according to plan and denied accusations by the Ministry of Interior that the enforcement order was delayed.
"I don't understand why the Cabinet has such different interpretations of the city government's dispersions yesterday and last week since the Taipei Police Bureau took the same measures on both occasions," Ma said.
When asked whether the KMT-People First Party alliance should take responsibility for the turmoil, Ma said he felt some political figures could not avoid shouldering political responsibility but refused mention anyone by name.
Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲) said he wanted to remind Ma not to delay breaking up the protest since the rally was illegal, adding that, as minister, he is responsible for public security.
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