Right-of-abode seekers and their parents yesterday side-stepped a police ban when they staged a rally at Chater Garden - and vowed to hold more protests at the park every week.
The parents' group behind the protest cut its size to just 40 people to avoid the threat of prosecution after their request to stage a larger protest at the Garden was rejected by police. They originally wanted to involve 300 people.
A letter of objection the police sent to the group said the request was turned down because previous abode protesters had caused hygiene problems at Chater Garden by camping and setting fires.
The letter also said public order problems had been created at the garden, which was the site of a long-running abode protest before police cleared demonstrators from the park on April 26.
It added that the Leisure and Cultural Services Department also objected to the proposed rally as it had approved another group to use the park yesterday.
However, parents' group vice-chairman Ngan Siu-lai criticised the police for using the problems created by other abode groups as an excuse to ban their protest.
'Police power is too big. They barred us from going to the Central Government Offices last time and then Chater Garden this time,' she said.
