REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Police measures in overcoming the protesters of fuel price increasing on Tuesday, draw criticism. It shows the lack of professionalism from the police as their response still characterized by violence. The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) notes the allegation of human rights violation by the police.
KontraS noted, the police used tear gas and three water cannon apart from the arrest, attack, and also confiscating camera and memory card. Two protesters were shot by rubber bullets, two others were hit, and two journalists were beaten on Monday by Mobile Brigade (Brimob) and anti-riot police of North Sumatera Police Department.
“Police also used some additional instrument (rattan cane) to hit the students in Samarinda,” the Coordinator of KontraS, Haris Azhar, said on Wednesday.
The Presidium of Indonesian Police Watch (IPW), Neta S Pane, assessed that police acted arrogantly in handling the protesters in Gambir, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday. The act, he said, was conducted in purpose to show their power in front of the head quarter of Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad).
“Indonesian National Police has triggered the anger from many parties, students, people, and Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI),” Pane said. Such condition causes the increasing of resistance towards police.
Standard procedure
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Mochamad Taufik explained the handling of the protesters was followed the Standard Operating Procedure, including the people dismissal by using water cannon and tear gas.
The police search towards the protesters in Gambir found 20 molotov bombs. Even after the dismissal, the protesters damaged the Police Traffic Post in Senen and crushed a unit of car and a motorcycle.
About the beaten of the journalists, Taufik said the Profession and Security (Propam) of Jakarta Police Department conducted investigation on the beaten journalist to find the perpetrator. “We will impose discipline sanction,” Taufik said.
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