 |
| A journalist is beaten by riot police during a protest against fuel prices near the Presidential Palace in Jakartaon Wednesday. (JG Photo/Jurnasyanto Sukarno) |
With protests against the planned government fuel price increase picking up in intensity, the police are coming under fire for their rough handling of the mainly student protesters.
Lawmakers from both the government coalition and the opposition were in agreement on Wednesday that the police had been unnecessarily harsh in its handling of some protests, including assaulting journalists and confiscating cameras.
Civil society groups joined in condemning the violence, saying human rights violations would only exacerbate the unrest.
Lawmaker Benny K. Harman of the ruling Democratic Party urged the National Police chief to punish those officers found to have used violence in dispersing protesters.
He also criticized the police’s rough treatment of journalists.
“Journalists are the ones they should be protecting,” he said. “The seizure of their cameras is in direct violation of freedom of information.”
A protest in Jakarta on Tuesday turned ugly after the police tried to block protesters, mostly students, from marching to the State Palace.
The protesters began throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at officers, who responded by spraying them with water cannons and shooting tear gas into the crowd.
At least 10 protesters sought treatment at nearby hospitals. Some 35 were arrested and released the following day.
Teguh Juwarno, the secretary general of the National Mandate Party (PAN), which is part of the pro-government coalition, agreed that the police were too repressive and too ready to employ violent tactics.
“The National Police chief must punish those police officers who engaged in violence against journalists and demonstrators,” he said.
Haris Azhar, from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said rights violations had included the police use of tear gas and water cannons on protesters, the hunting down and arrest of protesters and the seizure of a TV journalist’s camera.
He also criticized directives allegedly given to police officers by a local military commander at Gambir train station in Central Jakarta on how to deal with the student protesters.
The Jakarta Police aren’t the only ones in the hot seat. Kontras also admonished the police in Medan, where on Monday two protesters were shot with rubber bullets and two journalists were beaten by officers.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. M. Taufik said that officers were within their rights to defend themselves, and added that police officers were among the injured as well.
“Police had asked the protesters to leave behind their belongings as they were approaching the State Palace, but they reacted instead by throwing [stones],” Taufik said of one violent encounter in Jakarta. “Seventeen of our officers were injured.”
Police found 20 Molotov cocktails among the student protesters. A police station, a car and a motorcycle were all destroyed in the clash.
source:http://www.thejakartaglobe.com
0 komentar