Civilians are once again becoming victims. A year ago, it was Affan\nKurniawan; this year, Bambang Setiawan. These tragedies leave deep\nwounds and raise fundamental questions: why does this pattern repeat\nyear after year? Who should be held responsible when the lives of\ninnocent citizens are lost amidst riots?<\/p>\n
In a democracy, citizens expressing their opinions to the government\npeacefully is a natural occurrence. However, the story changes when\nevery demonstration is met with chaos that ultimately claims lives. This\nis both an irony and a tragedy of democracy that requires an immediate\nremedy, so that our wounds do not deepen. If left unaddressed, there is\na fear that the same pattern will recur next year, bringing back the\nsame unanswered question: who is responsible?<\/p>\n
Pejompongan, Central Jakarta; these two tragedies occurred in almost\nthe same location, near the DPR\/MPR Building. Affan Kurniawan, a\n21-year-old man, was delivering food orders on 28 August 2025, as he was\nthe sole breadwinner for his family, working daily as an online\nmotorcycle taxi driver. He was run over by a Brimob tactical vehicle\nduring the dispersal of a crowd that had exceeded its permitted time.\nUnexpectedly, Affan became trapped in the panicking crowd. He was\ncrushed and passed away.<\/p>\n
One year later, a similar pattern occurred in nearly the same place.\nOn 27 August 2026, following an action by the Aliansi Masyarakat Pati\nBersatu in front of the DPR Building\u2014which initially proceeded\npeacefully and even received a response from DPR leadership\u2014some\nprotesters chose to remain after the permit expired. The situation\nheated up when security forces began dispersing the crowd. Chaos broke\nout in the residential area of Pejompongan.<\/p>\n
Amidst the chaos, Bambang Setiawan, a resident not involved with the\nprotesters and not involved in any clashes with authorities, was found\ndead, having been assaulted by a group of unidentified individuals,\nsuspected to be infiltrators taking advantage of the situation after the\nprotesters had officially dispersed. Like Affan, Bambang was not a\nparticipant in the protest. He was an ordinary citizen who happened to\nbe in his own neighbourhood when a riot, which he did not instigate,\ntook his life.<\/p>\n
This pattern should make us pause and ask: if in these two years\ncivilian lives have been lost at identical points and moments, is this\ntruly a coincidence, or a reflection of the same underlying weakness\nthat has never been truly rectified?<\/p>\n
The root of the riots does not stem from the protests themselves; the\nactions can proceed well and peacefully. According to reports by\nDetiknews on 27\/08\/2026, the Metro Jaya Regional Police stated: The AMPB\nmass action proceeded in a conducive, safe, and peaceful manner.\nHowever, the peaceful situation changed at night; rioters arrived, and\nthe crowd fled and dispersed.<\/p>\n
Even more heartbreaking is that a civilian, having no connection to\nthe rioting crowd, became a victim of brutality. Although this case has\nnot been fully uncovered, and it is not yet certain who the perpetrators\nare\u2014with investigations ongoing by the authorities\u2014there is one critical\nconcern we must share: the safety of civilians continues to be\novershadowed by violence, assault, and even loss of life.<\/p>\n
From these events, it is natural to ask: why could security forces\nnot secure the residential areas surrounding the unrest? This is not\nintended to corner the security forces. While they may have exerted\nmaximum effort, this may be the point of weakness in these incidents,\nwhere they escaped the oversight of the authorities.<\/p>\n
These recurring events raise further questions. This question always\narises whenever news of mourning is broadcast, yet the answers are\nalmost never complete because responsibility in such tragedies is\nmulti-layered.<\/p>\n
The first layer involves the perpetrators on the ground. In the case\nof Bambang Setiawan, he was forcibly dragged from an alley near his\nhouse and assaulted by a group of unidentified individuals, suspected to\nbe infiltrators exploiting the situation after the demonstration\nsubsided. Video footage showing the moments the victim was dragged and\nbrutally beaten circulated widely on social media. However, the police\nare still investigating the perpetrators. Legally, the perpetrators\nremain unidentified, and this is precisely where the first\nresponsibility should begin: to uncover who they are, rather than\nstopping at mere allegations and denials in the media.<\/p>\n
The second layer involves security forces on the ground. The police\nconfirmed they received reports regarding the assault on a citizen, but\nevacuation could not be performed immediately because the situation was\ndeemed non-conducive; thus, Bambang was only evacuated in an unconscious\nstate after the area was secured. The gap between the report being\nreceived and the arrival of help raises its own question: how much\npriority is placed on protecting civilians amidst the task of crowd\ncontrol?<\/p>\n
In the case of Affan Kurniawan a year prior, the issue was more\ndirect: he was struck by a tactical vehicle belonging to the security\nforces themselves during the dispersal of the crowd, which several\nactivists assessed as a form of excessive use of force.<\/p>\n
The third layer involves institutions and the legal process. In\nAffan\u2019s case, seven Brimob members were immediately detained by Propam\nshortly after the incident, and the President personally expressed\ncondolences and requested a transparent investigation. In Bambang\u2019s\ncase, Metro Jaya investigators stated they are still gathering legal\nfacts, while the autopsy requested by the police to confirm the cause of\ndeath was rejected by the family, an obstacle that hampers the\ninvestigation process.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/when-democracy-fails-to-learn-from-its-wounds-1789912450", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }