Coordinating Minister Yusril Claims Acid Attack on KontraS Activist Was Premeditated, Demands Identification of Intellectual Masterminds
Jakarta — Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra has affirmed that the acid attack against KontraS activist Andrie Yunus constitutes an assault on democratic values and the enforcement of human rights in Indonesia.
“Human rights activists work in the interests of the people and the nation because the enforcement of human rights and democracy is a constitutional mandate,” Yusril told ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday.
He stressed that in a democratic state, all parties must uphold mutual respect for differing viewpoints, and therefore violence against democracy and human rights activists cannot be justified under any circumstances.
In a democracy, Yusril said, everyone should adhere to the principle of respecting differences and diversity because all are working towards collective interests, not personal gain.
Yusril has called on law enforcement authorities, particularly the National Police (Polri), to urgently investigate the case not merely to identify the perpetrators and their motives, but also to reveal who orchestrated the incident.
“I am calling on law enforcement to ensure a thorough investigation extending to the intellectual masterminds, not just the perpetrators who carried out the attack in the field,” he stated emphatically.
Yusril believes the pattern of the attack indicates signs of organised planning, meaning the law enforcement process must not stop at the level of ground-level perpetrators but must also uncover the intellectual architects behind it.
He reported having coordinated directly with police authorities regarding the investigation, particularly the Metro Jaya Regional Police Chief, who is handling the case together with the National Police Criminal Investigation Directorate (Bareskrim Polri).
Yusril noted that the police are currently conducting further investigation and are therefore unable to make any disclosures to the public at this stage.
He urged the public to await the results of the police investigation so that the incident can be fully and objectively clarified.
“Such acts of violence cannot be tolerated. Whoever the perpetrators are and whatever their motives, they must be prosecuted according to applicable law,” he said.
Yusril also noted that President Prabowo Subianto is deeply committed to upholding the law, democracy and human rights.
Accordingly, the government will never tolerate violence in any form, whether against activists or anyone else, even if they hold differing views or are at odds with the government.