Govt told to control police conduct

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has urged the government to set up mechanisms to control the conduct of police amid a rising trend of human rights violations by law enforcers in various parts of the country.

"We have asked the government to consider establishing a national mechanism to control the behavior of police," commission chairman Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara told reporters after meeting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the presidential office on Wednesday.

He used as an example the Bojong case, where police opened fire on residents of Bojong village in Bogor, West Java, in November last year. The residents were protesting against the operation of a waste processing facility in their area. Six people were wounded in the incident. Police at the time also arrested 33 residents.

Abdul Hakim added that police also committed human rights violations in the restive Aceh province.

The commission urged the government to accelerate the reform drive within the National Police to help resolve the problems.

"We're calling for reform within the National Police because the police are part of the law enforcement system," he said.

Elsewhere, Abdul Hakim said that during the meeting the President also asked for the commission's assessment on the development of democracy in the nation.

He said that while people now enjoyed freedom of expression and freedom to participate actively in politics, the commission was concerned by lingering gross human rights violations committed by security force personnel.

During the meeting the commission also asked the President issue a decree allowing the House of Representatives to start deliberation of crucial bill on witness protection.

"The bill was an initiative of the House, but it can only be deliberated if the President issues the necessary decree," he said.