Journalists rally against police violence
Journalists rally against police violence
JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of reporters and photo journalists
protested at National Police headquarters on Monday afternoon,
condemning police violence against the press while covering
recent street rallies in the capital.
The protesters, who came from, among other groups, the
Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI), the Southeast Asian Press
Alliance (SEAPA), and the Indonesian Television Journalists
Association, demanded that police personnel who had committed the
violence be brought to justice.
"The press are protected by law in performing their jobs. But
the police who are supposed to protect the press actually
assaulted them," AJI's secretary general Didik Supriyanto told
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf, who received the
protesters.
The protest was in response to an incident in front of the
United States Embassy on Friday in which several policemen
attacked four press photographers and two reporters during an
anti-Israel and anti-U.S. rally.
A similar incident also occurred on Sept. 28 during the trial
of former President Soeharto at the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry office in South Jakarta that left two reporters injured
by police.
During the meeting with officer Saleh, the reporters urged
police administration to instruct police personnel in proper
procedures in handling street rallies to prevent similar
incidents from happening in the future.
The press expressed their disappointment when Saleh said that
the incidents were part of the risks of being a journalist.
"There's a difference between being beaten accidentally and
intentionally," one of the protesters said, adding that those who
had been beaten by police had shown the police their name tags,
identifying them as reporters.
Pushed into a corner, Saleh, finally said that the police were
sorry for the incidents.
"We apologize for the unfortunate incidents," Saleh said.
He explained that the police administration were trying to
change the mental attitudes of its personnel, used to
militaristic approaches in handling such problems.
"We have to keep in mind that the police have been
indoctrinated for 32 to 35 years (by the military)," Saleh said.
"We have to change the way of thinking of our 200 thousands of
personnel."
The National Police was separated from the military on July 1
this year, but total separation will not occur until Jan. 1 next
year.
The protest was also attended by activists from the Commission
for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), and the
Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI). (jaw)