Minister Pigai says sterilisation of Bundaran HI from protests does not limit rights

Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai stated that the security forces’ action to sterilise the Hotel Indonesia (HI) roundabout from student protests last week did not restrict the public’s right to express opinions. “There is no restriction of rights, it is called regulation. ‘Hey, you don’t demonstrate at Bundaran HI, but you demonstrate at Lapangan Banteng.’ According to the rules, that is allowed. It’s regulation,” Pigai said when answering ANTARA at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Wednesday. According to Pigai, the government can regulate the conduct of protest actions. “If the main protocol road is not allowed, then access is provided to convey opinions elsewhere. That is possible. It’s called regulation,” he said. He also stated that such regulation is in line with the Siracusa Principles, namely international guidelines on the restriction or derogation of the implementation of human rights contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It is known that masses of demonstrators from several universities in Jakarta were blocked from entering the Bundaran HI area, Central Jakarta, due to a blockade on Jalan M.H. Thamrin by officers on duty. ANTARA reported from the location on Friday (12/6) that hundreds of students wearing university jackets marched on foot from the Semanggi area towards Bundaran HI. They arrived at Jalan M.H. Thamrin around 2:30 p.m. Western Indonesia Time carrying various demonstration paraphernalia. However, the crowd could not enter the Bundaran HI area because officers lined up to form a blockade on part of Jalan M.H. Thamrin. Meanwhile, the Metro Jaya Regional Police revealed that the decision to sterilise the Bundaran HI area from protest activities was based on technical assessments and in-depth social impact analysis in the field. The Head of Public Relations of Metro Jaya Regional Police, Senior Superintendent Budi Hermanto, stated in an official release that the axis of Jalan Jenderal Sudirman and Jalan M.H. Thamrin is the epicentre or main driving wheel of vehicle circulation in the capital. “The concentration of masses at that point carries a high risk of triggering total traffic paralysis, which has a domino effect on the surrounding arterial routes,” said Budi. Besides being a main vehicle route, the police noted that the Bundaran HI area has now developed into a highly strategic mass transport hub. Furthermore, the Bundaran HI area is also a zone of vital national economic objects and an international hospitality centre. Police assess that security stability and comfort in the area must be maintained together to safeguard the image and economic turnover in the heart of the city.