Police admit attack on LBH office wrong
Police admit attack on LBH office wrong
JAKARTA (JP): The city police and the Jakarta Legal Aid
Institute (LBH) reached an agreement on Monday to respect each
other's rights following a controversial attack on the lawyers'
office last week.
LBH deputy director Daniel Panjaitan said after a meeting with
the city police's deputy chief Brig. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara that
the police would honor "LBH integrity" by avoiding arbitrary
searches and raids on the LBH office.
Police broke into the office on Jl. Diponegoro, Central
Jakarta last Wednesday and arrested 14 people inside whom they
accused of inciting a mass brawl pitting Student Executive Board
(BEM) activists demanding President Abdurrahman Wahid step down
and their rivals demanding Golkar's dissolution.
"The police promised they would no longer make arbitrary raids
on our office and arrest people in case of a mass brawl occurring
nearby," Daniel said.
He said Makbul admitted that the attack was wrong but
justified it as "an attempt to calm the BEM supporters who were
emotional."
The clash broke out as BEM activists were marching towards
their base at the University of Indonesia campus in Salemba,
Central Jakarta.
A group of people reportedly tossed molotov cocktails at the
marching students near the LBH office. The attackers were
believed to be hiding inside the building.
Daniel denied allegations that the attackers took shelter at
his office.
"All but one of the people arrested by the police were our
clients who were consulting with us about their cases," Daniel
said.
BEM activists went to the city police on Friday to hand over
dozens of molotov cocktails they claimed were to have been used
by the rival group to attack them.
Daniel said that if the BEM failed to produce witnesses in
connection with the attack, the case should be closed.
Separately, activists from the Democratic People's Party,
National Student Movement League and several other student groups
issued a joint-statement demanding the police investigate the
alleged attack on the BEM students in a fair and impartial
manner. (01/amd)