Police 'still use repressive means'

JAKARTA (JP): Seven rights groups said on Thursday police had not desisted from employing repressive measures, an attitude that had been expected to change after their April separation from the Indonesian Military (TNI).

In their joint statement issued in connection with the 53rd anniversary of the National Police, the non-governmental organizations said "the police separation from the military has not been followed by any changes to its repressive measures".

The NGOs included the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

"The repressive measures have been made very clear in police dealings with farmers and indigenous people in land dispute cases, mainly in the rural areas," the statement said.

The rights' groups revealed that police had been deployed in the past few months to more than 50 protests over land disputes in North Sumatra, Lampung, West Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, Bali, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and Irian Jaya.

"A number of people were killed, injured or arbitrarily arrested," the groups said. Their statement did not specify the figures.

At least one person was killed and 11 others injured when police opened fire on hundreds of protesting farmers in Jember, East Java, last April. Another 11 were injured when police shot into a crowd of about 5,000 students and workers during a protest in May over a land dispute in the North Sumatra capital of Medan.

There was widespread hope police autonomy would render them more independent and less repressive when maintaining law and order.

A police separation from the Armed Forces was one of the demands made by proreform activists. They argued police should return to their original role as law and order enforcers, instead of acting as a combat force.

The police force was incorporated into the Armed Forces in 1966 on the principle that it had the same obligation as the Army to protect the nation from foreign aggressors.

Many analysts have said that under the Armed Forces, the police were inclined to adopt a military approach, which resulted their repressive measures. They argue that police should take a preemptive and deterrent approach when carrying out their duties.

They agreed it would take some time for the police force to return to its original function.

The National Police anniversary was commemorated in a ceremony presided over by TNI chief Gen. Wiranto at the Elite Police Mobile Brigade Headquarters in Kelapa Dua, Bogor.(byg/emf)