Police 'still use repressive means'

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)