TNI Deployment to Guard Protest Was at Police Request, Says Spokesperson

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Head of the TNI Information Centre (Kapuspen), Brigadier General Muhamad Nas, stated that the deployment of TNI personnel to guard a mass demonstration in Central Jakarta was based on a request from the Police. “The deployment of the TNI was based on a request to assist,” Nas said when confirmed in Jakarta on Friday. Nas explained that the TNI’s presence was not to handle the crowd directly. They were there to provide support if the police were no longer able to control the masses. “Handling demonstrations is the responsibility of the police. That means the police remain at the front,” Nas said. During the protest, demonstrators highlighted the line of TNI personnel who blocked them as they were marching. This blocking action by the TNI was recorded by members of the public and subsequently went viral on social media. The incident drew widespread criticism from netizens, who deemed the deployment of TNI personnel to the protest site as excessive and appearing to intimidate the crowd.