Why University of Indonesia Students Were Angered Enough to Point at Police Officers in Front of National Police Headquarters

Students from the University of Indonesia (UI), UPN ‘Veteran’ Jakarta, and Politeknik Negeri Jakarta (PNJ) held a demonstration in front of the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta on Friday afternoon. The protest was a response to the death of a student identified as AT in Tual, Maluku, who was beaten by Brimob (Mobile Brigade) member Bripda MS.

The protesters arrived around 4:00 PM. A number of police officers were stationed at the main gate of the headquarters, wearing white peaked caps and white scarves draped around their necks.

Students from the University of Indonesia arrived wearing yellow student sashes and carrying various protest materials. Some students attempted to interact and pose with the officers stationed there, standing directly in front of the police line.

However, one student, SB (20), was seen pointing at and shouting at a police officer in a raised voice. She claimed to have recognised him from a previous incident.

“Yes, I met that police officer at GBK Arena before the incident with Affan Kurniawan being run over by the Brimob,” she said when interviewed.

SB stated that on that previous occasion, she and her friends wanted to join a protest march. However, the crowd was pushed back by officers.

“I went with 12 friends to join the protest. When I was checked, I asked, ‘What right do you have to check me? Are you a police officer or not?’. They didn’t answer, I was immediately pushed, knocked to the ground, and beaten,” SB recounted.

She said that at the time, the person claiming to be an officer was not wearing police uniform. They came in a group of about 30 people, she continued. However, SB could not confirm that the officer she confronted on Friday was the same person. She also could not provide evidence, saying it was stored on her mobile phone.

“He looks similar, but I can’t confirm whether he is or isn’t, because the video is on my phone, but there’s no signal right now,” SB said.

Despite this, SB acknowledged that she was also helped by another police officer during that same incident. The officer who helped her was different from the one who acted repressively.

“And thank God there was one person who helped me, he was a good police officer, separating me from the situation,” she said.

The police officer whom SB pointed at and shouted at did not react to her outburst. He remained standing in his position in the line.

SB was then pulled back by her fellow students. The protest continued with the reading of a statement of position by the demonstrators.