Workers' shooting with rubber bullets deplored
JAKARTA (JP): Experts deplored yesterday soldiers use of rubber bullets to handle a workers' protest at steel manufacturer PT Gunung Garuda in Bekasi, where dozens of protesters were injured.
Speaking after attending a ceremony commemorating the 52nd anniversary of the National Police, Maj. Gen. (ret) Koesparmono Irsan, a member of National Commission on Human Rights, said that the Tuesday Bekasi shooting incident could have been avoided if the soldiers had exercised restraint.
"There are stages in a situation which have to be observed carefully before deciding to use the highest level control tool, namely opening fire over the crowd," he said.
Therefore, soldiers in the field must be mentally strong and very patient in handling people, he said.
"I don't know what the situation was like at that time, but I can tell you that the incident in Bekasi clearly showed the strong pressure which was faced by the soldiers on the street."
At least 23 of the protesting workers of PT Gunung Garuda in Kampung Tengsi, Cibitung, were rushed to a nearby hospital after being shot with rubber bullets by soldiers on Tuesday.
He mentioned several procedures for handling protests and riots as guidelines for every security officer.
"For instance, under the police Procedure Guidelines for Coercive Action in Handling Protests and Riots (No.02/V/1997), the officers in the field must eliminate the chances of clash as much as possible.
"Soldiers also have similar procedures (for handling riots). As stated in the rules, police use only tear gas, blanks and rubber bullets, while the military have "harsher" standards: blanks, rubber bullets and live ammunition," he explained.
Based on the fact that the use of force in dispersing crowds is more prone to result in victims, Koesparmono said that soldiers have to be very careful in carrying out their duty.
"I recommend to all of them not to blindly open fire. Think carefully. If the crowds can be reasoned with, why use force?"
Meanwhile, Gen. (ret) Awaluddin Jamin, a former national police chief, told The Jakarta Post that the Bekasi incident could function as a valuable lesson for both protesters and the public in general.
"Thank God, that it was not the police who opened fire. I hope from this incident that the soldiers learn how hard it is to deal with crowds such as the police have to face day by day.
"People tend to blame security officers if something bad happens to them. Hopefully we can learn from it, too. Being an officer on the street is never an easy thing to do," he said.
Passion and tactics in handling crowds are very important here, Awaluddin said. "We're concerned about what happened and hopefully no more incidents of this kind will occur in the future." (edt)