Workers' shooting with rubber bullets deplored
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)