YLBHI and LBH protest worker shootings

YLBHI and LBH protest worker shootings

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung/Jakarta

The Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI)
and the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) condemned the shooting of two
workers in Bandung, West Java, on Monday, saying it showed the
security authorities were using violence to deal with industrial
disputes.

The two NGOs said in a joint press release, made available to
The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, that the incident occurred when
about 3,000 workers were on their way to the provincial
legislative council to protest two labor bills being deliberated
by the House of Representatives.

"Workers have the right to express their opinion and the
Committee of Action for Workers Solidarity (KSAB) had informed
Bandung Police before the rally was held," the press release
said.

Both Supardjo and Syarif Hidayat suffered serious head
injuries, when the two workers of PT Posulam Indo Utama in
Cimahi, made their way onto the premises of another company to
force its workers to join the rally.

First. Insp. Hotben Gultom also suffered back injuries, when
several workers beat him after he had opened fire on the workers.

The joint press release, jointly signed by Choirul Anam, head
of YLBHI's labor division, and Rita Olivia, head of LBH's labor
division, said the incident was strikingly similar to several
former incidents. It cited as examples, the May 1993 killing of
Marsinah in Sidoardjo, East Java, and the gunning down of Kimun
Effendy and Rachmat Hidayat, both workers of PT Kadera in Jakarta
as well as the use of repression against journalists this year in
both East Java and Jakarta.

"This is real evidence that the government and the security
authorities remain unable to understand disputes concerning
industrial relations in Indonesia," it said, adding the police
should investigate the case fairly and thoroughly.

The NGOs have given their weight behind the workers'
objections of the two labor bills, which they say renegades on
the state's obligation to provide protection for workers.

Meanwhile, Adj. Sr. Comr. Edwardsyah Pernong, chief of Bandung
Police, said Supardjo, who was undergoing intensive care at Mitra
Kasih General Hospital in Cimahi, was declared a suspect in the
case.

"The suspect will be brought to court because he and five
other workers attacked Hotben and tried to take his gun and
communications radio," he said, citing the suspect could be
jailed for five years for such a crime.

He said that, of the 31 demonstrators arrested on Monday,
eleven were released on Tuesday and the remaining 20 would be
questioned further.

Pernong said the workers had not protested civilly, but were
deliberately provocative and violent toward the security
authorities.

"We have evidence to suggest the suspect and the detainees
provoked their fellow workers to join the violent rally and they
used violence against security personnel," he said.

He reiterated the workers did not inform the authorities of
their plans so the police were unable to maintain security at the
rally.

He said the local police were still searching for four labor
activists from the National Front for the Struggle of Indonesian
Workers (FNBI) who organized the rally.