T

he last four months witnessed four incidents that appeared to show that the police continue to side with conservative political and religious groups at the expense of Indonesia'€™s democracy.

Every time they bow down to hard-liners'€™ pressure, the police force in the capital of the world'€™s third-largest democracy, with the tacit knowledge of the National Police, fail in serving all law-abiding citizens without fear or favor.

The incidents have dashed the hopes of a better capital, safe for all, that were raised with last June'€™s inauguration of the new Jakarta police chief, Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian, the former counterterrorism unit chief. Together with no-nonsense Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama it was expected that the Big Durian could at last have a professional police force.

Yet only last week police disrupted a workshop of Arus Pelangi, an advocacy group for lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in a Central Jakarta hotel, attended by 26 delegates from eight provinces. The police met with organizers of the workshop accompanied by members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), a hard-line group with a record of violence and legal violations.

West Jakarta Police spokesperson Comr. Suyatno said police did not ban the workshop, but that organizers should have submitted a proposal for police consideration '€” which would include assessment as to whether the event would be '€œacceptable'€ to local residents. He was echoing similar police excuses in many incidents in Jakarta and elsewhere whenever groups with clout get upset.

Last November the Jakarta Police did not allow a talk on terrorism organized by the Association of Journalists for Diversity (Sejuk). The police said the FPI was offended by the function'€™s poster, in which the FPI logo was pictured next to the flag of the Islamic State (IS) movement. The poster depicted a rally of FPI, purportedly in solidarity with Palestine, where a black flag similar to that of IS was displayed.

Last December two other incidents occurred at the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) cultural center. First police sided with about 15 artists who objected to a discussion on the 1965 communist purge during the Jakarta Theater Festival. The artists merely expressed their opinion, but police deployed more than 200 officers to prevent the discussion. Dozens of other artists condemned the police.

Later that month, police also stood idly by while FPI members harassed passing motorists as they searched for Purwakarta Regent Dedi Mulyadi to prevent him from entering Jakarta. Dedi, known for his policy of ensuring freedom of worship even for the much-resented Shiite minority, was invited to speak at TIM. The police even took Dedi into custody '€œfor his own safety'€.

In these incidents the police served the interests of parties aiming to silence discourse on the events of 1965, freedom of worship and LGBT rights.

Governor Ahok and Insp. Gen. Tito must prove their commitment to uphold the constitutional rights of all citizens to freedom of opinion and assembly.