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Activists call for accountability in a year filled with police brutality
Activists are calling for a thorough evaluation of the police through the perspective of protecting human rights, urging the police to be open to stronger oversight from external bodies and civil society groups.
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Demanding reforms: Civil society activists and university students hold banners that read “Police reform“ (left) and “People's killer“ during a protest in front of the Central Java Police station in Semarang, Central Java, on Nov. 28. The protesters demanded that the police thoroughly investigate the officer who shot and killed a 17-year-old high school student in the early morning of Nov. 24. (Antara/Aji Styawan)
H
uman rights activists are calling for a thorough reform within the National Police and demanding more accountability from the force following a string of police brutality and extrajudicial killing incidents over the past few months.
A coalition of activists from various civil groups have declared Indonesia to be in a state of emergency from police brutality due to impunity of officers, which allows persistent and escalating violence by police.
“The lack of transparency and firm punishment for the perpetrators, their superiors, as well as other high-ranking officers are the main causes of the recurrence of police violence,” the group said in a recent statement.
The statement was issued to commemorate International Human Rights Day which falls every Dec. 10, the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations.
The group said that police violence is a systemic issue, a product of the leadership and culture within the security force, which often views violence as the default response against perceived threats from the public, including during protests.
Activists are calling for a thorough evaluation of the police through the perspective of protecting human rights, urging the police to be open to stronger oversight from external bodies and civil society groups.
Among other solutions offered by the activists was the resignation of National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo and other high-ranking officers within the force.
