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View all search resultsPalace denies forming fact-finding team on deadly nationwide unrest
The presidential palace denied that President Prabowo Subianto had ordered an independent investigation into the recent deadly nationwide unrest, dismissing claims made after the President’s meeting with pro-democracy group Gerakan Nurani Bangsa (GNB).
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Flower petals are seen scattered on Sept. 4 on top of portraits of victims killed in recent clashes between demonstrators and police across the country during a memorial held by university students in Bekasi, West Java. At least 10 people were killed during recent violent protests in Indonesia. (AFP/Rezas)
W
ith the government denying that it is forming a fact-finding team to address the riots during the recent anti-government protests, hope now clings to a joint investigation initiated by human rights state bodies to uncover the truth behind the unrest, amid speculations around competing elite factions that orchestrated the incidents.
Peaceful public protests in late August, fueled by woes about high cost of living and public frustration with political elites’ insensitivities during economic hardships, escalated into deadly riots that spread nationwide following the killing of ojol (online motorcycle transportation) driver Affan Kurniawan in Jakarta on Aug. 28. At least 10 died in the following unrest that saw government offices and public facilities burned as well as politicians’ homes looted.
Speculations about the involvement of state or political elite-link “provocateurs” infiltrating the protests emerged following reports of unidentified actors burning public facilities.
Viral videos also claimed some Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel, including a member of the Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), incited violence during the protest. The TNI has repeatedly denied the allegations.
The series of violent incidents prompted calls for Prabowo to form a government-sanctioned team to investigate the riots, including the police’s heavy-handed response to the protest and the military’s possible involvement in turning the protests into deadly unrest.
President Prabowo Subianto had reportedly agreed to form such a team, with the claim made by interfaith and pro-democracy group Gerakan Nurani Bangsa (GNB), which raised the idea in a meeting with him at the Presidential Palace on Sept. 11.
But he dropped the plan after six state human rights bodies, including the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), took the initiative to launch their own investigation on Sept. 12. Their goal is to uncover what led to the violence.
