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Police told to be tough against religious and racial provocateurs
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A number of young people hold posters during an action organized by Inter-Ethnic Nusantara in Jakarta on Oct. 9 to reject the exploitation of ethnic, religious, racial and social group (SARA) sentiments prior to the regional elections on Feb. 15, 2017. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
H
ouse of Representatives deputy speaker Taufik Kurniawan has urged the National Police to strengthen law enforcement against anyone who uses ethnic, religious, racial and social group (SARA) sentiments related to activities prior to the 2017 regional elections.
Security officials should be proactive in taking measures against parties who discriminate against certain candidates, including messages spread through social media, Taufik added.
This is to ensure security and to prevent potential conflicts among voters that could result from disrespectful campaigns, which could disrupt a democratic process during the elections, Taufik added.
"The National Police should focus on content that addresses SARA issues and take severe actions [against the perpetrators] to prevent the issues from spreading and resulting in public unrest," Taufik said on Monday.
Taufik added that the police should maximize its task force to monitor circulation of hate speech in social media, which is in line with National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian's order to step up measures for regional elections.
He further called for all parties, including the hopeful candidates, campaign teams, as well as the voters themselves, to compete fairly by promoting working programs and positive contributions in each respective regions rather that aiming to destroy each other through hateful campaigns. (bbn)
