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Anarcho-syndicalism in Indonesia: Real threat or boogeyman?
The most arrests occurred in Bandung, where police detained 619 people, mostly young men who were wearing black, following accusations that the group painted graffiti on cars belonging to labor union members who were also taking part in the Labor Day protests.
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The Bandung City Police arrested hundreds of youths during the May Day riot in Bandung, West Java, on Wednesday, but soon released them because of a lack of evidence. (kompas.com/Dendi Ramadhani)
W
hile last week’s May Day demonstrations took place relatively peacefully, acts of vandalism during protests in several cities across the country triggered a police crackdown on so-called anarcho-syndicalist activists.
National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said that he has ordered the mapping of the group and that action would be taken against it.
“We’ve seen them in previous years in Yogyakarta, in Bandung, now they are in Surabaya and Jakarta,” he told reporters recently. “Unfortunately they conduct violence and vandalism, tagging the ‘A’ symbol and damaging fences.”
Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. M. Iqbal also said that police would investigate the group and “the motive and concept and who is behind it”.
Arrests of alleged anarcho-syndicalists have been made in Bandung, West Java, Makassar, South Sulawesi, and Malang, East Java.
The most arrests occurred in Bandung, where police detained 619 people, mostly young men who were wearing black, following accusations that the group painted graffiti on cars belonging to labor union members who were also taking part in the Labor Day protests.
Police ordered the detainees to take off their shirts. Officers forcefully shaved their heads and sprayed their faces and bodies with paint. Only two men were eventually charged with damaging motorcycles, while the rest were released.
