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Officers equipped with guns during deadly student protest in Kendari face disciplinary actions
The North Sulawesi Police have decided to take disciplinary actions against six officers who carried firearms during demonstrations in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, which resulted in the deaths of two students from Halu Oleo University on Sept. 26.
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A police officer tries to block students from entering the legislative complex after the latter knocked down its gate on Sept. 24. The students were protesting against a Criminal Code bill they consider a threat to democracy. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he Southeast Sulawesi Police have taken disciplinary actions against six officers who carried firearms when they were sent to a rally on Sept. 26 in the provincial capital of Kendari, where two students died while participating in the protest.
After two disciplinary hearings held by the police’s internal affairs division (Propam), the six officers were declared to have violated three of their duties as stipulated in Article 4 of Government Regulation No. 2/2003 on police discipline, Southeast Sulawesi Police spokesperson Comr. Agus Mulyadi said.
They were ruled to have not abided by the existing laws and regulations of the police force, to have not followed the orders of superiors and to have not carried out their duties properly with full awareness and sense of responsibility, Agus said.
The Southeast Sulawesi Police decided the six officers ─ who were suspended from duty while under investigation ─ deserved written reprimands, promotion and salary raise postponements and a year's delay in their education.
“They will also be detained for 21 days […] in the Southeast Sulawesi provost detention center,” Agus said as quoted by kompas.com on Monday.
On Sept. 26, two Halu Oleo University students died after taking part in a protest that ended with clashes between the police and protesters.
A student identified as La Randi died after succumbing to what police have confirmed were bullet wounds after being shot by an unidentified gunman. Another student, Muhammad Yusuf Fardawi, died on Sept. 27 after undergoing surgery for severe head injuries.
Agus said that as part of investigation into the deaths of the two students the police were still waiting for the results of ballistic tests being on the projectiles and bullets used by the six policemen.
Previously, three police officers questioned by Propam admitted they fired their guns into the air as a warning for the students to disband their protest in Kendari. (hol)
