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Police violence is a big poser for next chief, says rights group
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A protester runs toward police officers who stand guard on motorcycles during a clash in Jakarta on Oct. 13, 2020. A series of protests took place across the country following the House of Representatives’ decision to pass the jobs creation bill into law on Oct. 5, 2020. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
W
ith the next National Police chief soon to be appointed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, experts expect that clearing up unsolved cases of alleged excess violence by police personnel in the past year will be a critical test for the new leadership.
Rights group the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) recently released a report on patterns of police violence, both verbal and nonverbal, in the form of policies or live implementation in the field.
Kontras described the situation as an institutional paradox, whereby the police had a major role as human rights defenders, but their privilege often resulted in a monopoly or abuse of elements of authority and power.
“There has been no will to investigate or impose sanctions on police officers who have committed violence. The next police chief must pay special attention to this,” Kontras coordinator Fatia Maulidiyanti told a press conference on Sunday.
The National Police’s authority to use its discretion has not been well exercised in filling the legal vacuum with measurable parameters, thus resulting in a number of policies that in practice limit civil liberties, the group said.
These include the issuance of a telegram reviving the rules regarding insults to the President, a telegram regarding anticipation of labor strikes, a regulation concerning self-guided security and a declaration concerning the prohibition of activities, use of symbols and attributes and a termination of the activities of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI).
“These various policies, apart from limiting civil liberties, also seem to place the National Police as an institution that helps formulate rules that bind the general public, rather than a law enforcement agency carrying out statutory orders,” Kontras said.
