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View all search resultsDespite mounting scandals and calls for his resignation, National Police Chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo has retained his post and has become the country’s longest-serving police chief in years, although his tenure has been marred by police brutality and persistent abuses of power.
In Central Java, protesters responded by burning and vandalizing multiple regional legislative council (DPRD) buildings and police stations across the province. Cities affected included Kediri, Pekalongan, Surakarta, Brebes, Jepara and Magelang.
The recent wave of protests that swept across the country should serve as a “wake-up call” for President Prabowo Subiano’s fledgling administration, analysts warn, saying the government has been lulled into a false sense of stability while ignoring deepening economic and political grievances.
The latest incident of police brutality, which led to the death of an ojol driver last week, shows that comprehensive reform of the National Police can no longer be postponed amid the persistence of brutality and their increasing authority as an apparatus that shields privilege and power.
"We are following closely the spate of violence in Indonesia in the context of nationwide protests over parliamentary allowances, austerity measures, and alleged use of unnecessary or disproportionate force by security forces," said UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani.
Calm is slowly returning to Jakarta under heightened security after a week of protests over lawmakers’ conduct and generous allowances, which escalated following the tragic killing of a young man by an armored police vehicle during a crowd dispersal last Thursday.
While President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday announced big concessions to roll back some legislative perks that incensed public opinion, he also instructed authorities to crack down on “treasonous” and “terrorist” elements in an attempt to diffuse the nation’s worst bout of rioting in years.
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