JAKARTA: Rights groups have called for an independent investigation into alleged excessive force and arbitrary arrests during a protest in Yogyakarta that descended into violence on Tuesday night (Nov 10), with dozens of demonstrators reportedly still unaccounted for on Wednesday.
Amnesty International Indonesia urged National Police chief Gen. Suyudi Ario Seto to investigate alleged police brutality, halt arbitrary arrests and ensure detainees can contact their families and access legal and medical assistance.
The Legal Aid Institute Yogyakarta said it had received 64 complaints from demonstrators as of Wednesday morning. Of those, 47 people had been detained, 13 remained unreachable, two were hospitalised and only two had returned home. Police, meanwhile, said they had detained 154 people.
Amnesty executive director Usman Hamid said the violence, which followed an initially peaceful demonstration marking the National Heroes' Day, raised concerns over the deployment of military personnel and alleged security operations inside university grounds.
He also warned of a possible pattern in which unidentified groups provoked violence at night, undermining peaceful demonstrations held earlier in the day. "Often, the problem is not whether demonstrators have acted violently, but rather excessive security measures and restrictions," Usman said in a statement on Wednesday.
Reports of tear gas being fired toward Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and Panti Rapih Hospital were particularly concerning, he said. One verified video showed tear gas spreading near the hospital's emergency department, according to Amnesty.
Usman called for an independent investigative team involving the National Commission on Human Rights, the National Police Commission, the Ombudsman, universities and civil society groups to examine alleged excessive force and provocation by unidentified groups.
Political analyst Agung Baskoro claimed the nighttime violence may have been instigated by groups unaffiliated with the civil society coalition behind the peaceful afternoon demonstration. “Nighttime protests are typically difficult to control as the masses involved are not necessarily all organic,” Agung said, urging police to investigate whether those responsible came from the student coalition, the police or other parties seeking to exploit the unrest.
The civil society shadow cabinet also called on the Yogyakarta administration to stop involving mass organisations in handling demonstrations, warning that the practice could “create conditions for horizontal conflict within communities”.
Meanwhile, the Interdiscipline Intellectual Forum, a coalition of academics, condemned the reported deployment of fully armed personnel and armoured vehicles onto university grounds, saying it evoked militaristic practices under the New Order (the period in Indonesian history, from 1966 to 1998, under President Suharto). "The state must not use force to instill fear within the civic sphere. Citizens who express their opinions should not be threatened, pursued or attacked," the group said.
Tuesday's unrest
The demonstration began at around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, when hundreds of university students affiliated with the Aliansi Jogja Memanggil (Yogyakarta Calling Alliance) and civil society groups gathered in the city centre. They demanded, among others, economic improvements, better forest fire management and the withdrawal of Jaga Warga neighborhood watch initiative criticised over alleged intimidation in the city.
Protesters later met Governor Hamengkubuwono X to discuss their grievances, but he denied links between his Jaga Warga initiative and rising street violence. Disappointed protesters subsequently returned to the city centre.
At around 8 p.m., however, approximately 100 unidentified people gathered near the provincial legislative council (DPRD) building and allegedly threw firecrackers, stones and Molotov cocktails at the compound, damaging its facilities. Police deployed hundreds of Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel, armoured vehicles, water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Clashes spread to Jalan Malioboro, Tugu Yogyakarta, Jalan Jenderal Soedirman and the UGM roundabout. But the police denied entering UGM's campus, saying their operation ended at the roundabout outside the university, despite reports of officers pursuing demonstrators toward the campus.
The unrest continued until around 4 a.m. on Wednesday. Responding to the unrest, National Police Chief Gen. Suyudi Ario Seto and House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad of President Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra Party were quick to visit Yogyakarta early on Wednesday.
Suyudi also vowed to investigate those responsible for the unrest, including those who brought weapons and may have deliberately sought to cause destruction during the demonstration. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
