Does Indonesia’s Brimob police unit have a licence to kill? • FRANCE 24 English

Does Indonesia’s Brimob police unit have a licence to kill? • FRANCE 24 English

[Music] [Music] [Applause] Indonesian youth take to the streets of central Jakarta to protest against their government. [Music] [Applause] Hundreds of demonstrators call for social justice and an end to privileges for the country’s political elites. [Music] Police and intelligence officials closely monitor the demonstrations. Foreign journalists are forbidden from covering them and risk being deported if they do. This footage is from a local cameraman. Suddenly, armored vehicles pass by, drawing shouts of anger from the crowd. [Music] But the vehicles are no ordinary police cars. [Applause] Grimob, short for mobile brigade corps, is an elite force spearheading President Prabo Subanto’s suppression of the protests. Its officers, who have military training, fall under the control of the national police. On August the 28th, a Brimob vehicle drove into a crowd, killing a 21-year-old motorcycle taxi driver. The victim, Afan Kernawan, has become a symbol of the resistance against police brutality. His death ignited more protests. Within weeks, at least 10 people died and 5,000 were arrested. Around 900 people were injured, including Cho Yongi, a 22-year-old student who also volunteers as a medic during the protests. He was assaulted in May this year as he was helping a demonstrator who had been beaten. This is Cho wearing his medic’s helmet. We had an altercation with someone we strongly suspect was an undercover police officer. He got angry and chased us away. Then he realized I had a camera. He came back, grabbed me by the armpit, threw me to the ground, and hit me. Another officer directly pressed on my neck. I couldn’t breathe. I was powerless. All I could think was, “It’s over. I’m going to die because of the police.” Cho was interrogated for 12 hours. 5 days after the assault, his neck injuries were still visible. He since filed a complaint and lives in fear of retaliation. Now living in a secret location, he never goes out after 10 p.m. and only visits public places to avoid being ambushed. After speaking to the media, one of our friends was kidnapped, interrogated, tortured. He was handcuffed for an hour and they put out cigarettes on his skin. Now he can’t move freely. We fear being followed maybe by intelligence agents or someone who wants to harm us at night going to hurt us at night. A BMOB officer was dismissed and another demoted following Knewan’s death. Amid public pressure, both face criminal charges. Five other men inside the vehicle that killed him are under investigation. [Music] The anger directed at Briob is partly because of its association with dictatorial regimes. The units often been deployed to suppress separatist movements in Indonesia, including in Papa Newu Guinea and East Teeour. Created in 1946, the brigade appears to act with impunity. [Music] Kjurahan Stadium located 700 km south of the capital is closely associated with Brimob’s brutality. In 2022, the unit was providing security at a football match between two rival teams. During a pitch invasion at the end of the match, paramilitary forces fired tear gas, a measure banned by world football’s governing body, FIFA, triggering panic among the spectators. Adults and children were crushed to death as they tried to leave the stadium via gates that had been locked. Debbiey’s daughters and ex-wife died in the tragedy. 3 years on, he still makes weekly visits to the stadium to pay his respects. This locked gate is the original one. Now, I had to fight a lot to keep it from being removed. Today, it’s the only thing related to the tragedy that I’ve been able to keep intact. More than 130 people died here in one of the deadliest incidents in world football history. My little Yayla’s skin was completely blackened and she had foam coming out of her mouth. Her little sister, Nastasia, was in the same condition. If I weren’t their father, I would have barely recognized them. Their eyes were poisoned. Their gaze was horrible. It was atrocious. Those responsible for the deaths have never apologized or been held responsible for their actions. Devi is demanding justice. Of the 300 [ __ ] officers at the scene that day, just one has been convicted. The unit seems untouchable, but with the help of a lawyer, he’s continuing his fight for justice. Look, you can clearly see that the situation is uncontrollable because the authorities aggressiveness made the crowd completely chaotic. Look at this. Shots are flying directly into the stands. That’s where my child was. The case was officially ruled an accident, but Debbie’s lawyer claims the deaths constitute first-degree murder. An official autopsy concluded that Debbie’s daughters had died from injuries sustained during the crowd crush. He disputed the finding and requested an independent autopsy. According to that report, the girls died from gas poisoning. According to the authorities, the tear gas was thrown toward the pitch, then carried by the wind to the stands. But in reality, you can see it was fired directly at the stands. In my view, the investigation was manipulated. The conclusions do not match the facts or the law. Debie was the only relative to demand a second autopsy. As a result, he received threats and was placed under protection. Time stood still for Devi, who even now can barely bring himself to enter his daughter’s room, which is now a storage space. This is the t-shirt Nyla wore for the last time. It was her favorite, the one she was most proud of. On this wall, it says, “Mala, mom and all the family.” They wanted me to get back with their mom since we were separated. His grief turned to anger towards Brimob and the Indonesian justice system. Consumed by dark thoughts, he’s had to wrestle with the urge to take revenge. Sometimes I imagine if the roles were reversed. If it were the children of the police who suffered the same fate, would they accept their deaths? I would be ready to kill two police children and go to prison just so they understand this injustice. Like many other Indonesians, Debbie denounces Bree Mob violence, but he’s particularly angry about the state’s attempts to protect the unit. We meet Cho again in Jakarta. His challenge to the Indonesian justice system borders on the faracle. He had to file his complaint with the same police organization that had attacked him. We had to give our testimony again and confirm our version in the same room where we were interrogated. A place already marked by our injuries and bleeding. It’s so absurd. The perpetrators are there and it’s to them that we have to report the case. A legal aid group helping Cho with his complaint has approached independent authorities. Incredibly, the police consider him a suspect in his own assault. The police often create false counternarratives claiming they followed all procedures. In the current situation, in the digital era, the progress of a case depends less on time or justice and more on how much attention it gets on social media. It’s impossible to say if or when Cho will get justice. Despite his trauma, he still joins protests and helps injured demonstrators. He and other students hold first aid workshops at their campus. [Music] Cho only began learning these first aid techniques a year ago. During protests, participants are often affected by tear gas or rubber bullets. Medical and nursing students can’t always be on site to administer first aid quickly. problems within the police will never truly be resolved. What we can do as civilians, citizens, or students is at least look out for each other. [Music] With more than 500 protesters still in detention, the students show of solidarity can only go so far amid continued violence by the police. In response to public anger, President PBO has promised to reform law enforcement agencies. But many will only believe that when they see it. [Music]

This summer in Indonesia, the Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob) paramilitary police unit sparked controversy after killing a 21-year-old man during a protest. The elite armed unit, which already had a reputation for misconduct, has often been deployed to ensure security or suppress separatist movements in Indonesia, sometimes leaving dozens dead in its wake. FRANCE 24’s reporters Mélodie Sforza and Alexis Bregere met with some of the unit’s victims. 
#Indonesia #police #Brimob

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