JakartaPost-Sept 2
The involvement of a paramilitary group linked to street strongman Hercules in dispersing last week’s protests in Jakarta has raised troubling questions over whether President Prabowo Subianto’s administration is enabling, or even relying on informal coercive networks to maintain order. The group, United Indonesian People’s Movement (GRIB) Jaya, appeared on the streets as clashes between protesters and police spread from the House of Representatives building in Senayan to Slipi and Pejompongan Raya, some two kilometers from the legislative complex, on Thursday night. Videos circulating on social media showed groups of men, many wearing white headbands and some carrying bamboo poles and wooden planks, arriving in trucks and chasing and beating people near the Slipi overpass. In one video, a bystander could be heard saying, “Hercules has come down to the street,” as a man stepped out of a car and shouted, “Go home!” He was followed by a group of men who chased after people gathered by the roadside, swinging wooden beams. GRIB Jaya secretary-general Zulfikar acknowledged that Hercules and members of the group were present in Jakarta streets on Thursday night, acting on their own initiative as part of what he called “Pam Swakarsa”, a New Order-era term for armed civilian groups mobilized alongside security forces to disperse protesters. The admission has raised concerns among human rights advocates over the involvement of civilian groups in functions that should fall under the authority of the state. “The apparent failure of the police to act over the involvement of civilian organizations in handling the crowds sends a message that the state does not trust the police’s ability to manage demonstrations,” Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said. Rather than strengthening public order, he said, the involvement of groups such as GRIB Jaya risked weakening the authority of the police and normalizing the use of civilian enforcers during demonstrations. The concern is particularly acute given the violence reported during the unrest.
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