SOLIDARITY FOR INDONESIAN JOURNALISTS: VIOLENCE DURING REGIONAL HEAD ELECTIONS LAW (RUU PILKADA) PROTEST
Systematic violence was experienced by journalists in Indonesia while covering the demonstration against the revision of the Regional Head Elections Law (RUU Pilkada/Pilkada Law) at the Indonesian Parliament (DPR RI) building in Jakarta on Thursday, August 22, 2024.
The violence against journalists, perpetrated by police and military personnel, occurred during a demonstration attended by thousands of civil society members and students who opposed the revision of the Pilkada Law, which ended in chaos at the DPR RI building in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
Journalists and student press members also became victims of police violence while covering the same demonstration in Bandung, West Java, and Semarang, Central Java.
Reports received by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) indicated that at least 11 journalists in Jakarta and Bandung, as well as members of the Semarang Press, were victims of violence by security forces, including acts of intimidation, death threats, psychological violence, and physical assaults resulting in serious injuries.
Three members of the Student Press Institute (LPM) in Semarang experienced shortness of breath and fainted due to tear gas fired by the police to disperse the protest.
Police and military personnel are strongly suspected of being involved in the security operation and of being the actors behind the attacks on journalists. These security forces reportedly assaulted and threatened to kill a Tempo journalist, identified as H, who was covering the demonstration at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Thursday, August 22, 2024. The violence began when the journalist was recording military and police officers allegedly beating a protester who had collapsed near the right side gate of the DPR RI building, which had been breached by the crowd on Thursday around 5:00 PM WIB.
Suddenly, three officers apprehended H and questioned their affiliation and media organization. After the journalist explained that they were covering the event and presented their press credentials, the officers instead intimidated them and forced H to delete the recorded video. H was then taken to the nearest police post and once again pressured by the Provost office to delete the video. Another Tempo journalist, identified as M, was hit by tear gas and was trampled by the crowd fleeing the chaos.
Psychological violence, in the form of intimidation and physical assault, also resulted in damage to the equipment of Narasi TV journalists. Three Narasi journalists covering the event until around 8:30 PM WIB were forcibly pushed and intimidated by police officers to leave the coverage location.
The body of Deduktif journalist G was elbowed by police officers while covering the demonstration at the small gate on the left side of the DPR entrance. As a result, G sustained bruises on their neck.
Meanwhile, IDN Times journalist T, who was also covering the demonstration, recorded police arresting and assaulting more than six protesters after the rear gate of the DPR was breached.
Shortly after, about three officers approached T and attempted to seize their mobile phone. A plainclothes officer demanded that T delete the recording, saying, "Delete, delete," while another officer threatened to arrest T and detain them with the other six individuals. However, T managed to escape from the group of officers with the help of a colleague.
Violence against Pikiran Rakyat.com journalist A occurred around 7:00 PM WIB when A was on their way home from the demonstration site to the parking area near the Bandung Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) building.
However, on the way to the parking area, A was suddenly approached by five civilians. One of them pointed at A and shouted, "What are you recording?"
Some of them carried bamboo sticks and hit A's head and hands with the bamboo. They then interrogated A and tried to seize their mobile phone. Despite A explaining that they were a journalist, they continued to intimidate A and seized their press ID card. A was forced to delete all the video files they had recorded during the demonstration. The group only left the journalist after confirming that the photos and videos were truly deleted from their mobile phone.
Two cameramen from the Makna Talks Podcast – Edo and Dory – were reportedly injured due to actions by police officers who forcibly dispersed the crowd without warning by throwing tear gas. The officers also forcibly stormed the area around the DPR RI building in Jakarta. Violence was also experienced by Angga Permana, a journalist from konteks.co.id, who reportedly suffered a head injury while covering the demonstration in front of the DPR.
- PFMSea Coalition