During the handling of the demonstration at the House of Representatives (DPR) building (Thursday, 28 August 2025), the Indonesian National Police (Polri) once again displayed a face of violence in carrying out its roles and functions, rather than that of a protector and guardian of the public. The situation culminated in a tragic incident on Thursday night (28 August), when a Mobile Brigade (Brimob) tactical vehicle (rantis) used by the police ran over an online motorcycle taxi (ojek online) driver participating in the demonstration, resulting in his death. This incident was not merely a violation of security procedures, but also reflected the excessive use of force that was not intended to protect citizens.
Numerous reports of beatings, assaults, the indiscriminate use of tear gas, arbitrary arrests, intimidation of medical personnel, and the deployment of tactical vehicles in ways that endangered demonstrators reveal a pattern of repression and excessive use of force in the handling of public demonstrations. The use of tear gas for crowd control also demonstrates the failure to learn from the Kanjuruhan tragedy in 2022. This reflects the limited implementation of the Presisi Polri concept in practice, particularly among police officers on the ground. In light of these developments, SETARA Institute presents the following observations:
- Article 28E of the 1945 Constitution guarantees every person’s right to freedom of association, assembly, and expression. Article 9 paragraph (1) of Law No. 9 of 1998 on Freedom of Expression in Public further affirms that public demonstrations constitute one form of expressing opinions in public. Therefore, demonstrations are a legitimate space for citizens to voice their aspirations. Moreover, Article 13 paragraph (2) of Law No. 9 of 1998 mandates that Polri is responsible for providing protection to individuals participating in public demonstrations. Accordingly, in responding to demonstrations by citizens expressing their anger toward political elites in the House of Representatives who have remained unresponsive to the aspirations and concerns of the people, the police must ensure the protection of citizens’ constitutional rights to express their opinions and aspirations, while implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that uphold human rights.
- Acts of violence committed by the police in handling demonstrations are not sporadic or isolated incidents, but rather structural and cultural problems within Polri. This pattern stems from a deeply rooted culture of violence, impunity, and the failure of police reform that should instead uphold the principles of democracy and human rights. SETARA Institute’s Police Transformation Design (2024) study also found that the culture of violence remains one of the recurring obstacles to police reform. State repression against civilians within a democratic space is an act that cannot be tolerated.
- Police Regulation (Perkap) No. 8 of 2009 concerning the Implementation of Human Rights Principles and Standards in the Performance of Police Duties has become little more than a normative document within Polri. The internal regulation, which should serve as an ethical and operational guide, has instead been undermined by violent practices in the field. This condition reflects a policy failure: the regulations exist, but they are not implemented.
- Polri is also obliged to comply with international standards, particularly the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (United Nations, 1990), which establish the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, and accountability. However, the repeated acts of brutality committed by police officers, which clearly violate human rights, demonstrate Polri’s failure to comply with these fundamental principles. This situation constitutes not only a serious violation of citizens’ rights, but also a failure to uphold Indonesia’s international commitments to the protection and promotion of human rights.
- In addition to taking disciplinary and legal action against police officers who committed acts of violence—particularly the officer who drove the Brimob tactical vehicle that fatally struck an online motorcycle taxi driver—the Chief of the Indonesian National Police should impose sanctions on the responsible police commanders in accordance with their respective levels of negligence, while ensuring transparency and accountability throughout the process. The Chief of Police should also remove from office those police leaders who bear responsibility for these incidents, thereby establishing a precedent and creating a deterrent effect for regional police commanders who fail to discipline their personnel effectively.
- Amid the violence committed by police officers against pro-democracy demonstrators who were voicing their aspirations and expressing their anger toward the House of Representatives, political elites within political parties and the government must engage in serious, substantive, and empathetic reflection on the aspirations and conditions of ordinary citizens. To date, political elites have largely remained indifferent to the aspirations of the people. In the context of public anger directed toward political elites in the House of Representatives, and more broadly in relation to the management of public aspirations over recent years, political elites within political parties and government have consistently shown indifference, lacked empathy, disregarded public aspirations, ignored meaningful public participation, and even tended to deny the people as the holders of sovereignty and the public as the legitimate owners of the Republic. Political elites come to the people only during elections, when they seek and depend upon their votes.
Contact Persons:
- Ikhsan Yosarie, Human Rights and Security Sector Researcher, SETARA Institute
- Merisa Dwi Juanita, Human Rights and Security Sector Researcher, SETARA Institute
- Halili Hasan, Executive Director, SETARA Institute