Protesters fire fireworks at police officers during a clash in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Thursday, October 8, 2020. The clash occurred when the police tried to disperse a crowd that rejected the Omnibus Law Cipta Kerja Law (UU). BETWEEN PHOTOS / Abriawan Abhe
The Indonesian Alliance of Independent Journalists assesses that the same and recurring patterns of violence against journalists by members of the police exist.
Most of the journalists will become victims of violence while covering or filming police officers persecuting the masses of action. "The police do not want their crimes to be known from the public. In the end what they did was intimidate, destroy and delete evidence," Manan said in an online discussion on Saturday, October 10, 2020.
According to Manan, every member of the police knows that their job when they participate in the demonstration is to restore security. Moreover, the state guarantees demonstrations through laws.
Thus, when a member hits or tortures a mass of action, where the act violates the law, the police will try to suppress or eliminate the case by removing the goods.
"That's why they attack journalists. If they are helping people, it is impossible for journalists to be violent, in fact they might get a reward because they have documented," said Manan.
In a demonstration against the Job Creation Law on October 6-8, AJI Indonesia recorded 28 cases of violence against journalists. Dozens of cases occurred in several regions in Indonesia.
Chairperson of the Advocacy Division for the Independent Journalist Alliance (AJI), Sasmito Madrin, explained that the most types of violence cases were tampering with tools and seizing data from coverage. "Namely there are 9 cases. Then, 7 cases of intimidation, 6 cases of physical violence, and 6 cases of detention," he said in the same discussion.
Andita Rahma, Journalist
Syailendra Persada, Editor