Aryo Mahendro, Denpasar – The Bali Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) has slammed the attitude of the police for allowing a clash to occur between the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) Bali and the social organisation (ormas) the Nusantara Garuda Patriots (PGN) Bali.
LBH Bali lawyer Rezky Pratiwi said that allowing the clash to occur was a human rights violation.
"There is a responsibility to protect demonstrators. This responsibility lies with the police. (The police) [must] ensure that demonstrations are secure and conducive. As well as ensuring that demonstrations can be organised", said Pratiwi on Monday April 3.
According to Pratiwi, the AMP protesters had not even had a chance to hold the demonstration at the planned location. Because of this, Pratiwi is if the view that there was no potential for the AMP to cause a riot.
"Our Papuan friends intended to hold a peaceful demonstration. To articulate what's happening in Papua. We think that this is quite legitimate. They (demonstrations) are already regulated under Article 13 Paragraph 2 of Law Number 9/1998 on Conveying an Opinion in Public", she explained.
As has been reported, on Saturday April 1, AMP protesters were blocked by the PGN before they arrived at the Jalan Sudirman intersection, and even before they could hold the demonstration.
This ended in a clash after the PGN argued that the AMP did not have a permit from the police to demonstrate and that it had the potential to disrupt traffic. A number of people suffered injuries including broken bones during the clash. (hsa/gsp)
- See: Nationalist group clashes with Papuan protesters in Bali, several injured. Bali Express – April 2, 2023
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "LBH Bali Kecam Polisi 'Biarkan' Bentrokan AMP Vs PGN".]
