IPW Says Arrest of Ade Armando's Attackers May Reveal Provocateurs in Rally

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) urged Jakarta Metro Police to immediately arrest the attackers of UI lecturer Ade Armando during a student demonstration in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) complex, Monday afternoon, April 11. IPW chairman Sugeng Teguh Santoso hoped that the police will immediately disclose intruders in the mass protest, which initially ran peacefully.

He assessed that if the police could uncover the attack case, provocateurs who caused the riots could be exposed as well.

“The arrest of the perpetrator can be used as an entry point for the police to reveal the provocateurs. Besides, the police can find the funders who infiltrated the BEM-SI’s demonstration to stir up chaos,” said Sugeng in a written statement on Monday, April 11.

The beating against the social media activist, according to IPW, was planned by a group of provocateurs. “It was clear that a group of provocateurs detected his presence at the rally site. For no apparent reason, a group of people suddenly persecuted and stripped Ade Armando. It is clear that the persecutors were not a group of BEM SI students,” he added.

IPW had previously warned the authorities that a group of people would possibly infiltrate the peaceful rally staged by BEM SI students. They, he mentioned, could be subject to Article 170 of the Criminal Code.

“People who made provocations through social media about the presence of Ade Armando at the demonstration site can be charged as proponents of violence using IT media,” said Sugeng.

IPW further emphasized that the police must be firm with the perpetrators of violent crimes that are motivated by hatred due to differences in beliefs and political stances.

Read: UI Lecturer Ade Armando Viciously Beaten amid Mass Protest

HAMDAN CHOLIFUDIN ISMAIL