Novianti Setuningsih – Indonesia's Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence has accused police of human rights violations after dozens of students were injured during protests against the government's proposed fuel price hikes in Gambir, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday.

Haris Azhar, coordinator of the commission, known as Kontras, said the rights violations included police use of tear gas and water cannons on protesters, the attack itself, the arrests, the hunting down of protesters who fled to a nearby settlement, as well as the seizure of a TV journalist's camera.

Haris also criticized alleged directives given to police officers by a local military command in Gambir to deal with the protesters, who were members of local student organizations.

The students and police officers clashed near the Gambir train station after the police attempted to block the students on their way toward the nearby Presidential Palace.

"The afternoon clash in Gambir shouldn't have occurred if only the police had consequently implemented security procedures, which were applied in four other demonstration spots," Haris said in a press statement on Tuesday evening.

He said at Gambir, police had at least abused Article 7 of the 2006 National Police regulation on Large Crowd Control by dealing with the protesters arrogantly, yelling at them and using foul language, as well as letting themselves become provoked by the protesters.

Police also abused a 2008 National Police regulation obliging officers to protect human rights, and a 2009 regulation that mandates police to only use force when really necessary, and that it should be proportional to the need.

"The excessive measures police officers still apply in dealing with protests in Jakarta and other regions in Indonesia show that the National Police have defied the principles of necessity and proportionality, as well as the aforementioned internal regulations. Police, in this case, still show an anti-people face," Haris said.

Kontras also admonished police for using force in dealing with anti-fuel price hike protests that turned violent in other parts of Indonesia, including in Medan on Monday where two protesters were shot with rubber bullets and two journalists were beaten by police officers. (BeritaSatu/JG)