Jakarta – The police said Friday they would look into allegations of abuse contained in a Human Rights Watch report released the previous day, and respond appropriately if the allegations were found to be true.
National Police chief Gen. Sutanto, speaking at police headquarters in Jakarta, said the police would take action in response to the report that accused police officers in Papua of raping, killing and beating unarmed civilians.
"Please hand us the information because the National Police want to protect (the people). If the information is proven true, we will deal with the cases," Sutanto said.
He said he expected the information to be objective and match conditions in the field. "We first have to check the objectivity of the report," he said.
The New York-based group claimed the police's paramilitary unit, or Brimob, was responsible for grave human rights violations in the Central Highlands of Indonesia's easternmost province. It documented 14 cases of abuse, but said there were dozens more that lacked sufficient first-hand accounts from victims and witnesses.
Human Rights Watch program director Joseph Saunders said Thursday several women in Papua had detailed sexual harassment and rape by police officers.
The rights group said it also received a report that Brimob officers, searching for members of the separatist Free Papua Movement, or OPM, entered a village and burned down 10 houses, stole dozens of chickens and food, and forced villagers to flee into the mountains, where seven people died from malaria and other diseases.
Chairman of Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) Neta S. Pane told The Jakarta Post that human rights abuses committed by police officers were a "public secret".
"Police officers tend to be abusive, including intimidating and terrorizing people," said Neta. He suggested the public be proactive when faced with abusive officers, in order to force police change.
Neta said the IPW had seen evidence that some high-ranking police officials were willing to change. "This is a good thing and the public has to respond to that," he said.
He also urged non-governmental organizations to file reports with the House of Representatives, the police's internal affairs division or the media if they discovered evidence of rights violations committed by police officers.
Neta said officers in the regions tended to be more abusive and did not "serve and protect" the public in accordance with the National Police slogan.
The National Police celebrated their 61st anniversary on July 1. The anniversary theme was: "The National Police (as) society's partner".
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in a speech to mark the anniversary that the police must uphold the law and become a modern and moral institution that could be loved by the people.