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By Presi Mandari, Agence
France-Presse
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s police
force marked its 62nd birthday on Tuesday but few were celebrating
across the vast archipelago where, human rights activists said,
torture in police cells is accepted as routine.
President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono avoided the open issue of widespread torture as he
lavished praise on the force in an anniversary speech to officers at
the national monument.
“I hope the National Police
will continue to maintain stability and security in order to prevent
physical conflict and anarchic actions,” he said, according to the
Antara news agency.
But rights activists said the
police force was a feared institution, which tortured citizens with
impunity.
They said 10 years of political
and institutional reform after the fall of the military-backed
Suharto regime in 1998 had not left their mark on the police.
“We don’t see any reform in
the Indonesian police because they continue to use violence to
settle criminal cases and they use their power to do that,” said
Legal Aid Foundation director of research Gatot. “Why does this
culture of impunity remain? It’s because there’s a deal between
police officials to protect each other.”
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