Probe into acid attack on Indonesian activist underway as condemnation grows

By Stanley Widianto

JAKARTA, March 16 – Indonesian police said on Monday they were investigating an acid attack on an activist known for his opposition to the military’s expanded role in civilian affairs, as the incident drew condemnation from local and international rights groups. 

Concern over the erosion of democratic values has grown in Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy, where the military’s involvement in civilian areas and state-run businesses has increased significantly under the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, a retired general. 

The issue was a factor in nationwide unrest that gripped Indonesia in August and September last year, which mushroomed after security forces killed a motorcycle taxi driver near a demonstration, prompting riots and widespread arrests. 

Andrie Yunus, a deputy coordinator with the rights group Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, known as KontraS, suffered burns to 24% of his face and arms from acid thrown by two unidentified assailants on a motorcycle on March 12, KontraS and police said.

KontraS said Andrie was attacked after taping a podcast episode on the topic of the military’s expanded role, adding he has been a vocal critic on the issue.

‘COWARDLY ACT OF VIOLENCE’

The U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk in an X post on Saturday described the attack as “horrific” and called for accountability for what was a “cowardly act of violence”.

More than 170 civil society groups in Indonesia, including Amnesty International, alleged the attack intended to kill Andrie, calling it intimidation of rights defenders. 

On Monday, Jakarta police official Iman Imanuddin said an investigation was underway, with officers combing over CCTV footage that showed Andrie had been followed by the unidentified perpetrators prior to the attack. 

A parliamentary commission overseeing human rights called the attack a violation of Prabowo’s commitment to human rights, while law minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra last week said the incident “constitutes an attack on democracy itself.” 

“Human rights activists work for the interests of the people and the state, as the protection of human rights and democracy is a constitutional mandate,” he said.

Made Supriatma, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said the attack may have been intended to silence critics and prevent a revival of protests. 

“It’s a warning shot for us all,” he said.

(Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Martin Petty)