Парамилитарная группировка Геркулеса участвовала в разгоне протестов в Джакарте, что вызывает вопросы о связях с администрацией президента

JAKARTA: The involvement of a paramilitary group linked to street strongman Hercules in dispersing last week’s protests in Jakarta has raised troubling questions over whether President Prabowo Subianto ’s administration is enabling, or even relying on informal coercive networks to maintain order. The group, United Indonesian People’s Movement (GRIB) Jaya, appeared on the streets as clashes between protesters and police spread from the House of Representatives building in Senayan to Slipi and Pejompongan Raya, some two kilometres from the legislative complex, on Thursday night (Aug 27). Videos circulating on social media showed groups of men, many wearing white headbands and some carrying bamboo poles and wooden planks, arriving in trucks and chasing and beating people near the Slipi overpass. In one video, a bystander could be heard saying, “Hercules has come down to the street,” as a man stepped out of a car and shouted, “Go home!” He was followed by a group of men who chased after people gathered by the roadside, swinging wooden beams. GRIB Jaya secretary-general Zulfikar acknowledged that Hercules and members of the group were present in Jakarta streets on Thursday night, acting on their own initiative as part of what he called “Pam Swakarsa”, a New Order-era term for armed civilian groups mobilised alongside security forces to disperse protesters. The admission has raised concerns among human rights advocates over the involvement of civilian groups in functions that should fall under the authority of the state. “The apparent failure of the police to act over the involvement of civilian organisations in handling the crowds sends a message that the state does not trust the police’s ability to manage demonstrations,” Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said. Rather than strengthening public order, he said, the involvement of groups such as GRIB Jaya risked weakening the authority of the police and normalising the use of civilian enforcers during demonstrations. The concern is particularly acute given the violence reported during the unrest. Mirror seller Bambang Setiawan, 60, a resident of Pejompongan Raya, died after allegedly being assaulted in the early hours of Friday by unidentified men dressed in civilian clothing and carrying wooden planks. Another resident, 18-year-old Faturohman, said he was dragged from an alley near his home in the same neighborhood and beaten by unidentified men despite not taking part in the protest. He said the men forced him to confess that he was a provocateur before taking him to Jakarta Police headquarters, where he was later released. Zulfikar denied that GRIB Jaya members were involved in violence in Pejompongan Raya. The episode has also drawn scrutiny because of Hercules’ longstanding ties to Prabowo. The former Timor Leste-born gang leader rose to prominence in Jakarta’s Tanah Abang textile market in the 1990s after building a formidable preman (gangster) network and has faced multiple arrests and prison terms over cases involving extortion, assault, property damage and land disputes. Hercules, whose real name is Rosario de Marshal, forged a close relationship with Prabowo when the latter served in the Indonesian Military in East Timor during the 1980s. He later founded GRIB Jaya in 2011 and appointed Prabowo to its advisory board. The organisation has repeatedly backed Prabowo in presidential elections and remains a vocal supporter of his administration. The ties have continued since Prabowo took office in 2024. A May report by Tempo said Prabowo had begun distancing himself from Hercules in 2019, citing people close to the President who said he believed Hercules could be easily used by various parties. In March, however, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, a close aide to Prabowo, met Hercules at his Jakarta office and referred to him as “an old friend”. Virdika Rizky Utama, a public policy researcher at Nanyang Technological University, said the incident on Thursday night should not be viewed simply as an isolated act by Hercules or GRIB Jaya, given the group’s longstanding political ties to Prabowo. While there is no evidence that Prabowo ordered Hercules to take part in the unrest, Virdika said the question of accountability should extend beyond whether the President personally issued an order. Political power, he said, can also be exercised through access, signals, protection and expectations, making the government responsible for the broader ecosystem of actors it chooses to accommodate. “A president is not responsible only for what he explicitly orders. He is also responsible for the ecosystem of power he maintains, the people he gives access to, the behavior of loyalists he tolerates, and the boundaries he chooses to enforce or not enforce,” Virdika noted. “If Prabowo seeks to send a message that his government is not dependent on thugs, informal loyalists or coercive groups, then he is the one who must draw the line very clearly,” he added. State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. - The Jakarta Post/ANN