The Cause Of Police Throwing Tear Gas In Kanjuruhan Tragedy Must Be The Main Focus

Security forces fired tear gas to dispel supporters who entered the field after the BRI Liga 1 match between Arema and Persebaya at the Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang, East Java, Saturday night October 1, 2022. (A

JAKARTA - Komnas HAM asked the Joint Independent Fact-Finding Team (TGIPF) for the Kanjuruhan Tragedy and the National Police to focus on finding out why the Arema FC vs. Persebaya Surabaya match ended in chaos on Saturday, October 1 night.

Deputy Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Amiruddin al Rahab stressed that the reason for the shooting of tear gas at Arema FC or Aremania supporters must be investigated thoroughly.

"For the sake of upholding law and justice, the Coordinating Minister's Team and the police in investigating the incident at Kanjuruhan Stadium must immediately take action to thoroughly examine the causes of the incident, especially the process of releasing tear gas by security personnel," Amiruddin said in his written statement, quoted on Thursday, 6 October.

TGIPF and the National Police were asked to examine the management in charge of the stadium and the match organizing committee, including the security forces.

"Check in detail and thoroughly the emergency preparedness of the stadium and match management, as well as the implementation of the match at night by the organizing committee," he said.

Moreover, said Amiruddin, there are allegations that the tickets sold exceeded capacity. If from this examination it is proven that a crime has been committed, the perpetrator must be determined as a suspect.

"Including allegations of ticket sales that exceed the capacity of the stadium. If an alleged criminal act is found, the person responsible is immediately a suspect," he said.

In addition, investigations and law enforcement must be conducted fairly. Amiruddin asked all stakeholders related to League 1 matches to be open with those who carried out monitoring.

Thus, the Kanjuruhan Tragedy which killed 131 people was known and could be resolved. "This is necessary for the sake of fairness in investigations and law enforcement," he said.

As previously reported, regarding the completion of the Kanjuruhan Tragedy, the government formed the TGIPF, chaired by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD on Monday, October 3.

TGIPF members consist of various elements such as activists, journalists, to former high-ranking officials at the Attorney General's Office and the National Disaster Management Agency.

On the one hand, a number of members of the DPR from across factions proposed the formation of a Special Committee (Pansus) to investigate the Kanjuruhan Tragedy.

The factions that signed the support for the formation of the Special Committee as of Monday, October 3 afternoon were called the PDI-P Faction, Golkar Party Faction, PKB Faction, Gerindra Faction, Democratic Faction, PAN Faction, NasDem Faction, and PKS Faction.

"We hope that the Kanjuruhan Special Committee will be formed as soon as possible so that it can work quickly in the field," said member of Commission III of the PKB Faction, Heru Widodo, during a press conference at the Senayan Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Monday, October 3.