The 2021 Speech at Rally Contest aims to educate the public and police personnel on the importance of protecting the freedom of expression and human rights, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo has said.

During demonstrations, people who want to express their aspirations face communication barriers as the police try to maintain public order, thus sometimes there are misunderstandings between the two parties, he said.

“Hence, the competition becomes education for all of us, thus we will be able to resolve the barriers,” he remarked at the opening ceremony of the competition at the Proclamation Monument in Jakarta on Friday.

He said he expected all future demonstrations to run well.

Furthermore, the national police chief asked the public not to get involved with any interested party in conducting demonstrations, saying the freedom of expression should be conveyed honestly.

Meanwhile, the police, as part of the government machinery, must be able to maintain public order while protecting people who stage rallies so that they can express their aspirations well, Prabowo said.

“Whilst the government’s obligation is to follow up on the aspirations of the people,” he remarked.

A mechanism must be established to ensure that the implementation of democracy and human rights in the country runs well, he added.

The competition was held in 34 regional police offices throughout Indonesia and 243 teams comprising 2,041 participants took part in it.

The competition was held at the regional level from December 1–5, 2021 to select the six best teams representing six zones across Indonesia to compete at the National Police Headquarters.

They were the East Java Team from the Java Zone, the West Sumatra Team from the Sumatra Zone, the East Nusa Tenggara Team from the Bali Zone, the North Maluku Team from the East Indonesia Zone, and the South Sulawesi Team from the Sulawesi Zone.

The head of the public relations division of the National Police Headquarters, Inspector General Dedi Prasetyo, informed that the participants included students, non-governmental organizations, youth organizations, community organizations, as well as members of the general public.

He said that the competition aimed to improve the quality of democracy in Indonesia as well as the public’s care and love for the country.

“The competition also aims to realize Pancasila — Indonesia’s five principles ideology — democracy and uphold the human rights,” he added.

Source: Antara News