For the families of the fallen students who 13 years ago were killed in a series of demonstrations that led to the ousting of former President Suharto, it was like losing their sons once more.

Tears, anger and disbelief were apparent when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono nominated Timur Pradopo as chief of the National Police in October 2010.

A 1999 investigation carried out by an ad-hoc fact finding team, revealed that Timur was at the scene of an incident in November 1998 where five students and six bystanders died from live rounds fired by the military and police.

The same team said that Timur was also responsible for the death of four students after police opened fire on a group of protestors in front of Trisakti University campus in West Jakarta on May 12, 1998. Timur was chief of West Jakarta District Police at the time of the May incident.

But the House of Representatives rubber-stamped the decision in a plenary session that took just 30 minutes. When the process was completed, Timur, now a four star general, was asked to step forward and was applauded by the legislators.

â??We will never stay silent. Everybody must respect human rights and justice for all victims. A human rights violator should be brought to trial, and not end up as National Police chief,â? Poengky Indarti, executive director of the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial) said a day after the appointment.

A violent year

Last year, rights groups speculated that Timurâ??s appointment would worsen the policeâ??s appalling human rights record. Their worst fears appear to have come true as the year has been rife with cases of killings and violence involving police officers.

Indonesian Police Watch, a monitoring group, said that this year 18 civilians died from police fire, and 78 were wounded.

The Commission for Missing Person and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has recorded seven major cases that point to excessive use of force by the police in the past four months alone.

That number includes an incident in August in which police opened fire on protesters trying to occupy an oil field in Tiaka, Southeast Sulawesi. Two people died, including one who was shot multiple times, and dozens more were wounded.

In October, police in Timika, Papua, clashed with mining workers of Freeport Indonesia. Two civilians and one police officer were killed. Two weeks later, police brutally dispersed participants of the Third Papuan Congress in Abepura, leaving at least three dead.

But two incidents caught the attention of lawmakers, prompting them to schedule a House inquiry for early next year.

Police forces are under fire after two demonstrators were gunned down and another died from his injuries after police tried to disband a group of protestors who were occupying a seaport in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, last week.

The protestors were rallying against the presence of gold miner Sumber Mineral Nusantara in the village of Lambu.

The incident came just weeks after a group of farmers from Mesuji, Lampung, accused police of siding with palm oil companies in a land dispute that the farmers say has claimed at least 32 lives.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secretary general Tjahjo Kumolo questioned police reforms.

Given it was separated from the military in 2000, police should use a softer approach to help protect civilians and facilitate peacekeeping, the lawmaker said.

â??But what happens is the other way around. Police instead emulate the military style and approach. They now oppress instead of protecting, and kill instead of pacifying those involved in crime,â? Tjahjo said. â??Just look at the gear that they used [in the Bima incident]. They are not using non-lethal weapons to stop the demonstration, but rifles made for war.

â??In the light of the recent incidents, it is time for the president to restructure the National Police.â?

But Kontras chairman Haris Azhar said that the lawmakers had only themselves to blame for supporting Timurâ??s bid to lead the National Police.

â??We have been opposing Timurâ??s appointment because of his record. We know cases like these would happen,â? he told the Jakarta Globe. â??How can we expect police to change the culture of violence when its leader also has a dark past?â?

Uncertainty over procedures

The National Police were quick to say that officers in the field had followed proper police procedures in these incidents. But IPW chairman Neta S. Pane disagreed.

â??In nearly all of these incidents, Brimob were positioned face-to-face with civilians,â? he told the Globe, referring to the heavily armed police Mobile Brigade unit. â??The procedures state that police should deploy Sabhara [riot police] to handle rioters. Where are the rubber bullets? Where are the water cannons?â?

Imparsial program director Al Araf said police should be discouraged from using live ammunition to counter rioters and called for the long-overdue implementation of the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

The principles, enacted in 1990, stipulate the need for non-lethal weapons to counter riots and brawls and for the government to ensure that abusive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials is punished as a criminal offense.

Imparsial said that there have been a least 143 cases of the police using force excessively since 2005.

Araf said that at the core of this yearâ??s violence is a regulation issued by former National Police chief (ret.) Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri just days before Timur was appointed. The regulation allows police officers to used live bullets to handle rioters when they become uncooperative and start attacking officers.

However, officers are only allowed to shoot to immobilize, not to kill.

â??We see that this is never the case. The regulation is open to multiple interpretations and has often been used to justify police excessive use of force. The regulation should be annulled,â? Araf said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked the National Police chief to avoid any form of violence and physical contact in cases where they have to disband a crowd or protestors, presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said on Tuesday.

â??It is possible that there was an event, an action or an incident that was beyond normal or appropriate and that violent action could not have been prevented,â? Julian said.

Neutrality questioned

Said Agil Siradj, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Muslim organization in the country, said that the police had stopped acting as a patron and protector of the people.

â??Police have abandoned their creed, which is to protect and serve people,â? he said. â??I am asking that [the Bima incident] be the last. The bullets bought with peopleâ??s money should not be used to shoot and kill the people.â?

Police this year have been forced to explain the payments provided by Freeport Indonesia, which owns the worldâ??s biggest copper mine, Grasberg in Mimika, Papua. Antigraft and human rights activists recently highlighted Freeportâ??s â??Working Towards Sustainable Developmentâ? report, which said that the company provided $14 million to police and military officials last year.

Before a House inquiry, police argued that they are obliged to protect the mine, which is listed as a â??national vital asset.â? Police also said they use Freeport facilities, because they are ill-equipped.

Kontras chairman Haris said that an investigation is needed to see if police have also been receiving payments or facilities from other companies.

â??It would be next to impossible to find evidence if such payments have been made, but it is evident that police have been siding with big companies in their disputes with common people,â? he said.

In all of the incidents highlighted by rights activists, police have pledged to conduct internal investigations.

In the brutal crackdown of the congress in Papua, seven officers were punished with several days in detention, and in the Mesuji case, two officers were briefly detained and demoted.

During a House fit and proper test last year, Timur maintained that he was blameless for the 1998 student killings.

â??I did not break any law. The strategy and tactics were not dictated at my level but by my superior,â? Timur said.

He also said he had ignored summonses for questioning over the shootings by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in 2002 because there was an institutional policy against it.

â??As a soldier, I have to obey what my commanders ordered,â? he said.

Imparsialâ??s Al Araf said that the same culture of impunity was shown during Timurâ??s tenure, which is scheduled to end in 2014, was the case during his predecessorâ??s time.

â??Timur must take responsibility for his menâ??s actions. The president should sack him,â? Al Araf said.