Flywheels keep lights on

STOPS BLACKOUTS: RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES DON'T ADD INERTIA TO GRID

- 

rutality' rta - Viral footage of a tactical crashing into a young delivery driver in Indonesia's capital, rolling over his body has sparked renewed anger against the police force long known for its heavy-handed tactics.

Seven officers inside the van were detained for violating the ethics code at the protests against low wages and financial perks for lawmakers, and the president pledged an investigation.

Protests have erupted across the country over the incident, the latest in a string of cases where Indonesia's militarised police force - the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) - has been accused of overreaction leading to many deaths.

Brimob is actually a military police force with its own weaponry. It is historically used to deal with armed movements but, over the past decade, it has often been assigned to work against street protests," said Human Rights Watch's Andreas Harsono.

The unit has therefore "often employed excessive force when dealing with street protests, including in places like West Papua, and lately also in Jakarta and other urban areas", he added.

Brimob has its origins in the Indonesian colonial era when it was formed as a special police unit, before being turned into a post-independence paramilitary unit used to quell internal rebellions.