Arming of civil servants slammed<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra<\/p>\n
The Medan administration in North Sumatra drew strong protests on
\nThursday for equipping its city public order officers with guns,
\nwhile on duty.<\/p>\n
The Medan-based Legal Aid Institute (LBH) urged the local
\ngovernment to reverse the policy as it would create a \"new
\narrogance\" among civil servants.<\/p>\n
\"We strongly oppose the move to arm civil servants, whatever
\nthe reason is,\" LBH director Irham Buana Nasution told The
\nJakarta Post in Medan.<\/p>\n
\"Arming public order officers means promoting the principles
\nof violence among civilian community members,\" he added.<\/p>\n
He said the armament policy would have a negative impact among
\nthe population.<\/p>\n
\"If civil servants are armed, others will demand the same. We
\nare worried that the move will increase violence in Medan,\" Irham
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The armament policy came into effect three days ago for at
\nleast 45 local civil servants, including 25 public order
\nofficers.<\/p>\n
Twenty civil servants at the Medan transportation office also
\nreceived guns.<\/p>\n
\"We bought them pistols in order that their authority will be
\nmore effective,\" Aslan Harahap, the head of the local
\ntransportation office, told the Post earlier on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The handguns, armed with rubber bullets, were purchased from
\nNorth Korea using funds from the city's budget, he said without
\ngiving details of the amount.<\/p>\n
Aslan said the policy of arming the civil servants was
\nendorsed by the North Sumatra provincial police, which requires
\nthe 45 armed civil servants to each renew their permits once a
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Sr. Comr. T.P.H. Manurung, security intelligence director with
\nthe provincial police, confirmed his office had issued permits
\nfor the 45 civil servants to carry pistols after Medan Mayor
\nAbdillah submitted an official request.<\/p>\n
The permits were granted after the police received assurances
\nthat the officers had the requisite capability to shoot the guns,
\nManurung said.<\/p>\n
Defending the Medan administration's armament policy, he
\nreiterated that it would make the officers more effective.<\/p>\n
It would also help local police ensure security in the city,
\nManurung added.<\/p>\n
He also said the police had issued other permits for dozens of
\ncivil servants with the provincial administration to carry guns.<\/p>\n
Irham further said he feared that the armed officers could
\nmisuse their authority for their own interests given that they
\nlacked professionalism.<\/p>\n
To back up his arguments, he cited rampant cases across
\nIndonesia, in which police officers who had received training in
\nprofessional gun handling, still misused them.<\/p>\n
\"If the decision to arm civil servants is not annulled, Medan
\nwill become a cowboy city, where guns are freely circulated,\"
\nIrham said.<\/p>\n
Even carrying batons or solid bamboo rods, city public order
\nofficers across the country have been accused of using excessive
\nviolence in undertaking their tasks of ensuring order in their
\nadministrations.<\/p>\n
Their main \"enemies\" are generally street vendors who open
\nkiosks on sidewalks and other places.<\/p>\n
Many street vendors have suffered the brunt of violence by
\nlocal public order officers who often brutally evict them and
\ndestroy or steal their merchandise.<\/p>",
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