Govt can do nothing against thuggery, say activists<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman and Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The society has to count on itself in the war against the
\nhoodlums and their organized mob bosses as the government, which
\nshould lead the campaign, reaps benefits from the presence of
\nthugs instead, an activist allege.<\/p>\n
Chairwoman of the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), Wardah Hafildz,
\ntold The Jakarta Post last Saturday that because of the
\nunwillingness of the city government to get rid of the gangs, the
\ncampaign must be promoted by the society in collaboration with
\nthe press.<\/p>\n
"How can you expect the government officials to wage a
\ncampaign against themselves?" Wardah said.<\/p>\n
She accused the government officials of not only using thugs
\nto meet their political ends, they even act like thug bosses at
\ntimes.<\/p>\n
"The way that the city administration drives streets vendors
\naway clearly indicates that it practices hoodlumism," Wardah
\nsaid, referring to the use of violence and extortion in the
\neviction of street vendors.<\/p>\n
She also cited the example of how Governor Sutiyoso was
\nreportedly using bands of thugs to counter protesters against his
\ncandidacy in the last gubernatorial election.<\/p>\n
Top city officials, she said, also received money from people
\nwho operate underworld businesses.<\/p>\n
She said it was already public knowledge that some city
\nofficials were already "in the pockets" of powerful mafia bosses.<\/p>\n
Wardah acknowledged that the city administration had many
\ntimes conducted raids against thugs, but she was dissatisfied
\nwith such a campaign as it was aimed only at small-time thugs.<\/p>\n
"Raids against street thugs are but a superficial measure, for
\nwhich the city administration appeases the public's anger against
\nrampant thuggery," she said.<\/p>\n
Despite the huge number of thugs in the city, Sutiyoso
\nadmitted that the city had no program to deal with organized
\ncrime and their henchmen, saying that it was the duty of the
\npolice. He said that the administration would recruit more
\ncivilians to help the police, as they apparently cannot handle
\nthe situation with their current numbers.<\/p>\n
Currently, the city has some 3,000 civilian police assistants
\n(Banpol) which are managed by the City Public Order Agency.<\/p>\n
The head of urban community division of the Jakarta Legal Aid
\nInstitute (LBH), Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto, said that the city
\nadministration had no political will in eradicating hoodlumism.<\/p>\n
"As a matter of fact, the city administration, with the
\ninformation from police and intelligence sources, already has a
\ncomplete list of people who can be categorized as thugs.<\/p>\n
"But, apparently it is reluctant to start an all-out campaign
\nto wipe out thugs from the city," Tubagus told the Post.<\/p>\n
He said that the city public order officers who were supposed
\nto deal with thugs, were deployed instead to evict street
\nvendors.<\/p>\n
"It shows that the government have no real plans about how to
\ndeal with thugs," he said.<\/p>\n
Thuggery had developed due to the absence of security in
\nsociety, and certain strongmen controlled different areas and
\ndemanded payments for all manner of goods and services, Tubagus
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Organized gangs have increasingly been creating unrest among
\nthe people.<\/p>\n
Suradjiman, 30, a taxi driver who resides in Pejaten, South
\nJakarta with his wife and his only son, said that extortion by
\nhoodlums had added more problems to his daily life.<\/p>\n
"I sometimes have to give away Rp 1,000 to thugs who extort
\nme, which is probably very little for rich people, but it is
\nworth 10 percent of my total daily earnings," he said in dismay.<\/p>\n
He was so angry with the thugs that he said that there would
\nbe no other way to stop them except to shoot and kill them.<\/p>",
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