A bogus policewoman has been arrested for illegally collecting

A bogus policewoman has been arrested for illegally collecting
millions of rupiah from police officers who wanted to be
promoted.

Erni Sulistiyowati, the bogus first inspector, had also
cheated several high school and university graduates who wanted
to join the police force.

The sad fact of this story is that Erni was in collusion with
a real police officer, who also took his cut of the money.

Why does such a criminal act so easily take place -- that is
the interesting question. The answer is that bribery has become
commonplace in the police institution. A police officer can only
be promoted after paying millions of rupiah, and those who have
failed to be promoted are usually reluctant or ashamed to reveal
the bribery, which is illegal.

The police had the poorest discipline when they were still
under the auspices of the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI).

The limited budget from the government had apparently evoked
'coordination' among the police regional leaders to seek their
own additional budget. In this way bribery becomes very rampant,
and part of the money reportedly goes to the superiors.

The recent reports on Erni's activity should have pushed the
National Police to move to improve the image of the police.

-- Warta Kota, Jakarta

Jakarta needs to act decisively

Tension has been escalating from day to day in Aceh. Clashes
between the Indonesian Military and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
have taken place in the province. While the real battle is
expected to take place soon. But no one knows when.

If the government decides to launch another military operation
in Aceh, then it is the people of Aceh who are the most anxious
about the result of the military action. Victimizing civilians is
almost unavoidable in a battle.

Is there any way out of the Aceh conflict, which has been
taking place for decades?

Jakarta has had made several efforts to end the conflict, from
peace talks to special autonomy and the implementation of Sharia
Law. However, GAM has not responded to Jakarta's efforts
properly, and the conflicts go on. It is not surprising that many
say that Jakarta has given too much but received too little.

Jakarta has also been criticized for wasting too much time,
and Jakarta's sluggishness to act in dealing with the Aceh
problems have been used by GAM to campaign for an independent
Aceh.

Such a situation must not be condoned. That means the conflict
must be ended. Jakarta must be firm and say that Aceh cannot
separate from the unitary state of Indonesia. The government's
indecision has obviously prolonged the conflict.

The Joint Council meeting scheduled to take place in Tokyo by
the end of this month must become a starting point to decide if a
peace deal with GAM deserves to be maintained. If the peace deal
continues, a deadline must be established so as not to let GAM to
continue their armed action and ambition to be independent.

In this context, binding initiatives for peace must be from
GAM, who claim to have been fighting for Acehnese people. If GAM
really has good will to bring peace and a bright future for the
Acehnese, they must stop their armed actions, hostility and give
up their guns. While Jakarta must stick to its position:
Defending the unitary state of Indonesia.

-- Republika, Jakarta