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