Anti-crime operation to continue: Feisal

JAKARTA (JP): Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung says the campaign against crime, resulting in hundreds of arrests across the country, will continue.

The campaign, code named Operasi Bersih (Operation Cleansing), will be extended to keep the crime rate down to minimum, Feisal said in a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission I on security affairs yesterday.

"The crime rate has been increasing in this country, and criminals have shown no hesitation to kill," he said. "We are obliged to continue with Operasi Bersih until people can feel safe."

The general, whose active service has been extended beyond the normal retirement age of 55 by President Soeharto last month, said the operation also targets illegal sales and production of alcohol and the drug trade. Both of these criminal trades also appeared to be on the rise.

The operation, which was launched in April in many parts of Indonesia, has led to the confiscation of hundreds of fire arms and edged weapons. The authorities have also seized illegal drugs and alcohol. The operation is conducted by the police and regional security agencies (Bakorstanasda).

Feisal said alcohol and drug abuse breed crime and that is why the operation is also targeting these two areas. "Many crimes have been committed after the actors became intoxicated or consumed drugs, apparently to give them courage."

Feisal was accompanied to the meeting by the military's top brass, including the National Police Chief Gen. Banurusman Astrosemitro.

Banurusman said his officers have been cracking down on illegal liquor manufacturers.

The government has also tightened the licenses for manufacturers and traders of alcoholic beverages, he said.

Feisal said the authorities are also intensifying their campaign against drug smuggling and trading, amidst increasing indications that Indonesia is being used as a transit point by international drug syndicates which operate from the Golden Triangle near the Thai borders.

He said this was confirmed by the recent arrests of people at airports in Jakarta, Bali and North Sumatra, carrying heroin and other banned substances.

What was even more troubling, however, is that some of the more expensive drugs are finding markets in Indonesia, notably among youths from the middle and upper classes, he said. (rms)