Arming of civil servants slammed

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

The Medan administration in North Sumatra drew strong protests on Thursday for equipping its city public order officers with guns, while on duty.

The Medan-based Legal Aid Institute (LBH) urged the local government to reverse the policy as it would create a "new arrogance" among civil servants.

"We strongly oppose the move to arm civil servants, whatever the reason is," LBH director Irham Buana Nasution told The Jakarta Post in Medan.

"Arming public order officers means promoting the principles of violence among civilian community members," he added.

He said the armament policy would have a negative impact among the population.

"If civil servants are armed, others will demand the same. We are worried that the move will increase violence in Medan," Irham added.

The armament policy came into effect three days ago for at least 45 local civil servants, including 25 public order officers.

Twenty civil servants at the Medan transportation office also received guns.

"We bought them pistols in order that their authority will be more effective," Aslan Harahap, the head of the local transportation office, told the Post earlier on Thursday.

The handguns, armed with rubber bullets, were purchased from North Korea using funds from the city's budget, he said without giving details of the amount.

Aslan said the policy of arming the civil servants was endorsed by the North Sumatra provincial police, which requires the 45 armed civil servants to each renew their permits once a year.

Sr. Comr. T.P.H. Manurung, security intelligence director with the provincial police, confirmed his office had issued permits for the 45 civil servants to carry pistols after Medan Mayor Abdillah submitted an official request.

The permits were granted after the police received assurances that the officers had the requisite capability to shoot the guns, Manurung said.

Defending the Medan administration's armament policy, he reiterated that it would make the officers more effective.

It would also help local police ensure security in the city, Manurung added.

He also said the police had issued other permits for dozens of civil servants with the provincial administration to carry guns.

Irham further said he feared that the armed officers could misuse their authority for their own interests given that they lacked professionalism.

To back up his arguments, he cited rampant cases across Indonesia, in which police officers who had received training in professional gun handling, still misused them.

"If the decision to arm civil servants is not annulled, Medan will become a cowboy city, where guns are freely circulated," Irham said.

Even carrying batons or solid bamboo rods, city public order officers across the country have been accused of using excessive violence in undertaking their tasks of ensuring order in their administrations.

Their main "enemies" are generally street vendors who open kiosks on sidewalks and other places.

Many street vendors have suffered the brunt of violence by local public order officers who often brutally evict them and destroy or steal their merchandise.