Arming of civil servants slammed

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.