Cavalry called out to fight city crime

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Military Chief Maj. Gen. Wiranto said yesterday that he was mobilizing all his forces, including the cavalry assault battalion, to help the police fight crime.

"The level of crime in the city is insane and can no longer be tolerated," Wiranto declared after leading a ceremony to mark the 33rd anniversary of Cavalry Battalion 7 at its headquarters in Cijantung, East Jakarta.

"I'm ordering all military commanders in the city to actively help the police investigate, hunt and catch criminals," he added.

The city military and police will hold joint exercises in fighting crime, he added, without specifying what type of exercises or when they would be conducted.

Wiranto said that he has set up a unit of troopers on motorbikes who are ready to go anywhere in the city whenever they were needed.

The unit, with elements stationed in all mayoralties and neighboring administrative towns, can be paged by members of the public, he said.

They can place their call through operator number 390-2222, and pager number 19201 for Central Jakarta, 19202 for North Jakarta, 19203 for West Jakarta, 19204 for South Jakarta, 19205 for East Jakarta, 19206 for Tangerang and 19207 for Bekasi.

Wiranto urged the troopers to stay in shape by conducting routine exercise.

Cavalry Battalion 7, which is fully equipped with tanks, is the assault unit of the City Military Command.

"Cavalry battalion will always become the main force in handling security in the municipality," he said.

The battalion was mobilized to secure Jakarta during the Non- Aligned Movement summit in 1992 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leader's meeting in Bogor last November.

The battalion has also been dispatched for missions outside the capital, including putting down a rebellion in Sulawesi in the 1960s. They also served in UN peacekeeping missions in the Congo in 1963, Vietnam in 1973 and Cambodia in 1993.(29)