City police not equipped to handle major rioting

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Yacob said on Monday that the police would not be able to handle a situation like the May 1998 riots and have therefore deployed maximum security personnel in the capital to prevent such an incident from reoccurring..

He noted that the Jakarta Police had deployed almost all of its personnel in the capital ahead of the May 30 plenary session of the House of Representatives, which could possibly lead to civil unrest.

"We have really gone all out this time... we cannot afford a situation like the 1998 May riots to reoccur," Sofjan told reporters.

"We will not be able to handle a lawless and bloody situation like that at the moment because we lack adequate police equipment."

The riots in mid-May 1998, occurred in the capital over three consecutive days and triggered lawlessness and violence in several other parts of the country.

Security was literally taken over by the Armed Forces and police officers were barely visible during the riots.

A report from the National Commission on Human Rights claimed that at least 1,188 people were killed during the rioting.

Sofjan noted that both police precincts and subprecincts in the capital were short of portable fire engines and motorcycles, which would be required to contain massive rioting.

He noted that the Jakarta Police would need at least 300 motorcycles so that police officers would be able to respond swiftly to crime scenes.

But the Jakarta Police claim that they have no funds to purchase new equipment, adding that national funds that could normally be allocated for the Jakarta Police in such circumstances have already been used up to equip policemen in a number of other violence-hit areas across the country, such as Aceh, Central Kalimantan and Maluku. (ylt)