Coordination sought to end school brawls

Coordination sought to end school brawls

JAKARTA (JP): Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and
Security Soesilo Soedarman yesterday convened a special meeting
to discuss ways to end brawling at schools, which has become a
major headache for City administrators.

"This has become a complex problem that requires everybody's
involvement to solve," Soesilo told reporters after the meeting
at his office, Antara said.

Describing the students as the "generation of the nation's
next leaders", Soesilo said "We should not let them become
destructive. That kind of attitude is not good in students."

Dealing with the problem must also involve the public,
particularly parents and the students themselves, he added.

The meeting only discussed the brawls in Jakarta because this
is where fighting is most frequent, he said.

One city official said school brawls occur every other day in
Jakarta.

Many brawls end in death. The Jakarta Police counted 13 deaths
in 1995 and 10 in 1994.

Attending the meeting yesterday were Minister of Education and
Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro, Minister of Information Harmoko,
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman, Minister of
Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher, the chief of the State
Intelligence Agency Lt. Gen. Moetojib, Jakarta Governor Surjadi
Soedirdja, chief of the Jakarta Military Command Maj. Gen.
Sutiyoso, and Deputy for Operation of the National Police Maj.
Gen. H.B. Hutagalung.

Soesilo said various factors account for the increasing
frequency of school brawls, from rapid urbanization and the
various social problems it has created, to security and
environmental problems.

"This is what makes the problem of brawling so complex," he
said. "Violence in films, and the increasing use of banned drugs
also have a strong effect on the students," he opined.

Police statistics show that the problem gets worse every year.
In 1995 there were 149 cases of student delinquency, including
mostly brawls, up from 121 three year earlier.

The number of students involved rose from 987 to 1,245 in the
same period. Police have been kept busy, arresting 1,261 students
in 1994, and 1,263 in 1995.

Besides causing deaths and injuries, the brawls destroy a lot
of property. City buses are favorite targets, with students often
attacking other students on board buses. In 1995, 862 buses were
damaged while the previous year the number was 1,158.

Yet Soesilo warned against generalizing, and said that not all
schools are dangerous. Brawls have occurred at only four percent
of the city's 3,178 junior and senior high schools, he explained.

The Jakarta Police has repeatedly launched operations against
suspicious-looking students in the streets and at bus terminals.
Last month, in one operation, they apprehended 121 high school
students in Central Jakarta and seized knives, swords and other
metal objects used in brawls. (emb)