Endriarto's idea to disarm police gets thumbs down
Endriarto's idea to disarm police gets thumbs down
JAKARTA (JP): Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto's
proposal to disarm the nation's police has received a big thumbs
down.
Observers say that, if unarmed, the police would be
dysfunctional and their lives placed in danger because of the
number of hardcore criminals brandishing guns nowadays.
Police Watchdog Coordinator Nur Atar Achmad dismissed
Endriartono's proposal as "ridiculous".
"How can the National Police enforce the law (without
firearms)? If they were disarmed, they would get killed on duty,"
Atar told The Jakarta Post.
Endriartono floated his unarmed police idea at a hearing with
the House of Representatives last Wednesday. He envisioned
Indonesia's police officers as being a "moral force" armed only
with batons, like those used by British police.
The proposal came in the wake of a clash between Army soldiers
and police officers in Madiun, East Java, which left three
civilians dead.
Atar said, "No, we can't disarm the National Police because it
would contravene international regulations."
According to a convention of the United Nations (UN), all
police officers should carry weapons while they are on duty. The
convention also administers how police should deal with
protesters or criminals, he said.
"The police officers must first fire warning shots to disperse
protesters. If the protesters ignore the warning, police officers
are allowed to use tear-gas and rubber bullets," he said.
Strong opposition was aired by former police chief Awaloeddin
Djamin.
"How can our police officers combat crimes if they are only
armed with knives and sticks while the criminals equip themselves
with automatic guns?" he said.
Awaloeddin said he agreed police should not equip themselves
with firearms in cases where they are dealing with peaceful
demonstrations or regulating traffic.
He challenged the army to review its policy on carrying
weapons.
"Let's be strict on the rule that no military officers can
take weapons outside their headquarters or when they are not on
duty. Can they do it?"
Wrong solution
Criminologist Mulyana W. Kusumah said disarming the police
officers would not be the right solution because the main problem
causing the army-police conflict was lack of discipline.
Mulyana said conflict was often a result of overlapping
authority between the two forces in maintaining security and
public order.
"In some regions there is rivalry between them. This rivalry
often leads to clashes," he told the Post.
Mulyana noted that there has been six reported clashes between
police officers and soldiers this year.
"Before the Madiun incident, there were clashes in Ambon and
Irian Jaya," he said.
Mulyana said it would be much better to determine what kind of
weapons should be given to police officers.
"Principally, the weapons of police officers must not be
combat weapons," he said.
"Indeed, police officers on main roads in Britain don't carry
arms. But the police always carry weapons in raids," Mulyana
added. (08/emf))