Firearms market thriving in scared Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Some victims of the mid-May riots probably wish they had kept tear gas or guns on hand to protect their family and property from the mob violence.

But the rampant lawlessness and the sluggish response of security forces during the three days of mayhem has apparently given a good lesson for many wealthy families in the capital, particularly Chinese-Indonesians and expatriates.

Some firmly believe their only resort is to arm themselves against the worst.

"We have no choice. Moreover, nobody wants to die in vain," said a businessman who recently purchased a South Korean-made tear-gas gun GS 117 for Rp 10 million.

Entire neighborhoods are banding together. In the Mangga Besar area of West Jakarta, residents collected Rp 16 million to buy a M-16 assault rifle.

Home to hundreds of thousands of Chinese-Indonesians, West Jakarta was the worst-hit area during the rioting.

The Mangga Besar residents would not reveal who sold them the American-made semiautomatic gun. It is a standard weapon of the Armed Forces (ABRI).

Public fears are growing, and so are the number of shops in the capital offering guns and an assortment of protection devices.

Most traders said the merchandise included licenses.

They also claimed to only sell guns which fired ammunition -- such as tear gas or specially designed bullets which would temporarily immobilize people -- which would not cause fatalities.

Of the more high-powered guns, air rifles have also become popular among Jakartans in recent weeks.

"When I recently bought an American rifle at a sports store at Pasar Baru in Central Jakarta recently, I met a customer who bought four rifles," said Bong Seng, not his real name, from the Kelapa Gading housing complex in North Jakarta.

"He told me each of his children would get one of the guns for self-protection," Bong Seng said. He added that he knew of indigenous Indonesians who were also arming themselves.

House-to-house

Guns are being traded illegally at several public spots in the city, including Kramat Jati market in East Jakarta, Manggarai market in South Jakarta and Senen market in Central Jakarta.

But most of the weapons are traded through personal transactions via telephones, facsimiles and brokers.

A .38 Colt, for instance, is offered at Rp 20 million and a .36 FN at Rp 17 million. Prices include the official license, traders said.

Non-lethal bullets, they said, sold at Rp 450,000 for seven.

A .22 Colt sells for Rp 5 million, an FN-45 for Rp 8 million.

Several shops also offer a stun gun in the shape of a mobile phone for Rp 8 million. It provides a shock of 1,000 volts.

In addition to paying in cash, buyers are also required to hand over passport-size photographs and several documents, including a letter from the police confirming the person does not have a criminal record.

Police say they are zeroing in on the manufacturing and trade in weapons.

They recently raided a small workshop in Lampung, arresting two men and confiscating items including a .32 and .22 revolver, 10 bullets and a lathe.

Last week, police in Cikeusal district in Serang, West Java, arrested a 40-year-old man believed to have produced dozens of handmade firearms, which could be used for bullets of .33 mm caliber weapons.

But the real movers and shakers in the trade have reportedly remained untouched.

"But we have identified those involved in the illegal business," Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djadja Suparman said Thursday.

The increasing possession of arms among members of the public worries sociologists Sardjono Jatiman and Paulus Wirutomo.

Both agreed the authorities should move swiftly to curb the phenomenon.

Sardjono of University of Indonesia said gun possession was clearly against the law and the authorities should step in to prevent negative effects from their widespread circulation.

"People have bought guns simply because they feel insecure. People do not obey the law anymore because they think the law can no longer protect them from harm.

"Still that reason cannot be an excuse to buy illegal guns. Imagine if people wonder around with guns, they could shoot anybody they want. This is crazy and it will only create anarchy."

The authorities need to launch an operation to register guns in the hands of both civilians and military personnel.

"Prevention is better than the cure, right?

Paulus warned the development of a gun culture would carry dangerous ramifications.

"Buying guns, even though it is only for self-protection, in turn could become a boomerang for the society. It may create greater chaos and, probably, civil war.

"Imagine this -- if people start to judge others at will, shooting and killing each other and abandoning the law, what will happen?"

Paulus said the authorities should share part of the blame for the public taking their security into their own hands.

"Their failure in protecting the people made all this happen. At least they have to prove themselves to the people by not giving fake promises."

Criminologist Adrianus Meliala concurred that people had decided to protect themselves because of lingering insecurity after the trauma of the riots.

"The security officers repeatedly said in the past that Jakarta was safe but look what happened then?" Adrianus asked.

Most important, Adrianus and Sardjono said, was for the authorities to provide a firm security guarantee to the people.

This could be done through intensifying operations against criminals in the greater Jakarta area, Adrianus said.

Sardjono added: "If the authorities could not protect people, they (the public) will always look for loopholes and buy guns." (bsr/ivy/edt)