Foreign diplomats say street crimes routine experience

JAKARTA (JP): Foreign diplomats say they are not shocked by Tuesday's attempted robbery of the Palestinian ambassador because such a crime is just another routine bad experience for them.

Some diplomats who chose to speak with The Jakarta Post yesterday said they have to protect themselves, their families and property due to unfavorable conditions on streets and the lack of police protection.

That is why most of them were not surprised by the news that Ambassador Ribhi Awad shot an alleged criminal, who attempted to rob and stab him on Jl. Imam Bonjol on Tuesday night.

The diplomats, however, refused to be identified for the sake of their countries good relationship with the Indonesian government.

A diplomat from an Asian country said that many cars from his embassy bearing diplomatic license plates have been looted by street criminals.

"But the embassy usually chooses not to bring the case up with authorities," he said.

From experience, they believe police give little attention to foreigners who fall victim to crimes in the city, he said.

A press attache from another embassy said: "Maybe criminals out there think diplomats are easy targets because they don't know the city very well and think expats have a lot of money."

He urged Jakarta authorities to further increase security and protection for foreigners, including diplomats.

Self-protection

Due to some bad experiences, many diplomats prefer to design their own security system rather than ask for help or report the cases to authorities.

A Japanese diplomat cited for example that a thief broke into his house last February and police, after receiving the report from a private security company, searched the house without his permission.

"No such thing would happen in Japan because police know how to respect privacy," he said.

"Many crimes also occur in Japan, but in Jakarta I found it difficult to rely on police because they often ask for money for their services," he said.

Once a friend of his lost his passport and the officers who handled the case asked for money, saying that it would help speed up the tracing process, he said.

When asked for his comment, City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang rejected such allegations.

"Our country is safe," Aritonang said.

He said police offer special security personnel to diplomats.

"Our personnel are given mostly by request because diplomats often prefer using their own security personnel for privacy," he said.

Ambassador Awad shot the suspect in the left foot with his FN .45 handgun. The suspect, identified later as Hariyanto, was nabbed by police a few hours later at Pelni Hospital in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, where he had sought treatment for his wound.

Indonesia bans people from carrying guns without a permit. According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas, the ambassador's diplomatic immunity allowed him to a carry gun.

Officer Aritonang said the shooting might be seen as self- defense as ruled in Article 49 of the Criminal Code.

"However, it will be later determined whether the threat the person confronted warranted the action that was used in self- defense," he said. (07/cst/imn/bsr)