Gun counters at JCC prove a big draw

Gun counters at JCC prove a big draw

JAKARTA (JP): A man walked toward a crowd of people gathered
in front of several stands at the Police Technology Exhibition
2000 at the Jakarta Convention Center in Central Jakarta on
Friday.

The man, Agung Yulianto, approached an attendant at one of the
display stands and uttered a straightforward statement: "I want
to buy a gun."

In response, the attendant -- as she had done with the others
gathered in front of her -- explained to Agung that interested
parties could purchase a weapon after a three-month waiting
period and only if they met all the requirements.

Agung, who said he was the owner and chief editor of the Tabir
weekly tabloid, was one of a crowd of visitors packing the second
day of the four-day gun exhibition. The show is the first in the
country to display a wide range of automatic and semiautomatic
rifles, pistols and revolvers, along with gas canisters, rubber
bullets and live bullets, all for sale to the public.

None of the attendants and executives of the companies taking
part in the July 20 to July 23 exhibition were willing to
disclose the number of purchase applications they had received
during the first two days of the expo.

Visitors to the show, who could not hide their enthusiasm at
the prospect of owning a weapon, come from different backgrounds
but have similar reasons for their desire to possess a gun,
namely self-protection.

Some of the visitors said they already owned guns. "I already
have a pistol," Agung told The Jakarta Post, pulling out a gun
from his small bag. "But this one uses rubber bullets. I want one
that uses real bullets."

A director of a construction and engineering company on Jl.
Kalisari in Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta, Surato, said he had already
filled out an application at the exhibition to purchase a gun.

"I need a gun for self-defense because I often get job
contracts which require me to go to some areas in the forest,"
Surato told the Post.

Surato said that once when he was driving in Lampung for a
job, a group of four men stopped his car and tried to rob him.
"Luckily there were also four of us in the car and we fought
back."

"If I had a gun at that time, it would have been simpler to
make them go away," he added.

Another visitor, Kasmar Sinaga, who said he owned a lumber
company in Cirebon, West Java, said he needed a gun to defend
himself against people who robbed motorists traveling on the main
road connecting Jakarta and Cirebon.

"There are many 'flying squirrels' there," Kasmar told the
Post, using a local term to describe the bandits.

Danu Effendi, the operational manager of PT Budimanmaju Megah,
a gun supplier participating in the exhibition, said his firm
would first require applicants obtain a letter of good conduct
and a gun permit from the police.

"Applicants will have to go to Jakarta Police Headquarters for
screenings, including a psychological test and a test on shooting
proficiency," Danu said.

Like his fellow exhibitors, Danu refused to say how many
visitors had applied to purchase guns from his company.

Danu's company is selling various .32 and .22 caliber pistols
for US$6,600 each and a number of different types of shotguns
with 28-inch and 26-inch barrels for Rp 35 million ($3,850). To
purchase the arms, applicants must meet the requirements laid out
in brochures available at the company's stand.

High-level executives from private companies, such as
president directors, president commissioners, commissioners,
presidents and directors of finance, can apply to own a gun.
Legislators, ministers, governors and Cabinet secretaries are
also welcome, he said.

Danu said it usually took three months for an applicant to
have their permit issued by the National Police.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Dadang Garnida said
earlier the seemingly easy procedure to purchase a gun was meant
to curb gun smuggling and the illegal possession of firearms. He
added that controlling the legal possession of guns was an easier
task.

However, the exhibition also drew expressions of concern from
a number of people, including legislator Sophan Sophian, who
feared that open applications for gun possession would lead to
many people owning guns.

"It could be like the Wild West," Sophan told the Post on
Thursday.

Numerous executives from private companies have come to the
exhibition and expressed their desire to own a gun.

A middle-aged visitor appeared excited as he held a gun in
front of a counter. "Hey, take a picture of me," he said,
pointing the empty gun at a photographer.(08)