Improving our prisons

Even under the best of circumstances, a prison is obviously not a happy place to be. But under the conditions that reportedly prevail in so many of our prisons, it is not difficult to comprehend why inmates are often so easily incited to react with violence to mistreatment or injustices, either real or perceived.

The latest example was last Wednesday's prison riot, in which hundreds of inmates of Surabaya's high-security Medaeng prison ran amok, setting fire to prison buildings in which 575 people were being held.

Although a final verdict on the causes and circumstances surrounding the riot are yet to be announced, the incident was a painful reminder of a similar episode that rocked the Tanjung Gusta prison in Medan, North Sumatra, in March last year. Six inmates died in that incident.

In January last year, a group of inmates attacked wardens in the Becora prison in Dili, East Timor. One prisoner died, eight escaped and 47 were injured. Seven prison officials had to be hospitalized. Prison brawls also reportedly occurred in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, Tangerang in West Java and Lahat, South Sumatra.

It has been said that the Medaeng prison riot was caused by the unequal treatment of inmates by prison officials. As reported by the press, the prisoners were unhappy with the way prison officials treated different groups of inmates. While many of the prisoners slept on mats, others were said to enjoy special privileges, such as having mattresses to sleep on, being allowed to watch television and have cellular phones.

While few of us are in a position to personally confirm such allegations, the stories told by a few former inmates are enough to make such assertions believable. In fact, a few spectacular prison escapes of the recent past have been widely attributed to the abuse of special privileges.

But wrong as all this may be from the egalitarian point of view, discrimination is but one of the afflictions that burdens our prison system. Legal expert Harkristuti Harkrisnowo believes that one of the reasons for the Medaeng prison riot was overcrowding, which bred aggressiveness among inmates.

Bad sanitary conditions and inadequate food are other factors which are believed to lead to unrest in our prisons. Ade Rostina Sitompul, a winner of the 1995 Yap Thiam Hien Human Rights Award for dedicating her life to helping prisoners, said these conditions have yet to be properly addressed.

The groundwork for improvement is laid out in our Law on Correctional Institutions, dated December 31, 1995, which says that prisons are for the education of inmates so they can become useful, law-abiding citizens. But many experts advocate an even stronger human approach. Harkristuti, for example, says prison officials should remember that, even in prison, inmates retain their basic human rights, such as access to decent facilities, food and social interaction.

Given the latest reports of unrest in our prisons -- not to mention escapes and attempted escapes -- it seems that the time has come for a more serious look into our prison system. The will to improve things, we are sure, is already there. Money may be a major constraint, but providing better training and better remuneration for our prison staff would be a good beginning.