JP/3/BERSIH

JP/3/BERSIH

`Operasi Bersih'
calls for
betterment

By Johannes Simbolon

JAKARTA (JP): What has Operasi Bersih (Operation Cleansing),
the ongoing army-sponsored, anti-crime operation in the greater
Jakarta area, accomplished in its first month?

As of last Friday, over 1,000 people had been apprehended.
This group was mostly comprised of drunkards, alcohol and drug
traders, and those who were illegally in the possession of sharp
weapons and firearms.

The operation personnel also seized four million pills of obat
daftar G, a drug in the gevaarlijk (a Dutch word meaning
"dangerous") category, half a million bottles of locally-made
liquor, hundreds of sharp weapons and 10 firearms.

Though data is not yet available on whether crime has declined
since the launching of the operation, media correspondence would
seem to indicate that the city is indeed more secure.

The operation has received widespread support from a public
fed up with recent horror stories, including the murder of Herbin
Hutagalung's family in Bekasi, the rape and murder of a
kindergarten-age girl in Ancol, and the murder of Brig. Gen. TMF
Hutagalung by four men in the crime-infested district of
Jatinegara.

Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Hendropriyono, popularly
known as Hendro, claims to have received an endless stream of
praise since the operation began on April 11.

Hendro said that, aside from the initial goal of putting the
brakes on crime, the operation also hopes to safeguard the city
in the run-up to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
forum meeting to be held here in November.

Though the public agrees in principle with the operation's
goal, human rights activists have been reluctant to jump on the
bandwagon. They see it as a kind of "unlawful intervention" by
the army in police business.

"The operation highlights the army's arrogance," says
Hendardi, spokesman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation
(YLBHI)

They have also expressed the operation has no lasting
significance since it deals with society's illnesses at a
superficial level, leaving its core, abject poverty, intact.

"The violence which is now invading our cities results from a
disproportionately high rate of urbanization and lack of job
opportunities. This problem is made worse by the chronic abuse of
the law by law enforcement officials themselves," says noted
lawyer Frans Winarta.

Frans, who is also secretary of YLBHI, said that if these
illnesses were left unresolved, crime would strike back with even
greater force once the army returns to their barracks.

Meanwhile, the operation that is seen as a savior by many has
been a calamity for local liquor factories. The factories,
including PT Suba Indah in Cimanggis, Bogor and PT Perindustrian
Bapak Jenggot in Tangerang, have protested vehemently, saying the
operation might force them to lay off hundreds of employees.

Temporary

Several phenomena have proven worthy of observation during the
operation.

First, from a legal point of view, the operation seems to
indicate that the authorities have "come of age" since the
infamous "mysterious shooting" policy of 10 years ago.

At that time, so the story goes, marksmen hunted down
underworld figures across the archipelago on "search and kill"
missions. They were reportedly rarely burdened by the need to
produce evidence, operating entirely on the basis of criminal
lists.

Today, the servicemen seek to play by the rules. The seizure
of evidence is always the cause for taking someone into custody.
The drunkards were returned home after being given some advice,
while holders of sharp weapons and firearms will be handed to the
police where the legal process awaits them.

Second, thanks to the operation, the horrifying countenance of
our criminal world has become more transparent. One paid assassin
caught in the first 10 days of the operation had claimed he was
willing to kill someone for a mere Rp 200,000 (US$92).

Nothing, however, was more fearsome than the false rumor which
circulated in the early stages of the operation. This rumor, that
racial riots occurred throughout the city, was at first leaked to
the press by anonymous persons over the telephone, and then
escalated at dizzying speed. The rumor succeeded in gripping
Jakartans with fear, and was only quelled when the authorities
made a televised announcement to deny it.

While the identities of rumor-mongers are still unknown, Lt.
Col. Didi Supandi, spokesman for the Jakarta Military Command,
speculates they belong to a group adversely affected by the
ongoing operation. That is, they are probably dealers of illicit
drugs or alcohol.

Organization

Thirdly, Operasi Bersih revives the old concern about the poor
performance of our anti-crime system in general and the police in
particular.

The operation will certainly come to an end and the servicemen
will return to their barracks. Pessimists would argue that
knowing this, criminals will simply stay in their hideouts
throughout the operation, only to emerge after it has run its
course to square off with the less military-minded police.

"We lack personnel. There are only 15,000 officers to protect
around 8 million Jakartans," Maj. Gen. Mochammad Hindarto, City
Police Chief, moaned in excusing the police's poor performance.

If Shakespeare's adage, "the war against crime is the war
eternal," holds true, the operation's significance will be
fleeting. It will only have a lasting effect if it is supported
by commitments to improve our anti-crime system.