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.