LBH slams crackdown

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute has blasted city public order officials for their "inhumane" actions in a recent crackdown on street vendors in Menteng, Central Jakarta, that led to a vendor's death.

"In the crackdown on Nov. 22, the public order officials used violence against the vendors, chasing them down, beating and kicking them and destroying their goods. One vendor, Tarjono drowned in a river and his body was found two days later," the Institute said in an open letter to the city police chief.

The Institute letter, signed by its operational head Munir, said public order personnel acted outside their jurisdiction to the point of blatantly breaching human rights.

"No legal grounds whatsoever could justify their actions. They acted rudely and arbitrarily without due respect for the vendors' dignity as human beings," the letter stated.

The Institute believed the practice of intimidating and catching street vendors was not an effective means of discipline.

"This is a multifaceted social problem that can not solely be handled by the public order and security offices. It should involve various government agencies because it is closely related to widespread poverty and unchecked urbanization," Munir said.

He said most street vendors were poorly educated and from rural areas. "They came to Jakarta without special skills and eventually ended up being street vendors."

The Institute urged police to investigate Tarjono's death and prosecute those responsible.

It said the city administration should be held responsible for the public order officials' actions that led to Tarjono's death.

The Institute demanded the city administration immediately stop "brutal and inhumane acts carried out in the name of public order and security" without due respect for human rights. (bas)