Many violations of right to privacy reported last year

Many violations of right to privacy reported last year

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Legal Aid Association announced
yesterday that last year was marred by violations of people's
privacy because almost 700 people were netted for unclear
reasons.

Indonesian Legal Aid Association director Hendardi said at
least 690 people, 516 men and 174 women, were arbitrarily
arrested in series of raids.

He blamed police and city public order officers for illegal
arrests which violated people's privacy.

Police have conducted raids in streets and public places like
entertainment centers while public order officials have arrested
thousands of people for not having Jakarta ID cards.

Hendardi said many people complained about officers looking
for violations to the point of being unreasonable.

"There were many legal identity cards, such as student cards,
passports, identity cards from companies where people work or
even drivers licenses. But police asked for ID cards (KTP). This
was not fair," Hendardi said.

"Even worse, many of those who failed to show the ID cards
offered the officers money," he said.

Hendardi said although the city administration decided not to
increase the price of new identification cards from Rp 1,000 (46
U.S. cents), village and neighborhood officials charged more.

Hendardi said identity cards should serve as an instrument for
people to get better service and not a government instrument to
confine people.

The association noted police had raided boarding houses and
recreational centers.

Hendardi cited a midnight raid by city public order officials
on boarding houses in Karet subdistrict, South Jakarta, last
March. "The officials awoke sleeping female students and female
workers at night merely for ID cards," he said.

"Many of them were dragged to the South Jakarta mayoralty
because they failed to have Jakarta IDs. But they did have ID
cards from their home towns," Hendardi said.

He said many people from other regions came to Jakarta to earn
a living.

"The urbanization phenomena is inevitable and no one is to
blame for that because jobs can hardly be found in their home
towns," Hendardi said.

"Privacy is a central human right to defend. The raids
disturbed people's right to feel comfortable," Hendardi said.

Citing the human rights declaration he said nobody's privacy
could be arbitrarily intruded by anyone else regardless of who
they were.

He said No. 551 of the Criminal Code guaranteed people's
privacy.

Government's officials had sometimes overacted in tightening
control over people, he said. (07)