Military to step up ongoing Jakarta anti-crime drive
Military to step up ongoing Jakarta anti-crime drive
JAKARTA (JP): Anticipating the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) summit next November in Bogor, the Jakarta
military commander pledged to enlarge and step up the frequency
of the ongoing anti-crime operation to ensure security and
stability in the city.
"We will step up the frequency of the operation until the APEC
summit.... As we don't want to take risks, we think it's high
time for us to add military personnel for the operation,"
Commander Maj. Gen. AM Hendropriyono (Hendro) told journalists.
The two-star general made the remark after installing Lt. Col.
Koesnadi as the Central Jakarta district military commander at
the defunct Kemayoran airport yesterday.
As head of the city chapter of the Agency for the Coordination
of Support for the Development of National Stability
(Bakorstanasda), Hendro noted that the current number of
personnel, 16,700 people, is bellow par and that he will triple
their number.
The anti-crime drive launched by Bakorstanasda, code-named
Operasi Bersih (Operation Cleansing), involves personnel from the
Army, the Police, the Marine Corps and the Air Force as well as
officials from Jakarta, Tangerang and Bekasi.
Although the APEC summit is scheduled to be held in Bogor, a
scenic town in West Java 60 kilometers south of here, heads of
government from APEC states will stay in hotels in Jakarta.
APEC members include six members of the Association of South
East Asian Nations -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- along with the United
States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea,
China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea and Mexico.
Allegations
Hendro also denied allegations that the ongoing military
backed Operation Cleansing is the move of an arrogant military.
"Our measures to curb crimes are not at all to show our
arbitrary conduct, as hinted by a number of people. But, it's all
our responsibility ... to ensure a dynamic stability," Hendro
said.
To secure stability in the greater Jakarta area, the commander
also said he had instructed all military personnel at barracks to
be responsible for the security of their surroundings within a
radius of five kilometers.
"I have assigned each garrison to secure their area
respectively. This drive is to help the police in handling the
security in the city," Hendro said.
Hendro noted that this policy means no part of the city will
be free from military surveillance, since garrisons are spread
evenly throughout the city.
In his address at the induction ceremony yesterday, Hendro
also disclosed the latest running tally of arrests and
confiscations, dating back to April 11.
Over 1,000 people have been arrested for various offenses,
with 10 guns, 340 sharp weapons, 403,000 bottles of alcoholic
drinks and almost four million doses of illegal drugs. (11)