Police, military declare war against thugs

Police, military declare war against thugs

Damar Harsanto and Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Responding to mounting public complaints about crime in the
capital, the Jakarta administration, police and military will
launch the first-ever official crackdown on thuggery and
lawlessness on Friday.

The operation will, however, last for only one month and thus
will be unlikely to weed out thugs from the capital. Experience
shows that the thugs will go underground for the duration of the
operations and return after the campaign ends.

"The eradication of thuggery will begin Friday in all areas
across the capital. The joint operation will be carried out at
the municipality and regency levels and it will last for one
month," Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, who presided over a Thursday
meeting of city leaders at City Hall, told reporters.

Also present at the meeting were city police chief Insp. Gen.
Firman Gani, Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Agustadi
Susongko Purnomo and City Council speaker Ade Surapriatna.

"Every mayor and regent has a list of locations where thuggery
is common. These locations will be prioritized in the operation.
We hope residents will play an active role in the campaign,
including giving the authorities tip-offs," he said.

Jakarta has five municipalities -- Central Jakarta, West
Jakarta, South Jakarta, North Jakarta and East Jakarta, and one
regency, the Thousand Islands.

Locations frequented by the public like markets, bus terminals
and railway stations will be among the priority targets of the
joint operation.

Firman said the crackdown would not only focus on petty
crimes involving small-time thugs, like extortion, muggings and
violent debt-collecting, but also more serious crimes, including
well-organized gangsterism and contract killings.

"We will also include mass organizations, including those that
are systematically coordinated, on our list of targets should we
find that they are implicated in thuggery, for instance, by
carrying sharp weapons," Firman said.

He stressed that the joint operation would also target those
groups that frequently launched violent raids on nightclubs and
discotheques.

"They simply have no right to carry out any raids. It is an
act of thuggery. We will arrest those who conduct "sweeps" or
attack other groups," Firman said.

Thugs and militant religious groups have become common since
the resignation of Soeharto in May 1998.

Meanwhile, gangs are often involved in clashes and brawls as
they struggle to win turf.

Although the public has expressed concern over the excessive
influence and power of the militant groups, the authorities have
done little to tackle them.

There are hundreds of posts belonging to various militant
groups, including the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR), Betawi
Community Forum (Forkabi), Banten Warriors' Association (BPPKB)
and the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), across the city.

"This will be more difficult than cracking down on gambling or
drugs," Gani said without elaborating.