Police must be serious in sweep against illegal guns

Police must be serious in sweep against illegal guns

Over 100,000 illegal firearms are now in the hands of criminals,
mostly in Jakarta. The Jakarta Post asked some Jakarta residents
what the city police must do to rid the capital of illegal guns.

Azhar, 39, a civil servant at the Directorate General of Air
Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation in Central
Jakarta, lives with his wife and two children in Tanjung Barat,
South Jakarta:

I can't believe that Adiguna Sutowo could shoot a person just
like that. From what I read, Rudy was just doing his job as a
waiter. This incident proves that in Indonesia many civilians
still have no self control. Thus, armed civilians are a threat to
others who have no guns.

In view of the incident, I think the police should not allow
civilians to own a gun, or at the very least, they should really
screen the gun applicants before granting them licenses.

They also should conduct operations nationwide to look for
illegal guns because it seems like almost anyone is able to get a
gun.

;JP;DMR;
ANPAj..r..

JP/8/

Arlene, 30, works as an employee with a government office in
Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta. She resides with her family on Jl.
Ampera in South Jakarta.

I think there is no need for civilians to own firearms. What
for? Besides, can we ensure that there will be strict, regular
checks to see whether the gun owners are suited to carry a
firearm?

For people whose jobs place them at risk, firearms may be
necessary, but I think the police should tighten requirements for
the possession of firearms. Otherwise, incidents similar to the
shooting at the Hilton hotel may repeat in the future.

Carelessness in the use of firearms often leads to fatal
incidents.

;JP;BBN;
ANPAj..r..
Speakup

JP/8/Speakup

Bedjo Rahardjo, 59, lives in Depok. He is a retired civil servant
who is now a member of the Jakarta chapter of the Commission for
AIDS Control.

Well, it is not easy to say whether civilians should be
allowed to have firearms or not.

Ideally, only military and police personnel should carry
firearms. But the fact is that many people own illegal firearms.
Many weapons are in the hands of unscrupulous people who use them
for criminal activities.

This encourages many people, particularly the rich, to buy
them. Initially, the weapons are only intended for self defense,
but they can hurt innocent people as happened at the Hilton
Hotel.

I myself agree that civilians should be prohibited from owning
firearms on the condition that the police are serious about
conducting sweeping against all illegal weapons in society,
because I believe they know where the firearms can be found.

The question is do they really want to do a cleanup?