Police told to ticket erring military officers

JAKARTA (JP): Police officers should have the courage and resolve to ticket members of the Armed Forces (ABRI) who violate traffic laws, City Military Chief Maj. Gen. Wiranto said yesterday.

Wiranto pointed out that traffic police are usually reluctant to take punitive action against reckless military members who fail to abide by traffic rules.

"Police should not hesitate to take action against military officers in violation of traffic rules because they (ABRI members) are also ordinary citizens, who must uphold the supremacy of law," he said.

Wiranto made the remarks after leading a ceremony marking the 49th commemoration of the military police force at its headquarters in Guntur, South Jakarta.

The military police, which has 600 members in Jakarta, is the agency which has the authority to deal with ABRI and police members who breach the law.

"It would be wrong for police officers to ignore military officers, who break traffic laws before their very eyes, because the police are doing their job to oversee security and order," Wiranto said.

Wiranto said that the number of military police was inadequate to serve a capital of about 10 million people.

Encouragement

Chief of city military police, Col. Imamul Achjar, underlined Wiranto's encouragement, saying that the police can help facilitate his men's job by referring errant ABRI members to the military police.

Last month, Achjar disclosed, military police dealt with 110 army officers, in the city, for law violations, including 18 deserters.

The city military police are still looking for another 16 deserters, he added.

Discipline

Wiranto also asked members of the military police to pioneer the ongoing national discipline campaign launched by President Soeharto last month.

"We keep talking about discipline and the military police corps should stand in the front line in enforcing the law and maintaining order," he said.

He stressed that military police officers have no reason not to support the campaign the President launched on May 20.

"But remember, before disciplining the public, you should be disciplined in the first place," he said. "You should help make Jakarta orderly, clean and comfortable to live in."

To support the discipline campaign, the city military command has mobilized 4,600 officers and volunteers to reinforce the implementation of the city administration-sponsored campaign.

They were dispatched to all quarters of the city in a ceremony held at city military headquarters on Wednesday.

Over the past two days, police officers have dealt with 1,700 people, including street vendors, motorists, and pedestrians who breached the regulations. They were either fined, detained, or reprimanded. (29)