Proposal to arm public order officials rejected

Proposal to arm public order officials rejected

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso rejected on Friday a proposal
that city public order officials be equipped with tear gas
canisters while conducting raids in public places.

He said he was aware of resistance from residents whenever
officials conducted operations to restore order to the city, but
insisted that arming them with tear gas canisters would create
more conflicts rather then solving the problem.

"It is a fact that when we raid areas of prostitutes, street
vendors and beggars, they physically resist, which sometimes
endangers the lives of the officials.

"Still, there is not enough grounds to arm the officials,"
Sutiyoso said.

"The personnel will only have sufficient equipment to defend
themselves, such as batons and handcuffs, but not more than that.
I do not even think they need tear gas canisters to carry out
their work," he added.

The proposal to equip the city public order officials with
tear gas was recently informally proposed by some public order
officials of the Senen district administration in Central
Jakarta. They complained that their lives were always in danger
and they were unable to do anything when residents fought back
and resisted the operations.

Sutiyoso said city public order officials should, therefore,
coordinate with the city police and always tell them whenever
they wanted to conduct the operations, pointing out that security
was the responsibility of the police.

Reducing public offenses was one of the three aspects Sutiyoso
promised before city councillors in his accountability speech in
August.

However, most of the time the officials met with strong
resistance from residents in the areas where the officials
conducted raids.

A councillor from Commission E on welfare issues, Audi I.Z.
Tambunan, supported Sutiyoso's decision, saying the proposal
would only instigate clashes with the officials, who were not as
strongly disciplined as those in the military.

"Security is the responsibility of the police, so what is
important is to coordinate with the city police before conducting
the raids," Audi told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He suggested that the city public order officials develop a
different approach to dealing with people.

"They should have more dialog, rather than equipping
themselves with arms. I believe people can accept the city
regulation if they are well informed about it," he said.

Noted sociologist Imam Prasodjo also underlined the importance
of holding dialog with the people, rather than conducting raids.

"What is important is that whenever there are problems, there
should be a dialog," he told the Post.

"We should create some kind of security zone, controlled by
local people, so whenever there is sign of public disorder the
locals can support the city public order personnel," Imam
suggested. (dja)