Prostitutes' move still to be decided

Prostitutes' move still to be decided

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja wants assurances that
plans to move the Kramat Tunggak red-light district are well
prepared.

He was responding to official statements that the prostitution
complex, which is the only officially-recognized red-light
center, will possibly be relocated to the Seribu Islands.

The plan to relocate the complex was made some years ago
following complaints from the residents of adjacent district.

Rawa Malang in Cilincing district, also in North Jakarta, was
once cited as a possible new location for the Kramat Tunggak
prostitutes. Cilincing residents, however, protested against the
plan and asked the decision-makers not to move the working women
to the district.

The most recent suggestion is the Seribu Islands. It was the
assistant to the city secretary in charge of social affairs,
Soenarjudardji, who chose the Seribu Island as the "new Kramat
Tunggak" complex site.

"The concept (of moving the complex) must be clear," Surjadi
said yesterday. "It is not be that easy...it could merely be
moving one disease to another place."

Kramat Tunggak, situated in the Koja and Tugu Utara
subdistricts, was established as an official rehabilitation site
for prostitutes in the early 1970s. It, however, became a red-
light district and was later recognized by the administration.

Once an uninhabited area, the complex also became crowded with
homes and schools. Residents then started to demand that the
complex be moved away from Kramat Tunggak.

The islands named for possible sites of the new area are Pulau
Tidung Kecil and Pulau Lancang Kecil. The former is still
inhabited while the latter is not.

City Council Speaker M.H. Ritonga said yesterday the main idea
of moving the complex is to reduce access to prostitution, "as we
can only try -- it cannot be eradicated".

Both prostitutes and their clients will hopefully be
discouraged by the distant location, he said.

"We should stick to the original idea of a rehabilitation
center," he said.

The initial idea was to contain prostitution, rehabilitate the
women and monitor their health in an area far from residential
areas, Ritonga said.

Soenarjudardji had said that the new site would only take in
prostitutes from Kramat Tunggak, and that newcomers would not be
allowed. But he did not say how officials could prohibit
newcomers from entering the complex.

Atje Muljadi of the council's commission E in charge of public
welfare, said the new rehabilitation center should prevent the
existence of procurers to avoid a copy of Kramat Tunggak.

In response to how the city could prevent prostitution centers
from cropping up again in North Jakarta, the new site or other
areas, councilors said the only way is repeated raids.

According to latest figures the 11.5-hectare Kramat Tunggak
complex houses 1,800 prostitutes and 2,500 rooms. (anr)