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)