Raids on street walkers

Raids on street walkers

Raids on women suspected of being street walkers in Bogor have
provoked criticism, with several people strongly protesting the
Bogor administration's incompetence for netting the wrong persons
last week.

The women were just taking a stroll when several officers
apprehended them, despite the fact that they had ID cards. They
were then rushed to a rehabilitation center in the neighboring
town of Sukabumi.

Secretary of the Agency for People's Empowerment and Social
Affairs Baringin Sipayung has, however, denied all the women's
statements, arguing that his men were very experienced in
"detecting" sex workers. Therefore, it was impossible that the
officers arrested the wrong women, Sipayung claimed.

It is not easy to prove who is right, but, usually the
authorities "can do no wrong". Common people, who have no
bargaining power, have usually been victimized, even though they
have done nothing against the law.

In general, people support the raids on street workers, but,
the implementation must be extra careful so as not to violate the
public interest by arresting the wrong people.

There is no single law prohibiting women from taking a walk at
night in public places in this country. Women walking outdoors at
night could be considered strange, but this is not against the
law, if they bring ID cards with them.

Valid ID cards legitimize people's existence in the country.
Therefore, women walking at night without ID cards could be
arrested and treated like street workers by officers.

In this particular case, the officers should have been more
careful and wiser.

-- Warta Kota, Jakarta

;;
ANPAk..r..
Otherop-Sharon-cabinet
Ariel Sharon's Cabinet
JP/6/

Ariel Sharon's Cabinet

From the moment the Likud was returned to power in the 2001
elections until the negotiations for setting up his second
government began, Ariel Sharon has made a determined effort to be
perceived in Israel and abroad as a pragmatic leader for whom
terrorism was the only barrier to making peace with our
Palestinian neighbors.

Two years ago, the prime minister hastened to bring the Labor
Party into government, offering it tempting promises in the
diplomatic arena and prestigious ministries. Sharon responded
positively to every diplomatic initiative by the United States -
the Mitchell plan, the Tenet plan and the Bush policy speech. He
even declared his willingness to make "painful concessions" and
to see a Palestinian state established with temporary borders.

In practice, the 18-month tenure of the unity government was
characterized by a complete diplomatic freeze, accompanied by
murderous terrorism, an economic crisis and an erosion of
Israel's international standing. Learning from his colleagues'
painful experiences, Labor Party chairman Amram Mitzna declined
to rely on vague promises.

He demanded that Sharon anchor detailed coalition guidelines
in a written document. Sharon refused to commit to a timetable
for the establishment of a Palestinian state or even to commit in
principle to dismantling isolated settlements. This raised
suspicions about the credibility of the prime minister's
diplomatic vision and led the negotiations to a dead end.

All the declarations about a Palestinian state are meaningless
beside the appointment of NRP Chairman Effi Eitam as housing and
construction minister. In the past, Eitam has voiced vehement
opposition even to evacuating illegal settlement outposts whose
dismantlement was ordered by the previous defense minister,
Benjamin Ben-Eliezer.

The NRP and National Union do not merely object to any hint of
a willingness to end the occupation - they have come out strongly
against any initiative to withdraw the Israel Defense Forces from
the heart of Palestinian cities or to ease life for Palestinian
civilians.

The agreements with the NRP and National Union should serve as
a clear sign that Sharon's goal is not to get out of the
territories in order to resume talks with the Palestinians. The
alliance with Shinui has no power to hide the new government's
true face.

It is a government without diplomatic tidings, resting on a
coalition with the ideological right to whom any idea of
compromise is foreign. All the rest is nothing but transparent
camouflage.

--Ha'aretz, Tel Aviv, Israel