Red light district's days near their end

By A'an Suryana

JAKARTA (JP): Following a decade-long debate over the existence of the city's oldest red-light district Kramat Tunggak, the city administration will close down the 10.4-hectare complex next Wednesday and turn it into a residential area.

The history of the complex dates back to April 21, 1970, when then Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin signed a decree ordering the construction of the complex, making it the only officially recognized red-light district in the city. Prostitution is officially illegal in Indonesia.

The complex, located in Tugu Utara subdistrict of North Jakarta, was constructed on land which the city administration and the local people each had a 50 percent share.

A resident living near the complex described the land at that time as a site where "genies throw away their kids".

"The land, which was a swamp, was far from city dwellers' housing," said Slamet Riyadi, head of the subdistrict's resilience board, on Tuesday.

One reason for the establishment of the complex was to contain prostitutes all in one area. Many prostitutes at the time operated at the North Jakarta sea port.

The city administration, under Ali Sadikin's governorship, moved 413 prostitutes and 76 brothel keepers to the complex in 1971.

The prostitutes came from 13 different locations in North Jakarta. They had worked in brothels in the residential areas of Semper, Cilincing, Koja and other subdistricts.

By containing prostitution in one complex, the government hoped to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and the deterioration of morality within society.

The government also endeavored to give the prostitutes skills such as sewing and hairdressing in order that they could use the skills to start a new life within society and retire from their old profession.

The government then established in 1970 a rehabilitation center for prostitutes, the Teratai Harapan, which was tasked with giving vocational training and religious instruction to prostitutes.

In 1985, the number of prostitutes and brothel keepers in the complex grew to 1,886 and 231 respectively. Most of the prostitutes were from the West Java towns of Subang and Indramayu.

When development surged in Jakarta and the demand for housing grew, people became offended by the complex, which was no longer any great distance from residential areas. The effects the complex was having on the local community became apparent when young locals started to work as brokers for the prostitutes.

In the late 1970s, in an effort to minimize the negative impact prostitution had on the surrounding community, the city administration built a two-meter tall masonry wall around it, separating it from the outside world.

However, protests by local people against prostitution continued to escalate, with them eventually demanding the administration relocate the complex.

The city administration listened to the people's demands and pledged in 1985, 1995 and 1996 to relocate the complex, but it failed to act.

In 1986, the administration planned to relocate the complex to Pulau Seribu (Thousand Islands), but after a long debate the government canceled the plan, saying the island was considered too far from Jakarta, which might bring strong opposition from prostitutes and brothel keepers.

A decade later, the administration announced that it planned to relocate the complex to remote areas in Bekasi and Rawamalang, but people in the areas strongly opposed the idea.

Finally, Governor Sutiyoso ordered that the complex must be shut down by Dec. 31 this year, through Decree No. 6485 dated Sept. 15, 1998.

The decree stated the complex was "no longer appropriate for the surrounding environment and the city's development".

The administration then offered brothel owners last year the opportunity to invest in a proposed shopping complex in Kramat Tunggak, but the brothel owners insisted instead on the relocation of the complex.

The administration ignored the opposition and sought other investors.

Private developer PT Nuansa Jasa Realtindo showed interest in the administration's proposal in August last year, but later pulled out of its agreement with the administration to develop a shopping center, citing the skyrocketing prices of building materials as the reason.

The company also said it had encountered difficulty obtaining credit from banks to finance the project.

However, the city administration asserted it would close down the complex despite the lack of investors.

Former governor Ali Sadikin voiced disagreement over Sutiyoso's insistence to shut down the complex.

"Abolishing prostitutes by closing brothel complexes is impossible. As long as men live, prostitutes are needed," he said during a meeting with city councilors recently, adding that the localization of prostitution would stop prostitutes overcrowding city streets.

Today, Kramat Tunggak is home to more than one thousand prostitutes and 258 brothel keepers. Official city figures record only 320 prostitutes.

"The remaining 1,280 of the 1,600 prostitutes registered last year have been asked to leave the complex after being provided with several courses and skills for their future," said Asli Husen, a senior official at Teratai Harapan.

Subagyo Partodihardjo, a doctor and also the chairman of Karya Bakti Foundation, said on Tuesday the closure of the complex would make it difficult for medical practitioners and officials to control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

"It would be easier for us and state officials to give lectures and monitor their health in a complex," he said on the sidelines of a seminar on the impact of the complex's closure.

Subagyo proposed that the government relocate the complex to a remote area such Marunda.

But there is growing opposition to the condoning of prostitution.

"Prostitution indeed can't be abolished since it is as old as human civilization, but it is also unacceptable for human civilization to condone prostitution," said Nurtini, chairwoman of the Indonesian Muslim Women's Association, on Tuesday.

Nurtini supports the government's move to close down the complex, but she has also asked the government to take stern measures against prostitution, such as in areas like Kalijodo, West Jakarta, and Boker, East Jakarta, where other brothels operate.

"I am afraid people will take the law into their own hands if the government fails to accommodate the people's will," she said.

Residents of West Java's Puncak and Bekasi areas recently took the law into their own hands when they attacked establishments they suspected of allowing sex and drug transactions to take place on the premises.