Red light district's days near their end

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.