Relocation of Berlan residents may prevent further clashes
Relocation of Berlan residents may prevent further clashes
JAKARTA (JP): Sociologists suggested on Thursday the
relocation of residents of the Berlan military housing complex as
the most effective way of preventing further violent clashes with
residents of neighboring Palmeriam in Central Jakarta.
The head of the Criminology Institute at the University of
Indonesia, Muhammad Mustofa, said during a discussion on Thursday
the government should relocate the Berlan residents in light of
the long-running and complicated hostilities with Palmeriam
residents. The residents of Berlan are active or retired military
personnel, whose children and grandchildren are involved in the
clashes.
"It's almost impossible to negate a potential outbreak (of
violence) among residents of the two areas due to the series of
clashes which have occurred in the past," he said during a
discussion on the Prevention and Resolution of Collective
Conflict, organized by the Institute for Policy and Community
Development Studies, in cooperation with the German-based
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung foundation.
"Every military housing complex is exclusive so it can be a
source of hostility," he said.
Mustofa said communal brawls such as those in Matraman and
other areas in Jakarta were also caused by the high number of
unemployed.
"Unemployment makes it easy to mobilize people into acts of
mass violence," he said.
The conflict between residents in the Matraman district has
dragged on for several years, despite attempts by local leaders
and the city administration to settle the dispute.
The longevity of the hostilities has also obscured the initial
causes of the bitter conflict.
Even local residents have expressed pessimism that outside
intervention can bring peace to the community.
The former chief of the Palmeriam subdistrict, Salim Abu
Bakar, said on Thursday he was doubtful about official attempts
to bring peace.
He also regretted the absence of a willingness among elders in
the area to take concrete action to prevent the brawls.
"I think only half of them are truly willing to throw
themselves into the battlefield to stop the violence. The rest
seem to prefer to either get involved in the brawls or to just
stay silent," Salim, who headed the subdistrict for 18 months
ending in June, told The Jakarta Post.
He remarked that despite convening dozens of peace meetings,
some 20 clashes erupted during his tenure.
In a rather novel idea, Salim suggested that mothers in the
area get directly involved in curbing the brawls. (44)