Repressive action in raids regretted
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
City councillors have expressed regret at the violence and repression used by some Jakarta administration officials during its controversial identification card raids early this week.
Council commission E for social welfare affairs chairwoman Wasilah Sutrisno called on officials from the City Public Order Agency to stop the violence against residents, mainly the poor, during the raids.
"The officials were supposed to only guard their colleagues from the City Population Agency during the raids. Let their colleagues handle the problem. They must talk (instead of using violence)," National Mandate Party councillor Wasilah said.
She was referring to violence, including an incident when the head of the North Jakarta Public Order Office, Tonny Boediono, stormed into a house and slapped two girls in the face thinking they were attempting to escape.
Wasilah said despite the violence, she still supported the raids to uphold the bylaw 1/1999 on population and the bylaw 11/1988 on public order.
Councillor Sayogo Hendrosubroto pointed out that the raids would not solve overpopulation problems as the main issue was the economic conditions of the illegal residents.
"The ID card raids, like evictions (of the urban poor), need better treatment," Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle councillor Sayogo, adding the victims were the poor and supporters of his party.
"We have suggested improvements and solutions to the raids and evictions but the administration never listened to us."
On Tuesday, a total of 1,763 people were checked and 549 of them were tried in the ID card operation. Seventy three were then freed and the remaining 473 people fined.
Nearly 40 people would be sent home after serving a month at the city's rehabilitation center in Kedoya, West Jakarta.
Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan also urged the administration to stop the raids as it violated human rights.
"The administration must punish its officials who used violence against the people during the raids and free those at the Kedoya center."
Azas urged the administration to give free ID cards to the people in a transparent way.
People must pay between Rp 50,000 (US$4.8) and Rp 100,000 to subdistrict officers to get a resident ID card.